If this is your first time to play City of Heroes, encountering the Hollows may be something that could make you cancel that subscription. Why? Because the Hollows is a very tough place to survive. It has no hospital, no hero trainer, and any of the other features that come with your standard City Zone.

Chances are, the Hollows is probably your first sortie into one of the game’s many Hazard Zones, an area with higher levels of danger than normal. These Hazard Zones require a minimum security level to enter, and enemies here will typically be found in larger, more dangerous groups than in City Zones.

A visit to this Hazard Zone is entirely optional, but what’s a hero to do but smite down the enemies of justice wherever they may crawl? Aside from its significance to the storyline, the Hollows are a great place for leveling up your fledgling hero. It would be a shame to miss out on the Hollows’ many battles.

One of the first things the Hollows would teach you is that you shouldn’t patrol alone. Forming or joining a team is the best way to gain all the experience points that the place has to offer, and having company will keep you alive too.

David Wincott
This guy is the first contact you’ll meet when you step into the Hollows, and it’s easy to recognize him: David Wincott wears a patrolman uniform and shades. This contact is located at the northwestern part of the Hollows, beside the gate to Atlas Park.

Lieutenant David Wincott was just a beat cop with a nine-to-five shift until his son, Sam, was kidnapped by the Trolls four years ago. Now, he’s a man with a mission. After the kidnapping, Wincott asked to be reassigned to the Paragon City Trolls Task Force. It’s a dangerous job that’s cost many of his comrades their lives, but to Wincott, the risk is worth it. Although his friends keep telling him to make peace with his past, Wincott’s never stopped hoping that one day he’ll be reunited with his son.

Here are the missions that Wincott will give you:

• Combat Outcasts in Cherry Hills
  Wincott tells you to defeat 10 Outcasts. Instead of looking for fights on Cherry Hills (behind Wincott), you should look to the streets on either side of the entrance. The Outcasts on the hill are at levels 7 and 8, so avoid it like the plague if you’re just at level 5 or 6. Pull enemies when there are several of them, but be careful when running away from a group—you might run into a different bunch.

• Combat Trolls in Cherry Hills
  You’re again told to take down 10 bad guys, this time you’re to defeat members of the Trolls. Pulling is again an important tactic to use. If a group of enemies all chase you at once, run for the section occupied by cops. Villains that enter that area will be taken down by the police droids. Hopefully, your character should be in level 6 by now, making things a bit easier. If not, joining a group would make this mission more manageable. On one of the Trolls, you’ll find a list that enumerates a couple of Outcast hideouts.

• Defeat all Outcasts in Base
  This would be your first door mission in the Hollows. There’s nothing to figure out here: you go in, destroy everything that moves, look for the four weapon racks, and get out. By the time you get to this mission, you can probably go solo already, unless you picked a physically-weak archetype. Keep away from Grendel’s Gulch on your way to the mission map, because you’ll surely earn a trip to the hospital at lower levels. Beware of the Electric Eel, the leader of the Outcasts in that base.

• Defeat all Outcasts in Second Base
  This mission is similar to the previous one. This time, the base is led by Bedrock, one of those Brick types. This boss can be a handful when he gets close, so keep your distance if you’re not a Tanker or Scrapper. There are three artifacts to find—a worn tome, a coral bracelet, and a strange skull.

Flux
Freddy Tindle, or Flux, is a cop working undercover among the Outcasts. This contact would take some snooping around to find, because he isn’t in plain sight. All you need to do is go to north of the Hollows, somewhere in the Four Seasons neighborhood. Flux is hiding in an alley behind one of the buildings facing the zone’s wall.

When the Paragon City police needed an officer to be part of a street gang, Tindle’s low-level electrical powers made him the perfect man for the job. Perhaps because of the dual life he’s leading, Freddy’s trust isn’t won easily. But once he decides that a hero is worth believing in, he’ll do anything to help that hero out. Freddy’s superiors have recently criticized him for giving his hero contacts too much information, thereby putting his own status in jeopardy. But the way Freddy sees it, the heroes he works with are his comrades and closest friends. If he didn’t give them all the information that might help them, he couldn’t look himself in the mirror.

Here are the missions that Flux will assign:

• Combat Outcasts in Hollows
  You’re back to defeating X number of enemies. This time, you need to take down 10 Outcasts. You should be at least a level 7 by now, so looking for Outcasts on Cherry Hills won’t be as dangerous anymore. Beware of fights between Outcasts and Trolls, they can be deadly for characters at your level.

• Defeat all Trolls in Base
  A group of cops have been taken by the Trolls when the gang raided an abandoned office that Wincott has been using as a base of operations. You have to rescue five cops in the mission and defeat all the Trolls. Bringing a team is a smart move because soloing as a Tanker or Blaster is still iffy. Don’t forget to pull. If they all go after at you, run.

• Defeat Gang Leaders and Crews
  You’ll be exploring a cave in this mission, and enemies abound here so it’s better to bring a team. There will be a lot of Trolls and a few Outcasts (it’s an Outcast raid on a Troll warren). Like other missions, there are several bosses, but there are two gang leaders here—one’s Rundum, a Troll, and Greased Lightning from the Outcasts. There are also two bombs to diffuse.

• Interrogate Outcasts in Hollows
  Flux reveals the location to Frostfire's hideout, but before he does that, he wants you to look for 10 more Outcasts to defeat. Flux justifies this by explaining that if you walk into Frostfire’s hideout, he will be accused of ratting them out. Apparently, defeating X number of Outcasts is the same as interrogating them in Flux’s book. You should be a lot more powerful by this time, but pick the Outcasts you’re going to fight. Soloing should be feasible.

• Defeat Frostfire
  This should be a mission that you’re familiar with. Chances are, the teams that invited you have this very mission in their to-do list, and it’s possible that you haven’t reached this point in your game yet. Bring a team with you, unless you’re level 50. The Frostfire mission is just full of brawls at every corner.
  
  There are many bosses here, but the only Keystone and Frostfire are named. You must find Keystone first because he has the key that lets you open a sealed door. There are three levels in this mission and Frostfire is on the topmost.
  
  An empath (or someone with heal at the very least) would be great for this mission, so take the time to look for one. You see, Frostfire is quite a handful because of his fire and ice powers. The rewards are worth it though: you’ll level up at least once (with the sheer number of enemies), and you’ll get the Weatherman/Weathergirl badge.

Julius the Troll
This is one ugly dude, but don’t let his looks fool you. Julius is one of the good guys, and he’ll give you a good set of missions. Julius is standing in the middle of a bridge along the Red River, waiting for the next hero.

Julius is the smallest and most disgruntled Troll in Paragon City. Referred to as ‘Runt’ by many of his fellow gang members, Julius has had to find a purpose for himself that’s not tied up in the drug culture of the Trolls. He’s found that purpose in the reclamation of the Hollows. Julius wants to see the area restored to its natural state, and he’s willing to sell out his comrades to make it happen. Heroes have occasionally reported seeing a faint glimmer of intelligence buried within Julius’ Superadine-addled mind. If a cure for the Trolls’ mutations could be found, it’s possible that Julius would have a lot of potential to live up to.

Julius the Troll will provide the following missions:

• Combat Trolls in Hollows
  You know the drill. Your new contact tells you to defeat X number of gang members. In this case, you look for 10 Trolls. If you’ve played everything chronologically, you’ll find the Trolls around Julius rather powerful compared to you—because of their numbers at least. Check your map to find out which spot has easier thugs. Avoid the eastern part of the map when you can, the neighborhoods there are marked red.

• Stop Damming in the Red River
  This mission is rather difficult. You see, you have to kill 15 Trolls but they have to be in the river. What makes it difficult is that the Trolls located here would have higher levels than you, registering a red or purple ID. To survive, it would be best if you came with a team. The Trolls come in large groups, so having at least three members of different archetypes would be ideal.

• Defeat all Creatures in Cave
  Brace yourself for this mission. If you think fighting purple or red Trolls are difficult, wait till you get a load of the Igneous job, which is considered to be the toughest mission in the Hollows. Magma Lords that you encounter in the cave will mez like crazy. The only solution is to bring a good team that comes with a Tank (for aggro) and healer, and pack Resist Effects and Healing inspirations. Do watch out for patrols (Igneous love to patrol) that come out without warning.

• Rescue Slaves from Trolls
  Here’s another mission that needs a team. It’s pretty long because you have to cover a lot of ground (it’s a door mission involving a huge cave), and you have five slaves to rescue. The slaves are placed in the farthest reaches of the cave, and there are a fair number of enemies here. You’ll square off with a boss Troll named Gundar, who can be pretty tough for your level. With a good team and several Healing inspirations in place, you’ll get out of this mission alive

Talshak the Mystic
This contact will be introduced by your old friend Julius the Troll when you complete all the missions he’s given you. Talshak is located in the Grendel’s Gulch neighborhood, and his coordinates are (271, -250, -1181). This red-robed oddity will “introduce” you to Karsis, the last contact in the Hollows.

Very little is known about Talshak the Mystic. The only thing that is certain is that he is bent on protecting the mystical gateway that is rumored to exist deep within the Hollows. Does Talshak want to prevent the gateway from being used, or simply reserve it for himself? No one knows for sure. Talshak has been quite adept at weaving distracting spells to keep the Circle of Thorns from its goal. However, the dull-witted Trolls have proved more difficult to dissuade. Talshak is more than happy to provide you with the details of the Trolls' activities, in exchange for help in driving the gangsters away.

Here are the missions that Talshak will assign:

• Combat Trolls in the Hollows
  Here’s another “defeat X number of bad guys” type of mission. No specifics on where you get your Trolls here—just get 10 of them.

• Defeat 10 Minions of Igneous
  By now, your skin should be thick enough for you to venture into Grendel’s Gulch, but take several Awaken and Heal inspirations just in case. Beware of Igneous lieutenants like Elder Magmites and Elder Pumicites, their Hurl Boulder and Stone Claw is damaging.

• Defeat Base Leader and His Men
  Aside from taking down the bad guys, you and your team must visit a pair of caves used as storehouses for Superadine shipments. It’s similar to disarming bombs. Like I mentioned you should bring a team, unless you’re way over the Zone’s recommended level (at this point, why continue playing in the Hollows?). It’s always good to bring an empath and Tanker because there are quite a number of opponents to fight. There’s one boss to defeat and four crates of Superadine to destroy in the first cave. The first boss is Muggnor, one of those sturdy Calibans. The second cave has three Superadine crates and its boss is named Grondor.

• Defeat the Troll’s Leader, Atta
  Forget the sizeable group you formed when fighting Frostfire. Taking on Atta is an even bigger task, and you’re facing so many criminals in this one. You may want to tune down the difficulty (as simple as changing titles—you have to pay for it though) if your level isn’t that high. Getting the “lowest” title and difficulty will still yield a good amount of experience, so fret not. Having high difficulty will only get you into trouble and straight to the hospital, so if you insist on continuing, make sure you have Awakens and powerful teammates.
  
  You may choose to fight only Atta and his guards, but the sheer amount of experience would be a waste if you won’t search every crevice for bad guys to defeat. FYI, Atta is an elite boss so DO NOT think about going solo. Take note that elite bosses may have the same level as ordinary bosses, but they are much tougher.

• Retrieve Sam Wincott
  After beating the stuffing out of Atta, the elite boss will tell you that they used to have Sam Wincott in their clutches, but the Circle of Thorns took the boy. If you’ve been paying attention to what your contacts have been saying, you’ll remember that this Sam is the son of your first Hollows contact David Wincott.
  
  Sam was kidnapped by the Trolls four years previously, and his father David was on a mission to save him ever since. Apparently, Sam has magical abilities that the Circle needed to find the Cavern of Transcendence.
  
  Now would probably be your first run-in with the Circle of Thorns, a villain group focused on the occult. They’re not so tough physically, but their mez abilities make them a formidable opponent. Don’t forget to buy those Break Free inspirations, they’re handy against mez attacks.
  
  Now, on to rescuing Sam Wincott.

Karsis
This contact will be majorly pissed when you speak to him because Karsis has come under the magical control of Talshak. Against his wishes, he will tell reveal to you the location of the Cavern of Transcendence. Karsis is located at (698, -32, -38.5).

You will have to form a Task Force for the Cavern’s trial, and this requires eight people at levels 12 to 15. If the group you’ve formed has members above or below this range, you may have to get them to Exemplar (if they have higher levels) or Sidekick (if they have lower levels) so that your Task Force’s level would fall within the required range. Because the trial has a time limit, it would be important that your members have Recall Friend and Grant Invisibility so that you can finish everything in time.

• Surviving the Sewers
  Once you’ve formed the Task Force, go to the sewers in the Hollows. If you’re smart enough to avoid this place until now, this would be a good time to tell you that the place is crawling with Trolls every step of the way, so it’s not wise to fight all the way into the cavern’s entrance. You’ll be out of time when you reach the cavern’s entrance.
  
  This is when the teammate/s with Grant Invisibility and Recall Friend comes in. The character/s will use their Invisibility to avoid the Troll’s aggro (Stealth isn’t enough, FYI) and Teleport the rest of the team when the cavern’s entrance is found.

• Touching Obelisks
  Again, utilize your teammate/s with Grant Invisibility and Recall Friend. The character/s will go down each of the nine tunnels running through the cavern. Eight of these tunnels will contain obelisks at the end, while the other tunnel will have symbols at its wall and a dead end. There will be random Igneous standing by an obelisk, so just Teleport the entire team and defeat each one.
  
  The main objective here is to place one teammate per obelisk, and you will have to touch each obelisk simultaneously. This won’t be easy because we’re talking about eight people here, so you have to devise a way to get everyone to count down and touch each at the same time. When done right, the obelisks will stop glowing.

• Saving Sam
  Remember the tunnel with the runes? It’s time to Teleport there and go through the new doorway at the end. Beyond the door are two more rooms, one of which contains Sam Wincott. The first room will have a group of Igneous, including two lords and a level 15 monster. The second room is behind the first, and looking at it will reveal your next objective.
  
  Sam is guarded by three Igneous minions, but be careful! You might run into a random group of Igneous in the hallway, so beat them first. Getting Sam won’t be as simple though.
  
  One good method is to send your teammate/s with the Grant Invisibility-Recall Friend combo and pull one of the guards. Remember to turn Invisible after attacking! If you do this correctly, the guard will follow you out, and you can all attack without alerting everyone else. Bottom line in saving the boy is to avoid the monster, because you will regret it if you get its attention.
  
  After saving Sam, exit the mission and Teleport out of the sewers. If your Task Force is still feeling it, you may fight your way out and earn more experience points. You’ll also earn the Transcendence Badge, so feel free to wear it proudly! The Hollows is done.

Forumlink

Discuss about this article by following the address below :
http://www.skryer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=2379


Print Article
Send to a friend
Save as PDF