A Taste of Hope
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| A Taste of Hope (#138) | ||||
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| Released | 24 May 2018 (Update) | |||
| Members | Yes | |||
| Quest series | Myreque, #4 | |||
| Official difficulty | Experienced | |||
| Lead developer(s) | Mod Ed | |||
A Taste of Hope is the fourth quest in the Myreque quest series, following on from Darkness of Hallowvale. It was announced on the 7th of March 2018 and polled as part of the Theatre of Blood poll.
Details[edit | edit source]
| Start point |  Speak to Garth in Ver Sinhaza by the entrance to the Theatre of Blood. Show on map |
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| Official difficulty | Experienced |
| Description | For many years, the Myreque have fought back against the reign of the Drakans. To many, they act as a glimmer of hope in an otherwise miserable existence. In recent times, the Myreque have been beset by disaster, with numerous members meeting a gruesome end at the hands of Vanstrom Klause, the brutal henchman of the Drakans. However, while the Myreque may be in their darkest hour, hope still remains. Thanks to a recent discovery in the laboratories deep beneath Meiyerditch, the Myreque may have finally found a way to take the fight to the vampyres. |
| Official length | Medium |
| Requirements | |
| Items required |
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| Recommended |
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| Enemies to defeat |
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Please Note: Whilst the requirements for this quest are relatively low, the final boss fight is very hard for lower combat level players. It is recommended to have at least 60+ in Melee skills and 43+ Prayer minimum.
Walkthrough[edit | edit source]
Starting out[edit | edit source]
Items recommended: Ectophial and 10,000 Coins for the fastest way to get to Ver Sinhaza; Pickaxe, Vyrewatch outfit.
(Please Note: This is a fairly long and running-around-like quest. It is strongly recommended to bring Stamina potions.)
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To start this quest, head to the Theatre of Blood in Ver Sinhaza. The fastest way there is by teleporting with an Ectophial to the Ectofuntus (or fairy ring ALQ if Ghosts Ahoy has not been completed), and then taking the rowboat run by Andras to the north for 10,000 coins - this will bring you just north of the Theatre. Alternatively you can travel to Burgh de Rott via either the Shades of Mort'ton minigame teleport, Mort'ton teleport, Barrows Teleport or BIP (
50 Agility), then taking the boat on the south-eastern dock of Burgh de Rott. Climb up the rocks and run along the wall until you get to the part of the wall that turns north. Right-click to climb down the gap in the floorboard that you created in Darkness of Hallowvale. Run north from the ground floor and climb up the wall rubble. Run north-east through Meiyerditch (you don't need to follow the Myreque hideout route to get to the Theatre of Blood). You can also follow the road south from Port Phasmatys, past Slepe, but this is a lot of walking.
Talk to Garth inside Ver Sinhaza, just outside the entrance to the Theatre. Garth will ask if you are interested in hearing the tale of Serafina. He will briefly describe the connection between Serafina and the Theatre of Blood to you. During the conversation, you will see Vanstrom Klause and Ranis Drakan entering the Theatre. You will remark that Safalaan and the Myreque should be informed.
Head to the Myreque base quickly via this route:
- Speak to a Vyrewatch and ask to be sent to the mines - there is one just next to the bank booths.
- Mine 15 Daeyalt ores; once the mine cart is full, speak to a Vampyre Juvinate to leave. If you have no pickaxe, talk to a miner to obtain a bronze one.
- You will appear up on the surface. On the right is a map of the route to take to get to the hideout; follow the blue path down to the leftmost green dot.
- From here, follow the old route: climb up the ladder, jump east to the floorboards, climb down the stairs, and go south-east through the hidden door.
- Press the decorated wall and reveal a hidden trapdoor by right-clicking and opening the lumpy rug.
Go down the trapdoor and walk north to speak to Safalaan, and inform him of what you saw. He tells you that while Ranis regularly visits Ver Sinhaza to spectate, Vanstrom has never visited it and thus deems it worth investigating. He sends you to speak to some of King Roald's mercenaries at the south-east corner of Ver Sinhaza. Return to the theatre via whichever method you prefer, and speak to any of the mercenaries. They will tell you that both Ranis and Vanstrom are still there, and that you can spy on them via one of the windows in the castle.
Vampyric espionage[edit | edit source]
Items recommended: Ectophial and 10,000 Coins (to return to Ver Sinhaza, Pickaxe (to return to the Myreque hideout via the mines). As there will not be any bank nearby when you reach the next section of the quest, also consider bringing the recommended items for the next two sections: pestle and mortar, vial of water, knife or sickle, battle gear for shorter trip back to the hideout, weapon to fight a Combat Level 149 monster, super restore potion
You will now need to get up onto the top of the Theatre of Blood. Return to Ver Sinhaza with whichever method you prefer. Go to the south-west corner, just west of the bank, and try to climb up the rubble at the base of the wall, but the nearby vyrewatch will stop you. Talk to Harpert nearby, who will distract the guard if you provide him with 1,000 coins. A bank is nearby if you do not have the coins on you.
Climb up the rubble, and follow the wall around to the north. The vents are like obstacles that need to be climbed up and down. Take care when climbing up and down the vents (they occasionally blow out boiling hot steam, which will deal 15-20 Hitpoints of damage and knock you back down), and then east (you will climb up and down sections of the roof), until you reach a red window that you can look through. A short cutscene will play in which Ranis and Vanstrom speak with Verzik Vitur, who gives them an abomination to help track down the Myreque. Watching the cutscene will refill your health, prayer and run energy.
Return to Safalaan at the Myreque Hideout, and report what you saw. He will begin formulating a plan with Vertida, and asks you to speak with Flaygian Screwte, the head researcher translating the Haemalchemy book you obtained during Darkness of Hallowvale. Flaygian is in the same room as Safalaan. He will explain that the vampyres were experimenting on both humans and vampyres in order to increase the amount of blood they can harvest from humans, and to strengthen their immunities to human attacks. You will draw a connection from this fact to the weakness that Serafina potentially discovered. Speak to Safalaan once more.
The myth of Serafina[edit | edit source]
After speaking to Flaygian Screwte, speak again to Safalaan who plans to have his team meet up with Veliaf Hurtz's in Burgh de Rott and escape Morytania in order to build up their numbers, as Morytania may not be safe anymore for them to hide in. You will ask him about Serafina, and he will tell you Old Man Ral used to tell stories about her and will reveal to you where she used to live. Check your quest log before leaving, as you may be asked to speak with Flaygian before you can proceed.
Upon exiting the hideout, climb up the stairs, jump the gap and then climb down the ladder. From there, head due north through the three doors in a line, then due west until you reach the wall. From there, head north-west to reach a broken fountain. Climb down the stairs in the building directly south to meet up with Safalaan once more (Optional: Search the bed by the stairs to obtain an old diary). He will express his frustration with the tale of Serafina, as he believes it gives the citizens of Morytania a sense of false hope. He will then tell you the locked door in the room may contain what they are seeking.
Search the crates and the barrels for a mysterious meat, mysterious herb, a vial and a pestle and mortar. Once you have these items, use the vial on the broken fountain north of the house to get a vial of water. Add the herb to create an unfinished potion, then crush the meat with the pestle and mortar and use it on the unfinished potion. Use the finished potion on the door, but nothing will happen. Talk to Safalaan again with an empty vial, and he will give you a vial of blood. Use another herb on the vial to create an unfinished blood potion, then add the mysterious crushed meat to complete the blood potion. Use this on the door to unlock it. Take the old notes from the chest, then give them to Safalaan.
It's a trap![edit | edit source]
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Head back to the hideout, and speak to Safalaan. As you are all about to leave the hideout, Flaygian will tell you that the notes were complete nonsense. Safalaan will realise that he has been tricked by Vanstrom into giving up his blood at Serafina's house and prompts everyone to leave at once. However, it is too late, and the abomination reaches the base. It will kill Mekritus A'hara, Andiess Juip and Flaygian Screwte. As it is about to attack Safalaan, he will levitate and emit a strange, cyan glow, which is amplified before producing a large explosion of power, weakening the abomination. Vertida will help you defeat the creature, but keep in mind his damage output is low.
The abomination uses melee and ranged attacks. Additionally, the monster will occasionally launch a black projectile which will drain the player's stats by up to 3, so bring a restore potion to restore combat stats or super restore for additional Prayer point restoration. It has very low Magic Defence, a relatively high Ranged Defence, and moderate melee defence in every style.
It is possible to safespot it by hiding behind the brick wall and allowing it to attack Vertida, hitting it again will cause it to be aggressive towards you. If safespotting, Protect from Missiles can be used to avoid taking any damage.
There is a safespot available that avoids attacks from the Abomination, by going south out of the room, then east along the northern side wall to safespot it in the room's entrance. An attack range of 9 or 10 is required, or using a Magic spell, to be out of range if it attacking, this method doesn't require Prayers or food.
The legendary weapon[edit | edit source]
Items recommended: Combat equipment
Once the fight is over, Safalaan and Vertida will ask you to meet at their old base, a small room underneath Old Man Ral's house accessible via a trapdoor in the north room. Old Man Ral's house is easily accessed by taking the boat from Burgh de Rott, going over the wall and running north-east. Once there, talk to Safalaan, who will insist on leaving. Vertida will then interject, telling him that Flaygian had managed to translate more of the book while you and Safalaan were investigating Serafina's home.
Speak to Vertida, who will give you Flaygian's notes. Read them, and discover that a weapon that may be effective against the Vyrewatch is a flail of some kind, with the rod of Ivandis being suitable as the flail's shaft. Search the nearby crates to find a silver sickle (b) and a chain. The rod of Ivandis can be obtained from Veliaf Hurtz in Burgh de Rott (under the pub), or can be made by the player again should they choose to do so. You need to have talked to Vertida about the Rod of Ivandis otherwise Veliaf Hurtz won't give it to you.
- Attach the emerald to the sickle to create an emerald sickle (b).
- Then, cast Lvl-2 Enchant on the emerald sickle, or use an enchant emerald or jade tablet on it.
- Finally, use the chain on the enchanted emerald sickle or the Rod of Ivandis to create the Ivandis flail.
When you have the flail, speak with Safalaan, who will have Kael tell you that the vampyres believe that the Myreque has been completely defeated by the abomination, and Ranis Drakan intends to deliver this news to all of Meiyerditch at Ver Sinhaza. Safalaan proposes to confront Ranis during this speech.
The Taste of Hope[edit | edit source]
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On death, you can pay at the chest located north-west of the noticeboard  20,000 to retrieve lost items. If you die an unsafe death, all unclaimed items will be lost.
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Note: This is a very hard boss fight, so bring enough high-quality food, prayer potions, and combat boosts!
Note: Rings of recoil do not work on this boss.
Return to Ver Sinhaza (it is just a short walk east from Old Man Ral's house) and speak with Kael to begin the final fight with Ranis Drakan. Kael can be found near the entrance. Should players need to escape from the fight, the Meiyerditch citizen directly behind the player can be right-clicked to quickly escape.
Ranis Drakan is level 233, and can only be harmed by the Ivandis flail. He will use melee and magic attacks that can hit up to 20, and can even hit through Protection Prayers, although they will reduce damage taken by 50%. He can also cast Blood Barrage, which will heal himself for half of the damage dealt. Occasionally, he will charge an attack and explode, hitting up to 30, which can be reduced to 6 by running away until he explodes.
After he reaches 65% of his health, he'll summon two level 87 vyrewatch and will fly airborne. Every now and then, he will throw blood bombs at where you are currently standing, which can hit up to 40. Move away from the tile you were standing on when it was launched to avoid damage. This attack can hit the vyrewatch if they are on the landing tile, so it can be used to aid combat, especially at lower levels. When you kill the vyrewatch, you will fight Ranis again until he reaches 25% of his health, where he will then summon two vyrewatch again.
After killing them, he will go berserk and attack the player. During this last phase, his attacks are much faster and accurate, but only have a max hit of 6. Using Protect from Melee will easily defeat him in the last phase. Running away from him between your attacks will allow you to mitigate some damage if necessary.
Some tips for lower level or struggling players:
- When facing Ranis alone, equip magic-resistant gear, such as Dragonhide(Blue or better) and/or Blessed d'hide, and pray Protect from Magic, approaching Ranis only after he has attacked with a magical attack or charge-up attack, avoiding his melee attacks entirely thus mitigating the damage taken throughout the fight.
- Blessed d'hide also provides a prayer bonus for each piece equipped (up to 6 total) for a maximum of 20% slower prayer drain, on top of its already high Magic and Melee defence. This makes it an excellent choice for the fight.
- Despite the Blessed shield's extra Magic defence and Prayer bonus, it may be better to bring a Melee shield, such as a Rune or Dragon Kiteshield. This is because the shield only offers 15 Magic defence and 18 Slash defence (Ranis hits with Slash for Melee), while the kiteshields have a -1 Magic defence and 46/60 slash defence respectively.
- If your Attack level is several levels below 70, you will hit Ranis less often and drag out the length of the fight. In this case, a multi-dose Super Attack Potion or Super Combat potion can help to supplement the lower accuracy.
- It is recommended to bring high-quality food, such as Sharks and Manta rays. Even with high combat stats, Ranis hits up to 20 on his attacks and occasionally casts Blood Barrage which can undo some of the player's damage if it hits. This means that the fight will almost always take 10+ minutes of non-stop combat.
- It may be worth using Super Restore Potions over Prayer potions, as Super Restore potions restore more Prayer-per-dose compared to Prayer potions, at the cost of a higher buying price from the Grand Exchange.
- If Prayer is not an issue, it may be worth using other prayers such as Incredible Reflexes, Ultimate Strength or Piety to improve your combat stats even further.
- When fighting the Vyrewatch, move one tile opposite of a Vyrewatch such that the Vyre will replace your tile as Ranis casts his Blood Bombs. This will speed up fight and kill the Vyrewatch faster.
- If you are low on food before finishing off the 2nd group of Vyrewatch, a slow method of regaining health would be to disable your protection prayers and enable Rapid Restore just as you kill the final Vyrewatch so that you enter Dialogue with Ranis with no other prayers active. While in this state, you health still regenerates and your prayer slowly drains as long as you don't dismiss the dialogue. Note that running out of prayer will dismiss the dialogue and resume the fight.
- During the final phase of the fight, turn on sprint if it isn't on already and sprint at least 2-3 tiles away from Ranis every time you land a hit to reduce the amount of hits landed on you, as even with good gear and Protect from Melee active, Ranis is very accurate.
After killing Ranis, you will give an inspirational speech to the Meiyerditch citizens. If you disconnect after killing Ranis, talk to Kael again to restart the cut-scene with your speech.
The player confronts Ranis Drakan during his announcement.
The player confronts Ranis Drakan with the Ivandis flail.
Ranis launches his blood bomb attack.
Finishing up[edit | edit source]
Return to the hideout under Old Man Ral's house, and talk to Safalaan. He will congratulate you on defeating Ranis, giving real hope to the citizens of Meiyerditch. In addition, Kael will give you Drakan's medallion that he recovered from Ranis' corpse.
Meanwhile, Vanescula Drakan and Vanstrom Klause visit Ranis' corpse, with Vanstrom exclaiming that Lord Drakan will be displeased, while Vanescula tells him that she is counting on that.
Congratulations, quest complete!
Rewards[edit | edit source]
- 1
Quest point - Ivandis flail - A weapon that can damage the vyrewatch
- Drakan's medallion - An amulet that gives the player unlimited teleports to the Theatre of Blood
- Tome of experience, granting 2,500 experience to any three skills of the player's choosing (level 35 or over). Can be the same skill.
Required for completing[edit | edit source]
Completion of A Taste of Hope is required for the following:
Transcript[edit | edit source]
Music unlocked[edit | edit source]
| Name | Unlock details | Music track |
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| Welcome to the Theatre | Unlocked at Ver Sinhaza | |
| Conspiracy | Spying on Ranis Drakan and Vanstrom Klause | |
| Bait | Fighting the abomination | |
| A Taste of Hope | Fighting Ranis Drakan | |
| Vanescula | Unlocked during the final cutscene |
Gallery[edit | edit source]
A pre-release screenshot of a scene in the quest
A pre-release screenshot of a scene in the quest
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Trivia[edit | edit source]
- The title of the quest is a reference to a book obtained during the RuneScape quest: The Lord of Vampyrium, the sixth instalment in the Myreque questline. The book is Lord Drakan's description of the eight vampyre houses and their blood preferences described in the manner of a wine connoisseur. A copy of the book was later made available in Old School RuneScape after the release of the quest's sequel, Sins of the Father, with some minor alterations to the text to fit Old School's lore.
- This is the first quest which deviates from an established RuneScape questline. In RuneScape, the fourth installment of the Myreque questline is Legacy of Seergaze. The quest itself derives a number of elements from a number of Myreque quests with some minor differences:
- The Morytanian splinter group introduced in Legacy of Seergaze is completely omitted. According to Mod Ed, this was because Mod Tytn, who developed the original story in RuneScape, had misinterpreted the Edicts of Guthix, causing his interpretation of them to not match up with any other reference of them in both games.
- Flaygian Screwte still helps guide the player create the Ivandis flail, albeit in the form of Flaygian's notes after his death. In Legacy of Seergaze, Flaygian remains alive to help the player craft the flail, though he takes a stroll to have some fresh air afterwards and is presumed dead as he never makes an appearance again.
- The player discovers the rest of the Meiyerditch Laboratories in A Taste of Hope's sequel, Sins of the Father. In Legacy of Seergaze, the laboratory is where Andiess Juip is killed, rather than in the Myreque Hideout.
- Mekritus A'hara is killed during the attack on the Myreque Hideout. In RuneScape, he is killed in the penultimate quest of the series, The Lord of Vampyrium.
- Ranis Drakan is killed by the player in A Taste of Hope. In RuneScape, he is killed by his sister, Vanescula Drakan, after he nearly discovers the player's presence in Darkmeyer during the sequel to Legacy of Seergaze, The Branches of Darkmeyer.
- During the fight with Ranis at Ver Sinhaza, Old Man Ral can be seen on the north side of the crowd of Meiyerditch citizens, near the noticeboard.
- The instanced area in which players fight Ranis can be seen just north of the Cosmic entity's plane via the use of an oculus orb.
- Players would not be able to see another player doing the quest, as the fight would take place in an instanced copy generated from the template seen via the oculus orb.[1]
- The player's dialogue after defeating Ranis is a reference to Agent Smith's dialogue in The Matrix.
- Prior to defeating Ranis Drakan, his examine text reads, "He looks haughty and arrogant." However, if the player examines Drakan's dead body during the cutscene after the fight, the text instead changes to "Not so haughty and arrogant any more."
References[edit | edit source]
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