I just ran this and kept getting a nasty power drain of Spirit of the Turtle. I ran it again using only Spirit of the Crustacean and had no issues at all.
I just ran this and kept getting a nasty power drain of Spirit of the Turtle. I ran it again using only Spirit of the Crustacean and had no issues at all.
After reading all the comments here and on Wikia, I assumed I was also a victim of the bug. The problem is that the quest resets your bars and gives you 3 BUFFS. Almost everyone I talked to assumed those BUFFS were attacks. They are assigned button 1-3. The only ATTACK is on button 4, and has the same icon as an auto attack. To attack the Othmir zombies, activate the ATTACK button (4). Make sure it stays active and change your BUFFS as needed!
I got stuck with the bug. However, I was able to get quest back after deleting it. Don't speak to Osh, go back to Yeppa and the camp and you can talk to Yeppa and get the quest. You'll have to repeat the talk to Osh, get the skull sequence. Exit the plague instance without deleting the quest and you will be able to re-enter.
I was zoned into the Cobalt Scar: The Plague. To avoid the bugs that others have reported on similar quests, I zoned in without a merc and ungrouped. I completed all the steps up to "Speak to Meru". But when I tried to speak to her, she was killed by 3 zombie othmir before I could finish. They then attacked me.
Apparently we didn't learn from the unpleasantness of Dungeon Maker because as this Othmir shaman, we have no attacks or heals or anything except a few reactive buffs. You cannot cure or heal the life-draining detrimentals the mobs put on you, and you cannot attack them. I got into a bugged state where the mobs were wailing on me but any attempt to damage them yields the message "You are not allowed to attack your current target." Even if I could have damaged the mobs, they kept knocking me back, leashing, and resetting the encounter. I'm not sure if this happens when the encounter is actually killable, but this was just another thing I noticed.
So thinking I could zone out, delete the quest, and try again, I set out to find the exit. You see, when you are inside the Cobalt Scar: The Plague instance, the only way to zone out is to find the tiny clickable totem. This item is not easy to find unless you remember where you zoned in. It took me 15 minutes to find it! First I looked to see if I had a spell to cancel the possession (you don't) or a spell that would exit (you don't) or an item in your inventory to zone out (you have no access to inventory). You cannot gate out with Call Home or Call to Guild Hall. Basically you are totally stuck in this situation until you find the exit.
And the final insult: When you finally find your way out of the zone, delete the quest, and try to talk to Osh, he says "We are lost". I couldn't sum it up any better myself.
I guess if its not being talked about enough, or featured, or denting their income, it does not seem to matter to fix bugs. I did this quest on my third character, and today, while with a merc, the fights in the separate instance, would not take damage. When I zoned out and dismissed merc, and then went back in, it finally worked. But of course, loads of frustration meantime. It can now be added to the laundry list of bugs they will never fix. In three years I have played this, to me, it feels they care less than ever. It does not bode too well for "Next" and its doubtful I will try that game. Sorely disappointed here.