Deathfist Scout Scalp  

 

I was starting to wonder whether the scalps still even existed. The post says the scalps drop from "a deathfist orc scout" but those don't seem to exist anymore.

I got the scalp to drop off "a Deathfist scout".

It may be due to Nek's emptiness, but I think they increased the number of scouts that spawn. I used to be lucky if I saw 2 in an hour. I went there a day or so ago and there were 5 up at once. Only one dropped scalp, but it's improvement.

Thanks for the post of the Scout scalps. I too have only managed to get one. They are not worth the time or effort!

I quite agree that for a newbie armor quest the drop rate and rarety of these are pathetic. I have done the woodelf bard newbie armor quests, and it was nowhere near as frustrating. There is one thing you can do that will vastly improve your odds on completing this quest... log on your newbie necro, sit down and click the "Feedback" button, and TELL the game coders and designers how disappointed you are in the drop rate of the Deathfist Scout Scalps. They really do pay attention when enough people complain, and issues that affect your enjoyment of the game are what the "Feedback" button is for. I do not honestly believe the game designers intended this quest to be as hard to complete as it turned out to be, and if we make them aware of the problem, I am certain they will fix it. I have done my bit, and made my feedback report, and I intend to make another one pointing them to this thread.

Inagada, 13 Necromancer, Cazic Thule

I've looted the 4 scalps and finished my armor set and thought I would share my findings. First off, getting the 4 scalps is one of the most frustrating things I've done in EQ. The only reason I persevered is that it became a "personal quest" and I really wanted a full suit of armor. If you aren't willing to spend at least 8 hours killing lots of stuff (not just the scouts) then perhaps it would be better to purchase bracers and a cap and save yourself the trouble, as others have suggested. If, however, you have the undying need for the Unholy Silk Cap and Unholy Silk Bracers, then hopefully this will help you.

I found that there are 2 areas that scouts spawn. I do not believe that the scout spawns are tied to the orcs in the camps, so I don't think that clearing the camps will help (but if you want to try, be my guest). I think that the scouts are a random spawn and as such, if you kill everything you can in the 2 areas below I think you will see scouts more often.

The first area, which I'll call the North spawn area, is located north of the river in Nektulos, lying on an east-west line roughly between the two orc camps that lie just north of the river. If you are on the bridge, facing north, follow the path north until you see another path branching off to your left (west). Go a bit more north than this (until your first /loc number is about 0) and then hunt on a straight east-west line, although I generally stayed to the left of the north-south running path. There is a little hill there. The /loc of the area I generally stayed in was about 0,500.

The second area, the South spawn area, is just north of the EC zone. It also runs on an east-west line. If you are standing on the bridge, facing south, go south until you see a path branching off to your right (west). Follow the path a bit, and if you face west there should be a small open space to the right and a depression to the left. You can hunt on a straight east-west line between the orc camp (#6 on EQ Atlas of Nektulos) and the wall on the east side of zone, but I stayed in the general area of the open space and depression I mentioned above. You can see more from there and can get to more mobs. General /loc of this area is -1700,0.

My strategy was to kill any mob that was traveling on an east-west line of travel. Based on the paths that I saw the scouts taking, and assuming their placeholders follow the same path, this seemed to yeild a good frequency of scout spawns (maybe 1 every 10 mins). If you see a mob heading north-south, don't worry about it unless you want to. I got lots of spider silk, bear and wolf pelts and meat, and bone chips, so if you have a tailor character you can gather some useful items, and you can use the bear/wolf meat to make tasty sandwiches. The bone chips are a no-brainer for a necro. Most mobs were large spiders, bears, and skellies. Occasionally a random orc lego or templar will spawn too and wander around. There are snakes (mambas, tree snakes) too but they are a pain in the **** and if I saw several I ususally just hit them with siphon strength to aggro them and ran em to the guards at the bridge. Kill as much as you can, and you should see more frequent scout spawns.

Two warnings:

1) The guards will definitely KS you so if you see a scout try to pull it away from the path so a guard is less likely to kill it. NOTHING is more frustrating than working your **** off to get stuff to spawn, an then to have a guard get it. It's a good thing guards don't react to /gesture.

2) the North spawn area is easier at lower level. The random legos and templars are the worst thing you will face there. The south spawn has greater skeletons and young kodiaks so if you can't easily take those mobs then stick to the north area. By easily I mean with little mana/health/pet health loss, because you'll need to be fighting constantly to make sure you are killing placeholders to get the scouts to spawn. The south spawn area is decent for solo exp at around level 13, which is where I was while doing this.

That's about it. If you find a more efficient way to get the scout scalps, by all means use it. I certianly don't claim that my methods are the best, but they worked as well as they could for me. Best of luck in your search for the elusive deathfist scout scalp, and may your Unholy Silk Bracers and Cap keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Best of luck and safe journeys!

Eldritch
14th Dark Elf Necromancer
Rodcet Nife server

Amen to Totally Absurd's post! <Cheers Wildly>

*Kyala Ain D'rin* -E'ci

As a newbie Necro, I've been stalking these things for almost a week and a half. You need 4 scalps to complete your set of armor. After constant stalking for a week and a half, I have ONE. I've killed dozens of scouts and I would guess only one in 20 drops a scalp. To make it even more fun, the guards will kill the scout before you can at least 70 percent of the time. This is NOT a common drop and Scouts are NOT common spawns as far as a newbie armor quest is concerned. Save yourself some time and plan alternatives to the cap and bracers -- the time and aggravation isn't worth the end result. LEAVE Nektulos Forest as soon as you can and go to a zone where the mobs drop some coin. Then buy bracers and a cap.