a zombie braineater  

Just did this mission with a full group. It appears that you are on a timer, didn't see how long. First attempt we didn't move fast enough and more halflings than you can count started running through the zone and wiping the group. Once the emotes go off for them to start attacking, mission ends. Second attempt we had One person pull, one person tank, one person healing. Healer loots the first ten brains, five to heal and five to give to the tank to keep pets up. Once healer has 5 brains, the rest of the group loot 3 each so they can back up heal as needed. Just keep killing until you get the 80 brains looted. Have the healer give the tank 5 brains to summon more pets when they poof or die. Chest drop was Gore-Covered Tombstone Shard, HP +30, AC +20 type 7 aug fits in most gear slots including weapons. Only had one death, make sure everybody assists MA because of the healers. Also, you get a self buff that last two minutes, it appears to increase damage. Also get a dot to cast, use it because the halflings will run at around 10 percent.

The mob is actually located in the NW corner of the map.



Task Name: Brraaaaainss...

Task Description: Brraaaains...
Real task description. Kill 80 Halfling in Rivervale and collect their brains.

Mini-Guide:
You say, 'Hail, a zombie braineater'
a zombie braineater says, '[Brraaains?]'
You say, 'Brraaains?'
a braineating zombie says, '[Brains!]'
The keyword to enter is "Brains", and when you do, you'll spawn as a level 30 zombie braineater. The Zombies start out with 15 AAs each, so take your pick. The two abilities they have Creeping Plague (I believe that's what it's called) and Lesion IV. Creeping Plague is a self buff that procs a slow quite often, and Lesion IV is a 43/tick insta-cast DoT. Lesion is very important before you start getting minions, so make sure it's hotkeyed.


Each Zombie can control up to 5 other zombie pets, which you can summon by placing "A Halfling Brain" in "A Zombie's Guide to Procreation" and hitting combine. This consumes the brain ang gives you "a mindless zombie" as a pet. The pets are simliar to Enchanter pets or mage swarm pets, in that they only will attack a mob if you are attacked, so if you want the enemies to drop, makes sure everyone get's hit at least once. Each mindless zombie can be equipped as normal, and can be particularly useful when given a Spear and Small Shield, dropped by the Deputies.

The halfling brains have a second use, which is a 500HP heal. This has a 4.0 second cast time and isn't reliable in a fight, due to the Zombie's nonexistant channeling skill. So make sure you enter the fight at least somewhat healthy. This mission may seem very difficult initially, but it gets easier as it goes on. At first, you'll struggle just to get your first few kills, but as you can get more zombies on your side, that becomes less of a problem.

There are several hairy pulls such as the (I believe) Cleric guild, which contains a few healers, and the rest are straight up melee (6 mobs total).
Also, the Sheriff and the Mayor are where they normally are, and are rough kills. With 3 people, each with 4-5 pets, we wiped with both at around 60-70%. Both of these guys at least double (possibly triple/quad) for 75, and both hit quite fast. If you don't have 4 or more people each with several pets, don't attempt these two.
I have yet to finish the mission, so I'm not sure of the drops, but I'll add that in as I can.

It is located in the NW corner at the bottom of the Halfling Highway.

Edited, Jul 11th 2006 at 4:35pm EDT by Merf

Edited, Aug 12th 2006 at 5:17pm EDT by Merf