The Villainy of Galrath

Overview


Summary
 * 1) Seek out Galrath at the Wizard's Tower south of The Black Curtain. Put an end to his villainy.
 * 2) Return to Firstwatch Sergio [Skills] for your reward.

Obtained from
 * Firstwatch Sergio in Lion's Arch.

Requirements
 * None.

Reward
 * 4,000 XP
 * Cruel Staff
 * Dark damage 7-13 (req. 6 Blood Magic)
 * Damage +15% (vs hexed foes)
 * Armor +5 (while attacking)
 * Furious Long Sword of Fortitude
 * Slashing damage 13-19 (req. 6 Swordsmanship)
 * Health +25
 * Double Adrenaline on hit (Chance: 10%)

Dialogue
 * "Galrath must be stopped! If he gains whatever secrets are locked within the Wizard's Tower, gods be merciful, I know not who to trust within the Lionguard. So many I thought beyond reproach were still loyal to him. I need an outsider to find Galrath and put an end to his villainy. You are the only one who has a chance of defeating him."

Reward Dialogue
 * "The people of Kryta may finally sleep easy, knowing Galrath will never return to do them harm again."

Walkthrough
Tip: You can also pick up the quest The False Gods from the Temple and do it on the way. It is a short detour to the west just outside the entrance.

Tip: Aspirers for the Survivor title should be wary of this quest.

The best way to start this quest is from the Temple of the Ages. Henchmen there are L15 and party size is increased to eight, which gives you very good survivability. To reach the Temple, start from the Bergen Hot Springs. There are often groups of players forming here specifically to go to the Temple, but if one is not available, your basic path is going to be: west to the Cursed Lands, then west or northwest to the Black Curtain. The Temple of the Ages is in the central northern part of the Black Curtain.

Once you've reached the Temple, your objective is the southwestern tip of Kessex Peak.

Take your party (full henchmen is fine) south from the temple, following the terrain as it pushes you easterly. There should be a Bone Dragon on the way. When the ridge you've been following disappears, head straight south; you'll be entering poisoned swamp waters, now, so be sure to periodically hit dry land to heal back up. The dangers of the water are compounded by the Necrid Horseman you run across (near point A); they can Animate Bone Horror and cause all kinds of havoc. If possible, take them out first, then concentrate on others. Beware as their patrols are constantly moving and at great speed. Also, in this area you may encounter a Damned Cleric or two. If you attack them, beware that two Smoke Phantoms and a Wraith will appear with each cleric.

The entrance to Kessex Peak is in the southeast corner. Fight the undead and other beasts west through the swamp, then south at your first opportunity. If you're on the right track, the swamp should clear up pretty quick and, moving east, you'll start running into small groups of Forest Minotaur (point B). It is also possible to make good time on this part by outrunning, avoiding and/or waiting for enemy groups.

Once you've entered the Peak, you have some more swamp to wade through. Hug the western ridge as you move through the waters, and in short order you should find a path leading out of the swamp. Take it! (every unnecessary step you take in the swamp will produce more Reed Stalkers, Spined Aloe and Fog Nightmares for you to fight.) You'll start running into minotaurs again, as well as fen trolls and their level 24 boss, but the largest clumps can be run past without too much trouble. Follow the path as it winds its way west, south, and east.

You should be coming up on a series of terraced plateaus; at the top is Galrath, along with some weak level 11 Bandits. The real challenge may be the small groups of Apprentices of Verata and similar enemies lurking on the way up (point C). There should only be two or three small groups, but they can present a challenge.

Tip: The Verata's Apprentices like to spawn Bone Fiends. Take a skill or two that consume corpses. As foes (or friends) die, consume the corpses so that the Apprentices can't spawn any fiends.

Tip: There is a good cliff for fighting the Verata's Apprentices to the south of Point C. If you go around the loop east of Point C, you can position your ranged fighters and casters on this hill. It protects them from danger as your melee fighters fight it out on the ground.

Tip: It is actually easier to sneak at the edge of the hill to Galrath after killing the groups at the bottom of Point C.

Tip: It is also easier to sneak past the groups at the bottom of Point C. Only the ones you inadvertently aggro will attack and follow. Keep running uphill until they either leave you and your party alone or there's few enough left for you to beat comfortably.

Tip: It is possible to lure the neighboring Giants into distracting the Verata.

Tip: To easily kill Galrath and bypass all the Verata's Apprentices, bring a MM necromancer in the party. At the edge of the plateau Galrath stands will be 2-3 level 11 Bandits. Kill them, and have the necromancer use Consume Corpse or Necrotic Traversal to teleport to one of the corpses and then raise a minion or two from the remaining Bandit corpses. A short distance to the left will be another small group of 2-3 level 11 Bandits which can easily be killed using the raised minions, creating more corpses from which to increase the necromancer's army. Finally, the necromancer can head directly to kill Galrath and kill him with their 3-5 minions, completely avoiding all the Verata's Apprentices. Shambling Horrors work best in this case as their death will only create a more powerful minion. A word of caution, if there are NPC's in your party, make sure you flag them to the spot below the cliff, or when you traverse to the top of the cliff they will run to you and could aggro the Verata's Apprentices.

Galrath himself can be found at point D by the Wizard's Tower (see picture) and is fairly easy. He and his cronies can be dispatched with a minimal amount of effort.

Note

 * You can salvage the +25hp and/or perfect Furious sword upgrades off of the sword Sergio gives for the reward.
 * You only have to defeat Galrath to get credit for the quest; you do not need to defeat any of his bandit guards nor the cultists who block the way.