Retake Weathertop

General Quest

Candaith wants your help in getting rid of the Orcs around Weathertop, before the Orcs can establish a foothold there.

NOTE: This is a tough quest, and you will be best off if you take a full fellowship, with a healer and a tank. I find this quest underconned; it was grey to me, yet the end boss was light-blue conned. I tried this once as a trio and failed. The second time around some helpful guildies answered my pleas for assistance, and we mowed through everything in sight, with this configuration: 28 Hunter, 28 Guardian, 27 Minstrel, 25 Champion, 24 Guardian and 22 Lore-Master. Your mileage, as always, will vary.

Many special thanks to: Aerlyn, Balgorn, Triston and Penrandir for helping Brasse and myself with this quest. We could not have done it without you!

STEPS:

1) Talk to Candaith and retake Weathertop. When you are ready to begin your adventure, talk to Candaith again and select "Travel Now."

2) Speak with Candaith. After you select "Continue Quest", it will become your duty to ensure Candaith stays alive. Throughout this quest you will find torches (and signal fires to light with the torches), and Candaith tells you they may be useful to avoid ambushes. Note that you cannot do anything (like whack Orcs) while holding a torch and you cannot drop it. To pick one up, get close and double-click it. They are useful for safe pulling, as after you light a signal fire the nearby group of monsters will head your way. You can also use them to avoid fighting, as Candaith suggests.

3) Protect Candaith. Here is where the many Orcs (level 20-21) and birds (level 20-21) will attempt to pummel and beat you and your charge. Keep following Candaith as he surges ahead. He will continually warn you to "be prepared for anything."

4) Speak with Candaith. He tells you, before he opens the gate:

"I will travel to the right. You take the path to the left… We will meet at the crest of Weathertop. If you come across Bub-hosh or Muz, defeat them. Remember, we must defeat the leaders of this war-band if we are to discourage them. Use the torches you find on the unlit pyres along the path. They may draw the attention of nearby Orcs."


5) Defeat Bub-hosh. Defeat Muz. You'll see a group of many level 20-21 orcs, with an archer. On the top of the hill you'll find two more on the left, with another archer. On the right waits a group of four. A bit further along, on the left, you'll encounter several more. Keep going up the hill, and soon you'll be surprised by a conscript hiding behind some rock (31.3s, 36.1w). He will get reinforcements.

After fighting a couple more waves, you will see Bub-hosh, a level 22 Elite with 2,693 morale and 653 power. You'll need to fight some regular Orcs at the same time. When Bub-hosh is nearly dead (269 morale for our group), he will run away, saying "Fly, fly from here! We are defeated!" When Bub-hosh flees, you will need to follow him through a gate, where you'll be attacked by a few more Orcs, and then he comes back. Make sure he dies this time! At this point, you do not need to fight the two additional groups of Orcs that lie further down the path to get to your destination, but they are there if you are feeling the bloodlust. The area ends in a dead end. Head back through the gate you chased Bub-hosh through, and light the signal fire at 31.6s, 36.4w (by double-clicking on a torch to carry it, and then getting close enough to light it).

Several Orcs come charging at you through the gate. This is useful, for now it is unlocked and you can proceed through it, heading north. Follow the path up the hill. Now you will be fighting wargs and goblins (level 20-21). Watch out for the White Hand Fire Throwers, for they will toss a barrel at you which will explode and burnify you for every second you stand in it.

There is a useful pyre at 31.7s, 36.7w. Lighting this one will cause one of the goblin groups to begin slowly heading to your left. This gives you a chance to slip past them on the right. If you dork-out and think you are simply lagging (like our staff did), then you will be fighting about 7-8 goblins at once!

Soon thereafter, you will find Muz, a level 21 Signature with 1,086 morale and 376 power, standing next to his pet, Throk-goth. Throk-goth is a level 20 Elite warg with 2,349 morale and 600 power. Many more normal, level 20 wargs will join in to help. This fight is no pushover, but know that there are nastier things ahead.

6) Speak with Candaith at Weathertop's Peak. You will work your way up the hill, fighting a few more mobs in groups of 1-2. At the top, you will find Candaith, looking wounded (30.9s, 37w). He tells you how injured he is, and says:

"But you must not concern yourself with me now. Beyond that gate is the Uruk who leads this force. Pass through the gate and defeat him. We cannot allow these Orcs to have a hold in the north."

7) Escort Candaith to the gate. Candaith opens the gate for you, and says he will stay behind to guard the rear, in case any of the enemy decide to flee (heh, heh).

8) Defeat the Rigul. Defeat Rigul's minions. When you are prepared, you must go into the area where Rigul stands (he's in the center of the summit), for there is a boundary that he will not cross. He will talk some smack to his workers ("Use your head, you worthless slug!"), amongst other chatter. Rigul is a level 23 Elite Master with 9,585 (!!!) morale and 2,270 power. This is the fight that did in our initial trio of a 28 Hunter, 28 Guardian, and 26 Champion. Rigul is quite tough, and he calls some others into the fight at one point.

When he is nearly dead (about 479 morale), he tells you:

"Surrender your weapons, and this can all end! I'll not be beaten by you! I've got a little surprise!"

Boy, does he. Rigul will run to and open a large wooden structure and call in the mother of all helpers, a Mountain-troll, level 23 Nemesis with 13,918 morale and 3,994 power. Ouch. Oh yeah, Rigul will be stunning you throughout the battle. My friends were defeated just before Rigul ran away to unleash the beast, and while I succeeded in killing Rigul, it was not long before his pet pummeled me to the ground. Hunters with their jaws dropped onto the ground make easy targets, anyway. The second time around, things went much smoother. Be prepared for the additional mobs to appear--they came for us when Rigul was at about 3,600 morale. Take out the ADDs first, then Rigul, then focus on the huge troll (named Olog Snaga). Good luck!

9) Speak with Candaith. Select "Travel Now" when you are ready to leave the instance.

10) Talk with Candaith. Once you're back at Candaith's Encampment, chat him up one last time to revel in your triumph over the Orcs.

11) After you speak with them and select "Finish Now", you get your coin reward, XP, and either Collur, and either Candaith's Leather Leggings, Candaith's Scale Leggings, Rigul's Bane or Baingarab.


Special thanks go out to Wren for providing this quest writeup!
Wren has entered 612 LOTRO quests.