Encounter any problems with this walkthrough? Have comments? Let us know!
Area Note
You'll find a whole mess of imps in the wastelands. They'll sometimes drop "very large" charms, but otherwise, if you feel like your character is already powerful enough to beat the end bosses, there isn't any particular reason to kill them.
1 - Starting Point
When you arrive in the Wastelands, a couple of good things will happen: you'll gain about five levels, and the Path of the Divine will open up in your skills panel, giving you new skills to learn.
2 - Drox and Garth
Mostly Drox and Garth are there for funny conversations, although they will warn you that there is a dragon in the area. Drox is also a shopkeeper, but he starts out with a 0 attitude towards you, and so you might want to skip shopping with him and wait for Kroxy (#5) instead.
3 - Imp
Around here you'll encounter a powerful imp shaman simply called an imp. He'll drop the
Axe of a Hundred Crusades when he dies.
4 - Zandalor and Arhu
Walking up to Zandalor and Arhu will trigger a cut scene and a conversation, and you'll learn that you've been away for months, and that the Black Ring is just about ready to summon the Lord of Chaos. To stop them, you'll have to learn how to become a ghost (that is, learn the "spirit form" skill) so you can reach the Black Lake Dungeon and disrupt the ritual. Zandalor will suggest seeking out Patriarch the Dragon (#9) to learn about the skill.
After the initial conversation, Zandalor and Arhu will move to #4a.
5 - Kroxy
He's a shopkeeper now, and he'll usually have "very large" charms for sale. Kroxy resets his stock frequently (roughly every five minutes), so this is a good place to drop one of your teleporter pyramids.
6 - House
Inside the house you'll find the
sword of the gods, which is a pretty good one-handed sword.
7 - Blue Dragonriders
You'll find a few blue dragonriders here. If you can kill them easily then you're ready to face the end bosses in the Black Lake Dungeon (#9).
8 - Patriarch
If you suck up to Patriarch ("oh mighty dragon") and offer to teach him how to become a ghost, he'll inadvertently teach you a point of "spirit form," and you'll earn 196,000 experience.
If you're patient, you can use the "poisonous cloud" spell to slowly kill Patriarch, but the reward (some experience and a random object) probably isn't worth the effort.
9 - Black Lake Dungeon
The waters around the dungeon will damage you if you're not using the "spirit form" skill. But the damage is low enough that it's safe to wander into the waters a ways, kill a couple spectre lords, and then return to land. Just don't get too close to the dungeon entrance without using "spirit form" or else you'll die outright. The solid ground immediately around the dungeon entrance is safe to walk on.
The dungeon itself is handled in the Black Lake Dungeon section.