Any tips for a first-timers in Oola's dungeon/lab?

I'm going to attempt Oola's lab and besides the advice on Guild Wiki, is there anything else I can either do or avoid in this dungeon in order to be successful on my first attempt?

First, I'll probably have to hero/hench it because it seems like people prefer to pay someone to run it then do it themselves, so finding a group seems impossible **grumble grumble**

I was going to use Livia with a Spoil Victor build, probably Vekk with an earth build and Jora with her tank build, should I go with a sword or axe build on her? Maybe hammer? I can look on GuildWiki for particulars on builds, but also suggestions would be appreciated.

Now for me, I'm a R/rt or I can switch to a R/me. What kind of build here would be best? Interrupt? Barrage? Trap? BHA?

Will the two henchmen monks Mhenlo and Lina (?) be sufficient or should I swap out one of my heros for a monk? Like Vekk and bring Herta as a earth henchie instead? Oh... and I usually bring a powerstone with me **just in case**.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I've beaten literally everything you possibly can H/H in the game, HM and NM on my ranger. :P So, I think my advice is good, but don't take it if you don't want to.

Personally, I'd go Prepared shot, however BHA could also be used.

If I recall correctly... I used Xandra, Dunkoro, and olias when I completed it on my ranger. With Earth/Fire/Heal/barrage henchmen.

Heroes used Caretaker's charge with splinter weapon, UA heal, and SS.

Though really, if you're doing it in NM any team can work. Avoid hammer however. Most things can't be KD'd there so hammer is baed. Look at the monsters in the area, and build your team accordingly.

Hey thanks, Daisuko. It's nice to get advice from another ranger, and one so experienced. =)

I like Prepared Shot and I think I have a decent build saved that I can use. I haven't done the Norn Fighting Tournament so I don't have Xandra (I really should do this, but there's just so much to do). I can use Livia instead of Olias, and I have a great gold curse staff and build for her.

One interesting thing I noted, is you brought casters/rangers but no warriors. Was there a particular reason for that? I'm always interested because it's a good way to learn.

The melee heroes suck, they charge in, die, overagro, and rarely manage their attack chains right. Unless you or a human is the melee, you can pretty much thrash about 99% of the game without any melee characters, HM and NM.

Actually the golems can be KD'd, they don't look it because they're big, but if you hit em with a KD they will fall over. Some do have Steady stance but they'll spam Drunken and Desperation blow so it's not a problem, especially if you bring an earth ele.

Be sure you got a few anti blinds, the golems like to B-flash.

An earth hero is a really good idea down there, wards are great, and Unsteady Ground, Churning Earth, and Eruption can shut a golem mob down for good.

The Golems don't bleed or leave corpses, though there are a few fleshie enemies, it's not quite enough to keep a good army going, but once I forgot and went down there with a MM hero, he kept a few minions going with jagged off the albino rats and few fleshie foes..

Bring your own Anti KD, Ward of Stability should be enough but Don't Trip might not hurt.

Bring AoE or Partywide heals like Protective was Kaolai or Heal Party. It helps going through the second and third level's fire traps.

Watch out for the Boss Golems, they like to spike with lightning damage. Some Prot would be a good idea. Also if you have BHA you can sit on it and it won't be able to shoot back.

< ranger with LMotN I think I know what i'm on about maybe

as a ranger i'd go r/rt with splinter barrage setup - as there are lots of close mobs and not a great deal of casters (few eles but warmongers will take care of them - have warmongers on a SS hero n/rt - not healer crap SS with wep spells)

you as splinter barrage with I am the Strongest
heroes: SS with warmongers
monk with WoH hybrid + PS + shield of absorption
ele with SH + hard rez + other nuking
hench: 2 monk
mes and earth ele should be sufficient

A big thanks to everyone here. I did Oola's Lab this weekend and pretty much breezed right through it with the setups mentioned here. I went with Payne's suggestions on the SS/warmonger and the Monk hybrid and I like the Monk WoH so much I use that build a lot now.

The dungeon was one of the easier dungeons. The only area that gave me trouble was trying to keep my henchmen/heros in the circle of the worker golem's protective forcefield through the dart traps. And that has nothing to do with builds.

I went with the splinter barrage on my ranger, coupled with the Asuran Scan and my Vampiric bow, the numbers flying up are amazing. I think a lot of people poo-poo Barrage builds but in areas where there are mobs, it works very well and I take pressure off the healers. This build worked well for Destruction's Depths too, and me and a few Golems were the only ones standing after a semi-party wipe because I was getting so much health from the bow.

I'm ready for "A Time for Heros", but I'll wait until next weekend to tackle that.

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