Editing AC2:Announcements - 2003/02 - Ambuscade (section)

== Defeating the Undead Invasion; Or, What's Up With This Saddle? ==
{{AC2 Article
 |  Link = microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC2/Episodes/ep3_mounts3.htm
 | Title = Defeating the Undead Invasion; Or, What's Up With This Saddle?
 |  Text = 

One of the more fascinating February quests concerns a new AC2 mechanic--mounts. After completing the Curse of the Undead quest, you receive three recipes for creating a magical saddle. Each saddle type summons an Ataur for a different length of time.
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There are five level ranges for this quest. When you complete higher levels of the quest, additional recipes for other Ataur are granted. These higher-level recipes summon Ataur that are faster and different in appearance. For instance, the Veldt Ataur (found on Omishan) is 26% faster than the Ley Ataur (found on Osteth). For more information, see Ataur Mount Specifications.

{{{!}}width=100%
{{!}} '''Region''' {{!}}{{!}} '''Level Range'''
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{{!}} Haunted Forests of Lost Wish (Osteth) {{!}}{{!}} 1-10
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{{!}} Prosper Fettermound (Osteth) {{!}}{{!}} 11-20
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{{!}} Lumari Spills Fettermound (Omishan) {{!}}{{!}} 21-30
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{{!}} Vesayan Isles (Omishan) {{!}}{{!}} 31-40
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{{!}} Rings of Oriad Fettermound (Linvak Massif {{!}}{{!}} 41-50
{{!}}}

To make the mounts accessible to all, the difficulty of all quest-related recipes is 0. In addition, the quest reward recipes (used to create the actual saddle) have a gold cost but no ingredient requirements. As the level of the mount increases, the gold cost also increases.
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For general information on mounts, see the Mounts in-game help topic.
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'''Quest Details'''
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The Curse of the Undead Quest occurs in five different regions spread over the three landmasses. In these regions, three types of invasion creatures can be found. In Phase 1, you must destroy a certain number of each type. Upon completion, you progress to Phase 2, where you use several quest recipes to craft specific items (all with a difficulty of 0), and ultimately create a saddle pattern. In the final phase, using the saddle pattern completes the quest and grants you a set of tiered recipes that summon a specific Ataur type for your use.
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''It had been two weeks since Matok had first heard the tales of infection spreading across the land. Rumors of things vaguely resembling normal inhabitants but reeking of corruption, led by skeletons mounted on undead beasts. Now, nearing the Haunted Forest, Matok realized the tales were true. Blackened and smoking land stretched before him. Small bolts of pain crawled up his legs and the tip of his tail and set his mind on edge… Suddenly, a flash of motion caught his eye. A wave of terror washed over him as a mounted skeleton and its army raced towards him. Resolutely, he faced the attack and began to sing of his death...''

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''Phase 1: Pushing Back the Undead Invasion''
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After downloading the February episode and logging in, you automatically receive the Curse of the Undead Quest at the appropriate level for your character.
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Each quest variant takes place in a specific region where the ground is blackened, any remaining vegetation is smoking, and glowing embers fall from the sky. It is immediately obvious that this is a forsaken place. In addition to the normal monster population, you will encounter an invasion group comprised of three monster types. The monsters in an invasion group have a different appearance from their live brethren and new specialized attacks, including an attack that automatically kills in five minutes!
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To complete Phase 1 of the quest, you must kill a certain number of each invasion monster type. During this killing spree, loot the corpses to collect the necessary ingredients for the next step.
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''Nemesis Variant'' (standard name prefixed by "Empowered"; e.g., "Empowered Drudge Outcast")
This variant occasionally drops bottles of Undead Venom (used in the Undead Antidote recipe). Collect all that you find.
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''Undead Variant'' (standard name prefixed by "Undead"; e.g., "Undead Carrion Shreth")
This variant occasionally drops bottles of Infectious Slime (used in the Undead Antidote recipe). In addition, they have a special undead curse attack that kills within five minutes unless cured. Collect all that you find.
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''Mounted Skeletons'' (including Skeleton Cavalry, Skeleton Rangers, etc.)
Mounted on an undead Ataur, they are very powerful and obviously the leaders of the invasion groups. When you kill one, you will occasionally find a diseased saddle (used in the Saddle Pattern recipe). You only need to collect one of these.
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''The Curse of the Undead Antidote''
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The Curse of the Undead Antidote is important for two reasons: it's a component of the Saddle Pattern recipe, and it cures that nasty Undead Curse attack!
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Unless you are one of those extremely lucky types, you will at some point become cursed while battling the Undead variants of the invasion force. When you are cursed, an icon and timer appear onscreen, your skin takes on an undead appearance, and a green aura surrounds you. In addition, while cursed your movement and attack speed are slowed.
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If you are cursed, you must cure yourself within five minutes or die. The only cure is to craft and use the Undead Antidote. This recipe is located on the Craft panel (under Quest Recipes\Potions) and requires an Undead Venom and an Infectious Slime. The Undead Antidote instantly cures you when used.
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Once you have completed this phase, you automatically receive a colored piece of leather. In the next phase, you'll use this piece of leather and your other collected items to disinfect the diseased saddle you should have collected from a Mounted Skeleton corpse.
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''Still shaky with fatigue and pain from the day-long battle, Matok carefully assembled the components and prepared to disinfect the saddle he had looted off the mounted rider. Standing and facing the Fire Father as it sank below the horizon, Matok gave thanks for the gifts of life and heat. Finishing his prayer, Matok sank to his haunches and began the detailed process of disinfection...''

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''Phase 2: Disinfecting the Diseased Saddle''
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In this phase, you will neutralize the poison on the diseased saddle and create a saddle pattern which you'll need to complete the quest.
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As with the Antidote recipe, the Saddle Pattern recipe is located on the Craft panel (under Quest Recipes\General). Using this recipe (difficulty 0), combine the leather piece you received, a sample of the Antidote, and the Diseased Saddle. The result is a colored saddle pattern item.
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''Matok stood and greeted the Fire Father. A gentle breeze carried the bright speech of Winged Ones to his ears as they, too, greeted the Father. With renewed energy and a refreshed spirit, Matok packed his small camp and set off for Cavendo to meet his fire mates. It would be good to see them again and share the valuable knowledge he had earned while battling in the Haunted Forest...''

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''Phase 3: Completing the Quest''
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In the final phase, use (double-click) the saddle pattern from Phase 2. Doing so destroys the saddle pattern item and completes the Curse of the Undead quest. In addition to experience and quest points, you'll receive three tiered recipes for creating a magical saddle. Each recipe requires no ingredients but costs a certain amount of gold, and creates a single-usage saddle item. The higher the tier, the longer the summoned Ataur stays.
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To summon the mount, empty your hands and use the saddle. A summoned Ataur will appear with you automatically mounted on it. To dismount at any time, click the red dismount button located on the lower right side of the tool bar.
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'''Tips and Tricks'''
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Here are a few things you might find useful when completing this quest.
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''Hunting the Undead''
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The first quest phase involves hunting down specific monsters and killing a certain number of them. An easy way to scout the poisoned lands and quickly locate your remaining monsters is to use the Show Names option. When you are in the poisoned areas, turn on this option by hitting the V key. Now you can quickly scout the area and locate the monster types you are looking for, even when they are off your radar.
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''Curse of the Undead Antidote''
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While the basic effects of the Undead Curse are nasty, the good news is that you can become infected multiple times with no additional effects. With a little preparation beforehand, you can use this to your advantage.
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The Curse of the Undead Antidote recipe requires both Undead Venom and Infectious Slime. Since these components are only dropped by the Undead and Empowered variants of monsters, you should focus on these two groups first.
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Of the two monster types, the Undead variants are the only ones able to curse you. Therefore, kill all the Empowered monsters first and collect the Undead Venoms they occasionally drop. Before setting out after the Undead variants, set up one of your shortcut bars with a shortcut to the Undead Antidote recipe.
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After you have collected enough Infectious Slime (by killing the Undead variants) to cure yourself and still have some extra samples, use the shortcut recipe to make an extra batch of antidote. Drag it to the same shortcut bar that holds your Antidote recipe and continue fighting.
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During this period, if you become cursed, continue fighting. Time your battles so that you are not battling when the timer is about to expire (check the icon occasionally to determine the current time remaining). You can usually squeeze in one or two more battles before expiring. Once you are near death, go to your shortcut bar and quickly click the Antidote. Chug the antidote for an instant cure.
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Before hunting down the next Undead monster, use the recipe to make another Antidote and add it to your shortcut bar. This ensures that you'll always have an antidote ready when you need it.
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'''Ataur Mount Specifications'''

{{{!}}width=100%
{{!}}rowspan=2{{!}} '''Level Range'''
{{!}}rowspan=2{{!}} '''Appearance'''
{{!}}rowspan=2{{!}} '''Speed'''
{{!}}colspan=3{{!}} '''Duration (in minutes)'''
{{!}}-
{{!}} '''Tiers 1-2''' {{!}}{{!}} '''Tiers 3-4''' {{!}}{{!}} '''Tier 5'''
{{!}}-
{{!}} 1 - 10 {{!}}{{!}} dark brown (bipedal) {{!}}{{!}} 1.4X normal {{!}}{{!}} 15 {{!}}{{!}} 30 {{!}}{{!}} 60
{{!}}-
{{!}} 11 - 20 {{!}}{{!}} dark grey (bipedal) {{!}}{{!}} 1.4X normal {{!}}{{!}} 15 {{!}}{{!}} 30 {{!}}{{!}} 60
{{!}}-
{{!}} 21 - 30 {{!}}{{!}} light blue (bipedal) {{!}}{{!}} 1.9X normal {{!}}{{!}} 15 {{!}}{{!}} 30 {{!}}{{!}} 60
{{!}}-
{{!}} 31 - 40 {{!}}{{!}} green (bipedal) {{!}}{{!}} 1.9X normal {{!}}{{!}} 15 {{!}}{{!}} 30 {{!}}{{!}} 60
{{!}}-
{{!}} 41 - 50 {{!}}{{!}} light grey (bipedal) {{!}}{{!}} 2.3X normal {{!}}{{!}} 15 {{!}}{{!}} 30 {{!}}{{!}} 60
{{!}}}


'''Locations of the Undead Quests'''
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Each quest variation takes place in different regions of the three main landmasses.
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''Haunted Forests of Lost Wish (Osteth)''
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This region is located on the southern tip of the Lost Wish peninsula near the ruins of an ancient city. It is easily accessible via the Lost Wish Ringway. Head south after arriving at the SE Ringway portal (47.2N, 21.3E).
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''Prosper Fettermound (Osteth)''
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The Prosper Fettermound is a large, ring-shaped area in the central southern Prosper region. It is NW of the Prosper vault, with a Stone Quarry (4.6N, 8.4E) in its center.
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''Lumari Spills Fettermound (Omishan)''
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The Lumari Spills Fettermound is the circular group of islands surrounding the town of Shinoko. You can reach this region easily by traveling the Lumari Ringway to the town of Shinoko (4.5S, 69.4E). Once at Shinoko, travel west to the numerous islands or continue on the Ringway to the SE outpost regions.
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''Vesayan Isles (Omishan)''
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This region is located on the SE island group on Omishan, near Hakata. The largest of the islands contains the Vesayan Vault (8.2S, 88.2E). You can get to it by using the Vesayan Ringway (accessible from Hakata).
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''Rings of Oriad Fettermound (Linvak Massif)''
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This region is located on the Eastern side of Linvak Massif. The fettermound surrounds the Oriad vault (16.9S, 7.5W). It's quickly accessible from Linvak Tukal (10.3S, 31.4W) and the Vesayan Islands gateway (17.2N, 92.7E).
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[[Category:AC2]]
[[Category:AC2 Patch Announcements]]