| Name | Faithful Departed: Protecting the Venerated |
| Category | Quest |
Not many players want to do the quest entitled "Faithful Departed". If you've done it once, you probably know how challenging it is to defend the Venerated from mobs consisting of several types of scorpions. There are tough Drow Scorpions of different classes (Cleric, Rogue, Wizard) and other nasty cast of characters: Death Stalkers, Darkfang Hunter, Elf Zombie, Monarch Scorpion, Drow Bard, Drow Disciple, Drow Hunters, Drow Guardians, Drow Warrior, Drow Wizard and the four scorrows: Takk, Ak'xan, Calar, Kas'san.
Your first try on elite could be pretty ugly, so it's highly recommended that you first try the quest on normal so you can come up with strategies to keep the Venerated alive, as well as your party members.
Before you worry about that, first head to The Golden Wing Inn over at House Phiarlan. Talk to Avanti Moonwillow to get the quest. Don't forget to bind with Brother Montalvo. Since you're in House P, you can get extended buffs from Fingalar d'Phiarlan. A 30-minute Bull's Strength and False Life would be great.
After speaking to Moonwillow, talk to Odonis Arkim who will then transport you to the Shrouded Vale. You can find him just next to the Tangleroot marker on the map.
Once you're inside the Shrouded Vale, there are little to no encounter. Just head south until you reach the cliff. If you make a wrong turn along the way, prepare to fight Drow Barbarians lurking in the area. If you get to the cliff alive, jump in the water and head east. There are a couple of Drow Sentries and Drow Barbarians, but they can be easily taken care of by your tanks. Head south until you reach the Tomb of the Ancients. This will be where all the action will take place.
Here are the primary and optional objectives of the quest:
Purge the Tomb of scorrow
Kill the scorrow Takk, and his minions
Kill the scorrow, Ak'xan
Kill the scorrow, Calar
Kill the scorrow, Kas'san
Protect the Venerated
(Optional)(Lore) Check the book on the pedestal
When you're inside the Tomb of the Ancients, start buffing up. It's highly likely that some party members would get Constitution and Strength Damage, so the Cleric should be ready with a restoration spell. Additional Hit Points from a Bard's Inspire Greatness would definitely help. It will also be a good idea to designate a back-up cleric because it can get nasty when you enter each of the rooms holding the Venerated.
When the group is ready, just head north. Along the way, you'd have some encounter with scorpions and drows, but they're relatively easy to kill. The path will curve to the east and this will lead you to the first room where you'd find the Venerated. Keep in mind that there'll be deadly drow scorpions and other mobs inside this room and they intend to kill the Venerated. As this is just the first room, your buffs might still be in place. If not, make sure to buff before you open the door. There'll be no time to do that once you're in the middle of a fierce encounter. Keep in mind that you have to protect the Venerated. You might mistaken him for an enemy (it does happen), so make sure you read the focus orb when hitting the tab key. There are times when the Venerated gets killed by friendly fire.
Now, there are several strategies to protect the Venerated, but there's some that work better than others. Just make sure not to cast any area of effect spells that will harm the Venerated. Also, don't try to heal him because it can kill him. Don't use mass heal.
The mobs consisting of drow scorpions, drow, and other similar monsters will definitely have a shot at the Venerated once you open the door. So, the first thing to do is to quickly get the aggro off the Venerated. This will be the job of the tanks. They'd have to run around the room to get aggro while the Cleric and the backup healer keep the tanks alive. The casters should then cast Solid Fog and Cloud Kill. The aggroed drow and scorpions would have to be led in that area. Cloud Kill is safe to use as it wouldn't kill the Venerated. However, the caster can gain aggro quickly after casting Cloud Kill. So, have the tanks ready to save the caster from death.
If your group can manage to keep the mobs running around and away from the Venerated, you can also cast a web around the Venerated. That will stop the mobs on their tracks while tanks deal damage and casters lay Cloud Kill. This works like a charm. And that's just the first room. There'll be a couple more along the way. So, use the same strategy. If the first one doesn't work, you can try to tweak a bit and perhaps ask a Bard to fascinate the drow, then the tank aggroes the higher CR Scorpions, then casters use Solid Fog and Cloud Kill. Be careful with the glancing blows at they can damage the Venerated as well. Timing is key. Think of these rooms as a prelude to an even more difficult final room.
Before you get to the last room, you'd reach a ledge. Buff like there's no tomorrow. Before you jump down, make sure to use Haste. You'd need it so you can run quickly up the stairs where the Venerated is. Ignore the drow along the way because if you spend time killing them, the Venerated might be destroyed before you actually get to him. Never range the drow from the ledge because you can get aggro and you'd have lots of drow attacking the group.
It's important to let each group member know their role in the quest. There should be a plan, and everyone should stick to it. This is doable on elite, you might get a couple of deaths or a near party-wipe, but if the abovementioned strategy is carefully implemented, you can protect the Venerated and survive the quest. You can then finish out and tell Aventi Moonwillow of your success. The loots and the reward are quite crappy, but it offers a decent amount of XP. Plus, you live to tell the tale of how you protected the Venerated (on elite too!)
Note: "The Venerated were elves that died selflessly while helping their brethren escape Xen'drik toward the end of the Age of Giants"
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