Valdeholm

The giants all hit hard and even the freaking butchers will summon you, even worse so will the dire wolves and war wolves. Once for the heck of it I moved across the zone from the gates to the palace without taking a single step by casting on giants to get summoned to them, and then slaying them. Invisibility is very unreliable in and I've been struck by spells cast by giants that conned as indifferent when I had perfect invisibility active. So some of the attack spells must have an AE target and not be single-target spells; which of course dispel your invisibility.

The giants all drop cash loot, high value gems, defiant gear of Elaborate and Elegant class, two different augs usable by all players of the appropriate levels. All of the named drop prestige augs in addition to loot items that are generally inferior to defiant gear and worthless for Tribute.

There are a lot of wandering giants and you can easily end up with multiple adds even if you manage a single-pull from the wanderers. The "Shrine" before the "Arena" has more wanderers than static mobs and a badly timed pull can end up with five adds from wanderers. The wolf pen has at least two score direwolves and warwolves inside and they will summon you all over the place. The twin barracks outside the palace have upper floors with bunk beds, in some of the top bunks are sleeping giants, that are very hard to target, that will wake up when you walk past or pull past them.

You generally get 1 to 3 giants with each pull. I've only explored it with my mage so I don't know about calm and mez spells. Note: the wolves following Hunters and Trackers can be picked off without gaining aggro from the giant they are following, so they are not "pets" but simply tethered to the giants they follow. For the Teek Daily Tasks the Loremasters and Royal Guards are only found in the Palace at the top of the zone map and the inside is pretty much impossible to single pull due to the outrageously bad pathing. Seriously, just opening the door to the royal crypt chamber, while not invisible, will aggro the entire chamber, the giants by the entrance will run around in circles, aggroing all of the others and then they'll gang up on you at the entrance.

Conversely, the rift valley containing Frostcrypt and several rare creatures, is much easier to single-pull. Oddly the Flateye oozes are non-aggro, unlike every other ooze my characters have encountered in the Serpent's Spine zones. The spiders and bears are KOS as are the cats. The named ooze, Void, was much easier to kill than Oblivion in Sunderock Springs. There are two Wraithguard stationed at the entrance to Frostcrypt which are there mostly for quest turn-ins from within Frostcrypt itself. Unlike most other dungeon entrances the zone the zonewall is halfway down the entrance ramp, not partway around a turn. Also oddly enough, there have been times that I've run into Flateye oozes inside the city itself, the first time was on a barracks balcony, which really surprised me.

Have fun and try not to die.

XP here is very poor at 85. Not a good place to solo-grind.

I heard that Vald still has the HZ exp boost even though it's not a HZ anymore. Can anyone confirm this?

This is now the 70-75 level hot zone as of January 2009.

Per the SOE forums, the patch notes were in error: this should be the level 75 HZ, not the level 70. DSK is the level 70 HZ.

what do you do to raise the faction with the giants outside
the wall ... i was foolish enough to group there early on
and dropped faction to threatening.

just my two copper. King Beltron didn't die in the war, he died of old age. and from the in game lore, I would surmise the Krithgor giants didnt even engage in the war on Earth.

from the books carried by Librarian Hemfar in Crescent Reach:

The First Shades of Zek Vol. I

As the war on the Plane of Earth ended,King Beltron Wulfnor began to lose his grip on life, foregoing the comforts of his palatial fineries in Valdeholm, he spent his last hours in Krithgor. He wanted to spend his last moments near his giants and all the Rallosians who served in the war. He had lived a full life and seen much and was ready to give his flesh and spirit to Rallos Zek and pass the throne down to his sone, Odeen.

After spending many hours behind closed doors with his son, the loreseekers were brought to prepare Beltron for his final breath and to secure safe passage into the afterlife. The giants believed that upon death, they would live once again as warriors at their maker's side. They never feared death because of the honor it would bring them -- to stand next to their warlord, Rallos Zek, was something many giants looked forward to.

Finally, Beltron's last breath escaped. Odeen removed the crown and placed it on his head as the loreseekers blessed him with all the strength and courage of his father. Then the body was prepared for the progression into the House WUlfnor chamber of the Frostcrypt.

Thousands of giants made the march from Krithgor to Valdeholm, the great giant city to the north. Their heads held highh, proud that their king would be standing with his god, they marched for hours chanting a war prayer created by the first king of the giants, King Harfange the Black, who was said to have been given it by Rallos Zek himself.

Svard dar istadd-
Alska kerdu vargadrum
Ayx! Ayx!

And so the giants marched, shaking the hillsides with their booming voices until they reached the frozen Flateye Lake. From here, only the loreseekers and nobles were allowed to continue into the barrow chiseled beneath the icy lake. From the walls of Valdeholm above, the giants all watched as the loreseekers flawlessly rearranged themselves in a formation to march single file ito the crypt. [See Volume II for more]

The First Shades of Zek Vol. II

The procession carried the body of King Beltron into the crypt and disappeared from view.

The burial rites were well progressing as they normally did when a king died. Many wods and blessings, incantations and prayers. Then it happened.

Only one survivor, Loreseeker Yrgar (it was his quill that was found in the Serpent Spine Mountains that this reading was taken from) was able to tell the tale of what he saw in that chamber. His memory remained bewildered and confused by what exactly happened, even though his eyes did not betray him.

As the loreseekers wafted purify smoke over the body of the king, his skin began to darken. The loreseekers continued, but began to look to one another with trepidation. When runes began to burn and curl across the king's skin, the loreseekers stopped. Something was not right. All around them, the ice bagan to shed a blue-green vapor. The room seemed to be heating up with no explanation.

Then the voice of a god shook the mountains from the sky to the crypt's icy core.

"BETRAYERS OF YOUR MAKER! RETISCENT FOOLS! A time of war falls upon you and your cower like rats? A lesson will be learned this day and for all your days. You will know and love the endless struggle of war. Unto you shall fall a darkness eternal. You have forsaken your lineage, and so it shall destroy you."

And with the words of the Warlord, Rallos Zek, still echoing off the icy halls, the body of King Beltron rose from the srcophagus. Thought the war on Earth was so long ago, the god had not forgotten or forgiven Beltron Wulfnor and his family who remained in Valdeholm while the Rallosian Army shed blood. And for that cowardice, Rallos Zek would have his vengeance in Beltron himself.

Beltron's body was awash in a sickly aqua glow. The runes on his body began to glow and as he opened his eyes and eerie blue shone from them. He picked up the axes he was buried with and brandished them, holding still for one small moment, sureying the room.

THen it started and didn't stop. In the wildest blood frenzy ever known, the king cut down every living creature near to him. And for each one that died, they too rose to be like Beltron with aqua skin branded by runes. They became beholden to their god. They became Shades of Zek. It would be their duty to hunt down and kill all of the Krithgor giants, to bring them into their fold. They believe that if they win the war -- to kill all the living Krithgor -- the curse will at last be lifted.

Still, that day has not come. And still, they continue the hunt.

Got

Sealed letter of the giants, which is no trade, and quest item. no clue what quest though. weight 0.1 size : small class none race none. and the icon of a letter

I was/am Dubious (i.e. non-KOS) to the giants in the outer areas, which offer some quests. There are probably other factions inside (like in Kael).

Woodelf Tunare Ranger.