Vigil’s Keep Outside

When the Darkspawn launch a surprise attack against the newest Grey Warden outpost in Vigil’s Keep, it is up to the Warden Commander to save the day.

Introduction

Defeat the darkspawn attack
The Grey Warden stronghold of Vigil’s Keep is under attack by darkspawn. Make your way into the keep and eliminate the darkspawn forces.

- Jump me to the video walkthrough

0 Genlock Welcoming Committee

The battle for vigil’s keep begins with you arriving, Mhairi in tow. A survivor will come rushing forward with three Genlocks close behind. This is quite an easy fight, so if you forgot to remove all the DLC gear from your Origins Warden you should still be fine. The survivor will aid you in this fight, but will leave once the fight ends.

1 Genlock Encounter

If you head to the fields left of the Lower Gatehouse you will be ambushed by five Genlocks. Three assault from the north, two from the south. As the northern group has archers and will be closer, my advice is to hit them hard and fast. If you have anything to slow the southern group a little, use it. By the time you’ve taken one, or two, Genlocks down the southern group will have arrived.

Alternatively, you can try to have the weaker of the two characters intercept the southern group, while the stronger takes out the northern team. Both tactics have proven fruitful, even on harder difficulties.

2 Genlock Encounter

Heading right of the Lower Gate House will see you encountering just two melee-equipped Genlocks. These should not pose much of a problem and are right in front of where we will be assaulting the keep.

3 Entering the Lower Gate House

The moment you defeat encounter 2 and enter through the gap in the fence you are shown a Vigil Soldier just north of your position. He is being attacked by two Hurlocks and will not last long if not helped. Be warned however, that another Hurlock and a Shriek (large red box) are going to move in from the western side of the Lower Gate House. In addition you will soon have a very miffed Ogre (huge red box) heading straight for your position.

Rush straight at the two Hurlocks attacking the guard, use Mhairi’s Taunt to draw their fire then dispatch one. By the time the first is dead you’re likely to have some Ogre and Shriek trouble. Concentrate your fire on the Ogre to take it out quickly. As the Ogre is not ranked some well placed abilities can remove him from the fight very quickly (Peon’s Plight, Shatter). Once the Ogre is down it is likely the final Hurlock will have arrived, ignore him for now and concentrate on the Shriek. Once both the Shriek and Ogre are pushing daises then you can obliterate the Hurlocks.

Take note that the Soldier will help you, but try to keep him alive. He will run off should the two Hurlocks originally fighting him get slain which is why I suggest leaving them till last. Otherwise he has a nasty habit of running away, drawing a few monsters after him and forcing the choice of ‘save the douche and pull more encounters, or leave him’. If the Soldier does run early then head the way you came and enter the Lower Gate House. That way you should be able to pull the foes off the idiot without spawning the two Hurlocks beating up the merchant (see encounter5)

4 Hurlock Encounter

As you move through the small village you will see two Hurlocks rushing towards another Vigil Soldier armed with a two-handed sword. This is a really easy fight so just dedicate one party member to each Hurlock and enjoy the carnage.

5 Save the Merchant

This encounter is the sole reason we entered the courtyard in the location we did. Move through the village as noted on the map and you will arrive in the back of an elevated tower. There you will see a merchant being waylaid by two recently spawned Hurlocks and their Genlock cousin, whom I called ‘Dave’.

By taking them up the ass you can ensure Dave & Company have nary a moment to introduce the merchant to their swords: Stabby, Cutty and Death. You want to keep that merchant alive at all costs as by doing so you can enjoy some nice discounts after the battle. Once the merchant has been saved head towards the Upper Gate House.

6 Taking the Upper Gate House

This encounter can be a real sod if not done properly. The moment one of your characters approaches the gate it will explode, literally. So approach with one of your less combat viable characters, let them get knocked about and assault forward with your other.

Once the gate explodes you will be faced with two Hurlocks and a Genlock Emissary. Crush the Emissary first otherwise he will turn your attack into a very bad day. Once the Emissary is slain, the Hurlocks can be dealt with. Once all have been slain rush straight towards encounter 7 as quickly as you can, because the moment you passed the Upper Gate House it will spawn.

7 Saving the Medic

Two Hurlocks are happily cutting a poor Vigil Soldier to ribbons. Save the soldier at all costs as should he die you will be unable to access the A Medical Necessity. Once the Hurlocks are slain the Soldier will inform you that he is running low on medical supplies (see ‘A Medical Necessity’). Once you have saved the medic you can either complete ‘A Medical Necessity’, or not. Once you are finished enter the keep to complete the first part of The Assault on Vigil’s Keep.

OPTIONAL: A Medical Necessity
In this quest you are to travel into the East Upper Courtyard and retrieve some medical supplies. Simple enough? It would be if the Darkspawn were not between you and your goal.

The moment you pass between the East Upper Courtyard gates two Hurlocks will spawn alongside another Vigil Soldier. A real balancing act is required here. As the moment you begin to cross the courtyard a Shriek will attack from behind (large red block), additionally once you reach the soldier a fresh band will emerge from between to buildings. This band consists of two Hurlocks and a Genlock Archer.

The best bet is to just rush towards the soldier and try to draw some heat off him. Leave your most competent tank with the Soldier and send your other character in the direction of the archer. Once the Archer is in line of sight, two Hurlocks will appear behind him and charge towards a second Vigil Soldier. Ignore the archer and use your second character to bolt down towards the second soldier and save his bacon.

As before once the foes each soldier is originally facing dies the soldier will retreat to the Lower Gate House. So make sure not to lose them too quickly otherwise you may find yourself struggling to get Darkspawn to stop chasing them.

Once everybody is dead you can move to the medical supplies with impunity. Just don’t forget to take them back to the quest giver (like I kept doing — Illiani).

Unique Treasure

A Locked Chest

Inside this locked chest you will find Lucrosian’s Silken Cord and a Novice Immunity Rube which grants 3% Fire, Cold and Electricity Immunity.

Lucrosian’s Silken Cord
Lyrium thread wound with silk makes an attractive rope.
Value: 3 gold, 15 silver
Type: Belt
Restriction: Mage
+2 Magic
+4 Constitution

B Chest

Onside this unlocked chest is the first part of the Stormchaser set and nothing else.

Stormchaser Helm
This helmet was made for a templar ordered to capture an apostate fond of lightning.

When equipped with the Stormchaser armour, gauntlets, and boots, the character gains a bonus to electricity resistance.
Type: Heavy helmet
Material: White Steel (Tier 8 )
Requires: 42 Strength
Armour: 3.38
Fatigue: 3.38%
+6 Defence
+10% electricity resistance
+15 mental resistance

Video Walkthrough Vigil’s Keep Outside

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Vigil’s Keep Outside Maps