The level 50 Champion Quest Line Part One: Emissary

This is the first of two guides to the level 50 Champion Level quest series in Dark Age of Camelot.  It's is a fun and rewarding challenge for a solo player.  All but the last step of the quest chain can be soloed by most classes, yielding a ton of Champion XP (about 5 levels worth) and up to 1.2 platinum per step.  If you are tired of running bounty quests for all of your champion levels on a fresh 50, it's a great alternative.  On Gaheris, this is also a good way to start earning realm ranks.  Adventuring in the Labyrinth during the last few steps will often get you enough Glowing Dreaded Seals as random drops for realm rank 2.5+.

The reason for this guide is that quest line is oddly obscure.  It's easy to miss on many classes, and the instructions on some steps are completely out of date with the modern game.  This guide is meant to get you through steps that are confusing and / or with outdated instructions.  This guide is not meant to completely replace the in-game instructions. You'll still need to read the quests as you go to get through them.

This guide was written primarily on Gaheris.  However, I've also recently done the chain using a Ranger on Ywain and I'll note below where steps differ on the two servers.

Getting started:

You can't start this quest chain until you are level 50 and have unlocked champion levels by talking to your King.  After that, talk to the NPC that initiates most of your Epic quests.  This varies pretty wildly depending upon your class, and in some cases isn't even a NPC anywhere in the capitol city.  For example, many Hibernian classes need to head into Mag Mel to start this chain.  If you haven't done your Epic quests, and so have no idea who this NPC is, talk to the class trainer in your capitol city to start Epic 1.  That will generally send you to the correct NPC.

Most Midgaurd classes can start this quest by talking to one of the NPCs in the Temple of the Aesir near the front entrance of Jordheim.  The locations of the starting NPCs are much more variable in the other two realms.

You will also want a fast horse for this quest chain, it involves a lot of running.  If you don't have one yet, at the very least pick up a Chestnut Horse from the Quartermaster's Aide and head to housing to buy a heroic saddle.


Emissary: A King's Summons

After initiating the quest chain, you will be sent to talk to the same contact that you talk to for the level 30 and 40 Champion Quest lines in the King's Throne Room.  Contact:  (Alb) Chamberlan Harlan, (Hib) Seneschel Desmond, (Mid) Athr Hesetti Theyr.  It would make a heck of a lot more sense for this NPC to start the quest chain in the first place, but Broadsword seems to be in no danger of updating these quests any time soon.

Reward: 51 gold and some silver

After talking to your contact, you will be sent your realm's beginning Shadow Isles zone for the true start of this quest series.

The quest line gets fully underway when you talk to the same NPC contact that initiates the level 30 and 40 champion quest chains in the King's Throne Room (Athr for Midgard characters). 

Emissary: Broken Visions

This quest is pretty straightforward if you follow the instructions.  To get to the Shadow Isles  head to the portal in whatever newbie town is closest to your capital or use a channeler to go there directly.

This is the Midgard portal to the Shadow Islands, just east of Mularn.  The portals for all three realms are near the first small town you arrive in out of the tutorial area.

Albion: Take the SI gate in the NE part of Cotswald Village (or use a channeler) to get to Gothwaite Harbor. When you arrive, follow the quest directions to a portal (loc 59172, 56800).

Midgard:  Take the SI gate East from the center of Mularn (or use a channeler) to get to Aegirhamn.  When you arrive follow the quest directions to a portal (loc 38358, 56535).

Hibernia: Take the SI gate in southern Mag Mel (or use a channeler) to get to the Grove of Domnann. When you arrive follow the quest directions to a portal (loc 56536, 58748).

Hibernian portal in Domnann.  These portals only appear when you are on this quest.

Explore the Arcane Tower. Click on the dead body.  Next click on the desk next to the body and use the teleportation stone (check your inventory after clicking on the desk) to get back to your capital.  When prompted, give the Charred Note Fragments to your contact.

155 Gold, 5040 Cxp


Emissary: Proof of Strength

Your contact tells you to talk to the minotaur emissary in the same room as the king.

The Albion emissary.

The emissary sends you off to kill targets in the New Frontiers, but the directions given in the quest are vague at best.  On Ywain, to get this quest done most easily pick the "explorers" option.  I assume the other option forces you to kill other players, which might be a bit hard on a fresh 50 wearing King's Gear.

Assuming that you are hunting explorers (the easiest option on Ywain and the only one one on Gaheris) you are looking for hibernian, midgaurd or albion explorers.  The two sets I have been able to find for this quest:

Hib or Alb: Go to Odin's gate, head NE along the river from the dock until you find midgaurd Explorers (loc 33691, 34409).  On Ywain, you can take a boat to the Midgaurd Coast and travel to the spot from the east fairly safely.

A good hunting spot for Hibs or Albs.  These guys don't aggro or BAF, so you can kill them quite easily one at a time. These explorers won't count for Midgard players, you will need to find some in the Hadrian's Wall or Emain Macha zones.

Mid: Go to Hadrian's Wall. From the dock head across the river and go SE along the shore until you find Explorers (loc 38941, 33510).

A hunting spot for Mids and Hibs.  Presumably similar NPCs are found somewhere in Emain Macha for Mids and Albs, but I've never found them. 

When you get done, head back to the throne room and give the Ektakten back to the Emissary.

Reward: 830 gold, 13440 Cxp (about half a level)


Emissary: Finding the Fragments

This is the first of several steps in this quest chain with instructions that are out of date in the modern game.  There are no longer any entrances to the Labyrinth in Ellan Vanin.

Gaheris: To complete the quest do not go to Ellan Vanin (ignore the quest instructions). After talking to the Emissary find a channeler and teleport to the Labyrinth entrance for your faction.  Click on rocks near the stairs in the room you get sent to until you get a notification.  Head out to the glowing obelisk nearby (just  off the platform) and teleport back to a Border keep (such as Druim Ligen).  From there  head inside and use the channeler to teleport to your capital.  Talk to your contact in the throne room first, then take the rock fragments to the Emissary. Time complete if you know what to do: Five minutes or less.  Time to complete if you try to find the nonexistent entrance to the labyrinth in Ellan Vanin (or look for the fragments anywhere else in NF for that matter): Infinite . .

The area where you want to go is marked on the map with a colored dot.  On Gaheris, a channeler can send you there directly.  When you arrive click on the rocks next to the stairs that don't go anywhere. 

Ywain: there are what look like gate fragments near the outer towers in Ellan Vanin. It's likely these also work for the quest but I haven't tried them.  On my Ranger I did this quest by using the entrance to the Labyrinth in Emain Macha.  Entrances to the Labyrinth for all three realms are found in New Frontiers and the Dragon PvE zones. When you enter the Labyrinth, change the map to show the entry levels and look for a chamber with a colored dot on your map: (Alb) red, (Hib) green, (Mid) blue.  This is where you want to go.  From there, the steps are the same as above.

Reward: 518 gold, 8400 Cxp


Emissary: Meeting of the blades

Part one

The instructions on where to find enemy soldiers are again quite vague.  Head to whatever area abuts Ellan Vanin:  (Alb) Hadrians Wall,  (Hib) Emain Macha, (Mid) Odin's Gate.  Head out to Ellan Vanin and look for soldiers hiding in the bushes near the outside ring of EV, off the road just on the other side of the gate.  There will be two sets of soldiers, one on both sides of the road.  Ex: Near loc 15216, 40924 for Hibs, near loc 50275, 40961 for Albs.

Soldiers of Albion"hidden" near the Midgard entrance to the main area of Ellan Vanin.

Kill them until a "Map of Ellan Vanin" appears in your inventory.  Generally the first one you kill drops it.  Head back to the throne room and talk to your contact.  Give him the map.  When he gives it back, take it to the emissary.

Gaheris only (shorcut): After you kill a soldier and get the map, talk to a channeler near the bridge at the entrance to EV.  Port to a border keep (e.g., Drium Ligen) and from there back to the capital city.

Part two

Once again you are sent to Ellan Vanin, this time the quest instructs you to look for mounds of burning earth near the labyrinth entrances that don't exist.  Madness and suffering await if you try to make sense of these instructions.  The "burning mounds of earth" you need to find are not near where the entrances used to be in EV,  nor near the existing labby entrances either in NF or elsewhere.  Instead, they are in random spots along the outer walls of EV hidden behind and guarded by some of the toughest orange mobs in the game.

Gaheris: Head to EV, and use the in game map to look for a depression in the south wall of the outer triangle. It's near the entrance from Hadrian's wall, but that's not a good spot to approach it from unless you want to fight your way through a bunch of reds and purples.  Near the Emain Macha  entrance (near loc 15216, 40924) or near the tower icon along the main south road that runs  east west (near loc 33096, 42743) you can sneak into the area.  The village you want is near loc 42202, 51121.

Once you are there, the NPCs you want to kill (treasure hunters) are hidden to the left behind the main building. You will likely have to clear out some spirit mages to get line of  sight on one of them with a ranged attack.  If you pull a spirit mage, kite it out away  from the village. You really don't want to fight two at once, or even fight one near the village.  If any mages are too near to the one you are fighting, they will will chain heal your target whether you have aggroed them or not.  Even away from the village, the mages self heal like crazy and use very high damage magic attacks.  Use your best burst DPS abilities to spam  them down. If you pull two and you are solo, run them off and try again for a single.

This is the best spot to kill treasure hunters solo on Gaheris.  They are hiding behind the left side of the ruined building, generally surrounded by hostile spirit mages.  On Ywain, you absolutely can't get to them solo.  Instead you want to head to another depression to the North surrounded by giants

Once you have a clear shot (you will have to kill anywhere between 0 and 5 spirit mages first),  you can plink one of the treasure hunters with a ranged attack and kite it away from the village.  He/ she will drop a horn, pull another for the second horn.  Once you have "A pair of bloody horns" in your inventory head back to the throne room.

Two treasure hunters and their "kafteros" to the left of the ruins shown above. Generally you will need to kite them out into the open when you tag one to get them out of  range of heals from one or more Spirit Mages.    

There are also treasure hunters in at least one (likely both) of the depressions in the outer wall of EV.  However, they are positioned in such a way that it's even harder to get to them than the ones shown above.

Ywain: The mobs at the location above are bound at the hip, tagging any of them will likely get you  at least three (often five or six).  Instead, head to the depression in the NE part of EV filled with giants.  Just as in the location I listed above, you need to clear out casters on the left side of the main structure (the one with the giant purple mob in it).  These casters don't usually BAF and can be pulled and killed one at a time.  When you have cleared out enough of the casters, you will have a clear shot at the two treasure hunters.  The location is near the eastern docks and the Mid entrance to EV, which is a busy area so watch for enemy players.  Doable but tricky.

Reward: 726 gold, 11760 CXP


Emissary: Consulting the Keeper

These quest instructions are still correct in the modern game.  The only one of the follow up NPCs (the one you take the Charred Note Fragments to) that I had trouble finding the first time was the Hibernian one. Keeper Garran is in a random building near the Chamber of Magic at loc 17128, 23239.  Head upstairs and around a corner, he is standing near a pair of beds. After an eventful conversation, return to your contact to complete the quest.

Reward: 155 Gold, 5040 CXP.

This guide is current as of February 2018, DAoC v1.124D.

Update: Part two of this guide, found here, covers the rest of the steps in this quest chain.