Guide to Item of the Week Farming

Guide to Item of the Week Farming
Background: Every week, Nicholas the Traveler requests a different item in exchange for Gifts of the Traveler. These items of the week end up being very valuable for a short period, since the gifts can usually be sold for – (and opening the gifts yields valuable items). Veteran players usually have no trouble farming the item using advanced (although standard) builds and they have access to the ideal farming locations. This guide, however, is designed to help the relatively new player, who has fewer skills and might need to unlock the farming area.

Summary

 * Item: Scorched Lodestones
 * Found In: Ascalon Foothills, Diessa Lowlands, Pockmark Flats, Regent Valley,
 * Dropped by: Boulder Elemental, Hulking Stone Elemental, Stone Elemental, Stone Fury

Getting to Nick
Nicholas the Traveler is located in Old Ascalon, west of Sardelac Sanitarium (see map)

Farming for Scorched Lodestones

 * Suggested Farm #1: exit the Serenity Temple and make a brief loop through Pockmark Flats (as shown). Any L20 character should be able to solo this using any build.

Threats & Recommended Skills

 * Tactics: foes that drop Scorched Lodestones are L8 or less, so L20 characters only have to worry about how to dispatch the elementals more quickly. Aggro a group, wait for them to ball up, and use AoE damage spells to take them down.


 * Threats: presuming that you have at least one L20 character with access to Ascalon, none of the foes will present much of a threat. If you want, bring a well-balanced skillbar that includes hex and condition removal, healing, with the remaining 5 skills dedicated to damage.


 * Recommended Skills: (see above)

Solo Farming

 * This is a great week to try out solo farming for the first time or practice using a new build. As mentioned above, any L20 character should be able to safely farm without paying too much attention.

Summary

 * Item: Frostfire Fangs
 * Found In: Anvil Rock &amp; Iron Horse Mine
 * Dropped by: Frostfire Dryders

Getting to Nick
Nicholas the Traveler is located close to both Ice Tooth Cave and Frost Gate. The path from the cave is much easier, as you don't have to confront a horde of foes after exiting. However, none of the enemies are high level, so only low level parties will notice.

Farming for Frostfire Fangs

 * Suggested Farm #1: It's easier to farm the dryders in Iron Horse Mine because there are more of them closer together, the bosses are nearby, there are few non-dryder foes, and there is only a small amount of backtracking. To reach Iron Horse Mine, exit Ice Cave and turn right, heading due east. You'll encounter mostly minotaurs and a few dryders. Once in Iron Horse, follow the indicated path (which avoids the large clumps of Stone Summit Dwarves).

Threats & Recommended Skills

 * Tactics: The dryders attack at range using degenerative skills, so it helps to have a party that can attack at distance. This week's enemy doesn't come in big groups, so it's hard to over-aggro unless you run into the dwarves.


 * Threats: Degenerative hexes, especially from a few of the bosses. However, as even they are only L12, only low level groups are seriously threatened.


 * Recommended Skills: any distance attacks work well. AoE damage is not very useful, since the dryders rarely clump together.

Solo Farming

 * This is another good week to try your hand at solo farming, as nearly any L20 character should be able to manage. Bring at least one spammable healing or regenerative skill plus distance attacks.
 * For veteran soloists, any build will work fine; those that depend on AoE damage will work (they just won't be as fast).

Summary

 * Item: 2 Forest Minotaur Horns
 * Found In: The Black Curtain, Kessex Peak, Talmark Wilderness
 * Dropped by: Forest Minotaurs

Getting to Nick
Nicholas the Traveler is located in Kessex Peak, on the West Coast, roughly north of Verata the Necromancer's location. See the map for details.

Farming for Forest Minotaur Horns



 * Suggested Farm #1: Exit the Temple of the Ages, heading southwest to a resurrection shrine, then south along a ridge which will force you to go to the East towards the Kessex Peak portal. As you approach the portal, you'll find about 12-18 of the Minotaurs with another 6-10 past the portal. Rezone through the portal.

Threats & Recommended Skills

 * Tactics: Any anti-melee team will make short work of the minos. An especially effective method is to use a Tank to ball up the beasts and drop them quickly with strong AoE skills such as Meteor Shower.


 * Threats: The minotaurs themselves are not much of a threat; they only have a strong melee attack. However, reaching them requires making your way through Reed Stalkers and various Undead, some of whom use Mark of Subversion.


 * Recommended Skills: Bring counters to poison (from the swamps) and to hexes (from the Undead). Alternatively, you can bring 1-2 quick healing spells or spirits. Alternative, L20 players and heroes can ignore any non-minotaur foe and run (or walk quickly) to the farm and/or to Nick.

Solo Farming

 * Run to the minotaurs (you should be able to safely ignore the few enemies on the way). For AoE builds, ball up as many minotaurs as you can before attacking.
 * If your soloist has trouble reaching the minotaurs, bring a full h/h party to help you reach the spot and then flag the heroes out of loot range.
 * These standard builds will be successful: 55 Spoil Victor, 600/Smite, 130 Dervish, Perma-Sliver, Spirit Spammer
 * These non-standard/older builds also work well: Raptor Farmer, Raven Blessing.