The Legend of Trengal Keep

With the reputation that Vanguard has, it's no surprise that it's often hard to find a group. Sunday is a day of exception though, as it's often the day the servers are at their busiest. Having spent weeks under the delusion that people will actually join me in Telon, I kept the levelling to a minimum for the day when I am joined. However, like I said, this is a delusion. I finally accepted that the people I have played with for the past 2 or so years are still wrapped up in WoW or other things. So I decided to go against the grain and get on and enjoy the game.

The Ruins of Trengal Keep can be seen for miles, it's shadow looming over the area. If you're a Thestran Human the keep leaves a grand impression with Drakes flying over head and large chunks of rock scattered throughout the sky.

Trengal Keep is a level 22-28 premier dungeon located west of Tursh on Thestra. It could be compared to The Scarlet Monastery for those familiar with WoW. Not in size, however - size does matter you will all agree and the Keep is large enough with many wings able to house 3 - 4 groups at the same time. The story of Trengal Keep unfolds through a 6 part quest chain.

So with a dungeon in mind, I used the Riftway to hop over to Thestra. The general chat was unusually alive discussing class imbalances (Nerf disciples, oh wait). After a while I saw a name in general I recognised from a while back - a 24 warrior looking for a group for none other than Trengal Keep. So with the basics setup - a tank and healer, the other spots (except one) were filled rather quickly. We decided to head out as 5 and hope that we'd find another member as we went along. The quest hub for Trengal is a small outpost inside the Keep grounds.

The ruined outpost is reachable through the southern gates of Trengal - however two 4 dot guards block the way. Inside the gate there are roaming wolves and other mobs. There's a quick quest at the outpost that requires you to kill the wolves. The wolves are 3 dot, so if you're a warrior or another solo-unfriendly class you might want to team up. Left: the ruined outpost where the adventure begins.

Once the near-full-group had gathered and got all the quests, we made our way to the entrance where we buffed up and got ready for a long night. The quest giver told us that the Keep has become overrun by goblins and orcs and he sent us in to investigate and to kill some goblins along the way. Right: the outside of the keep, guarded by 2 level 23 4 dots.

Adventuring further into the camp there was a distinct lack of mobs. We thought some other group was here and had already cleared so we carried on walking. However, there were mobs here but they were invisible and they decided the level 23 sorc was an easy target and they decided to show themselves. Overwhelmed, the group ran out of the Keeps doors followed by a huge train of 8 mobs.

Having been prepared for the invisible mobs this time, we took alot more care and made our way deeper into the Keep. Further into the Keep we caught a glimpse of what the orcs were doing - groups of small, floating rocks were alive and they didn't appreciate us being there.

As quick as it had begun, the first part of the quest is over. Leaving with some nice items and exp we evaced out to turn the quest in and pickup the next part of the quest. Left: Surrounded by the thick, stone walls there is no escaping a bad pull.

Reporting back to the NPC he tells us that the inside of the Keep is overrun with skeletons, heroes who have fallen inside Trengal Keep. Our next task is to adventure further into the keep and lay these to rest

Back inside we travel the familiar route and adventure deeper into the Keep. Luckily, since we returned, another group has entered the Keep meaning we don't have the task of clearing respawns. More good news is that we filled our last spot with a 25 Monk who is also on the second part of The Legend of Trengal Keep. Right: The other group thinks 'if only it was a PVP server'.

Further into the Keep and we reached the heart of it. A giant spire which could hold the mystery to the Keeps downfall. The exploration was cut short when we completed the second quest. We evaced out to return it and pickup the third part. Left: The largest section to the Keep, what mysteries are inside?

With all the evidence, the NPC told us that part of the destruction was down to a large crystal in the Keep grounds. This crystal was corrupting all the creatures that settled near it. We were sent to find the location of the crystal and slay any beasts near it. We entered through the front gates and with an extra member we sped through the entrance (with no trains!). Deeper into the Keep we had to make a decision to go left or right - we chose left and after some unnecessary clearing did we discover it was the wrong way. We took the right turn and we found a mound of beetles and giant spiders.

Before evacing out to turn in the quest, we checked out the Spires' door, it was firmly locked - perhaps there's another way in? Instead of using evac to return the quest, I chose to stay behind while the rest of the group evaced and I summoned them back in after they picked up the next quest - it saves alot of time. Once everyone was in, I evaced out, picked up the next quest and the Cleric summoned me back - why didn't we think of this sooner? Left: What goes on behind closed doors?

The next part of the quest required us to visit two rooms underground. One containing a blue flame and one containing a red flame. These rooms apparently held some mystery that is Trengal Keep (hey it's getting late and I was tired, I didn't read the quest log ok?). We found the entrance and descended into the darkness. Inside were corridors lined with orcs, goblins and little spiders (which, by the way are tougher than they look). We found the first room with the blue flame and completed the first bit - just the red to go (sounds easy?).

Moving into the next room, we pulled too many and wiped. This was around 1am GMT, and two others in the group said it was 3am. Another attempt would mean fighting to the dungeon again, so we agreed to call it a night. It was a shame to end the night like this, but we agreed to continue the next day.
To write this blog has taken me a few hours, and the night itself lasted about 4. Vanguard may certainly have problems including group members crashing to desktop throughout the night. However, this was the best fun I've had in an MMO, spending a few hours crawling through a dungeon and meeting some great people along the way.

The next day I logged on to find two people from last nights party ready to continue to quest line. After waiting a little longer for the others, we decided to continue without them. After a few minutes of spamming general we had our other 3 members. We were lucky enough that one of those members was a bard. With the help of his invis song, we were at last nights location in minutes. With half of the quest already complete, we finished the second part with little effort.

Returning to the NPC that I still can't remember the name of, he gave us the 5th part of the quest line. For this he told us he had an accomplice who is helping him find out the mystery behind Trengal Keep. Her name was Sage something (I'm not good with names ok?) and she was located in another wing of Trengal Keep accessible through a backdoor. Left: The secret entrance into Trengal Keep.

Fighting up over the battlements and climbing over broken walls, we fought the way to where the Sage was being held captive. Once at her tower, she gave us the final quest - part 6. At this point we all decided on a break.

Deep within Trengal Keep lies the answer to all the questions. For the final part of the quest line we had to venture deep underneath Trengal Keep. Vague directions as to where the entrance was from the "all knowing" sage meant we had to do a little searching. Luckily this gave us an excuse to kill some orcs for the "kill 50 orcs" part of the quest - did I forget to mention that? oh, it's because it's so unappealing.

With the help of our bards invisibility song, we found the dungeon located near the centre of the ruined courtyard. As we descended, I noticed the work the devs had put into this part of the dungeon, setting the scene for what could only be an epic ending. There was a thick lair of fog on the ground, and a huge stalagmite protruding from the floor and breaking though the ceiling. Right: Shrouded by the rubble and destruction there is a hidden entrance.

At this point, the puzzle became clear: the destruction of Trengal Keep, the strange power sources, the abominations not native to the Keep. When Karujin smashed the altar, he summoned a powerful being into Telon. The orcs of Trengal know this being as "Koth Teros". With Koth Teros came the power crystals, which in turn mutated the spiders and beetles. Sage Ezelun left a great question, which could spawn a sequel to this story line: Why is Koth Teros and his minions confined to the keep? A being with such power could destroy Thestra. A question I had was where is Koth Teros? Unless he had already been killed by another group, why didn't I see him?

Is he in hiding? leaving the the mysterious Karujin to do his bidding? Perhaps the devs have grander ideas for Koth Teros. A raid mob perhaps? Time will tell.

The questline has been an unique experience. Having not played many MMOs, I have nothing to compare this adventure to. One thing that is exciting is the fact that there are many, many more quest lines like this and I look forward to them and just as much to blogging them.

I never had the intention of starting a Vanguard blog, however after reading Journeys with Jaye I was inspired. The game needs more of these to showcase what a good game it really is. If you're reading this, and having thought about trying Vanguard, I hope I too have inspired you to try it.