Conflux/Path of Phoenix
- Please note that this path is an explicit spoiler. It is the result of over 20+ Conflux playthroughs, from Conflux_3.5_B8 to Conflux_WIP006 and an unfinished attempt to find the optimal path for each of the Guides to unlock the Guilds with all Guildmasters available for joining the Party.
- Location names are determined from the Hint Oracle whenever such information is given.
- It's assumed that the reader will have played though the game with all four Guides to find the 15 map password scrolls (download the maps from http://dungeon-master.com/conflux3maps/).
To live and die and live again, you get used to it as a Phoenix... I remember the old days of the four Guides of 3.5_B8. Their struggle let to the knowledge of Conflux. I have lived through many Great Changes and with each I find myself called forth to direct one or more Champions into Conflux... This is the time of the Great Change known as WIP006, and this is the story of how I unlocked the Ancient Guilds...
Each of the Guides has their advantages and disadvantages when choosing a solo Champion... Iaido is the easiest and Gando the hardest, but for this trial I will push open the Priest Guild with Zed...The beginning is always the hardest...So weak and with so little Stamina, but I have been here many times before...
I pray to Libre, that she may gift me with the means to re-open the Priest Guild. My prayers complete, I step forward and descend down the well into the Guild Entryhall. I use my immaterial form to remove the Black Flame guardian of the Maleficient Guild and then proceed into the main GuildHall until I stand before Zed's Mirror...My Horn...I must get back my Horn...*gasp* I'm awake...I Zed, Duke of Banville, have been called forth to bring back my family's heirloom, but first I must unlock the Guilds so that I may grow strong.
Here begins the Journal of Zed, Duke of Banville:
Day 1
The Guildhall is closed up, but well lit. I will make this room my base of operations to bring glory once again to Banville. I unlock both the Aspirants and the Gates of Membership doors of the Priest Guild before I add the Challenge Scroll to my inventory. Torch in hand, I make my way down into the Wine Cellar to find a certain Cave Rat. I lure the vile beast to the stairway door and let it do the work for me. Mace in hand, it was time to remove the rest of the Small Rats. I gather the Zo Liqueur and Silver Coin from the wine racks and sprint to the newly opened passage to get another staff. Two buttons later, I equip myself with a complete leather outfit before returning back to the Guildhall and opening the Threshold of the Initiate of the Priest Guild. Water is my next concern, so I head down into the Storage Cellar and bash the wooden door next to the stairs to retrieve a bag with a waterskin. I decide to save my Gorgonzollas in case I get Calcium deficient later in my later years. Clearing out the Chewers here gives me my first food stocks. Feeding the Fountain of Ignorance to open the Door of Answers gives me access to a Shining and a Plasma that will burn open the Aspirants door of the Wizard Guild. A brief bought of training raises me to Apprentice level and enough HP to take on Supplies for the Strong. Scimitar in hand, I am now able to open the Aspirants doors to the Fighter and Ninja guilds.
Day 12
Descending back into the Cellar I head to the Rat's Nest. The Ven Egg here will help with the Flask Quest, but a Kath Vinegar is still needed. After killing a few Cave Rats, I take the ladder up to the Minotaur Maze. The Minotaur is tough, but my scimitar is sufficient for the task. I take the Mace from the Minotaur's corpse, before turning to clearing this area of Gigglers and Rock Piles. An arrow and few stone throws solves the puzzle that guards access to the Mildew area. I grab the Shuriken from beneath some clothing before proceeding down the hall. Chewers guard these halls, but they are insufficient to stop me from reaching the Mildew Rooms and their cache of Kath Vinegars. There are too many Vinegars to carry, so I'll need to come back here to collect them all. Vinegar in hand, I use the stairs in the Northern Mildew room to head down to the Cellar to complete the Flask Quest and get the first point towards the Challenge.
Day 23
Returning to the Guilds, I open the Gate of Membership to the Ninja Guild before creating a Strength potion that will raise my Strength above 55 and enable me to bash open the Gates of Membership door of the Fighters Guild. After collecting the remaining Vinegars, I again create some strength potions to raise my Strength above 66 to bash the metal door near the Southern Mildew room. An impudent Statue here claims that, "None shall pass", but I reduce it to a boulder and pluck a Mace from the Gem lock behind it. Without the required gem, I press East to confront another group of Chewers and further on to a Southern passage. The wall here reads "Tarry Not At the Narrow Way To Wisdom", and a bag with a Monk Staff waits here for the quick. Solve the puzzle quick or be dumped into the Sewers. I'm not sure about Luck, but I feel the pain of a hernia as I drag my prize and a Shuriken back to the Guilds for storage.
Day 27
After opening the Threshold of the Initiate door of the Ninja Guild, Guild Riddles now hold me back. Two dead torches in the Cellar gives me a Solid Key, which I use to open the MIPS puzzle. The Pudding served here is terrible, but an Emerald, Sapphire and Gor Coin more than make up for any inconvenience. Returning to the Gem lock, the Sapphire opens access to an alcove with a Corbum. I'll use this Corbum to open the Gates of Membership of the Wizard Guild. Taking the Moister path from the Guild Entryhall, I summon a rope with a Mischevious Bag and climb down into the pit to get a Flamebain.
Day 34
A quick trip to the Food Storages gets me the last of the Ven Eggs that I need to solve the Priest Guild Riddle and then open the Doorway of the Pretender in the Priest Guild. Using the map from the Fountain of Wisdom, I access more Supplies for the Strong and a Monk Staff. I climb down into the pit to seek the Long Lost Wand and 5 more points towards the Challenge.
Day 36
I return to the Guild and open the Leadership Gateway of the Priest Guild and claim my second Flask. Using the back entrance to the Mildew rooms, I take advantage of the Tailor's Gift of a Compass and Shuriken. Now I can solve the Ninja Guild riddle and open the Doorway of the Pretender behind it. With the opening of Leadership Gateway, the Priest Guild is full open and there are no more restrictions on first obtaining Expert level Priest and ultimately to UM Master. As an Expert Priest, I can now view objects with greater precision to identify their possible uniqueness and special properties.
Day 42
I'll need to delve deeper into the dungeon to gain better weapons and Guild Items. I return once again to the Mildew area to confront the Giggler of All and recover the Lockpicks stolen from Iaido long ago. The Lockpicks will open both Winged locks in the Cellar and give me access to the Monestary entrance of the Temple. My Flamebain pays off here against the Lao Tzu Monks of the Temple. I take a Corbum from the the Test of the Burning Hands' guardian, before stealing the Eternal Torch and The Fire Pact from St. Prometheus.
Day 56
The rope in the Cellar is a trap that requires a quick hand to grasp the prize. Climbing down the pit to the North leads to the Purging Cell. I meditate here for a minute or two so that I may become pure and take the scroll here to finish feeding the Wizard Guild riddle. I take my time repatriating items the Monks obviously looted from my beloved Banville...except for the capes...which seem to be everywhere...this does not stop me from collecting them...I can't even stop myself from making them, but I digress...
Day 60
One upstart Monk here fancied himself a Poet Seer. I wonder if he foresaw my sword slicing him in two. His Mirror of Dawn was key in unlocking the Mirrors of the Minotaur Maze. Another Monk Staff, Gor Coin, and a valuable Moonstone Necklace are among the top items locked behind those dark glasses. With this last Monk Staff, Mophus can be awoken, but I'll let him sleep just a little longer. It's time to take my complaints to the High Priest.
Day 67
The High Priest and his Couatls vanquished, I raid the Future Machine. One of the bags here has a Corbum that will open the Doorway of the Pretender of the Wizard Guild and gain me the ability to cast Exploding Fire. I use Exploding Fire on the entrance to the Iron Temple in the Storage Cellar. There's a Corbum in the bag here, but I need to use the Alchemical Oven before I can use it to open the Leadership Gateway of the Wizard Guild. Stairs down from the Iron Temple are just a short distance from stairs leading down to the Dwarven Mines and the Fur Trader. Axe in hand it is time to solve the Fighter Guild Riddle and open the Doorway of the Pretender after that.
Day 74
The stairs in the Iron Temple lead down to the Central section of the Sewers known as The Flood. Greater Water Elementals congregate here. Mindless Brutes, they don't bother avoiding the many drains here. As I was traveling the Sewers to find the Sage of the Sewers a Mud Man accosted me. I axed him many questions, but he remained silent on every issue until with his last breath, he coughed up a Monk Staff. The Sage directed me to the Haven of Meditation where I was able to pick up a Vorple Blade. Back in the Guild to regroup, I opened the Gates of Leadership for the Ninja Guild. Thankfully I managed not to loose anything of value to a gaggle of Gigglers that had been hiding behind it. I'll track them down later.
Day 89
I follow the Path of the Beast up to a gem lock outside the Pit of Ephesus. I use an Emerald that I obtained from one of the Monks to open the door. I place the Monk Staff in the puzzle here before proceeding to the Pit. No mortal may look inside the Pit of Ephesus, but that doesn't mean they can't fall inside. The Emerald key will unlock either door and they both reach the same destination, many elementals and an angry Red Scorpion. One way does force you to take on both Scorpions. I have reached the end of the Path of Ephesus, and the Wisdom of the Temple is now mine along with another Flask and a Corbum to expose Gothmog's Mirror.
Day 98
Entering the Sewers is easiest from the Iron Temple. North of the Flood, an infestation of Giant Leeches, Chewers, Leprechauns and Gigglers are held at bay by and ancient barrier. A thorough fumigation slowly gets things under control. Behind one of the Spitter Trees, a button unlocks the access pit that will allow me to enter the Dwarven Forges. Resting on the forge itself is a Mace. One Storage chamber on the East side of the Dwarven Forge can be opened by touching the carving next to it. The alcove inside contains a number of arrows and a Shuriken. Leyla's Mirror is now exposed, and the Gates of Leadership are open for the Fighter Guild. All Guilds are open, and no more Level restrictions apply.
The rest of the pages are all torn off...
