Before You Enter
To answer the rhetorical question in the overview above, check to make sure you're good on the following:
No matter what your class, you should have your weapon at least +9'd and rolled somewhat decently with enigmatic & identification scrolls. Remember, having a +12 weapon doesn't mean crap if it's got terrible rolls. If you don't have at least agnitor's nexus when it comes to armor, you might want to hold off on this dungeon. It's been done in the past with Dreamkeeper and such, but having more defence will grant you much more leeway when it comes to getting hit, and will also give your healer a much easier time. Kelsaik's Nest 10-man raids essentially toss out free Dismay gear at this point (equivalent to Abyss & Queen's Wrath, healers should avoid these weapons however and use the ones from agnitor's nexus), so run that for your stuff if you consider nexus a bore.
For hard mode, it is recommended to have at least Regent's gear. With the recent Wonderholme update, Steadfast is an easy to acquire weapon and armor set that will do nicely for the job.
Get your jewellery from Alliance Vaults and Shattered Fleet and Channelworks. Ring and necklaces should be rolled depending on class, and earrings should preferably be rolled with decrease poison damage & increase HP restoration, but stun duration reduction is an acceptable alternative.
When I say crystals, I mean cruxes. Don't come with concachs or some other non-level 58 crystals. Also, don't use the ones from the crystal merchants. They suck.
TANK - With a tank in the party, damage dealers will have a much easier time getting backcrits (especially on the first two bosses), which means more general uptime on the bosses and less of a worry for learning parties to have to dodge attacks (they still have to with a tank, but not as much). Tanks should start out with full Threatening, then gradually start swapping them out for Mutinous if they notice they have no problems keeping aggro. Extra damage is always nice, especially for Shandra.
DPS - I can't stress this enough, GO FOR BACKCRITS. ON EVERYTHING. If you're ever in front of a boss dealing damage, you're doing it wrong. If you're at its side, you should be moving to its back while you're attacking it. Using Mutinous crystals is fine. If you're a scrub. Instead, you should be using any combination of the following (depending on your class): Acrimonious, Savage, Focused, Forceful, and Carving. These crystals will greatly increase your damage output; just make sure to deal your damage standing behind the boss. A secondary perk to going for backcrits is that your healer will always know where you are! BEHIND THE BOSS. This means more consistent healing as well.
HEALER - A Swift crystal is standard for healers, no matter what the situation. Have one in at all times. The other three slots are usually taken up by Brilliant crystals, but you can switch one out for a Carving crystal to shoot for more critical heals. Kiting mobs during cocoon phase is a different matter (more on that later), but you'll want Threatening crystals on hand for that.
Again, uncommon cruxes only. For pretty much the whole dungeon, all party members should be rolling full Anarchic Cruxes (healer is an exception, they can have one Fleetfoot Crux in). Healers might want to bring Stalwart crystals for cocoon kiting. The only exception will be the final boss fight with Shandra Manaya concerning debuff phase. Depending on how confident your party is, for JUST that fight you'll either want to run with full Anarchic, full Relentless, or some combination of the two (again, more on that later). For normal mode, you should generally stick with full Anarchic crystals the whole dungeons, but for hard mode Relentless crystals are nothing short of a must.
Healing Elixirs/Potions & Healing Draughts are standard, as well as Mana Elixirs/Potions & Mana Draughts. Bring nostrums (buy them from general merchants) and buff scrolls (Savagery, Carving, and/or Swiftness; craft them or buy them from broker) to keep up your damage. Mob kiters can bring along Scrolls of Dash (craft or buy them from broker) for moments when feces hits the fan during cocoon phase. Medicated Bandages (from the Specialty Merchant, not the General Merchant) are also great to have for cocoon phase, especially if you have a priest kiter. Healers can use bandages throughout the fight as well so long as they don't get into combat. Noctenium Infusions are always nice to have on as well.
Bring your own charms and campfires. Everyone should have Greater Enduring & Greater Infused. For the onslaught charm category DPSshould use Greater Power/Keen, TANKS should use Greater Power/Keen/Speed, and HEALERS should use Greater Keen/Speed.
Scrolls of Rapid Resurrection should always be on hand if you aren't a healer (PUT THESE ON ONE OF YOUR HOTBARS). And of course, Crystalbinds or a Complete Crystalbind (highly recommend the latter if you're learning). Goddess's Blessings are also nice to have for first-timers (generally, save these for when Shandra is under 8%).
It should be relatively obvious that damage will be important during this dungeon. The faster you kill something, the less time you'll spend dodging attacks. However, the final boss fight with Shandra Manaya requires that you get the hell out of certain attacks. This is mostly a problem for melee classes, but all classes should be focused on survival anyway. Glyph your dodges, dashes, & charging skills for chances to reset and decreased cooldowns to help yourself out in that regard. Once you're more comfortable with the fight, you can start swapping some glyphs out for damage and utility.
Entering the Dungeon
Once you've prepared yourself (and have finished reading this guide of course!), you can enter this dungeon either via instance matching or by forming a party of your own and entering the relevant instance teleportal in Granarkus. The entrance to this dungeon can be found in the northeastern region of Granarkus. Its entrance is the same as that of Argon Corpus. If you have Iteris Shards on hand, the Granarkus teleportal places you right outside the cave of the entrance.
Alternatively you can instance match it with a minimum ilvl of 147. I highly recommend an ilvl of at least 155 however.
Trash - Part 1
Kill the mobs in the hallway, as well as the red football player on the first platform. Have everyone wait on the bridge leading to the next tunnel, and have just the tank enter. Sets of invincible servitors will set pools down that will seal the entrances to the room. Have the TANK pull aggro on all the mobs in the room, then backtrack to where the other dps are waiting (backstep or charge through the pools to minimize damage). Let the servitors kill all the mobs and disappear before moving on.
Hrathgol (Boss #1)
Hrathgol's got an extreme AOE fetish, so melee damage dealers need to be wary of not getting hit when the AOEs reach all the way behind the boss from in front. Luckily most of the attack tells are rather obvious. In addition to the attacks these kinds of Argonean BAMs normally have, there are a few more commonly seen in just this dungeon.
Smash - Usually right after a normal sword swipe, Hrathgol will raise both fists above it and begin charging up an attack. Shortly afterwards it will bring them down and smash the ground, letting off an AOE that hits in a wide area that includes behind the boss. Blockable. This AOE will give a bleed debuff to party members if they are hit (curable). The boss may sometimes follow this up with a pounce that creates an AOE which reaches far behind the tank.
Sword Spam - Hrathgol may decide to rapid fire a few (sometimes a lot of) orange circle AOEs on the tank. Blockable. Some of these will reach behind the boss, so block/dodge accordingly. Each of these AOEs will also have a chance to stun you for a short period of time if you get hit (curable).
Big Circle - If you see the boss walk backwards a few steps, he'll usually prepare to fire a large AOE in front of him. Blockable. Ideally you'll want to get out of the way as soon as you see this, but invulnerability frame through it if you don't have time/can't block. Getting hit by this AOE will also give you a movement speed debuff (curable).
Hrathgol also has two secondary aggro attacks (watch for who has the purple circle):
Circle Pounce - A random person will get purple aggro, usually one that was staying too far away from the boss (don't do that). Hrathgol will quickly target a small circle AOE on you, then leap towards you with another attack. If you get hit by the small circle, you'll be SILENCED (you cannot use skills) and usually get knocked down so that you won't be able to get out of the way of the pounce in time (since you can't use Retaliate). As soon as you see the small circle, you'll want to dodge out TO THE SIDE and not backwards, to dodge both the circle and the pounce that comes after (it has a huge range). Alternatively, both the circle and the pounce are blockable, so do that if it's more convenient for you. Hrathgol will almost always follow this attack with a Big Circle.
Servitors - A random person will get purple aggro, and Hrathgol will turn towards him/her and kind of growl/flex its muscles in that general direction. A servitor will spawn somewhere in the room. They'll fly over to whoever had secondary aggro and activate on top of them. If you get secondary aggro, get away from your party and drop that damn thing somewhere else. It hurts and your party isn't safe fighting the boss on top of servitor puddles. If you die with a servitor on top of you, don't resurrect until it dies on its own (you can't kill it, don't bother trying). Try and drop it somewhere near the edge of the room, since if you drop it near the middle, you'll have trouble dealing with the coming boss mechanic.
When Hrathgol's health reaches 70%, 50%, and 20%, the boss mechanic will come into play. Hrathgol will run to the center of the room (usually, more on this later). Upon arriving, a message will appear in the center of your screen that says "You'll pray for death before I'm done". Hrathgol will then turn towards whoever has aggro, crouch down and give the three people nearest it a debuff (Cellular Decay). This debuff CANNOT BE CLEANSED and will tick players for a large amount of health every second until it ends, whereupon it will deal a final tick of 20,000 damage. Right afterwards, Hrathgol will unleash two Big Circles (one in the direction it turned towards after it got to the center, and another directed towards whoever had aggro before it ran towards the center) before resuming its normal attack patterns.
Every player should be watching boss health throughout the fight. When you are about to pass one of the above percentages (5% away or so), call it out and make sure everyone is ready. TANK should pull as much aggro as possible right before Hrathgol runs to the center of the room.DPS should tone down their damage (if necessary, should not be) so that the tank can keep aggro. HEALER should get ready to reposition. Once a percentage has been passed, Hrathgol will finish whatever attack rotation it is currently on before heading to center, so be prepared in case Hrathgol doesn't immediately walk there.
As soon as Hrathgol turns to walk towards center, TANK should get near the edge of the room in front of the boss as fast as possible and stay there. HEALER should get to the OPPOSITE edge of the room from the tank behind the boss as fast as possible. DPS should stop attacking, run to the center of the room with the boss, and stand next to it until they receive the debuff.
Once you take a debuff, stay together with the others who took debuff, and as a group, run out of range of the upcoming AOEs into range of your healer. The HEALER now needs to heal the three dps through the debuff (aka. spam heals until the debuff does its final tick and goes away, remember that this debuff is not curable so don't waste your time with that). DPS should avoid attacking until the debuff has been completely healed through (or both AOEs have been fired). If a dps accidentally grabs aggro before Hrathgol runs to the center, the boss will change targets for his AOEs and nuke you all instead of the TANK, who will have no trouble blocking the two Big Circles. The TANK can go up next to the boss once three people have taken the debuff to resume his/her aggro rotation and block the two Big Circles (if you get too close to Hrathgol, you can actually get hit by a bleed debuff in between Big Circles; even though you don't get a block confirmation, this invisible bleed is blockable). To help out your healer, DPS should stand close together in a cluster outside of the AOEs, and then immediately STOP MOVING. The HEALER can move as necessary to heal you all; standing right next to the healer will not help you get healed faster (that's a PSA by the way, stand in front of healers, not next to them, to get healed quickly).
On occasion, Hrathgol might decide to be a giant pain in the ass and skip running to the center of the room entirely, giving you the on-screen message and starting the debuff wherever it is at the moment. Don't panic if this happens. The party should position themselves so that theDPS are closest to the boss when the debuff hits, and the TANK and HEALER should once again get the heck away to opposite edges of the room. Heal through and deal with the two AOEs as usual.
The above is an animated GIF roughly showing how party members should be moving during the Hrathgol boss mechanic. If the image above isn't moving you can view a timeline with all stages here.
CRAP, WE SCREWED UP
If one of the dps manages to pull aggro right before a debuff...
...the TANK and the dps with aggro should switch roles. The tank will run up to take the debuff with the other dps, while the dps with aggro will run to the opposite wall from the healer. The TANK should NOT try and pull aggro back. The HEALER will heal the three with debuffs through as usual, while the one dps with aggro will need to dodge/block the upcoming AOEs (DO NOT lose aggro with skills like Feign Death or Stone Skin, the AOE will be directed onto your party instead). Berzerkers can block both AOEs, warriors should have no trouble dodging both (I would hope so...), and slayers can dodge once and backstab/headlong rush leaping strike out of the second. Archers and sorcerers can dodge the first and hope they outrange the second with their other non-I-frame skills (if you get close enough to the edge of the room, you have a little bit of space between the Big Circle and the Wall where you can stand).
...the TANK and the dps with aggro should switch roles. The tank will run up to take the debuff with the other dps, while the dps with aggro will run to the opposite wall from the healer. The TANK should NOT try and pull aggro back. The HEALER will heal the three with debuffs through as usual, while the one dps with aggro will need to dodge/block the upcoming AOEs (DO NOT lose aggro with skills like Feign Death or Stone Skin, the AOE will be directed onto your party instead). Berzerkers can block both AOEs, warriors should have no trouble dodging both (I would hope so...), and slayers can dodge once and backstab/headlong rush leaping strike out of the second. Archers and sorcerers can dodge the first and hope they outrange the second with their other non-I-frame skills (if you get close enough to the edge of the room, you have a little bit of space between the Big Circle and the Wall where you can stand).
If the healer manages to pull aggro right before a debuff...
...oh dear, I don't even...may god help you all. Everyone should get out of range of the healer, and anyone with the debuff will need to use potions/draughts/consumables and hope they live through it. HEALER will need to hope for the best and dodge/heal through both AOEs; help out with the healing on your party members if you can.
...oh dear, I don't even...may god help you all. Everyone should get out of range of the healer, and anyone with the debuff will need to use potions/draughts/consumables and hope they live through it. HEALER will need to hope for the best and dodge/heal through both AOEs; help out with the healing on your party members if you can.
If the healer takes a debuff...
...MAKE SURE YOUR PARTY IS READY NEXT TIME OKAY? If the HEALER has a debuff, heal through it while healing your party members through as well (mystics should drop a Thrall of Life, priests can Healing Immersion while healing and then Heal Thyself after everyone else is okay).
...MAKE SURE YOUR PARTY IS READY NEXT TIME OKAY? If the HEALER has a debuff, heal through it while healing your party members through as well (mystics should drop a Thrall of Life, priests can Healing Immersion while healing and then Heal Thyself after everyone else is okay).
If the tank takes a debuff (or a dps pulls aggro and takes a debuff)...
...MAKE SURE YOUR PARTY IS READY NEXT TIME OKAY? Whoever has aggro will take on the role the tank had and get to the edge of the room opposite that of the healer. The others will get healed through by the healer, while you take the two AOEs away from the rest of the party. Use consumables while dodging/blocking the two AOEs and hope you don't die.
...MAKE SURE YOUR PARTY IS READY NEXT TIME OKAY? Whoever has aggro will take on the role the tank had and get to the edge of the room opposite that of the healer. The others will get healed through by the healer, while you take the two AOEs away from the rest of the party. Use consumables while dodging/blocking the two AOEs and hope you don't die.
If the tank is dead right before a debuff...
...have one of the DPS hold aggro, ideally the one currently with aggro. The HEALER will need to take a debuff along with the other two dps while the one with aggro deals with the two AOEs as described above.
...have one of the DPS hold aggro, ideally the one currently with aggro. The HEALER will need to take a debuff along with the other two dps while the one with aggro deals with the two AOEs as described above.
If one of the dps is dead right before a debuff...
...same as above, the HEALER will need to take a debuff along with the other two dps while the tank does his/her thing.
...same as above, the HEALER will need to take a debuff along with the other two dps while the tank does his/her thing.
If the healer is dead right before a debuff...
...the three with debuffs will need to heal through the debuff on their own with consumables. Good luck have fun.
...the three with debuffs will need to heal through the debuff on their own with consumables. Good luck have fun.
USING SUMMONS
I recommend NOT trying this technique until your group can heal through all three people with debuffs no problem. The above will always be the worst case scenario, and if you can't deal with it when the following fails, the whole party gets screwed over.
Mystics and warriors (who are NOT tanking) can help out their party during these debuff cycles with their summons. If close enough, these summons can take the debuff in place of a player, easing the load on the healer. The HEALER should never expect any summons to take debuffs, and should always be ready to heal the usual three people through debuffs as necessary.
If you know you have members in your party capable of doing this, do not automatically assume this means that you don't need to take a debuff. You should still run to the boss as usual during debuff to take it should your summons fail to do so. In addition, if you are capable of pulling this off, don't push yourself to do so, as it is safer to just heal people through rather than push yourself to pop a summon, especially if this is a learning run.
Warriors (again, only those who DO NOT have aggro) can summon a shadow aggressor who can take the debuff for someone. Since the cast time for this skill is rather long, it's recommended to start summoning one once you see that Hrathgol's health is getting near one of the debuff percentages. Use your Attack and Follow skills if needed to try and make sure the shadow doesn't die beforehand. Alternatively, you can run to the center ahead of the boss and wait there to summon your shadow, but if Hrathgol decides to be a dick and not move for debuff phase, you're kinda screwed. Remember that if you get hit by the boss at any point during the fight, any shadows you summon will automatically go to attack it, so plan accordingly. And of course, remember to still run in with your summon to take debuff and not automatically assume you're off the hook.
Mystics can summon a thrall who can take the debuff for someone. It is recommended to use the Thrall of Vengeance for this job, the Thrall of Protection and Wrath are possible alternatives that are more annoying to pull off and less likely to work regularly in the long run (Thrall of Vengeance cast time is also nearly instant, another advantage). Watch boss health, and hover near the center of the room when a percentage is about to be reached. As soon as you see Hrathgol start running towards the center, position yourself as necessary and drop a Thrall of Vengeance right in the center where Hrathgol will crouch. Remember that the Thrall of Vengeance will spawn 10 meters away from you in the direction you're facing, so position yourself accordingly. As soon as you've summoned it, take up your spot as usual on the opposite edge of the room from the tank and heal people through. If you chose to use to use a Thrall of Protection or Wrath, you should be prepared to use the Attack and Follow commands like the warrior, and remember that when you get hit by the boss, your thralls will automatically go to attack whatever hit you. Be prepared if Hrathgol decides to just insta-debuff at a percentage without running to center, and as usual, remember to take up your post as soon as you've sent your thrall out.
Mystics can also plop down a Warding Totem to take a debuff. Do note however that the totem has a limited time when it can receive damage and debuffs, meaning that you will have to time it well. It is recommended to place the totem secondary to the thrall, as the latter has a higher chance of regularly taking a debuff compared to the totem. Either that, or place both down if you have the time. Start off with the Thrall of Vengeance, then get ready to time your Warding Totem. The Warding Totem's hitbox is actually spawned in as soon as you start casting the skill, before you even see the totem appear. Knowing this, you want to time your Warding Totem start-cast to occur JUST as Hrathgol gets up from its crouch.
If you went in to take a debuff but got lucky and had a party summon take it for you, DO NOT START ATTACKING THE BOSS. Just get out of range of the AOEs and wait, away from the ones who did take the debuff, so that the healer won't have a hard time differentiating people and healing them. If you want to attack for some reason, wait until you see the second AOE circle appear on the tank or do it on the same side of the boss the tank is on, so that if you do pull aggro you don't kill the healer and company; you'll probably need to dodge/block the two AOEs as well in this case if you are a melee damage dealer.
Hrathgol now has a 6 minute enrage timer; in other words, if you don't kill him within 6 minutes he'll flip his feces and one-shot you all. All attacks now hit for much harder, and some attacks have been upgraded to one-shot material.
The boss mechanic now happens at 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20%. The final tick of the debuff from the boss mechanic also now hits for 30,000 health instead of 20,000.
The main problem you'll face in this fight will likely be servitors. If Hrathgol ever decides to summon them on a party member in hard mode, three will appear instead of one. They will follow the player around, and if they activate, the player will like die near-instantly (one or two ticks is enough to kill anyone). Party members need to be vigilant. As soon as someone gets the purple secondary aggro circle, they need to get the hell away from the party. If it turns out to be just the small circle + pounce + AOE, just dodge accordingly. If it's servitors however, bring them away from your group as soon as possible. One option is to kite them around until they die on their own, but you'll lose valuable uptime on the boss usually. Additionally, if Hrathgol gets to a debuff mechanic while you're doing so, you may screw your party over. You can instead try dodging out as soon as they activate. Herd the three servitors together so that they're stacked on top of one another, then run right towards them. Wait until their shadows pass right over you. As soon as they stop moving, dodge or use a movement skill to get out in the same direction you were traveling. Like normal mode, they will die eventually, so don't resurrect until they are gone. If possible, try not to drop them anywhere near your party, nor in the center of the room, since your party will need to stand there to take debuffs.
Servitors are often the problem for this boss, as they kill party members and lower your damage so that you can't beat the enrage timer. Burn the boss quickly and stay relatively close to the boss this entire fight so that Hrathgol has a smaller chance of spawning them in the first place. Other than that, if your healer has no problem healing three people through debuff on normal mode, hard mode boss mechanics should not pose a threat.
Trash - Part 2
There's another red mob on the next platform. It spawns minions sometimes. Kill it. For the next tunnel, have the tank head in first and pull aggro on all the mobs. Gather them at the end of the tunnel before letting the dps burn them down. The last red mob does some stupid magic trick where it'll disappear and leave blue clones behind. Kill the one with the big health bar and the skull above it to make the original reappear so you can kill it.
Melkatran (Boss #2)
Before you go in to attack this boss, make sure your jump and chained skill keys are different. If not, rebind one of them. You need to make sure that you can press your jump key at any time during this boss fight (if it's on your chained skills key, you'll just repeatedly cast skills instead, not good).
Melkatran is probably the easiest boss in the dungeon. It's really only got one new attack that its other BAM friends don't have. Its biggest annoyance other than the new attack will probably be the shield barrage-esque swing that hits in a huge range around it (it always does this attack after the attack where it walks forward a bit waving its shield back and forth); for this attack you're safe if standing at its back-right.
Stomp - Melkatran will sometimes raise his front legs up in the air. They'll come down a few seconds later and hit in a huge range around it, including behind it if you're close enough. Blockable. Getting hit by the stomp will give you a Bleed debuff (curable). You're better off just dodging though if you can't block it.
Stun - On occasion, you'll see Melkatran raise his shield into the air. Dodge the hell out. Make sure you're not next to the boss, as it will cast a short-range stun that hits all around it. NOT BLOCKABLE. Either one or two things will happen after the Stun. You may see a red circle AOE appear immediately after that is only slightly larger than the range of the Stun. If you successfully dodged out of the Stun, stay outside until the red AOE has cast. If you got stunned, hopefully it won't last until you get hit by the red AOE (dat stun reduction on jewellery), so dodge out of it as soon as possible. Be careful not to spam your dodge key in case your healer cleanses you early enough that your invulnerability frames miss. If you don't see the red AOE right after the Stun, Melkatran will instead wait a bit then fire off a large donut AOE. If you got hit by the Stun, you're safe within the white circle inside the donut, so just stay there until your stun ends and pile on the damage (in other words, only spam your dodge if you see the red AOE immediately after rather than the donut). Ranged classes and healers will need to either go in with the melee for the AOE or get outside of the donut.
Throughout the boss fight, you may see a message appear on the center of your screen that says "Parasites flock to you". You will receive a debuff accompanied by red veins creeping over the edge of your screen. To get rid of the parasites debuff, simply jump once. This is why you rebound your jump key before this boss fight. The debuff will continuously stack and tick away your health unless you jump to negate it. Don't spam jump, it leaves you vulnerable to getting hit and knocked down by the boss; just jump once when you're in a good position to do so.
The boss mechanic here will come into play at just 70% and 20% health. Melkatran will run to the center of the room. It will turn either red or blue and a message will appear in the center of your screen that says "Kill the ---- argons. Empowered argons increase the enemy's health." where ---- will either read red or blue. Melkatran will get a 10-stack buff (a blue shield icon) under its health bar. From this point on, waves of adds will spawn on the edge of the room and run into the boss. These mobs will also be either red or blue. They will stand still for a few seconds after spawning in before rushing into the boss in the center of the room and despawning. If a mob of the same color gets to center or a mob of the opposite color doesn't make it to center, Melkatran buff will decrease by one. If this buff disappears (you mess up 10 mobs), the boss will pull everyone into the center of the room and one-shot you all (more on this below). Each boss percentage will have three waves of mobs spawn for your party to deal with.
Before you enter the boss room, assign corners of the room to the members in your party. Make sure everyone has a minimap and/or compass up so they can recognize cardinal directions. During the boss mechanic, four people will head to the NW, NE, SW, and SE edges of the room while the last will go whereever he/she is needed during the fight (you can also go N, S, E, W if you want, but diagonal directions are easier to recognize while in the room since the two doors are aligned in those directions as well (you came in through the SW door, and the next door is NW); four people are usually enough, but you could try assigning 5 cardinal directions to your whole party if you want to be extra careful). Just make sure everyone knows were to go once inside the room. As you get more experienced, you won't even need to assign directions anymore and can just spread out around the edge of the room.
Every player should be watching boss health throughout the fight. When you are about to pass one of the above percentages (5% away or so), call it out and make sure everyone knows which corner they need to run to and where it is in relation to themselves. As soon as the boss heads towards center, head towards your own and STOP ATTACKING THE BOSS. If you use skills on the boss while mobs are near or inside it, you may kill them accidentally and take some stacks off the boss buff. Melkatran also become invulnerable to damage during the boss mechanic, so it's useless to attack it anyway.
Look at what color the boss is if you missed the message. Whatever color it is is the color of the mobs you need to kill. These mobs have relatively low health and will die after one or two skills (even normal attacks can be used at times, don't waste time overcharging skills). Try to avoid skills with large AOE hitboxes during this phase, as you may accidentally kill mobs of the opposite color (avoid Hailstorm or Rain of Arrows; these attacks last a long while, and if they last into the next wave of mobs, they'll likely bring the boss buff down a few numbers, if not to zero).
Ranged characters have the easiest time with this (Flaming Barrage and Arrow Volley). Melee characters can use movement skills like charge and leaping strike to get around faster. Berzerkers generally have the most trouble due to their mobility, so the last member of the party (usually the healer) can go with them to their corner to help them out. Lancers can use two of their three leashes (NOT Chained Leash) to pull any missed mobs before they get to center (make sure they're the right color before killing them). Backstab also works wonders when it comes to chasing down missed mobs. It's also a good idea to discuss with your party what direction players should go from their corners to search for other mobs (i.e. everyone goes clockwise from their corner) so that you don't bunch up at one edge of the room accidentally.
Once all waves of mobs have spawned and rushed to center, if the boss buff has not disappeared, he will resume normal attack patterns, meaning that you've successfully dealt with the mechanic. Continue as usual until the next mechanic percentage. If your party failed, you'll get pulled into center for the one-shot.
Melkatran does not gain any new moves during this fight, so just take care of the boss mechanics when they happen and you'll get past this boss no problem.
Note: The very first two waves of ONLY the very first mechanic percentage will always be two sets of mobs of the same color. This is the only time when an AOE like Hailstorm or Rain of Arrows centered on the boss is acceptable, as you can kill the mobs of the right color as they reach Melkatran. Make sure you cast it early enough that it won't last into the next wave of mobs though.
CRAP, WE SCREWED UP
If you're killing mobs and you know you've failed 10 stacks...
...look at the boss to see which way it is facing. There are two doors in the room. Find the door that the boss is facing away from more (if you can't tell, just pick one) and haul ass to it. Get up right next to it and start spamming jump like no tomorrow (see below section). Slayers and berzerkers should pop Tenacity right before the pull. If you're lucky the boss's pull will only knock you out of the air instead of into the center of the room. Immediately retaliate and stay at the door. At this point you can only hope for the best; if the boss is facing away from you enough, you may survive the one-shot. If you're skilled enough, you can time your jump for when Melkatran is in the middle of his pull to guarantee you get knocked out of the air.
...look at the boss to see which way it is facing. There are two doors in the room. Find the door that the boss is facing away from more (if you can't tell, just pick one) and haul ass to it. Get up right next to it and start spamming jump like no tomorrow (see below section). Slayers and berzerkers should pop Tenacity right before the pull. If you're lucky the boss's pull will only knock you out of the air instead of into the center of the room. Immediately retaliate and stay at the door. At this point you can only hope for the best; if the boss is facing away from you enough, you may survive the one-shot. If you're skilled enough, you can time your jump for when Melkatran is in the middle of his pull to guarantee you get knocked out of the air.
CHEESING IS FUN
If you want to give your party some extra insurance during this boss fight (if you're learning, don't bother; it's better that you learn to do colored mobs efficiently and consistently), there's a way to avoid the pull and one-shot if you guys screw up mobs.
TANK should position the boss during the fight so that it is between the center of the room and either one of the doors. DPS should assist the tank by not accidentally pulling aggro during the process. When the boss mechanic comes around, this will cause the boss to run to center and crouch facing away from the door you chose. Go for mobs as usual. If you succeed, then there's no need to worry, just continue as always. If you fail and the stacks disappear, head to the door your group turned the boss away from, get right up next to it, and spam jump like no tomorrow. Again, slayers and berzerkers should pop Tenacity for the stun immunity. If you're lucky enough to be in the air when Melkatran performs the pull, you'll only get knocked out of the air in-place rather than pulled in for the one-shot. After you retaliate, stay at the door for Melkatran to do his one-shot stomp before going back in to do your thing. When the boss is completely facing away from you, the one-shot has a greater chance of not hitting you should your jumping allow you to avoid the boss pull. This is because the one-shot seems to be centered on Melkatran's front feet rather than the center of the room. Once you're experienced enough, you can actually watch Melkatran to time your jump and guarantee not getting pulled in.
Of course, it's even better if your party just does colored mobs correctly.
The boss now has a 6 minute enrage timer like the first boss. All of its attacks hit harder, and many are now one-shot material. Don't get stunned; healers should be ready to immediately cleanse party members that do.
Parasites now tick you for much harder and stack much faster, meaning that you'll want to quickly jump if you get them. Like in normal mode, you'll want to make sure that you aren't hit by his other attacks while in your jump's animation.
The boss mechanic buff also starts at only 6 stacks instead of 10. More minions spawn in each debuff wave as well. If you have two ranged players, try and position them on opposite sides of the room.
In short, this guy is just as much of a joke on normal mode as he is on hard mode.
Trash - Part 3
Remember the mace boss form Cultist's Refuge? He's back with annoying spin2win minions. Try and focus the minions before nuking the mace guy down. He has his same giant AOE smash from his time in Cultist's Refuge, so dodge that accordingly (it one-shots clothies). The red circle sometimes disappears right after it gets set down on the ground, but you should dodge anyway because it's a glitch and it'll still hit you.
After that fall down the tunnels and take some fall damage. Your health automatically gets restored afterwards, so don't worry (sometimes it doesn't, just have your healer help you out).
The Plexus
"So you have a death wish. Very well. I shall grant it."
The final platform where you'll have your showdown with the argon queen is up ahead. Don't head up the ramp onto it until your entire party is ready.
Assuming everyone has finished reading this guide previously, decide now on positions and crystals for phase two. Otherwise, have everyone finish reading this guide, then decide on who takes what debuff.
The party should wait for the HEALER to reequip crystals before heading up the ramp to the final platform. HEALER should switch to 3xThreatening (increases aggro generation) & 3xStalwart (decreases NORMAL mob damage) Cruxes in addition to their usual 1xSwift (movement speed in combat) and 1xFleetfoot (movement speed out of combat) Cruxes. They have the fun job of kiting the mobs and BAM that spawn around the edge of the room while the rest of the party attacks the cocoon in the center.
Everyone else in the party can go the usual full Anarchic (decreases boss damage received) Cruxes and appropriate weapon cruxes, either full Mutinous (increase boss damage) or a back crit build. The tank maintaining threat and dps getting back crits on cocoon is not as important during this fight compared to dodging cocoon attacks and positioning poison circles. Instead, you should focus on staying alive and NOT DYING. The TANK should go full Mutinous cruxes (or 3 Mutinous 1 Focused), to help dish out the damage. More on this in the coming sections, but just keep in mind the faster you take down cocoon, the better.
Have everyone charmed, buffed, etc. before running up the ramp to the platform. Alternatively, you can plop down a campfire as soon as you enter the platform and charm there, but make sure to position any poison circles away from the fire and that no one starts attacking the boss.
On the final platform, you'll see Shandra's cocoon in the center of the room, in addition to two talon-claw things floating on each side of her. Outside of the inner circle, there are four invincible pylons spaced around the platform that will spawn monsters over the course of the fight. When a teleportal is about to spawn mobs, red-orange sparks will appear around its orb. The monsters that will spawn from these teleportals have very very very high endurance, meaning it is not feasible nor in your best interest to waste your time, MP, and HP killing them. Leave them to the healer, and never use skills on them. Also remember that despite their size, these mobs are not BAMs and will NOT trample you (damage you when they walk over you). Only the orisk BAMs that spawn near the end of cocoon phase are actual BAMs and can trample, so it's safe to just focus on dodging attacks if the normal mobs ever get near you.
For the sake of clarity, I'll be labelling the lighter-colored platform/ring area next to the cocoon as the Inner Circle and the darker-colored area outside that with the four teleportals as the Outer Ring.
Cocoon Phase (Phase 1)
HEALERS need to pay special attention to this entire section. It's your chance to actually do something in a dungeon! Both mystics and priests have support skills they can use to pull healing aggro on the mobs that will spawn in over the course of this phase. Since killing them is both a bad idea and would take forever, you need to keep their attention off of the rest of your party while they break the cocoon. See the following table for skills that should be used to keep aggro on yourself:
| Mystic | Priest |
| Arun's Vitae | Heal Thyself |
| (when needed, Titanic Wrath) | (when needed, Healing Immersion) |
| (if really needed, Titanic Favor) | (if really needed, your other heals) |
Stick to just the first two skills listed if you can help it. Remember that during this phase, your job is to keep aggro, not to heal your party members. Their job is to be competent enough on their own to survive cocoon phase via just consumables (and your Arun's Vitae motes/Blessing of Baldur). Your primary use of your targeted heals if you ever do is to pull aggro, not to heal party members, and only if you really need to do so (you should be fine with just the skills listed). If you're confident in your abilities though and you have no problems with kiting, feel free to help out your party a bit. If a party member runs to the Outer Ring at low health, drive-by heal them with any of your skills if you're not having trouble with mobs.
The first one to even touch the cocoon should be the HEALER. HEALER will auto attack the cocoon once so that your charms activate (make sure you at least have infused charms), then make your way to the Outer Ring. Four mobs will spawn in the Inner Circle. Immediately grab aggro with one of your support skills and begin kiting them around the platform. As soon as you are out of combat, mount up and lead the mobs around the Outer Ring, dismounting only to cast more support skills to keep their aggro on you. It is imperative that you keep aggro (hence the Threatening Cruxes) off your party members attacking cocoon, as this will not only keep your damage on cocoon up and make this annoying phase go faster, but also make your party less prone to dying to the mobs/poison/cocoon.
Throughout the fight, at 80%, 50%, and 30%, you will see a message appear on-screen that says "Teleportal, open! Come to me, my minions!". One phase of teleportal activations will start and one of the teleportals around the platform will begin to spawn mobs. The first group of mobs will always spawn from the southern-most pylon (check your minimap), and the rest of the groups in that wave will spawn from the other teleportals in a counter-clockwise fashion. Remember, mobs will appear at that teleportal five seconds after it activates, so dismount in preparation for the pull. Around three or four seconds after you see the first message you should dismount and keep running with a finger on your support skill; the moment you see them spawn in, pull aggro before remounting and kiting them along with the ones already on you. After a few seconds another will activate, so pull the mobs once they spawn in as well and keep kiting them around the platform on your mount. The teleportals will continue to activate in succession after four or so such mob teleports have occurred, so you'll generally want to keep your camera pointed in towards the center of the room so you can see if any new groups spawn in and if there are any aggro'd on your party. If your aggro support skills are on cooldown, tell your party so they're aware and can react appropriately. Do the same if you see your mobs aggro off of you onto a party member (usually from a sorcerer's Fireblast).
After a few sets of mobs spawn in, there will be another message that appears on-screen that says "Fanged gullets are on their way!". Five seconds after this message appears, a ring of fanged gullets will spawn on the border between the Inner Circle and the Outer Ring. Each gullet will aggro onto someone in the room, run over to them, stop moving, and drop a green poison circle on the floor that lasts around 10 seconds. In addition to the actual ticks from just standing in the circles, absolutely anything that walks through this poison circle will get a debuff that ticks for 7% of their health every second. If you accidentally step in one, there's a good chance you're dead if you don't get the heck out of it. The aggro period for these gullets is limited, and only skills cast in a one or two second interval after they spawn can pull their aggro.
These fanged gullets are the pretty much the only chance you have to kill the mobs that you are kiting. As with the teleportal message, gain some distance from the mobs you are currently kiting and dismount a bit before the five seconds are up. Keep running and have your camera pointed into the center of the platform with one finger on your support skill. As soon as you see the gullets spawn, cast a support skill and pull their aggro. Once you've grabbed some (hopefully all of them), remount and continue kiting. These gullets are faster than your mount speed, and will eventually catch up. This is a good thing however, since they will stop and drop a poison circle once they do.
Your task is to position the gullets that are aggro'd onto you in a way that you can run the mobs you are kiting through their circles enough that they get killed from the gullet poison debuff. If they just run through the poison once, it won't be enough, so you need to kite them through the gullets in a way that you can double them back over the circles a second time. Remember that you don't have a lot of time to do this before the circles despawn. The optimal situation would be to kill all of the mobs currently on the platform with gullet poison. For obvious reasons, be careful not to get hit by one of the mobs or, even worse, run through gullet poison.
The mobs teleporting in at 90% consist of Destroyers (spin2win guys with swords) & Wendigos (big blue things with cudgels), which are thankfully very easy to kite and kill. The mobs at 60% consist of Wendigos like the first wave, but instead of Destroyers you get Brutes (red football players), a far more annoying type mob (when enraged they run faster than a 280 mount, fun stuff). Like the first however, kiting and killing them with gullets shouldn't be hard; if any survive the gullets though they'll likely be enraged, so keep hauling ass. The last wave at 30% will spawn one orisk BAM (that tramples) and more of the Destroyers from first platform. You'll want to be careful when killing the BAM with gullet poison so that you don't get trampled and put into combat.
If you're having trouble killing with the gullets, you can try my tactics.
lostguru's GULLET RODEO
The key to positioning gullets is to space them out quickly so that you have a nice amount of surface area you can run kited mobs through quickly. You need to keep in mind though that the mobs you kited will continuously be catching up to you as you slow down to position gullets. The best way to do so is to inch forward on your mount by tapping a directional key so that the gullets gradually catch up to you and form a nice line of poison circles behind you.
For groups that consist of only normal mobs, as soon as all the gullets following you have stopped to cast their poison, double back on one side of your line of poison circles. Once most of the normal mobs you were kiting are behind you where you just were, quickly dismount and Teleport Jaunt/Backstep across your line of poison circles. If you are nervous about doing this, you can make yourself a small gap in the line when you initially position the gullets (highly recommended if you are a priest). If it's big enough, you can even just stay mounted and ride through the gap; however these poison circle hitboxes are deceptively huge and you sometimes clip them even if it may seem you are nowhere near them. Your dodge's invulnerability frames save you from having to deal with that bullcrap. Setting up a gap is also rather helpful as a priest as Backstep's range is not as long as Teleport Jaunt's. Once across, remount if you haven't already and continue doubling back on the other side of the line this time. Once you reach the end of it you can circle around the first gullet that popped to hopefully poison anything remaining you may have missed.
In general, once you have the above strategy down, you'll be able to kill all of the mobs on the platform aggro'd onto you regularly. If you were able to successfully do so, great job! You can use this brief respite to heal, rebuff, and/or resurrect your party members (if you feel your life is in danger though, get the hell out). Do this until the next message shows up on-screen and you resume mob kiting duties. If there are still mobs alive, don't panic. Make sure you still have aggro on them and keep kiting until the next wave of mob teleports.
Crowds with an orisk BAM however are a bit more tricky. More often than not, you may need to use your dodge as a way to get past the orisk so that it doesn't trample you and put you into combat. Just like with a crowd of normal mobs, space the gullets out on your mount. No need for any gaps here. Start doubling back on one side of the gullets. As you pass the BAM, use your dodge to keep doubling back in safety. Again, you can stay mounted if it feels safe to do so, just be wary of the orisk BAM's hitbox. Priests may need to Backstep slightly away from the BAM rather than right along the poison circle line like mystics can with their Teleport Jaunt. Remount and circle around your gullet line as usual until the BAM and the rest of the mobs succumb to gullet poison. This wave of mobs is rather troublesome, so if anything, make sure that at least the BAM dies to gullet poison, since its trample and damage are dangerous.
For the BAM crowds, it may help to condense the line a bit so that it's somewhat shorter and you have a longer period of time to circle back around the beginning. It may also help for these crowds to slightly curve your line of gullets inwards to the center of the platform and to circle back on the outside to give mobs a better chance of running through gullet poison twice. Additionally, this tactic can be a reliable alternative to the first if you are having trouble dodging across your line of poison or don't have many gullets on you.
As a last note to mob kiters, remember that your party will occasionally be running to the Outer Ring to drop the cocoon's poison circles there as well. It's your job to avoid them, not their job to position them better, so be sure not to run through them accidentally (more on that below). It's also worth mentioning that the teleportals have a collision box that only applies to you and not the mobs you are kiting. In short, watch where you're going.
TANK & DPS should wait until the healer has activated his/her charms before going in to attack it. Your job during this entire phase will be to kill the cocoon. Ignore all mobs and BAMs that spawn and avoid hitting them with skills. If they run through center, stop attacking and wait for them to pass by before resuming. If you do happen to pull some, stop attacking, head to the Outer Ring, and kite them around until the healer can pull them off of you. When fanged gullets are about to spawn in, do your best not to hit them so that the healer can pull them to kill mobs.
It is important remember that the healer is busy kiting mobs. EXPECT NO HEALING. AT ALL. If you get hit, use consumables liberally (and run to the Outer Ring to grab a mote if your healer is a mystic). You can even just hang out in the Outer Ring for a while and bandage up once you're out of combat. For the same reason, you'll want to do your best to STAY ALIVE. The more of you alive there are, the more damage you will be dealing and the faster cocoon phase will go. I'll be listing the cocoon's moveset and attack patterns in a bit, but there is a more pressing concern you all will need to deal with during this phase.
Shandra has two lock-on attacks, one of which will absolutely destroy parties if they cannot deal with it.
Poison Circle - Shandra will target a player and an orange ring will show up around him/her. This circle will follow you around as you move, and after around five seconds, it will drop a pink circle that lasts a realllllllllly long time (a few minutes). Walking through this circle will not only tick you hard, but also give you a bleed debuff (Programmed Bleeding) that halves your movement speed and deals constant damage over time for 15 seconds. On the plus side, the circle won't activate immediately, so you don't need to dodge out of it when it drops, just walk out of it after you position it and resume attacking (save your dodges for the important stuff).
If you allow these poison circles to drop near the cocoon, your melee dps will be unable to attack from that side. If you happen to be right next to cocoon (literally inside it) and let a poison circle drop on you, your melee dps party will be unable to attack from ANY side, as the poison circle will reach through the cocoon into range of anyone standing near it on the opposite side. For MELEE, as soon as you see an orange circle on yourself, cancel your attacks and get the hell out of the Inner Circle. If you aren't sure if it's on you or the guy next to you, get the hell out anyway. Carry the circle with you away from your party so that when it drops, it won't drop near any of your melee damage dealers at cocoon. Ideally you want to take the poison outside of the Inner Circle so they drop away from your melee and ranged damage dealers. RANGED, if the poison circle is targeted on you, reposition yourself so that the poison circles are grouped in clusters off to the side and your melee party members have a clear path to get out of the Inner Circle should they get targeted by poison as well. If you drop poison circles near any melee, warn them to not dodge in that direction. Be sure not to trap yourselves in a ring of poison circles when positioning them, and plan out where you're going to dodge so that you don't accidentally throw yourself into one.
Poison AOE - Shandra's other lock-on attack is an identical circle, except this circle will not follow you around as you move. Blockable. If you don't have a block, just move out of it until it's fired, then resume attacking. Getting hit by this will also give you the Programmed Bleeding debuff.
During both of these lock-ons, if you look at Shandra inside the cocoon, she'll have an orange reticule pointed at whoever she's targeting. Not too useful due to the time interval, but you can still call it out for your party that someone's got poison. You should be more focused on dodging attacks and watching to see if you have it on yourself though.
Shandra will hurl various other attacks your way over the course of the fight. While your main focus should be keeping poison circles out of the Inner Circle so that you can actually attack the cocoon, avoiding getting hit by these other attacks has obvious long-term benefits for your party.
Talons - The four talons floating around the cocoon will occasionally stab downwards and hit predefined areas inside the Inner Circle. There will be a very distinctive audio cue preceding every talon attack (like grating metal, you can't miss it). The talons will always strike in the same areas to the sides of the cocoon, so as long as you are out of these areas before the talons drop, you'll be fine. Blockable. Sometimes the talons will decide to fire off multiple times in succession, so be careful not to go back in too soon. There are two narrow safe zones right in front of and behind the cocoon (not relative to Shandra inside the cocoon, but relative to the cocoon itself), so try and stand there as melee. In these two spots there will be a sort of face decoration at the base of the cocoon. If you're dealing your melee damage in front of either of these two faces, you won't need to worry about dodging Talons at all.
Arrows - Shandra will target someone and four light-blue arrows will appear on the floor surrounding the cocoon. Two will appear first directed towards and away from the player, and a second pair will appear on both sides of the cocoon. Blasts of energy will follow the directions these arrows point, so move accordingly. If there is a long interval between these two sets of arrows, the four blasts will reach out all the way to the edge of the Inner Circle, so ranged damage dealers need to pay attention as well. If there is a short interval between the two sets of arrows, the coming blasts will only extend for a few meters (this one with short intervals usually only happens after the previously mentioned Poison AOE locks-on to a player in melee range). When you hear/see the talons about to come down, two sets of long arrows will soon follow, the second set pointing 45 degrees from the first. All arrow blasts are blockable.
Fence - Shandra will start sticking fencepost-like things in a small circle around cocoon (not damaging). After the circle has formed, anything inside it will get hit by an AOE that stuns the player. Blockable. If you get hit by the Fence's stun, you'll usually get killed by the attack that follows it, so make it a point to avoid getting hit. Shandra actually starts swimming in a circle inside the cocoon right before Fence starts casting (this isn't exactly a reliable tell, but it's something to notice).
Tick - Shandra will target a small circle near the cocoon and plop down an AOE that lasts a few seconds and constantly ticks you for damage. Blockable; if you don't have a block you should just be staying outside of the circle until all the ticks have finished. This attack can occur independently, but will always follow Fence.
Donut - Shandra will target the entire Inner Circle except for a small circle inside near the cocoon and unleash a damaging AOE donut attack. Blockable, but it hits hard. If you are a melee class and you are close enough, you should be going in close to the cocoon inside the safe zone to avoid the donut and keep up the damage. If you are ranged, you should be backstepping outside of the Inner Circle. This attack usually follows Tick but will sometimes happen randomly out of the blue. Melee classes who try and run outside of the donut usually get killed, as do ranged classes who don't backstep because they are animation-locked. Melee classes should simply stay inside the donut to not get hit. Ranged should keep in mind that the Tick usually precedes this attack, and then save Fireblast or Rain of Arrows for when after the donut has finished so that you are not caught in their animations.
When you first start off the fight, there will be many many many poison circle lock-ons. Focus on positioning these safely. They will decrease in number as cocoon health gets lower and lower.
Below 30% health, Shandra's attacking frequency will decrease dramatically. If there are party members who are dead or without charms, stop attacking the cocoon BEFORE you hit 5% health (8-10% is a good stopping point). This is a good opportunity to resurrect dead party members (if there aren't many mobs remaining after the last batch of gullets). If there are only a few left, the party can finish them off with any poison or DoT skills (the high endurance of these mobs makes normal skills take a while to kill them), then have the healer go resurrect anyone (the tank can help out here by blocking on top of the healer while he/she is ressing someone). If there are too many mobs alive you can have someone else pull aggro and kite while the healer resurrects people. Once everyone is up, recharm and SWITCH CRYSTALS to whatever you will be using during phase two (more on this later) before burning the cocoon (healer should regain aggro on any remaining mobs beforehand). As soon as you hit 5%, the platform will soon spawn a huge horde of mobs and BAMs that will attack everyone. Burn the cocoon down before they get to your party. The healer can try kiting them but it's not really necessary since they die as soon as the cocoon dies. If you have trouble with this last burn, I worry greatly for your party.
CRAP, WE SCREWED UP
If you are not the mob kiter and you aggro some of the mobs accidentally...
...stop attacking. Get to the Outer Ring and kite your mobs around until your healer pulls their aggro off of you. Resume cocoon attacks.
...stop attacking. Get to the Outer Ring and kite your mobs around until your healer pulls their aggro off of you. Resume cocoon attacks.
If you are the mob kiter and you get put into combat while kiting...
...get out of that crowd. Shara's Lash or Fiery Escape, use your Scroll of Dash, if you got poisoned, use consumables until you're in a safe enough position to use your own cleanses and heals. Get out of combat as soon as you can before you resume kiting. If you need help, call it out to your party. They can use stuns and slows to give you some distance.
...get out of that crowd. Shara's Lash or Fiery Escape, use your Scroll of Dash, if you got poisoned, use consumables until you're in a safe enough position to use your own cleanses and heals. Get out of combat as soon as you can before you resume kiting. If you need help, call it out to your party. They can use stuns and slows to give you some distance.
If the healer dies while kiting mobs...
...have the tank pull aggro on the mobs and kite them around the room while the healer gets resurrected. A sorcerer might actually be a better alternative for kiting though, more on that later.
...have the tank pull aggro on the mobs and kite them around the room while the healer gets resurrected. A sorcerer might actually be a better alternative for kiting though, more on that later.
If you are not the mob kiter and some gullets aggro onto you...
...see if you can kite them so that they drop somewhere in the Outer Ring so that your mob kiter has a chance to perhaps run some stray mobs through them. If they're already stopped on you however and you're in the Inner Circle, you can try and kill them before they drop their poison (they have fairly low health). If there are too many though your best bet is to just get the heck out and wait until they disappear on their own.
...see if you can kite them so that they drop somewhere in the Outer Ring so that your mob kiter has a chance to perhaps run some stray mobs through them. If they're already stopped on you however and you're in the Inner Circle, you can try and kill them before they drop their poison (they have fairly low health). If there are too many though your best bet is to just get the heck out and wait until they disappear on their own.
If you're attacking cocoon and you know you're about to die from a poison debuff...
...get to the Outer Ring. It is far easier to resurrect players who are in the Outer Ring compared to inside the Inner Circle. Don't forget you have consumables. In general, if you're low on health in the Inner Ring it's best to just get out of there and use bandages or something to get yourself back in shape (below half health is a good indicator).
...get to the Outer Ring. It is far easier to resurrect players who are in the Outer Ring compared to inside the Inner Circle. Don't forget you have consumables. In general, if you're low on health in the Inner Ring it's best to just get out of there and use bandages or something to get yourself back in shape (below half health is a good indicator).
If party members attacking cocoon are dead...
...keep in mind that you may want to save your resurrection scrolls for the actual boss fight coming up (and the healer if he/she dies during mob kiting). If the mob kiter is successfully able to kill all of the mobs on the platform with gullets, tell the party to hold off on killing cocoon so you don't bring her down to the next mob teleport percentage. Hopefully you're dead in the Outer Ring rather than inside near the cocoon, as this will put the healer at much less risk to resurrect you. If there are still mobs alive, your party can either keep burning cocoon until after the next round of fanged gullets and hope all the mobs die then, or have the tank or a sorcerer pull aggro and kite the mobs while the healer resurrects party members. Do remember as well that past 30% Shandra's attack frequency will lower, so it might be better to just wait until then for a resurrect. If even then there are too many mobs alive, have the healer resurrect you as soon as the cocoon dies right before the Shandra boss fight starts and recharm and crystal as soon as possible.
...keep in mind that you may want to save your resurrection scrolls for the actual boss fight coming up (and the healer if he/she dies during mob kiting). If the mob kiter is successfully able to kill all of the mobs on the platform with gullets, tell the party to hold off on killing cocoon so you don't bring her down to the next mob teleport percentage. Hopefully you're dead in the Outer Ring rather than inside near the cocoon, as this will put the healer at much less risk to resurrect you. If there are still mobs alive, your party can either keep burning cocoon until after the next round of fanged gullets and hope all the mobs die then, or have the tank or a sorcerer pull aggro and kite the mobs while the healer resurrects party members. Do remember as well that past 30% Shandra's attack frequency will lower, so it might be better to just wait until then for a resurrect. If even then there are too many mobs alive, have the healer resurrect you as soon as the cocoon dies right before the Shandra boss fight starts and recharm and crystal as soon as possible.
SORCERER MOB KITERS
Sorcerers can be an alternative mob kiter. The way they pull aggro is through repeated Fireblast cancels, meaning they start the casting of Fireblast and then quickly cancel the animation by moving before it goes off and gets on cooldown (takes practice, try doing it before you actually enter the dungeon).
While it may seem like a good idea for learning groups to try this tactic out, I don't recommend it too highly. Though they can pull more aggro using this method than healers can, mob aggro should never be a problem during this phase in the first place (and will never be one once healers get used to doing so). Yes, your party will have the extra insurance in case they make a few mistakes. However, your group will also have much less dps on the cocoon, meaning the phase will last longer, and meaning you will have more chances to make mistakes. The party should get used to dodging and blocking attacks as necessary so they can become reliable party members (it's also good practice for the real boss fight coming up). Besides, one-shot attacks will always be one-shot attacks. Your party's also kinda screwed of the healer happens to die trying to heal and resurrect people.
There's no one to stop you from doing this, but if your goal is end-game content (aka. Hard Mode), this will build bad habits for your party.
That being said, sorcerers are more reliable as mob kiters in that their Fireblast aggro is much stronger than healing aggro (even without threatening cruxes). If they won't be kiting mobs, they're an excellent emergency kiter should the healer die.
Other than attacks receiving a significant damage and speed boost, there is not much to worry about in hard mode. If you can do normal mode cocoon without taking any damage whatsoever, you're ready for hard mode. Many of the cocoon attacks are now one-shot material, so having a healer at cocoon is useless. Don't get stunned by Fence lol.
As a mob kiter, you'll often find that mobs are still teleporting in when gullets come around. Just kill the mobs currently on you with the gullets and grab aggro from the new mobs as soon as possible and keep kiting. There is practically no recovery period in hard mode if your party's damage is up to par, so any dead party members during this phase are likely to remain dead for the rest of cocoon. Additionally, there will be two BAMs that arrive from the teleportals instead of just one, so handle them with care.
If the rest of the party has taken a beating, have the healer continue kiting while the rest go to a fire and recharm themselves (switch crystals to appropriate ones as well). The healer can always do this afterwards.
All party members except the healer (there will usually still be mobs left alive) should switch crystals, recharm, and reaffirm debuff positions before burning past the last 5%. Once the cocoon falls, healer should immediately change crystals as well and recharm, buff your party, and so on.
Berzerkers with low defense, be wary of using Fiery Rage during cocoon damage dealing, as doing so may allow Arrows to crit you through your Axe Block.
Shandra Manaya (Phase 2 | Boss #3)
Depending on how/what you do during cocoon phase, you generally won't have much time to prepare for anything. If you weren't able to recharm and prep up near the end of cocoon phase, get out of combat as quickly as possible after the cocoon dies and SWITCH CRYSTALS back to your queen build (again, more on this later). Recharm if you can, then nostrum & scroll up before heading back to your party to attack Shandra.
Double check that everyone is using their correct crystals (again, more on that below), and pop buff scrolls and nostrums before engaging Shandra.
A brand-new BAM means a brand-new moveset to learn. Yay.
Claw - Shandra will raise one of her front paws up and swipe downwards. It hits pretty far in front of her, so watch out. Blockable.
Tail - If you're behind Shandra and you see her turn her head and look at you, dodge to the side. Shandra will slam her tail down and then taser you with it. The hitbox for the taser reaches wide, but if you're at her side when it starts you won't get touched by it. Both the initial slam and the taser's multiple hits are blockable.
Lunge - Shandra will back up onto her hind legs and make a huge leap across the room targeted at someone. Dodge or just walk towards her or to the side rather than away from her, its distance is much longer than you think it is. Blockable.
Comb - Shandra will bring in her paw and swipe in someone's direction, launching a wave of energy (that looks like three combs in a row) at him/her. Has a narrow hitbox but hits hard and far, so watch out. Blockable.
Donut - Shandra will start hovering in the air and immediately launch two AOE attacks centered on herself. The first will be a donut. Melee classes should stay on the inside of the donut while it casts while ranged classes should dodge outwards. If melee happens to be on the donut AOE, either move to its inside or i-frame/dodge to its outside. The second AOE will be the small circle inside the donut, directly underneath Shandra. Now is the time for melee classes to use their dodge to get out of this second AOE. Both AOEs are NOT BLOCKABLE and must be dodged/avoided. For melee classes stay inside the donut until it fires off, then dodge out. Lancers can Backstep out after the first AOE fires off, warriors and slayers can Evasive Roll out, or use any of their movement skills if those are not available. Berzerkers should mainly use Lethal Strike; otherwise, Evasive Smash and Leaping Strike are possible alternatives. Ranged classes should dodge out of the donut area.
Curl - Also known as the bomb or the explosion. Other than boss mechanics, this is usually the attack that wipes learning groups. Shandra will let out a distinctive audio cue and curl her wings up around her. This is your cue to get the hell out of there. Immediately turn around and get at least 19m away from her. She'll let out huge waves of energy in a giant circle around her (18m radius) for a few seconds. If you're right next to her when this goes off, you're dead. If you get caught on the edge, then maybe you're dead. The Curl is NOT BLOCKABLE. You need to get out of there no matter what class you are. Ranged classes should be hovering at around 14m, so a simple Backstep and a little walking should take you out of that safely and quickly. Classes with a charge (lancer, warrior, slayer) should not immediately turn around and charge, as your charge may stop short on Shandra and screw you over (if your targeting reticule still has Shandra's hitbox inside it, you'll charge at her instead of out). If you want to charge out of it, dodge/walk away from the boss for a few meters before charging. Aiming your camera at the floor as well also decreases the chance your targeting reticule will pan over Shandra before you charge. Lancers who have their charge on cooldown (for some convoluted reason) can Backstep and walk to around 11m out before doing the first hit of Shield Barrage (4m) followed by Lockdown Blow (4m). Another option for warriors, slayers, and berzerkers is to use Leaping Strike (10m). You need to get 9m away from the boss first (with a dodge and/or walking) and then Leaping Strike the last 10m. Warriors can use the first cast of Rising Fury (5m) to gain ground as well. Slayers should Evasive Roll out if possible and Headlong Rush or activate Dash while running out for the Leaping Strike. If your Overhand Strike is off cooldown, you can chain that after Leaping Strike for some extra distance and immediately cancel into another Evasive Roll (if that is also off cooldown) for even more distance. Berzerkers must immediately block-cancel their attack and immediately activate Dash while running away for the Leaping Strike (this is literally their only way to get out of the Curl; Lethal Strike (7m) & Evasive Smash are possible alternatives for Leaping Strike). If you screwed yourself over and you won't make it out, save your dodge for right before the blasts hit you so that you might have a chance at i-framing out and surviving. Once you get more experienced, you can start watching the edge of the curl blasts. When the sparks on the edge of the blasts disappear, it is safe to head back in even if there is still a red aura remaining from the Curl. Don't try this during learning runs for obvious reasons.
Fence - Shandra will start building a circular fence in front of her around whoever is targeted (does not inflict damage). When it is finished forming, Shandra will land an AOE that hits anything inside the fence and immobilizes them (meaning you can't move from where you are, curable). Blockable. If you don't have a block, you need to get the hell out or invincibility frame it. If Shandra follows this with a Curl, or Donut (she usually does), you're pretty much dead if you can't move. Healers should watch for anyone in the Fence who gets hit so that they can cleanse the immobilize debuff off of them. If Shandra started an attack string with Fence, her next attack will almost always hit anyone immobilized (usually a Pool, Donut, or Curl), so make sure to avoid it.
Pool - Shandra will lock-on to a player with a moderately-sized circle. After a bit, she will throw down a pool of acid that will tick away at your health fairly quickly as long as you are inside it. The acid pool doesn't move after it has been thrown down. If you get targeted by a Pool, reposition yourself with just running (not dodging, just RUNNING) so that you are the only person in your party inside the circle, and wait. AFTER the acid has dropped onto you, get out of it, NOT BEFORE; if you dodge prematurely, you'll waste your dodge and end up having to walk out of the acid, assuming it doesn't kill you. The acid pool's got a radius of 10m, so a Leaping Strike or Teleport Jaunt will take you out of it easily. Otherwise, charge or dodge out as soon as it lands. Backstabbing is also an option (but don't do it too soon!). If you get targeted with Pool, try not to run into other party members with the circle and be sure to warn them early on that the circle is on you. If Shandra started an attack string with Pool, a single Fence will almost always follow.
Trample - Shandra will just start walking towards you. Stand still and block. If you don't have a block, stand still anyway. DO NOT DODGE. Save your dodge for what comes after. You will lose less health just standing still than you will trying to get away. Turn towards the boss before you stop moving for some additional frontal damage reduction. Assault Stance warriors can use Death From Above just as Shandra reaches you to avoid the damage.
Shandra also has a variety of secondary aggro attacks. If someone in your party gets that secondary purple aggro circle, one of the following attacks will occur targeted at him/her.
Grenade - Shandra will target a small circle on whoever got secondary aggro and hit that circle with an AOE. Blockable, but rather easy to avoid entirely if your monitor's not off.
Laser - Shandra will turn to face someone and her wings will come off her back and start to spin. This will be followed by a three-pronged laser that fires forward and has a huge range. Blockable. Once you're really experienced and familiar with this attack you can try standing in-between the lasers (stand in front of her legs), but this is recommended only as a last resort, since it's far easier and safer to just walk to the side and dodge out of them.
Bird - Also known as just flying, or UFO. Shandra will jump into the air and start flapping her wings. A large circle will appear under her as she flies towards whoever she targeted. She will then proceed to land, and anything inside the circle will get hit hard. Blockable. If she wasn't flying at you, it's generally better to get the hell out of the way. Shandra will usually follow up on this attack with one to three Lunges.
Dive - Shandra will dive underground and pop up next to whoever she locked-on to. This move DOES NO DAMAGE, so don't waste your dodge. This attack will always be followed by either a Pool or one to three Lunges targeted at the same person. You should save your dodges for those attacks. Do note that if all party members are within a certain range of her (around 15m), she will not even cast this attack at all. Because Dives cause Shandra to move erratically around the room, it'll take longer for you to kill her and it'll cause everyone in the room to have to scramble back into positions. Try to stay close to Shandra whenever possible.
Not getting hit by all of these attacks has a nice perk, other than not dying. There is an uncurable, green poison debuff called Argonic Metastasis that you get when you are hit by Claw, Lunge, Comb, Bird, Grenade, the initial downward slam of Tail, both hits of Donut, or any and all of Curl's ticks. If this debuff stacks 5 times (i.e. if you get hit by any of the previous attacks 5 times) before it times out, it will be replaced by another debuff called System Seizure (also uncurable) which will tick you for large amounts of health, usually killing you. If your healer is prepared, he/she might be able to save you. Otherwise spam potions and draughts. Even better, don't get hit by Shandra's attacks. If you see you have 3 or 4 stacks built up, play it safe for a while until the stacks disappear.
When possible, it's a good idea to try and keep Shandra near or at the center of the room, inside the Inner Circle. On occasions, Curls can trap party members stuck between Shandra and the edge of the room, leaving them nowhere to escape. If your party has a TANK, try and keep her near the center of the room.
There are three different boss mechanics your party will need to deal with. Each will be accompanied by an on-screen message. I'll go over each mechanic according to its corresponding message.
"A wave of evil washes over you." (DEBUFF/STAND-UP)
This is the debuff mechanic you probably keep hearing about in Manaya's Core. It starts when Shandra reaches 90% health, and will reoccur every 90 seconds for the rest of the boss fight. Whenever this on-screen message appears, Shandra will immediately turn towards whoever has aggro and go into a "stand-up" state where all damage she takes is reduced by half. She will then perform three consecutive AOEs centered on herself. I will be labelling these AOEs 1, 2, and 3 in the order that they hit.
When one of these AOEs hit, the ground that AOE covers will flash white with energy. After the white flash, it is safe to stand in that region if you need to dodge debuffs. The debuffs that each of these AOEs give are not curable, will last a total of 3 minutes, and continuously tick you for damage. If these debuffs time out on their own, their last tick will hit you for nearly all of your health (you're dead if you aren't topped off).
The above is an animated GIF that shows how the three debuff AOEs hit during the Shandra Manaya debuff/stand-up phase boss mechanic. When an AOE hits, the ground in that AOE area briefly flashes white.
AOE number 1 will come first. It will hit in a 5m radius circle directly underneath Shandra. It will give you the "Greedy Thought" debuff and also hit you for 20,000 of your health. The area outside of the circle is the safe zone for this AOE. If you have the "Desperate Thought" debuff, it will be removed upon receiving "Greedy Thought".
AOE number 2 follows a few seconds after 1. It will hit as a 5m inner 10m outer radius donut directly outside of AOE number 1. It will give you the "Hateful Thought" debuff and also hit you for 20,000 of your health. The area inside the donut where AOE 1 hit before is a safe zone, as is the area outside the donut. If you have the "Greedy Thought" debuff, it will be removed upon receiving "Hateful Thought".
AOE number 3 follows a few seconds after 2. It will hit THE ENTIRE MAP directly outside of AOE number 2 (anything 10m away from Shandra). It will give you the "Desperate Thought" debuff and also hit you for 20,000 of your health. The areas where AOEs 1 and 2 hit before are both safe zones (aka the 10m radius circle inside 3). If you have the "Hateful Thought" debuff, it will be removed upon receiving "Desperate Thought".
Following these three AOEs, Shandra will immediately check to see that each of those three debuffs is on at least one person in the party. If any of these three debuffs from the AOEs are missing. Shandra will do an "Insufficient" Curl (you'll see the message in the middle of your screen) that will hit the normal range and also automatically give everyone in the party the System Seizure debuff. This is essentially a wipe (to have even a chance of surviving, get the hell away from her and attempt to heal through the subsequent ticks with your consumables).
Basically in order to avoid this wipe, three members of your party need to purposefully get hit by one of the AOEs each. No dodging. No blocking. No invulnerability frames. They need to stand still in the AOEs and get hit so that they take their respective debuffs. In order to avoid the last tick of the debuff, during the next stand-up each of those three players will need to cycle AOEs so that they can overwrite their old AOE debuff with their new one (taking the same debuff twice will not refresh its timer). This cycle will repeat throughout the rest of the boss fight.
This is where armor crystal selection becomes a factor. You need to deal with both Shandra's moveset attacks as well at the 20,000 instant damage from taking a debuff each time. Anarchics will help out in case you get hit by Shandra, but Relentless will give you a better chance of surviving should you be taking debuffs and your healer is not in time to heal you. If your healer is confident in his/her abilities, everyone can stick with full Anarchic crystals; the same goes for if party members feel that they're going to get hit often by Shandra's attacks. If the healer is learning as well however, having the debuff takers go Relentless isn't a bad idea. Of course, you can always go for a combination of these crystals if you can't make up your mind (half and half or something).
Depending on your class, you may have some skills that will allow you to reduce the amount of damage you or your party members take from the debuff. Lancers can Iron Will to take less damage themselves, and Pledge of Protection to reduce some of the damage taken by party members. Sorcerers can cast Mana Barrier to take less damage themselves. Priests can Kaia's Shield to have the party and themselves take less damage. Mystics can lay down a Warding Totem to have the party and themselves take less damage.
The other party members who are not taking a debuff (the tank and healer in most cases) will be skipping debuffs instead every time there is a stand-up. This means not getting hit by any of the three AOEs. The easiest way to do this is to wait in the area of AOE 3 for 1 & 2 to go off, and then walk inside into the big circle before AOE 3 goes off. If you're in doubt, follow the white arrows that appear on the ground. They will tell you where to go in order to not get hit by a debuff AOE.
To organize debuff phases in a manner that is clear and not confusing, you'll want to designate certain people in the party to take debuffs beforehand. They will usually be the three DPS classes in the party (the rest of this section will assume that is the case). Tanks and healers should still know how debuffs work however, and be prepared to take one of the AOEs in case a party member dies. Designate either the tank or healer as primary or secondary backup debuff taker for moments like these in case a DPS is dead.
We'll call these three debuff takers A, B, & C. A will start on AOE 1, B will start on AOE 2, and C will start on AOE 3. When Shandra does her stand up and you see that message, A will stand in AOE area 1 and get hit by it to receive the debuff. B will wait in AOE area 2 to receive that debuff. And the same with C in area 3. Now A must take AOE 2 next, B must take 3 next, and C must take 1 next; this means that during the next debuff cycle, C will stand in AOE area 1 and get hit by it to cycle his/her debuff. A will stand in 2, and B will stand in 3. For the next stand-up, B will be on 1, C will be on 2, and A will be on 3. Each person will be cycling debuffs in this 123123123 order for the rest of the fight, just at different points in the order.
The above is an animated GIF that shows where the three debuff takers should go during the Shandra Manaya debuff/stand-up phase boss mechanic. Depending on what color debuff you have, you will go to the corresponding AOE. If you're still puzzled, think of each individual box as a player and just follow that player through multiple debuff phases.
If you find actual examples easier to understand, here's one:
Let's suppose that we have a warrior, slayer, and sorcerer as the dps members of a party. Before the fight begins, you will pick amongst yourselves which AOEs to start out on.
Say the warrior decided to start on AOE 1, the sorcerer on AOE 2, and the slayer on AOE 3. During the first stand-up at 90%, the warrior would stay next to the boss and get hit by 1, then STAY NEXT TO THE BOSS so he/she doesn't accidentally get hit by AOEs 2 or 3. A few seconds later, the sorcerer standing just outside of that in AOE 2 would get hit by that and take the second debuff, then STAY NEXT TO THE BOSS so he/she doesn't accidentally get hit by AOE 3. Finally after a few more seconds, the slayer standing outside both of those circles will get hit by 3 before coming in to attack the boss.
Now each of those players has a debuff. They now need to take the next AOE in the cycle in order to replace their debuff and prevent the party from wiping. During the next stand-up 90 seconds later, the slayer, who took 3 last time, needs to go in close to the boss and get hit by AOE 1 to replace his/her debuff with the next in the cycle, then STAY NEXT TO THE BOSS so he/she doesn't accidentally get hit by AOEs 2 or 3. The warrior, who took 1 last time, now needs to get hit by 2, then STAY NEXT TO THE BOSS so he/she doesn't accidentally get hit by AOEs 2 or 3, and the sorcerer, who took 2 last time, now needs to get hit by 3.
This will once again replace their debuffs, and during the next stand-up, they will cycle AOE positions again (sorcerer takes 1, slayer takes 2, warrior takes 3), and keep doing this repeatedly until the boss fight ends. This of course applies to any class that take debuffs, whether it be three different classes or whether the tank and/or the healer are taking debuffs as well.
If you happen to have a temporary lapse in memory, you can check your debuff bar to see what number AOE you are on next. The three debuffs that these AOEs give you will look identical except for their color.
The easy way to remember what AOE you are on (if you forget) is to look at that color. If your debuff is RED, you are now on AOE 1 during the next stand-up. If your debuff is WHITE/TAN/BROWN/BAIGE/COLORSAREHARD, you are now on AOE 2 during the next stand-up. If your debuff is GREEN, you are now on AOE 3 during the next stand-up. There should be one of each color debuff spread throughout your party after each stand-up. Otherwise, you've screwed it up. If the red and white debuffs are hard to tell apart, keep in mind that the skull on the red debuff has horns, while the white skull doesn't. Be sure you don't confuse the AOE debuff with the aforementioned green stackable poison debuff (Argonic Metastasis) that you receive if you get hit by some of Shandra's attacks.
Think of it this way. If you have a red debuff, during debuff phase you need to go danger close (AOE 1). White should go to the middle (AOE 2), and green should go far away where you have the illusion of safety (AOE 3). Even more simply, red is on 1, white is on 2, green is on 3.
During debuff phases, you can help your team if you're taking debuffs by staying in your AOE ring and circling around Shandra to her backside (with the exception of the tank). Once in position, stand still until you've taken your debuff. Not only does this give you more time to go for backcrits after you've taken your debuff, but it also makes it easier for your healer to find you, since they'll know to wait with their heals behind the boss.
When taking debuffs remember to actually WAIT UNTIL YOU'VE TAKEN THE DEBUFF before moving to attack the boss. Watch your debuff bar, and wait until the actual debuff changes color to the next one in the order before continuing with your damage dealing. Additionally, be careful not to take 1 or 2 and then accidentally run outside of the circles and snag 2 or 3 instead. When in doubt, stay inside your ring until the entire stand-up is over and all three debuff AOEs have been cast.
If you happen to have voice-chat, communicate with your party right after and before each stand-up and make sure everyone knows what position they are taking next (something quick and simple like "I'm on 3." "I'm on 1." "I'm on 2." or even just the number itself). If people have conflicting numbers, resolve the issue quickly. If you don't have voice-chat, quickly type out the number of the debuff you'll be taking in party chat (make sure you don't typo). Miscommunication and misunderstandings during the debuff cycle can be said to be the number one causes of wipes, especially among learning groups. DPS classes need to remember what number they are on next (don't rely on your party members to remember for you), and be ready for it (for instance, if you're on 1 next, don't be a mile away from the boss right before stand-up). In case you die, you also need to be able to call out what number you were on so that a backup party member can take the debuff in your place and prevent a wipe.
In addition to her normal debuff cycle every 90 seconds, Shandra will also perform so-called "forced" debuff cycles at 50%, 30%, and 20% health.
Occasionally, these forced debuffs will coincide with Shandra's normal debuff rotation so that two consecutive debuff cycles happen in a row. If this happens, it is highly recommended to entirely SKIP the second debuff cycle if one just already happened. Not only will this lessen the load on your healer, but your party will also get in some free extra damage while Shandra is busy standing up and casting her debuff AOEs. When skipping debuffs, all party members should NOT stand in an AOE while it is casting. This usually means having everyone wait in area 3 for AOEs 1 and 2 to go off (both regions flash white) before running in to avoid AOE 3, deal damage, and rebuff. If you're completely lost and aren't sure how to skip debuffs, FOLLOW THE ARROWS. The arrows drawn on the floor in each of the AOEs will tell you what areas to stand in to skip debuffs.
Once melee damage dealers get comfortable with debuff cycles, when skipping a debuff, they can wait inside AOE 2 for 1 go off, and then dodge inside to 1 before 2 goes off for a few extra seconds of damage dealing time. As soon as the second set of arrows appears, dodge inside (study the previous GIF before you actually try this). Don't try this on learning runs for obvious reasons.
CRAP, WE SCREWED UP
If a party member accidentally takes a debuff with the others and he/she wasn't a debuff taker...
...there are two options. The first is just to have them continue cycling debuffs with the rest of the debuff takers until the end of the fight (or until they die). This gives the healer a little more work. The alternative is to just wait until the debuff times out on its own. If you choose to do the latter, the healer needs to make sure that the party member in question is fully topped off in health right before the debuff ends. It will hit for nearly all of his/her health, so cast another heal right after. Use consumables as necessary. The latter method is riskier for obvious reasons.
...there are two options. The first is just to have them continue cycling debuffs with the rest of the debuff takers until the end of the fight (or until they die). This gives the healer a little more work. The alternative is to just wait until the debuff times out on its own. If you choose to do the latter, the healer needs to make sure that the party member in question is fully topped off in health right before the debuff ends. It will hit for nearly all of his/her health, so cast another heal right after. Use consumables as necessary. The latter method is riskier for obvious reasons.
If one of the debuff takers dies...
...have him/her call out what debuff he/she needed to take next. If they don't remember (tsk tsk), look at other party member debuffs and figure out which one is missing. If the healer can resurrect the dead party member in time, that's great and all, but ASSUME OTHERWISE. Have your backup debuff taker take the dead party member's place. If the dead party member wasn't able to resurrect, recharm, rescroll, and get back into the fight by the next debuff phase, then the backup debuff taker will be taking his/her place and the party member who died will be skipping debuffs until the end of the fight or until another one of the current debuff takers dies.
...have him/her call out what debuff he/she needed to take next. If they don't remember (tsk tsk), look at other party member debuffs and figure out which one is missing. If the healer can resurrect the dead party member in time, that's great and all, but ASSUME OTHERWISE. Have your backup debuff taker take the dead party member's place. If the dead party member wasn't able to resurrect, recharm, rescroll, and get back into the fight by the next debuff phase, then the backup debuff taker will be taking his/her place and the party member who died will be skipping debuffs until the end of the fight or until another one of the current debuff takers dies.
If two of the debuff takers die...
...same as above really, have both backups take their place, and assume they will be the ones taking debuff unless the others are back at the boss in time.
...same as above really, have both backups take their place, and assume they will be the ones taking debuff unless the others are back at the boss in time.
If the healer is dead during debuffs
...party members will need to use consumables to survive the 20,000 tick (make sure you have at least 20,000 HP before the debuff hits). The healer will be dead in one of the three AOE regions, so have the person taking the debuff in that region resurrect the healer while debuff is going on.
...party members will need to use consumables to survive the 20,000 tick (make sure you have at least 20,000 HP before the debuff hits). The healer will be dead in one of the three AOE regions, so have the person taking the debuff in that region resurrect the healer while debuff is going on.
"You think to hurt me? You'll have to touch me first!" (SHIELD)
This mechanic will come into play when Shandra reaches 70%, 50%, 30%, and 20% health (the latter three happen right after the forced debuff cycles). When this message appears, Shandra will immediately turn to face whoever has aggro at the moment and shake herself a few times. If you're a damage dealer, get behind her and save your big-hitting skills (pass the time with normal attacks or something to get some MP back, or start charging up your skills/casting buffs). Watch Shandra's buff bar. After a few seconds a blue shield icon will appear under it with a 15 second timer (Iron Wall).
As soon as you see this icon, unleash hell on Shandra. The blue buff Shandra just got is a 700,000 HP shield that you need to burn down in 15 seconds (otherwise you get an Insufficient Curl and wipe). If you succeed in burning the shield down quickly enough, the blue shield buff will disappear and you'll get a few seconds of free damage dealing. If you weren't fast enough, Shandra will curl up and wipe you guys.
Once this shield goes up, endurance debuffs cannot be refreshed until the shield is down. Lancers and warriors should do their best to keep their buffs stacked on Shandra before the shield goes up. The same goes to priests with Enfeebling Triple Nemesis.
Warriors should note that Edge cannot be built up or used while Iron Wall is up; any Edge you've built up will start to disappear as soon as the shield appears. However, Scythe will STILL consume that Edge if you use it before it disappears. As a warrior during shield phase, it's not a bad idea to quickly stack Edge as shield phase arrives, then Scythe as soon as the shield goes up.
During every shield phase after the first 70% one, Shandra will attack with two attacks in the middle of it, and almost always the same two attacks. The first is usually a Comb targeted at whoever has aggro. The attack will turn Shandra, who will immediately follow up with a Tail. If Shandra doesn't Comb, she will instead lay down a Fence, followed by a Pool targeted at whoever has aggro (make sure you don't drop this on party members so they can keep up the damage) before finishing off with a Tail. Position yourself accordingly.
Upon breaking the shield, Shandra actually becomes slightly more vulnerable to damage for a while. Keep piling damage and just be ready to dodge whatever she throws next at you (for instance a Donut or Curl).
"Great ones, lend me your powers!" (DISPEL)
This message is the HEALER'S job. This boss mechanic will start coming into play after Shandra reaches 50%. After this message appears, Shandra will immediately turn towards whoever has aggro and begin stacking a buff (Queen's Shriek, watch her health bar) with each roar she does.
If she successfully stacks this buff three times, the stacks will be replaced by an undispellable 30-second buff (Queen's Wrath) that triples the power of Shandra's attacks and gives a 20% boost to her attack speed.
You don't want that. And neither does your group.
The key to nullifying this phase are the three initial stacks. If at least one of these stacks is nullified, Queen's Wrath will not occur. You need to land your dispel on Shandra when she is at only one or two stacks of the debuff. As soon as the message pops up, lock-on with your Plague of Exhaustion (as a priest) or get close to the boss (as a mystic). WAIT until you see the first stack appear under her bar, then cast your skill (Regression for mystics, get comfortable with its range).
You may have heard others tell you to only dispel when Shandra is at two stacks. Don't bother, just dispel as soon as you see one of them pop up. The individual stacks themselves don't actually give her any buffs, as many people believe, so it's much safer to just take care of the problem as soon as you can.
The tank, or whoever has aggro in the party, can help out during this phase by moving around the boss from side to side. This will cause Shandra to turn towards the tank in-between each of her roars, giving your healer more time to dispel and your dps more time to bring on the pain.
Once you get Shandra past 8% health, if she does this phase again, the first roar will automatically give Shandra Queen's Wrath (but it will still last only 30 seconds). When you see her do her walk under 8%, she'll also automatically gain Queen's Wrath once she finishes the walk. The "walk" is when after you push her below 8%, she'll turn in the opposite direction she is facing and begin slowly lumbering across the room. Ideally you'll kill her before she can make use of the buff too much (the actual dispel phase makes for great back-crit damage dealing time), if not, try and gun her down during it or kite her until the 30 seconds is up (stay close enough for debuff/stand though in case she does that in the middle of this).
If for some reason your healer was too slow or fast on the dispel (or was dead), your best option is usually to just kite the boss around and stay alive best you can until Queen's Wrath runs its 30-second course. Whoever doesn't have aggro should try and resurrect the healer if he/she is dead. If your group is experienced enough however you can usually continue as normal and just be mindful of the more dangerous attacks for a while. Make sure not to spread out and go too far away from Shandra, because if debuff starts you've screwed everyone over.
All of these boss mechanics have an order of priority, in that if two or more of these mechanics need to occur, one will have priority over another and will happen first. The 8% Walk will ALWAYS take priority over all other animations. In other words, as soon as you push Shandra under 8%, she will finish whatever animation she was just doing and Walk. After Walk comes Debuff/Stand-up in terms of priority, then Shield, then Great Ones, then her normal moveset. If multiple things on this list need to happen at any given time, Shandra will queue up actions and perform them according to this order of priority.
Throughout the fight, TANKS should also be aware of their position relative to the boss and other party members. The goal is to have Shandra show her back to your damage dealers as much as possible. Bear in mind that other than her secondary aggro skills, Shandra will turn towards you prior to her stand-ups, shields, and dispel phases, so try and always be on the opposite side of the boss relative to your party. Also remember that when Shandra does her walk at 8%, she will turn AWAY from you (if you have aggro) and start walking. Just as you push her below 8%, it's not a bad idea to get yourself onto the same side of her as your damage dealers so that you can all go for backcrits as she walks away from you all.
Lancers in the party should focus on keeping Debilitate up on the boss at all times to help out your damage dealers. Likewise, warriors should keep up Traverse Cut as well (and Combative Strike if you don't have a lancer in the group). Remember that during Shield phases, you will not be able to apply or restack debuffs on her, so make sure you refresh your endurance debuffs before the shield goes up.
Lancers can also Infuriate right as the fight starts and at around 30% health to give your party members the extra enraged damage from Focused crystals and weapon rolls while you burn her down.
While fighting Shandra, it's a good habit to always assume that her next attack is going to be Curl. This helps keep you on your toes, especially if you're learning the dungeon. Before you enter the dungeon itself, or before you get onto the platform, it's a good idea to practice getting out of Curl (remember, at least 19m).
Be wary of debuffs as well. Make sure you're always ready to get into position should a Debuff phase occur (when your debuff reads 2 minutes left, you should be prepared for a debuff cycle at any time). If you're skipping debuffs, make sure you're not on the other side of the map when outside of 1 and 2, since you will not have enough time to run back into the safe zone before 3 goes off. Stay near the border between 2 and 3 so that you can immediately walk in after 2 goes off.
Shandra has a 15 minute enrage timer now. Debuff phases now occur every 45 seconds and the debuffs player receive from them last 90 seconds. Forced Debuff phases still happen at 50%, 30%, and 20%, but the AOE debuffs will now hit you for 40,000 health, so Relentless crystals are essentially a must for everyone (most attacks one-shot now anyway so Anarchics aren't as useful). You are now no longer given a warning message at the beginning of each stand-up phase ("A wave of evil washes over you." no longer appears). Shield phases are still at 70%, 50%, 30% and 20%, but the shield now has 1,000,000 HP. Great Ones now happens every 50 seconds, so mystics and priests will need to glyph their offensive dispel for decreased cooldown. If you fail to dispel the stacks in hard mode, Shandra will gain the Queen's Wrath buff FOR THE REST OF THE FIGHT rather than for just 30 seconds. This also means that after 8%, the Queen's Wrath she gains right after her walk is also permanent. You'll need to gun her down immediately before she flips out, because she will be permanently flipping out from that point on.
Donut is now a one-shot. Laser is essentially a one-shot. Curl is essentially a one-shot (if your defense is crazy high with the new gear you can take just one tick of Curl and survive, but you'll often be near dead). Simply put, you need to be skilled at dodging everything at this point in time.
Shandra also has a new buff. At 50%, 30%, and 20%, right after her forced Debuff and Shield phases, you'll see a message flash on your screen that says "You must know you won't escape." and Shandra will receive an undispellable speed buff on her bar (Fevered Pitch). This buff will stack each time she does this, with each stack giving her a 10% boost in speed to all animations (even debuff phases). Donut becomes deadly at this point (remember that sound cues don't speed up with the animations, so don't rely on them too much to dodge stuff).
Going into Hard Mode, you should have zero problems with getting out of Curl and zero problems with Debuffs and Great Ones. No one should be getting hit by any tick of Curl, the party should not have to rely on others to tell them what debuff they are on, and the healer should have no trouble dispelling Great Ones.
Everything is faster in Hard Mode. Learning parties usually have the most trouble with the final burn (once they've learned how to dodge Donut that is). Your damage and boss uptime will need to be at its best as well, and remember to refresh scrolls and nostrums throughout the fight. While in Normal Mode you fought assuming the next attack would be Curl, in Hard Mode you should fight with the mindset that the next attack will always be Donut (for melee) or Laser (for ranged and healers).
Because of the shorter interval between debuffs now, you can somewhat predict when a stand-up is about to happen. When the white AOE debuff held by you or a party member hits 45 seconds left, a stand-up will occur after Shandra finishes her current animation. To prepare, keep an eye on the party member debuffs. When you see the debuff timers transition from the 1 minute to actual seconds (59, 58, 57, etc.), tell your party to get ready for debuffs in about 10 seconds.
All learning players, especially melee, will need to glyph for movement skill and dodge cooldowns and chances to reset. Donuts are usually what kills learning parties in hard mode, as the one-shot catches many people off guard, and the increased animation speeds as the fight goes on don't help at all. Slayers should watch out for the animation-locks that come with Heartthrust and Knockdown Strike. Berzerkers have an especially hard time with movement due to only having Evasive Smash as an i-frame ability. It is recommended that learning berzerkers play as if they were a ranged dps, and only go in for attacks during safe animations and Shield Phase. Thunderstrike, Cyclone, and Evasive Smash will pretty much be the only skills you use, since they can all be block-cancelled in case of a Curl or Donut (you can use your other skills freely during shield phase however, for obvious reasons). Sorcerers should make sure they don't get caught in a Fireblast animation-lock, as should archers with Rain of Arrows.
There is a way to kill Shandra so that if your damage is up to par, from 30% onwards she is locked into animations for you to just pile on the damage. This involves taking advantage of her forced Speed buff, Debuff, and Shield phases.
Before you hit 30% (at around 30.5% is a good stopping point), hold your damage. Watch the party member who took the white debuff. When that debuff hits 55 seconds remaining, pile on the damage and push her under 30%. This will cause her to do her forced Stand-up. Pile on the damage and take your relevant debuffs as necessary. Because you timed your burn before 30%, Shandra will follow this Stand-up with a second Stand-up. Have everyone skip this one and pile on the damage. Shandra will follow this with her forced Shield phase. Get behind her and get your backcrits in while you burn down the shield. Keep piling on the damage. At this point in time, Shandra will Speed buff, keep attacking her.
By now, you should have pushed her under 20%. This will cause Shandra to do her forced Stand-up, then another Stand-up from her normal cycle, and finally another forced Shield and Speed buff. Burn her throughout. Hopefully Shandra is past 8% by now when she'll do her walk. Otherwise she'll do a Great Ones, which you should wait for your healer to dispel off of her before you push her below 8%. After her walk, she'll probably do a final Stand-up (and then a Great Ones if you were fast enough) before flipping her feces. If you can burn her down within this time frame, you'll be fine.
As your party damage gets even better than that, you can actually start locking Shandra in animations straight from 50%, or even 70% and 100%, and start your burn from there!
You've probably heard about players two-manning Shandra and have wondered how the hell they survive debuff phase. This involves one player having two debuffs on his/her person, and the other having the last one. This also means that both players need to get hit by two debuffs each debuff phase. You can also use this tactic during learning runs if there are two more experienced people in the party who want to handle debuffs themselves.
Here's how it works. Designate someone to start out on AOEs 1 & 2. The other will start out on AOEs 1 & 3. During first debuff phase, the first person will get the debuff from AOE 1, which will immediately get erased when he/she gets the debuff from AOE 2 (leaving him/her with just the green debuff for AOE 3). The second person will take AOE 1 to get the white debuff, and then AOE 3 to get the red debuff.
Now what? Both players should now switch roles for the next debuff phase. Whoever has the green debuff should take AOEs 1 & 3 next, while the player with both the red and white debuffs should take AOEs 1 & 2 next. In our case, The first player with only the green debuff will get AOE 1 to erase the green debuff with a white debuff, and then go out for AOE 3 to get the red debuff. The second person with both red and white debuffs will get hit by AOE 1 to erase the red debuff, and immediately get hit by AOE 2 to erase the white debuff as well, leaving him/her with just a green debuff. Repeat this cycle of 1+2 & 1+3 for the rest of the fight.
Note: If you're taking 1 & 2, it's easy to just stand on the border between AOEs 1 & 2, as you'll get hit by both if you stand there. If you're taking 1 & 3, BE CAREFUL YOU DON'T ACCIDENTALLY GET HIT BY 2 ON YOUR WAY OUT. You have more than enough time to wait inside AOE 1 for 2 to go off before walking out to get 3.
Remember that two-manning debuffs on normal mode means that in total, both players will need to be healed for 40,000 damage each debuff phase. Healers will need to be vigilant and top everyone off beforehand, especially if they're one of the two players taking debuffs. In hard mode, this means 80,000 damage total. The player taking 1 & 2 in hard mode two-mans must immediately get healed after debuff 1, otherwise AOE 2 will kill them. Afterwards you can heal the other player before he takes 3. Also remember that for either mode, the person with two debuffs will be losing health fast from both debuff DoTs.
A rather simple way of remembering who's on what debuff would be the following. The player with TWO debuffs is doing a lot of work, so he/she can take a break during next debuff cycle and just STAND STILL ON THE BORDER OF 1 & 2. The player with only ONE debuff is a lazy bastard, so he/she needs to get off his/her ass and MOVE TO TAKE AOE 1 AND THEN RUN OUT FOR 3.
Also of note, for the very first debuff cycle, the person starting on AOEs 1 & 2 only needs to take 2. It's easier to just start off taking two debuffs each though, as this will get you used to it much faster.
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