Witchaven II Walkthrough
10-25-2020
Release 1 © RTCM
ETTiNGRiNDER
INTRODUCTION
Walkthroughs for the levels. I have noted secret and secret-like areas where I am aware of them, but the Witchaven games do not have an official secret tally the way many oldschool FPS games did. There may be some that I have missed. For some levels, I have assumed continuous play (with items and XP levels carried over) when giving my instructions. Due to the buggy nature of this game, you may want to keep multiple saves as you progress. Maps are included for every level, with the most vital places and objects marked. The marks used are as follows:
Halls of Ragnoth For the key: head forward through the big skull's nose and into the main chamber. (If you opted to go for the pentagram first, get back into the building via the stained glass windows.) Step on the floor pad in the center to open the doors. Head west, then south, and follow the hallway that circles around until you reach the stairs to a smaller room. To open the door, step on one of the sloped floors that has a dragon statue sitting on it (either one should work). The key is inside. For the pentagram: head to the east of the level, either fire resisting your way across the lava, flying over it, or smashing through the windows of the large building. The chapel is to the south, and inside you'll find a Guardian and some Ciraean Sentinels at worship. These are spellcaster Sentinels, and with their backs turned haven't noticed you until you approach or attack, so if you have the spell, you might want to just make like Duke and nuke 'em. There are also some skeletons further in, but they should pose little threat. Once the coast is clear, jump on the altar to open a hidden section of wall with the pentagram behind it. Once you have both the key and the pentagram, head back to the large three-way room north of the skull entrance and go north up the stairs to the locked door. Past the brass key door, don't miss the ankh, then head to the west, pulling the chain to open the western door of the water pool room. Up the stairs, go south and pull the chain to find the black key in one of the niches that opens. The switch that's in one of the niches will open the way back to the pool room, but close off the niches, so collect what you can before you pull it. Key in hand, backtrack to the water pool and head through the black key door to find yourself in the final room. Fight your way over to the pentagram pad and journey onward. Tips and secrets:
Loki's Tomb (or Lokis Tomb) Keep heading southwest, but be wary of the light spots on the floor of the hallway: they are trap triggers that will fire poison darts (although in vanilla Witchaven II, the darts will probably fly harmlessly over your head.) Continuing southwest, you will come to an area protected by a Guardian. Defeat him and continue in the same direction. In the area downstairs, you'll find the brass key, as well as a good supply of health potions and a halberd. Grab what you want and backtrack to the northeast. The brass door is along the hallway you came in through. Head into the room and break the windows to find the mechanisms that will reveal the black key. There's also an ankh in this area so go ahead and heal up. Head a short way back to the junction near where you killed the Guardian, and take the eastward-leading hallway that you hadn't explored yet. This will lead you to the black key door behind which is the pentagram. Now you can head back to the exit. Tips and secrets:
Forsaken Realm When you come out to the tan stone area, don't miss the brass key room immediately through the door to the north; it's guarded by Lava Fiends and their accompanying lava. Now head south and through the first closed eastward door you see. You'll find a sort of peninsula of rock surrounded by more lava, with a passage in the wall across the moat at the far end. You can try jumping across, but flying is safest. The dark area looks quite ominous, but if you use a Night Vision spell (or trust to luck) you'll find that it's just a small space containing the black key. Go back to the main canyon and keep heading south until you reach a cave with a low path (black key door) and a high one (brass key door). Explore both, the low path has the glass key while the high one leads to the pentagram area. Now head back north along the tan canyon until you come to a door a little ways past where you got the brass key. You'll know it's the right place if you see a small dark area with hanging skeletons. Head through here to find the exit room.
Tips and secrets:
Eye of Midian From there, head back to the start, go east and pull the chain to open the room with three reflecting pools and a bunch of imps. Pull the chain in this room to open some passages. Take the northwestern passage that opens, near the end of which you'll find a swinging door that requires the brass key. Carefully open the door to enter the final area. There's a big welcoming party that you might wish to freeze or nuke. Tips and secrets:
Notes:
Dungeon of Disembowlment Although it's optional, the Fire Walk Scepter will come in handy on this level. From the starting area, it's up a short flight of stairs to the southwest, past the statue room in an area with a grid pattern of lava pools. You'll have to fly to reach it; a scroll is in the same room. Head to the southeast passage. If you got the Fire Walk Scepter, you may want to follow this trail to its end and venture out into the lava lake full of Lava Fiends and Willow Wisps so that you can get them out of your way. Then go to the pull chain that sends you up a lift. Don't back off the lift or you might miss your chance! If the lift is blocked off for any reason, you'll have to fly up from the lava lake area, or use an Open Doors spell on the black key door. At the top, you'll be in an area with grey patterned walls. This leads you to a bridge high above the lava lake, beyond which you can find a sort of fire shrine containing the black key. The lift you took up doesn't re-trigger, so find another way down, perhaps by following the ledge above the edge of the lava lake to where it drops off into a safe area—you'll find a nice collection of potions and scrolls, as well as a Hero Time helmet there. Head back to the start room and this time go to the northwest passage from it, with the wooden structures that have red pyramid caps, which leads to the black key door. The pentagram is through there, but it's guarded by an evil wall-shooter trap. You might want to just fire resist through it. Don't pull that chain that taunts you, either; it seems like it's meant to shut off the trap, but actually glitches it so that it kills you even worse. Now you can head back to the southeast passage, this time pulling the chain that opens the first branching area. The exit pad is right there. Tips and secrets:
Notes:
Stronghold of Chaos Now there are a few places you could go. The pathway to the pentagram isn't locked, but the exit door is, and they key to there is locked in as well, so first head to the eastern roadway of the fortress. On the north wall is a big wooden door; pull the chain by it to open it. Through the room full of imps is a door to a smaller room containing the brass key. Now that you have the key, head to the northwest section of the castle and collect both the pentagram on the altar-like structure, and also the black key that's just upstairs from it through the brass key door. Head back to the center and from there into the southwest part of the castle, upstairs and through one of the black key doors. Pull the chain to lower that huge, ominous-looking door, behind which you find nothing but a couple of Mino Drakes and the exit pad. Tips and secrets:
Jaws of Venom Go ahead and collect the brass key first; from the starting chamber, take the more northerly of the western doors and head down the hall to the room where you'll find it. From there, you can head over to the eastern side of the map and enter the pentagram chamber. When the coast is clear, head up the spiral stairs and claim your prize. Don't panic if you get locked in and the pull chain has been used up, just climb the stairs again and the door should re-trigger. Now, if you didn't carry over a flight spell from a previous level, head back to the northern water chamber and pull the chain by the northern doors to open them. Get the spell, you'll need it. Explore the area if you wish, then make your way back south to the lava chasm in the south-central area. The black key is hidden down there, but the pit is too deep to get out of, so fly or die. Now that you've got the pentagram and the black key, you can head to the exit chamber at the west end of the map. Bash the Midian Warriors who are waiting for you and get out of here. Tips and secrets:
Descent into Doom You can find the glass key in the wedge that's next door to your right, a southeast wedge of the map. There's a dark pit with spikes in the bottom; fly over it to get the glass key. Get the black key too, it's on the other side of the starting wedge, that is, the southwest section. You'll find a long hall that drops down into large rooms to either side. Go to the end and then drop down to the right to locate the key. The pentagram is in the eastern section. Take a look at the wall to your left as you come into that corridor and jump up into the higher room where you'll find an overlook into the pentagram chamber and a floor plate that will open one of its doors. The other door is locked with the glass key. The black key will get you into a suspiciously barren-looking northeastern slice (the door is to the right of the wooden rose design in the central chamber). You see a dragon brazier at the end of an empty hall, no goodies, no enemies. This place is indeed suspicious. Go to the end by the brazier, activate a fly spell and head up into a larger area guarded by various barbarians. On one of the forks hugging the hall you flew up from, there's a floor plate that will open a throne room where you find a Guardian, a Hero Time Helmet, and the brass key. Now that you've got the brass key and the pentagram, go to the northwest section, which leads to the exit. Along the way, there's a reflecting pool with a red platform to your left. Go there to find the pull chain that opens the barrier between you and the exit zone. The door to the exit is to your left past the bars and locked with the brass key. Tips and secrets:
Hack n Sniff Through the door and up the ramp, continue to fight your way through the guards. You find yourself in a four-way lava chamber. Fire resistance is helpful here to deal with the Fiends and get to the central control post which has pull chains to open the doors. The chain immediately in front of you will close off the way back, but go ahead and pull the other three. One path is further locked with a brass key, so you'll have to pick one of the others. The way to complete the level lies to the east, so unless you want the side stuff, go there now. Head to the end of the stained glass hallway, being wary of ambushes as you go. Turn right, then right again. The brass key is in the central pillar of this small room, but hurry to grab it before it gets closed in! Once you have the key, you might also want to visit the armory in this area for some nice items. Backtrack to where you turned off from the stained glass hallway, and follow the other branch. The eastern fork has a floor plate that will open the doors to the exit area (you'll hear them creak). You might want to save before you do this as sometimes it glitches and kills you. Now that you've got the brass key, head back to the four-way lava room and through the brass key door to find the pentagram. To safely collect it, you'll have to use a fire resistance potion. The arrows aren't "fire" but the potion will protect you none the less. Take the pentagram back to the stained glass hall and through the door on your left to return it to its place and escape. Tips and secrets:
Straits of Perdition Pull the chain in the next room to open a big outdoor area, and continue through into a large chamber full of barrels. To the north and south are side areas, and the north one, if you visit it, is a trap from this approach, so go upstairs through the door to the west. Through the eleven o'clock door from the pentagram room, open the secret door at the end of the short passage. You'll find a sort of big lava arena beyond. Pull the chain down there to make the pentagram accessible. The room you find beyond the eight o'clock door will lead you to the glass key; once you've got it, the seven o'clock door can be opened. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this room with the floor plate; explore the edge of the structure to find a ramp down to the black key. Through the one o'clock door you'll find a rather oddball mechanism: a floor pad that requires the black key you just got. Trigger it and a great creaking will indicate the opening of the doors that barred the end of the ten o'clock passage; pass this way to return the pentagram to its place and continue your quest. Tips and secrets:
Plateau of Insanity You start off in a large cavern-like area in the northwest of the map. Grab some useful supplies as you fight off the Lava Fiends and Willow Wisps: some health potions north of your start position, and a Fly scroll in the extreme northwest of the map, reachable by following a narrow path along the outer edge of a lava pool. Continuing to follow the edge, head south from the starting area until you find a teleporter pad under a wall decoration of a bearded face. You'll find it near a side passage that drops off downwards. When you get to this teleporter, warp through. You're now in the southeast of the map, in an armory with four teleportation pads around a central column: beware of the approach to this room's door from the outside, as there's a fake floor that will dump you into lava and probably kill or severely hurt you if you're surprised by it. It may, in fact, be safer and easier to only access this room via teleportation: each of the four pads links this room to another area of the map. You've entered through the north teleport link, and taking the north teleport in this room (the one nearest the door) will take you back to the spot under the face. The brass key is located in the southwest of the map, in an area isolated from the rest of the map by a lake of lava. You could fly here, but you can also use the armory's teleporter: it's the west teleport link, and the key is right next to the teleport pad. So, warp here, grab the key, warp back to the armory, and then back to the spot under the face decoration. Head back north to the starting area. Use the brass key on the floor pad and head through the door that opens nearby. Fly across the spike pit and grab the black key. The pull chain here will raise the floor and fill in the spike pit so it's safe to traverse. Head back to the face and teleport to the armory. Take the south link this time, and head out the door, being wary of the spike pit as you go (you could also head out the armory door, but I find it safer to jump over the pit that can be seen rather than the hidden one.) Either way, head north until you reach a corner. Through the black key door to the east, you'll find the pentagram room. Pull the chain to reveal it, and use flight or fire resistance to collect it safely. Pentagram in hand, head west until you find the first northward passage, then follow it around the bend to find an open room. Head into it and find the exit chamber so you can escape the insanity of this level. Tips and secrets:
Crypt of Decay For the glass key, follow the spiral stairs all the way up and head north to the outdoor ramparts area. You'll find it on the central structure, right by the exit pad, but since you don't have the pentagram yet, you can't leave. Go back to the spiral stairs and down a floor to the throne room. The glass key door is down a narrow passage next to the bookshelf. Go through and grab the pentagram. You can now return to the ramparts and leave if you wish, for a quick completion albeit one that misses much of the map. Tips and secrets:
Notes:
Mausoleum of Madness Immediately through the lowest (and only reachable, without flying) passage out of this well is a wood-and-rock stable-like area. As you enter, immediately turn right and follow the sharp turn into a passage to an area made of a different sort of tan rock. The glass key is on a platform in this area, so jump up and grab it. Go back to the stable-like area and find an office with a diamond ring on the desk, and a locked door in back that requires the glass key. Through the locked door is a sleeping area where you'll find the pentagram as well as a few coins. Now that you have the pentagram, go back to the passage where you got the glass key, but this time follow it to its end into a dark grey cavern. The exit pad is right there, and once again you can complete the map while skipping many of the side areas. Tips and secrets:
Notes:
Gateway Into Oblivion Although the automap may look a touch mazey, it's much easier to follow than the previous two. Head to the north part of the map where you find two similar-looking treasure rooms with some stairs down and to the north. Being careful of the lava pit, you can head to the northmost point and collect the brass key. You should be able to make the jumps, barring glitches. Don't miss the ornate horn in this area, either. Now head to the west area, through the brass key door. There are a lot of traps in this area; don't worry too much about the closing doors, but the fireballs may be a problem. Pull the chains on the walls to open the way down. On the other side of the big room is a balcony where the black key is, jump or fly to get to it. Along with the key, you can stock up on pike axes and fireball, nuke and freeze scrolls. The pentagram is in the south area, through the black key door. This area is a lot more nondescript, a room with some pillars and lots of barrels, but there are plenty of enemies so don't get careless. Now loop back around to near the start, drop into the lower passage where you can see the door, and fight your way into the final room. Enter the pentagram pad and prepare yourself for Cirae-Argoth's stronghold. Tips and secrets:
Lungs of Hell In the room you eventually reach, the dark floor pad under the invisibility potion will open up a closet full of even more goodies to arm yourself with for the final battle. The other dark floor pad under the health potion will open up the way forward and you can proceed. When you get past the place with the lava fall, look for a grey door. Go through it and follow the passage until you see a forest of nasty spikes. Touch them and you die, so use your flight spell again and fly well above them. Beyond you can grab an ankh, magic shield, Nuke scroll and glass key, then teleport. This is one-way. To the north is a door, head through it but be very careful doing so. As soon as you're through the door, head right, not forward, or you'll be caught by a spike trap. You can see where it is afterwards if you go down the stairs. There's another ankh in this room, and also a black key door. Go ahead and try out your Open Doors spell on this one (you should have found a scroll in the lava area near the start). There are some weapons, potions and gold inside. Before you leave, you can also jump on the pillar with the quiver of arrows to open another room with a bunch of pike axes and a fireball scroll. Head back to the teleport exit (remembering the spikes near the door) and through the glass key door. Carefully follow this passage, there are more spike traps along it. When you come to what seems like a dead end, open it as it is a secret door. Continue on, but again, be careful of spike pits! Finally, there's the black key... aren't you glad you used your spell instead of having to backtrack to that door? The exit from the caves is in sight, too, so head out of the tunnel. Fight your way up the huge ziggurat to the summit. Circle around the top to find the ivory key, then head inside. Seize the pentagram and... Suddenly you are teleported somewhere else. This is it, Cirae-Argoth's inner sanctum. The very last fight, so don't hold anything back: potions, spells, all your best weapons. When Cirae-Argoth dies, grab the horned skull that she drops and sit back to enjoy your victory, such as it turns out to be. You have won the game. Tips and secrets:
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