The Famed Keep (Cantilure) by Demonuclar

 

Oh yea..it's the one You've all wanted to see - my review of Cantilure (or the "Famed Keep" as the areas listing calls it). I should first note that Demonuclar made the areas "The Pygmy Forest" (pygmy tree), and "The Academy" (the one in btown), and "the Dark Portal" (dont think I've ever seen this one). He's not often visible, and i dont recall him talking alot the few times he was.

So, lets start with the EQ: There's way to much. Most area's are known for one or two "good" eq items; this one has damn near everything of note for 50 and above. Pretty sickening. It also has sanc pills, and some nice 3*light healing balms. It'd take to long to do an itemized listing of the EQ, but suffice to say theres: head gear, arm gear, gloves, lights, armor, leg gear, capes, a floater, and some other crap, oh and a Nice weapon (36-ave and vamp, sword). Pretty nuts.

Now for mobs: All are "challanging" and "perfectly balanced" - nothing is to hard or to easy, for the dedicated adventurer, who's also careful. There's also a "nice" maze, that uses class-blocking passages to "make it interesting" - sure, and my grandma sucks eggs, it's a cheap trick, and if it didn't have gobs of eq and "braggable" kills, no one would say jack about it. The only complaint is that most items are extreme interval pops - however, they still go, because it's some of the best EQ in the world.

Ahh, now for location: Your kidding right? it's so easy to find a blind newbie without even a real set of directions could find it. Straight north and east - how hard is that? it's location, like everything else about it, screams "pork and gravy"; i mean for christ's sake, it's 20 or so moves outta town, easy as pie to find, the EQ's incredible...what more could you ask for? Maybe a 5 - 60 area that (before it was thankfully fixed) was the prime leveling spot for everyone. Pathetic.

After looking at some of the EQ and "features" of this area, i'm forced to conclude that it (like the pygmy tree before it), was designed as a one-stop shop for eq, or expireance. If it's the most popular, it's only because of the incredible EQ and bragging rights. In my opinion, it should be either scattered to the 4 winds (hopefully the FAR 4 winds), and reduced to the same status as other, much nicer, areas which get a 3rd of the attention. Midgaard with it's subtle jokes, Camelot with it's fascinating mobs, anywhere on dragon flame - these areas, despite having the same effort put into them, get none of the attention, simply because thier not full of the best gear on the planet. Even Demonuclar's own areas - The Dark Portal and (now that it's fixed) the pygmy tree get none of the attention of cantilure, because thier just not as pointlessly rich in equipment. If people flocked to the pygmy tree to exhalt about it's wonderful mob progs, my opinion would be diffrent; but they don't. If the dark Portal was a prime lowbie spot, because of it's fine equipment, I might think diffrently. But Cantilure is not only a hero-level area (heros are more likely to get thier own eq, and to be long-time players), and so full of equpiment it's nearly twink, but it's also got the only (to my knowlege) class-limiting maze in the world. Sad.