Lineage II/Notable Locations/Execution Grounds

= History of Execution Grounds =

Long ago, a pleasant revolt occured in Dion but was suppressed by the local lord. The lord had the rebels executed en masse in what is later known as Execution Grounds.

In Aden, the dead do not lie easy, and this place is now haunted by the spirits of the executed. The gullotines still stand as silent testimony to the lives taken here, and the mists that hangs perpetually over the area serves to heighten the gloom of this haunted place.

= Location and Layout =

Location
Execution Grounds (EG) lies just east of Dion and west of Giran. EG has three entrances:
 * west entrance passing the Mandragora Pits.


 * This is the primarily entrance to EG and many PCs headed into EG to hunt (or to utilize the east entrance to Giran) take this road, as it is within a quick 5 minutes' run from Dion's east gate. . This road is safe as the majority of the mobs nearby are non-aggressive until you get near the Mandragora Pits.


 * north entrance from Dion's north gate or Giran.


 * The north entrance connects to the north road between Dion and Giran. This road is very long and as a result is typically not utilized that heavily. You do get travellers on this road headed to Partisan's Hideaway, but by and large people prefer the shorter, but more dangerous south road (going into EG from the east entrance). This road is a good choice for lower level PCs, as the mobs on this road are typically lower level, not aggressive, and not clustered heavily or near the road.


 * east entrance leading to Giran.


 * The east entrance is quite heavily used as the time taken on this route from Giran to Dion is substantially shorter than the time taken on the north road, especially if you Scroll of Escape (SOE) to Giran or Dion once you are able to. It is for this shortcut that many PCs go into EG, and players coming into EG from Giran via the east entrance must be aware that there is a risk of running into a train of mobs that a passing PC brought along.

Layout
EG is laid out in 3 layers. For simplicity, they are:
 * the bottom layer
 * the second layer or second tier
 * the top layer or top tier

In addition, there are two areas of interest. They are:
 * the Mandragora breeding pits
 * the Pit

Execution Grounds Bottom Layer
The bottom layer, which is connected to Dion via the east gate, has the highest level mobs, and is typically not the place a low level (< level 24) PC should be - a lot of the mobs there can make your day fairly messy. Mobs there include Mandragora Blossoms, Mandragora Saplings, Mandragora Sprouts, Strains, Dead Seekers, Granite Golems and Hangman Trees.

The bottom layer is dominated by trees and a huge gullotine surrounded by Hangman Trees.

Of special note is that in the middle (roughly) of this bottom layer is a road intersection. PCs typically call in the crossroad or x-road or similar, and it is here that dwarves tends to set up shop selling Soul and Spirit Shots. Soul Shots are more common, and it is not unknown for a PC to repeatedly request for Spirit Shots without getting any.

Due to the promixity to Dion, prices for these shots tend to be at market value, but occassionally people do raise the prices, especially if no other sellers are around.

In addition to dwarves, there are more and more elven (both types) and human buffers selling buffs at the crossroads. Prices differ according to the type and level of buffs offered. You might not see dwarven shops all the time, but typically there is one or two buffers selling buffs -- if not at the crossroads, then somewhere in EG.

The crossroad is also the place where most PCs go to rest. The location has a few spawns, but the mobs spawned are all non-aggro, so it is a fairly safe location to rest. There are a few other locations in EG that is "safe", but none quite like the crossroad.

Execution Grounds Second Tier
The second level is merely a pair of intermediate tiers that connect the bottom to the top tier. These are smallish "arenas" that contain mid- and high- level mobs: the southern tier contains mainly aggressive Neers and Neer Berzerkers, which the northern tier, Strains and Amber Basilisks. There are a few Hangman Trees on each tier.

These tiers are not as extensively hunted for a variety of reasons. On the northern tier, the Strains can be found along with other more rewarding mobs on the bottom, so there's not that much incentive to actually hunt on the second tier when the bottom will serve. The Amber Basilisks don't drop anything exciting at a good enough rate, so they aren't a favourite, and they don't drop the Black Lion quest items.

Also, Strains hit rather hard against some classes, so fighting a few of them one after another means a long down time to recover. And, the top tier has a lot more low-level mobs that can be killed quickly and cleanly. All these makes the north tier less interesting, though you will find players hunting Strains there.

On the southern tier, the Neers and Trees are all aggresive, and they hit fast AND hard. This means it's very easy to get it over your head and die messily there. The Neers spawn close enough to each other for their social ties to be a problem, so it's not an ideal hunting spot.

However, magic users can pull off a pretty mean trick on the southern tier. Basically, it's training all the Neers by simply running past them. Once you get all of the Neers behind you and in a tight, compact group, a fireball or two (or as many as you need) will net the magic users an obscene amount of XP, SP, gold and drops. The expenditure in HP, MP and time is very very small compared to the rewards.

The combination of small area and large numbers of aggressive mobs makes this an especially rewarding tactic.

Overall, compared to the top and bottom tiers, the second tier aren't really that great a hunting area. The northern tier is better for solos and some parties, but the southern tier isn't the greatest.

One thing to note about the southern tier: as it is the shortest distance between EG's east and west entrances, many PCs run past this area and as a result attract trains of Neers. Neers aren't quite fast enough to catch a running PC, but they do follow, and often this means a whole group of Neers descending onto the crossroads.

Execution Grounds Top Tier
{To be continued}

Execution Grounds Mandragora Breeding Pits
{To be continued}

The Execution Grounds Pit
{To be continued}

= Mobs =

EG has mobs of various levels, as listed below: &sup1; These mobs drop the Black Lion quest items.
 * Mandragoras
 * Blossoms
 * Saplings
 * Sprouts
 * Specters&sup1;
 * Sorrow Maidens&sup1;
 * Neers
 * Normal Neers&sup1;
 * Berzerkers&sup1;
 * Amber Basilisks
 * Strains&sup1;
 * Ghouls&sup1;
 * Dead Seekers&sup1;
 * Granite Golems
 * Hangman Trees

These varies from the mid 20's to low 30s'. The density of mobs is fairly high.

Thus, the range and concentration of mobs makes EG an ideal place for PCs who have completed their 1st Profession Change and has leveled to around level 23 or level 24.

In terms of aggressiveness and social behaviours, Mandagora Sprouts, Sorrow Maidens, Strains, Dead Seekers, Ghouls and Granite Golems are non-aggressive; Strains are also non-social. Everything else is aggressive, and social to boot.

This makes hunting in EG a bit dangerous, but EG is sufficiently big that the mobs are typically spawned independently. Moreover, the mobs are typically segregated by tiers, so you don't - often - run into trains in EG. The potential is there and it does happen, especially with Hangman Trees and Neers, but it occurs less frequently than one may think.

= Special Mention = {To be continued}