It started out as just another romp, marking defeats toward a badge for an alt. The badge was the Volcanic badge, which would make a pretty cool title for this alt, who boasted fire-based power sets. I needed to defeat 200 Igneous bosses. As far as I know, they're found out in the open only in Grendal's Gulch, in The Hollows.

 It had been a while since I spent any kind of time in The Hollows, so I was a little surprised to see the
sheer numbers of Pumicites laying around above ground, all over the Gulch. I figured pulling bosses into the fray from below ground would be easy. I was wrong.

Igneous laying-in-wait below ground are marked by little fires burning on the surface. A toon need only saunter within agro range of the fires to get the attention of what lies beneath, or hit the flames with a non-targeted attack.

What jumps up out of the ground is usually just more Pumacites, but sometimes you get a boss. See the big bad dude in the screenie, above. By the way, if you really tick him off, he can hold you fast in a formation of molten lava that is most deadly. Anyway, like I said, it used to be that SOMETIMES you got a boss... oh... maybe two or three bosses out of every 10 fires? No more!

I recently spent three different sessions in Grendals Gulch, one day after the other, each session about two hours each. I shot up countless Pumacites, stirred up all kinds of flames, and got exactly twelve bosses. TWELVE, when I needed TWO-HUNDRED.

I think I am going to bug it.

Has anyone else noticed a definitve decline in Igneous Bosses? Any info at all on their spawn rate? Has it changed in the last couple years from what it used to be previously?

There on holiday, maybe?

All the spawns in The Hollows were redone in i12 (along with adding a repeatable mission contact). You may have noticed that instead of big-team sized groups it's now possible to find small spawns of 2-3 in many places - especially on the closer to entrance side.

Igneous were no doubt included.

If you want that badge, grab a team of other badge hunters and run the Cavern of Transcendence trial. Not only are there a decent number in there, but the ones you take out from the center will respawn if the team leaves the area.

Nice effort with the image though!

Ahhhh... Now that you mention it, I do remember reading about changes... things like less intense agro and shorter agro range, and the introduction of different mobs (not new ones, but different ones) into The Hollows. Since I didnt have any Hollows-level toons at the time, I didnt pay too much attention. I don't recall seeing anything about spawn triggers. Thanks, Amarsir. I'm going to go research that some more.

That's a good idea, too, about the Cavern trial. As it happens, this toon needs that badge too.  =)