UPPER GUK
| Location: | In the center of the continent of Antonica |
click to view expanded map and printable info... |
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| Adjacent Zones: | Innothule Swamp, Lower Guk | |
| Level of Monsters: | 4-25+ | |
| Types of Monsters: | Frogloks of all types, including Tads, Guards, Sentries at the front end, then to more advanced frogloks, including Warrior, Shaman, and Knight types, named (weakest to strongest) Tuk, Gaz, Ton, Vis, Shin, Nok, and Tsu, Tonta Knight; Swamp Alligators, Saltwater Crocodiles, Heart Spiders, Large Heart Spider, Fungus Drone, Fungus Breeder, Fungus Soldier, Fungus Ancient, Fungus Mutant, Skeletal Monk | |
| Notable NPC's: | Froglok Squire, Idealist, Realist, Necromancer, Scryer, Summoner, Nokta Shaman, Shin Knight, Shin Lord; Tempus; Giant Heart Spider; Ancient Crocodile | |
| Unique Items: | Woven and Mesh Armor, Bracelet of Woven Grass, Chitin Shell Armor, Chitin Shell Shield, Collar of Undead Protection, Elf Hide Gloves, Fungus Spore, Gatorscale Leggings, Gatorscale Sleeves, Ghoulbane, Glowing Mask, Moss Mask, Pouch of Ghoul Ashes, Reed Ring, Runed Bone Fork, Shimmering Orb, Silver Plated Bracer, Soiled Boots, Troll Hide Belt, Vial of Egg Whites, Guk Bracket Mildew, Decayed Guk Weed | |
| Indoor/Outdoor: | Indoor |
Allakhazam Links: Bestiary
|| Equipment
|| Quests
|| Strategy
Text last updated: 04/17/00
Map last updated: 04/26/02
Description
Upper Guk is the upper level of one of the largest dungeons to be found in the entire realm of Norrath, and home to one of the most advanced societies, on par with the Kerrans. It is a vast and twisting place, filled with the frogloks and laden with their unique treasures.Dangers
Upper Guk is an extremely dangerous place to adventure in. This is due to a variety of factors, starting with the distribution of creatures throughout the zone. I mapped most of this zone as an 11th level Wood Elf Ranger, who had never killed a froglok in his life, and not one froglok attacked me. This is a good thing, because once I was two rooms out from the main water room with the bridge, every froglok was tombstone to me. The depths are filled with even more dangerous frogloks, and there is close proximity of low and high level frogloks throughout the zone. One has to be careful who they pick a fight with, because around the corner could lie a froglok warrior five levels higher. In conjunction with this, the frogloks work together well. In the very first room are usually two froglok tads, approximately fourth level. In the next room are often at least one froglok guard, who is approximately eighth level. If you attempt to fight this froglok and draw him into the first room, the tads will begin to heal him and your fight becomes a nightmare. Attempting to kill off the tads first is likewise dangerous, as they will flee and then you'll have the guard at your back while you try to finish off the tad. In other words, although the creatures start at about 4th level, most of the people adventuring in the front rooms are at least level 10.Probably as a result of the above, this place has some very dangerous trains. These are not Blackburrow trains where there is one Elite Guard mixed in with some Burly Gnolls, these are trains of 20th level and higher warriors mixed with tads. These trains are even more dangerous because of the ingeniously evil layout of the entrance of Guk. The entry hallway is large enough to fit one ogre/troll, but no others can fit by. One AFK ogre in the doorway equals your death. Also, the entry hall with the bridge over the water is also very tricky to navigate, and will definitely slow you down if you want to keep from falling into the water.
I could go into much more about why this place is dangerous, but suffice it to say that when I usually enter the zone, there are usually 15th to 20th level characters resting in the entry hallway, and they usually fight in one or two rooms past the water room, drawing out frogloks from the rooms beyond. If this sounds like your kind of place, then go on in. Also, there is the difficulty of death and having to run from Freeport to Guk naked...
Also of note, most of the good races (I haven't checked them all) can actually enter Guk and travel unhindered throughout it. This assumes, of course, that you have never in your entire life killed a froglok. If you have killed a froglok, you will notice that you can still travel throughout the dungeon unhindered, although this comes with a caveat. My example is my wood elf, passing through the temple where he had previously traveled unmolested, was attacked by every froglok present after a Tuk Warrior took offense at my presence, and this after killing one froglok forager in the swamp above. He actually would have outrun the train (probably one of the more ugly in Guk history) but instead got caught in a blind end water filled area where the crocs lair above. Be careful what you hunt...
More specific dangers involve some of the unique spawns/camp spots. Three of the rooms, in particular, are very dangerous. The rooms with the Summoner, the Scryer, and the Shin Lord, all have relatively the same danger, and that is that they are tough rooms to crack and keep open. Basically, if you could hunt these critters for experience, these rooms are a danger. The problem is that attacking one creature in the room brings at least half a dozen very powerful frogloks on top of you. Controlling these fights requires a balanced and controlled group, a lot of Snaring, and some luck. Once the room is clean, however, you can't rest. Constant fighting ensues in order to keep the room clean, and you have to make sure the surrounding area is kept clear or you'll have some very lethal spawns.
Benefits
Despite the above mentioned dangerousness of the zone, this has to be one of the most popular dungeons in the game, the only problem with this is that it is so far away from the majority of players, and the difficulty at getting bound nearby for any of the good races. There are several reasons for this, but the largest is that the frogloks are just plain rich. Even the lowliest froglok possesses woven armor, which is about the equivalent of banded armor for mage classes. It sells for about the same as well, and monks will pay a great deal of money for the woven gloves, which count as magical weapons for them.There is also a large amount of good equipment to be had in Upper Guk. Many of the items are on characters wish lists, and the added benefit of making some great experience while waiting for the critter who carries it to spawn is worthwhile.
Travelling To and From Upper Guk
There is one entrance into Upper Guk from the Innothule Swamp. The entrance is guarded on the outside by two froglok guards, and on the inside has a narrow corridor guarded by at least one higher level froglok guard.The entrances to Lower Guk are apparently many in number, but I have never personally found any of them, despite traveling far into the zone.