Hub 2: Wastelands

Wastelands is a map in the second hub of Hexen, Shadow Wood. The player must collect the Horn key from this map, and find two puzzle switches that require keys from other maps.

''These once fertile lands have been rendered barren and lifeless except for those creatures serving Korax. The planet has been split asunder here and pitfalls abound to swallow the unwary.''

Walkthrough


Despite indications to the contrary, there are few pitfalls here. However, this level does present a new, lethal danger - wooden spikes. These sharpened stakes rise out of the ground to impale any player or monster who is standing over them. Getting hit by a spike is an instant kill. They are scattered around this map on open ground, so you have to be wary of them when outside of the tunnels. There are no visible signs that tell you exactly where they lie in wait, except for the occasional gibbed corpse of an unlucky ettin. While they are in fixed positions, there are usually multiple spikes in a given area which alternate, making it difficult to know where all of them are. Fortunately, they follow a pattern. The spikes rise and fall at regular intervals, and usually one at a time. If more than one spike comes out, they rise and fall in unison. This means that if you see a raised spike, the surrounding area is temporarily safe. As stated before, they are only on open ground, so you are safe in passages and tunnels. They also make a very distinctive sound when they move. With a bit of knowledge, you can work around this danger.

Horn key
You start out on a barren hill, in front of a portal leading back to Shadow Wood. Behind that portal is a Combined Mana container. There are no enemies or traps, yet. The southern passage brings you onto a landing. From this point on, you will have to watch for wooden spikes. There is a brown chaos serpent in your way, the first of many throughout this map. On the western wall to your right are a few fléchettes. There is a passage and a short ledge - both of these lead to the same area, but you can pick up some more fléchettes in the lefthand/southern passage. There are ettins in the stairway and on the low ground. If you have not done so already, you should dispatch the brown chaos serpents on the far ledge. There is a Krater of Might on that ledge, but you cannot reach it just yet (see: Optional areas). On the low ground, there are two tunnel entrances, to the left/south and right/north. These both lead to a network of tunnels full of forking paths and afrits. For the most direct route to the Horn key, turn left/south. Once inside, you should take the righthand path with fléchettes and continue south. After the tunnel turns east, you will pass an open mossy area full of brown chaos serpents. This is an optional detour, but defeating them now is a good idea, as it prevents them from following you into the tunnel. If you fight them, try not to get surrounded. For more information on this area, see: Cave puzzle switch.

You will proceed through the tunnel, fighting afrits and collecting mana, until you see a small alcove to the left/north. Within is a stone block set in the wall - this is a rotating door that turns clockwise. It is easy enough to run through, but you should take care to avoid getting crushed. On the other side, you are confronted by a brown chaos serpent at melee range. To the left/west is a narrow, meandering staircase leading to a new region - it is full of centaurs, and there are stalkers in the small lakes on either side of the descending western slope. Fléchettes are scattered around the eastern half. Going downhill, to the west, there are crystal vials, and the fighter will find Timon's Axe. As always, you must beware of wooden spikes. At the eastern end of the plateau, you will find a passageway. Beyond, a narrow ridge of rock forms a land-bridge over a lava basin - this is the way forward. The ridge is lined with ettins and crystal vials, and afrits rise from the lava. At the end of the ridge is the Horn key. Having attained your objective, it is time to head back. However, the moment you took the key, the ridge split up into closely spaced platforms. These should not be difficult to navigate, as you can run across the small gaps. If you fall down to the lava, you can still recover. Just north of the where the ridge begins, there is a bullhead switch set in the wall (to your right). This will temporarily lower the first platform so you can get back up.

Once you are across, simply head back the way you came - down the staircase, through the rotating door, turn right and go down the tunnel, turn left at the fork, climb up the stairway to your right, and then go through the righthand passage. This will bring you directly back to the starting area. If you want to explore and collect more items, see: Optional areas. If you have the swamp and/or cave key, see the relevant section(s). Otherwise, go through the portal at the beginning to return to Shadow Wood.

Cave puzzle switch
This puzzle switch requires the Cave key, which can be found in the Caves of Circe.

First, you must find your way back to the mossy clearing full of brown chaos serpents, which you passed on your way to the Horn key. From the beginning of the level, you should head down to the lowland and take the tunnel entrance to the left/south - once inside, turn right at the fork and continue onward. Not long after, you will see the mossy clearing to the right/south. Here you will have to fight the crowd of brown chaos serpents, if you have not done so already. Try not to get surrounded - the fighter should mostly rely on the Hammer of Retribution. Like every other open area, there are wooden spikes in the mossy clearing. Along the southwestern wall are crystal vials. Uphill, to the southeast, there is a barred teleporter adjacent to a locked portal; both of which require the Cave key. There is a Falcon Shield hidden behind the locked portal. There is also a combined mana container behind the teleporter, but first you must open the bars.

With the Cave key, you can open the locked Cave portal. This also lowers the wooden bars, making the teleporter accessible. The portal leads directly to the Caves of Circe. The teleporter leads to a new part of the Wastelands, in the center of the map, where the puzzle switch is located. On the other side, you find yourself in a large cavern. The floor is inundated with lava, and the air is full of afrits flying around. Once the afrits are defeated, a magic blue starry stairway appears in the western side of the cavern. It starts in the northwest and ascends, turning south midway, until it reaches the top of the promontory. Higher up on the southern wall, facing you, is a windowed tunnel overlooking the cavern. You may have passed through there before and seen the lava cavern from the tunnel. If not, there will be awakening afrits to deal with - their shots can go through the window, but so can yours. Atop the promontory is a wooden, thickset partial enclosure. Behind it, along the northern edge are crystal vials. The wide entrance to the partial enclosure faces south. Inside, there is a brown chaos serpent guarding a mystic urn, and most importantly the puzzle switch, which is located at the narrow far end.

Now that you have pulled the switch, you just need to escape the lava cavern. At the northwestern corner of the cavern, near the first step of the starry stairs, there are rock stairs cut into the wall. These wind upwards, with afrits to fight along the way, until you come to a locked Cave barrier. Unlock this and it will descend, giving you passage back to the badlands. There will be a couple of ettins ahead if you have not explored this area already. From here, you can easily access the rest of the map through the tunnels. If you want to see the high window overlooking the lava cavern, enter the lefthand/southern tunnel, then turn left/east just after the entrance. If you want to find your way back to the beginning, enter that same lefthand/southern tunnel, turn right and head west, then turn right/north at the next fork. This will bring you back to the first area with a Krater of Might on the ledge.

For the Swamp puzzle switch, see the relevant section. To return to Shadow Wood, simply go up the stairs, through the northeastern passage, and into the portal.

Swamp puzzle switch
This puzzle switch requires the Swamp key, which can be found on the Darkmere. As you arrive at the first open area, make sure you slay all the ettins there. After doing that, go to the cave in the north and continue until you see the light of day again. You come to a wide passage that stretches out east and has many ettins. In order to reach the northern section of the level that holds the Swamp key door, you need to start killing the monsters. If you are playing on the two easiest difficulty levels, you still need to kill at least four ettins more. On the higher ones, the corresponding amount is seven.

Once you have reduced their numbers, three sliding blocks will move aside nearby revealing three new caves. They all lead north and connect to another deep passage in the open air where centaurs abound. As before, begin slaying the enemies to make progress. On the three easiest skill levels, you have to kill seven centaurs. The amount depends on the class when playing on the two highest levels (the Mage nine, the Cleric eleven, the Fighter twelve).

When enough of centaurs have fallen, a wall in the eastern part of the passage will lower down, revealing a large slime lake populated by stalkers. Beyond this lake there are some steps leading up to the Swamp key door. Go inside and activate the switch. This will lower a large wall north-west of your position, revealing a large temple like structure. Fight your way inside the structure and you will see a portal leading to Darkmere. Behind this portal you will find the second puzzle switch.

Optional areas
A couple of secondary zones become accessible once the sliding blocks have opened. Just north of the westernmost blockade, there is an entrance to a pathway. You can take it to reach a ledge that holds the Krater of Might you saw earlier. Similarly, north of the easternmost obstacle, there is a junction where another cave leads east. When you have taken a few steps in it you will come to a new fork. If you go right, you will eventually come to a Porkalator. You need to be careful, anyhow, because the cave is dark and there is a brown chaos serpent there as well as a deathdrop right beyond the artifact. As you return to the fork, you may choose the remaining route. It will lead you to a long pathway that takes you to a ledge in the east - the one that holds a pair of Boots of Speed and overlooks the ettin passage.

Bugs
[Fixed in v.1.1] The easternmost sliding block causes a visual problem once it has slid aside. When the player is standing on the edge of the ledge with the Boots of Speed, one side of the block becomes rendered through the northern wall. This results in a big HOM as the block wall is located considerably lower than the ledge.