Questing
Questing in Lusternia goes well beyond the simple fetch or kill tasks that are common in many games, though naturally, we have these as well. There are dozens of more intricate quests to be completed here, for those who enjoy doing so. Some can be accomplished on your own in an hour or two, while others may take your entire organization days to complete.
General Hints
While many of these larger quests contain unique mechanics, there are a couple of features common enough to merit pointing out as general hints. Speaking of hints, HINTS ON is a good default for questers of all levels of experience. Sometimes, you'll know what you wish to do, but get it wrong on syntax. This is where hints come in handy.
Hidden Things
Just because something does not appear in a location when you glance, does not mean it isn't there. VERBOSE is a great tool for questing, allowing you to see a room's full description each time you move. Many items are hidden this way, in the room's description. You can PROBE these items, and often manipulate them with one or more of the following commands: USE, TURN, PRESS, PUSH, PULL, OPEN, TOUCH. Going one step further, if you probe one of these hidden items and note a particular feature in its description, you can always try taking a closer look there, too!
Puzzles
Logic puzzles appear fairly commonly in quests with varying degrees of simplicity. Variations of Sudoku, Mastermind, Einstein's Puzzle, the Tower of Hanoi, and various square puzzles can all be found. Recognizing these familiar puzzles for what they are when you encounter them can be a big help to solving them.
Influence
The influencing skill plays a prominent role in many quests, though it's generally left up to the quester to follow the hints. If a denizen suggests that someone be chided for their wrong-doing, try using weakening type influence. If you're told to embolden or bolster their courage, try empowering them. Note that paranoia type of influence can be a quester's bane. Denizens who have been made paranoid will not respond to interaction in their normal way. If you don't have the ability to ANALYZE a denizen, be wary of curious behavior and try back later.
Talking to Denizens
In Lusternia, we do not just walk up to denizens and say quest quest quest quest until they tell us that their son has been trapped down a well. Greeting denizens is a great way to get started, as is asking, "Can I help you?" Listen to the replies you get. Though you're dealing with computer-controlled characters, part of immersion is treating them like people! Many quests require a certain phrase which can only be sussed out by conversing with the denizen.
When all else fails...
Sometimes, even when you know you're terribly close, you get flat out stuck. It's okay to ask for advice on our forums. Chances are, someone else has been through the same thing. While we don't give solutions, players are great about giving others a nudge in the right direction.
Honours Quests
Honors quests are one type of the longer, more involved quests that Lusternia has to offer. When you check someone's HONOURS, you'll often see a line at the end directing you to HONOURS FULL (person) and it's here where you may view all of the honours quests they have completed. As noted above, these range broadly in both difficulty and time to complete.
Honours quests may be done for a variety of reasons. Some yield rewards to help an organization or to hinder an opposing one. Some may be considered rites of passage for a certain characters. Many yield historical context in the game world, bits of information or secrets about the world of Lusternia that are available nowhere else. Most grant gold and karma rewards with some giving other personal blessings.
For a completionist, acquiring new honours will be a constant venture throughout one's play, and as you'll see, there are enough to keep one busy for a very long time.
Regarding level suggestions, bear in mind that some races and classes are more adept at hunting than others, and so outside of Newton Caverns these are all sweeping generalizations. If you know that you're out of your depth in a given area, grab a friend to help or return when you're a bit stronger.
Newton Caverns
| Honours | She has earned the title of Savior to the Gnomes.
She has earned the title of Hero to the Finks. |
| Start Level | 1-21 |
| Difficulty | Easy-Medium. A great introduction to questing, though by no means the easiest Lusternia has to offer. Pay attention to the denizens you meet - they're not all there simply for hunting. For a start point, if it seems like you should be able to help someone, you probably can. Jump in anywhere and you'll piece it together as you go. |
| Notes | Once you reach level 21, you'll be unable to return to Newton Caverns, so start early! There are two honours quests in this area, and you'll be able to complete both if you wish. The quests are similar, but by no means identical. Before level 10, you'll have unlimited PORTALS, make use of them. |
| Reward | Gold. |
Verasavir Valley
| Honours | She assisted Kravch to bring vengeance upon the taurians of Verasavir Valley.
She helped the shaman Rynak vanquish the ghost-wolves of Verasavir Valley. |
| Start Level | 30+ |
| Difficulty | Easiest. Very simple quests which might offer an introduction to denizens which team up against you. Mostly hunting with some hidden things and hidden locations. |
| Notes | There are two honors quests in this area, and doing either side will get you enemied to the opposing faction. For the ghost wolves, this means little, but for the taurians, it will inhibit you from doing other quests. A good time to learn about amnesty. |
| Reward | Gold, and the temporary disappearance of denizens from the opposing faction. |
Toronada Tidal Flats
| Honours | She did aide the dragon turtles, saving a lost kin in the Toronada tidepools. |
| Start Level | 22-30+ |
| Difficulty | Medium-Easy. A clear starting point, with some hunting throughout. The steps are mostly straightforward, and the quest is largely in figuring out how to complete these tasks. A good introduction to learning how to get information from denizens, both sentient and non. |
| Notes | There are multiple quests in this area, though only one gives an honor. There are some aggressive creatures encountered during the quest, though they do not break shields. Be able to cure deafness, broken limbs, and paralysis when fighting the denizens in this area. Despite having to do with dragon turtles, this quest has no tangible impact on any organization. |
| Reward | Gold. |
Village of Delport
| Honor | She is the Matchmaker, having brought lovers together at the Chateau d'Amour. |
| Start Level | 30+ |
| Difficulty | Easy. Very straightforward with a clear start point. Requires a bit of hiking around doing village commodities quests as well as some hidden things. |
| Notes | Delport is a village which can be under the political influence of a player-run organization, meaning that the org you belong to may not be welcome by whichever one currently controls Delport. |
| Reward | Gold. |
Village of Dairuchi
| Honor | She is an Honourary Shepherd of the Rocks. |
| Start Level | 1+ |
| Difficulty | Easy. Solving a simple maze in a world without the game map. An enjoyable puzzle in itself, you may wish to get out a paper and pencil. |
| Notes | Dairuchi is a village which can be under the political influence of a player-run organization, meaning that the org you belong to may not be welcome by whichever one currently controls Dairuchi. To earn the honour, you'll be completing the small puzzle several times. Your progress is remembered indefinitely. |
| Reward | Gold, increased marble production for the village. |
Village of Stewartsville
| Honor | She solved the mysterious murder at Stewart Mansion. |
| Start Level | 50+ |
| Difficulty | Easy. The hardest part of this quest is often considered to be getting the opportunity to begin, given its popularity. A good exercise in both finding hidden things and deductive reasoning. |
| Notes | Like other villages, Stewartsville can be under the political influence of a player-run organization which may or may not welcome you in its borders. Though no hunting is required, the level requirement is noted a bit higher, as it is possible to encounter an aggressive denizen should your sleuthing falter. You can fight this perpetrator off, or simply run away and wait for it to leave before having another go. |
| Reward | Gold. |
Estelbar
- Difficulty: Easy - No killing at all except for an optional teensy bit and a simple puzzle for a great payout.
Like the Countess's many assassination attempts, these cubs just can't seem to get a break from their illness! Anyways, this quest gets a Cute+ for the idea as well as an AwesomeTM reward. People tend to claim this quest a fair amount as well, but not nearly as much as Stewartsville in my experience. This may be giving out a bit much, but the influence skillset may be useful here if you don't want to trek into Glomdoring for a portion of the quest.
Paavik
- Difficulty: Easy - Easy like most other village quests with a close concept as well as reward$$.
This quest can be a little creepy. The haunting message really scared me when I first saw it! Anyways, the book in Paavik tells you just about everything you need to know and practically walks you through the quest. Also, Paavik involves no running around the village for components, but it does require you to complete it at a certain timeframe, which can be annoying if you accidentally miss it. Same format as most other village quests. Oh, and if you find the cane, be sure to THWAP someone while holding it!
Shanthmark
- Difficulty: Easy-ish - Still easy, but frustrating when first starting. Still good money and exceptional karma.
When first starting this quest, it can be rather annoying as it involves much running around. Influence is also useful here, although it's not as helpful as in Estelbar and some people are resistant to it. I personally hate having to run up and down the Lodge to Adaeze, so sprinting can be your friend. Possibly one of the most difficult village quests (and that's not saying much) just for its initial learning phase.
Acknor
- Difficulty: Easy - Watch out about angering the chieftain person, he can get aggressive.
The only advice I can give is that you need more than one addition to the club. You also should pick up everything you can. Good reward for a quick quest.
Angkrag
- Difficulty: Very Easy - CONFIG MAPVIEW ON would help.
Fairly straightforward quest. Move the skeleton sentries around to try to block the drunk orc from escaping. After doing it 10 times you get an honor title. You won't need hints here. Messing up on your first try is normal, sometimes you get just plain unlucky, otherwise it's probably one of the fastest and easiest quests to do.
Dwarf Villages (Rockholm and Southgard)
- Difficulty: Hard - Simple to start, just difficult in the rest of it, especially the raiding part.
I haven't done this one yet either, but I have seen a lot of it. Requires a bit of sleuthing and romping about the Basin as well as some hunting creatures dangerous to novices. Definitely not for novices. The reward, however, is huge for the city or commune that controls whichever village you do the quest for since it draws all non-undead mining dwarves into your own village. Also useful to weaken an enemy, e.g. if Celest controlled Rockholm and Magnagora controlled Southgard, then both cities would do their quests to hurt the enemy and empower themselves. Warning: requires you to actually infiltrate the opposing village and kill the leader, earning you both city and village enemy status. Most definitely NOT for novices.
Etil'ck Observatory
- Difficulty: Easy
Easy enough, though make sure Magnagorans don't catch you doing the first part of it (highly unlikely that they will, though). Also watch out for gravediggers. Small gold reward (~1500), compared to the village quests, but good experience and karma. The end part also can only be done during a certain (broad) time period.
Hifarae Foothills
- Difficulty: Easyish - Bring plenty of health if you are lower leveled, and have patience.
Pretty easy, just have to do some mild bashing, as well as gathering small parts at the beginning. Make sure to talk to Huyina before you try to move on with it though. Also contains a small Blackout puzzle. Small gold reward (~2500), decent experience and karma for lower circles.
Carai Caroo
- Difficulty: Medium - Not for those who can't solve a Sudoku.
Sudoku anyone? That's the main portion of this quest, so puzzle fiends rejoice! No monetary reward here, but you do get to release some organizational-aligned creatures into the Inner Sea. Just finding Carai Caroo may be one of the hardest parts of this quest.
Arysian Isles (gorgogs and merians)
- Difficulty: Medium - Not hard to figure out, but the crowdedness, political dangers, and high-midbie bashing poses a challenge.
The two quests are exact copies of each other and both require some bashing. You need patience as well since it takes this one guy like five minutes to move like seven rooms. >_< Also, this place is one of the heaviest bashed out places ever. Expect major delays in your quest as people will inadvertently (and sometimes advertently) sabotage it. Be warned, if Celest finds you killing merians or discovers that you released the gorgogs, they will enemy you.
Tosha
- Difficulty: Medium - The critters are tough even though the quest is easy.
The monks tell you everything you need to know, and the first part is very easy if you know where to look. Part 2, however, requires a bit of tanking. The spirits give out sometimes nasty afflictions and can team up on you. The Spirit Plane also doesn't count for conglutination I think. Even so, the reward is great - a temporary boost to health/mana/ego.
Hallifax/Gaudiguch
- Difficulty: Hard - Only for the insane amount of patience involved with repetition and the annoying battles between Mesa and Nomads.
These two quests are just doused in history and flavor but at a high cost of repetition. The quest itself is straightforward with some midbie-level bashing included, but it takes an annoying amount of time to pull off. I've heard some people taking whole real life days of nonstop questing to finish it off. The end's nifty little node is pretty sweet as well save for the exploding part when its power gets too low.
Snow Valley (taurians and igasho)
- Difficulty: Hard - Only for the skills needed of Scaling and possibly flying. Some sleuth work may be needed for the puzzling parts as well.
To pull off either of these two quests, you need the skill of Scaling in environment, which is very, very high up. A little tip: if you have the skill and the ability to fly, you can LAND MOUNTAINS like you can LAND TREES and you'll be deposited on the highest level. You'll have to do some level 60/70ish bashing here against either aggressive creatures or flying creatures. This quest has a little favorite part that I can't mention because it'd give too much away, but if you attempt it, you'll definitely know what part that is. A note: if you did the Ghostwolves quest in Verasavir, you'll need to be unenemied to Kyrian (taurians) to try the taurian side of Snow Valley.
Crumkindivia
- Difficulty: Medium - As long as you have access to an aethership to get there and are of sufficient level to fight the peeps (60+ is probably fine)
Not technically an honors quest as it doesn't give you an honors line, but it's of similar difficulty and reward as the other honors quests. Requires that you make it out to the Crumkindivia bubble and that you be able to kill the peeps or gingerbread men - I've only ever done the gingerbread side of the quest, which I understand is easier (peeps are weaker than gingerbread men). The bosses are rather hard, but attacking them is optional. After you complete the quest, vacating the area is probably a good idea. Nice gold/exp reward.
Xion
- Difficulty: Hard - Brain-wracking with a so-so reward.
Possibly the worst of the puzzle quests! With a whole aethership's crew working on the quest, we still didn't finish. There were at least three puzzles that we got through including another sudoku. You have to do a lot of high-level bashing as well with some aggressive creatures included. Also, when you finish a portion of the quest, you release a slew of aggressive creatures which have the charybdon (random) poison. As Razenth says, very annoying for a mediocre reward. You also run the risk of setting the whole bubble afire as well.