Helegrod
From Lotro-Wiki.com
"Helegrod... Once a dwarf-hold in the Misty Mountains, until the coming of a great dragon. Though the dragon has long since perished, and the ice of many long winters has engulfed the ruins, rumours out of the North speak of a terrible shadow returning to the frozen halls..."
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Location
Helegrod is a raid instance intended for a full raid group of 24 players.
The entrance is located at the top of The Bitter Stair [17.9S, 2.2W], in the far northern reaches of the Misty Mountains.
Overview
From the entrance, either head down the hill to the south-east, or up to the gates in the east. Choosing to go down the hill leads through numerous pulls of elite bears up to Coldbear. Although it is not necessary to do this encounter in order to progress, he has a small chance to drop a two-handed axe that is coveted by Champions and other melee classes, as well as the possibility of other loot. The fight is very easy, and once he is down head back and proceed to the gates in the east.
Pulling the guards at the gate activates the encounter. Defeat all mobs except for one (such as the Gorthorog, who can easily be distinguished from the others and pulled away). Keep a tank and Minstrel on the Gorthorog to prevent more waves of mobs from spawning. The rest of the raid should run through the gate and up to the drums in order to defeat the four Krahjarn Drummers. The Drummers need to be defeated at approximately the same time, or they will revive each other. Once they are down, head back to the Gorthorog and finish him off.
Going past the drums leads up to a large stairwell with a gate at the top. The gate will open, revealing The Servants Four. The encounter begins as soon as someone steps beyond the gates, and they will stay open throughout the fight. The encounter resets when someone with aggro runs out, so stay inside unless you are intentionally resetting the fight.
There are now three ways to proceed, each leading to a boss encounter. All three of these bosses must be defeated in order to fight the undead dragon Thorog.
The gateway to the north-east leads higher into the mountains, through many Giants that can hurl boulders for great distances and also knock unwary players off the edge of a cliff. Players will eventually reach Storvagun, the leader of the Giants.
The Drake Halls
The doorway to the east is guarded by several groups of Angmarim, and leads deep into the halls of the former Dwarf stronghold. It has been overrun by Drakes, Worms and more Angmarim. Watch out for groups of drake eggs lying around, as running too close to them will cause four Drakelings to spawn. Clear the first hall of enemies, then head up the main ramp to a closed gate. Position a player next to each of the two levers located on either side of the main gate. Activating the levers at the same time will cause the gates in the north and south of the hall to open, revealing a Drake and lever in both. It will also spawn a Drake and four Drakelings by the main gate. Once the levers in the north and south have been activated, the main gate will open.
Head on through the next areas, which contain a lot more Drakes, Worms and eggs, until you reach two Hill-men in front of a ramp. Do not approach them until everyone is prepared. Have Lore-masters use Blinding Flash on both of the Hill-men, with Burglars ready to provide a backup stun/mezz. If either of them reaches the room at the top of the ramp, they will bring back a large group of Hill-men, and both groups together are very difficult to defeat. Defeat them, then pull either of the Hill-men groups. It is possible to proceed without pulling the second group, as long as everyone in the raid makes sure to keep their distance while going by.
The next hallway or two are uneventful, with the normal groups of mobs. Continue through until you reach a massive hall with a large platform in the middle, on which the Grisgart encounter takes place. Keep in mind that all of the eggs will become active once the encounter begins, and spawn a group of hatchlings if anyone gets too close.
The Spider Caves
The cave entrance to the south-east leads into a large expanse of tunnels filled with spiders. It is favorable to bring at least a few Champions for this area, as their area-of-effect damage can be used to maximum effect. Hunters to cure the countless poisons are also a great help. The first few pulls are easy, so clear them until you reach a cavern with three groups of Hill-men and a large Spider-queen who patrols in between them. Although it is possible to take on the whole room at once, pulling the Hill-men groups one at a time makes it easier on the raid.
To be continued...
Bosses
| Level | Name | Difficulty | Species | Dread | Morale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | Coldbear | Arch-nemesis | Bear | 0 | 147,552 |
| 51 | Adhargal | Arch-nemesis | Man | 0 | 134,500 |
| 51 | Ansach | Arch-nemesis | Man | 0 | 134,500 |
| 51 | Breosal | Arch-nemesis | Man | 0 | 134,500 |
| 51 | Grisgart | Arch-nemesis | Man | 0 | 134,500 |
| 53 | Storvâgûn | Arch-nemesis | Giant-kind | 7 | 215,000 |
| 52 | Zaudru | Arch-nemesis | Spiders and Insects | 6 | 140,000 |
| 54 | Drugoth | Arch-nemesis | Ancient Evil | 7 | 147,500 |
| 54 | Thorog | Arch-nemesis | Dragon-kind | 10 | 310,500 |
Lore
In the distant north of the linked valleys of the Misty Mountains lie the frozen halls of Helegrod. Once it was a great Dwarf-hold, home to treasures dug from mountain mines, secure against cold winds and rancorous Orcs, but its glittering riches and mountaintop fires caught the eye of a Dragon called Thorog. It descended on Helegrod and laid claim to the fortress until the coming of Durin V, who led a company of Dwarves against the beast.
Thorog perished, but his defeat cost the lives of many brave Dwarves, including Durin. The survivors, blood-stained and grieving, felt the shadow of Thorog was too great to ever forget. They emptied their treasuries and withdrew, abandoning Helegrod and the corpse of Thorog to the ice.
The path to Helegrod is a steep and snowy stretch marked by Dwarf-made columns and known now as the Bitter Stair. After the flight of Durin’s Folk, Helegrod’s halls lay empty for countless long winters.
The main gate of Helegrod is a true testimony of dwarven craftmanship. Here, blazing Dwarf-torches warn of the scarred and evil-tinged halls abandoned beyond. All the great gates of Helegrod bear carvings of the dragon Thorog, who slew so many here and was slain himself too.
Loot
Some of the bosses drop a special item, that can be exchanged for a piece of the Helegrod armour set. There is a different set for each class. In early days these were wanted for their stats, however now they are wanted mainly for cosmetic purposes. Here are some examples:
| Helegrod Armour | ||||||||||||||||
| Captain | Lore-master | |||||||||||||||
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