Our trip to Icy Keep

Icy Keep in EverQuest II has gotten a decent amount of flack since its release in the last major content update. Many players felt like the rewards didn’t make the zone worthwhile. Raiders expected the next step in raid progression when they got the first step instead. For a guild with very few players this particular zone has been a lot of fun and I thought I’d do a write up about the first three named and our experiences in the Keep. Please keep in mind that we’re not doing this with 24 players! I realize for a lot of guilds you can just zone in and plow the monsters down. That isn’t an option for us.

Hoarfrost Pyreflyte

Hoarfrost is the first monster in the newly revamped Permafrost Keep and sets the pace fairly well. Littered around the room you’ll find little nests of eggs. When you get near those eggs they’ll spawn a fairly easy drake add. The eggs will respawn throughout the fight so we generally pull Hoarfrost from his starting area where many nests are and place him against a wall. The fight is a fairly simple tank encounter with a minor twist. Throughout the battle Hoarfrost will throw up red warning text. Anyone within range when he AEs will receive a de-leveling curse. When he is “powering up” to do the AE he will remain in place so you can easily joust out when necessary.

The last trick to the Hoarfrost encounter is the teleport/summon that starts to occur around 10%. He’ll drag you and your guild mates to the middle of the room. One of his natural abilities is a knock back so when used in combination with that you can get quite a lot of drakes on you. Control yourself as a projectile, finish Hoarfrost off and then tackle the drakes. From a loot perspective I can see why players are upset when they defeat this first encounter. Hoarfrost will sometimes only drop a single item and has a tendency to make that a necklace that is inferior to legendary class loot. He can’t help it though, maybe one day he’ll catch an upgrade!

Frozen Statue of the Ice Maiden

The Ice Maiden is one of the more interesting and fun encounters in EverQuest II right now. Once you engage her you’ll quickly find that you cannot deal damage directly to her. She has two swords with her as adds. By killing them you will spawn more swords and her health will decrease. At the beginning the damage dealt through killing her little friends will be substantial. It will almost give you a false sense of superiority but don’t let it all go to your head! The Frozen Statue of the Ice Maiden does have one thing going for her. As you kill her swords more swords spawn. The more swords you get the more damage your tank receives. Healing the fight goes from easy to challenging and then to nerve wracking (at least when you only have three healers in legendary gear). When the fight nears conclusion healing gets easier as each sword dies.

Beyond that there are no real tricks to the Frozen Statue of the Ice Maiden. You’ll need a good main assist, a lot of damage, and enough healing to keep your tank alive. Her loot is not terrible and is certainly acceptable for her challenge. We’ve seen her drop two or three items at a time and usually offers a quest item for a scout and fighter weapon.

Captain H’bri

The third named is Captain H’bri and her trusted lieutenant. Her room has a teleporter in it and some golems. Clear the golems and use the teleporter to go upstairs. You’ll find additional golems to clear. Drop them all as well and free that room up. You’ll need it shortly. This is where your fight gets tricky. You will have to split your raid up just a bit because once you aggro Captain H’bri she’ll send her lieutenant upstairs to check out the room. That is where you should keep the bulk of your raid. If you’re not there he’ll return and should you attempt to fight them together you will end up splattered thanks to a nasty, frequent deaggro.

Captain H’bri is not very difficult by herself. She has a mesmerize spell which can be challenging when you’re “holding” her with a single tank and healer. Keep a mage nearby to cure the healer should that mesmerize land. The lieutenant (a giant monkey) hits quite a bit harder and has a cold based AoE. Place most of your raid there and work him down while Captain H’bri is held in check. Once he is dead the fight is basically yours. Use the teleporter to come downstairs and lay into the captain herself. She drops the bracer pattern for the Tier .5 set. They’re not quite as good as the ones from Tox but they’ll do in a pinch.