Curse stones and bosses
Find and break the curse stones from level 5 to 50, open the treasure boxes they drop, and take on Rotmaw.
The vale is cursed by singing stones. Breaking them is the main source of skill books, and the best source of upgrade materials. Bosses are rarer and drop Soul Stones.
What a curse stone is
A curse stone is a red crystal cluster that stands in one spot on a hunting map. There is one stone for every fifth level, from 5 to 50, and each glows in its own colour. Strong stones show as larger orange dots on the minimap.
A stone never moves and never chases you. Instead, every 3.2 seconds it sends out a shockwave that hurts and throws back everyone standing close to it. Stones far above your weapon level hit harder, as any monster does.
| Stone | Where | Health |
|---|---|---|
| Level 5 | Meadow of Embers | 1,050 |
| Level 10 | Weeping Mire | 1,600 |
| Level 15 | Bandit Caverns | 2,150 |
| Level 20 | Sunscar Dunes | 2,700 |
| Level 25 | Blackwater Fen | 3,250 |
| Level 30 | Frostpeak | 3,800 |
| Level 35 | Verdant Ruins | 4,350 |
| Level 40 | Arcanum Ruins | 4,900 |
| Level 45 | The Underworld | 5,450 |
| Level 50 | Underworld Depths | 6,000 |
A stone has 500 health plus 110 for each of its levels. Each map page in the world and the curse stones page shows where its stone stands.
Breaking a stone
- Travel to the stone's map. Your character level must reach the map's entry level (see Levels and experience).
- Lock the stone as a target and attack it.
- Step out of the shockwave when your health drops, and step back in. Ranged jobs can hit it from outside.
- When it breaks, pick up what falls.
A broken stone grows back after 90 seconds.
Two quests ask for stones: Silence the Meadow Stone from Elder Rowan (the level 5 stone) and Drown the Second Curse from Elder Moss (the level 10 stone). If you broke the stone before taking the quest, it counts at once.
What a stone gives
| Reward | Amount |
|---|---|
| Experience | 32 per stone level (160 at level 5, 1,600 at level 50) |
| Coins | About 80,000 copper at a level 5 stone, more the higher the stone, with some spread |
| Curse Crystals | 2 (levels 5 to 15), 3 (20 to 35), 4 (40 to 50) |
| Treasure boxes | 1, with a 30% chance of a second |
| Scroll of Clarity | 5% chance |
80KA stone also rolls its own drop table into your bag:
| Material | Chance |
|---|---|
| Enchanted Quartz (1 or 2) | 95% |
| Piece of Gem (1 or 2) | 50% |
| Demon Gem+ | 45% |
| Unknown Talisman+ | 35% |
| Dragon Scale | 28% |
Stones below level 25 drop plain Skill Treasure Boxes. Stones of level 25 and above drop Golden Skill Treasure Boxes.
Curse Crystals carry the stone's level, such as Curse Crystal Lv 20. They have no other use in the game yet, but they trade between players: from 40,000 copper for a Lv 5 crystal up to 5 silver 20,000 copper for a Lv 50 one (see Trading and the market).
5What falls on the ground is yours alone for 10 seconds, then anyone may take it. It disappears after 5 minutes.
In a party
Party members close to the stone share it like any kill. Experience and coins split equally. Each crystal, box, scroll and material goes to the raffle, so everyone has a fair chance at the boxes. See Parties and guilds.
Treasure boxes
Boxes are items. Use one from the bag and press Open, or Open all for a stack. The chest opens on screen and shows what came out; press Take.
| Box | Holds |
|---|---|
| Skill Treasure Box | A skill book 99% of the time, a Soul Stone 1% |
| Golden Skill Treasure Box | A golden skill book 31%, a plain skill book 67%, a Soul Stone 2% |
A book is for a skill of the job you are playing 60% of the time. Otherwise it can be for any job's skill, which you can keep for another job or sell. Books need a free bag slot: if the bag is full, the remaining boxes stay shut.
Plain books raise Master skills and golden books raise Grand Master skills. See Combat and skills for reading books and the chances.
Bosses
Rotmaw the Centipede
Rotmaw is a giant centipede under the southern mesa of the Meadow of Embers. It spits poison at anyone nearby, so it can hit you from range. It is far tougher than the meadow's other monsters.
Its name shows as Boss · Rotmaw the Centipede. A boss is never an elite, and an elite never a boss: Rotmaw's strength and rewards are its own. It gives 462 experience, and each of these always drops:
- 2 or 3 Enchanted Quartz,
- 3 or 4 Medicine Plus,
- 3 to 5 Scorpion Needles.
On top of that, it has a 3% chance to drop a Soul Stone.
Two quests send you after it. The Thing Under the Mesa from Captain Vey rewards an Azure Blade. What Guards the Stone from Mira Path, after The Trainer's Test, rewards a Soul Stone.
Elite monsters
Some packs are led by an elite: a stronger monster with a title before its name, such as Alpha Grey Wolfkin or Captain Orc Raider, drawn with a thin orange outline. Elites have more than twice the health, give 2.1 times the experience, drop materials more often and in larger numbers, and drop potions more often. They are not bosses and don't drop Soul Stones.
The rewards screen
When a boss falls, everyone who shared the kill sees the rewards screen. It shows a row for each member:
- damage dealt and damage tanked, as bars,
- badges such as Top Damage and Top Tank,
- the raffle tickets earned,
- the experience, coins and items each member received.
The raffle is already decided and the items are already in the winners' bags, so closing the screen early loses nothing. It closes by itself after 10 seconds. Solo players see it too, with only their own row.
Curse stones don't show the rewards screen. Their spoils land on the ground for each winner instead.
The bestiary lists every monster, its levels and its drops.