Shattered Observatory

Introduction

After activating the Challenge Mode of the fractal, an orb will spawn on the platform ahead. Skorvald will not spawn until you interact with the orb, so players can drop down and pre-place traps on the location then portal back to the Mistlock Singularity.

Notable Instabilities
Mistlock Instability Adrenaline Rush	Particularly dangerous on Arkk, whose enraged can instantly wipe a group if not handled correctly.
Mistlock Instability Boon Overload	The extra boon duration means that the party’s boon supports can run more offensive gear/traits.
Mistlock Instability Flux Bomb	Flux bombs “fizzle” if the targeted player is sufficiently high off the ground. Upon reaching Space, jumping at the right moment (such that you are at the apex of your jump when the AoE would be dropped) will negate the attack entirely due to the lower gravity.
Mistlock Instability No Pain, No Gain	In a power group, the anomalies at Artsariiv and Arkk will be harder to kill due to the Protection, and so a single player may struggle to kill it in time.
Mistlock Instability Outflanked	Artsariiv is made much more dangerous with this instability thanks to the large number of adds running around.

Skorvald the Shattered

Recommended Sigils: Sigil of Superior Sigil of Force, Sigil of Superior Sigil of Impact

Condition builds should use their standard sigils and enhancements.

Recommended Utility: Stability

Pre-buff at the Mistlock Singularity and head down to start the fight. Skorvald spawns with a defiance bar (strength: 2200), so power groups will want to CC him immediately. Condi groups can delay a little to let condis build up, but Skorvald doesn’t have much health, and the six seconds of Exposed and Stun he gains from being broken can be long enough to phase him. If not broken, Skorvald performs the following attacks in order:

– Skorvald launches a bouncing ball towards players that splits into three smaller balls each time it hits the ground, bouncing four times as it travels to the edge of the platform. The impact sites leave burning AoEs behind that persist for 10 seconds, ticking for moderate damage and applying Agony. The AoEs land some distance from Skorvald so remaining in melee range will keep you safe.

and – Skorvald begins channeling an attack as several large conal AoEs radiate out from him every half second in an anti-clockwise pattern creating multiple overlapping zones. After three seconds the AoEs detonate in the order they appeared, dealing very heavy damage and applying Agony and Bleeding. Players should stay in front of the boss and as soon as the first AoE detonates, move to where it was and continue rotating as the AoEs detonate until everyone is behind Skorvald. This area is safe from his follow-up attack, – a large AoE that covers the whole arena apart from a small cone of safe space behind Skorvald. Like , it deals very heavy damage and inflicts Agony. If Skorvald has time to do multiple s in a phase, the safe zone may be in different locations.

After this, Skorvald fires another , then targets a player with – a rectangular AoE that inflicts moderate damage, Bleeding and Knockback. Skorvald will not move during this ability so it can be easily sidestepped.

– an ability that launches a spread of three AoEs very similar to . This can also be sidestepped but is a bit larger.

– Skorvald Swings his staff around his head and AoEs appear underneath each player. When the AoE fills, a shockwave erupts from Skorvald that inflicts a small amount of damage and Knockback. The shockwave can be jumped over, but the AoE will apply Burning to players within it unless it’s dodged or blocked.

→ → – Skorvald teleports to the edge of the platform and targets a player (indicated by a bomb icon above their head). He throws a bomb to that player that deals moderate damage, and then jumps to the same location and swings his staff, dealing a small amount of damage and Knockback. This attack also launches out a series of orbs that bounce around the edge of the arena, dealing moderate damage to anyone hit by them.

After this, Skorvald will perform:

→ → & → → → → → , then repeat.

After being broken, Skorvald will usually break from the above pattern for the next “loop” but should return to it afterward. Also, be aware that Skorvald can deviate from the pattern above for unknown reasons.

Split Phase 1 (66%)

At 66% health, Skorvald will become invulnerable and begin charging – An AoE slowly fills the platform, and when full, everyone will be instantly killed. The only way to survive is to follow the arrows and jump into a nearby wisp that will launch you to a small platform occupied by an Elite Flux Anomaly. After killing the Flux Anomaly, another wisp will spawn anti-clockwise from the platform that takes you to another. After each anomaly dies, a ball of fire will hit the platform, leaving a persistent searing heat AoE that ticks for moderate damage. There are a total of four platforms in total, and after killing the last one, you can take a wisp back to the main platform.

The anomalies have their own versions of , and so try to avoid these while killing them. As the wisps take a varying amount of time to propel you to the next platform, some players may find themselves landing in one of these attacks and risk being knocked off the platform to their death if they do not dodge immediately or use blocks or Stability. Be aware that will not end if the anomaly dies and can hit you while you are in the wisp with no way to avoid it. For this reason, it may be worth delaying your jump into the wisp if you see the AoE underneath you.

The second and fourth anomalies also have a jump attack called where they evade attacks for several seconds before jumping up and creating a shockwave where they land. On these platforms, players should be careful not to waste attacks while the anomaly can’t be hit, and they can avoid the shockwave by jumping or dodging when they see the anomaly jump.

Skorvald stops channeling , and becomes Exposed and Stunned for six seconds after the final anomaly dies, so it is common for groups to use a portal to instantly take them back to the main platform so they can start damaging the boss rather than waiting for the wisp to carry them. Very fast groups can immediately phase him to 33% here.

Phase 2

After the Stun ends, Skorvald will immediately use – he targets a random player and teleports to the edge of the platform, before charging across it, evading attacks and dealing moderate damage and Knockback to anyone in his path. He will repeat this charge attack three times (targeting the same player), before returning to the middle of the platform. It is quite difficult to damage him while he’s charging about as he can only be hit when he pauses between charges, so it may be best to focus on dodging his attacks and get ready to burst him once he returns.

Note: Skorvald’s defiance bar regenerates very slowly, so depending on how fast you were in the split phase, you may not be able to break him again immediately.

He uses a lot of the same attacks as in phase 1, but in a different order:

→ → → → → →

At some point during this sequence (it is unclear what triggers it), he will use – A random player is targeted by Skorvald with a large conal AoE that tracks their movement for three seconds. After this, the AoE will become fixed in place and a second later Skorvald slams his staff down inflicting heavy damage, Agony, Bleeding and Knockback. The safest way to deal with this is for the targeted player to wiggle in place slightly until it stops tracking them, then quickly dodge or move out of the AoE. This allows the other players to make sure they are not inside it.

After , Skorvald will follow up with & , then again.

Shortly after Skorvald reaches 50% health, a Solar Bloom will spawn and tether to the closest player. This bloom cannot be killed and will move directly towards the player. Any damage to the bloom will knock it away from the source of damage, and after 10 seconds it will in a large AoE, hitting players with very heavy damage, Burning and Knockback. If possible, players should position themselves on the opposite side of Skorvald so they can keep cleaving and knocking the bloom away at a safe distance.

Split Phase (33%)

This split phase is identical to the first.

Phase 3

As before, Skorvald is Exposed and Stunned for six seconds after killing the last anomaly. After the Stun ends, he will do nothing for four seconds and then go absolutely berserk. Shortly after the start of this phase, and every 20 seconds thereafter, a Solar Bloom will appear.

– Skorvald becomes Bigger Skorvald and starts flailing wildly, causing a rapid series of AoEs similar to to fire out of him in an anti-clockwise pattern, applying Agony and Burning instead of Bleeding. The AoEs are larger than the visual effect might suggest and there is no “safe spot” in melee range. Instead, players will need to keep an eye on the attacks and dodge past them as they get close (rotating anti-clockwise yourself can give you more time between dodges). This will continue for 20 seconds, and the defiance bar will be locked throughout, preventing you from ending the attack early. The first time this happens, Skorvald will hit players with Knockback as he transforms, so pre-casting Stability will help a lot.

After this, Skorvald teleports to the edge of the platform and performs – a large eye appears above his head that Blinds, Fears, and deals heavy damage and Agony to anyone looking at him, and a rectangular AoE covers the platform directly in front of Skorvald that will instantly down anyone caught in it (it can be blocked or dodged). A pale blue beam will connect you to Skorvald if your character is looking at him.

Next, he summons four Flux Anomalies at the edge of the platform. Every three seconds, one of them will charge at a player using and then disappear. Skorvald will continue attacking while this happens, teleporting back to the center and using some combination of , , and two new attacks:

– this is basically with a slightly different animation, but Skorvald will also rush towards his target, making it harder to avoid.

– The same attack the anomalies use, he will evade before jumping and releasing a shockwave that can itself be jumped or blocked, and deals a small amount of damage and Agony. The attack also launches out several s.

About a minute into the phase, Skorvald will repeat , throw a few extra attacks, then start the loop again with .

Note: Dead players should revive quickly after this fight, as the checkpoint will be updated shortly after the first player enters the next section, preventing them from being able to loot the bonus chest.

Spaaaaaaace

After defeating Skorvald, hop into the wisp that spawns to the east of the platform, and after a short cutscene you find yourself on a platform in space! You have gained a Special Action Key: Nova Launch, that allows you to bounce forward at speed while invulnerable.

Head along the only available path and turn left through a portal to end up on a platform populated by little golems. Move forward until the one at the far end panics and they all turn hostile. Destroying them all spawns another wisp that will take you up to fight an elite GL-XC S7L. Bringing it to 75% health will cause it to retreat and spawn a that drops to the floor and shatters. If a player is standing in the white AoE that indicates where it will land, it will instead bounce forward, refreshing the cooldown of Nova Launch for any player stood in it. The marble will bounce six times along the ground, then up on top of the lower rock, then the higher rock, then once more back to the ground – the next two bounce locations are indicated by white AoEs, with the direct next having the larger AoE. Due to the refresh, a single player can bounce the marble the entire course, but it is more typical for one player each to take the spots on top of the rocks, while a third handles the bounces at ground level.

Marble run (example)

An example of doing all bounces. The final jump is the hardest as you need to aim a further away than you might expect, to prevent a bad trajectory.

Show animation

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Once the full run is complete, the marble bounces off the platform, spawning another wisp to take you forward. Continue forward, defeating more golems and taking wisps, until you catch up with the elite. Destroy it for good and you will see the next boss on a floating platform ahead.

Take the Mistlock Singularity and head forward – you can pre-buff, but the fight takes a little while to start so short-duration buffs may run out. You can speed things up by having a player drop a portal near the mistlock, jump to the platform, open the portal, then take it back and quickly have everyone pre-buff and take the portal to the platform before it expires.

Speedrunning space

There are a few ways to make the section above quicker:

• If you have a Shining Blade Bounty Notice, you can activate it as you take the wisp and it will allow you to keep moving forward while others are stuck in the cutscene.
• At the first platform in space, if you aim your Nova Launch at the top of the archways, it will take you further.
• At the “puzzle”, a player can jump up to the higher rock, then use the tree to climb up to the peak of the spire. Then, by jumping and using the Nova Launch mid-jump, they can fire themselves into the boss platform from below, which will reset their position onto the boss platform itself. You can then portal your team up to you, or start the boss encounter and /gg to unlock the checkpoint next to the mistlock. Note that if you haven’t killed the golem, you will be bounced back towards the mistlock if you try to reach the platform directly from the checkpoint – instead, you will need to jump around it by jumping parallel to the platform (towards the rock where you just skipped from) and then using Nova Launch towards the platform.
• After the puzzle, you can ignore the golems and jump to the final elite by jumping off the edge and using Nova Launch mid-air while aiming at the top of the elite’s platform. This jump can be made easier by using the small rock beneath the tree roots immediately ahead of you when you exit the wisp.

Artsariiv

Recommended Sigils: Sigil of Superior Sigil of Force, Sigil of Superior Sigil of Impact

Condition builds should use their standard sigils and enhancements.

Recommended Utility: Crowd Control, Reflects and Stability

Artsaiiv is happily playing with her balls until you interrupt her by standing in the white AoE as it bounces around. After a quick word, she begins with

& – An attack very similar to Skorvald’s , with the exception that it fires three beams with the central beam aimed at a random player. As before, looking at it will hit you for heavy damage as well as Agony, Blind and Fear, and the beams themselves will deal twice the max health as damage of any player that does not dodge or block them. She does not move during this attack, so you can walk through her hitbox to avoid being hit by the beam – attacks that hit behind you can be used to get some early damage onto her.

Throughout this encounter, patterns of AoEs of varying sizes will spawn around the arena. These AoEs deal heavy damage and apply Burning, Confusion and Torment. There are few truly safe spots, so it’s best to take your time to avoid them as best you can rather than running about and getting hit by multiple of them.

Following , she will use to move to the northwest corner of the platform in a series of zig-zagging leaps that will deal heavy damage and Launch anyone in the way. She can be hit during this movement if you want to get some extra damage in. Her final teleport fires out a shockwave called Nightmare Discharge that inflicts Agony and Knockback, but deals no damage and can be jumped. Each time she finishes a leap, it spawns a mini clone of Artsariiv near that location. Upon reaching the corner she gains a defiance bar (strength: 2100). Breaking her will leave her Exposed and Stunned for eight seconds.

Shortly after she begins to teleport, a Temporal Anomaly will spawn in the center of the platform (coinciding with the shockwave attack), and at the same time a random player is targeted by . Killing the anomaly generates a bubble that will contain the explosion from . After 8 seconds, the will explode, and if the targeted player is not within the bubble, all nearby players will take 150% of their max health as damage. If any player other than the targeted one is within the bubble at the time of the explosion, they will take 75% of their max health as damage. Most groups should therefore stay and help kill the anomaly before chasing after the boss. If the anomaly will not die before goes off, the targeted player can /gg to nullify the attack (they will be automatically revived later). This mechanic repeats every 35 seconds, and will refresh the Nova Launch of the targeted player when detonated within the bubble. If the anomaly is dead, but the targeted player cannot make it to the bubble for some reason, other players can instead shelter inside the bubble which will keep them safe from the explosion. Alternatively, the max range of the attack is such that it will not hit players on the far side of the platform, so the targeted player could move to the opposite corner before the bomb explodes – as this location is also out of range of Artsariiv’s attacks, this can be used to safely skip killing the anomaly (this is unlikely to be efficient given how low the anomaly’s health is, but could be used to save unorganized groups that have ignored it). Note that if the phase goes on long enough, the anomaly will need to be killed, or this technique repeated for each .

At the start of the fight, two of the mini Artsariivs will remain and become hostile, so they can be killed while waiting for the anomaly to appear. When they die, they split into three even smaller Artsariivs that will chase you around and attack you and can CC you, so it can be useful to cleave these down. The larger Artsariiv clones apply Weakness with their attacks, so having Resistance or frequent condi cleanse is very important in maintaining damage. They can also fire out slow-moving s that apply Bleeding, Slow and Knockdown.

Having dealt with the anomaly, players (except the one targeted by ) can use Nova Launch to reach Artsariiv in the corner. Directly underneath her is a dangerous purple AoE called that pulses for 15% of your max health as damage while standing in it, so be careful with positioning. The area directly in front of Artsariiv (if she is facing the center of the arena) is the clearest of AoEs, though a few land directly behind it so the safe space between them and is small.

From the corner, Artsariiv will attack with – She fires waves of projectiles at the most distant player that deal moderate damage. There are four minor variations of , and they always come in the same order:

1. The first is a cluster of projectiles that deal a good chunk of damage.
2. The second is a single initial unblockable projectile that applies Agony and splits up as it travels to form a wave of projectiles that quickly decay again.
3. The third is a wide spread that functions much like the first.
4. Fourth and final is a large single surrounded by smaller orbs. The functions identically to those fired by the small Artsariivs.

Immediately following the fourth , Artsariiv jumps and Slams into the ground, dealing heavy damage and Launching players. If players were hit by the fourth , they won’t have recovered in time to avoid the Slam. Fortunately, Nova Launch is also a stun break, so be sure to use it – the invulnerability and Aegis it provides will also protect you from the Slam itself. The skill can be used even if a player is downed, and while it won’t move them it will still provide the invulnerability and Aegis and so can be used for protection.

Artsariiv will now repeat the pattern of four s, followed by Slam. After the third Slam, Artsariiv will use again and another player will be targeted by – thankfully, the bubble from killing the anomaly persists so they can just retreat to it. After & Artsariiv will use to move herself to a different corner of the arena – you can identify which one she is headed towards as it will already have the purple effect. Be aware that she is broken just before she is about to move, she will clear the Stun effect (but not Exposed) and continue her attack.

This pattern will repeat throughout the first phase, though as the entire pattern takes 50 seconds between her movements, will occur at different points in the loop.

Split Phase (66%)

At 66% Artsariiv and any remaining clones will disappear and be replaced by five versions of her, one at each corner and one in the center. The corner ones will not do anything, but the one in the middle will continue throwing out attacks, though they are not as dangerous as the real Artsariiv’s. Each of these copies has a defiance bar (strength: 600) and all must be broken to progress the fight. These defiance bars slowly regenerate, so a pulsing CC effect such as Darkrazor's Daring will not be able to break them alone. A short time after being broken, three mini Artsariiv’s will spawn at the same location, so it is best to try to split up and break them all somewhat simultaneously (perhaps marking which of the five you will go to on the mini-map). Artsariiv will appear in the middle once the split phase ends, so it is common to leave breaking the central Artsariiv until last to ensure that everyone is grouped up, but this will leave her free to attack you through the split phase.

The AoEs will continue throughout this phase, and be wary that each of the large Artsariiv’s has a effect under them. At the end of the split phase, all the other Artsariiv’s (including mini ones) will despawn and any dead or downed players will revive.

Phase 2

At the start of this phase, Artsariiv will immediately start with – a massive arena-wide attack that deals heavy damage while releasing a Nightmare Discharge shockwave. Both the attack and the shockwave can be blocked. The shockwave (but not the damage) can also be jumped or ignored with Stability.

After this, Artsariiv teleports to the edge of the arena and targets a random player with . On the plus side, her distance means that there is only one beam to deal with, but at the same time a series of large AoEs spread from the corners to the center, that deal 200% of a player’s maximum health as damage, so make sure not to be hit by them as well. Any players that were downed by should remember that the Aegis from Nova Launch can protect them from even when downed. After this, another anomaly will spawn in the middle of the platform and Artsariiv will use to one of the corners (this time it is random where she goes). Kill the anomaly and avoid the shockwave as before, then follow her.

In all regards except one, the rest of the phase is identical to the first. The one difference is that after arriving in the corner, Artsariiv will summon a similar to the one you saw before. If this marble is allowed to hit the ground without a player within the white AoE, everyone nearby will be hit for 30% of their max health as damage as well as Agony, Blind, Confusion, Torment, Vulnerability and Weakness, and a Veteran Spark will spawn at the marble’s impact location. Artsariiv will then immediately use and to a different corner, before throwing another marble and continuing as normal. It is best to assign a player to handle this mechanic (fortunately completing all the bounces is easier than before), and ideally, it would be the player that the stack will miss least – typically a non-healer support. The player bouncing the marble gains Aegis every time it hits the ground, so doing this mechanic is relatively safe.

It is important to note that there is a 1/5 chance that the marble player will be targeted with , so it is worth assigning a backup in the event that this happens – Typically the backup would only need to do two bounces before the assigned player can take over again.

Thanks to the refresh of the Nova Launch when your detonates within the bubble, it is possible for the assigned player to detonate it safely while still doing the marble. To do so requires taking the first bounce, immediately using Nova Launch to the bubble, then immediately launching to the second bounce location once detonates. You have a fraction of a second in which to do this though, so attempt at your own risk (it is recommended that you Nova Launch to the corner, then target the bubble and spam Nova Launch so that you use it as soon as the refresh hits, then repeat for the second bounce spot).

After the final bounce, the marble hits Artsariiv, dealing around 2% damage and leaving her Stunned and Exposed for two seconds, and unlocking her defiance bar.

Split Phase 2 (33%)

The second split phase is much like the first, with two key differences: First, there are now 9 clones of Artsariiv, with the four new ones being added along the edges of the platform. Like the central clone, the four new ones will attack players so they may be worth breaking first. Fortunately, these clones have a smaller defiance bar (strength: 340) than those in the first split phase.

The second change is that on occasion the clones will throw a somewhere on the platform. Standing in the white AoE will cause it to bounce back off the platform while failing to do so causes a large area attack. The punishment for ignoring this mechanic isn’t too bad, and irrelevant if nobody is nearby, but it’s safer if people make sure to stand in it if it’s close.

As before, finishing the split phase will revive any downed or dead players.

Phase 3

This phase is identical to phase 2, though Artsariiv may jump to a different corner.

Strategy

Unlike Skorvald, group DPS can significantly change your approach to this encounter.

Very High DPS: Artsariiv can be phased before she even reaches the corner. This means you don’t have to worry about any of the other mechanics outside of the split phases!

High DPS: This is the main one that requires explanation. At high enough DPS, groups can phase Artsariiv before detonates, meaning that the group can avoid killing the anomaly. A key part of this for many groups will be abusing reflects: The first Artsariiv uses hits a large number of times, and because reflects (partly) scale off your own stats, a power DPS class reflecting this ability will deal a huge amount of damage, and it’s worth it even on a condi class. The third is similar, but will have already exploded by this point. The second cannot be reflected and the fourth can, but deals no damage. In the first phase it is essential that everyone gets to Artsariiv immediately, as she aims her at the most distant player, and if they are too far away the attack can fly right over many reflect skills.

In phases 2 and 3, the animation gives you time to kill the anomaly, get to Artsariiv and reflect, then have the targeted player jump back to the bubble. The timing is very tight though (the player targeted by will need to stand in the marble AoE and use it to get back to the bubble, so you have only a fraction of a second leeway).

The “save” from the Rigorous Certainty can mitigate the risk of this strategy if you use the following playbook:

1. Ignore anomaly in the first phase.
2. If you weren’t fast enough and lost your Rigorous Certainty, kill the anomaly in the second phase. It may be worth saving reflects for the third in this case. If you still have Rigorous Certainty, skip this anomaly.
3. Skip the third anomaly. If you won’t kill Artsariiv before detonates, and you don’t have Rigorous Certainty, the targeted player should /gg before it explodes.

It would be possible to ignore the anomaly in all phases by having the player targeted by /gg, but this would leave you a player down in the split phases, and would require having an assigned backup in case the marble player gets it.

If you able to successfully skip , you don’t need to assign a player to deal with the marble, as you can just make sure someone stands in the first AoE and she will have phased before it lands a second time.

Note: Dead players should not use the revive prompt after this fight, as the checkpoint has updated to the central walkway, and will require them to walk/bounce all the way back to Artsariiv’s platform to loot the bonus chest. Just lie on the floor and ask your teammates to revive you.

Take the portal back to the central walkway and enter the new portal to the west to find yourself on a small platform overlooking the last arena.

Arkk

Recommended Sigils: Sigil of Superior Sigil of Force and Sigil of Superior Sigil of Impact

Recommended Enhancement:

Condition builds should use their standard sigils and enhancements.

The fight will only start once a player interacts with the orb at the end of the platform, upon which all players will be transported to the center of the arena. You can use the Special Action Key to jump over to the arena beforehand, which means that the group can begin pre-casting provided one player remains behind to start the fight. Similar to Artsariiv, a player with a portal can drop one end near the Mistlock Singularity before jumping to the platform, opening the portal, then returning have everyone quickly pre-buff before all but one person takes the portal back.

Your Nova Launch has been upgraded to Hypernova Launch – adding damage, CC, and a blast finisher to the skill. The skill is incredibly useful as both an offensive and defensive tool in this final battle.

Many of Arkk’s attacks and mechanics are near-identical to those found in the other two bosses, so familiarity with these fights will help here!

As the fight starts, Arkk immediately uses – similar to , a giant eye appears above Arkk and players have about 3 seconds to look away to avoid getting hit for heavy damage as well as Agony, Blind and Fear.

Note: If you remain perfectly stationary after being teleported to the platform, you will avoid the attack and can otherwise go through your rotation (though any attacks that turn or move you will thwart this).

This is followed by – a bouncing projectile that leaves behind moderately damaging fields. As with Skorvald, this attack doesn’t hit in melee range so can be ignored if you’re close enough.

Next, a player is targeted with – A large cone very similar to Skorvald’s . As before, it is best if the targeted player wiggles in place slightly to determine when the attack has stopped tracking them, then quickly get out of the AoE. Anyone caught in the cone will take very heavy damage, Bleeding and Knockback.

At the same time as , an anomaly spawns nearby and a random player is targeted by . The anomaly needs to be killed, and the targeted player must stand inside the bubble within eight seconds. It is common to assign a single player to kill the anomaly, but be aware that condi DPS may struggle to burst it down and so they may need help. The player that is targeted by needs to make sure they don’t kite the cone AoE over the bubble, as this attack will hit just before detonates, and can knock the targeted player out of the bubble! Be aware that it is also possible to be targeted by both AND . In such a case, it may be best to use Hypernova Launch to jump to the bubble as soon as stops tracking you.

Much like at Artsariiv, failing to reach the bubble will result in everyone else being hit for 150% of their max health, and if the bubble is active and the targeted player is not going to reach it, other players can hide inside to protect themselves. Unlike at Artsariiv, Arkk’s platform is small enough that you cannot outrange the explosion. While you can /gg to avoid the detonation, there are no revive points in this fight so it isn’t recommended.

Each time that an anomaly spawns and a player is targeted with , a second player will be targeted by . This player is targeted by a green AoE that slowly empties of color. Another player will need to stand inside this AoE or everyone takes 80% of their max health as damage. If there is at least one player within the AoE, the damage is divided between each of them instead (e.g. if there are four people in the green, they each take 20% of their own max health). If there is only one player alive, will not occur. In the interests of brevity, I won’t refer to this mechanic every time, but it will always occur alongside an anomaly spawning.

Arkk will use once again (the player in the bubble may need to watch out for this), and follows up with – a red orb will appear above Arkk’s head, and after four seconds, an orb will be fired at each player that deals heavy damage, Agony and leaves a damaging field behind similar to , but more dangerous. At the same time, a shockwave fires out from Arkk that deals no damage but applies Agony and Knockback. can be dodged, but it will still leave the field behind where it hits the ground. The best method to deal with this is by using Hypernova Launch into Arkk – the invulnerability provided by the attack will “absorb” the orb targeted at you, completely negating the attack if everyone does it correctly. The orb above Arkk’s head will disappear just before the shockwave and orbs fire, and this is the time you want to use Hypernova Launch (some people perceive the orb disappearing as it turning blue).

Later in the fight, the anomaly mechanic can coincide with , which will prevent the player with from being able to launch themselves at Arkk. Instead, they can avoid this attack just by jumping – the orbs aim at the player, so if the player jumps at the moment that they would use Hypernova Launch, the orb will fly over their head and land far away from Arkk. Due to the angle the orb fires from, this only works if you’re some distance from Arkk though!

The orb attack itself is a projectile that can be reflected (though it deals no damage to Arkk), but the attack launches from quite a high location, which means “shallow” reflect skills such as Wall of Reflection may not work in melee range unless players are stood within the AoE of the skill itself. Curiously, skills that specifically block projectiles do NOT have any effect, but normal blocks do.

After this, Arkk will use:

→ → → → →

Then, a new attack: – Arkk targets an area roughly covering roughly half the platform in conal AoEs, and a few seconds later slams down his cannon, dealing extreme damage, Bleeding and Launching players within the AoEs. If you are far enough away, you can avoid this attack by standing in the small gaps between cones, but it will likely be easier to just move behind him. Later on in the fight, will cover a larger portion of the platform.

Just before the , another anomaly will spawn, and a player is targeted by . Deal with it as normal, but be careful of the AoEs if they happen to be aiming at the anomaly.

Next, Arkk uses his own version of – pairs of conal AoEs appear in an anticlockwise pattern around Arkk, and once the pattern is complete, they begin detonating in the order they appeared, dealing extreme damage, Bleeding and Knockback. Thankfully, unlike Skorvald, they do not overlap nor cover the entire platform, so they are much easier to avoid and you can also protect yourself by standing in a safe spot a little way back from Arkk. The player in the bubble will need to be careful of these AoEs as they can totally cover the bubble, requiring a timely dodge, block or Hypernova Launch within the bubble.

Next, he uses once more, followed by – a large conal AoE attack that is relatively easy to avoid, but deals extreme damage along with Agony, Bleeding, Cripple and Knockback. Alternatively, Arkk may use Swing – a basic melee attack. Arkk’s defiance bar (strength: 1800) briefly unlocks during , so it may be possible to Stun him, but you would need to be very fast.

These are all the attacks he uses in this phase. Until phasing his rotation is:

→ → → → , and then repeat.

He may occasionally throw in a basic melee or ranged attack (Cursed Grasp), and the longer the phase continues, the more this pattern will vary. Coinciding with the first in this pattern, another anomaly and will occur.

10 seconds into this phase, and every 10 seconds thereafter, a pylon will spawn at one of the corners and tether to Arkk, providing him with a stack of Diaphanous Shielding (up to four pylons/stacks). Each stack increases his outgoing damage by 25% and decreases incoming by 10%. Dangerous attacks also come much slower in the first 40 seconds (as he keeps interspersing them with the relatively harmless ). Additionally, each time a pylon tethers to Arkk, the edge of the platform anti-clockwise from that pylon becomes electrified, dealing continuous damage to anyone standing there.

So it is important that you try to phase him within 40 seconds – running more aggressive builds can actually turn out safer if it makes this possible.

Split Phase 1 (80%)

At 80% health, Arkk uses and becomes invulnerable and begins channeling our old friend – if the AoE is allowed to fill the platform, it will kill everyone.

Shortly after this phase begins, four Solar Blooms will spawn – one at each edge of the platform. They will tether to the closest player, and move towards them. Unlike at Skorvald, they will not explode though. Instead, by attacking the blooms, they can be knocked into the four pylons, at which point they and destroy them – be aware that the explosion can also hit you. Once all four have been destroyed, the next phase will begin.

At the start of the split phase, everyone should look away from Arkk to avoid , and ideally four players should move to one edge of the platform each. You should all knock your orbs either clockwise or anti-clockwise to avoid wasting time, and everyone should be careful not to accidentally hit the wrong orb as this can cause chaos. Multiple orbs can tether to the same person, but there is sufficient time for a single player to do all four if it comes to that. The outside of the arena becomes electrified at the start of the phase, so players will either need to be very quick with knocking, use ranged attacks, or should move to the corner closest to their assigned pylon and wait for the bloom to move to them, before knocking it in. Destroying a pylon removes the electrified floor from the side anti-clockwise of it, so if someone is tethered by multiple blooms it may make sense to do them in an anti-clockwise pattern.

For as long as Arkk is on the platform (even while invulnerable), anomalies will spawn every 41 seconds. For this reason, it may be advisable to have the player tasked with killing the anomalies not take an orb.

Phase 2

Once all four pylons are destroyed, Arkk gains a defiance bar (strength: 1800). Failing to break it within 10 seconds results in all players taking 200% of their max health as damage from Force of the Nightmare. Players can use the CC from Hypernova Launch to make this a lot easier.

After being broken, Arkk will be Exposed and Stunned for 9 seconds, which should be enough time to phase him.

If not, Arkk will use the following rotation:

→ → → → → →

Arkk will phase once more once he reaches 70%. During the next split phase, he is no longer on the platform, which means any anomalies or s will disappear once he phases. Thus you may be able to ignore this mechanic in favor of phasing Arkk.

40 seconds into this phase, the pylons will begin to reappear and give him a stack of Diaphanous Shielding every 10 seconds.

Split Phase 2 (70%)

At 70% health, Arkk will disappear from the platform and be replaced by an Elite Archdiviner. This miniboss is very similar to the end boss from the Cliffside fractal.

At the same time, four Fanatics will spawn (one at each edge of the platform). These Fanatics aren’t very dangerous, but they will not despawn and could cause problems if left alive for too long. Classes with pull abilities should try to pull them into Arkk to be cleaved down, and if aimed correctly, Hypernova Launch can be used to Launch them towards the middle of the platform. Two of the Fanatics will close to melee range immediately, so you can wait to see where the ranged ones are if the group is low on pulls. Be aware that the ranged Fanatics can evade your attacks.

Shortly after appearing, the Archdiviner will gain a defiance bar and begin channeling one of two attacks:

Either he creates several wells to appear around him that corrupt boons. At the same time, Arkk will fire (an attack almost identical to ) off to the southwest. If you are near the middle of the platform, it will miss you, but be sure not to look towards him (a pale blue beam will connect you to Arkk if you’re looking at him). Breaking the Archdiviner will leave him Exposed and Stunned for five seconds.

Alternatively, he may do an Overhead Smash.

Shortly after recovering, he will gain a defiance bar and again use one of the two above attacks. At 50%, the Archdiviner gains a buff identical to protection, which is only removed when he’s Stunned.

15 seconds after the first , Arkk will use it again, but this time he is positioned off the south edge of the platform and the central beam aims directly through the middle of the platform. Hypernova Launch (if available) can be used to avoid the attack, and you can also dodge or block it. Just be sure not to look at Arkk. After 15 seconds, Arkk will repeat the attack from the northeast side of the platform, then the northwest another 15 seconds later. Both of these will miss the middle of the platform so you only need to worry about not looking at Arkk.

Phase 3

Shortly after the Archdiviner dies, an anomaly spawns and Arkk will reappear on the platform and immediately start attacking:

→ → → → → → , perhaps with thrown in occasionally.

Next, he uses and before introducing a new attack:

– A cascade of orange ring AoEs move out from Arkk, dealing moderate damage and Floating any player they hit. The ring can be jumped over. Just before this attack starts, a medium-sized orange AoE appears directly underneath Arkk. After the ring hits the edge of the platform, it will start moving inwards back towards Arkk. This mechanic will overlap with Arkk’s other attacks, so don’t forget about the second ring!

After this, Arkk will use and some combination of , , and . The further this phase goes on, the less predictable his attacks will be, and he may occasionally throw in others like . As in phase 1, 10 seconds into this phase the pylons will begin tethering to Arkk every 10 seconds, and anomalies will continue to spawn every 41 seconds.

Split Phase 3 (50%)

At 50% health, Arkk will become invulnerable once more, use and begin channeling as Solar Blooms spawn. This split phase is identical to Split Phase 1.

Phase 4

Phase 4 is very similar to phase 2, except once Arkk recovers from being Stunned, his rotation is:

→ → → → → .

Arkk will disappear once he hits 40%, so you can ignore anomalies if you are confident you will phase him before detonates.

Split Phase 4 (40%)

The structure of this split phase is similar to Split Phase 2, but features the Gladiator from Chaos fractal along with the four golems from the anomaly fight. Some of the golems can be very dangerous if left alive, so you may wish to pull/knock them into the middle to be cleaved down. CHOP will immediately close to melee, but the other three will stay at range.

In addition to his autoattack that dazes on the third hit, the Gladiator will thrust his greatsword into the ground, launching out a shockwave that can be jumped. Distant players will also be targeted with a moderate-sized AoE that will hit with a phantasmal blade. The first time the Gladiator does this attack, it will coincide with Arkk aiming through the center of the platform – make sure to dodge or use Hypernova Launch to avoid the gladiator’s attack, or it can knock you into Arkk’s.

At 50%, the gladiator will gain a defiance bar. If it is not broken within three seconds, he will pull all nearby players towards him and start whirling, dealing a lot of damage. If players have Hypernova Launch available, it can be used to help with CC. If he lives long enough, he will repeat this attack every 25 seconds.

As before, Arkk will teleport around the edge of the platform, using every 15 seconds.

Phase 5

A few seconds after the Gladiator dies, Arkk will reappear and use the following rotation, while an anomaly spawns:

→ → → → → → → Starburst cascade (fake) →

The “fake” Starburst Cascade will start the animation, but is almost immediately canceled by .

After this, Arkk will use two new attacks:

– this attack is nearly identical to Skorvald’s, but comes out faster. Arkk evades and leaps in the air, dealing a small amount of damage and releasing a shockwave when he lands, also launching out several bouncing s that deal 20% of a player’s max health as damage.

– after , Arkk targets a random player with a small arrow and shortly after fires out a slow-moving orb that deals extreme damage as well as Bleeding and Slow. This attack doesn’t track you, so it is fairly easy to sidestep.

He will use up to three times in a row, but only if there is a player in melee range. Otherwise, he won’t do anything for a few seconds and then start attacking again with:

→ → → → → → → →

Around 10 seconds into this phase, you will encounter another problem: a pattern of tiles will start glowing and each glowing tile has an arrow floating above it. Three seconds later, all these tiles will disappear! Anyone who falls through will be teleported back above the platform and begin falling down towards it – the only way to survive is to use Hypernova Launch once you are close to the ground, to land on a tile. If you fail to do so, you will either die to fall damage, or falling back through a tile a second time will instantly kill you. The tiles will reappear after five seconds, but about two seconds later another pattern will start glowing. This continues for the rest of the phase. While the pattern chosen is random, there will always be at least one tile left in the center, and one tile in each of the four quadrants of the arena. This ensures you will always be able to melee Arkk and will always have somewhere to stand near the anomaly, though the free space might be tiny with all the other AoEs.

It is especially important once in this phase to not spawn the AoEs from , as they can easily cover the only safe space you have available to hit Arkk or avoid other mechanics.

All the normal rules regarding anomalies and Pylons (starting at 10 seconds) apply in this phase.

Split Phase 5 (30%)

At 30%, Arkk will phase for the last time, becoming invulnerable while using and . This is a bloom phase identical to split phases 1 and 3.

There will likely be some platforms missing at the start of this phase, so you may have to wait for them to reappear depending on the pattern.

Phase 6

Arkk starts the final phase with Force of the Nightmare, so players should be ready to break him. As before, he is Exposed and Stunned for nine seconds upon breaking.

There are no new mechanics in this phase, but as it is likely to be the longest, you will see more of them. The rotation starts off fairly reliable, but varies more the longer the phase continues. Typically it will be:

→ → → → → → → → → → →

Pylons will start tethering to Arkk 40 seconds into the phase.

50 seconds into the phase, tile patterns will begin to disappear.

Once Arkk reaches 15% health, he engages his DDR, which fires across the center of the platform, it will continue firing every 15 seconds until Arkk is defeated.

Note: If you phase Arkk during the cast time of or , the attack can be “queued” into the next phase and immediately occur once he is vulnerable again. Sometimes the attack will go off, and sometimes only the visuals for the attack will appear depending on when in the animation he phased.