When
I was younger, I remember reading about Helegrod. It offered a sense of
foreboding… a 24 person Raid? A huge dragon? Some tough thug drummers at the beginning, and a miniboss prior to Thorog’s
entrance, and a dragon that has 346k morale!? It seemed inconceivable to my young self that had seen few dragons at
the time, and had never seen anything remotely close.
Getting
to see him has been on my list since then. I have been patient. Waiting. Watching.
Waiting for the right time to take a group to see him.
Helegrod
has now been separated into 4 wings: the Giant wing, the Drake wing, the Spider
wing, and finally… the Dragon wing. You cannot enter the Dragon wing until you
have beaten the other three wings at least once. Thankfully, it isn’t on a raid
lock; you only have to beat the wings once, and you are eligible from then on.
I
proceeded on. Onward through Moria, through Lorien and Mirkwood, toward
Enedwaith, Dunland, and the Great River. I was even on one of the very early teams
to take out another dragon, the always pleasant Draigoch. (draigoch-draigoch-spoilers-pictures-of-draigoch) Then, I returned to defeat
Draigoch again with only 6 people. That was a special day for me as it was no contest; a win in one try with just 6 of us.
Still…
Thorog stood steadfast, and I remained patient.
My
friend Lartessa knew my desire, assembled an assault team, and took us
through the first three wings back in April, 2012. (Happy-5th-anniversary-lotro)
However, we were not ready for Thorog at that time on that night.
Patience.
Waiting for the day I could return.
I
completed every deed in Eregion. Now only Thorog stood between me and the Meta
deed Steed, the Dunedain War-horse, and the title Saviour of Eregion. The wave presses toward the confrontation.
Thankfully,
the ride to Rohan was delayed! The rangers were unprepared to ride in
September, so we were instructed to get our affairs in order for an October
journey. For me, that meant deeding, tying up loose ends… dare I say it… defeat
Thorog or die trying.
I
made a plan with my friends in the Riders of Rohan to target Thorog. The date
was set but too few had the experience of conquering the three pre-cursor
wings. We would need an extended plan.
I
visited Alti Spiderbane of Archet; he has a blood debt against Zaudra, the
master spider of Helegrod.
I
leave Alti, with his final words weighing heavy on my chest. “End her, Danania.”
He had suffered losses at her devastation. I hope not to fail him en route to
my goal.
A few of us grouped with the kinships Ministry and Warriors of the West to advance as many
people through the wings as possible. Storvagun the Giant was toppled. The
Drakes were dissected.
Even,
Zaudru the Spider fell, much to the pleasure of Alti Spiderbane. A word of
caution when entering Zaudru’s lair… she can poison-one-shot even the toughest
foe. The 5-person team of Halj, Mysticle, Nidrod, Reza, and I learned the
hard way that hers is no ordinary poison.
Now,
the culmination, enter the dragon. I am giddy with anticipation. Here is the
last shot as we have passed the trolls and drummers blocking the entrance, and
enter his domain. The snow was heavy on the ground and the sky was grey, foreboding.
Drugoth
the wight is an appetizer. He tells us how we shall soon be dragon food. THEN,
it is dragon time.
Actually,
the Thorog fight can be fairly easy. Words of caution: let the tank do his thing
and if you are not the tank don’t get agro. More importantly, Thorog has a fear
that will kill you. One of the fears has a 10s countdown and if not removed, it will kill you
and explode and kill those around you. It needs to be potioned away and you
need a bit of luck to not get feared again while on CD (or a Captain who is ready to bolster away your fear). During one of the runs,
I did get instantly killed but realized what was happening and ran away and died
alone so I did not take out the group.
Thorog
looks almost peaceful sitting up there on his perch.
Are
we ready team? Sic em Daweirdo!
I
did get a few good shots during the fight. Here, Thorog is about to let it be
known that not just anyone can enter his realm and walk away to tell the tale.
Thorog
is not happy and is throwing fear and death. You can see my friend Mysticle to
the far left with the eye over her head. I am thinking this might have been
when she got hit with Thorog’s Fear (mentioned above) and is marked for death.
Here,
Daweirdo tanks Thorog. I am glad to be over here… and not over there under the
big dragon.
In
the end, the battle was won! Defeating Thorog has its own special title,
De-animator of Thorog.
Five
deed sets make up the Saviour of Eriador: Barad Gularan, Urugarth, Carn Dum, defeating
the Rift balrog, and defeating Thorog. More importantly (to me), I received the beautiful meta
deed steed, the Dunedain Warhorse! He is one of my favorites.
It
was such an adventure, I went twice to get more people completed on their
journey.
Special
thanks to the two groups with whom I went and the many I got to group with
along the way.
Group
1: Tahnee, Byrane, Eroric, Blodin, Maethindol, Mysticle, Thyshadow, Nimitar
Group
2: Hal Jordan, Lapis, Daweirdo, Nidrod, Mysticle, Ainurian, Nimitar
For
those really into quests, there are several quests (all level 50) scattered around that are
aimed at Helegrod. They come from
- Elrond (Elrond’s Library),
- Sigrun (Misty Mountains near the Helegrod entrance),
- Gonediad (Rivendell Spire),
- Elladan and Elrohir (Bruinen Gorge),
- Arifael (Giant Valley), and of course,
- Alti Spiderbane (Archet).
Here
are two of the quest items I thought were interesting that I found along the
way. The Ancient Explorer’s Pack is as good as the best explorer tools
available (minus the Tailor portion, and will soon be outdone in Rohan). I have
used these tools for over a year (when I first ventured to Helegrod); I like them because they are unique and good.
I have a separate tool for Tailoring, yeah, I know I could just get the dropped
one-time recipe, and a Metalsmith, with a Scholar’s help for the scrolls, and with
very good luck have a combo tool made. But, my tools are mine and I like them.
(It only takes one more slot in my bag so shush. hehe)
The
gem-encrusted scale is surprisingly good for a level 50 item, and compares well
versus the scholar crafted pocket item for level 75. Granted, I have a better
Great River pocket item, I have never used this Scale and I’m sure it will get tossed but
for what it is, I was surprised.
