Thanx to TheTank, Chryssa and online guides for the info.
What's Taloc's Hollow?
A solo instance, for players 51 - 55 level.
Is it for Elyos or Asmodeans?
Both.
Why is this "Taloc's Hollow" of interest?
Because it has drops, quests, exp, gather. One of the quests unlocks stigma slot. You get jewels, godstones, armor and even weapon. Rumors have it that even gold weapons drop!
One of the drops you can (realistically) hope
to get - that or the equivalent for melee classes.
When can I enter Taloc's Hollow?
Should be lvl 51 to 55. Should have traveled to Balaurea (needs quests).
BTW these two quests give excellent blue lvl 51 greaves.
Where is Taloc's Hollow?
South West Inggison (Taloc's Forest). Need to use a very short air-draft to approach Taloc's Forest.
How often can I enter the instance?
There is a cooldown of 46 hours.
How does it look, inside?
Check the image below. For a far better map, go to
yellowgremlins.
If I die, where do I get up?
Kisk. Use a kisk before you enter the first time. Otherwise you will get up wherever you are bound.
How long does it take?
You can stay as long as you like, estimate around 2 hours.
What quests are there for Elyos?
A Hard Seed to Crack (5
suspicious yellow sacks, 2.1m exp),
The Wounds of Change (1.8m exp), With Friends Like These (),
Death to the Queen (6 mithril coins, 2.3m exp),
Mysterious Seed (5 mithril coins, 2.1m exp).
Some of them are repeatable. Some others have a time limit - if you don't make it you get less coins as a reward.
What quests are there for Asmos?
A Hard Seed to Crack (),
Soiled Soil (1.1m exp),
The
Lost Tome (),
The
Struggle Within (2.7m),
Mysterious Seed (5 mithril coins, 2.3m exp),
Spawning the Sap Suckers (6 mithril coins, 2.3m exp).
Some of them are repeatable. Some others have a time limit - if you don't make it you get less coins as a reward.
What can I gather?
Voluspar (440),
Tinga (430),
Kuvano (420),
Gossam (410).
Magical Aether on the floor (400, 425, 450).
Where is the shulack NPC trader;
Hidden in a cave, behind the waterfall, very close and at the same lvl (height) with the NPC that you will save from a spider. The entrance to the cave is covered with plants, you will need a special item to get in (dorkin's knife - drops from saved NPC). From this trader you can purchase a special item to open-up the egg behind him. You can also purchase the fertiliser needed for another quest, so if it is your first time in the instance, be sure to buy it.
Where will I find the journal/booklet I need for my quest?
When you kill the final boss, before talking to Taloc to exit the instance, look among the midst, on the floor of the boss room. There is a small item (the book!), which you can use if you have the quest.
Where are the 6 "contaminated soil"? Where is "core"?
Check the map that Chryssa made (6+1 points marked).
What will I do in there??
Check the walk-through below.
WaLkThRoUgH
Talk to Taloc and enter the instance. Once inside, you see him again, this time you get quests and some items.
One item transforms you into a tree-man with 95k (or more) HP and 54k MP. Second item gives you an AoE attack of 2.5k damage.
In the next room, the enemies start - almost all of them elites lvl 51-52. One of the first ones you face, the bigger spider, will drop another useful
item which does a 7k damage ranged attack.
As you move along, keep an eye out for "piles", they have items needed for one of the quests. Also check for the
"fountains" which regen your HP and MP.
Continue up the ramp to the next room, where you will find three cocoons. You can release one captive, who will be your (NPC) helper. One is a cleric, second is a tank, third is empty. Rumors have it that the cleric is not very helpful, he heals only when HP too low, and most people prefer the tank. I will take the tank anyway, being a healer.
Proceed up to the left and you will come up to the entrance to a room on the right (entrance full of webs). In there you will find a mini RB which drops the next helpful
item with a shielding effect.
Fight..fight..fight..
First boss: Clear the space around the boss (especially in front) before engaging him. Heed Taloc's advice (from the cutscene) on how to fight him.
Proceed up the trail of the tree-truck, fighting the mobs. At some point you will have to pass between some tentacles without getting hit (another Mario-inspired idea?). Keep going, another big spider will drop a helpful
item which does mass sleep skill.
Somewhere there, you can help an NPC attacked by a mob. If you do, you get a gift plus a small knife. This allows entrance to the
secret trader room. The entrance of this room is very close to the place the NPC is, behind the waterfall (same level as the NPC).
Second boss: Heed Taloc's advice from the cutscene. Follow the boss and kill all mobs in the area (they are non-elites, so you can AoE each group). Then engage the RB. Adds are better killed before they grow up, while still eggs, by AoE attack. If u don't deal with them, they will attack you.
Finding the final boss: Break the giant egg in the center of the room, while facing the way you came. Get in the mist and hit your space bar to open your wings. This way you will float up. There you will find groups of elites which you will need to AoE. Looking towards the direction you came (although in another level), you should be looking at the final RB room. Hack and slash to get there..
Final boss: Lots of grabs, jerks and stuns (like telepathy controller). It takes a long time to kill, because it has lots of hp (but so do you). Use the items' skills as much as possible. You can ignore the adds, they disappear after a while.
When you manage to kill the final boss, Taloc appears again. Hand in the quests and he teleports you outside with all your drops rewards!
More info:
