Solusek's Eye
Antonica (Back)
Solusek's Eye (informally called Sol A) is the cavernous home of both the fire goblins and their allied clans, and the Solusek Mining Company, an intrepid group of gnomes here for the mineral wealth this area has to offer. Both live in an unsteady alliance with one another in the lava-filled caverns, united by the close presence of their enemies, the Solusek kobolds and Lord Nagafen himself.
Map
 Solusek's Eye
Note: the lettered areas above are zone points to the corresponding lettered areas in Nagafen's Lair (Sol B). |
Dangers
This dungeon is a vast series of underground tunnels with several separate areas. Overall, though, there are some general dangers with the zone. First of all, it's very confusing to get around in. There are a lot of small winding tunnels, regular and secret doors, traps, drawbridges, and lava rivers. Do not expect that you will be able to make fast time in order to evade an enemy through this zone, at best you'll get lost, at worst you'll wind up dead at the bottom of a river of lava, not a nice place to be.
Second is that it is difficult to move around while invisible or hidden here. Pretty much all of the spellcasting goblins can see through even high level invis, as well as the champions and elementals. This can sometimes make corpse recovery difficult, and require you to find an alternate route to where you need to be.
Third is that this is a place for short people. Goblins and gnomes live here. That makes it very difficult for many larger races to get around, and being trapped in a doorway can mean not only your own death, but the deaths of your entire party as they pile up behind you trying to get past. Come here with an ability to shrink, or I would go somewhere else.
Now for specific dangers. The goblins are the first thing you'll encounter as you enter the zone, regardless of which entrance (from Lavastorm or Nagafen's Lair) you use. These are, in order of strength, the young, cinder, flame, fire, inferno, and Solusek goblins, and they all have wizards and shamans in their ranks. They can be pretty tough in groups, especially with a couple of wizards in them, but the usual tactics apply for taking them on. Just watch the lava.
The gnomes present a more difficult problem. They are slightly more powerful than the goblins, and have clerics and magicians among them. They, and their Clockwork guardians, will all assist one another in a fight. The biggest problem with fighting them is the faction problem. They share the same factions as in Ak'Anon, and although you can move safely within their domain if you've never killed one (mostly), fighting there a lot will make you many enemies. Consider this before camping out the Mining Company.
The last real danger is the elementals and the pit traps. If you fall in a pit trap, you will be fighting an elemental that can see through invis, so be ready, or avoid the traps. These elementals also appear in other regions, and are the most powerful enemies in the zone (nearly 40th level) and aggressive, so be prepared
Benefits
Solusek's Eye has quite a few benefits for the adventurous. First of all, it's a huge zone. You will never not be able to find anything to fight in here. In fact, most areas go untouched for days because nobody goes deeply enough in. This means good hunting regardless of the level of your group. Camping the exact spawn you want might be a little more difficult, but you'll be able to get exp without a problem.
For leveling in your late 20s and early 30s, the Solusek Bar Room offers some of the best experience in the game. A single group can easily hold the entire bar and king room with a good puller (just be wary of the bad pathing in the first room on the right when heading to the bar). Drops from the goblins in this area are an excellent source of income as well. Approximately every third goblin will drop ore (ranging from bricks to blocks) and every fifth to sixth goblin will carry fine steel weapons. If your character possesses the ability to sneak there is a goblin merchant (located at 14 on the map, he is dubious to all, gives no xp or loot when killed) who you can sell all this loot to; he also sells bandages, food and water.
There is also a variety of creatures to fight. You want to fight goblins? Fight goblins. You want gnomes? Fight gnomes. Fighting each requires different tactics and an entirely different set of loot. And when you're done, you can take the loot to the other's merchant.
Last, but not least, some of the greatest items in the game come from here. While this is good, they are also frequently camped out for a long period of time. I have not once found an uncamped kobold predator, for instance, in my journeys. It has to happen, but it's not common.
Traveling To and From Solusek's Eye
There are multiple entrances into Solusek's Eye. The main one that people take is from the Lavastorm Mountains. Within the mountains, travel to the large lava pit at the north end, known as Solusek's Eye (not to be confused with this zone). There are two paths to caves on the southern edge of the lava pit, the one you want is the eastern one, which will take you to Solusek's Eye.
There are multiple zones from Nagafen's Lair (Sol B) into Solusek's Eye. These are frequently used as escapes from Solusek's Eye to Sol B, but be aware that they are also used for the same purpose on the other side, which has much tougher monsters, and you may be going from the frying pan into the fire when you appear on the other side
