Catacombs of Kathandrax

Description
''Remnants of the Ebon Vanguard survived in the Catacombs of Kathandrax. While on a mission to recover a legendary weapon, they were ambushed by overwhelming Charr forces. Captain Langmar made it clear to his [sic] troops: recovering Kathandrax's Crusher was of the utmost importance. Broken and weary, the remaining Vanguard found little solace, for they found the caves infested with fire elementals and other terrible creatures. Their numbers few, they no longer had the strength to reach the artifact. Because its immense power would surely aid the Ebon Vanguard in the ongoing battle against the Charr, we had no choice but to help them retrieve it. Kathadrax'smisspelled Kathandrax [sic] Crusher was hidden deep beneath the raging fires of Sacnoth Valley, protected by a fiery elemental lord.''

Catacombs of Kathandrax is a three-floor dungeon. The objective is to kill Ilsundur, Lord of Fire, who is the final boss here. To receive the quest Kathandrax's Crusher for the dungeon, talk with Swithin Nye near the entrance.

Getting There
Catacombs of Kathandrax is located in the South East of Sacnoth Valley

NPCs

 * Collectors
 * 20 Sark (level 1)
 * Various:
 * 1 Beacon of Droknar

Monsters

 * Djinns:
 * 24 (26) Burning Spirit (level 3)
 * 20 (26) Becalmed Djinn (level 3)
 * Ettins:
 * 28 (30) Forge Master (level 1)
 * Elementals:
 * 20 (26) Roaring Ether (levels 1 and 2)
 * 24 (26) Flowstone Elemental (levels 2 and 3)
 * Enchanted Weapons:
 * 24 (26) Enchanted Sword (levels 1 and 2)
 * Imps:
 * 24 (26) Forge Imp (level 2)
 * Ooze:
 * 24 (26) Magma Blister (levels 1, 2 and 3)
 * 20 (26) Ominous Ooze (level 2)
 * Plants
 * 20 (26) Cave Aloe (level 2)
 * Spiders:
 * 20 (26) Needling Lavastrider (levels 1 and 2)
 * 24 (26) Needling Lavastrider (level 3)
 * 20 (26) Deadly Lavastrider (levels 1, 2, and 3)
 * Wurms:
 * 24 (26) Infernal Wurm (level 2)
 * 24 (26) Raging Infernal Wurm (Level 2)
 * 24 (26) Infernal Siege Wurm (levels 1, 2 and 3)
 * Various:
 * 20 (26) Flame Guardian (levels 1 and 3)

Bosses

 * Djinn:


 * 28 (30) Flame Djinn (Flourish) (Boss Key for Level 3)
 * Elemental:
 * 28 (30) Regent of Flame (Savannah Heat) (Dungeon Key for Level 2 also seen as a Boss in Level 1)
 * Wurm:
 * 24 (26) Infernal Siege Wurm (Dungeon Key for Level 1)

Boss-like foes

 * Djinn:
 * 29 (32) Ilsundur, Lord of Fire (Level 3)

Level 1
The mobs in the first level are generally small and spaced out and can easily be pulled if needed. The Flame Jets are generally not a problem, but the Fire Darts can be annoying. There are several pop-ups of Needling Lavastrider near the two Area Maps and near the end of the Dungeon, but they are all easily dealt with. The Roaring Ethers have a Resurrection Signet that they can cast very quickly on their fallen party members. Killing the Flame Guardian in the room east of the furnaces is highly recommended as doing so will disable all traps. An Infernal Siege Wurm must be killed in order to retrieve the Dungeon Key. If you enter from the furnace room, it can easily be killed from atop the bluff with minimal damage taken. Once past the Dungeon Gate, there is a Regent of Flame, which is a Fire Magic Elementalist Boss. There are several small mobs in the same room, but the Regent of Flame can easily be pulled with only its two companion Enchanted Swords.

Level 2
The first group of enemies are easily aggroed and can all attack at once, leading to a long, if not deadly, battle. On the path to the northern Area Map is a lone Regent of Flame that is easily killed. Another Regent of Flame is located in the southern area and drops the Dungeon Key on its death. Just past the Dungeon Gate, an Infernal Wurm will pop-up amidst several other enemies. Luckily it does not do much. Later along the path is an Infernal Siege Wurm that uses Wurm Siege. Interrupts will be useful here as Wurm Siege is a spell. There is a short path on the left where another Infernal Wurm will pop-up. After this, there are two Infernal Siege Wurms in a pit of lava by the path. They can be avoided, but it is only advised to fight them if your team is mostly ranged and has interrupts. In the next and final room, there are two Infernal Siege Wurms and a Raging Infernal Wurm will pop-up right in the middle. The area is also populated with Forge Imps and occasional Needling Lavastrider pop-ups.

Level 3
Immediately when you enter, there is a large room with several Becalmed Djinn and Spider mobs]]. Killing any one of the Djinn will cause all the mobs to run in different directions. If you are not careful, this will cause several groups to aggro you at once. Many of the groups can still be pulled, and retreating to the very starting point will prevent more from being aggroed. The next room has the same set-up. After that though, there will be the Boss Door. In front of it, a Flame Djinn will pop-up and will drop the Boss Key upon death. See it's page for tips to defeating it. In the next area, there is an area with several mobs and some Flame Dart traps. After that area, there are two Infernal Siege Wurms and a small group with a Flame Guardian. Each Infernal Siege Wurm can be killed without aggroing the Flame Guardian group by using ranged attacks and spells. The next room is divided by a river of lava, over which there are several stone bridges with Flame Jets at both ends. This cramped room has three Infernal Siege Wurms and several Burning Spirits and Forge Imps. On the eastern side, there is a group with another Flame Guardian. Killing the Flame Guardian will disable the Flame Jets, making traveling through much easier. With decent party-wide healing, the Wurms should not be much more than a minor nuisance and your group should focus on the Burning Spirits. After this room is the boss, Ilsundur, Lord of Fire.

Ilsundur, Lord of Fire
At the start of the boss fight, two giant fireballs appear around Ilsundur and start to roll around the boss area in a circular path. When fighting Ilsundur, it is recommended to bring dazing or knockdown skills to interrupt his spells. Ilsundur uses the skill Firebomb, which causes the Firebomb to be "caught" by a member of your party. The Firebomb is a bundle that will explode after 5 seconds, causing a Firebomb Explosion. You must drop the Firebomb and stay away from it in order to avoid the explosion (henchmen will take it out of range of the party, but not drop it, taking the damage themselves). Interrupts are very useful, preventing Ilsundur's powerful AoE spells. Life stealing and degeneration are also helpful as they bypass the effect of Shield of Fire. You can easily defeat Ilsundur, even in hard mode with just Pain Inverter and a hench party. Flag all the hero/hench into a tight ball just outside Ilsundur's aggro and wait for a boulder to come near, then cast Pain Inverter on Ilsundur and run yourself into the boulder. The boss will nuke himself and you will not suffer death penalty unless Shield of Fire killed you, allowing you to do this over and over (usually 4 to 5 times) until the boss is defeated.

Tips

 * If using Henchmen, Devona and Zho are particularly useful for this dungeon. Devona's skill set has 4 knockdown skills and Zho packs Broadhead Arrow as well as two interrupts.
 * Minions are not as useful here as in many areas because they can easily be destroyed by the Fire Elementalists and the Magma Blisters use Consume Corpse.
 * Burning is a nearly constant problem in this dungeon. Extinguish and Breath of the Great Dwarf are effective remedies; Light of Deliverance is very useful for party-wide healing due to degeneration.
 * Ward Against Harm is of particular use in this dungeon, as are other skills against Fire damage.
 * Killing Flame Guardians disables traps.
 * The dungeon up to the final boss is easily accomplished with heroes equipped with Frigid Armor.
 * As of the February 29th, 2008 game update, health regeneration has been removed from Ilsundur "to be consistent with other dungeon boss encounters and to reduce the difficulty of the encounter".

Light of Deldrimor Rewards
Dwarven Ghosts on level 1 Hidden Treasure on level 1  Hidden Treasure on level 2 Hidden Treasure on level 3
 * At the Beacon of Droknar near the northen area map.
 * At the Beacon of Droknar just above the dungeon key location.
 * At the Beacon of Droknar at the dungeon lock.
 * Two in the large furnace room. One near southern furnace and one between the two furnaces.
 * In the room with the Dungeon Key.
 * Near Area Map just past dungeon door
 * Last room to right of bridge just before dungeon level exit.
 * One at each area map.
 * At the second Resurrection Shrine (note : its not a Beacon of Droknar), on your way to the dungeon key, in the middle of the first 'hall' you go through.
 * Just behind the Regent of Flame that drops the dungeon key.
 * Sometimes one before dungeon gate
 * Sometimes there is one in lava
 * In the middle of the first room, near the Beacon of Droknar.
 * In the second room past the boss lock, near the fire dart in the south-west (opposite to the Area Map).
 * The third room (past the first flame guardian), close to the entrance. (sometimes two in this area)

Rewards

 * When opened, the Chest of Kathandrax spawns Kathandrax's Crusher and 1 item for each player (2 in Hard Mode)
 * Items rewards may be:
 * A Unique item exclusive to this chest:
 * Ilsundur's Rod
 * Ilsundur's Focus
 * Ilsundur's Staff
 * A gold item
 * Weapon exclusive to this reward chest:
 * Astral Staff
 * Emerald Blade
 * Rare crafting materials
 * Diamond
 * Onyx Gemstone
 * A Ruby Djinn Polymock Piece
 * 1500 Ebon Vanguard reputation points (2250 in Hard Mode)
 * 750 Ebon Vanguard reputation points for subsequent completions (1125 in Hard Mode)

Trivia

 * Level 2 has the same physical layout as level 1 of Rragar's Menagerie.