Conflux/Places/Moria

Description

The Moria is a very large and maze-like area with stairs across many levels. You can easily get lost here without a map.
Among the monsters encountered here are Orcs, Rusters, Hellhounds, Skeletons, Balrogs, Gigglers, Disks, Dragons, Umber Hulks. The area is rather uninhabited, and most monsters don't respawn once killed. Some one-time events, however, trigger a massive invasion of enemies. There are also some monsters summoned by going to certain places like in the Guardroom and the Umber Hulks.
Here are many secret areas to discover, riddles to solve and treasures to find.

Summary description of the levels and their special locations

• Level 10: This level contains only a few very small areas of the Moria: the Upper Armouries and a room where the password scroll for the Moria's map is hidden, as well as a room reachable through a ladder without any apparent use. The Old Way to the Moria, its main entrance, a series of pits, goes through this level; you can find a unique weapon there, the Leviathan.
• Level 11: This level contains only a few small areas of the Moria: the stairs to the Upper Armouries and to the room where the password scroll for the Moria's map is hidden, as well as a place with two unique gloves. The Old Way to the Moria, its main entrance, a series of pits, goes through this level.
• Level 12: You find the main entrance of the Moria to the north of this level, as well as one of the exits in the same room. This level also contains the Second Hall and the Third Hall to the south, from where you can go upstairs to discover some secrets. The Third Keep must be entered from the well hidden Hollin Gate on the level below and is the only way to the Upper Armouries two levels above; to get there, you must open more locked doors and fight powerful guard monsters to the west of the Keep. Another exit of the Moria to the Stairs of Ashes is located at the north-western edge of the level. To the west you find a room with a unique sword.

Interests

• Level 10
  • The Leviathan Axe is not found in the Moria itsself, but on your way to its main entrance, called the "Old Way" by the Hint Oracle, you can fetch it out of a monster guarded room from {10,27,0}.
  • The Upper Armouries contain a part of the special Dragon Armour to be found at {10,14,30}. Enter through the hidden Hollin Gate on level 13.
  • Go to the niche at {10,26,28} to find the map password scroll for the Moria. Enter through the Second Hall or the Third Hall on level 12 or through the smaller room to the north of those.
• Level 11
  • At {11,15,29} and {11,17,31} you find unique gloves and gauntlets in a secret area. Enter through the Second Hall or the Third Hall on level 12 or through the smaller room to the north of those.
• Level 12
  • Get the unique sword Caliburn, Arm of Wu Tse, from {12,27,23}. This is one of the best weapons in the game and well guarded by monsters. Enter the room from the main hall near the Moria's main entrance from the level below.
  • Get a Gem of Ages necklace from {12,31,30} in the Third Hall.
  • Get an Eckhart Cross necklace from {12,12,28} in the Second Hall.
  • If you are short of bags to store your item collection or need a Torso Plate Mail, look around in the Third Keep after visiting the Upper Armouries.

Connections

The Moria hasn't got many entrance and exit paths, but those can be accessed from several levels.

Entrances

There are only three paths into the Moria, one of those must be opened from inside, another from both sides.

The Old Way to the Moria

This is the only path to enter the Moria for the first time; it is accessible from several levels:

• Level 5: Pit at {5,24,2} in the Dwarven Obituary Hall.
• Level 6: Pits at {6,24,2} and {6,28,3} in the large north-eastern room on the Spiders' Level. The left pit is the same as the one from the level above, the hidden pressure plate triggered pit to the right in front of the stairs leads into a teleportation portal room below.

From the above loactions you reach a pit on the Council level at {7,27,0} either from the left or right side, depending on where you come from. Instead of going all the way down to the Moria, you can decide to teleport back from the left corridor to the Crypt level, or from the right teleportation portal room to various places above this level, but once you enter the pit, you cannot turn back before reaching the Moria's entrance portal room on level 12. There is no way to reach this pit from the Council level's main part! You can only enter from levels 5 or 6 as described above.

• Level 8: Pit at {8,26,2} at the eastern edge of the High Sentinel's room on the Emerald Level or through the same pit at {9,26,2} in the Golem Prison which is only accessible from the High Sentinel's room above.

The next stop is in a room on level 10. If you are strong enough, you can loot the room to the east before climbing all the way down from {10,23,0} to the entrance portal of the Moria on level 12.

Through an openable wall on level 13

See below under "Exits". Once opened from inside the Moria, this path is also usable to enter the Moria again.

Through the Chamber of Oblivion

See below under "Exits". Once opened from inside the Moria as well as from a ladder downstairs the Priests' Guild, this path is usable in both directions, but it's not the shortest way between the Moria and the Guilds.

Exits

From the main entrance portal back to the Crypt level

There is a pit reaching from the Moria's entrance portal room on level 12 down to a teleporter on level 17; level 13 has no direct access to the pit, but you can go down through another pit in the Balrog Bridge room or up to the Moria's main entrance.

• Level 12: Pit at {12,27,1} down to a teleporter at {17,28,1} bringing you back to {5,25,5}.
• This exit path is easily reachable from the north-eastern part of level 13 as well.
• Level 14: Pit at {14,27,1} down to a teleporter at {17,28,1} bringing you back to {5,25,5}.
• Level 15: Pit at {15,27,1} down to a teleporter at {17,28,1} bringing you back to {5,25,5}.
• Level 16: Pit at {16,27,1} down to a teleporter at {17,28,1} bringing you back to {5,25,5}.

To the Stairs of Ashes on level 12

Stamm says that this is the only way out of the Moria, which obviously isn't true.

• Level 12: Pit at {12,29,9} dropping you into a teleporter to {12,20,0} onto the Stairs of Ashes. You can go downstairs from there if you've already opened the door at the bottom of "Pit D" where the Maze of Thieves begins; otherwise go upstairs. You will eventually reach the Spiders' Lair. On the Emerald Level you can enter the High Sentinel's room if you have previously unlocked its door from the other side, or you can go down another way to the Guild Masters' endings and the Dragons' Lair as long as you have four living party members.

Through an openable wall on level 13

You must solve two of three riddles inside the Moria in order to open a path to the west of level 13 leading to a corridor connecting this location with the backdoor to theDragons' Lair as well as the entrances to the Clockwise Maze and the Tower of Mampang.

• First open one or more ways into the corridor leading to a removable wall to the west:

1. Repair the Bridge of the Tower of Chaos on the level above to open the way to the stairs at {13,13,21},
2. or find an item for the alcove at {13,17,22} which opens the door at {13,17,21}.
3. Once inside this corridor you can optionally unlock the door at {13,7,17} with a spare Skeleton Key opening a way to the Guard Room and the First Hall near the entrance portal.

• In addition to the above, find the item for the alcove at {13,4,12} needed to open the wall at {13,5,13}.

Through the Chamber of Oblivion

This path must be opened from two sides, and you need items from elsewhere in the game: a Skeleton Key, optionally a Gold Key to trade it in for a replacement Skeleton Key, as well as Hellion necklace.

1. On level 0 in the Priests' Guild there is a ladder at {0,14,16} leading to a cemetary outside of the Chamber of Oblivion, where you have to unlock the door at {38,7,30} with a Skeleton Key; if you also have a spare Gold Key, you can open another door to retrieve a replacement Skeleton Key. You cannot enter the Chamber of Oblivion, this side without opening a removable wall from the other side first.
2. There are several entry points in and under the Moria to reach Ye Old King under the Mountain on level 21 which is the first major step in your way out.
   • Coming from level 14, climb down the pit at {14,26,18} and fall down to the Ye Old King under the Mountain area on level 21.
   • Coming from level 16, go down the stairs at {16,31,0} in the Hot Springs room at the north-eastern corner of the Moria. From there, proceed to level 20, where you will encounter an undead dragon; after finding a switch and the removable wall it opens, you can go further down to Ye Old King under the Mountain on the level below.
   • On level 18 is a large room with acess to the same deep pit that starts on level 14. Is this area accessible at all?
   • On level 20 is a small room with acess to the same deep pit that starts on level 14. Is this area accessible at all?
3. On level 21 you must solve a complex riddle with more switches and removable walls. Proceed to Inferno, a hellish area with lots of monster generators, which you enter at {26,30,0} and leave down the stairwell at {26,29,30}. A door at {34,29,30} must be unlocked with a Hellion necklace, which fortunately isn't consumed in the process. You will finally enter the Chamber of Oblivion through the stairs at {38,26,27}. Beware of Death himself, the small Reapers and the Ghosts are no threat if you survived Inferno. The wall at {38,8,29} will be removed somehow, and if you've opened the Priest Guild's side previously, you can go directly to the Guilds' level from here.