Blighted Grove

Blighted Grove
First Seen:	August 30, 2005
Coordinates:	1°08'S, 51°40'W
Facet:	Felucca & Trammel

Blighted Grove

The Blighted Grove is a Mondain's Legacy (ML) dungeon. Like all ML dungeons, it is home to monsters, named monsters, and a Peerless Boss. Entrance requires access to ML content and a Bone Machete in the top layer of your backpack.

One of the oldest trees in existence, the ancient Yew that is tied to Lady Melisande is twisted and grotesque. Too powerful to die in the swampy ground, as the others of its kind have, its mighty roots draw upon blighted soil to live. The immense trunk and squat shape tilts dangerously, with tangled mud clotted roots exposed along an entire third of its perimeter. The tree leans precariously but endures, the poison of its needles and seeds bringing agonizing death to wildlife that wanders too near. Adventurers enter the blighted grove by passing under the exposed roots of the tree and work their way along the downed branches and the rotted out interior of the trunk. Every aspect of the Yew tree is poisonous and dangerous. Footing within the tree is precarious and with every fall and cut the character is exposed to another dose of the lethal poison.

Roosting in the revolting branches of the tree are hideous harpies. Changelings delight in tormenting characters, while Bog Things, Boglings, Corpsers, Whipping Vines, Swamp Tentacles, and Reapers are much in evidence. Giant serpents and monstrous hydras weave their way through branches and swampy ground. Enslaved and insane dryads and satyr serve Lady Melisande.

Creatures

Abscess Bog Thing Bogling Changeling Coil Corpser Giant Serpent Giant Toad Harpy

Hydra Insane Dryad Reaper Saliva Silver Serpent Tangle Thrasher Whipping Vine

Summoning Lady Melisande

• To get to the peerless boss Lady Melisande you must complete Bound to the Land quest. She is just down and to the right of the entrance to the grove. She will ask you to kill 12 Insane Dryads and one Saliva.
• Saliva is a blue, named harpy that is roughly the strength of a paragon harpy. To locate her, run up the tree root to the left of a entrance and into the wall covered with vines at the top of the tree root. You will emerge inside a small cave with her in it, but beware, she has other harpies and changelings guarding her. I highly suggest casting invisibility before you run into the cave. Once inside pets or summons can clean out the cave pretty well. The fetid air inside Saliva's cave will slowely drain your health and interfere with spell casting.
• The entrance is one-way. To exit, you must run to the other end of the cavern.
• The insane dryads that must be killed for the quest are not hard. However, they will becalm you, so be prepared. You have to do a good chunk of damage to them to get credit for the quest, as individuals. To find the dryads run past the gnarled looking trees, they will pop out and chase you. They are on what appears to be a 5 minute spawn timer. Watch out for the named monsters while dryad hunting, they can make life hard and death easy.
• These keys are considered to be the easiest to get. As a result, at least on the Lake Superior shard, it is fairly easy to find a group of people at the entrance, waiting for a spontaneous group to get in.
• The "first key" is the Dryad's Blessing. This is exchanged for the "main key," the Dryad's Curse, at the basket that's right near The Frightened Dryad.

Peerless Boss Tips

• When you get to Lady Melisande make sure to kill off her Enslaved Satyrs fast. Else they will use Peacemaking on you while Lady Melisande attacks.
• Earth Elementals seem to be best against Lady Melisande.
• Archers and mages are best against her.
• Pets can work too.
• She casts Revenants, so have dispel or Mass Dispel ready.
• She smack talks you in an extremely creepy, disturbing fashion.
• Contrary to popular belief, dexers can fight her, but they must be prepared to either cross heal or run away once they get to between 2/3 and half health.
• Fey Slayers (Pixie Swatter) works.
• Tactics for Lady Melisande in Felucca and in Trammel are VERY different from one another.
• She spawns special loot.
• Be aware of an attack she has that slows down your Swing Speed and casting time. Archers and Mages should stay out of range. The only people who get hit by this attack should be those who must stand close (i.e., dexers). Also, be wary of her very powerful wither attack.