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| Contact: | Karsis |
| Location: | The Hollows |
| Main Enemy: | varius |
| Archvillain: | none |
| Level to Attend: | 12-15 |
| Minimum Teammates: | 8 (total) |
The Cavern of Transcendence Trial is one of the hardest to run in all of City of Heroes. First, in order to unlock the Trial in the first place, one must complete at least the final few missions from the 4th contact given in the Hollows, Talshack the Mystic. Secondly, due to the low levels of the Trial, some of the members will not have travel powers, which can increase difficultly, seeing as this Trial is timed. But, the most challenging part of this Trial is getting all 8 people to work together on the simultaneous glowie part.
The Trial it self is composed of 3 basic parts: getting to the mish door, the simultaneous glowie, and rescuing Sam Wincott.
The first part doesn't sound all that hard, but it is quite difficult without specialized people. As soon as the team talks to the contact, a 90 minute countdown begins. This 90 minute countdown is all you have to get to the door, and complete the entire Trial.
From the contact, the team will have to venture into the tunnels underneath the Hollows, using one of several doors around the Hollows, marked on your map. From the door the team uses to enter the tunnels, the team must travel to the center of the map. This can be challenging for two reasons: it is quite easy to get lost in the tunnels, and of all the mobs in the way.
For the first, there is the handy-dandy map gameamp has to assist in traveling through the tunnels. You can find it here
If you will notice, in the center is a large room. This is the room you need to get to. On the way, you will encounter large mobs of Trolls, Circle of Thorns, and Igneous. The team COULD fight their way there, but this can be very time consuming, and if the team is killed, several more minutes can be wasted waiting for people to return from the hospital in Atlas park. The best way to complete this part (and the entire Trial, for that matter) is to have someone with some sort of stealth/invis power and recall friend teleport. The stealth/invis powers could be anything from grant invis to Super Speed, to Superior Invis, and probably several others. However, what has worked for me in the past is an illusion controller with Superior Invis and recall friend tp. The team waits, while the stealth/teleporter travels safely to the mission door, then teleports the team to the door. This ends the first part of the Trial.
Once the entire team is inside the actual mission, several things will be noticed:
1. Lava. Avoid it at all costs, unless you wish to die. Lava is quite painful, and prolonged exposure leads to a trip to the hospital, or a rez.
2. No Map. This is not a bug, but a designed feature for this Trial. When you pull up your map screen, it will simply say "Map Unavailable". This is to challenge you, and possibly get you turned around, lost, and the ultimate goal, waste time. However, there is hope: the final mission of the Virgil Tarikoss Strike Force in City of Villains uses a very similar, if not exact lay-out as does this mission for the Cavern of Transcendence Trial. Through back-breaking labor and stealth, we heroes have stolen this map from the villains, so that this Trial is a bit more bearable.
Observe how the map is in a sort of spider formation. There is the entrance way (marked by the red dot), where you come in, then 4 'legs' off to each side, where the 8 obelisks are. In order to get to the hostage (marked by the blue dot), the team must simultaneously click on all 8 of the obelisks, which are split up, 1 in each of the side tunnels.
The easiest way to do this is to have the stealth/teleporter go around and teleport one person to each of the obelisks, until all 8 are manned and ready. It is random which obelisks are guarded and which aren't. Sometimes up to 4 or more are guarded, sometimes none are guarded. If they are guarded, they will need to be cleared, so the whole team will need to help out. Once an obelisk is cleared, make sure someone is standing next to it. There have been occasions where the mobs will return, and you don't want to waste time killing them again.
As for the mobs in the middle open chamber, leave them. They will respawn, and this will only waste time.
Once all 8 obelisks are manned and ready, it is time to click on them. Have someone do a countdown or something like "On the count of 3. (Enter) 1. (Enter) 2. (enter) 3. (enter) " on that 3, all 8 will click on their obelisk. If done correctly, there will be a rumble, and the objective will change to "Save Sam Wincott". This ends the second part of the Trial.
The third and final part is to rescue Sam (marked by the blue dot on the map). Have the stealther/teleporter go to the 'head' tunnel. Then teleport the whole team to that spot. There may be a mob near the door that should be cleared just for safety's sake. Once the team is ready, open the door. You will observe several mobs of Igneous, along with one very large one. The large one is Koago, a Monster. He looks basically like a Lt. of the Igneous class, but much larger. In the back of the room is Sam Wincott, guarded by 2-3 Igneous, usually 2 Lt. and 1 minion. In order to complete the Trial, just take out those 3 guards. However, you have to get by the Monster.
There are several theories on the best way to go about this. One is have the tanks rush the monster, drawing aggro, while everybody else defeats the 3 guards. Another theory is to just kill your way there. This is the funner way, but can be dangerous if the team is unprepared. Be watchful, and tailor your approach to the team build and time remaining.
Once the 3 guards are defeated, the Trial is completed. You are awarded the Transcendent badge, and a +3 Single Origin Enhancement. When you click on exit, you will appear back at the door, in the tunnels. From here, it is up to you. You can wait for the stealth/teleporter gets to a door to the Hollows for a free teleport back to the Hollows, or you can just engage a mob, die, and take a free trip to Atlas and the hospital. The contact (name) does not have a phone, so the leader will have to journey back to him to officially end the Trial and disband the team.
Good Luck on this very challenging Trial.
Trial write up provided by Death_Conqueror.
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