Exploring the Deep
Exploring the Deep is a multi-step quest chain that ultimately grants access to the sunken shipwreck BMV Ararat on the bottom of Gravewater Lake in Malas. The quest involves salvaging shipwrecks, hunting monsters, collecting components for an underwater diving suit, solving a dungeon puzzle, and finally exploring the wreck itself for a boss encounter with one of the three Shadowlords.
This is a long and involved quest chain that spans multiple cities and dungeons. Plan for several sessions and bring combat supplies.
Quest Walkthrough
Step 1 — Hepler Paulson the Salvage Master (Trinsic)
Travel to Trinsic and find Hepler Paulson the Salvage Master outside the Sons of the Sea shipwright shop near the docks. Double-click him to hear about the recent shipwrecks and his salvage gear.
Ask him about the shipwrecks and how to use salvage gear. He sells Special Salvage Hooks for 1,900 gold each. Purchase several — you will likely need more than one.
Using the Salvage Hook
Take a salvage hook out to deep water on a boat. Double-click the hook, then target the water. After a moment, the hook will surface with whatever it found. Be prepared for combat — hooks can pull up Sea Serpents, Kraken, and Water Elementals.
Keep fishing with hooks until you pull up the quest item: Broken Remains of a Shipwreck. This item is blessed but has a one-hour timer, so do not delay.
Drop the Broken Remains onto Hepler Paulson to advance the quest. He will tell you about a Master Tinker who may know of a special suit for deep-sea exploration.
Step 2 — Cousteau Perron the Master Tinker
Hepler directs you to East Britain to find the house of Cousteau Perron. The house is just north of the eastern bank with a sign out front. The house itself is empty, but upstairs you will find a book and scroll indicating that Cousteau has traveled to cold lands for research.
Cousteau Perron is found in the snow area of the Lost Lands. The easiest route is through the passage in the northeastern corner of the Ice Dungeon. Her camp is right next to the exit.
The Ice Wyrm Scale
Cousteau asks you to bring her an Ice Wyrm Scale before she will help. Head to the southern portion of the Ice Dungeon near where the Arctic Ogre Lords reside. The Ice Wyrm spawns near a set of crystals when you approach.
Important: The wyrm near the Ice Dungeon entrance is a Platinum Drake — its scales do not count. You need the actual Ice Wyrm deeper in.
When you kill the Ice Wyrm, the scale appears directly in your backpack (not on the corpse). It is blessed with a one-hour timer.
Drop the Ice Wyrm Scale onto Cousteau Perron to advance. She will tell you about the Salvager's Suit and direct you to the Sorcerer's Dungeon in Ilshenar to find the plans.
Step 3 — Sorcerer's Dungeon (Ilshenar)
The Sorcerer's Dungeon is accessible via the Honor moongate (head north) or the Valor moongate (head south) in Ilshenar.
The Reagent Puzzle
Descend to the third level of the dungeon and follow the path to the Laboratory — a large room with a table covered in plates, a scroll, and a strongbox.
Read the scroll on the table for instructions. You need to collect five special quest reagents from around the third level and place each one on the correct plate. Each reagent is obtained by double-clicking it where it sits (you cannot drag them). All reagents have timers, so work efficiently.
The five reagents and their locations:
| Reagent | Location |
|---|---|
| Mighty Mandrake Root | In the same room as the table, just to the north |
| Bursting Brimstone | North of the table room, in a chamber with Rock Mites (one-hour timer) |
| Perfect Black Pearl | On a writing desk near a quill in a room with skeletons (access via level 2 west stairs) |
| Vial of Blood | On a bloody pentagram past the skeleton room — beware of Balrons |
| Burly Bone | In a smaller room within the pentagram chamber — Efreet guard this area |
To reach the last three reagents (Pearl, Blood, and Bone), you need to go back up to level 2 and take the western stairs down. Head down the west hall past the auditorium room.
Place each reagent on its matching plate. When all are placed correctly, the Master Instructor spawns in the room to the north. Kill it to receive a key. Use the key to open the strongbox on the table to obtain the Salvager's Suit Plans.
Drop the plans onto Cousteau Perron back at her camp in the Lost Lands. She will give you a list of four suit components to collect from NPCs across the world.
Step 4 — Collecting the Suit Components
Cousteau provides a note listing four people who can each craft one piece of the diving suit. Each NPC requires you to complete a task before handing over their component.
Nictitating Lens — Josef Skimmons (Buccaneer's Den)
Find the blacksmith Josef Skimmons on the north side of Buccaneer's Den. He can make the lenses but needs schematics for an Orcish machine first.
Travel to the Orc Fort near Yew and fight your way into the lower caves. Find and kill the Orcish Engineer (an orc with "Engineer" in his title, found near an ore machine in the back). The plans appear in your backpack. Return them to Josef and receive the Nictitating Lens (earring slot).
Canvass Robe — Madeline Hart (Jhelom)
Find Madeline Hart at the Adventurer's Needle shop in Jhelom. She is mourning her son Willem, who disappeared in Destard.
Travel to Destard and go past the main area to the northwest. Take the ramp down, then immediately down another to reach the third level. Kill an Obsidian Wyvern and Willem's Hat will appear in your backpack. Return it to Madeline and receive the Canvass Robe (outer torso slot).
Aqua Pendant — Zalia the Gemologist (Ilshenar Desert Outpost)
Travel to the Desert Outpost gypsy camp in northeast Ilshenar — the western camp closest to the undead island bridge. The Compassion moongate is the closest.
Zalia asks you to collect gold from a Djinn near the water. Head east along the coast until you find a hammock between two palm trees. A Djinn will spawn there. It is not extremely tough on its own, but it summons around five Efreeti to attack you. Kill the Djinn and the Aqua Gem appears in your backpack. Give it to Zalia and receive the Aqua Pendant (head slot).
Boots of Ballast — Champ Huthwait (Vesper)
Find Champ Huthwait the Seedy Cobbler at The Adventurer's Supplies shop in the northwest part of downtown Vesper, on the mainland.
Champ asks you to eliminate a brigand leader named Mercutio at a camp southwest of the city. Kill Mercutio and his Cutlass appears in your backpack. Hand it to Champ and receive the Boots of Ballast (footwear slot).
Step 5 — Return to Hepler for the Map
With all four suit pieces collected, return to Hepler Paulson in Trinsic. He gives you a map to Gravewater Lake near Umbra in Malas. The map has a one-hour timer, so be ready to go.
The four pieces of the Salvager's Suit are blessed and do not decay, so you can use them repeatedly for future trips.
| Suit Piece | Slot |
|---|---|
| Aqua Pendant | Head |
| Nictitating Lens | Earrings |
| Canvass Robe | Outer Torso |
| Boots of Ballast | Footwear |
Step 6 — The Wreck of the Ararat
Travel to Gravewater Lake near Umbra in Malas. Equip all four pieces of the Salvager's Suit, then walk into the lake. Find the whirlpool and click on it to be transported to the underwater world.
Once you are on the bottom, you can remove the diving gear if you wish.
Underwater Enemies
The underwater cavern contains the shipwreck surrounded by hostile creatures:
- Paralithode — Unique underwater crab creatures
- Diabolical Seaweed — Dangerous plant monsters
- Water Elementals
- Hydras
Find the hole on the east side of the ship and enter it.
The Barrel Rooms
Inside the ship are rooms filled with barrels. You must destroy barrels to find items. Spells like Flamestrike are effective (one hit with sufficient Spell Damage Increase), while area spells generally do not work on them. Melee weapons also work but are slower.
Be careful — exploding barrels can damage you with debris, release poison clouds, or spawn rats and sea snakes.
Search through the barrels until you find a key. Then clear the barrels around the central area. Seven of the eight barrels surrounding the central locker are invulnerable, but one is destructible, creating a path to the locker. Use the key to unlock it and receive one of four ship parts. There are roughly 80 barrels across all rooms, and the key and entry point locations are random.
The two northern barrel rooms are relatively straightforward. The two southern rooms are near a lich spawn, making them significantly more dangerous.
You need to collect all four parts:
- Flywheel
- Bearing Assembly
- Power Core
- Wire Spool
The Shadowlord Boss
Once you have all four parts, the winch on the main deck becomes functional. Go to the center of the deck, up the platform, and step into the dark hole.
One of the three Shadowlords will appear as the final boss:
- Nosfentor — Shadowlord of Cowardice
- Astaroth — Shadowlord of Hatred
- Faulinei — Shadowlord of Falsehood
These are extremely powerful bosses. Bring a group and come well-prepared. The Shadowlord has a 30-minute respawn timer after being defeated, and a fresh set of keys is required for each encounter.
Quick Reference
| Step | Location | NPC / Target | Task |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trinsic (docks) | Hepler Paulson | Buy salvage hooks, pull up Broken Remains, drop on Hepler |
| 2 | Ice Dungeon / Lost Lands | Cousteau Perron | Kill Ice Wyrm, drop scale on Cousteau |
| 3 | Sorcerer's Dungeon (Ilshenar) | — | Collect 5 reagents, solve plate puzzle, kill Master Instructor, get plans from strongbox, drop on Cousteau |
| 4a | Buccaneer's Den / Orc Fort | Josef Skimmons | Kill Orcish Engineer, return plans → Nictitating Lens |
| 4b | Jhelom / Destard | Madeline Hart | Kill Obsidian Wyvern, return Willem's Hat → Canvass Robe |
| 4c | Ilshenar Desert Outpost | Zalia the Gemologist | Kill Djinn, return Aqua Gem → Aqua Pendant |
| 4d | Vesper | Champ Huthwait | Kill Mercutio, return Cutlass → Boots of Ballast |
| 5 | Trinsic | Hepler Paulson | Return with full suit → receive map to Gravewater Lake |
| 6 | Gravewater Lake (Malas) | — | Equip suit, enter lake, explore wreck, collect 4 ship parts, fight Shadowlord |
Tips
- Buy multiple salvage hooks. It often takes several attempts to pull up the Broken Remains.
- Watch the timers. Several quest items (Broken Remains, Ice Wyrm Scale, reagents, and the final map) have one-hour timers. Do not waste time once you have them.
- The suit pieces are blessed and permanent. Once you have all four, you keep them forever and can return to the underwater world whenever you like.
- Bring a group for the Shadowlord. The final boss is one of the toughest encounters in the game. Solo attempts are extremely risky.
- Flamestrike the barrels. It is the fastest method for clearing them, especially with high Spell Damage Increase.
- The southern barrel rooms are dangerous. Liches spawn nearby, so clear them before working on the barrels or position yourself carefully in corners to avoid aggro.