A guide to the Rakghoul Resurgence event and the THORN reputation in SWTOR. The event will run from Jan 12 to 26 on Tatooine.
How to Start & Planet Dallies
Rakghoul event now runs monthly on a different planet each time. From Jan 12 –26 2016 it will be on Tatooine.
1) Starter Quest from Fleet
Players level 20 and above can participate in this event as the mobs in the tunnel scale to your level. If you attempt The Eyeless operation boss, you will be bolstered (on storymode)
You will find new terminals on the fleet. Interacting with it will give you a small cutscene and a quest. You will also receive the codex entry for THORN. You will complete this quest once you arrive inside the Rakghoul tunnels on the planets which will reward you with 10410 credits, 1 Glowing Data Crystal and THORN Booster Pin (green rep item).
- The Empire quest is called Combating the Plague.
- The Republic quest is called To Fight Infection
You will need to head out to Alderaan and talk to Doctor Ressel (Empire) outside House Thul or Tralie Masoon (Republic) outside House Organa. You will also get the codex entry Rakghouls on Alderaan when you arrive on Alderaan.
Once you have talked to them, you will need to travel to the location of The Spike, a giant drill located in King’s Pass to access the Rakghoul tunnels. Walking near The Spike will give you the codex entry for it. There is a speeder that will take you right to the Spike that is near the camp where Doctor Ressel or Tralie Masoon resides.
You will need to head out to Corellia and talk to Doctor Ressel (Empire) in Incorporation Island or Tralie Masoon (Republic) in Blastfield Shipyards
Once you have talked to them, you will need to travel to the location of The Spike, a giant drill located in Labor Valley, west of Imperial War Camp. Walking near The Spike will give you the codex entry for it.There is a speeder that will take you right to the Spike that is near the camp where Doctor Ressel or Tralie Masoon resides.
Tatooine
You will need to head out to Tatooine and talk to Doctor Ressel (Empire) outside Mos Ila or Tralie Masoon (Republic) outside Anchorhead.
Once you have talked to them, you will need to travel to the location of The Spike, a giant drill located in north side of the Dune Sea to access the Rakghoul tunnels. Walking near The Spike will give you the codex entry for it. There is a speeder that will take you right to the Spike that is near the camp where Doctor Ressel or Tralie Masoon resides.
2) Quarantine Daily
Behind Doctor Ressel/Tralie Masoon is a datapad with a daily that is completed around the their camp instead of the Rakghoul tunnels.You will need to find Infected NPCs around the area marked by the daily and then get very close them to use your mission item. If you missed this datapad, you can also get it inside the Rakghoul Tunnels.
3) Spreading Infection Daily
You get this daily automatically when you reach stage2/stage 3 of the Rakghoul Plague and blow up, infecting other players. The daily asks you to infect 3 other players give you 1 Rakghoul DNA Canister and 1 green rep item.
The Rakghoul Plague has 3 stages
- Stage 1 – lasts 10 minutes, you do not blow up when you die.
- Stage 2 – lasts 10 minutes, you explode when you die, infecting others. What you can do is buy the VIP Lounge Wristband from the droid Cantina vendor in the middle of the fleet for 1 million and the use the elevator to get up top. When you reach stage 2, you can leap from up there down to the gathering crowd below and infect anyone not infected/vaccinated.
- Stage 3 – you automatically blow up.
Rakghoul Tunnels and the Dallies
Dallies Count
Dallies Terminal
You will find a bunch of dallies on the mission terminal as well as the datapad nearby. You will also get the codex entry Rakghoul Propagation when you enter the tunnels. Make sure you grab some Rakghoul Vaccines off the Medical Droid near the entrance to the tunnels as each can protect you from ~6 hrs of Rakghoul plague, which is very annoying to have.
Rakghoul Tunnels
Rakghoul tunnel is divided into 3 sections: Contagion Zone, Infested Pathways, The Epicenter. They are all interconnected with each other. Epicenter is where you will find the Jawa vendor Jeelvic and is also the location for the [Heroic 4]
Contagion Zone: [Daily] Collecting Raklings /Rounding Up Rakling– 5 minutes
- Reward: 10410 credits, 1 Glowing Crystal and 1 THORN Booster Pin (green rep item).
This is a timed daily and you have 5 minutes to complete it once you have injected your first Fungal Flora.
Locate one of the egg shaped Fungal Flora in the marked area in Contagion Zone and click it. You will need to find two other Fungal Floras within 5 minutes and then escort all the raklings back to the mission terminal.
Contagion Zone: [Daily] Dissecting the Plague/Tracking the Plague
- Reward: 10410 credits, 1 Glowing Crystal and 1 THORN Booster Pin (green rep item).
Kill a bunch of the infected mobs inside the Contagion Zone until you collect 10 Mutagen Samples from their corpses.
[Daily] The Tunnel Network/Navigating the Tunnels
- Reward: 10410 credits, 1 Glowing Crystal, 1 THORN Booster Pin (green rep item) and 1 Rakghoul DNA Canister
This quest has you travel all over the Rakghoul tunnel. When you arrive at the marked location on the map, use your Navigation Beacon Scanner provided on the tracked quest menu to look for the navigation beacons.
Infested Pathways: [Daily] All that Remains/A Grim Examination
- Reward: 10410 credits, 1 Glowing Crystal and 1 THORN Booster Pin (green rep item).
You have to do two things for this daily a) Scan 5 skull like items by interacting with it and b) Kill 25 Rakghouls inside the Infested pathways. When you attack Rakghouls, their friends tend to spawn and join the fight so 25 Rakghouls isn’t a lot.
The Epicenter – [Heroic 4] Fungal Corruption/Flora and Fauna
- Reward: 16242 credits, 2 Glowing Crystals, 1 Engraved Rakghoul Claw (blue rep item) and 2 Rakghoul DNA Canister
Clicking on the interactable puddles on the ground will spawn champions called Rakghoul Blight which will drop the Fungal samples you need for the quest.
Jeelvic the Jawa Vendor
Everyone’s favourite Jawa vendor Jeelvic is back! He can be found in The Epicenter area of the Rakghoul tunnels (and also the cartel bazaar section of the fleet) but before you bolt your way to there, grab a repeatable quest (weekly) off the Contagion Zone as that will not only lead you to Jeelvic but also give you 1 Rakghoul DNA Canister.
What does Jeelvic sell? Lots of stuff
- Decorations
- Black-Green crystals (tradeable)
- Pets
- Infected Mounts
- Exchange old Rakghoul DNA samples from last event back in 2012 for Rakghoul DNA Canister at a ratio of 50:1 (50 samples for 1 canister)
Where does Barnacle of the Eyeless, Symbiotic Fungal Bloom, and Exotic Plague Specimen drop?
- Barnacle of the Eyeless drops from The Eyeless. Only enough drops for 1/2 of the raid in hardmode and 1/4 of the raid in storymode so you will need to roll for it. It is tradeable
- Symbiotic Fungal Bloom drops from the Fungus elites and The Catalyst, see the section on Rare Spawns of this guide to know where to find them. It is tradeable.
- Exotic Plague Specimen drops from the world boss in Alderaan.. It is BoP.
Decorations
- Contagious Plants (4 Rakghoul Canisters) – New for 4.0
- Planter: Glowing Cave Fern (4 Rakghoul Canisters)
- Planter: Glowing Plague Bulbs (4 Rakghoul Canisters)
- Plaguebear Female (10 Rakghoul Canisters and 1 Symbiotic Fungal Bloom ) – New for 4.0
- Plaguebear Male (10 Rakghoul Canisters and 1 Symbiotic Fungal Bloom ) – New for 4.0
Contaminated Rakling – 4 Rakghoul DNA Canister – Champion standing
Irradiated Rakling – 2 Rakghoul DNA Canister – Newcomer standing
Plaguetail Kowakian Monkey-lizard – Legend standing
Infected Dewback – Legend standing
Infected Varactyl – Legend standing
The Eyeless
The Eyeless is an operation boss for 8 or 16 players available in two difficulty modes with a weekly lockout. There is no reputation requirement to enter his lair, which is located on the bottom right corner of Infested Pathways section of the tunnels.
However, if you want to get the [OPS] Heart of Infection quest, which rewards you with 2 Rakghoul DNA Canisters, 1 Engraved Rakghoul Claw (blue rep item), 4 Glowing Data Crystals and 20k credits, you will need Outsider rank and purchase a THORN Priority Authorization from the reputation vendors for 1k. This will allow you to interact with the terminal back at the Rakghoul Tunnels starter area to receive the quest.
Health
- 8m story (L65) – 6.22 mil
Video
Storymode 8mhttp://www.youtube.com/embed/bMaXxcHta24?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&hd=1&wmode=transparent
Hardmode 8mhttp://www.youtube.com/embed/aDZmMd8XBFk?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&hd=1&wmode=transparent
Mechanics
Mechanics for this boss is very simple and is identical in storymode/hardmode. Only one tank is needed as there is no tank swap mechanics.
- Infected Phlegm: Throws down a green circle on the ground that needs to be avoided. Whoever get caught in it get a stacking debuff which doesn’t seem to do any damage but might kill you if you get too many stacks.(5 stacks on hardmode and 10 stacks on storymode will kill you and anyone around you).
- Crush: Huge purple circle place right under The Eyeless. Tank and all melee need to move out of it or risk taking a massive amount of damage and knockback.
- Pound: Proximity AoE attack, deals damage mostly to melee and tank.
- Adds: Rakghoul Dewelers – around 12k HP on storymode 8m and 20k HP on hardmode 8m. They are not hard to deal with and can be killed rather quickly by the DPS. They seem to come with every Crush attack.
Loot
- 8m storymode: 1 Defiant (216) unassembled gear, 8 Glowing Data Crystals, 12 Common Data Crystals, 1 Engraved Rakghoul Claw (blue rep), 4 Rakghoul DNA Canister, 2 Barnacle of the Eyeless, 1 Symbiote Rakling (rare drop)
- 8m hardmode: 1 Exarch (220) unassembled gear, 4 Radiant Data Crystals, 6 Glowing Data Crystals, 1 THORN Citation of Distinction (purple rep), 1 Arkanian token, 6 Rakghoul DNA Canister, 4 Barnacle of the Eyeless, 1 Symbiote Rakling (rare drop)
- 16m storymode: 2 Defiant (216) unassembled gear, 8 Glowing Data Crystals, 12 Common Data Crystals,1 THORN Citation of Distinction (purple rep), 6 Rakghoul DNA Canister, 4 Barnacle of the Eyeless, 1 Symbiote Rakling (rare drop)
- 16m hardmode: 2 Exarch (220) unassembled gear, 4 Radiant Data Crystals, , 6 Glowing Data Crystals, 1 THORN Citation of Distinction (purple rep), 2 Arkanian token, 8 Rakghoul DNA Canister, 8 Barnacle of the Eyeless, 1-2 Symbiote Rakling (rare drop)
World Bosses
Note: For world bosses, only the world boss in the planet the rakghoul event is active will spawn. The world bosses on the other two planets will not spawn (i.e. if the rakghoul event is happening Alderaan, only Shellshock is around, but not the other two).
Toxxun
World boss in Corellia, located in the SE corner of Axial Park. He drops a new pet Plaguehorn Sleen in addition to Exotic Plague Specimen. Make sure you have a couple of vaccines from the medical droid inside the Rakghoul tunnels or have someone with Revan holostatue.
- Make sure to tank him against a post as he has a nasty aoe knockback and can reset.
- 20 minutes respawn
Plaguehorn
World boss in Tatooine. Located in Jundlands around coordinates 1200, -1350. He drops a new pet Plaguehorn Reek in addition to Exotic Plague Specimen. Make sure you have a couple of vaccines from the medical droid inside the Rakghoul tunnels or have someone with Raven holostatue.
- Respawn timer is around 20 minutes
Shellshock
World boss outside the Rakghoul Tunnels in King’s Pass in Alderaan. Also drops the components you needed to purchase mounts and pets from Jeelvic.
- Drops Exotic Plague Specimen, which is not tradeable
- Drops Plagueshard Lylek, which is BoL.
- Tank and spank fight but you will need to buy vaccines from the medical droid just inside the Rakghoul tunnels to avoid the stuns.
Rare Spawns
Frenzied Plaguebearer
You get attacked by plaguebears when you exit the spaceport and also when you head towards the Rakghoul event NPC on each planet. Sometimes instead of regular plaguebearer, this elite Frenized Plaguebearer will spawn instead and has a chance to drop Pale Rakling, one of the pets (BoE)
The Tunnel Lurker
The Tunnel Lurker is a champion mob with 351k HP that roam the left half of the Infested Pathways mostly. He is after by achievement hunters as he is required for a bunch of achievements that require defeating him with various pets (see achievement section).
- Has a rare chance to drop Crimson Rakling, which is BoP.
Fungus Elites/The Catalyst
The Catalyst is a rare spawn that can replace any of the 5 Fungus Elites you need for the Hey! I’m a Fungi achievement. Like the Fungus Elites, it has a chance to drop the parts you need to purchase the mounts and pets from Jeelvic.
- Drops Symbiotic Fungal Bloom, The Catalyst has a higher chance to drop them. These are tradeable
- Also have a rare chance to drop Fungal Rakling, which is BoL.
The Midnight Rakghoul – Secret Boss in Kaon under Siege
This is a secret boss added recently with the Rakghoul event. He has a 100% chance to drop the Midnight Rakling pet (BoP).
- He has a similar plague effect to Shellshock the world boss in Alderaan so you will need vaccines or have relic from the reputation vendors. Also have an interruptable rock throw.
Titles
Character specific titles:
- [name], The Rakghoul Nightmare – You earned this title by participating in rakghoul plague relief efforts on Alderaan, Corellia and Tatooine.
- [name], Unseen Assailant – You earned this title by defeating The Eyeless during the Rakghoul Resurgence.
Legacy Titles
- First Responder (Newcomer standing)
- THORN Specialist (Hero standing)
- The Neutralizer (Legend standing)
Codex Entries
THORN: Received when you interact with the news terminal on the fleet
Rakghouls on Alderaan: Received when you arrive on Alderaan from the spaceport during the Rakghoul Resurgence event on Alderaan. Codex is received automatically when the announcer starts their announcement in chat.
The Spike: Obtainable in Alderaan, King’s Pass area when you encounter the giant drill. You may need to run around the area around The Spike until you get it.
The Rakghoul Tunnels: Received when you first enter the tunnels via The Spike.
Rakghoul Propagation: Received when you first pick up the [DAILY] Collecting Raklings/Rounding Up Rakling from the mission terminal.
THORN Reputation
THORN stands for The Hyland Organization for Rakghoul Neutralization and is founded by Addalar Hyland, a philanthropist. Its goals are to search for a cure to the Rakghoul Plague while also stomping out major planetary infestations.
| Rank | Rep | Cumulative Rep | Weeks to Reach (12000/week) | Weeks to Reach (12600/week) | Weeks to Reach (12672/week) | Legacy Title* |
| Outsider | 2500 | 2500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Newcomer | 5000 | 7500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | First Responder |
| Friend | 7500 | 15000 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Hero | 10000 | 25000 | 2 | 1 | 1 | THORN Specialist |
| Champion | 15000 | 40000 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Legend | 30000 | 70000 | 5 | 5 | 5 | The Neutralizer |
There is a max limit of reputation you can earn per week (usually 12000). However, you can go over that cap slightly if you use a purple rep item right before you hit the cap. Depending on your guild reputation bonus, the optimal reputation point to stop and consume the purple rep item have being calculated.
- With 0% guild reputation bonus, you can reach a max of 11970 + 1440 = 13410 reputation/week (subscribers)
- With 10% guild reputation bonus, you can reach a max of 11979 + 1584 = 13563 reputation/week (subscribers)
Reputation Rewards
| Reputation | Rewards | Rakghoul DNA Canister |
| None | Infected Companion Customizations | 4 |
| Outsider | THORN Priority Authorization | 1k credits |
| Outsider | Art: Rakghouls | 2 |
| Newcomer | Antiviral Kit MK1-3 (relics) | 5k-20k credits |
| Newcomer | THORN Epicenter Armor Set | 1 per piece |
| Friend | Plagued Companion Customizations | 8 |
| Friend | Art: Rakghoul Lurkers | 2 |
| Hero | Outbreak Response Weapons | 4-6 |
| Hero | Treek Plagued Customization | 12 |
| Hero | Art: Rakghoul Caverns | 4 |
| Champion | THORN Dark Vector Armor Set | 2-6 per piece |
All of the rewards are Bind to Legacy except for THORN Priority Authorization which is BoP.
To get to the THORN reputation vendors, you can find them right inside the Rakghoul tunnels or you can find them in the cartel bazaar section of the fleet.
Decorations
- Art: Rakghouls – 2 Rakghoul Canisters and Outsider reputation
- Art: Rakghoul Lurkers – 2 Rakghoul Canisters and Friend reputation
- Art: Rakghoul Caverns – 4 Rakghoul Canisters and Hero reputation
THORN Epicenter Armor Set – Newcomer
THORN Dark Vector Armor Set – Champion
Outbreak Response weapons – Herohttp://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=SPZ2ntiwVMOhLI8CwiYsvM49LG-osVeybh&hl=en_US
Infected Companion Customizations
- Row 1: Kira Carsen (Knight), Elara Dorne (Trooper), Corso Riggs (Smuggler)
- Row 2: Tharan Cedrax (Consular), Vector (Agent), Mako (Bounty Hunter)
- Row 3: Malavai Quinn (Warrior), Andronikos Revel (Inquisitor)
Plagued Companion Customizations – Friend standing except for Treek which requires Hero
- Row 1: Rusk (Knight), Guss Tuno (Smuggler), Yuun (Trooper)
- Row 2: Tanno Vik (Trooper),Aric Jorgan (Trooper), Qyzen (Consular)
- Row 3: Zenith (Consular), Skadge (Bounty Hunter), Kaliyo (Agent)
- Row 4: Gault (Bounty Hunter), Vette (Warrior), Ashara (Inquisitor), Treek (All)
Achievements
Location map for Hey! I’m a Fungi where you need to locate
- 0/5 Fungus Breeder
- 0/5 Fungus Collector
- 0/5 Fungus Cultivator (located in The Epicenter)
- 0/5 Fungus Harvester
- 0/5 Fungus Planter
Beasts (170 pts)
General (235 points)
There are 4 hidden achievements that will be revealed once you have done the daily quests.
Player vs Player (220 points)
There is one hidden achievement (infected 1000 players with the rakghoul plague)
| Name | Description | Points | Legacy Title | |
 | Novice Plague Researcher Defender | Defeated 10 players in the plague-infested tunnels | 10 | |
 | Plague Research Defender | Defeated 50 players in the plague-infested tunnels | 25 | |
 | Elite Plague Researcher Defender | Defeated 100 players in the plague-infested tunnels | 50 | |
 | Calling in Sick | Infected 5 players with the rakghoul plague | 10 | |
 | Breaking Quarantine | Infected 25 players with the rakghoul plague | 25 | |
 | An Infectious Personality | Infected 100 players with the rakghoul plague | 50 | |
| HIDDEN | Mobile Contagion | Infected 1000 players with the rakghoul plague | 50 |
Pets (175 points)
| Name | Description | Points | Legacy Title | |
 | Lord of the Raklings | Completed all rakling achievements The Contaminated Rakling The Crimson Rakling The Fungal Rakling The Irradiated Rakling The Midnight Rakling The Pale Rakling The Symbiote Rakling | 25 | Lord of the Raklings |
 | Galactic Veterinarian | Collected a menagerie of infected pets AH-hahahahaha! *cough Plaguehorn Reek Plagueshard Lylek Plaguetooth Sleen | 25 | |
 | The Pale Rakling | Defeated The Tunnel Lurker with your Pale Rakling summoned. | 10 | |
 | The Crimson Rakling | Defeated The Tunnel Lurker with your Crimson Rakling summoned. | 10 | |
 | The Midnight Rakling | Defeated The Tunnel Lurker with your Midnight Rakling summoned. | 10 | |
 | The Fungal Rakling | Defeated The Tunnel Lurker with your Fungal Rakling summoned. | 10 | |
 | The Symbiote Rakling | Defeated The Tunnel Lurker with your Symbiote Rakling summoned. | 10 | |
 | The Irradiated Rakling | Defeated The Tunnel Lurker with your Irradiated Rakling summoned. | 10 | |
 | The Contaminated Rakling | Defeated The Tunnel Lurker with your Contaminated Rakling summoned. | 10 | |
 | AH-hahahahaha! *cough* | Collected the Kowakian Monkey-Lizard pet | 10 | |
 | Plagueshard Lylek | Collected the Plagueshard Lylek pet | 10 | |
 | Plaguehorn Reek | Collected the Plaguehorn Reek pet | 10 | |
 | Plaguetooth Sleen | Collected the Plaguetooth Sleen pet | 10 |
The Eyeless (70 points)
| Name | Description | Points | Legacy Title | |
 | Keeping an Eye Out | Defeated The Eyeless on 8-person story mode | 10 | |
 | Keeping an Eye Out (Hardmode) | Defeated The Eyeless on 8-person hard mode. | 25 | |
 | Turning a Blind Eye | Defeated The Eyeless on 16-person story mode | 10 | |
 | Turning a Blind Eye (Hardmode) | Defeated The Eyeless on 16-person hard mode | 25 |
Pets
Information on the pets was taken from enderandrew42 on reddit.
If you are unsure on the location of Tunnel Lurker, Frenized Plaguebearer, Shellshock, and Fungus Rakghouls, please see the Rare Spawns section of the guide.
- Plaguetail Kowakian Monkey-Lizard – Buy from Jeelvic – BoL
- Contaminated Rakling – Buy from Jeelvic – BoL
- Crimson Rakling – Tunnel Lurker rare drop – BoP
- Fungal Rakling – Fungus Rakghouls rare drop – BoL
- Irradiated Rakling – Buy from Jeelvic – BoL
- Midnight Rakling – Kaon Under Siege secret boss – BoP
- Pale Rakling – Frenzied Plaguebearer – BoE
- Symbiote Rakling – Eyeless rare drop – BoP
- Plagueshard Lylek – Shellshock Guaranteed (Alderaan world boss)– BoL
- Plaguehorn Reek – Plaguehorn Guaranteed (Tatooine world boss) – BoL
- Plaguetooth Sleen – Toxxun Guaranteed (Corellia world boss) – BoL
The Midnight Rakghoul – Secret Boss in Kaon under Siege
This is a secret boss added recently with the Rakghoul event. He has a 100% chance to drop the Midnight Rakling pet on both storymode and hardmode Kaon under Siege
- He has a similar plague effect to Shellshock the world boss in Alderaan so you will need vaccines or have relic from the reputation vendors. Also have an interruptable rock throw.
