Guided tour in Onyx

The Onyx Chambers, aka the horrible-maze-that-gives-nothing-but-headaches

Hello reader(s)

I would just want to point out a few things about he Onyx Chambers that perhaps could help some of you get an interest in this area that often triggers a love/hate reaction in players.

First of all, I don’t know more about Onyx than what is readily available through the official forums. I was simply pointed there at first for a friend who really wanted to get the plate set for his guardian (admittingly the best looking armor, i think many will agree), so i decided to learn things there and then just to be more useful. It was a matter of time before I actually took charge of the runs.

You can find an excellent and in depth article here, you can all read for yourselves as well, and i advise it fully:

http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=180767

But where most group find themselves lacking is in the execution of the run, because even with the best knowledge of the area, it’s still not enough…and it’s part of why Onyx Chambers is quite unique in AoC.

1. Concentration required from all members.

Unlike most instances, a successful run in the Chamber relies on the complete coordination of every party member. Usually, everyone relies on the soldier and the healer to do everything (with the occasional extra role). A single wrong step in this area, and the whole party is in jeopardy. As Rafnir pointed out quite well recently, that place really makes the bad apples stand out, but don’t let that statement discourage you if you make a mistake, everyone has to learn from them….and everyone including the best can be distracted at a crucial moment.

2. But there’s no reward

That is often what i am told about the place, and of course it is wrong. Many do not understand why some bosses sometimes don’t drop anything, and since the rares ones are tricky to get there, well…they assume there’s far too much time involved for the reward. Onyx Chambers is not a normal instance in this regard. It’s not a clean and leave area, you must go through it surgically a few times (if you have specific targets, like quests or some equipment, it really helps the leader to guide the group). That’s why it’s important to read up on what bosses drop the things you want, so you can point that interest to your leader.

3. Discipline

The leader takes the blame if we fail, the team takes the merit if we succeed, but in return, he or she get your attention and your cooperation until one of the two happens. There’s only one leader in a run, Onyx is confusing enough for most without arguing about tactics. Being a leader in this place requires you to have knowledge as well. It is also very helpful if the leader is the one that pulls things.

4. Time

Making a run in Onyx is not short, but it depends on what you want to do with it. Forget Atzel’s fortress, forget Sanctum…this place is not just a linear course. Usually, 2 hours will make your time worth the effort in there, provided you have specific goals (you can go randomly of course, but then count any equipment as bonus, enjoy the fun of your run as its reward).

Also, given this is an open instance, the hour you do your run matters here, especially for Onyx chambers.

a) The less people there are, the less chances you will have to “fight” them (pvp thing, heh)

b) The other group(s) can basically “steal” each other, as far as rare bosses go, since the placeholder you kill might spawn a rare that the other group will meet first, and vice versa; this is especially true if one of the groups have a ranger who can track them.

c) If you are the only group in Onyx, you can go out, and wait for a while, then re-enter, and get completely different rares.

All this makes Onyx runs far more interesting late nights or early morning when you are at peace.

5. A maze?

Go explore it with the object you get from your destiny quest (after you’ve done the quest of course) or simply look at the map linked in the article above while you make a run, after a while it’ll become rather easy.

6. How many people?

A well disciplined group can do this area with less than a full group…as stated above, Flamma (demo) and me (conq.) could successfully take down regular undead and lizard foes (not bosses, obviously). Any soldier that took feats to be tough can be main tank here.
Lizard floor: you really only need 3 people (but some bosses can be really hard)
Undead floor: a safe minimum is 4 (we actually often went to the undead area with 3, with the scion as our target). Comfortable with 5
Black ring floor: I won’t do it without a full group, even if i know it can be done, it’s just too much risk for the reward.

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So you’ve read everything, and might be tempted to test the waters…but you don’t know where to begin?

That’s where we can help 

First our goal is not to succeed; it is to have fun while working together toward success.

Onyx provides a different sort of entertainment than other instances, so having fun in onyx requires you to listen (read chat) carefully, and pay attention to your surrounding, be on your toes at all times, etc. It’s an adventure like it should be!

Many players I’ve brought to Onyx started slowly to actually like the place. Other than just loot and quests, it provides a dynamic challenge that sometimes is lacking even from raids, plus when you have someone knowledgeable that leads you, the whole area seems less of a mess or maze. After a while, I hope more people will be confident to lead on others and show the secrets of that treacherous area that is Onyx chambers.

How to reach me:

Your best bet is to message me in game, either to Ghalvira, Sappho or Atzi

I play late nights, which obviously helped me in discovering Onyx, so I advise the runs to take place then. (things like 10-11gmt) for 1 or 2 hours, depending on the objectives you have. 2-3 hours for a full tour, though.

If sufficient interest is shown, I will hold a weekly adventure down there, and we’ll make things happen.

Hope you enjoyed, and perhaps see you in game “knee deep in Onyx”

Ghalvira

P.S. not sure how this will look in the blog text page…let’s see.