Act V

"It seemed to be the beginning of the end for the people of Norrath. Innoruuk’s Army had assembled, the planar barriers were about to fall, and it seemed as if nothing could stop his advance. Yet as the Army of Hate prepared itself for war, a strange presence was felt in the darkened alleys of Innoruuk’s Plane. A dagger, which not only threatened the heart of his army, but the black heart of the Prince himself. And so, with victory and ruin balanced on the edge of a blade, Innoruuk was forced to take matters into his own hands."

The Plane of Air

Approach and speak with Natasia. She’s been waiting for you and tells you that you’re to return to the Plane of Hate as the next part of your journey. Natasia also serves as this act’s shop. Take the opportunity to upgrade your weaponry, equipment, and jewelry and stock up on health and mana potions.

Natasia serves as the merchant in the final act of the game.

Before following her instructions, explore the Plane of Air and activate the portal nearby. Return to Natasia when you have concluded your exploration and tell her you’re ready to return to the Plane of Hate.

The Plane of Hate

Cross the vicious Plane of Hate; it’s covered with speedy ghouls and an assortment of melee, ranged, and magic-using adversaries. Added resistances will aid you against the magic users, which should be taken out as quickly as possible. Move slowly across the plane and avoid a battles that contain magic users and fast ghouls, which can catch up to you when you’re trying to chase down the magical adversary.

Traverse the rocky plane to its far end. The bridge there appears to be out. Turn around and approach a doorway across from the bridge. You’re told it doesn’t open either. Turn back around and move toward the bridge to initiate the cut scene and a boss encounter.

Battle this impressive looking minion at the edge of the Plane of Hate. He’s not as challenging as some of your recent tougher engagements. Use your character’s preferred attacks. Ranged and long-range spells will certainly prove the most lethal but a bruising barbarian or an engulfing darkness-wielding shadow knight should have little trouble as well.

Cauldron of Hate and the Halls of Despair

Escort souls through the Halls of Despair to destroy the barrier protecting Innoruuk.

You must find a way to destroy the barrier between the Cauldron of Hate and Innoruuk’s lair. To do so, you must guide souls through the Halls of Despair and into the Plane of Air.

Quest: Destroy Innoruuk’s Barrier--Lead the souls from the Cauldron of Hate through the Halls of Despair to the Plane of Air.

You begin in the Cauldron of Hate. Move around the area and three souls will appear around you. Be sure to activate the portal down here by standing close. Lead the souls toward one of the doors along the area’s edge; this moves into the Halls of Despair.

Natasia will let you know once enough souls have been collected.

The challenge is to keep the souls safe from the enemies that occupy the Halls of Despair. Also, steer clear of the hazardous lava scattered throughout the halls. Stand in the lava and you burn to a crisp immediately.

The enemies throughout the halls will key their attacks on your souls--even to their detriment. Maneuver cautiously into a new room and lure the closest enemies toward your position. They’ll likely ignore you and head straight for the souls. As they move toward the souls, pummel them with ranged attacks, spells, or melee attacks. Watch your souls carefully as its easy to lose track of them and then all of a sudden they’re under attack by enemy warriors. Stick between the souls and any enemies. If all three souls perish, you must start over. If any survive, you’ll reach the entrance to the Plane of Air and transport to Natasia.

Collect enough souls to open the Barrier of Hatred.

Repeat the process (using the portal to return to the Cauldron) until enough souls have been collected to remove the barrier from the Cauldron of Hate. Be sure to save your game in the Plane of Air once all souls have been collected. From this point on, the game ends abruptly at failures and you’ll have to reload a save game, not a checkpoint, to resume your progress. Save after the Cauldron to avoid playing the section over again.

With sufficient souls rescued, move back through the portal to the Cauldron of Hate and continue through the open Barrier of Hatred and into the pit ahead.

Innoruuk’s Lair

Firionia Vie desperately needs your help!

Before facing Innoruuk, you must break the five seals that imprison Firionia Vie. The seals are the large stone skulls around the perimeter of Innoruuk’s Lair. Destroy each one to set her free and complete the objective. It’s best to steer clear of Innoruuk during this task. Move away from him on sight and proceed toward another seal. Work your way around the perimeter of the lair and out of Innoruuk’s line of sight. If you’re struck down, the game ends in an Epilogue. To try again you’ll have to reload your last save game, which hopefully is after the Cauldron of Hate!

Back to The Plane of Air

Freeing Firionia Vie completes the task and transports you back to the Plane of Air. You must purge yourself of hate before facing Innoruuk for the final confrontation. Move along the edge of the plane and find the branch that leads to the purging. Use the action button to initiate the purge. You’re automatically sent back to Innoruuk’s Lair.

Back to Innoruuk’s Lair

Innoruuk uses a ranged fireball attack. Dodge it by maneuvering between the projectiles or keeping your distance. His close-range attack is particularly deadly. He swings his gigantic hammer with impunity and it doesn’t take more than a few solid strikes to put you down for the count.

Innoruuk is most vulnerable after he’s dropped his hammer.

The key is to strike Innoruuk so he loses his hammer. Without his hammer, he’s extremely vulnerable to your assault. You can help extend the damage during his vulnerable moments by inflicting elemental damage. For instance, poison causes him to stutter giving you more time to score successful strikes. Cold damage slows him down and fire damage causes additional burning damage.

Keeping your distance is a good idea when Innoruuk carries the hammer. If you’re a barbarian, get in strikes when you can and turn up the heat once he drops the hammer. Defeating Innoruuk completes Champions of Norrath. Now it’s time to start all over again on the next difficulty level!