I am going to start work on guides for each instance in quest mode and hard mode.

Please, please, please post reponses with all the information you can share on leading these instances step by step.

I can only do this with your help. I will edit in all the responses! These guides will only be as good as the information shared!

Hard Mode
The final boss Gurvand must be killed without lighting the stones (he must be killed in the dark).

General
1. Bring poison potions and salves.

2. Enter at the same time. Screams come closer and closer to each other the longer you are in the instance. Spend as little time in DD as you can. The Timer resets if you drop group and reform.

3. Fight by the Light. Turn on the stone-lights when you need to. Avoid the Snot! Avoid knockback!

4. Make sure you are in the light when the text/scream flashes on the screen - otherwise you get a debuff that stacks each time you get it.


Approach
5. Root-Pull the approach encounters. E.g. Rain of Thorns, Mez Dark Maw Masters, Line of sight groups when you can. Kill Darklings, interrupt inductions.


Bosses
6. Void-Eater: Avoid the massive knock-back. He can be mezzed. Will follow people off the platform if he knocks you off - this causes him to reset.

7. Doom-Speaker: Take him from the left to the right rock, cc'ing adds as they arrive. Dispell Corruption!
[Adds and their effects on boss]

8. Gurvand: Tank him on the right. Warden can morale-leech the adds, otherwise CC. Watch for Reflecti



Secret Title: Snot Dodger!

Successful Group 10.22.09: Casandir (LM), Harbryt (Capt), Belisana (Min), Serendrel (Hnt), Edinellion (Wdn), Nocona (Burg)

General:
1. Bring poison potions and salves. Enter at the same time. Screams come closer and closer to each other the longer you are in the instance. Spend as little time in DD as you can. The Timer resets if you drop group and reform.

2. Fight by the Light. Turn on the stone-lights when you need to. Avoid the Snot! Avoid knockback!


Approach:
3. Root-Pull the approach encounters. E.g. Rain of Thorns, Mez Dark Maw Masters, Line of sight groups when you can. Kill Darklings, interrupt inductions.


Bosses:
4. Void-Eater: Avoid the massive knock-back

5. Doom-Speaker: Take him from the left to the right rock, cc'ing adds as they arrive. Dispell Corruption!

6. Gurvand: Tank him on the right. Warden can morale-leech the adds, otherwise CC. Watch for Reflecti

Secret Title: Snot Dodger!

First of all, make sure you have your food, scrolls and tokens taken care of.

Hunters need to have:

Bow Chant: Greater Breach Finder

Light Oils, lots of them, they dont like the light, so blind em, fire not so much, ooo a DoT but light is more useful.

So traits for me when I went in as Hunter:

Virtues: Justice, Valour, Loyalty, Fidelity, Determination all Rank 10+

Race: depends on what your comfortable with for your race

Class: Quality of Mercy, Sturdy Traps, Fast Draw, Critical Eye, Graceful Draw, Shot Through the Heart, Swift and True

Legendary: Rain of Thorns, Bards Arrow, Bow of the Righteous

For everything up to the bosses: Endurance Stance, except when there are Darkling. Hop into Strength to burn them down fast.

Boss 1: Endurance, stay with the group so you dont get knocked off. If there are worms: Strength Stance and burn them down ASAP because they can be worse than the boss.

Boss 2: Mez'z should take care of the big stuff so when Darklings come: Strength to burn them down fast because if they get to the boss he heals a whole lot. Also the occasional Quick Shot before switching Runes to slow him in the dark helps a little bit as well as running around the rune for extra slow.

Boss 3: Strength Stance the whole fight. Don't argue, just do. Since inductions are slowed because no light, Needful Haste is a great friend here, and Strength Stance will give you that extra damage to take down the adds fast. Be sure to listen for DPS on and DPS off or you'll end up dead and it wont be pretty. When its all said and done you get some nice stuff and the honor of wearing the Doom Breaker title!

BA and RoT needed to help w/ CC just in case. can be interchanged with Cool Burn depending if you really want to pop that.

***Suggestions to all*** if at all possible have the 3 +15 Rad pieces with you and equipped as they give extra shadow defense as well.

pew pew away!

*****DISCLAIMER***** You do NOT NEED to be traited this way, however this worked extremely well and might be worth trying if you do go into the Deepest of Delvings

*This space reserved for minstrel build and strategy*

Which is to say that I'm really tired and going to bed now, and will thus attend to the matter tomorrow.

Ye Olde Captain's Guide to the Dark Delvings (or what I went in with)

Virtues: Justice (10), Fidelity (10), Innocence (10), Valour(10), Idealism (10)


Class: Capt's Valour*, Fear No Darkness, Capt's Hope*, Strength From Within, Relentless Optimisim, Strong Voice, Blood of Numenor

*I did only use the War Banner, but if your group needs the extra morale, it's good to have options.

Legendary: Hands of Healing, In Defence of Middle Earth, Oath-Breakers

For Gurvand I kept our Hunter shield-brothered so I could lay melee heals on him since we were on add duties and it saved our minstrel from worrying about him. I would also toss a heal to our tank when I had the chance.

General: Speed is of the essence. Make sure you time the Screams between boss fights and stay in the light. Don't start a boss battle until just after the latest scream. Keep an eye on boss buffs and prepare to switch up tactics. ALWAYS KILL DARKLINGS AS SOON AS YOU SEE THEM. Each one that reaches the 2nd boss will give him a large heal.

Nocona's Build for DD:

Virtues: Fidelity (9), Valour (10), Loyalty (10), Justice (10), Determination (10)

Class: Side-step, Appraising-Eye, Blind Fury, Trickster, Leaf-Walker, Opportunist

Legendary: Exposed Throat, Sweep the Leg, Stick and Move


For Gurvand - I made sure to have all the FM opening skills up and ready to go (including Ready and Able to reset FM skills). FMs were opened as often as possible for all green or all yellow (minstrel called out which was needed).

Marbles did open a fellowship on Gurvand.

I've rediscovered that playing Noco is fun, hope to bring her to more groups! And great win last night everyone!!!

Lore-Master's Dark Delvings Mastery:

* Trait Ancient Master for debuffing, with the addition of Healer, Power&Wisdom, and Proof-against-all-Ills.

* Trait Force of Will for the legendary skill.

* Virtues: Valour, Justice, Loyalty, Idealism, and be sure to trait the Fidelity virtue for extra Shadow Damage mitigation.

* Keep the Raven with you always for the Shadow Damage mitigation increase.

* Have the hunter begin encounters with Rain of Thorns, then refresh the root when the timer runs down.

* Mez the big mobs, take out the other adds first.

* Be ready to remove corruptions from the second boss.

* Gurvand must be debuffed with Fire and Wind Lore, ISoP:C, SoP:SaE, Gust-of-Wind, and Ancient Craft - pretty much at all times.

Edinellions Warden Build:

Traits all 10: Innocence, Charity, Zeal, Empath, Valour (substitue Fidelity for Charity if possible)

Class Traits (shield line): Skillful blocking, Never say die, shield trickery, Perserverance, master of the shield, Master of the fist, Master of the spear.

Legendaries : Grandmaster weapons training, Way of the Warden, Way of the shield.


1) Use conviction liberally thruout the instance.

2) precise blow to regain lost aggro

___________________________________________

1st Boss.

Get someone to light the rocks and you tank with back squarely placed to the stone. If not possibvle then get the boss with back to the stone and your back to a long stretch of ground. Conviction and interupts are key. Watch for wounds and clear when you get them. Between interupts cycle thru hots to take some pressure off healers. Maintain aggro at all costs.

2nd Boss

React to chaos. Get aggro quickly and strongly on boss very early into the fight. Conviction, precise blow, conviction, precise blow, etc. Beginning with first stone kite the boss around the rock. Do not try to tank and spank. Kite him and chip away at him with javelins while holding your aggro. Interupt his heal if possible, but do not risk his big hits to do so. React to the waves of adds and hold aggro at all costs.

3rd boss -AUTO ATTACK OFF

Let a heavy armor proceed infront of you to the right corner as they will pull the aggro from the add and possibly be rooted. Your job is to get to the wall and grab Gurvand as soon as possible. Cycle conviction, restoration, celebration of skill, perserverance (basically keep your hots going.)

Get aggro early and strongly or your healer will be eaten and you shortly there after. Watch the boss for a buff that will look like a shadow on a green / grey background.. you will call dps off when that happens. It is a very nasty reflects damage skill. During that time use masteries to keep conviction and restoration up. It willinvolve only one shield strike for each and the reflect damamge is over ridden by the continual hot. One the buff is gone call for dps back on the boss. Rinse and repeat.


I highly suggest using either the 15 radiance set or the shadow mitigation set from the instances during this fight. It greatly reduces the amount of incoming damage you will take.