The Atlan Major Stinging, or Acid Stone, is found/recovered from Incuabula Vault, which is filled with Olthoi Soldiers.  So buffing with acid and Pierce buffs are recommended.

Of course that's once inside, if you are running in the dires from the swamp templ or the newer Portal to Kivik Lir's Portal drop off point slightly to the west of the temple it is a merely a short run mostly north to the entrance.

Or a less hazardous route is running north from Sawato to one of those Heart of Woe duplicated portals:

Ducking inside one is often safe for the moment.  Unless another had dragged monsters up top and is fighting on this level.  Then expect some pierce or acid damage.  A couple of really nice aspects of worker Olthoi's is that you won't be hit with any debuffs and once inside the vault Helms are not required.  Yes it is NOT a hard hat area, as these bugs do not hit to head!

There are probably several ways to the third level since there are lots of interconnecting rooms and passageways.  As a lot of the level all looks the same I tend to go one route and if get badly dragged away while fighting too just recall to the top and start over.

But the easiest route I have found starts with taking the far ramp from your arrival point down to level two.

At the bottom of the ramp as you turn to your left to enter the area you are faced with a 'semi' open room, a corridor immediately to your right and usually five angry Olthoi.  As you kill some more will typically come running from the outlining areas to assist their commrades.  Hence this area is usually referred to as a  'flood' - as the monsters come flooding in - spot.

For a lower level - say about eighteen or nineteen depending upon how reckless you are, the armor and weapons you've accumulated/borrowed and your buffs - this is a good place to start whacking bugs.  Easy recall for corpse recovery and the five or six bugs respawn in about four or five mintues.  If you have time you can even run back up the ramp, down the other and thump on the ones around the bottom of that ramp.

But assuming you came for the Major Stinging Atlan stone, you will want to take that corridor on your right.  The door will typically have been opened by one of the bugs that attacked you.  Just go straight thru the door and run north till you hit a wall.  Right turn and run east in a straight line (one door will need to be opened) till you run into a wall.

Depending how straight a line it was, you are either right against a wall that curves to your right and opens into an open area with a corridor leading to the east and a closed door or in the curved section of the wall.

Down that east corridor and in a small chamber are two bugs that will soon be coming to attack your back.   As this is another good flood zone, and often as many as ten will charge into this area.  Woot non-stop slaughtering and looting.

But we should continue you, if you stop to kill everything in your path it could take as long as thirty minutes to reach the bottom and collect your acid stone.  Time vares based on weapon and skill.  If you know the path and can run and know when to zig and where to zag you can actually make it to the bottom in under 2 minutes if you're lucky.

Right before that now empty pod/chamber at the end of the east corridor is a northern passage way.  Taking that around a bend or two you suddenly find your self in a large room with several exit looking corridors (3 shortly dead end, and only one truely progesses deeper into the dungeon).

Not to worry there will be a small six pack to greet your arrival as soon as you begin whacking on the scout that charges you.  Welcome to flood zone three. 

This is a good place as you progress beyond the first two, in that you can slaughter & loot here then instead of doing nothing awaiting the respawn you could return to zone two and kill a few more.  Sure makes the passage of time just seem to fly by.

Once you've slated your blood thirst you'll want to examine that Northern passage that is nearly hidden by the small hump on the floor in front of it slightly obscuring your view of the northern exit when you entered.

That leads to the north then west before leaving you stand at the bridge section.  A series of catwalks linking several islands of bugs to navigate thru.  Some have one or two and can be passed by quickly the second has four or five and the fifth or last island about six.

The bridge area is nice for lower level archer types without a lot of meleeD.  You can usually kill those on the next island from where you are in relative safety.

Some of the bugs killed by archers on the catwalk ropes can not be accessed for looting.  If you want all the loot lure them down to the middle of the bridge and kill them were they can be looted.

At the last island there is another door leading North that divides east and west at a pod.  I take the west route as it raps around another pod before running into the next big room with east and south entery ways.

You may have to kill a couple or eight bugs before it is safe to reach it.  This is either flood room four, or five if you count the bridges area as a flood zone.

As soon as you enter via the east entry, turn to your left and you should see an northern exit twenty or thirty feet away.

The other exits merely lead out around abit and then back into this room or back to the bridges.

This exit leads you thru three more bugs before depositing you on a ledge that is very dark.  Across the lake of acid you can see three passage ways.

Which is where we are working our way to.  This dark ledge has a bunker type building you run into the back of it as you exit the cooridor that houses a ramp down that lets you cross under the acid in safety. Well as safe as an area filled with twelve bugs can be.

Many a brave and adventerous have tried leaping the great acid lake and have the acid scars to prove the didn't make it.  Maybe later in life as skills progress and abilities increase it will be possible, but for many it isn't something to be attempted.

As you come off the down ramp and round the corner headed west now you are faced with a ten foot passage that curves to the right and an open area on your right.  Buf first that threesome which is laying in wait to pounce on you.

Sure you could avoid them and try dashing for the up ramp but in several places things will get tight and we are approaching a flood zone.  So if you drag them with you and then have to kill be ready to kill more then just three.  Better to kill three here, or maybe four or five as some may come to this groups aid then to have to stand in the middle of fifteen later.  Three now twelve later is much better then fifteen later is my motto.

We want to go to the right into that opening and run straight to the west until we run into a wall.  Yeah I know this route has a lot of running into walls, but you are armored so shouldn't be a problem.

If things went right just off to your right is a wall that hides a ramp up behind it.  Welcome to another flood zone.  If you are quick you can get up the ramp with only a few following, if not there will be another pile of corpses on the floor. 

Up the ramp and to your left, right dead ends shorty with an acid pool that some could jump over to reach the second of those three exits we saw from the other ledge.  By going left means you kill three bugs and emerge on the ledge in relative ease.

Merely run all the way east up to the third cooridor, turn right and there to the north is the path to the acid stone.  May want to kill the five bugs annoying you at this point as there will soon be plenty more.

Thru several passage ways and over a bridge or three you will finally see in the distance an exit portal. 

Now is a good time to stop.  Numerous adventurers have run forward only to enter a time warp and mysteriously appear outside of the dungeon.  Proceed slowly and stay inside, especially if you arrived from the Heart of Woe Sawato portal, the dires could be very deadly.

Just short of the exit portal and to the East is the final big room or last flood zone.   If nobody has been here in awhile, as many as twenty bugs could be anxiously awaiting your arrival, check out that radar screen above. 

Often in such a frenzy to greet you they will have noticed you crossing the bridge and ran to the wall attempting to greet you on the bridge.

Under that ledge to the east is a very short cooridor that leads to the acid stone.  Now you merely have to clear a path to the cooridor to claim your prize.  Those fleet of foot can manage to weave between most and make it into the corridor where after killing the two that protect the gem will only have to face a few at a time in the cooridor.

Or if you have a high meleD you can stand in the middle of the room and take on all comers.  Campers with a low meleeD will often use the 'relative' safety of the stone room to buff instead of standing at ground zero in the flood room.

A final word of caution to melees in particular if using the walls outside the flood room to reduce the number of monsters reaching you be aware that 3 bugs spawn on the other side of the portal and on occassion when they run back they can drag you with them.  Oops that dreaded portal and you're outside in the dires, needing to run thru the vault again.

Ag Nar

Note is is often funny to see old descriptions of this place such as this one made back in May of 2000.  "This is really not that hard with the right group and acid & pierce protects. I did it with a group of 15 people with levels 30-70."

Today if one of my lvl 22-24 melees with level 7 buffs couldn't make it solo I'd consider rerolling him.

Click on a topic below to read more about quest related to this one:

Atlan Major Biting (Frost) Stone,

Atlan Major Smoldering (Flame) Stone,

Atlan Major Sparkling (Lightning) Stone, and

Atlan Stone Tool for Gem Removal.

Coming soon, coverage of Atlan Weapons and Using Stones in Greater Shadow Armor.