he Icy DigThe Icy Dig is an instance of Permafrost targeted for players who are level 45 - 60. It is part of a larger World Event quest that has four steps (Disturbance, Revelation, The Cost of Success and Harness). The zone requires exactly six players to enter, and they must all have a minimum number of steps completed to gain entry (these steps are very easy to complete, however, and can be done solo in about 20 minutes). The zone contains several challenging encounters with named x2 mobs and many difficult group fights. Each named has a chance to drop a master chest. The zone has an 18-hour lockout timer. It is very difficult for a group of six and will test your mettle.

Level Note: Players level 61+ cannot enter the Icy Dig. I do not know if that is intentional or a bug. It appears to be a holdover from when level 60 was the cap. It does not matter if you are halfway through the quest or not, if you ding 61 you can forget about entering this zone or finishing this quest. Mentoring does not work. You will not get inside if your true level is 61+.

Author’s Note: Personally, this is my favorite single-group zone in the entire game. Each named encounter is fairly unique and requires specific strategy to win. Figuring out the zone took several trips and lots of deaths. My guild mates and I had a wonderful time learning this zone and completing this quest. The quest does not have an end reward, as it appears World Event quests are unsupported when the next Live Update comes around. However, we found the zone itself to be well worth the effort.

About this guide: The World Event quests (Disturbance, Revelation, The Cost of Success and Harness) can be performed by anyone in various level ranges. Your level determines which zone you need to visit in order to advance the quest. If you are level 44, for instance, you’re “mine” is somewhere in Zek, not Everfrost. This guide is not targeted toward the other lower level zones. It is strictly for the Icy Dig, the instance of Permafrost.

Players can be on any step in Revelations, The Cost of Success, or Harness when you enter the zone. All six players do not need to be on the same quest step. It is possible to get everyone the proper updates if you do the zone in a specific order.

This guide is broken up into multiple parts.

1. Gaining Access to the Icy Dig
2. An ordered walkthrough of the zone to maximize quest updates
3. Steps to complete Revelations
4. Steps to complete The Cost of Success
5. Steps to complete Harness

A Note on Access Glitches: Occasionally when you attempt to enter the Icy Dig you may get a message that one or more of your group members does not meet entrance requirements when they actually do. The solution to this problem is to have those members zone into Permafrost individually, then zone back out. This should clear the zone-in bug.

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Part 1: Gaining Access

There is no formal “access quest” for the Icy Dig. Instead, access is granted when you complete the quest Disturbance and the first step of the subsequent quest, Revelations. No killing is involved in either quest, just conversations with some NPC’s.

Disturbance

Your first order of business is to talk to Pearl Honeywine in Qeynos Harbor or Mareva D’Iniv in North Freeport. This will open up the Disturbance quest. You will then need to seek out Surveyor Menak in the Commonlands, a Roekillick miner located at +43, -24, -883, on the northern border of the zone. After talking to Menak you’ll need to speak with Engineer Klaasak who is about ten yards away. Once you finish speaking to him you can head back to your starting quest giver, either Pearl or Mareva.

The next step in the quest is to travel to the “mine.” Since this is a World Event, there are several locations you can visit depending on your level. For level 45-60 this location is Permafrost. Walking up to the door of Permafrost should be enough to trigger the quest update, but occasionally it does not work. Zoning into Permafrost and exiting should get you the update.

Return to Pearl or Mareva. This will close out Disturbance and open up the quest Revelations.

Revelations

Your first task in Revelations is to travel to the Thundering Steppes and talk to Miner Razcsko. He is located far to the south, near the entrance to the Rumbler caves. Speaking to Razscko grants you access to the Icy Dig.

Gather up five of your friends who have also completed these steps and get ready to enter the Dig.

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Entering the Icy Dig

When you first zone into the Icy Dig a small Roekillick Watcher will be waiting for you. He is a lookout. His job is to run away and return with help to kill you. It is imperative that the first player who enters the zone engages the Watcher and kills him. The Watcher is a solo mob and very easy to defeat. If the Watcher does get away and manage to return with additional forces, it is best to try and kill the Watcher first before everyone in the group dies. Then allow the rest of the mobs to wander away before you revive in the zone. You can revive in the zone, at the zone-in door. Be cautious however and read carefully, because you will also be given the option to revive at the Icy Fjord, which is in Everfrost. The actual location of the revive point will be in parenthesis.

Mining Crews

Now make your way down the tunnel. You’ll encounter several Roekillick miners and a Roekillik Excavation Chief working together. Kill them and they will drop a chest with explosives. These will come in handy later on.

Sentinels

While you are making your way to the courtyard you’ll notice various group members being randomly struck by a spell that stuns and does minor damage. The stun is very long, around 10 seconds. These spells are cast from the Icy Sentinels above (the giant Wolves) at the top of the courtyard walls. The sentinels are non-aggro and cannot be attacked, but they can be deactivated with a switch that is located further down in the zone.

Bobo

Cross the icy bridge to the courtyard tunnel. This is where you’ll engage your first named mobs, Bobo (an Ice Golem) and his sidekick, Patrolman Skzza. All golems in the Icy Dig have an AE stun spell. The range is not terribly long and casters should be able to avoid it at max range. However, be cautious with initial aggro because tanks cannot taunt while stunned. When you’re done with Bobo and his sidekick, proceed to the door to Vox’s throne room.

Obstacles

When you enter the corridor you’ll notice the other end being blocked by a wall of ice. You should also notice cracks in that wall. Time for the explosive you looted earlier from the miners. Stand as close as you can to the wall and right-click and use one of the explosives in your inventory. It may take two charges to blow it open.

More Watchman

Be prepared. Once you blow the ice wall there will be two Roekillick Watcher close by. They will run to the left and right, respectively, and down the side corridors to get help. They must be engaged immediately and killed or you may wipeout.

Diamondon

Once the Watchers are dispatched you’ll notice Diamondon standing at the backdoor at the top of the throne/dais. He is your first x2 mob, a named and very shiny golem. He has a stun like the other mobs in the zone and has a power-drain as well. This is a DPS fight – kill him as fast as you can before you run out of juice and make sure to use potions, necro hearts and Manastone if you have them.

You do not have to kill Diamondon to progress through the zone and get the quest updates, but like all named mobs in the Icy Dig he has a chance to drop a master chest.

Head West

Take the west (left) corridor. There will be a golem or two patrolling this area. At the first intersection hang a right and head north. This path takes you down into the lower caverns of the Icy Dig. As you wind down the ramp you’ll notice a Tundra Terror mob burrowed at the bottom of it with his tail sticking out. This mob is non-aggro.

Attacking this mob causes it to immediately despawn, and in its place spawns the Burrowing Horror, a large ice lizard with a clean aggro list. This is the most difficult mob in the zone. Only a perfectly executed fight will win. He has a very large AE that has a stun effect, as well as an AE that does significant poison damage. His AE’s can be avoided at max casting range. It is best to leave the Burrower Horror for the trip back up, and not attack him on the way down.

Icemaul

Continuing a short ways past the Burrowing Horror to the next downward slope and you’ll find Icemaul, a large polar bear. Icemaul is one of the easier mobs in the zone to defeat. He is a pretty straight forward fight.

Deactivate the Sentinels

Once Icemaul is defeated you’ll see a small, green crystal shard poking out of the wall nearby, about eye level or higher (if you’re a short race it will be over your head). Click it and deactivate the Sentinels in the courtyard.

The Tundra Queen (The Cost of Success Quest Update)

If any of your group members require the update to The Cost of Success then you must now continue down into the bowls of the dungeon. This is the only step required for The Cost of Success.

In the lower cavern you will find the Tundra Queen, surrounded by several minions. They are linked to her and will aggro on the pull. If you have fought the Kra’Thuk in Everfrost then you will know how to fight The Tundra Queen. She is designed to fool groups that typically kill minions first and save the named for last. This is a mistake. Killing her minions causes stronger versions to spawn repeatedly. The best course of action is to focus all DPS on the Tundra Queen and destroy her first, then clean up the minions.

Once she is dead a small box will appear near her spawn point. Clicking on this box will update The Cost of Success. A small roekillick will appear and take the box from you and then AE stun you for several seconds.

Burrowing Horror

Now head back up the ramps to the Burrowing Horror. You can skip this encounter if you wish, as it is not part of any of the quest updates. If you do attack it is best to have a Templar/Inquisitor cast Sanctuary on the pull, as the Burrowing Horror will launch his stun AE on initial aggro.

If you fail to kill the Burrower Horror he does not reset as the non-aggro Tundra Terror. He will be up for good now, which is why it is best to kill him on your way out of the lower caverns. If you decide he’s too tough you can skip him.

Revelation Update #1

Head up the ramp to the main western corridor and continue west. A branch of the corridor will jut south and will contain another group of miners working there with an Excavation Chief. Slay them for their explosives. Continue west until you run into another ice wall blocking you off from the northwestern room. Blow this wall and proceed inside.

Work your way around the side of the room until you see one of the Roekillick Guards. Prepare for battle, as you’ll be fighting four mobs at once. Commisioner Kuluka and Adjutant Kleek are in this room. Pulling the guard will cause them to all attack as they are linked. Once the area is clear you are free to go inside the large room. On the floor you’ll find the first note lying on the ground. This is quest update #1.

Head back to Diamondon’s throne.

Revelations Update #2

Now head down the east corridor toward the northeast room, which also happens to be blocked off by an ice wall. Clear any ice golems along the way. When you finish with this room you’ll be in a rush and won’t want to stop.

Ghagan the Enforcer

Blow the ice wall and enter, hugging the east (right) wall, traveling counter-clockwise around the room. This is critical. After you slay Commissioner Twaynak and Adjutant Breek in this room you will trigger Ghagan the Enforcer, a x4 Giant. He is very slow and will take some time to reach you, but don’t tarry. Instead, as soon as the Commissioner and his group are dead, run into the middle of the room and get your second quest update, another note on the floor. Now rush back to the eastern wall and watch the entrance where you blew the hole. Wait for the giant to pass through it. Ghagan the Enforcer circles the room in a clockwise direction, opposite where you should be. After he passes safe distance from the door, run through it and exit the room.

Continue running, taking the first left (south) and follow that corridor. It will take you to another ramp that leads up. One ice golem will be patrolling that ramp. Have your tank engage it and carry it to the top of the ramp. If you do not take the fight to the top, Ghagan will return, aggro, and your time in the zone is over.

Note: Once Ghagan the Enforcer aggros, his aggro cannot be cleared, even upon death. Reviving in the zone will not clear it and he will continue to hunt you down. Thus, if you aggro Ghagan you’re night in the Icy Dig is over.

Do not wander too far into the corridor at the top of the ramp, however, as there is another Watcher waiting to sound the alarm.

Harness Update #1

Kill the Watcher in that corridor at the top of the ramp. If all group members are on Revelations you can skip this step. However, you will miss out on an amulet that will aid you later on. The more copies of this Amulet you have the better your chances of success when you do Harness.

Head south through the door, out onto the ramparts. You should get a quest update Harness by simply walking onto the ramparts.

Hondo

Head south along the walkway. Clear the immediate area of ice golems. To the south you’ll see Hondo in the distance, another ice golem with a Roekillick buddy at his side. This fight is just like the Bobo fight.

Harness Update #2: Rygia

Beyond Hondo you’ll see Advisor Kal (a warlock) and Rygia, his evil sidekick. This is a tough double-fight of x2 mobs as they are linked. However, it is an important fight as Rygia drops Rygia’s Amulet of Dousing. This amulet is necessary for later. The best tactic here is to kill Advisor Kal first, and then Rygia. Be warned: Rygia has a very nasty crushing melee AE that he occasionally pulls off near the end of fights. It does 2,000+ damage and quickly wiped out three members of our group during a battle that looked like we were clearly going to win. This fight can turn on you fast.

Slaying Rygia will update Harness again.

Revelation Update #3

Leave the ramparts and head west from the spot where the last Watcher died, at the top of the ramp. You’ll come to the large circular hallway. Your objective is to get to the western side and head down a ramp. However, two Roekillick guards patrol this hallway. They look harmless, but attacking them spawns two very nasty Ice Golems for a total of four mobs. With the stunning AE’s of the golems this fight can turn deadly in a hurry.

Once you get to the west ramp, head down to the bottom and clear the area of more miners. In a corner, hidden under the ramp you will find quest update #3.

Revelations Complete

At this point in time you’re ready to head back to Pearl or Mareva and finish Revelations.

Harness Update #3: Kodan, Huyzak the Cunning & Bresellis the Dark

Head up the ramp back to the middle level with the large circular hallway. Turn left, to the north. There will be a set of double doors on the north side. Go through them and start your crawl through the cavern. There are various miners and golems in here.

When you reach the end you’ll come upon Huyzak the Cunning and Bresellis the Dark, with friends. This is the start of a very difficult fight. Huyzak the Cunning must be killed last, because his death triggers an event. The wall behind him will explode and Kodan, a large Drakota will come bursting through.

Engage the roekillick, picking off the unnamed mobs first, then Bresellis and finally Huyzak. Huyzak is the key here. His death will trigger the destruction of the wall, revealing a large cavern. You must immediately rush inside the cavern and meet Kodan.

Inside his cave you’ll find two totems. These totems become active the minute the wall breaks down, and they each randomly strike a player for high damage. They can be temporarily disabled with Rygia’s Amulet. If you are able to meet Kodan before he makes his exit from the cave then you will be close enough to use the amulet. Simply right-click and use the amulet and disable the totems. A message will display informing you they have been temporarily disabled. Another message will inform you of their activation after several seconds pass. Each time you see the message, the person with the amulet should use it again.

If you fail to defeat Kodan you will be unable to shut off the totems because they strike zone-wide. They do enough damage that you won’t be able to return to Kodan before group members die. This is a one-shot fight, you have to get it right the first time.

Once you defeat Kodan you will receive the last update for the Harness quest. Return to Pearl or Mareva and complete the quest series.

The Dark Planner

There is one mob left in the dungeon, on the top level. He is The Dark Planner, a drakota with two golem bodyguards. He is not required for any part of the quest, but does have a chance to drop a master chest, and the fight is incredibly challenging and fun. He has an AE knockback that can make things quite interesting.