Tools of the Trade is a quest in Act 1. Not a mandatory quest, but the reward is valuable.
| Given: | Given by Charsi after completing the Forgotten Tower quest or by entering the Inner Cloister. |
|---|---|
| Triggered By: | Reaching the Monastery Gates |
| Location: | The Smith’s room in the Barracks |
| Tips: | Search the Barracks. Choose wisely which item you want to imbue. |
| Description: | When Charsi fled the Monastery she left behind her Horadric Malus, an enchanted smithing hammer. If you can retrieve it for her, she will use its magic to strengthen one of your items with magical powers. The Malus is guarded by the Smith. |
| Rewards: | Charsi will imbue an item for you. This means take any normal item and make it into a Rare with random stats, based on your Clvl. Multiplayer Reward: All players in the party receive the award. |
Note: You must be at least level 8 before you can complete this quest.
After dealing with The Countess, be sure to speak with Charsi the blacksmith back at the Rogue Encampment. She will tell you about the hammer she left behind when fleeing the Monastery and ask you to retrieve it. To make your way to this optional quest, you need to go from the Black Marsh to the Tamoe Highlands and then work your way through the Barracks. Along the way, you’ll meet upgraded versions of most of the normal monsters you’ve faced so far, but you can mostly run past them as long as you’re around level 12-15. At that point, you’re probably ready to clear the first Act, so there’s no reason to grind if you don’t want to.
That said, the Barracks can serve as something of a bottleneck for new players. Like the Underground Passage, this area is tightly packed with enemies and doesn’t give you much room to breathe. Try to take things slow as you fight off the monsters, and watch out for Bone Mages and Bone Archers. They can do a lot of damage from afar if you don’t deal with them.
The boss of this area is The Smith who wields the hammer you’re seeking. Not only does he hit hard, but he spawns with a sizeable horde of minions. Try to draw him away and deal with him on his own. Don’t be afraid to drop a TP and retreat to the Rogue Encampment for a breath or to refill your potions. Once he and his horde are dealt with, pick up the Horadric Malus and take it back to Charsi. She will then offer to imbue one of your non-magical items into a random rare item. You can do this now or save it for later when you have more high-quality gear.
The Smith can’t open doors, so if you are a ranged attacker and can’t take him toe to toe (which is pretty likely unless you have extremely good equipment for your level) you can lead him through the Barracks to one of the barred walls or corners, such as the one around the steps leading down, and close the door. He’ll pace on the other side of it, but won’t open the door, giving you free shots.