View source for Frontier Mountains

[[File:map_frontiermtns.jpg|frame|Map of Frontier Mountains]]

The Frontier Mountains are the highest and roughest set of mountians located on the continent. These harsh mountains cut across the western half of the continent, and are inhabited by a variety of powerful, large creatures, for whom the peaks are mere hills. Many of these creatures operate vast mining operations in the mountains for the minerals that lie beneath them. 

''Note: Due to post-classic revamps of Droga and Nurga, many mobs (mainly goblins) were moved to FM on live. On p99 all these goblins should reside in their original zones, not in FM. Some cleanup may be required here.''

{|
|rowspan="6" valign="top" width="160"| <div style='float:left;'>__TOC__</div>
|valign="top"|
{| class="zoneTopTable"
! ''' Level of Monsters: '''
|25-45
|-
! ''' Types of Monsters: '''
|Goblin Raiders, Whipcrackers, Bonecharmers, Rockchanters, Boneseekers, Dirttracers, Blightcallers, Plaguebringers, Legates, and Slavedrivers, Burynai Miners, Digmasters, Cenobites, and Rockshapers, Sarnak Knights, Partisans, Enthusiasts, Dragoons, Berzerkers, Mountain Giant Hillocks, Tumps, Craigs, and Braes, Gorging Brute, Ravenous Brute
|-
! ''' Notable NPC's: '''
|[[Boogoog]], [[Blugtigin]], [[Goblin Herb Collector]], [[Stonegrinder]], [[Burynai Grand Cenobite]], [[Burynai Treasure Seeker]], [[Goblin Trail Blazer]], [[Goblin Chieftain]], [[Goblin Headhunter]], [[Goblin Dustscryer]], [[Goblinstomper]], [[Slithinis]], [[Dustback]], [[Stonegrinder]], [[Gemeye]], [[Bloodscale the Vicious]], [[Wandering Stonehealer]], [[Overseer Miklik]], [[Eboneyes]], [[Rockwolf]], [[Diseased Brute]], [[Joojooga]], [[Gromlok]], [[Drake Tamer]], [[Sarnak Bloodbinder]], [[Clazxiss]], [[Krenlek]], [[Miner Bordakn]], [[Sarnak Rebel]], [[Varithyx]], [[Eldrak Howlingbear]], [[Goblin Iksar Slayer]], [[Snaorf]]
|-
! ''' Unique Items: '''
|{{:Barbed Scale Whip}}, {{:Belt of the Cenobite}}, {{:Blood Splattered Veil}}, {{:Burynai Leg Ripper}}, {{:Chieftain's Headress}}, {{:Dustscryer's Crystal Ball}}, {{:Dusty Breastplate}}, {{:Ebon Razor}}, {{:Forest Loop}}, {{:Gauntlets of Brute Strength}}, {{:Giant Tree Flayer}}, {{:Gem Finder}}, {{:Goblin Head-Spear}}, {{:Goblin Juntah Harvester}}, {{:Goblin Soul Caller}}, {{:Goblin Trail Blazer's Knife}}, {{:Hammer of Flattening}}, {{:Leg-Chopper}}, {{:Lumberjack's Cap}}, {{:Medicine Totem}}, {{:Giant Foreman's Tunic}}, {{:Necklace of Defiance}}, {{:Skullchip Bracelet}}, {{:Skullhelm of Krenlek}}, {{:Sleeves of the Ancients}}, {{:Stone Thunder}}, {{:Straw Spun Belt}}, {{:Windetched Staff}}
|-
! ''' Adjacent Zones: '''
|[[Burning Wood]], [[Dreadlands]], [[Lake of Ill Omen]], [[The Overthere]], [[Mines of Nurga]], [[Temple of Droga]]
|}
|}

== Map Location Key ==

* 1. Iksar Ruins with Sarnaks
* 2. Mountain Giant Fortress
* 3. Iksar Guardian Statues
* 4. Ruins with Goblins
* 5. Tower with Goblins
* 6. Empty Ruins, Bind Spot
* A. Entrance to Burynai Mines
* B. Entrance to Burynai Mines
* C. Entrance to Mountain Giant Mines

Levant location: -633.00, -4286.00, 118.78 (near zoneline to Lake of Ill Omen)

Note there is another Sarnak Ruins at approx +2000, -1800 on the map above.

== Frontier Mountains Named Cycle ==

'''Note:''' This named guide is missing one or more NPCs per cycle, which makes following it difficult. If you have additional info please update this! In general, this info is not yet tuned to be p99 specific. References: [http://eqbeastiary.allakhazam.com/search.shtml?zone=83&mid=9984030348517 one], [http://eqdiary.tripod.com/fmcycle.htm two], [http://www.project1999.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29270 three].

Almost everyone goes to FM for the giant fort and nothing more. But there's a cycle in FM that can be the best non-dungeon loot farming in the game. Use levitate or SoE to get through this because it's so hilly. A 50+ druid, especially with an epic, can do this whole cycle over and over solo. When you kill the mob at the spawn area, the next one will spawn immediately, so it will be at the top of your track listing.

There are two spawn cycles total, with three mob types on one, and two (technically three) mob types on the other:

* The two mob cycle is the Sarnak cycle, involving the brutes, Sarnaks, and the goblin coward.
* The three mob cycle is the gob, giant, burynai cycle.

If you're trying to camp a single goblin, you do indeed have to go through the giant and burynai to get to another goblin rare, but look at it like a standard camp with constantly spawning placeholders. The only difference is that the placeholders for the goblin portion of the cycle are different races (giants and burynai) and are in different corners from the gob spawn point. 

=== Spawn spots ===

* SouthEast corner near Dreadlands zone, -2500,-2100. These are usually Goblin mobs.
* SouthWest, directly west of spot 1. -3333,1200, west of Nurga and east of the Burning Woods zone. These are usually giants.
* NorthWest, way north and slightly west of spot 2. 1800, 2800, near Droga. These are usually Burynai.
* Everywhere - the sarnaks.

The Places: Now that you know what to look for, here's where to go and look.

* Goblin: Southeast corner. The place you wanna look is at almost exactly the center of the triangle made by the LoIO zone, the southeast corner (almost on top of the Dreadlands zone), and the Mines of Nurga. There is a big mountain, and the goblin pop can be anywhere near the mountain. I havn't located the exact spot where the gobs spawn simply because I havn't had the luck to actually be standing in that particular place when they spawn. To get a better understanding of this little verbal diagram, check out the map of the zone. There is no easy med spot for this section of nameds: I normally just head up to the very top of a zone wall and be sure to keep camo up. There normally are no giants in the area to see though it.

* The Giants: Southwest corner. If you're sitting on the roof of the Burning Woods zone, you should be able to track the named giant after the goblin kill. They actually spawn on an outcropping of stone (the zone's floor, normally grass, turns to stone for some reason) at roughly (2000, -3000). They can wander, however, up the large mountain nearby. The safest place to med up nearby is the roof of the Burning Woods zone. No wandering mobs to contend with.

* The Burynai: Northwest corner. This is the hardest area, and the Burynai named spawns are the easiest to kill. The area is very mountainous, and there are plenty of pesky giants to see through your camo. The area you're looking for is at roughly (2000, 2000). The Burynai actually spawn in a valley closer to the western wall, but roam more towards the middle of the zone, ie. into the mountains. This area can be tough simply because you can't see the giants before they're on top of you. The mountains give them cover. I've only had one death in this zone, and it was in this area. The closest available clear med spot that i've been able to find is the Overthere shelf... the tunnel that leads to that zone. No mobs that I've seen roam around up there.

* Sarnak: All over. All the rare brutes (which are a part of the Sarnak cycle: it's how you get the Sarnaks themselves to spawn), are in the SW corner. All the Sarnaks, however, are up in the NW corner, just south of the Burynai spawnpoint. This is the cycle that I'm not yet sure about. I've seen the named sarnaks up, as well as the rare brutes, and I kill them everychance I get, but I haven't been able to spot the pattern in it. It's close, though... I feel it burning, like a lash caught in your eye.

Order: When starting out the cycle for the night, I just run to every spawn point, and kill the first rare I see to give me some kind of cohesive idea on where to start. The order goes like this:

'''Start Here''': Burynai (NW corner)

'''Then''': Goblin (SE corner)

'''Then''': Giant (SW corner)

=== Mobs and Drops ===

There is no "order" for each group, the order mobs are listed here is arbitrary.

==== Cycle One ====

;Spot One (Goblin) mobs and drops ( -2500,-2100) SE

<ul><li> ''a'' goblin raider (the rare is "a goblin raider" and the common is "goblin raider")
</li><li>  Blugtugin / Blutgin ({{:Medicine Totem}})
</li><li> a goblin chieftan ({{:Chieftain's Headress}})
</li><li> Iksar Slayer ({{:Goblin Two-Handed Sword}})
</li><li> Goblin Herbcollector ({{:Goblin Juntah Harvester}}, vendor fodder)
</li><li> A Goblin Trailblazer ({{:Goblin Trail Blazer's Knife}}, vendor fodder)
</li><li> a goblin dustscryer ({{:Dustscryer's Crystal Ball}})
</li><li> a goblin headhunter ({{:Goblin Head-Spear}}, vendor fodder)
</li><li> a goblin prospector
</li><li> Rockwolf
</li><li> wandering stone healer ({{:Goblin Soul Caller}})
</li></ul>

;Spot Two (Giant) mobs and drops (-3333,1200) SW

<ul><li> a mountain giant hillock (much easier than the others, spawns directly after the goblin kill)
</li><li> Gromlok ({{:Gromlok's Basher}})
</li><li> Krenlek ({{:Skullhelm of Krenlek}})
</li><li> Goblinstomper ({{:Sarnak-hide Leggings}})
</li><li> Overseer Miklek ({{:Gem Encrusted Circlet}}, tough mob)
</li><li> mountain giant prospector
</li></ul>

;Spot Three (Burynai) mobs and drops (1800, 2800) NW

<ul><li> a '''''B'''''urynai miner ({{:Jade Magma}})
</li><li> Bonedigger
</li><li> Burynai grand cenobite ({{:Belt of the Cenobite}})
</li><li> Burynai Treasure Seeker
</li><li> Dustback ({{:Dusty Breastplate}})
</li><li> Eboneyes ({{:Ebon Razor}})
</li><li> Gemeye ({{:Gem Finder}})
</li><li> Stonegrinder ({{:Stone Thunder}})
</li></ul>

==== Cycle Two ====

;Spot One (Brute) mobs and drops:

<ul><li> Boogoog ({{:Mosscovered Twig}} for a limited time, and later {{:Mosscovered Branch}})
</li><li> a diseased brute ({{:Rotwood Club}})
</li><li> a mangy brute
</li><li> a rabid brute
</li><li> a gorging brute (common but may spawn as part of cycle)
</li></ul>

;Spot Two (Misc.) mobs and drops:

<ul><li> a goblin coward
</li><li> a goblin scavenger
</li><li> Miner Bordakn (plat and gems, some rare)
</li><li> Joojooga ({{:Gauntlets of Brute Strength}})
</li><li> burynai squad leader (rusty mining pick, let it rot)
</li><li> A Sarnak Bloodbinder
</li></ul>

;Spot Three (Sarnak) mobs and drops:

<ul><li> Clazxiss ({{:Windetched Staff}})
</li><li> a Sarnak mystic
</li><li> Sarnak warlord
</li><li> Bloodscale the Vicious ({{:Blood Splattered Veil}})
</li><li> Slithinis (shield, vendor fodder)
</li><li> Sarnak scavenger?
</li><li> Sarnak rebel ({{:Necklace of Defiance}})
</li><li> Draketamer ({{:Barbed Scale Whip}} and later {{:Scale Hide Whip}})
</li><li>  Varithyx ({{:Sleeves of the Ancients}})
</li></ul>

Goblin/Burynai cycle named drop their loot 100% of the time, aside from the very few of them that do not drop loot at all. Giants/Brutes/Sarnaks drop their loot rarely, aside from the ones who have no loot. The Giants/Sarnaks without listed drops may have rare drops! Please update.

The following named/weird mobs '''are not''' thought to be part of these cycles:

* a goblin legate - (nasty cleric)
* a goblin adept
* Snaorf - Burynai (Iksar war. quest, underground)
* Eldak Howlingbear - nonhostile giant
* Mentrax Mountainbone - nonhostile giant

=== Strategy ===

Goblin: Kill them fast. =) That's basically it. The Iksar Slayer is a necro, so watch for that dot that reverses sow (clinging darkness?). The Cheiftan and herbcollector hit like a truck, so root and plink/nuke, if you've got the juice. The wandering stone healer does in fact heal himself, albiet with shaman heals, and casts shamanic spells. The main thing to think about with gobs is to get them off that damned mountain. The z axis messes up the range of melee weaponry, and there's always the chance of levitate wearing thin at the wrong time.

Giant: Root and plink/nuke. That's about all you can do with these fellows. None of them cast to my knowledge, and all of them have mass hitpoints compared with the other rare types. The two hardest to kill are Miner Bordakn and Overseer Miklik. Take them out like you would with any giant: at range. Remeber, snare after you root. The two spells do stack now. Other giants will agro in this area, so pull them to the most open place you can find.

Burynai: These guys are cake, unless you're lucky enough to have the Grand Cenobyte spawn. All of them can be killed straight melee with snare only with a minimum loss of life. The Grand Cenobyte does heal himself, and casts smite, as any good cleric does when he's in deep. Again, the main thing to remember about this area, the NW corner, is that it's very very mountainous, and the giants seem to come out of nowhere. Also, of note, burynai cenobytes that are just cruising by will heal your kill when he's low. Try pulling the burynai rares to any valley in the area.

Sarnak: These guys are the hardest kills of the rares, and are in the easiest areas. The brutes in the cycle are in the SW corner with the gobs. Snare and fall them. Super easy kills. The Sarnaks are a different story. They're the hardest rares, but are still in a managable area. I believe Bloodscale the Vicious is the hardest hostile mob in the zone, so be ready for a tough fight. They all hit hard, move fast, and have wicked regen times. The only strategy that I could find for the harder ones (Bloodscale, warlord) is to snare pull them to the Temple of Droga zone, and let the goblins there eat away at them. The Sarnaks will kill all the gobs there one by one, but will be at least half dead when they finally get through. The only Sarnak I've personally had to pull over there was Bloodscale. He's tough at level 45 or so.

In general, stay out in the open, keep levitate on, and always re-camo yourself immediatly after you loot the bad guy you just killed. Always keep root up, and make sure you aren't eight miles high when levitate decides it needs to wear off. Don't take on a giant unless you're sure that you can take him.

== Dangers ==

The mountains are dangerous since every creature here is looking out for itself and is highly aggressive. Invisibility alone will not completely protect you, as the mountain giants are able to see you even with that magical protection. Every creature in this area will attack you on sight, and they will all join in the chase if you happen to be the prey.

There is one specific danger to hunting in the mountains. The mountains. This area is very rough, which can cause several problems. First is that it is very difficult to travel quickly through this area without the use of Levitate, for many of the drops off of some of these peaks are fatal to all due to their great height. The other problem is that they cut down significantly on visibility while hunting the area. It is often difficult to see when an aggressive monster approaches you, or when you approach it, until too late. Then, unless you have Levitate, it may be just as painful to flee the creature as it might be to fight it...

== Benefits ==

These mountains have several areas within them that provide some open hunting grounds for groups to pull from, and also provide some visibility for safety. Some of the more popular ones are near the zones to Lake of Ill Omen and to the Burning Woods. This zone is also very useful because it provides a bind spot for melee types in an abandoned ruin in the southwest corner.

There is also an abundance of rare creatures and, presumably, rare items that these creatures drop. Without tracking this may not be that interesting to you around here, but with tracking a person could take up hunting rares as a full time hobby in the mountains.

Overall, this zone provides good hunting opportunities for any group able to handle the opposition.

== Traveling To and From Frontier Mountains ==

[[Lake of Ill Omen]] can be reached at approximately -675, -4000. In the Lake, this corresponds to approximately -600, 3200.

It should be noted that the indention that leads to the [[Lake of Ill Omen]] zone is a little hard to see. There is a rock you need to travel due east from found at (-664,-3728)

The [[Burning Wood]] is reached through a tunnel located at -2580, 3760. Following this tunnel into the mountains leaves you at -2800, -4625 in Burning Wood.

[[The Overthere]] can be reached through a pass in the northern edge of the mountains at 4000, 1530. This eventually leaves you in the Overthere at 6000, 1580.

The [[Dreadlands]] are reached through a small tunnel located hidden in the wall of the mountain at location -3675, -3330. This places you at 2340, -3475 in the Dreadlands.

There is one surface entrance to the goblin underground that leads to [[Temple of Droga]] located at approximately 3430, 2880. The entrance to the [[Mines of Nurga]] are located through an entrance that is similar in appearance at approximately -2800, -700. 

== What's in this zone? ==

{{Special:DynamicZoneList/Frontier Mountains}}

[[Category:Zones]]