Okay, so I finished the current version of Muriel's Gauntlet, closing out around two in the morning I think. With a level 38 straight fighter who can officially solo the Drow Proving Grounds, I figured I was ready.

No. No I was wasn't.

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this is cut for spoilers

you have been warned

and yes, this is ONLY about Muriel's Gauntlet



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If the Drow Proving Grounds doesn't prove that having a friendly server is a good thing so you can get a few people to team up with you, the Gauntlet of Muriel The Insane AND Undead AND Freaky will. With the sheer amount of death traps and puzzles in that area, people will WANT - nay, demand a rogue or a bard in their party. That and at least one cleric to keep the healing potions flowing. Beyond that, having a magic wielder who isn't a scroll carrying rogue would also be nice, as facing off against Muriel without magic took me I figure around twenty minutes. I just could not hit her with anything under a roll of 18 with all my attack and strength bonuses. It was nothing short of maddening - and that was AFTER I solved all the other issues of that place (namely finding all the keys and opening all the doors).

It gets better, however, when you take a look at all the stuff that was dropped. When you get near the end, there is a host of longswords and shields begging to be picked up. When I sold them after it was all over, it turns out I should have stuck with the swords (worth over 230k to my character) as the tower shields (which I ended up using AGAINST Muriel in the end) weren't so great (a little under 55k each) at Durnan's. At least the place wasn't filled with Implosions all the time. But as HARM is absolutely useless down in that area, I would strongly advise finishing the Drow Proviing Grounds first before attempting even the current Muriel's Gauntlet. Why? To have more than enough cash to load up any scroll carriers with Mass Heal spells, Issac's Greater Missle Storms, and other scrolls of widespread destruction.

And as a side note, for such cool looking warhammers, the Warhammer Of Blooding +5 really isn't all it ought to be. I firmly blame the giants using them for that. Probably weakened it due to their inherent frailty.

(yes, my dwarf laid all those suckers out FLAT. BOO-YAA!)

That is so odd. I built Davis to beat the gauntlet, and he did, before lvl 30. Not to say there weren't some harrowing moments, and some ugly ones as well, but...

Problem with the Gauntlet is getting a chaacter together that can beat Muriels Minions and the traps.

Items with Improved Evasion are a help.

So in other words taking my straight fighter class in there was just waiting for devestation. Unlike in other realms where I might have put points in useful things like finding traps and opening locks, the character build was pretty much set for breaking things into tiny pieces with her twin hammers of destruction. It makes sense, as I don't think the Gauntlet was originally intended to be done alone. Though to be honest, after everything you go through with her I really REALLY wished those Warhammers of Blooding were more powerful. *hints for KEWL hammer luut!* The Longswords of Lifedraining aren't a bad haul either if you choose to carry them off and sell them. That tiny shield which turns out to be a tower shield - that surprised me. It also wasn't a really huge seller when I took those in to Durnan's. Perhaps when the new hackpak is released (which we are STILL waiting for Bioware to give us the new patch before Ziroc can drop the bomb) we shall see what new things await in the second level of Muriel's Gauntlet. I may try to take my multiclass trademark characters into the Gauntlet later this weekend, though.