Part of the Rise of Kunark expansion, Karnor's Castle is a neat place, if you can stay alive.

The mobs are all heroic. Every... last... one.... and they hit like a ton of bricks. Animated bricks with fangs and weapons and stuff.

I finished the map of Karnor's Castle today at last, and managed to get most of the named mobs positioned. If you know of any others, please let me know! As always, reports of errors or omissions are appreciated.

My only frustration with the place is that all of these mobs respawn, and fast, because it is not an instanced zone. That means that if you wipe after an hour of slogging and just before you get to a named mob, you have to slog some more, and then people start dropping from the group, because hey... you've been there for three hours already. Then you have to go back to the zone in, wait for another group member, and yup... slog through a wall of heroics yet again. It's not like the rewards are any greater than any instanced zone (commensurate with level), so I am hoping that this one will be made the same, because as it is, it is not fun.

That's it for my complaints.

Karnor's is very evocative of the old dungeon from EQ1, although it lacks the legendary trains of doom that we knew and loved/loathed so well. Instead, encounters are more likely to kill you on the spot than follow you to zone, should you make any errors!


Recent changes:

In response to player feedback (a.k.a. screaming and gnashing of teeth), Karnor's was recently adjusted by the EQII Team (scroll down a bit to Steve "Saavedra" Kramer's post in that thread).

Summary: some of the mobs were thinned out a little, particularly on the ramparts. More named mobs were added, adventuring xp and loot drops were adjusted upwards, addressing one of the major complaints about the zone. The Drolvargs cut back a bit on their insane advantages in parry, block and dodge.... in other words, it may be a good time to try running the zone again!

Zone levels:
The creatures in Karnor's are in the 70s, and heroic.
The first tower ranges 72^^^ - 73^^^.
The main keep ranges from 73^^^ - 75^^^.
The basement with Xalgoz' Study is 75^^^ - 76^^^.

Named mobs (alphabetical):
Armsmaster Keelo (74^^^), placeholder: Drolvarg Trainer
Commander Jorah (75^^^), placeholder: Drolvarg Officer
Drolvarg Foreman (74^^^), placeholder: Drolvarg Bricklayer
Drolvarg Watchman (74^^^), placeholder: Drolvarg Deputy
Noknar Garfist (74^^^), placeholder: Gorging Drolvarg
Rainbrittle <74^^^), placeholder: Brittle Watcher
Sergeant Levik (73^^^), placeholder: Drolvarg Lookout
Undead Jailer (75^^^), placeholder: Keyless Sentry
Ventrek Hallgloom (75^^^), placeholder: Restless Iksar Spirit
Vorador (75^^^), placeholder: Writhing Lurker (?)
Xalgoz (76^^^), no placeholder

Of special note:
Many people are not aware that you do not have to fight through the Guard Tower to get to the main keep. Instead, you can swim around the back and find the small underwater tunnel that leads through the wall to the Atrium. Watch for the swimmy things on your way, of course... but it is a much faster route.

When you enter the Atrium from the underwater tunnel, stay close to the east wall until your party is all together. You will be out of aggro range of the hostile mobs in this position. The Sarnak you see nearby are not actual mobs, and are not going to kill you, regardless of how fierce they look.

In closing:

Karnor's Castle is well worth a visit, or a return visit if you saw it in its early days. The zone is beautifully designed in terms of architecture and lighting, and is worth a trip for the number of POIs alone! I counted 16 in all.

I will reiterate my opinion that this zone should be made an instance to make it more enjoyable.

;-)#
Brasse
Dwarven Cartographer