Tower of Frozen Shadow, First Floor

Who Its For

The first floor of the Tower of Frozen Shadow is an excellent hunting spot for characters of level 27-33 (or even 34, although some mobs start turning "light blue" as early as 33).

The zone has an excellent Zone Experience Modifier, so all characters level quickly here. However, the zone is especially popular with Clerics, Necromancers, and Paladins. All three have agro-reducing spells (eg. Pacify or Rest the Dead), which lets them pull individuals from rooms with 2-3 mobs. Also, all three have anti-undead spells (eg. Dismiss Undead) (as do Shadow Knights, although they lack Rest the Dead at this level).

Unlike the rest of the Tower, the first floor does not require a key to access, and since you can bind outside, it's usually simple to recover from a wipe.

Binding at Zone out

I recommend binding at the zone out area, ie. the area to the right when you face the entrance portal (if you're unsure, just zone in and out). No mobs path through this area, so you can safely recover there.

Risks

The first floor has two main risks. First, it contains a pit surrounded by an icy floor, and inside are two shadowbone skeletons. Move slowly around the pit to avoid falling in.

Second, after any mob dies the floor's "boss" has a small chance to immediately spawn. He's tough enough to kill you, but if you move away as soon as he spawns, he won't agro you. You can then safely use invis/pacify spells to avoid him, until another player kills him (or until you bring a higher-level alt to do it yourself).

Getting There

A portal to the Tower of Frozen Shadow can be found outside the tower itself at 2000,3000 in Iceclad Ocean.

There are two Shadow Guardians outside, but you can usually avoid them with Spirit of Wolf or Journeyman's Boots. If you're unlucky, you might get hit, but only for around 100 damage.

Entrance

If you proceed from the magic mirror you arrive through, you will enter a room with a large pit in the middle. NOTE: To explore safely, cast Invisibility versus Undead before entering the room.

Pulling to the Entrance

If you want, the entrance room is a safe pull area. However, mobs can flee from this area into the pit, so if you lack a snare ability, you might want to fight in their respective hallways.

Pit Room

The entrance hallway leads to a room with a pit, and beyond it are two Lesser Ice Shades. These will be too high-level to fight initially, but can be killed around level 31 or 32 (until then, avoid them).

To the left (as you enter) is a hallway leading to Shadowbone skeletons. To the right is a hallway leading to Shadow Beasts.

As mentioned above, the floor around the pit is "icy", so move around it slowly to avoid sliding in accidentally. Inside the pit are two Shadowbone skeletons, who will make it difficult to escape through the "staircase" out of the pit: