Overview
Hollowshade Moors is a dynamic zone on Luclin with a three-way war between Owlbears (north), Sonic Wolves (east), and Grimlings (south). Each faction controls its own territory by default, and wars erupt when specific named mobs are killed. The war cycles through attacks, defenses, and territory conquest until one faction dominates all three areas. Once one faction dominates all three areas, a named mob from that faction will spawn in the Vah Shir camp outside of Shar Vahl. Killing this named mob ends the war.
Default State
When the zone first loads or fully resets, all three factions occupy their home territories. This is the "balanced" state, and no war is active.
North
Owlbears hold the northern area by default.
East
Sonic Wolves hold the eastern area by default. Wolves are needed in the eastern cave for Ranger's to farm their +Archery item.
South
Grimlings hold the southern area by default. Everyone hates Grimlings.
How The War Starts
The war begins when you kill one of the named mobs tied to a faction. Contrary to popular belief, subsequent leader kills are ignored until the current war resolves.
- Kill an Owlbear named (Cha, Chu, Den Mother) — triggers a Sonic Wolf offensive; wolves march on owlbear territory
- Kill a Sonic Wolf named (Pack Leader, Ghowlik) — triggers a Grimling offensive; grimlings march on wolf territory
- Kill the Grimling Chieftain — triggers an Owlbear offensive; owlbears march on grimling territory
War Mechanics
When a war starts, the attacking faction spawns 5 attackers that follow a waypoint path toward the defender's territory. The defending faction spawns 3–5 defenders at their home area. A 12-minute timer begins.
If the attackers reach their destination waypoint before being killed, they conquer the territory — the zone emotes announce the takeover, and the attacking faction now holds that area. The losing faction loses access to those spawns.
When the 12-minute timer ends, another war will start (if no single faction controls all three territories). The next attacker and defender are chosen with a 50/50 random chance between the eligible factions. Wars continue chaining until one faction dominates or the zone resets.
A faction that already holds two territories may be unable to defend a third attack — their forces are described as "stretched thin" and no defenders spawn.
Zone Emotes
The zone broadcasts emotes to all players to signal war events. These are your primary indication that something has changed or is about to change.
Attack Announcements
▶- Owlbear attack: "Somewhere in the distance, the Owlbear sharpen their claws on boulders..."
- Grimling attack: "Hollowshade is abuzz with activity as the Grimlings make preparations to invade..."
- Sonic Wolf attack: "Frenzied howling fills the air, the sound taking on every aspect of an angry wail..."
Defense & Overextension Announcements
▶Defending factions may "nervously scurry about," "seem disoriented," or "frantically prepare for the assault" depending on their current state.
When a faction is overextended and already holds two territories, they may be unable to muster a defense: "Their forces stretched thin... unable to muster a defense."
Territory Conquest Announcements
▶Each territorial takeover is announced with a zone-wide emote, for example:
- "Your ears are filled with the screeches of the Owlbear as they lay claim to the swampland in the east."
Similar emotes play for Sonic Wolf and Grimling conquests. When you hear a conquest emote, the mob population in that area has shifted to the conquering faction.
Total Domination
When a single faction controls all three territories, a powerful boss mob spawns and a special zone-wide emote fires. The Shar Vahl guard post also evacuates at this point — an NPC shouts, "Guards, merchants, we cannot win this battle! Grab what you can carry and retreat!" — and rain begins.
- All Owlbear: Skriat'Chakku (mother owlbear) spawns — "The moor is shaken by the piercing screech of the mother owlbear!"
- All Sonic Wolf: Gnarlick spawns — "The eerie howls of triumphant wolves emanate from every corner of the moor..."
- All Grimling: Garzemort (Grimling Prince) spawns — "The Grimling Chieftain shouts, 'All shall bear witness to the power of our master!'"
Resetting the Zone
Killing the domination boss — Skriat'Chakku, Gnarlick, or Garzemort — resets the zone back to the default balanced state. Each boss has a unique death emote announcing the return to peace, all three factions retreat to their home territories, and the Shar Vahl guard post repopulates.
If you want to return the zone to default conditions quickly, triggering a war that leads to domination and then killing the boss is the most reliable path to a full reset.
How to Lock the Zone
Players often need a specific faction in a specific camp while they're farming essences or other items. Luckily, once a faction is in the preferred region, you can prevent the event from ever progressing — effectively locking the zone in place.
The Problem
Sonic Wolves need to be in the south region to farm essences from them. However, getting wolves into all three camps is risky — if wolves control all three territories, any random player passing through can kill the domination boss and reset the entire zone. The odds of this happening are high.
The Solution
Get wolves into the south, but keep owlbears in at least one other region. The goal is to never let wolves control all three territories. Ideally, owlbears hold north and east while wolves hold south — this gives you a stable farming setup that cannot be accidentally reset.
How It Works
Every 12 minutes the war spawns a new attack wave. Kill the attackers when they arrive in the south, regardless of faction. This prevents any territory from changing hands.
- No other player can override you — as long as you kill the attack wave, no one else can progress the event.
- It's on you to maintain the lock — if you step away and let an attack wave through, the zone state will change.