Okay, so after spending some time in the Sunken Kingdom, I've found the Cave of the Dead, which I'm assuming is the "hardcore optional zone" since it doesn't appear to have any lore implications. Honestly, it's not that bad, and is thankfully short. It really feels like what Black Gulch should have been like to be honest. It also helps that I have the rings to protect me from all of the Petrift effects going around. Not a bad area actually. The boss fight has been giving me issues but I kind of like the dynamic of it. Sure it's just a lazy PVP fight with three themed Invaders using legacy sets from the series lore, but at least they're all unique and the boss map adds some cool dynamics to the fight than some of the gank fights this game has thrown at the player. So overall, it's been pretty fun, but I still need to "Git Gud".

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