Rift Quest Series - Crocnard Mount

Just finished this for the third time (fourth time in 9.5 more levels!).

It's long, but fun and gives much of the lore about the Faceless Man and has some decent rewards including the awesome Crocnard Mount!   My opinion the best mount in the game.

Below is the write up on ZAM for the quest chain, followed by an excellent walk-thru from the Herding Cats Blog.

** If you don't have Dragonslayer rep to decorated, you will have a few hours of rep grinding mobs in Shimersand (repeatable quest at Wrymbane Spire turning in ritual firebrands) or running Charmers Caldera.

Water Saga - Crocnard Mount

Water Saga (Rift Quest Series) :: Wiki :: Rift :: ZAM

Prerequisites: Level 50.  To combat the Abyssal, Ascended can embark on the Water Saga, an epic quest series that unravels the origin of this lunatic cult. Guardians and Defiant must stop the Abyssal resurgence, save important members of their faction from the cult’s insanity, and learn more about the sinister Tidelords, the heroes who first imprisoned Akylios, and the Faceless Man’s secret past. Aimed at high-level Ascended acting alone and in groups, the Water Saga offers both epic loot and a swift and cold-blooded Crocnard Mount. ^[1]

This new Water Saga is a compelling story of heroes and traitors alike in the continuing struggle against the Abyssal Cult, released by the opening of the gates of Hammerknell. From the wreckage of Estrael and her companions, to the long-held secrets of well-known heroes, both Guardians and Defiant alike are beckoned to travel across Telara to engage in this fascinating saga!

Defiant
On the Defiant side, this begins in Abyssal Precipice with the Faceless Man. For anyone curious about his background, you will love this series.^[2]

Act I Achievement: Exploring the Deep

1. A New Era for the Abyssal
2. Meetings of Interest
3. Tomes of Madness
4. A Personal Request
5. Rescue Mission
6. Blood in the Water
7. Explorers of the Deep

Act II Achievement: Soggy Historian

1. The Wreck of the Novia
2. Hiding Among Dragonslayers
3. Last of the Zardonis
4. Out of the Fire
5. A Token of the Fae
6. Enchanted Wood
7. Heir of Nyx
8. Wishes of a Dominata
9. Reclaimed from the Storm
10. Remains of the Great
11. Bound in Death
12. A Mask for All Seasons

Act III Achievement: Lord of Madness

1. Joining the Cabal
   
   • Initiation
2. Traitor of Meridian
3. Seals Against the Deep
4. Unworking the Ritual
   
   • Ilchorin's Favor
5. Breaking the Bond
6. Faceless Gratitude

This is a good walk-thru of each step and what the requirements/rewards are:

From HERDING CATS BLOG
I love this easy write up on the Water Saga Quest chain.

Act One

• Start the chain by picking up a quest in Abyssal Precipice, a Tier 2 dungeon.
  5-man group required
• Head to Iron Pine Peak and go pick on a camp of baddies. This is marked as a group quest, but it was laughably easy with four people.
  solo or duo; reward: collectible book
• Run around a lot and listen to lore in Meridian and Freemarch. Spoiler: you get a “madness” debuff during this stage of the quest that allows you to see giant tentacles and other horrible things around Meridian. It was actually pretty creepy.
  solo; reward: collectible book
• Head back to IPP and meet a very neat new lore-based character, and escort them out of danger. This was marked as a group quest I think, but I completed it solo.
  solo or duo
• Grind time! You have to kill 100 cultists in Iron Pine Peak. Yes, 100. Yes, you can do it in a group to make it go faster.
  solo grind; reward: epic essence
• Go talk to the librarian at Chancel of Labours. Get used to it, you will be seeing him a lot.
  solo; reward: the title “Tidelord” and an achievement

Act Two

• Head to the coastline of Moonshade Highlands and kill some elite and non-elite NPCs to collect four items.
  duo
• Head to Shimmersand and talk to the Dragonslayer faction. You must be Decorated with the Dragonslayers to continue. For what it’s worth I did all my Dragonslayer quests while leveling up and probably three days of dailies, and was pretty much exactly Decorated by the time I got to this quest.
  solo rep
• Swim out to the middle of the Lake of Solace and loot a chest. Then back to the Chancel to turn it in!
  solo
• You now need to obtain an item in the Tier 1 version of Realm of the Fae. It’s just after the first boss, so your group can quit early if they want.
  5-man group required
• Time for quests and lore in Shimmersand! I had no problem doing these solo.
  solo
• Back to T2 Runic Descent, this time to kill a mob near the end of the instance. Completing this will give you a hat that is both delightfully ugly and, for my bard, anyway, best in slot.
  5-man group required; reward: the title “the Soggy”, an epic hat, an achievement

Act Three

• Head out to lake shores of Freemarch. You get to do a few cool quests while wearing a neat temporary costume. (solo)Kill a named elite dude in the middle of the lake. We had three people doing this quest, and he still kicked our butts the first time. Also, some kind of water breathing ability or potion will help a LOT.
  4-5 people
• Next up is an exceedingly neat series of quests that let you run around up above Meridian.
  solo
• Complete an air rift of level 44 or higher for a special drop. I did one solo in Iron Pine Peak, but it would be faster and easier with a group.
  solo/group rift
• Run around the world doing some solo quests, then kill a named elite in Moonshade Highlands.
  duo
• Go back to Shimmersand and lure five cultists to a watery death.
  solo
• Head back to the shores of Freemarch and complete a ritual. We had six people helping with this particular part, but five would have done. You want the fight to be as short as possible, so don’t skimp on DPS!
  5-man group
• Voila! Turn in that last quest back in Meridian, and congratulations.
  reward: achievement, epic shoulders, a crocnard mount, and the insanely awesome title “Mistress/Master of Madness”