Agamaur and Garth Agarwen

Note: This guide contains possible spoilers, as it is fairly exhaustive. If you don't want to know about these areas ahead of time, turn back now.



Agamaur and Garth Agarwen are elite areas in the Eastern part of Lone Lands. They are challenging and confusing areas to play in, but the rewards for completing quests in this area are quite good in terms of both experience and items. To this end, I decided to write this guide to playing in these areas.

History

In-fighting among the sons of the Arnorian High King Eärendur resulted in the fragmentation of Arnor into three smaller realms: Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. Rhudaur, which lay between Amon Sûl (also known as Weathertop) and the Misty Mountains, fell under the influence of Angmar. One of the denizens of Rhudaur was a River-daughter named Naruhel, sister to Goldberry who dwells in the Old Forest. Naruhel held sway over a vast swamp, named Agamaur, which lay to the north of the East-West road.

Years of savage battles between the men of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur and huge quantities of blood spilled into the swamp in hatred and anger, however, left Naruhel weakened and open to corruption. At this time, a powerful minion of Angmar, the wight-master Ivar the Blood-Hand, gained sway over Naruhel and began to twist her power to the uses of Angmar and the Witch-King. The waters and trees of Agamaur slowly became red, both as a reflection of the violence which had taken place there and as a result of the corruption of Naruhel. Wights and evil water spirits known as darkwater began to roam the land as Ivar used the living and dead alike to create an undead army, and even the trees of Agamaur were twisted into malicious, corrupted versions of the huorns found in Fangorn and other places. Worst of all, Ivar’s minions, the Gaunt-men, took up residence in Nan Dhelu, a ruined Arnorian fortress overlooking Haragmar. The Rhudaurian fortress of Garth Agarwen became the home of both Ivar and Naruhel; and now, Naruhel, referred to as the “Red-Maid”, broods on the evils of men and the bitter loss of her innocence while Ivar extends the corruption of the swamp ever further.

As Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin travel east with Aragorn towards Rivendell, they have no idea of the vast evil which lies to their north while they approach and cross Last Bridge…

Geography

One of the most confusing aspects of Agamaur and Garth Agarwen is their location and geographical relation to each other. Agamaur is reached via the Red Pass from Haragmar, the southern portion of Naruhel’s swamp. It contains a “safe area” guarded by several level 50 Defender guards. Inside this area are several NPCs, including Radagast the Brown, one of the Istari (wizards). Note that Radagast’s tower, Barad Dhorn, is not accessible if a player has not completed Chapter 8 of Book II of the Epic quests. Agamaur contains ruins and open areas. The southwest ruins are home to wights and some Gaunt-Men; the central ruins are home to the Red-Maid followers. The central open area is home to huorns and bog-lurkers, and the eastern open area has a number of darkwater spirits.

Garth Agarwen is an instance reached by traveling through the central part of Agamaur and is located in the central ruins. The entrance is denoted by an exploration accomplishment area, labeled “Front Gates.” The terrain of Garth Agarwen is confusing to nearly all players. The instance starts outside of some ruins. Traveling through the ruins, players find two significant features: first, a gated door which cannot be opened without a special key; it provides easier access to the tomb of Ivar the Bloodhand. The second feature is a doorway which opens onto a large courtyard area (it has a large stone terrace with a flame in the center). Past this courtyard is an entrance to a wooded area which has wights and bog-lurkers. Eventually, this path leads to Grimbark, an elite master huorn which guards the entrance to the inner ruins. Once past Grimbark, players make their way through the ruins until they come to another terrace, this one higher than and looking over the first terrace mentioned above. Two elite master wights, Edan and Eslyd, stand on either side of a doorway. In order to reach Ivar or the Red-Maid, players must defeat these wights, for they hold keys to several doors in this area (one of which is the previously-mentioned “back door” to Ivar). Once past the named wights, players can either enter the Red-Maid’s area (if they have the key) or continue on through the ruins, through a locked door, and eventually into Ivar’s area. The Red-Maid’s area and Ivar’s area are the end-points for this instance.

Keys

There are three keys for the instance:

Barrows Gate Key: this opens the “back door” which is a shortcut to Ivar’s Crypt. It drops from Edan, Esyld, or Ivar.
High Pass Gate Key: this opens the two doors between Ivar’s Crypt and the Garth Agarwen Gate. It drops from Edan, Esyld, or Ivar.
Garth Agarwen Gate Key: this opens the Garth Agarwen Gate, which leads to the Red-Maid’s Spring. It only drops from Ivar.

The Barrows Gate Key is required to use the shortcut to Ivar’s Crypt; the High Pass Gate Key is required to get to Ivar’s Crypt from the terrace where Edan and Esyld are located or to get to the Garth Agarwen Gate from Ivar’s Crypt if the back door has been used. The Garth Agarwen Gate Key is required to get to the Red-Maid’s Spring.

Monsters

Nearly all of the creatures in Agamaur are elite; there are a few elite masters as well. Most of the creatures in Garth Agarwen are elite, but there are also normal and signature hillmen and normal wolves.

Agamaur contains elite wights in the ruins just outside the safe area and in the southwest ruins, elite darkwater in the eastern open area, elite huorns in the central open area, elite bog-lurkers in the central open area, and elite hillmen in the central ruins. There are also a few elite Gaunt-Men in the southwestern ruins, including a named elite master Gaunt-Man.

Garth Agarwen contains elite, signature, and normal hillmen in the ruins; these are the only creatures which respawn in the instance and progress upward in difficulty the further a player goes into the instance. It also contains elite darkwater in many places; these are found by looking for red, bubbling fountains in shallow pools. When players approach, darkwater appear over the fountains. Elite wights can be found in the woods, in the ruins past the woods, and in the Red-Maid’s and Ivar’s area. Elite bog-lurkers can usually be found in the wooded section near Grimbark.

Notable Monsters:

Gloomleaf: a level 31 elite huorn; killing Gloomleaf is the final quest in a chain of three quests given by Radagast. The only features which make Gloomleaf atypical are his location and the roots which surround him in a circle. Gloomleaf is in the northwestern corner of Agamaur and is in a clearing; the path to the clearing is guarded by two mid-20’s elite huorns.

Reykur: an elite Gaunt-Man, Reykur is the required kill for the final of three quests in a chain given by Eriac the Strong. He is located in the southwestern corner of Agamaur, deep in the ruins.

Styggur: a level 32 elite master Gaunt-Man who prowls the ruins in the southwestern section of Agamaur. Styggur is not a required kill for any quest as of this writing.

Grimbark: a level 31 elite master huorn, Grimbark guards the entrance to the inner ruins in Garth Agarwen. Defeating him is difficult and requires planning and teamwork. His roots, which can respawn several times each, will generally attack Minstrels (if present in the group) and need to be dealt with quickly. He also drops bees’ nests which attack players and heal Grimbark; these also need to be killed quickly. Grimbark himself has over 10,000 morale and must be occupied by a Captain or Guardian while the other team members deal with his roots and nests.

Edan and Esyld: these two level 33 elite master wights guard the entrance to the Red-Maid’s area and hold the keys to the doors around Ivar’s area. Each wight has a special ability which makes defeating them difficult: Edan is capable of healing Esyld, and Esyld can summon a large number of normal hillmen. Note that when these wights are defeated, keys must be looted from them, and only one copy of each key is available to the group.

Ivar the Bloodhand: Ivar is a level 34 elite master wight lord with over 14,000 morale. Defeating him is one of the most challenging tasks in nearly the entire game due to the retinue of wights which surround him. Ivar has two banner-wights which give him healing and positive buffs. He also summons melee and ranged wights. A group of six level 35 players can go into Ivar’s area and be defeated if his minions are not dealt with quickly. Ivar holds the key to the Red-Maid’s sanctum.

Naruhel: the Red-Maid is a level 35 Nemesis; she is the corrupt “sister” of Goldberry and has over 23,000 morale. She also has a number of special abilities, including the ability to summon elite darkwater, and she can throw players long distances. Reaching her inner sanctum requires defeating a level 34 elite master wight, Vatar, who guards her doorway.

Quests

Questing in Agamaur and Garth Agarwen can be a bewildering experience for those inexperienced with the quests. For those who have completed the quests with previous characters, doing so can be an exercise in patience.

Although Agamaur and Garth Agarwen share similar types of creatures, the quests require players to kill them in one place or the other. It is important to pay attention to the location description of each quest and know if it requires playing in Agamaur or Garth Agarwen.

Quests in these areas come from the NPCs near Barad Dhorn; NPCs in Ost Haer, which is at the southern end of Harloeg, the southern swamp area; and from Radagast (after the completion of Epic Book II). A few quests are given by NPCs further away.

I strongly recommend that players complete Book II of the epic quests. The book culminates in an instance entitled “The Red Pass”; players accompany Radagast into Agamaur to help Elsa the Bold and her brother Eriac the Strong. Ivar the Blood-hand is also seen for the first time at the end of this instance.

Quest Title - Given By - Objective - Location
Stone Speaker - Frideric the Elder - Find Aric in Harloeg - Ost Haer
To Agamaur - Frideric - Find Eriac near Barad Dhorn - Agamaur
Rhudaur’s Traitors - Dannasen - Collect Rhudaurian satchels - Agamaur
Proof’s Burden - Dannasen - Bring satchels to Emmelin - Ost Haer
Long Overdue Justice - Emmelin - Kill Rhudaurians - Garth Agarwen
Dead Water - Eriac the Strong - Collect tokens from darkwater - Agamaur
Angmar’s Dead - Eriac - Kill Gaunt-Protectors - Agamaur
Cutting off the Hand - Eriac - Kill Reykur - Agamaur
Tainted Living - Radagast (1) - Collect bark strips - Agamaur
Merciful Release - Radagast (1) - Kill huorns and bog-lurkers - Agamaur
Fallen Oak - Radagast (1) - Kill Gloomleaf - Agamaur
Fell Spirits - Emelin - Kill darkwater - Garth Agarwen
Arthedain’s Lost Bretheren - Narthan - Collect shields(2) - Garth Agarwen
Shattered Past - Aric the Stone-speaker - Collect swords - Garth Agarwen
Relics of Rhudaur - Elsa the Bold - Collect relics - Garth Agarwen
Rings of Rhudaur - Radagast (1) - Collect warrior-rings(3) - Garth Agarwen
Oakheart’s Plight - Sara Oakheart - Escort Sara to safety - Garth Agarwen
Grimbark’s Reclamation - Goldberry - Collect Grimbark’s seeds - Garth Agarwen
Ivar the Blood-hand - Saeradan - Collect Ivar’s helm - Garth Agarwen
Vessel of Purity - Dannasen - Collect the Urn of Agamaur and fill it -Agamaur
A Sister’s Love - Dannasen - Bring the filled Urn to Goldberry - Old Forest
Reclaim the Lost Maiden - Dannasen - Use the Pure Water when the waters of the Red-Maid’s spring are calm – Garth Agarwen

1: Requires completion of Epic Book II.
2: Although the quest description says that Rhudaurian hillmen have the shields, as of this writing, they drop from wights in Garth Agarwen.
3: The warrior rings only drop from wights near Ivar’s tomb and from wights inside the Garth Agarwen gate.
__________________
Solien
Hall of Fire - Recruitment Officer
Solien: Guardian - Woodsman (Grand Master Woodworker)
Eodra: Burglar - Explorer
post by Solien@http://forums.lotro.com