spoiler i guess

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you could set on of your set portals at the magic fountain in trynton and on at the castle. chug a magic nectar or use a mana stone if you need pts for the return. or you could use mana stones and keep selling and rebuying them to/from ferro before the last charge

Well, what I usually did on entering the castle was run to the upper right-hand corner and save the game immediately (usually, nobody was in the center area). Then I'd edge up towards the doorway while keeping an eye on the radar to see where the patrols were.

If something small was crossing the hall and nothing else was nearby, I'd step out and eliminate them. Otherwise, I'd sit tight.

The important thing is that no patrols are going through that left room, because you'll always have trouble. The six guards in there are fixed and you do have to take them out. It's easier if you don't have 20 more Rapax to worry about ;)

I'm always set to run here so we waste no time getting into that room. Should we get caught, I restore and try again.

<center>Nightowl2</center>

I don't think this is a spoiler, just a strategy. I found setting up a portal just inside the door to the Castle meant I could chose my fights. I see that you don't probably have access to the X-Ray spell, which means you can more or less see what is where.

There is a limit to how many Rapax will hit you - just enjoy the added ex pts. It is doable.

Good Luck Hurzbub

I've always used the little crawlway down by Ferro to rest, there's no chance down there that you will get interrupted, and it's easy to verify if there are any patrols nearby Ferro to go buy gear.

Do you mean, where you can leave the little lift up and jump down to get to the tunnel from the jails?

Yeah, I go down to the castle basement and then come back and take a peek.

heh, i like that. Although i always do the Templar bit first, i can see the fun in playing peek-a-boom with the Rapax...

yeah the rapax castle can be annoying and slow.
Rappax arnt very challenging, specially with a full power magic shield and elemental shield on...
Just that combat takes ages with every rappax casting magic it seems.

Be careful fighting around ferro too, he aint a good fighter and they can attack and kill him quite easily.

If you can get them all lined up in a straight corridor then its ALOT easier...
Bombard them with Fresh Freeze, Freeze All, Acid bomb, Icebomb, Blizzard or my personal favorite, Tsunami.
Ive seen tsunami do over 150 pt's of damage per rapax a few times.

Oh and if you want to avoid more rappax, DO NOT rest within the castle... They breed like bunnies!

One memorable battle i had in the main room was against 2 groups of 6 beserkers, 8 samurai, 6 more samurai, 11 warmages and a sprinking of courtesians...
Man did the duration effect spells help out!

I agree with Poobaa, rapax are easy with magic screen on. I never have tsunami when I get there though, these guys are all level 23 and below. If you want better experience go to ascension peak or Mtn. wilderness. The first battles I had with these guys were very unnerving with all those area damage spells. But then I realized the amount of damage each character was taking and then it turned into a big rapax hunting fest after that.

My resistence is good enough that I usually don't bother with elemental shield. No need for soul shield, the casters use fire and earth realm spells. And of course I always have missile shield and armorplate on.

While we're talking about rapax castle, is there any way to spawn more warlocks and fewer rapax with low experience? The upper castle seems to have better hunting, but lower spawn rates. Can anyone else confirm this?

The Rift spawns the best, i think. Fairly often, and plenty of Warlocks and such. I agree that the Castle is well-populated but with lesser threats, and Upper is sparse--it seems like there are only 2 or 3 spawn locations.