Figured I'd try to get some knowledge out there to those rogues who feel disadvantaged or are intimidated by the rift. I spent from 70 to cap there and have never hunted in OTF or Nelemar so I don't have much basis for comparison, but it always puzzles me when everyone says don't bother hunting there if you're a rogue. I'll throw out some basic strategies and information that I've learned in the hopes that more people will try it.

Disclaimer: My hunting style is TWC ambush and I wear full plate. Other hunting styles won't get nearly as much mileage from this but hopefully may at least get some helpful info. In addition, while my gear is average (used two throwaway 4x weapons for much of the rift although now use two 7x perfect weapons, and I have 4x flaring armor), I do have a good deal of enhancives which help a lot. I've found enhancives are by far the best bang for your buck though in terms of making you a better hunter so it's not hard to get to the same place. Also, while I know no magic I do frequently get 101, 103, 107, 401, 406 and 414 before entering the rift. That said, the strategies still apply without the spells, it just increases degree of difficulty. Furthermore, the rift has become more populated recently and it is pretty easy to get those spells in the sands.

Also, I'm not a locksmith, which frees up a lot of TPs to use on combat skills. However, pretty much all of those extra TPs (if not more) went into being 1x in MOC. In some cases my strategy includes mstriking from the open, but it's really only beneficial on seracerises, naisircs, crusaders, lost souls and destroyers. Everything else can be easily hunted as an ambusher.

Setup: I would strongly recommend 20 ranks of MIU, 24 ranks of SMC, and enough HP to get 50 or so mana. The MIU ranks will allow you to use rods imbedded with 120 (lesser shroud), which is a HUGE benefit for your TD and has saved my life more times than I can count. The SMC ranks and mana will allow you to send for those other spells, which really takes the inconvenience away from the caster and makes them happy to spell you up. All it takes is one shot of each and one rub of 120 to last an entire hunt since even if you don't know the spells, as long as they're in the 100s, 400s or 1700s they won't wear off. With these spells and plate armor I find that by the time I'm the same level as the monsters on planes 1, 2, 3 and 5 I ward them close to 100% of the time (with a strong WIS stat), which really reduces the risk of death a lot.

General: Be patient, don't get greedy and don't be afraid to retreat and heal before finishing your task. The vast majority of my deaths came from trying to finish up an heirloom bounty while being totally weighed down with boxes, injured, and getting lazy. I've noticed a large % of situations could have easily been avoided with patience. Also the quirks of the rift itself are covered in several other places so this will exclusively be a hunting guide and I will assume you are familiar with how to get around, etc. If you see an enormous rift crawler on any plane other than 4 (they occasionally end up on 3 and 5) any time before level 95 stay away from it. They are hard to kill and very dangerous.

Plane 1: More difficult since the changes, and very difficult if you're trying it out as soon as you're eligible to enter the rift (66). However, by 75 it should be very manageable. Raving lunatics (77) are the easiest monsters. They're fairly fast but swing a short sword. Occasionally they throw it at you which bypasses some DS but it's still a short sword. Annoyingly if you damage them but don't kill them fast enough they split into two but that's their only trick. You can stun them, leg them, go straight for the head, maneuever them, cheapshot them etc. They swing at 350-375 or so which isn't bad. If you're not on a bounty I would just stick to these and try and avoid everything else.

Naisircs (75) are undead rangers. They are non-corporeal which means no stuns and most maneuvers don't work. They're tough to kill but aren't overly dangerous. The most annoying spells is their vine which can really make it difficult to escape if you get swarmed, but otherwise they cast retarded spells like insect swarm. They're difficult to hide on at 2x (probably even with shadow mastery although I never ran it then), but you can still kill them. With three focused mstrikes (six attacks total) they go down quick, but even without MOC you can wait for them to attack, move a room away, hide, sneak back and ATTACK from hiding (not ambush) for good damage. It's unaimed but you get 50% of your full ambush crit weighting and the same RT as a regular attack. All the non-corporeal undead with the exception of crusaders have very light armor so you can do a lot of damage without great endrolls (maybe not with two daggers but I use two handaxes). I'll call this the bad hider ambush strategy since it doesn't require you to hide on them. Usually once you sneak into the room you can get the ambush off before they act, especially if you run shadow mastery and can sneak in 2 or 1 second. Alternatively you can just wait for it to move into your room since undead tend to move around a lot but that requires more patience.

Seracerises (78) are non-corporeal undead sorcerer/bard hybrids and are a royal pain in the ass. First of all they cast itchy curse, which is why you use throwaway weapons until you get to plane 4. They're also more difficult to kill than naisircs, although the same strategies will work. The difference is they cast wall of force, which makes it next to impossible unless you wait for it to wear off. They also cast disintegrate, pain, vibration chant and I believe they have a fear spell. They are quite deadly if you can't ward them consistently, which you won't be able to do until you get in the high 70s even with spells. Even with the focused mstrike they would take a long time for me to cull, so for most people I would recommend just avoiding them. Feint is very useful against them (and all other non-corporeal undead) as it is one of the few maneuvers that work on them and since they rarely attack, they are usually in guarded.

Vvrael witches (80) are surprisingly easy for rogues. Yes they are the most dangerous monster on the floor. They cast some of the same spells as seracerises, including itchy curse as well as a mana disrupt-type spell which can crit kill you even on low endrolls. They also swing fairly hard for a caster. However, when they don't have wall of force up they are very killable and have no armor. Any ambusher with any weapon can kill on an endroll of 130 or so or higher, which is good since they have a good DS even without WoF. Usually at 2x I can hide on them, but the bad hider ambush strategy works too. I recommend going straight for the head/neck, as if you take off a limb it can spray acid which is a maneuver that can hurt you badly. If you're having trouble punching through the DS at lower levels you can kneebash, subdue or sweep them first. They are vulnerable to maneuvers. Once you get to 80 or so you may be able to get them even with WoF up but usually you have to wait. In general just focus on the lunatics and eventually the witches, and don't bite off more than you can chew and plane 1 is not that bad. Vanish is great here too on the numerous times you'll botch an ambush on a witch.

Plane 2: Most people dislike plane 2 because of the complex layout but it's pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. I think it's a lot easier layout than 5. Csetairis (81) are probably easier than witches. They bind, web and cast frenzy, and bind and web are both really dangerous to rogues. Usually it's a death sentence if something else is nearby since they last for long. However, they are just as squishy as witches and have a lower DS, although they also put WoF up occasionally. Most maneuvers don't work on them, but they do stun and are mostly corporeal. Just go straight for the head, and wait for the wall to drop if necessary.

Caederas (82) are tough at lower levels. Every time they move, they burrow into the next room, which can cause up to 20 seconds of RT and knock you down. Combat mobility comes up huge here. They are stunnable but they shake stuns. They are crittable though if you aim for the head (and I think neck as well) but usually only with heavier weapons. Their skin is rather thick and their DS is decent so you probably need an axe or falchion. They also have a high AS (400-420) and they bite, so a lot of times they will kill you once something else has incapacitated you (or if their burrow catches you in offensive).

Warlocks (84) are just tougher versions of witches. The strategy to kill them is exactly the same, but again it may take a while, especially at lower levels, since their DS is higher and they love to cast WoF. Grizzled witches can be a royal pain. They also curse, dark catalyst and torment. If you get hit with torment run away ASAP, as the next round will probably kill you unless you get far enough away. The messaging to look for is you feel a threatening dark force very close to you. Overall on plane 2 just try to stay away from caederas unless you're hunting them specifically, and especially avoid caederas and the casters in close proximity.

Plane 3: Probably the easiest of the planes. The layout is simple and there aren't a lot of room interconnections so the voids aren't as destructive. Aivrens (86) are birds. They are fast like lunatics and attack about as hard as caederas. They also occasionally have a double attack. They do a wing flap maneuver but I have never seen it do more than cause 2 seconds of RT. Despite being birds, they can be hidden on at 2x hiding (although not always). They will also move rooms every action if you are not in the room, like arctic manticores and I'm sure a host of other monsters. You can use this knowledge to your advantage and know its RT clock. The problem is since they fly you can't hit them with a regular weapon until they attack. However, you can wait for them to attack, quickly move a room, hide, sneak back in and ambush usually before its next move. Or you can just hide directly in front of it if you're not in one of the difficult hiding rooms. Open attacks work too if you swing hard enough since they do stun. Most other maneuvers don't work though. Not much to worry about with them. Their gizzards are also quite valuable if you skin well.

N'ecares (87) are corporeal undead. While they don't stun, they do crit, and are fairly easy to kill with a straight ambush to the head. An even better strategy (if you're hunting something else) is to ambush their right arm and remove it. Once you've done that you can leave them alone and they'll just run around and do nothing. This strategy makes plane 5 a hell of a lot easier but it works here too. As long as you don't kill them they won't keep genning new ones and you can basically ignore them. The n'ecares on plane 3 swing light weapons, and so aren't too dangerous, but they do have a maneuver where their eyes glow and their AS goes up by about 100 (to 475-500) for a few rounds. This maneuver also increases their DS, so be careful if you see it. They also tackle but more often than not your RT is up before theirs is which makes for an easy kill. There are also warlocks on plane 3, which ironically are probably still the most dangerous things on the floor. In fact, if you have a warlock bounty I recommend going to 3 instead of 2 as the caederas and csetairis are much more dangerous than the aivrens and n'ecares.

Plane 5: Plane 5 is now easier than plane 4 with the new changes. To get there go through the maw on plane 1, and to get back to plane 1 climb the thread. Be careful rescuing bodies here as you have to go through plane 4 which can be very dangerous if you're not close to capped. Despite hunting plane 5 for about ten levels, I never did fully memorize the layout, although I have a general idea. Lost souls (91) are non-corporeal undead. However, unlike monsters like seracerises they don't decay rapidly so you can still do things like heirloom bounties if you're so inclined. However, they are a huge pain in the ass to kill unless you use a focused mstrike. First of all they are borderline too difficult to hide on at 2x. So you have to use the bad hider ambush strategy (remember to attack regularly and not ambush) or sneak around. This was the first time I actually started sneaking around instead of running around in the open. Although complex, the plane is small, so it doesn't take as long, and it really is a better idea with the vaespilons. The most annoying thing about them is they occasionally fade when you attack, and you have to wait for them to reappear (which usually includes an attack). This happens a good 25% or so of the time at least and it just makes them take even longer to kill. My typical strategy is to sneak around until I find one, immediately unaimed attack from hiding, then follow up with a feint (if it prepped a spell or didn't move yet) and then a focused mstrike. The good news is they don't have a lot of blood and no armor, so 3-4 hits should drop one, and they swing a lot for casters and so are frequently in offensive already. AS is maybe 400 or so, and CS is surprisingly low at 350 or so. I remember I was able to ward them 100% of the time by the time I was in my low 90s even without 120. The only real dangerous spell they have is ewave, which is indeed real dangerous because a vaespilon is usually not far away.

N'ecares are also on plane 5, only they have jeddart-axes and so are slightly more dangerous. The removing the right arms and letting them live strategy works great here though as they usually don't interfere with your hiding and they can do serious damage otherwise if you get ewaved.

Finally, vaespilons (93), also known as vaesps, are a great kill or be killed monster. They are super easy to kill with just a straight ambush to the head; even if they have WoF up their DS after pushdown is only about 400-425. They don't have a lot of blood, can be stunned and maneuvered. You can even hide on them with some degree of success. The problem is they cast focused implosion, which 9 times out of 10 will kill you and send you in pieces to Icemule TC. It's much more preferable to dying normally and having to be dragged through the grinder but it still sucks and you never know when it's going to happen. The few seconds after a vaesp preps a spell when you're incapacitated get the adrenaline flowing like a rift crawler burrow. You rolled the dice and hopefully got lucky. I would say maybe 1/3 of the time or so they cast implosion. They also ewave, which sucks because you usually get imploded before you have a chance to escape. I believe they itchy curse and bind as well but it's usually not an issue since their CS isn't much higher than a soul's.

Some people are of thought that once a vaesp preps a spell you should stay in the room until it casts, and either kill it or often times die trying. The reason is if you leave the room and the vaesp had prepped implode, then it will cast the open version, which creates a void in the room similar to other voids in the rift but much more powerful. It can impact everything in that room and adjacent rooms, and since plane 5 is an intricate web of rooms it's often difficult to avoid them. Some other hunter or person passing through from 4 could easily get killed unintentionally. I don't subscribe to this practice. Maybe when the rift was more popular it was an issue, but in all my ten levels of hunting plane 5 I never caused anyone to get hit by a void on 5, even though I left a bunch of them. Not a ton, since most of the time I killed the vaesp in one shot, but certainly several. 99% of the time, even in peak hours, no one else will pass through 5 while the void is present (for a minute or so). And if there is someone, usually you know in advance that person is around in which case I would be more considerate and not let it happen. But if I'm choosing between a 10-20% chance of me dying every time a vaesp preps a spell and I stick around, or a 0.1% chance of someone else dying, I'm not sticking around. I would have died unnecessarily way too many times over the course of my time there otherwise. So if the vaesp preps on you, run (if you can't deal with it) one room away and peer back repeatedly to see if it imploded. If not, you're safe. If so, move an extra room away and just avoid that area for a minute or so. Easy enough.

Due to the annoying layout and the vaesp deaths and the annoying lots souls, I really disliked plane 5, and was really happy to finally get to...

Plane 4: I think plane 4 is rather straightforward given how high-level the monsters are. Fallen crusaders (97) are non-corporeal undead paladins. Just skip them unless you have a quad focused mstrike. They regenerate almost all their health every round, so you basically need to kill them in between actions. Worse, they frequently haste themselves, and forget about killing them while they're hasted unless you can kill them in one mstrike which is very tough. Even worse, they wear hauberk and EBP a lot. It wasn't until I capped that I really started being able to handle them easily. They're not dangerous at all if your TD is high enough. Their CS is usually around 390-400 and by the time I capped, with the 100 and 400 spells and dissipation my TD was 379 even without lesser shroud and I can ward most of them 100% of the time. They cast the paladin spell that does damage and puts you on your knees but isn't that dangerous. They also shield bash which is pretty much the only way they can hurt you if they can't cast at you (and it's only a minor usually). The only time they can do serious damage is when they mstrike you, as they have a quad focused mstrike and swing a morning star. Even so, when I'm caught in offensive and that happens to me I take maybe 50-100 damage and 3-4 minors. Certainly not the end of the world. I'm only 2x dodge too. Use a statue if necessary. They're really only dangerous when a rift crawler immobilizes you, especially if they're hasted. If you can mstrike well, then the quickest way I've found to kill them is wait for them to attack (make sure they're not hasted), then immediately hit them with a regular attack. If the regular attack didn't suck (i.e. bad rolls or EBP) then immediately follow-up with a focused mstrike. Usually this kills them unless I'm unlucky, but keep in mind again my AS was over 500 by then and I use two axes. Otherwise just wait and try it again because as I mentioned once they act again and regenerate it's back to square one. The easy way is to wait for them to mstrike and then attack. Usually you have about 15 seconds (if they're not hasted) to do what you need to do and kill it. It's easy, but it can take a long time (up to more than a minute) before they actually mstrike you while not hasted. Plus you get other crap moving around and it's usually more of a headache than they're worth. They also decay quickly and know feint so forget about heirloom bounties.

Glistening cerebralites (100) are super-easy for ambushers. You can hide on them usually, and while they don't have some body parts they do have heads. They're not too squishy but certainly crittable, and they stun. Think brig armor or so. They also have a low DS and don't use WoF. They can be dangerous but there's really no reason to ever be at risk from one since even if you miss the ambush you still stun it and can just hide and repeat. The problem is they have a strong cloak of shadows usually that casts pain. If you use two weapons I recommend stowing the off hand one so you don't get hit with it twice if you miss the main ambush. The CS on it is about 420 and it will do 40-80 damage each time depending on how bad the endroll is. Expect to use a lot of acantha if you don't have a high TD but it's not a big deal. When you do get stuck in the open, they can bind you, cast pain and dispel you (which sucks as it usually removes all your spirit spells).

Enormous rift crawlers (103) are by far the toughest thing on 4. They are like caederas on crack, although at least they don't do the ewave thing as they move around. They bite with an AS of 460-470, and if you don't get full pushdown on your ambush you will run up against a DS of 500+ and usually whiff (usually not an issue if you're 2x in ambush). Even in offensive their DS is about 400, and they have fairly tough skin. They can be critted, but only with an AS above 500 and a heavy weapon reliably. They do stun too, but they shake them. I use the bad hider ambush strategy on them since they are very difficult to hide on at 2x. By this time I had 5 ranks of shadow mastery and was sneaking in one second so it usually works. They can immobilize you, which is a level based attack that still can hit you at level 100 and works like bind. Expect to get beat on for a while if it hits you and if there's other stuff in the room you can definitely die. Worse, they can burrow underground. When they do this you'll know because periodically you'll notice the ground shake a few times before they resurface. If you see this, immediately get to a room with no monsters in it, go defensive, and drop any boxes you're carrying if you're encumbered. Then pray. Usually when I take these precautions I'm ok. However, if I'm injured or just unlucky (and you don't need to be that unlucky) I get hit with a vicious slashing attack that can easily kill me. Get slash protection from a warrior which helps a lot. Being 2x in PF would help a lot too (I'm 1x). Even then you can still die, or take a nasty injury and a long stun (which is why I said move to an empty room). Sometimes they eat you, and you end up in their belly. Usually this won't kill you if you act quick... just stow your weapon, take out a knife (carry one for this purpose if you don't already), go offensive and attack wall until you cut yourself out. You'll probably end up losing half your health in the process and depending on what else is out there you may still die.

The crawlers also sometimes burrow on arrival, which sucks because there's nothing you can do about it. However, if you're not actively hunting them then just don't kill them and it won't be an issue since new ones won't gen. Because of this 4 is usually only risky when you hunt crawlers, and even then I probably only die maybe 1 in 10 or 15 bounties which isn't too bad. Finally, crawlers can rift to another part of plane 4 or to another plane altogether. It's only an issue when a grizzled one does it, since it can take forever to traipse through the whole rift tracking it down. Sometimes it can rift into the scatter too. Which brings us to the...

Scatter: Darkly inked fetish masters (104) are very dangerous and extremely difficult to kill. They often have a 500+ DS even in full offensive, although they do stun and you can maneuever them. I don't actively do their bounties, although I can kill them with difficulty. To kill them, first subdue them, then hide and ambush their head (or use the bad hider ambusher strategy). You need to subdue them for the bind effect as often sweeping them will not lower their DS enough. Honestly with an AS of >550 I still don't do their bounties as too many of them are just too difficult to kill. They spike thorn, which can definitely kill you, and they also will summon four dolls at once that attack you. Thankfully, they do stun and are maneuverable, although keep in mind they are 104. They are also difficult to hide on with only 2x hiding.

Murky soul siphons (106) are surprisingly easy given their level. While they are somewhat difficult to hide on, just sneak around and ambush them in the head. They have a very low DS, are corporeal and stunnable/maneuverable. You can even hit them from the open. Probably the easiest creature since vaesps to kill. They do have a strong CS (about 440) if they get a spell off, but there's no reason for that to happen. They also hamstring and attack with a ~500 AS but really not that dangerous outside of their spells.

Vvrael destroyers (108) have the same acid-spraying properties of their brethren, but are probably easier to kill. They are purely physical, and will carry either a maul or claidh. They attack with an AS of about 460-470, and can focused mstrike up to 5 times. They also have a maneuver which puts you into offensive for a period of time, like Frenzy. In addition they can tackle. However, they are not perceptive at all, so you can easily hide on them. I rarely crit kill them with an ambush even with a 550 AS and two axes, so don't expect that to happen a lot. For most people, the best strategy will be to ambush and then immediately vanish. Rinse and repeat. I wait for them to attack and then I focused mstrike them, which usually kills them in one shot. If I don't kill them in that one shot I vanish. As long as you can stance dance with them or vanish they're not hard at all, as they don't do anything except attack.

Liches (110) are undead that kick my ass. I have never killed a lich, although to be fair I don't do their bounties and don't try to kill them. They have killed me a few times, usually due to a nasty major ewave. They have a CS of about 470, and usually cast pain when not casting major ewave. They can also sheer fear you (the minor version) even at level 100, unless you have heroism or a bone talisman. If you do manage to kill one, it creates a phylactery which you need to attack repeatedly in a short period of time or the lich will resurrect. I wouldn't recommend hunting them without a group, although hopefully someday I will figure out a solo strategy since everything else is definitely huntable solo.

Anyways, that's it. Any questions let me know.

I have confirmed destroyers have up to 11 points of crit padding (I put it up on KP a long time ago).

The maneuver they use to put you into offensive is basically warcry growl.

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-- dantastic

<<How long does it usually take you to fry? Do you rest up there or do you head back to town after each hunt?

Depends on what I'm hunting. I always hunt for bounties, so the real question is how long does it take to complete a bounty, say a culling one. Fetish masters take the longest because I need to find one on its own, subdue it, hide and ambush and a lot of times it doesn't work out because they're too high level. I also get hit a lot so end up having to pause and heal. And the scatter swarms badly so it takes a lot of patience to isolate one without divert. I also have to wait to recover stamina a lot because I keep surge and shadow mastery running constantly and subdue costs 20 stamina. I actually stopped doing fetish master bounties until I get to a full 2x in CM. By that time my AS will be about 575 and I should be able to hit most of them.

Crusaders used to take forever but now that my AS is getting up there and I got my second 7x perfect weapon, I can kill most of them in one mstrike without needing to wait for them to mstrike first.

Rift crawlers and cerebralites go quickly since it's just one ambush. Rift crawlers take a little longer because they usually sniff me out and they move around a lot, so sometimes they do that before I get the ambush off.

Destroyers are actually the easiest monster for me on plane 4 or the scatter. Wait for it to act and one focused mstrike and dead.

Siphons are quick kills like cerebralites since they just take one ambush with no setup, but it can take longer to isolate them since the scatter swarms worse than plane 4. Also usually after killing 8-10 they all end up south of the barrier and I'm too impatient so I go hunt over there. That's when I usually get killed by liches.

So to cull like 20 it would probably take me maybe 10-15 minutes for cerebralites, 15-20 minutes for crawlers and crusaders (used to be like 45-60 for crusaders), 10 minutes for destroyers, 20-30 minutes for siphons and 45-60 minutes for fetish masters. I go back to town after each bounty - it takes less than two minutes each way scripting.

Plane 1: More difficult since the changes, and very difficult if you're trying it out as soon as you're eligible to enter the rift (66). However, by 75 it should be very manageable. Raving lunatics (77) are the easiest monsters. They're fairly fast but swing a short sword. Occasionally they throw it at you which bypasses some DS but it's still a short sword. Annoyingly if you damage them but don*'*t kill them fast enough they split into two but that's their only trick. You can stun them, leg them, go straight for the head, maneuever them, cheapshot them etc. They swing at 350-375 or so which isn't bad. If you're not on a bounty I would just stick to these and try and avoid everything else. ~DOCTORUNNEFF

Interesting, I thought Raving Lunatics only split if they were limbed. Though I don't recall if it required both legs removed or just the one, my memory is leaning towards just the one limb.

Nice guide DOCTORUNNEFF. Very generous of you to take the time to compile that information for those curious about the Rift.

~Lori aka Horsefreak (One of the Many)