How the ancient zandri pyramid architects botched (Exploration)

Since i like to know my surroundings properly, I went for a proper exploration tour into the Land of the Dead. Before i tell you how the ancient zandri architects messed up the large pyramid at the Temple of Ualatp, lets talk about the other things to find in LotD. There are four glyphs spread out over the zone that will yield an achievment tome unlock each. Tells you an interesting story how the scepter was broken in four pieces and of the casket of souls - don't want to spoil it for you. Should you have trouble finding them, the maps that were spread out over the fanpages for the last event have all marked one glyph on them (nice touch!). There are also a few hidden quests that yield a scarab and in addition some trash item with flavour text, not sure if you can do something with those or not.


In some remote locations there are also small camps with either bandits or skeleton workers that are usually commanded by one of the different disciples. I have no idea what these are for, maybe later during the key of zandri (?) questline you have to find them? Beside those disciples there is nothing really interesting to find in those camps, at least i could not see anything else to interact with.


One really weird thing i ran into the first day exploring the zone is a zombie named "Test". He runs around the whole zone, across the river and through mountains. Hes running quite fast as well. First time he crossed my field of vision i was like "WTF?!?" You can't target or interact with him tho. I wonder what kind of purpose this kind of test mob could have for zone development? Maybe hes running around everywhere randomly and tested for places you can get stuck in? Who knows... *shrugs*

The next weird thing i encountered are groups of spirits/ghosts walking the desert. You can encounter them "from" your own faction or the enemy one. Both groups will disappear once you get too close to them. What is the purpose of those illusions? I don't know, but when you get near the library in the southern part of LotD you can get a glimpse at a mysterious "Mirage Controller" on one of the column structures. It's hard to see or to spot and i could not find any way to get up there or to interact with it.

Now you finally wonder what proof i have the ancient zandri pyramid architects botched? Well, i found a way to bypass all those invisible walls (that really destroy the immersion btw, bad design IMO) you encounter in the zone. Usually there is the "teleport out security" in place, but it has holes and you can bypass it. You can access two areas (at least i found so far) called "zone 306" and "zone 304" this way. The areas are vast desert/mountain parts without anything interesting i could find. BUT, you can access the large pyramid at the Temple of Ualatp from the backside. I tried to climb the huge pyramid, but you can't. :( The thing you can see on the screenshot is, the pyramid got no wall on the back. Ergo there is no collision and you can pass through the inside of it.

The bad thing about this is, you'll end up *below* the floor next to the pyramid - where the architect/glyph PQ is. This could be exploited, since its an RvR zone, you can see everything that goes on above and there are parts you can get up to appear on the floor level again. I'm sure (did not try) you could also attack players there while being below the floor or surfacing at parts where the other players can't access you. This needs to be fixed by Mythic. Luckily it won't be many players that will find the way anway, but you never know. It's not possible to access rooms from there you can't access from the normal floor level. I did not jump of the edge of the world down there, no idea what will happen. Here are a few more pictures from below the pyramid. If you find anything else interesting while exploring, feel free to share with us in the comments. There is also a place up in the mountains where Dwarf miners do their business and you can trigger areas that will port you directly into the library of Zandri. Happy Hunting!

Beyond the Kraken Sea towards the GM Castle

Edit: Like the date indicates, this entire post was my April Fool's joke for you guys. Gotcha! =)

Those of you that like to explore will know there are certain places in WAR that are called "dangerous territory" and are unused areas or parts of the map you're not supposed to be in. Many places have some kind of teleport security in place, if you trigger it you'll be ported to your binding location. Some places have "security holes" and you can explore into the unused zones. Usually its not very exciting, just vast emptiness... But do you remember the GM island in WoW? Well, there is a similar place in one of the unused zones in WAR. Its the only place i found so far that looks like a game designer joke placed there in case someone would find it. The area is only sparsely designed and its not that many ojects there, but it includes a larger castle and more important: A QUEST GIVER!



Description how to get there: Fly to Eataine and ride towards the place marked on the map close to the PQ. Behind the tower is a small slope that leads up into the mountains and can be climbed. Once up, comes the hard part as you'll be entering dangerous territory and your map & minimap are useless there, ergo no system of coordinates to use. I'll give you the direction as good as i can, but its really easy to get lost up there and lose your way. Once you have been there, you'll understand why as it all looks the same. Even i could not find the area one day and got lost. Incoming Pull blog has been there recently as well (and posted a video about it), but i assume he did not find the way to the GM Castle since its not very obvious.

Word of warning: If you dismount in the dangerous territory you won't be able to mount up again. You can ride around on your mount just fine, but its not possible to remount by whatever reason.

Once you ride up the mountain try to keep NW (orientation from your viewing point, not from the last map location) and look for a huge steep face "wall" you can't climb. In that zone are three different of these kind of huge walls that look similar, but only one can't be climbed to the left or right side - that's the one you need to find. The other two you can go up slopes to the sides. Since everything up there looks the same and there is not much you can take for orientation, you'll just have to ride around and search some. Maybe if i find the time to clean up my HD i could create a video as well, but no promises. At the base of the steep chasm wall, in one small jagged corner approximately in the middle, you'll find the "First Journal of Aperire" on the floor. Using the book will teleport you to the top of the wall you can't climb otherwise.

On top of that mountain luckily you can mount up again. Behind you is like a smaller mountain range and you want to take your way around it to the left. After a short while you'll be able to leave the mountains behind you and you'll see a larger structure in the distance. You nearly made it! The place has a small castle in the back and a tent in front of it. Strangely enough the castle and the trees right next to it don't have any textures for me. Dunno if its because the place is unfinished (sure looks like that) or if its me. But i don't have any other texture problems ingame. There is a lonely unicorn walking in large circles around that place. You can't interact or target it in any way tho. In front of the tent is a humanoid named Pentu Ratlab and he is a quest giver! Else there is not much to see, beside a few trees the area is the same vast emptiness like the rest of the dangerous territory.


Not only skipped my heart a beat when i found the area, but i would not have expected to find a quest giver there. The quest itself tells you about a clan of Troglagobs that stole a magic book. Doing some research via internet provided me with the info that Troglagobs are a race of aquatic goblins: "Troglagobs are by far one of the more unusual types of Goblins. They are Goblins that dwell in the sea, making coastal raids against the Empire, Tilea and even raiding the shores of Ulthuan and Lustria. Recently, many of these ocean dwelling Goblins have been sighted on Albion in great numbers, in the muddy southern tip of the island that has come to be known as Trogland. Troglagobs can have greenish skin like their Goblin cousins, though most tend to reflect a more seaish green such as turquoise or similar blue green color. The hands and feet are webbed like that of a frog making them exelent swimmers with exceptional speed. Troglagobs actually have both gills and lungs, allowing them to breathe comfortably above and below water. However they will not venture too far from their aquatic habitat, as they need to refresh themselves at least every few days of else they will dry up and die."

There is a large water surface (endless sea?) to the right side of the castle area where the ground goes down quickly. So supposedly thats where the aquatic goblins came from. But be careful not to step into the cold water, as you'll drown and die very quickly from taking drowning damage. Nothing else to find when i searched the area, no real shore either. The quest asks you to find the book somehwere in dangerous territory, which could basicly be everywhere. The reward shows a key trophy (why is this uncommon and not epic?) and the quest text tells you about entrance into the castle to claim your reward. If the reward is that trophy or something else is unknown to me. But would be cool to enter that game master (GM?) castle and possibly being able to re-enter while wearing the key?

Since there are so many different areas with dangerous territory and its hard to search/navigate in them i figured its worth posting this secret quest so more explorers can help with the search. Maybe the quest is unfinished (since the castle structure seems to miss textures plus the place looks weird) and you can't complete it, but who knows? Would be awesome to be able to enter the game master castle and see whats behind the doors. Anyway, thought this post makes up for the still missing article about exploration in WAR i wanted to write for aeons. Happy hunting...

Winds of Chaos - Sacellum Arena

After exploring the Sacellum Arena we're ready to have a closer look at that strange portal in the back of those small floating islands. Did you reach it yet? Beside one or two things to discover on the way up there (have a closer look around, you might find people hanging around there) the portal itself is a magnificent sight. Using the portal will let you be a tiny snowflake in the Winds of Chaos. Where those winds will blow you? That's hard to say... every time you step through that portal you'll gain a short glimpse to another scene. Being a giant between tiny houses, an empty beach somewhere, flying ships... i could go on and describe it more, but i decided I'll spare you the words and let a few pictures speak for themselves. Be careful tho, who knows what happens if you follow the Winds of Chaos all too often? You might end up on the moon and never get back... use at one's own peril.

The Sacellum Arena - Inevitable City

You already know about the Sacellum dungeons (I'll post info on the other wings during the weekend) but what about that large arena structure that houses them? While exploring the city i assume most did have a peak there - and maybe got slaughtered by some of the fighting mobs in there. For a low level they are deadly and will kill you rather quickly. The huge giant Friderax is easy to spot. Usually hes chained and does not move, but from time to time the PQ "The Bigger They Are..." starts inside the arena. You have to collect 50 Dark Drought barrels at the guy on top of the stairs, run down into the arena and pour them into the giants cup (left back corner of the arena). Next part is to kill the drunken giant... right. We tried to advance it a bit but the time is short and you have to dodge all those mobs inside the arena, when they are not occupied fighting each other. Looks like it will be fun later on tho.

What more is inside the arena to find you ask? Quite a lot of other interesting things... If you run through the arena (use flee once you get attacked) there is a place at the top of the arena fighting pit where you'll find Lord Engra Deathsword and his counsellors, one does hand out the quest Test of the Arena (Sacellum dungeons). Engra seems like a powerful lord, better not disturb him for too long.

It should be noted that there is a quest inside the city where you have to find mushrooms (starts inside one of the taverns), one shroom grows on the arena floor.

Now turn around, behind the lord and his companions far in the back you can see a mysterious portal. It's possible to reach it by jumping from floating isle to isle, climbing some tunnels, etc. It's a marvellous view from up there, don't fall down tho. ;) The portal leads to the Winds of Chaos, which I'll write about later today. This will be a strange journey i can tell you... it's fun that there is so much to explore in warhammer online.


It's worth to have a closer look around while you make your way for the portal. There is a guard trying to kill a prisoner, giving you a tome unlock for the lore of the Inevitable City.
Sidenote: You wonder why this is the first tome unlock i write about? Well, i'll write about a lot of things and also explore places with you... but I'll not write about any title, tactic or item unlocks i found for the Tome of Knowledge. I might give you a pointer here and there, but i think some stuff should be left as a surprise. So the only ones I'll write about are history & lore related ones that can be found at strange places.