Nektulos Forest
Nektulos Forest is a dark forest that lies north of the Commonlands on the eastern half of Antonica. It is home to a clan of halflings, and is also patrolled by the dark elves from nearby Neriak. It also represents the newbie zone for the dark elves from Neriak.
| Level of Monsters: | 1-20, 25-30 |
|---|---|
| Types of Monsters: | Tree Snake, Garter Snake, Black Mamba, Pyre Beetle, Snakes of all types, Spiderlings, Fire Beetles, Basilisk Hatchling, Shadow Wolves, Decaying Skeleton, Skeletons, Lesser Mummies, Black Bears, Young Kodiaks, Large Piranhas, Halflings of various types, Dark Elf Dragoons and Guards, Stone Guardians, Iron Guardians, Shadow Men |
| Notable NPCs: | Leatherfoot Deputy, Leatherfoot Medic |
| Related Quests: | Going Postal, Innoruuk Symbol Quests |
| Adjacent Zones: | Neriak, East Commonlands, Lavastorm Mountains |
| Name in /who: | nektulos |
| Zone Spawn Timer: | 6:40 |
| ZEM Value: | 75 (100%) |
Map
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Dangers
This area represents the newbie area for the dark elves, although the area is very small. The largest danger with the newbie area is that most of the monsters there will group with others of their kind, and because it is so small, one has to be careful to let the others get far enough away from their spawn spot so that they don't join in and send you running for the guards.
The other large problem is that the wandering monsters (pretty much only skeletons and wolves) are aggressive and will attack you. This can be fairly annoying as guards are only present at the bridge and the entrances to Neriak and Lavastorm. The Guardians will also attack good races, although they leave the evil races alone. On top of this, the orc runner occasionally makes a dash for the Neriak entrance. He is approximately 9th level, and his presence will make the normally benevolent dark elf guards attack ogres and trolls in the area, which is something to be careful of.
The last problem with this area, which isn't really a danger, is that this is, in my opinion, one of the worst designed areas in the game. I've started a character in every newbie area of the game and got to 5th level or so everywhere, and this area is by far the worst. The reasons are plenty, but basically the newbie area is very small, and wandering outside of it is very dangerous as 4th level wolves will attack and kill you. Therefore, if there are a large number of newbies there is very little to kill in this area. Also, once you reach 4th or 5th and start wandering a little bit further, Guardians are around you all the time. It's very frustrating to almost die in a battle with a skeleton, feel that you're going to win, and then have some stupid Guardian come up and kill it. Tada, no experience, no loot, 5 minutes of resting to recover. Another problem is that the creatures in this area don't give any significant loot. Unlike many other areas, it is difficult to find bags or boxes, rusty weapons, cash, bits of armor, etc on any of the monsters that you can hunt. Instead you get spiderling silks, ruined pelts, and fire beetle eyes.
Benefits
As I mentioned above, I don't see much in the way of benefits in adventuring in this zone. There are a few places that are campable with a small group, most notably the halfling ruins (if you are evil) and the undead spawn spots, but other than those, random hunting is not very profitable in this area.
The only exception to this is if you belong to one of the good races. You can make a good amount of experience and money by coming here and hunting the guards. Typically this is done at either of the zone exits and with people pulling the guards to there, which is safer because the zone is nearby. The guards are good experience and typically drop a bronze weapon every time.
Nice alternative at level 5 is the Nektulos zone-in from East Commonlands. Large amount of black bears, shadow wolves, spiderlings are right at the zone line. The mobs here tend to be all level 4-6. This is great alternative to the East Commonlands where the higher level griffins, lions, orc centurions mix in with the low level mobs.
The Neriak guards at the bridge con dubious to Human Necro.
Traveling To and From
From the south there is a pass that leads into the East Commonlands near Freeport. Through here dark elves can access the vast world beyond. The entrance to Neriak Foreign Quarter lies in the northeastern corner on the east wall, and has a path leading nearby. The entrance to Lavastorm Mountains lies in the northwestern corner on the north wall.
