The Heart of the Shiverpeaks mission in Eye of the North

The last mission in Eye of the North before you take on the Destroyers is "The Heart of the Shiverpeaks". The goal of this mission is to retrieve the Hammer of the Great Dwarf.

You will need a Master Dungeon Guide in your inventory before you can get this mission. King Jalis Ironhammer gives you this mission in the Battledepths, and you must travel further in to the dungeon to find the Hammer and return it to King Jalis. Along the way you'll meet up with Budger Blackpowder, a nutter dwarf who carries around powder kegs. At any time you can talk to Budger to get a keg. Once you place it down, the fuse is lit, and a short time later it will explode, causing massive localised damage.

Aside blowing up walls and closely grouped enemies, the graphics in this particular dungeon are stunning and add immensely to the atmosphere of the mission.

Screenshots from this mission can be found at this Flickr feed

Once you've travelled through the three levels of the dungeon, you come to a fiery cavern, where you can a monument to the Great Dwarf.

However, once you approach it, Cyndr the Mountain Heart, a giant worm, appears. You need to talk to Budger to get a barrel of gunpowder, then detonate it at the base of Cyndr. Do this three times and Cyndr's armour cracks and falls off. He's now vulnerable to damage, and you need to give him a beating. After you've damaged Cyndr a bit, he will burrow into the lava again, re-emerging with a new coat of armour.

Repeat the process 3-4 times and you will eventually kill him. This unlocks the chest and allows you to complete the mission.

When the 'Mission Complete' timer countdown finishes, you are transported to King Jalis, where you hand over the Sceptre.

This is the surprising part - King Jalis uses the Hammer to turn all the Dwarves to stone! Only in this way can the Dwarves be strong enough to defeat the Destroyers - but at the same time the prophecy comes true, as this truly spells the end of the dwarves.

You will immediately be sent on the next mission, which is to retake the Central Transfer Chamber. Be careful! You haven't re-zoned, so any Death Penalty you have will be carried with you into the mission!

It's best to map travel back to the Eye of the North, prepare your team, and then travel back to the Battledepths and King Jalis and take on the Central Transfer Chamber mission.

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eye of the north, guild wars, cyndr the mountain heart, king jalis ironhammer, budger blackpowder, heart of the shiverpeaks