Newbie Guide for Crossing the Desert

I know back in the day this was the most common wall for newbs so figured I should write up something about it. If I miss anything feel free to tell me that shit.

The Drilledo Desert is usually the 3rd area in the game people will go into, not counting the now dead as hell Gatlands. The monsters in this area are level 35-40 and will kick your dick in. You have to be prepared before you go in there or you're going to die a lot. You used to see those permadeath guilds having little camps set up at oasis's since they were too scared to leave. But with my help you should be able to get through with only a little pain.

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GEAR

You need the right gear to be able to get through this shit. This is the main reason newbies die in the desert since they don't know what to grab.

Heat-Resistant Armor: You NEED a set of armor with a heat resistance enchantment. I'm not going over every single type since some races get small/big armor variants that have different names but you need to grab something with heat resistance. An NPC in the Red tent in Dridon should sell some, though you can also get higher defense gear on the marketplace if someone is selling it.

Heat-Resistant Mount: Not necessary but makes the trip way faster. The easiest one to get is the Camule which you can pick up in Dridon, though the quest to get it involved the worst NPC in the game. I fucking hate Myriani.

Juicy Fruit: Get as many of these are you can buy, since the juice they give offsets the need for water and they can stack unlike water flasks. Fruit Juice also works but doesn't stack as high as the raw fruit.

Yarrow Bandages: Stops Bleed, which like half of the monsters in the desert inflict. You don't need to pick these up if you are a Blood Warrior since they can't be affected by bleed after level 15.

Red Emerald: These things are hard as fuck to find but I promise it's worth it to get past the sphinx's trials way faster. The Skeletons that spawn rarely at night in the starting town have a 1% chance to drop them.

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TIPS AND OTHER THINGS TO NOTE

- Don't even try to fight the Mole Giants, I'm convinced those were meant to go in the end game area but they moved them at the last minute.
- Stick to the left side of the desert, most of the oasis's are on the left side for some reason.
- Do NOT Bring Bog Pest as your companion. I know people on this forum love Bog Pest but it needs water x3 more often than other companions. If you are deadset on bringing Bog Pest bring a LOT of fruit.
- The only dungeon worth running is the Pyramid of Pain, which is a good place to farm mid-level crafting materials. Ancient Bandages are needed for a ton of shit.
- Despite what the game says you don't need a compass, the game is bugged and the compass fluctuates between pointing east and west every 30 minutes.

That's all the shit I can remember, other vets feel free to add onto this.

If you finish all of Rubin's sidequests in the oasis you can get a camel mount that increases your move speed along the desert. It's pretty busted because walking on any sand counts as a desert for the mount.

Here's the solution for the third Pyramid of Pain puzzle:

Vets probably have it memorized, but just in case you're a party of all newcomers, I thought I'd post it.
Hope it helps!