Against the Demon Queen: DDO quest guide

The djinni Zawabi has been empowered by artifacts you've brought him and wants to free Menechatrun from its evil leader. Bring the battle to her court and challenge the marilith to a duel. This is a very difficult game mission at-level due to there being almost no shrines, and a powerful boss monster at the end.

The quest is part of the Demon Sands adventure pack.

At least one character with a ranged attack of some kind (ie: rangers or casters) is recommended for the end fight. Otherwise, you can do this quest with almost anyone. Bring plenty of consumables and potions as there's a long way to a shrine. A healer or hireling is very helpful.

The Court of Lailat has six different wings, filled with her followers. The order at which you have to do them is random. A book lies on a pedestal near the entrance. Read it to find out which area you should do first. It's a small puzzle I won't completely spoil. Each wing has a symbol above the door:

• Devious: Snake symbol, troglodytes.
• Hungry: The sign of the wolf. Tharaak hounds are here, wear deathblock or you might be a victim of their Phantasmal Killer spell.
  
• Grasping: Octopus symbol. An underwater wing ending with mindflayers.
  
• Mockery: This would normally be one of the dark six gods, likely with drow inside. However, in the Against the Demon Queen quest, it refers to monkies. Wildmen to be exact.
• Night: Bats, and mephits dominate this wing.
  
• Poisoner: The sign of the scorpion.
  

1. Read the Tome in the antechamber.
2. Warn everyone not to fall down in the lava. It happens. You have to recall.
   
3. Kill some efreeti and the cacodemons. Be careful: These demons have claws which are vorpal. That means they can instantly kill a character.
   
4. Adventure into the first wing. Each wing has a few tricks to them, which I'll cover in the next steps. Defeat the Prince at the end of each area. Repeat step 3 until you've completed all six wings to reach Queen Lailat.
5. The Wrong Wing: You should try to make a false choice at some point. It sends you to a room filled with undead. These are easy miniboss monsters who grant several thousand experience points when killed.
   
6. Devious: The troglodytes here will continue to respawn until you kill the wizard. The Troglodyte Convoker is usually standing next to the portal.
7. Grasping: Swim and find some levers to continue the passage. Don't be leading your party in this area without underwater action. The key is located on the floor inside a trap. Secret door with treasure.
   
8. Hungry: This area is a few gated rooms which spring monsters at you. Nothing much to it, just a simple hack and slash area in DDO.
9. Mockery: Hop up on the ledges. The levers here are timed and temporarily open a gated door. Watch out for the Wildmen's dances and feebleminds. Secret door with treasure.
10. Night: Watch out for sonic traps and fight mephits. Don't run through or else you'll end up with red alert (quest dungeon alert system). Mephits like to sneak around and ambush you.
11. Poisoner: Another simple hack and slash. You can reach the treasure chest by jumping. Watch out for some poison traps if you're not warforged.
12. You now have access to the rest and resurrection shrine. Fight your way up until you reach Lailat's throne room.
    

She's a very powerful demon, and guarded by her rakshaka prince and two grinning efreets. Defeat them and you'll be able to encounter your first DDO marilith monster.

Her attacks include the following:

• Six swings from her blades, every arm at once. Every sword has it's own attributes attached. For example, one does more damage to lawful-aligned characters. Another is screaming which adds sonic damage to her hits.
• Wrack. This blinds anyone who doesn't save and does a lot of other nasty stuff. You're probably going to die if the Demon Queen hits your hero with it.
• Blade Barrier. She casts this spell a lot. It's incredibly hard to see with firewalls. Try not to run through barriers a second time.
  

One of the best tactics you can use against her is the Waves of Exhaustion spell. Sorcerers and Wizards can cast this, or you can buy a scroll in the DDO Portable Hole zone (reachable by teleport magic). Rangers excel at fighting her as does anyone with area of effect magic. A strong defender can also absorb most of her damage through a shield.

After you've defeated the Demon Queen, step into the blue light and be ready for another fight. What did you think of this Dungeons and Dragons quest? Any tips you'd like to give other online game players? There's a comment box at the bottom of the page below the clip from Mr Cow's Diary of an Arcane.