Fields of Ruin POIs, Skill Points and Vistas

POIs

POI east of Thunderbreak Hills:  Missing a POI?  It's probably this one.  Approach from the west through a tunnel.

POI Northwest of Wildlin Narrows:  Not particularly complicated to get to, but you have to enter the ogre camp to reach it.  There is a champion Ogre chieftan who spawns here as well- run by him to get the POI.

Vistas

Vista east of Tenaebron Lake:  There is a tower to the east of the vista (same building the vista is on top of) that you can climb to reach it.

Vista north of Hunter's Gorge:  Multiple ways to get to this one.  You can either drop down from above it, or you can use the fence path. The fence path is shown below.  There's a crack in the fence near the vista that you can use to walk along the outside of the fence and up to the vista.

Vista south of Sniper's Woods:  Much easier then it looks.  Head up the cliff slightly to the west of the vista, then cut east across some wooden planks.

Vista south of the Stronghold of Ebonhawke:  This is completely unrelated to the pipe organ, if that's where you are (it's a red herring.  Only leads to a chest.  For the solution to that, check out the "Misc" section below).  Instead, head from the west.  There is a ledge against the southern cliff that you can climb, which leads to a path that takes you up to the vista.

Mithric Cliffs Vista:  The tower it's part of has a spiral staircase around it that you can use to reach the vista.

Misc

Pipe organ south of Stronghold of Ebonhawke:  Getting up to this is easy.  There is a stairway slightly to the west of the vista that you can use to get up to a tower.  At the very top, jump to the west onto a balcony with a couple nobles sitting on it.  There will be a room right in front of you with a pipe organ.

Play the following sequences (done with the default hotkey layout, may need to adjust for your own setup):
5, 6, 5, 4, 9, 1, 8, 3, 5,      5, 6, 5, 4, 9, 1, 8, 3, 5 to open a chest in the left door.  It's the same sequence repeated twice.

Grape farm/patch: Eight grapes in a patch together along with three ogres.  It's in the SE section of the map.  I'm standing by the grapes.

Rich Gold Vein: South of Highden Caves.  I'm standing at the vein.

Fields of Ruin 100% completion reward (at level 80): 24 silver, 25400 xp, a masterwork level 38 and level 40 item, 3 Basic Transmutation Stones and 40 Gold Ore.

Having trouble finding Aquatic Headgear?

Having trouble finding "Aquatic Headgear"?  This is the head slot armor that you use when you're underwater, and it's very rare to find a piece with random drops.  There's also almost none available on the Auction House, either.

However, there are a bunch of karma vendors in the game that sell it.  I'll try to list them as I find them here.

Sentinel Gristletooth, East of Tenaebron Lake, Fields of Ruin:
Sells level 39 aquatic headgear.

Malchor's Leap POIs, Skill Points and Vistas

POIs

Shelter Docks POI:  This isn't an instruction on how to get to the POI, which is very straightforward, but a note that there are a bunch of scrolls here on the lore of Orr which you might find interesting.

Blighted Arch POI:  Approach from the beach to the north.  For the map, see the Blighted Arch skill point below.

Jinx Isle POIs: There are two POIs and a waypoint in the Jinx Isle area.  All of them are in an underwater facility with only one entrance.  The easiest thing to do is to just swim as close to them from the outside as you can, which can actually pick up all of them (you can also use the waypoint to get inside the facility after you have it).

Alternatively, you can swim through the front, which may be very easy or very hard depending on the nearby dynamic event status.  There is an underwater tunnel from the east.

POI underneath the Cathedral of Eternal Radiance:  See "Area underneath the Cathedral of Eternal Radiance" in Misc. below.

Vistas

Vista NE of Theater of Delight:  Straightforward climb up the rocks to the vista.

Vista SW of Drowned Brine:  Small, straightforward jumping puzzle here.  There is also an orrian chest here with a blue item.  Approach from the south.

Vista NW of the Cathedral of Zephyrs, on the cliff:  See "Cathedral of Zephyrs" below in Miscellaneous.

Vista NW of the Garden of Ilya (South of Blighted Arch): This one is high up above you and is kind of tricky to get to.  First, head north into the main chamber with the Risen mobs.  To your right (east) there is another room with ramps leading upwards.  Climb that, and it will eventually reach a locked door.  However, before the locked door, there is a spot on the right side of the wall that you can walk through.  This will put you onto a stone ledge.  Turn right, and you will see an Orrian Spectral Juggernaut (the bow).  Run to it, and to your left will be another passageway.  Take that going forwards and it will get you onto the upper ring with the vista.  Turn to your left, kill the two Orrian enchanted weapons in your way, then run as close as you can to the vista.  There will be a wall in your way.  Scoot along the left side edge of the wall, then do a curved jump around it to the vista.  Note that there are a lot of immobilizing mobs on this walk, so running past them might be a bit tricky.  You can also see the video for this here.  As for getting down... use a waypoint. :-)

Vista north of Union waypoint/Mirror's Handle POI (NW of Mirror Bay): Missing a Vista?  It's probably this one.  It's on the very northern edge of the map.  Go to the Union waypoint and head north (jump into the water).  Climb along the rocks until you can't go any further- you'll notice steps on your left.  Climb those, then climb another set of steps (requires more jumping).  Get to the highest point of the nearby rock, then jump onto the slab that has the vista.  You can also watch the video here.

Skill points

Skill point NE of Blighted Arch:  Approach from the beach to the north.  Note that this whole area has a random stun/damage effects that pop up, so it might be tricky to do the skill point (commune).

Skill point south of the Garden of Ilya:  Approach from the NW.  Skill point is a single veteran mob.

Skill point NW of the Cathedral of Zephyrs, on the cliff:  See "Cathedral of Zephyrs" below in Miscellaneous.  The skill point just requires you to talk to the mob and listen to the history of Malchor.

Skill point underneath the Cathedral of Eternal Radiance:  See "Area underneath the Cathedral of Eternal Radiance" in Misc. below.

Misc

Versoconjuring Waypoint:  See "Jinx Isle POIs" above.

Area underneath the Cathedral of Eternal Radiance:  There is a POI and a Skill point underneath this that aren't obvious how to get.  You have to be outside the cathedral, and approach from the west (do NOT take the ramp up into the Cathedral).  Map is below.

Cathedral of Zephyrs:  There is a POI, a vista and a skill point hidden here.  To get up there, take a somewhat concealed path directly to the west of the altar, then head up the cliff and over to the area.  There are a few Risen eagles and a Veteran Risen Preserver along the way that you can run by.

Karst Plains:  There is a POI and a skill point (commune) underground.  There may be a champion mob patrolling the area but you can avoid it.  Approach from the south, on the surface level, and there is a passageway leading into the tunnel.

Rich Mithril Vein:  West of the Mirror Bay.  Unguarded.

Chest:  By the "Hope Falls" POI, on the southern edge of the map in the center.  It's underwater.





Malchor's Leap 100% completion reward (at level 80): 44 silver, 25400 xp, Level 76 and 78 exotics, 3 Basic Transmutation Stones, 20 Lemongrass.

Temple of the Forgotten (story quest) walkthrough

This is probably one of the worst designed quests in the game.  You need to move through the Cathedral of Hidden Depths, killing mobs to get drops to open doors.  It's boring, repetitive and not clear at all which way to proceed.  Guide is below.

Note that each door must be opened by an Illusory Essence.  Activate an Abaddon shrine to spawn a mob.  Kill the mob to get the essence.  Find the "temple orb" spot, and put the illusory essence in the "temple orb".

Note that the essence is a handheld weapon, not an item.  It has a separate set of skills.  You can drop it and pick it back up if you need to.


First pillar/essence:  Swim straight ahead.  Do not try to skip the mobs- it will break the instance and you will  have to reset.

Second pillar/essence:  Swim back the way you came.  Above you is a portal leading to the next area.

Third pillar/essence:  Swim back into the "center" area.  On the south side, high up against the wall (just below the surface), are two doors (one of them sealed).  Go through the open one on the right.

Fourth pillars/essences:  Go through the door that is opened in the same room as the orb.  You will see a pool of water in front of you (this is actually the top of the "center" area).  DO NOT DROP IN.  Instead, on your right (north side) is a ramp leading to the next area.  This room has two pillars and two temple orbs in it.  Do one at a time.

Fifth step (altar):  Go through the opened door and up the ramp.  Follow the path, watch the cutscene, defeat the general.  Then dive into the water in front of you, head down and to the exit.

By the way, the ancient cudgel is ridiculously good underwater.  You can use it to permanently AOE stun any of the monsters in the temple.  It breaks very quickly on the surface, however.

Straits of Devastation POIs, Skill Points and Vistas

Note that this zone is very difficult to navigate.  There are Risen everywhere with fairly fast respawn times and a lot of pull/immobilize/cripple abilities.  Trying to get 100% completion alone would be hard unless you're very fast, can heal on the run and clear conditions.   Not to mention the very large space means that player density is lower, so you need to do a lot of the skill challenges alone and must be able to solo veteran mobs.

POIs

POI at Half Circle Cove:  Underground, in a tunnel.  Can enter from either the west or the southeast.

POI in the SW section of Fort Trinity (Caer Aval): There's some kooky things you can do to get to this POI, but the easiest thing is to just go through the story and it'll send you there.  The quest is "Temple of the Forgotten God (72).

Shark's Teeth Archipelago POI:  Enter underwater from the east.

POI NW of the Blighted Battleground (NE of Waywarde Way, SE of Xenarius Bayt): Map is below.

Vistas

Vista west of Fort Trinity:  Board the flying ship that's it on from the bridge to the east and then take the right path as you board.

Lightfoot Passage Vista: Inside a large cavern, reachable via the tunnels to the west.  Note that the entrance to the cavern is a blind turn so you need to constantly be searching the right hand wall to see it (or use the map for reference).  It's also a jump puzzle getting up to the top, but a fairly straightforward on.  Just keep climbing branches going upwards and keep an eye on which branch actually leads to the vista.  If you need a solution, see the video here.

Vista/Skill point NW of Shark's Teeth Archipelago (Vizier's Tower):  This is a jump puzzle that is started by crossing the bridge to the southwest.  Map below only shows the crossing section.  Climb the tower to reach the top, which has a vista, a skill point (book reading) and a chest.  Opening the chest spawns a veteran mob and a dynamic event to kill him, which can be soloed.  Climbing the tower also gives you the achievement "Vizier's Tower".  Video solution is here.  There is no easy way off the tower (no water to jump into) so waypointing is likely your best bet.


Vista NE of Triumph Plaza:  Requires some jumping to get up there.  Approach from the west.  The only tricky part is that at one point you have to jump on some rocks to be able to get enough height to jump over a gap.

Skill points

Skill point NW of Shark's Teeth Archipelago (Vizier's Tower):  See the vista above for description on how to get there.  The skill point requires you to just read a book.


Skill point SE of Sentry Steppes and SW of Cathedral of Glorious Victory: Enter the temple from the north.  On your left is a stairwell heading up.  Go up it, and then on your right will be a ramp leading to the skill point.  It's a fight against a single veteran mob.

Skill point at Cathedral of Glorious Victory:  The first half is the same as the Sentry Steppes skill point (above).  Enter the temple, go up the stairs on your left, then run over the waypoint.  Skill point will be right in front of you.  The skill point is a commune.  Note that if you are hit while communing, you will have to restart.

This is guarded by an outer ring of veteran and normal Risen, and the point itself has 2 veteran Risen at it.
If you have at least two people you will be fine, but if you are alone, here are your options:

1. Lure the outer ring of mobs back to your friendly mobs at the waypoint.
2. For the inner ring, there is one stationary veteran and one patrolling.  You can try killing the stationary one while the patrolling one is out of range.
3. Alternatively, you can summon a pet that can tank, then have the stationary vet attack it while you commune.  I did this successfully as an Elementalist with my earth elemental.

Misc

Chest:  At the Chapel of Lady Glaive POI (west of Triumph Plaza) there is a Champion Risen Captain and a chest.



Straits of Devastation 100% completion reward (at level 80): 40 silver, 25400 xp, two level 71 exotics, 3 Basic Transmutation Stones, and 40 Linen Scraps.

Mount Maelstrom POIs, Skill Points and Vistas

POI northeast of Mon Maelstrom:  This is on the surface level.  You can approach from the west or the east.

POI east of Treacherous Depths (in a fort): Enterable via an underwater cave to the east.

Missing a lot of POIs?  Make sure you check out the Infinite Coil area in the NE section of the map, which has 6 POIs, a skill point and a waypoint.

Valley of Gwaun POI (east of Bard's Valley):  This one is tricky because the cave is full of champion mobs.  If there's a dynamic event in the area (quest giver is right outside of the cave) you can disguise and walk in.  Otherwise, you'll need to either stealth in, or try the "sprint in and die" approach.  Speed boosting skills and evasion can help enormously.

Skill point in Maelstrom's Bile:  This is down in the fissure.  You can approach from the north or the south.  There's a veteran ooze next to it, but you can sneak past it to get the skill point (commune type).  Make sure not to stand in the lava while you commune since it will hurt you- there's a stone ledge next to the skill point that you can use.

Vista east of Criterion Canyon:  Approach from the north.

Vista at Maelstrom's Bile: This is at the very top of the volcano.  You can only approach from the north side.

Vista at Sootberme: Climb the cliffs behind the vista to get to it.  There is a bit of jumping onto rock ledges jutting out from the cliff.  The final jump is a bit tricky, you need to step slightly away from the cliff face to be able to jump onto the ledge.

Treacherous Depths skill point:  You have to swim underwater through an underwater cave to get to it.  It's a combat skill point against a single enemy with low damage output but considerable health.  Can be soloed but it may be tricky depending on your build.  He has a very short reset distance so be careful.

Vista southeast of Mire Sea:  It's at the top of the wooden tower.  Get onto the surface level and start climbing planks upwards.  There are a bunch of normal and veteran krait on the way up.  You can try run bys, but killing them is probably easier.  There is also a splendid chest at the very top, near the vista.

Vista NW of Benthic Kelp Beds (SE of The Mire Sea):  This one is surprisingly hard to climb.  Start from the rock slab on the southeast side of the island and make your way up.  Screenshots below, each screen shot after the 1st is before the jump you need to make. Map is also included.

Vista at Gauntlet Gulch:  Climb from the southern side.  There's a few stone structures jutting out of the ground you can use as steps.  Then jump onto the wall above you, go across it, then climb more stone steps to reach the top.

Artichoke Patch/farm:  See map below.  It's on a plateau so you need to climb to the top.  There is a veteran troll guarding it.

Rich Platinum Vein:  East of Sunken Droknah on the sea floor (have to swim through some seaweed to see it).  Also a juvenile blue jellyfish here.

Mount Maelstrom 100% completion reward (at level 75): 38.2 silver, 19500 xp, two level 70 exotics, a Black Lion Key and 20 Leeks.