Raid Wing 6 - Mythwright Gambit
Introduction
If there are any terms you don’t recognize in this guide, check out the Glossary!
After dropping into the forge, players will find Glenna and Zommoros waiting. After signing a lengthy contract, the squad will progress forward and discover the first boss on a platform to the east.
Players can safely land on the edge of the platform, but going any further will begin the encounter.
Conjured Amalgamate
Players will be unable to damage the boss once the fight begins, but soon the Conjured Amalgamate will slam one of its two fists down on the platform.
Pulverize
Conjured Amalgamate targets one of the four platform sections and slams a fist into it, knocking players down and dealing very heavy damage. Players in sections other than the targeted one will take heavy damage from Tremor. The arm will remain in place for 10 seconds and may be attacked. After 10 seconds the arm will raise up and the attack will repeat approximately eight seconds later. This attack can be blocked and evaded.
will only target sections that players are stood inside, so it is recommended that all players stay in the same section in order to control where the arm appears. Conjured Amalgamate has two arms, each of which will only attack in their respective half of the platform. All conditions are cleared from the arm after every , so power DPS classes may be preferable here.
A short time after the arm hits the platform, conjures will begin to fall off it. The more damage is done, the more conjures will spawn, and they come in two varieties:
- Conjured Greatswords – Greatswords move around and attack players with . They have low hitpoints and are susceptible to control effects.
- Conjured Shields – Shields are stationary, but are surrounded by which deals a small amount of damage in addition to
Chilled and 
Slow. They also return damage to players unless their defiance bar (strength: 200) is broken, upon which they become vulnerable and may be damaged for a short time until they regain the defiance bar.
The first time an arm attacks it will spawn swords, and the second time it attacks it will spawn shields, and then will alternate between the two. Should the two different types of conjure be allowed to get close to one another, they will merge into a third type:
- Conjured Warriors – Much more dangerous conjures with the abilities of both, and more hitpoints.
When the greatswords and shields die, they leave a green AoE on the ground. If a player steps into this AoE then they are given a Special Action Key (SAK) according to the summon that left the AoE:
- Conjured Greatswords – Greatswords provide a skill called Conjured Slash that applies a large amount of damage across a rectangular AoE in addition to removing a stack of shielding and applying a debuff called Fractured that increases damage taken by the target. Removing a stack of shielding will consume a stack of Conjured Slash, so less fractured will be applied in this case. The damage applied by this skill is not affected by stats or modifiers, so any class can pick it up. The buff and SAK last for 30 seconds after picking them up.
- Conjured Shields – Shields provide a skill called Conjured Protection that drops a moderate-sized AoE under the player when activated that reduces incoming damage to any player stood inside it by 10%, as well as preventing conjures from crossing the barrier. AoEs from multiple sources stack as long as the player is standing within them all. The buff and SAK last for 60 seconds after picking them up.
Players can pick up multiples of the same conjure, and the stacks a player has is indicated by the Greatsword Power and Conjured Shield buffs, up to a maximum of 10. A player with one type of special action key cannot pick up the other. The effects of these buffs stack linearly, so if a player with 10 stacks of Conjured Shield uses Conjured Protection it will provide 100% damage reduction to players inside the AoE.
Strategy
As the encounter begins, players should attack the arm once it hits the platform. Once the Conjured Amalgamate raises the arm, the squad should ensure that the Conjured Greatswords have all been killed before the arm hits a second time and begins to spawn Conjured Shields. It can be helpful to use pulls to move the greatswords into the arm so that they are cleaved down easily.
Once the arm lands a second time, players can use the Conjured Slash SAK on the arm to significantly increase the damage done to it the second time. Players should also be wary as the Conjured Shields will appear with their shields active, which can very easily down a player if they accidentally cleave it. It may be advisable for players to hold on to Conjured Slash until shields have spawned, as the attack will instantly kill them and it is very easy to aim so as to hit both the arm and the shields. Otherwise, shields should be CC’d quickly in order to enable players to DPS the arm safely.
Thunderclap
After Conjured Amalgamate has used three times (with any combination of arms), it will throw its arms wide and slam them together dealing extreme damage across the entire arena. The only way to mitigate this damage is with Conjured Protection or effects such as , and the attack will only occur if both arms are intact.
Because of , players that pick up the shield SAK should ensure that they hold on to it for this mechanic. If the squad is sure that they will be able to destroy the arm within three uses of then they need not reserve Conjured Protection, and can use it to protect themselves in the event that a warrior spawns. After , the arms will resume the greatsword-shield spawning pattern where they left off. If the squad does not have sufficient stacks of Shield Protection, then it is still possible to recover from this attack with the use of delayed-revive skills such as or .
Junk Absorption
Once an arm is destroyed, Conjured Amalgamate will lose 10% of its health, become targetable, lift up its remaining arm, and colored orbs will begin to fly in from the edge of the arena towards the boss. The purple orbs deal a moderate amount of damage to players they hit, and green orbs provide players with stacks of Greatsword Power or Conjured Shield along with their corresponding SAK’s. The two types of green orb are visually distinct: greatsword orbs have a white vertical line through them, and shield orbs have a white aura. Should any of these orbs reach the Conjured Amalgamate, then it will gain the corresponding buff (this means that the more greatsword orbs it absorbs the more stacks of Conjured Shield will be needed to defend against its attacks). The increased damage from absorbing a greatsword orb is dangerous enough, but should it absorb a shield orb it can quickly wipe the party as it will begin to return a proportion of damage back to players. When Conjured Amalgamate gains a stack of Shield Power, a large shield appears in front of the boss so if plays see this they should stop dealing damage. The shield can be removed with Conjured Slash.
There are 15 of each type of green orb, and they appear in a staggered pattern with greatsword orbs starting at the northern end of the arena and shield orbs starting at the southern end. Once orbs have spawned along the length of the arena, the direction of the spawn locations will reverse. It would thus be possible for a single player to pick up all 15 of a single type of orb, but due to the 10-stack limit it is common to have two players assigned to each of the orb types (four players in total) and have the first player pick up 10 orbs, then have the second player pick up the remaining five.
Players picking up shield orbs will want to hold on to them for the time being, but players picking up greatsword orbs should use them on the boss as soon as possible, so as to apply the fractured debuff to Conjured Amalgamate. Using the SAK roots the player for a moment but it is possible for a single player to pick up all 15 greatswords by continually using them until the boss has 10 stacks of fractured, then using the SAK again if they run out (moving quickly after using the SAK will cancel the aftercast of the skill while still hitting with it). This may even be slightly preferable, as the fractured debuff increases the damage applied by Conjured Slash, so using it as frequently as possible will maximise the damage dealt. Conjured Slash should also be used on Conjured Amalgamate if it ever gains the Conjured Shield buff. Players should be aware that the spawn locations of the orbs are slightly inconsistent but they will always spawn in roughly the same area/pattern.
While it would also be possible to have all players spread out and pick up green orbs, it will be difficult to effectively communicate how to use the SAK’s best and could easily result in too many or too few being used. Players who are not collecting orbs should instead ensure that there are no living conjures and then focus on damaging the boss. There is a spot just to the south of the central platform divide that most of the purple orbs will miss, so it might be advisable to stack there.
Junk Torrent
Approximately 20 seconds after the start of Junk Absorption, Conjured Amalgamate will eject the absorbed junk in a torrent that sweeps from the side of the most recently destroyed arm across the entirety of the arena. The torrent deals extreme damage and makes the ground it passes over deal heavy damage to players stood on it for approximately 10 seconds afterwards. The only way to survive is to use Conjured Protection. If both arms are destroyed, the torrent will sweep across the arena a second time in the opposite direction.
For the first Junk Absorption phase the squad can simply stack in the center of the arena and have the player with 10 stacks of Conjured Shield use Conjured Protection just before the torrent reaches them. It will last for long enough for the torrent to pass, though players may need to move slightly to avoid taking damage from . In burn phases where both arms are destroyed, the squad will need to move to the end of the arena opposite to the last arm killed as this is the only location where a single use of Conjured Protection will persist through both sweeps. Conjured Amalgamate can be hit from any section of the platform so players need not worry about their positioning, though the targeting on some skills can be unpredictable. After Junk Torrent, Conjured Amalgamate will collapse forward for a moment before straightening back up, but this has no mechanical effect so player should continue to damage the boss until it is no longer targetable. Note that targeting will be temporarily broken as Conjured Amalgamate slumps forward, so players should continue attacking at this point. For the first Junk Absorption phase the Conjured Amalgamate cannot be damaged below 50% health, and Junk Torrent will end early if this threshold is reached.
Following Junk Absorption, Conjured Amalgamate will continue to slam down its remaining arm, and the squad should deal with it in the same manner as before.
Junk Fall
If the Conjured Amalgamate has only one arm, after it has used Pulverize two times it will scoop up junk from the platform and eat it. This has no effect by itself, but will cause multiple AoEs across the platform that deal moderate damage and removes all stacks of the conjure buffs. Junk Fall will also be used in the final phase regardless of the number of arms remaining.
Once the second arm is destroyed, the Junk Absorption phase will repeat. Players should recall that the Junk Torrent will sweep across the platform a second time but otherwise the phase is identical to the first. For the second Junk Absorption phase, the Conjured Amalgamate cannot be damaged below 25% health, and Junk Torrent will end early if this threshold is reached. As this phase requires much less damage to take the Conjured Amalgamate to the next health threshold, the squad may not need all 15 stacks of Conjured Slash in order to complete it. If this is the case, then the remaining uses can be saved for the next phase instead.
Following the second use of Junk Absorption, Conjured Amalgamate will regrow both its arms and use , so all remaining stacks of Conjured Protection should be used to survive it. Conjured Amalgamate will then use with one arm, and with the other. Both arms now only have 50% health, and the squad should stack on one arm and destroy it (if players have any stacks of Conjured Slash left from the Junk Absorption phase they can be used here).
Destroying either arm will trigger another phase of Junk Absorption, but this phase will be complicated by the presence of the remaining arm and conjures – players picking up green orbs will need to particularly careful of the shields and their . The squad can either ignore the second arm and attempt to kill the boss before it becomes a problem, or alternate between the two arms and kill them at roughly the same time in order to remove the threat.
If taking the former approach, it might be safer to stack at the north or south end of the platform as this will create the most space between the arm and the squad. Players should also ensure that they do not damage the second arm, as doing so will cause additional conjures to spawn. Be aware that if stacking at one end of the platform, the Junk Torrent start close to the squad’s location so the player(s) with Conjured Protection should be ready.
Otherwise the phase will continue as before, and the Conjured Amalgamate can finally be defeated. If the boss is not killed in this burn phase, it will once more regrow its arms and use .
Sorting and Appraisal
Following the destruction of the Conjured Amalgamate, the squad can progress through a Sand Portal and witness Qadim releasing a Dreg Shark into the Mystic Forge. The shark jumps through a sand portal and Chief Sorter Skitch appears, informing everyone of the havoc the shark is causing. Passing through the sand portal next to Skitch takes players to a second room containing a panicking Bezzalak. As before, players should take the sand portal next to the skritt to reach one of two possible encounters.
Ectoplasm
Within Ectoplasmic Containment is a Ectoplasmic Conglomerate. Destroying it will cause it to split into four Ectoplasmic Masses that spread out around the room. Three will use a defensive form, reflecting damage and resisting damage, while the fourth will repeatedly bounce, dealing damage in the area until its defiance bar is broken. The Mass to the south-east will be the first to use this attack, and after a time the next Mass clockwise will start bouncing and the previous one will defend. Killing the bouncing Mass will cause it to split into multiple Ectoplasmic Blobs that are relatively harmless and can quickly be cleaved down. Once all Ectoplasms are dead, the squad may move forward.
Megapets
Alternatively, the squad may find themselves in the Miniature-Pet Menagerie. Here they will face one of four giant Mini-pets: Mega Chainsaw the Skeleton, Mega Foostivoo the Merry, Mega Maraca Choya Pinata or Mega Princess Doll. Whichever is fought, once it reaches 75% it will gain a barrier that can only be removed by moving it to a specific magic extractor. The correct extractor will be indicated by a beam of light as well as a corresponding buff on the megapet, and the Skritt Pet Handler will move to the appropriate location. The megapets are vulnerable to CC and should therefore be forced to the correct extractor. The Choya Pinata is an exception, and will instead gain a defiance bar and circle the room. It must be broken as it passes the extractor in order to remove the barrier.
This effect will repeat at 50% health, and at 25% health the megapet must instead be forced into the shrinking platform in the center of the room. Once this is done a second megapet will spawn that is dealt with in the same way.
Dreg Shark
Whichever event the squad did, they will find a sand portal that takes them back to Zommoros. After progressing through yet another sand portal, the squad will catch up with the Dreg Shark.
Within a small arena lie four treasure piles and the Dreg Shark will periodically leap between them, scattering treasure across the center of the arena, dealing heavy damage. The shark can only be damaged if a player picks up one of the pots of Dreg Shark Extractor and throws it at the pile the shark is hiding inside. This will cause it to fall into the center of the arena and become vulnerable. The Dreg Shark will have defiance bar, and unless it is broken it will leap back into the treasure piles and resume jumping between them. After breaking, the squad has a window in which to damage the shark and then the shark will knock everyone back and jump back into the treasure. This repeats until the shark is dead. It is possible to pick up some Dreg Shark Extractor and throw it at the shark just before it leaps into the pile, which will immediately cause it to fall back down.
After defeating the Dreg Shark, the squad can take one last sand portal to reach the Arcane Springs and Qadim’s final challenge.
Largos Assassins
Nikare waits alone on a platform to the north. To reach the platform, players must use the jet of water which will launch them onto the platform. The location of the fight will change throughout the encounter, and these jets of water can be used to move between platforms, or return to a nearby platform should a player fall off.
Both the Largos Assassin twins will aggro on toughness, and depending on the strategy used the group will require one or two tanks. Both twins’ basic attacks inflict a stack of 
Vulnerability which can quickly become dangerous if there is not sufficient condition clearing, and multiple abilities inflict further conditions, so support players are recommended to bring extra cleanses.
Nikare
After arriving on the platform, Nikare will move to the tank and attack.
Aquatic Detainment
Shortly after arriving on the platform, AoEs will appear under players’ feet that quickly fill with color. If a player is stood inside one when it fills, they will be trapped in a bubble and float upwards, taking moderate damage every second before being slammed back onto the platform. The attack can be blocked and evaded, and using a stun break will cancel the float and damage. This attack repeats approximately every 25 seconds.
Vapor Rush
Immediately following the first use of , Nikare will turn around and charge towards the furthest player dealing heavy damage to anyone along in his path and inflicting Chilled and Slow. Upon reaching his target, he will charge at the player who is now the furthest from him, and then once more back to the tank. This attack will repeat approximately every 25 seconds, and will typically happen directly after , though they will become descynced as the fight goes on.
Tidal Pool
Seven seconds into the fight, a random non-tank player will gain an AoE underneath them that drains of color over five seconds. When empty, a pool of water drops at the player’s location and slowly expands for 82 seconds. Any player touching the pool takes moderate damage and gains stacks of a debuff called Waterlogged. If a player is downed or leaves the platform the Tidal Pool will immediately be dropped at their location. This attack repeats every 13 seconds, but will sometimes be delayed for unknown reasons.
Geyser
10 seconds into the fight, two large AoEs will appear at random players’ locations and quickly fill with color over three seconds. When full, geysers erupt at the locations dealing moderate damage and launching players a large distance. The attack can be blocked and evaded, and stability will prevent the launch. This attack repeats approximately every 10 seconds.
Geyser is particularly dangerous because it can launch players off the platform, into the water. They will gain a stack of waterlogged for every two seconds that they are in the water, so getting back to the platform (via a water jet) as soon as possible is essential.
When Nikare is brought to 50% health, he will flee and his sister Kenut will appear on another platform to the north. This means that players dropping tidal pools should leave the northern edge of the platform clear, and try to drop them as far south and as close to the edge of the platform as they safely can.
Kenut
Much like Nikare, Kenut will move to the tank and attack once players arrive on the platform. However, there is an additional immediate threat:
Aquatic Vortex
On the platform with Kenut are three roaming vortices of water. They move in a straight line until they hit the edge of a platform, and then choose a random (clockwise) direction and repeat. Touching these aquatic vortices inflicts moderate damage in addition to Chilled, Slow and a stack of waterlogged every second.
Touching an is dangerous enough, but a player getting downed inside one is almost certainly dead. As such, the tank will need to move so that the rest of the squad are able to maintain damage on the boss without being hit.
Vapor Jet
Shortly after engaging Kenut, she will vanish and appear a second later at the player furthest from her. She will aim a large rectangular AoE at the player, and any players caught inside will take heavy damage, have all their boons stolen and receive 
Poison. This attack repeats approximately every 25 seconds.
Sea Swell
A ring indicator will expand out of Kenut, and a second later a shockwave erupts outwards, dealing heavy damage and launching players. In addition, Kenut will gain 
Protection for each player hit. The shockwave can be jumped or evaded. Stability and block can also be used to defend against it, but the attack hits multiple times as it expands so players should move towards Kenut as the attack hits in order to only be hit once. This attack will repeat approximately every 25 seconds.
Kenut will effectively alternate between the and mechanics, so this will give players an idea of what she is about to do next. Similar to , can easily knock players into the water or an so it is essential to jump or otherwise avoid the attack.
As both mechanics provide a way for Kenut to gain boons, it may be worthwhile to have at least one player bring some kind of boon removal to deal with this.
Cyclone Burst
A series of AoEs of increasing size pulse out from Kenut in three directions, dealing moderate damage and inflicting 
Torment. After the first set of AoEs, this attack repeats with the directions of the attack rotated by 60 degrees. This attack repeats approximately every 13 seconds.
Once Kenut is brought to 50% health, she will jump to another platform to the north-east while Nikare returns on a platform to the north-west.
Strategy
At this point there are two options for how to proceed. The squad can split into two groups and take on both Largos at once, or they can remain as a single group and fight them in turn. The latter method is complicated by the fact that each platform in the encounter has a two minute timer on it. If the boss is not phased before the timer expires, the entire raid will wipe. This time will also be cut into by having to travel between the platforms. For these reasons squads will often have a player with leave the platform just before the boss phases so that they can reach the other platform as soon as possible and give everyone else instant passage to the other boss.
If the former method is chosen, it is important to ensure that both groups have a tank, a healer and sufficient DPS to kill the boss within the two minutes.
Whichever method is chosen, the bosses will use the same mechanics as before, with one addition:
Aquatic Barrage
Approximately 20s after after engaging each boss, they will jump to the center of their platforms, gain barrier and a defiance bar and begin rapidly spinning, firing bolts of water in all directions on their platform as well as across to the other platform. These bolts deal moderate damage and the boss must be broken to stop the attack. They will also be 
Exposed for eight seconds after being broken. This attack repeats approximately every 55 seconds (persisting between platforms). The bolts of water are projectiles, and so projectile defense is useful here.
Be aware that should a boss attempt to use as it is phasing, it can bug and cause the boss to jump back to the previous platform, rendering the fight impossible. If this happens, future attempts should consider slowing down their damage until the attack has been used (as this is much easier to control than increasing DPS). Defiance Bar: 2000
Care must be taken throughout this encounter to avoid receiving stacks of waterlogged, as reaching 10 stacks will cause a player to instantly be killed. In addition to avoiding mechanics that apply the debuff, should a player fall into the water they must get back to the platform as quickly as possible. Be aware that as the bosses move to different platforms, water nearer the start of the encounter will disappear so if in doubt a player should head to the nothern-most jet as these will remain active if the boss phases.
When each boss is taken to 25%, they will phase once more and move to their final platform. The final platform has additional jets that allow players to jump between sides, so this means that only a single portal would be needed if that particular strategy is being followed. While fighting the largos in this phase, players gain a stack of a debuff called Aquatic Aura every three seconds. This debuff increases the damage taken from the largos whose platform the player is on by 2% per stack. If the pressure caused by this debuff is too high, the squad may consider having both groups swap sides after a certain point.
When one of the bosses dies, their twin will enrage and deal double damage. This will cause many of their abilities to instantly down any player hit by them, which makes the portal strategy somewhat risky as the squad will have to do a whole phase of a boss under enrage.
This also means that when splitting and killing both bosses simultaneously, an effort should be made to balance the damage in both groups so that the bosses are killed simultaneously – it may be worth considering that Nikare has slightly more health than Kenut, and his is more difficult to dodge than Kenut’s (and will instantly down most players), so it might be best to kill him first.
After defeating the Largos Assassins, Qadim decides he’s had enough of bets, blasts a hole in the wall and makes for the Mythwright Cauldron. The squad must proceed up the Grand Causeway, which is littered with enemies. Only the three Pyre Guardians need to be killed to open the way to the final boss, and Zommoros himself will eventually kill the first one. Hence the group can just run/mount past everything else and kill the final two Pyre Guardians. The Pyre Guardians launch bouncing fireballs down the stairs near them that instantly down players hit by them, and instantly kill downed players.
Qadim
On a large platform floating above the Heart of the Cauldron, Zommoros and Qadim are engaged in combat. Players must activate a section of platform near the start that will convey them towards the Djinn. This also creates a portal at the start for other players to use to get to the main platform. The encounter will not begin until a player approaches Qadim, and a significant amount of setup is required as this fight has many moving parts – literally, as the triangular sections that form the main platform will constantly disappear and shift position throughout the fight. It can be helpful to know that objects “attached” to a platform section will travel with them, even while they are inactive. This means that squad markers can be placed on a section of platform and the marker will always remain in the correct location. This can be particularly helpful as the constant rearranging of the platform can be confusing.
Several things will happen once the fight starts, and all need to be dealt with to progress the encounter. Note that all the legendary enemies in this encounter aggro on the closest target, so players will need to be careful with their positioning so as to not become the tank.
Players should be aware that if they fall off the platforms at any point they are able to float back up, but due to the constant rearrangement of the platform sections themselves this can leave them trapped if they fall through a gap that then closes. The longer a player takes to return to the platform, the more damage they will take.
Lava Elemental Kiting
Qadim is initially protected by Flame Armor and cannot take damage, yet he will still direct attacks at the closest player. However, the real threat comes from multiple Lava Elementals that spawn in the corners of Qadim’s platform section and move towards him. Each elemental that reaches him grants a stack of Fiery Surge, increasing his damage by 20% and causes him to activate skills 2% faster.
The elementals do not have a huge amount of health and their spawn times are slightly offset meaning that a single player can kill all of them. Qadim will aim attacks at the closest target, but will not turn once he begins casting, hence it is possible to avoid damage if the player keeps moving as they kill the elementals.
Qadim will always follow the same attack pattern:
- → → → →
This pattern is used twice, followed by:
- → → → →
After this, an AoE begins to fill up the platform and Qadim will tether to the closest player. Once full, the platform will be covered with a and Qadim will teleport to the location of the tethered player and repeat his attack pattern. Qadim selects the platform he will teleport to before he moves and if the player moves to a different platform section before the teleport happens, Qadim will teleport to the player again until he successfully arrives on the platform section that the tethered player is on. If that platform contains a legendary creature (or is the same platform Qadim is currently on) he will instead teleport to an adjacent platform. Every time Qadim has to repeat the teleport he will gain five stacks of Fiery Surge.
Key to avoiding damage as a kiter is understanding the area Qadim’s attacks cover. Directly underneath Qadim is a that deals heavy damage. This is mostly easy to avoid, but when traveling between platforms it can become problematic. The kiter should avoid the center of the platform section when Qadim is teleporting and later in the encounter the kiter will need to use orbs that “bounce” the player between platforms, and will launch the player to the center of a platform section unless they deploy their glider while bouncing.
Qadim’s basic attack, , has a two-part AoE. The first part is a cone in front of Qadim that extends as far as the inner circle on the platform, and the second part is a line that extends directly out of the center of the cone. Qadim can only aim this attack in fixed directions – either along the central lines or directly in between them. This means that a player standing in one of the corner sections of a platform (avoiding the central line) cannot be hit by this attack.
causes fire to trace along the lines on his platform section, and in combination with means that the kiter should never stop on these lines.
targets the closest player on the platform directly.
If the kiter is constantly moving, then they should ensure that they avoid the inner circle as not only is the cone section of harder to avoid but it can multi-hit, dealing a lot of damage. Using this method the kiter should naturally avoid all damage coming from Qadim aside from the ticking aura, though care should be taken not to be hit by .
If the kiter uses a ranged weapon to kill the elementals, they can instead camp in one of the corners where they will never be hit by or . They will however need to dodge and . The kiter should be mindful that Qadim will launch a flurry of s in front of himself while charging , though they only deal light damage.
When Qadim enflames the platform underneath him, the kiter will need to move to an adjacent tile and start again. This must be repeated until other members of the squad have completed their task, so the kiter should ensure that they have sufficient sustain, and if necessary they may need a healer assigned to them as well. If a dedicated healer is being used to help the kiter, they should try to ensure that they are the closest player to Qadim as they are more able to keep themselves alive. This applies whichever method of kiting is used.
Qadim’s Menagerie
At the start of the encounter, Qadim throws his lamp to Zommoros’ location and pulls him into the Menagerie. When this happens, a large green AoE appears underneath Zommoros that quickly empties of color. Any player contained within this AoE when it empties will also be transported to the Menagerie, though Zommoros will be nowhere in sight. If there is no player inside the green AoE, the lamp will begin to pull players towards the lamp until at least one person is captured.
The players will find themselves in a square room adjoined to two other square rooms. They will be located in the corner of a 4x4 grid of rooms, and the goal is to reach the opposite corner of the grid, where they will find a friendly legendary creature that will help them in the fight against Qadim.
Each of the rooms other than the start has a group of enemies inside, and killing all these enemies causes the walls of the room to disappear, allowing passage to the next room. If players take too long to kill the occupants of a room, they will begin to respawn, and eventually the walls behind them will respawn too and begin dealing damage to the players inside. The power level of the creatures varies from room to room from standard mobs to champions, and there will always be a path through the menagerie that avoids elites or champions. The image below shows the layout of the menagerie each time it is visited, with the safest rooms indicated in green. Be aware that the final room of each path (devourers, moas and giants) is always the most challenging so the players may wish to preserve valuable skills for this room.
All three fights through the menagerie can be soloed, though the third menagerie is significantly more dangerous than the others so additional players may be necessary for this. The squad should send as many players as is necessary to safely and quickly complete the menagerie (and perhaps additional players for the third menagerie).
When the players are transported to the menagerie, one of the transported players at random will be targeted with a beam of light. When the legendary creature at the end of the menagerie is reached, Qadim’s lamp must be destroyed by someone who remained on the platform. This will create a large green AoE around the player that was targeted and a few seconds later any player (and the legendary creature) within the AoE will be teleported back to the platform. For this reason the targeted player must ensure that all players and the legendary creature are nearby, and then must communicate with the rest of the squad that the lamp can be destroyed (it is common to spam-ping a mount in squad chat). If the lamp is destroyed and the players return without the legendary creature, they must wait for the lamp to activate again and make another attempt – the lamp is resummoned every time Qadim changes platform. Finally, if the group in the menagerie take too long to reach the legendary creature, the beam of light will expire and the players will be trapped until the lamp pulls someone else in.
When the players return to the main platform, they will be floating in the air and can use their Special Action Key to drop back onto the platform. Otherwise they will drop automatically after a few seconds, and thus should ensure that they are above a platform.
Strategy
When Qadim captures Zommoros and the menagerie team, a legendary creature is released from the lamp. Those members of the squad not assigned to the other functions will be dealing with these legendary creatures for much of the encounter. All the creatures aggro on proximity, so a player will need to tank in order to keep them facing away from the rest of the group. All the creatures have defiance bars (strength: 1500) that will need to be broken quickly. If there is no-one on the platform with the legendary creatures they will unleash devastating attacks on the squad until a player reaches them.
A fiery vortex on the floor indicates the location that the legendary creature will appear. Players should stack between the center of the platform and the edge, avoiding the area between the center and the corners as Qadim will regularly drop an where the outer circle intersects the lines leading from the center to the corner. The tank should position themselves close to the center of the platform in order to ensure that they maintain aggro, and face the legendary creature away from the other players.
Ancient Invoked Hydra
The Ancient Invoked Hydra uses the following attack pattern:
- → → → → → → →
It is possible for the tank to walk out of all the hydra's attacks, including . This attack starts with the hydra's rightmost head, and it will miss if the tank moves to the right as it begins because the hydra is rooted throughout.
During the hydra will gain a defiance bar, and if it is not quickly broken a meteor will fall at every player’s location (including the kiter(s), but excluding those in the menagerie). This attack is hard to dodge, and if it downs the kiter it can easily cause a wipe.
After reaching the end of the attack pattern, the hydra will teleport to the adjacent platform in the direction of the closest player, and repeat the pattern. The second time the hydra uses , Qadim will any player within the hydra's hitbox to Qadim himself so the tank needs to be careful. It is crucial to note that this coincides with Qadim's and tether, meaning that teleported players are at risk of being tethered by Qadim. Should this happen they must wait with the kiter(s) and allow Qadim to teleport to them before returning to the stack, otherwise they will drag Qadim behind them likely causing a wipe.
If left alone, the hydra will spit a at players.
Once the menagerie team indicate that they have reached the legendary creature, a player should destroy the lamp in the center of the arena and the players will return along with the allied legendary creature, a Legendary Iceborn Hydra. It may be worth assigning a specific player to destroying the lamp to avoid confusion.
Once the iceborn hydra arrives on the platform, the invoked hydra will focus on it instead of the tank. The iceborn hydra will attack the invoked hydra, dealing 80% of its maximum health as damage and stunning the invoked hydra. The iceborn hydra will then disappear, and the invoked hydra will enrage, dealing double damage.
Ideally, there will be sufficient players attacking the hydra that it is below 80% health when the menagerie team return, meaning that it will be killed instantly by the iceborn hydra. If this is not the case, then the tank will need to be ready to take aggro again once the iceborn hydra departs. The invoked hydra will start its rotation from the beginning.
Pyre Guardians
Once the invoked hydra dies, the lava elementals will stop spawning and Qadim will move to the center of the platform. At the same time the platform sections will drift apart and all but three will be destroyed by Qadim. On each of these platforms, a creature will spawn with a single boon – either Protection, 
Resolution or 
Stability. The creatures themselves are not dangerous and simply serve to indicate what will follow.
A few seconds later, the missing platform sections will reappear in a new arrangement and on each the three outer platform sections is a Pyre Guardian with a boon matching that of the nearest creature. To reach these platforms, players must jump into the floating blue orbs, which will launch them across to the nearby section. While the pyres are alive, they will constantly apply their boon to Qadim so it is important to kill them all. For this reason it can be worth assigning specific players to each pyre so as to keep an even spread of damage, and it's also worth ensuring that the Protection and Resolution pyres have a player who can remove the boon. While a pyre is alive, it will regularly spit out an that bounces around the platform. These balls will instantly down a player, or instantly kill a downed player but can be blocked and evaded.
A short time after the pyres spawn, a Greater Magma Elemental will spawn in each of the three corners of the main platform. They are surrounded by a shield AoE and within it are multiple lava elementals that cannot be targeted or damaged while the shield is active. The elementals proceed towards Qadim and should the lava elementals reach him they will grant stacks of Fiery Surge.
There are several options for preventing this: Players returning from pyres can kill the magma elementals and cleave down the lava elementals, or alternatively they can CC the magma elementals as the lava elementals will continue on regardless, leaving them vulnerable. The later method can be risky as the magma elementals are dangerous in their own right and will attack players as they attempt to engage Qadim. In particular, they have a knockback attack that can be lethal in later sections of the encounter that have more gaps in the platforms. A third approach is to simply stack at Qadim and wait for the magma elementals to approach. When sufficiently close, players can pull the magma elementals onto Qadim as the squad is fighting him and have them be cleaved down. Without the shield, the lava elementals should be cleaved downed without much effort. Position correctly, a single can pull two or three magma elementals into Qadim (depending on the phase).
Qadim
Once the Pyre Guardians are dead, the group can return to Qadim. While he can be damaged as soon as he returns to the center of the platform, the Protection and Resolution make this inefficient. Qadim will cycle through the same attack pattern as before: → → → →
Following this, Qadim will use a new attack Big Hit.
Big Hit
Following Fire Dance, Qadim raises his mace as fire races out in front of him, following the line patterns on the tile. A moment later the fire returns to Qadim and he slams his mace down, dealing extreme damage and knocking players back as a shockwave erupts from the point of impact. The shockwave can be jumped as well as blocked or evaded, but note that the impact point (directly in front of Qadim) cannot be jumped.
Qadim will then repeat the sequence.
Riposte
After the second use of , Qadim will spin, summoning multiple Infernos and then begin charging a powerful attack. He gains a defiance bar and a buff called Parry that absorbs all incoming damage. If not broken, Qadim hits the platform with an explosive attack that deals extreme damage and knocks players away.
After , Qadim will start his pattern from the beginning. If a group has sufficient DPS they could ignore the Stability pyre and trust in their ability to phase Qadim before occurs. Alternatively, the group could bring a large amount of boon removal, or boon denial such as in order to continually remove Stability from Qadim while the defiance bar is active.
Apocalypse Bringer (66%)
Once Qadim reaches 66% health, he will return to his initial position and both the elemental kiter(s) and menagerie team will need to resume their roles. Everyone else can return to the location they fought the hydra and prepare for the next legendary creature, the Apocalypse Bringer.
Players should be ready as the Apocalypse Bringer will immediately need to be CC’d in order to prevent it summoning destroyer trolls near all players (including the kiter(s), but excluding those in the menagerie). At the same time, three Reapers of Flesh will spawn nearby and move towards players. As the reapers can deal a lot of damage if left alive, it is common to have everyone stack inside the Apocalypse Bringer’s hitbox in order to bring the reapers as close together as possible then break their defiance bars and kill them. Once this is done, players should move out of the hitbox so they are not hit by the Apocalypse Bringer’s attacks.
The Apocalypse Bringer’s attack pattern is:
- → → → → → → → → .
After this it will repeat the pattern. The second time is used, players inside its hitbox to Qadim's location. All players should be wary of and as they both cause shockwaves that everyone will need to avoid.
If the Apocalyse Bringer is left alone it will use at players.
As before, once the menagerie team reach the legendary creature the lamp can be destroyed to release a Legendary Ice Elemental. This will do 80% of the Apocalypse Bringer’s maximum health as damage, in addition to stunning it. After this it will enrage and begin its rotation from the start, meaning there will be another defiance bar to break.
After the Apocalypse Bringer is killed, a second Pyre Guardian phase will begin. It proceeds exactly as before, except that the formation of the platform is now different and the Pyre Guardian's locations have moved anticlockwise.
After the Pyre Guardians, players can engage Qadim once more. This phase proceeds identically to the first with the added complication that there is a large gap in the platform behind Qadim. This makes it more difficult to flank, and makes the magma elementals more dangerous as their knockback can fling a player off the platform. Furthermore, the gap causes one group of elementals to take slightly longer to arrive, meaning that additional pulls will be needed if the group is pulling the magma elementals into Qadim.
Wyverns (33%)
One Qadim reaches 33% health, the lamp releases its final creatures – two legendary wyverns. This necessitates that two players are now tanking the creatures. With the third menagerie being more dangerous, extra players may need to be send in which further reduces the number of players left to engage the Wyverns.
For this phase, many things are in significantly different locations: Qadim is now on a platform to the south, the Wyverns appear on platforms to the north, and even the lamp appears in a slightly different location (though still near the center). To prevent any foes being left alone it is recommended that players move into position immediately as Qadim phases – if they are quick the kiter(s) can jump between two platforms as they move apart in order to reach Qadim. If the tanks take too long to reach the wyverns, they will begin to use at players.
Both wyverns use the same attack pattern:
- → → → → → → Special Attack →
The special attack is the only difference. The Matriarch uses → as its special attack, whereas the Patriarch will gain a defiance bar and attempt to destroy the platform he is on. For this reason it is recommended that only a tank go to the Matriarch at first, while everyone else remains on the Patriarch to ensure that it is always broken. Once Qadim's lamp is broken, the next time the Patriarch attempts to destroy the platform Qadim will players inside his hitbox to Qadim's location. Following this, will occur the next time the Matriarch uses .
It is important to keep the wyverns facing away from each other, as both and can hit nearby platforms. will cause the wyvern to jump to the next platform in the direction of the closest player, and if there is no platform in that direction it will jump to the closest platform not occupied by the other wyvern.
When selecting the second player to tank a wyvern, consider classes with access to blocks or stun breaks as these will make it much easier. It is actually possible to just walk out of all the wyvern’s attacks, though this is difficult with as the attack will track the player its targeting. The attack has both sweep and a slam components and avoiding it requires being close to the center of the wyvern’s hitbox and making a quick anti-clockwise movement around the center of the hitbox as the attack begins. It may be better to dodge or block it. Failure to avoid the sweep is very dangerous as it is followed up with a slam from the wing that deals heavy damage. The slam component can be avoided just by standing inside the wyvern’s hitbox, but the sweep component will knock a player out of the wyvern’s hitbox, making a stunbreak very useful. Due to the damage caused by the sweep component, Stability is not a suitable defense against .
Once the menagerie team have reached the end, a player will need to leave the wyvern in order to return to the center of the arena and destroy the lamp. This will also return Zommoros to the platform. He will move to each of the wyverns in turn (first the Patriarch, then the Matriarch) and attack them three times, dealing 25% of their maximum health as damage for a total of 75%. As with previous legendary creatures, the wyverns will aggro on Zommoros when he appears which makes them rapidly change the direction they are facing, making it difficult to avoid their attacks. While trying to avoid the wyverns’ attacks, players should bear in mind that still occurs regularly, so they should remain between the center and edge of the platform if they can.
Once Zommoros leaves, players should finish off the Patriarch, then move to the Matriarch and kill her too. As both the wyverns will be enraged at this point, the second tank may wish to let the main tank take over when possible.
After attacking both wyverns, Zommoros will move to Qadim and the lava elementals will stop spawning. This means the kiter(s) can move away to join the main group and help with killing the wyverns.
Jumping Puzzle
Once both wyverns are dead, Qadim will begin to destroy platforms underneath the group and everyone must run along the remaining platforms towards Zommoros. Zommoros has a protective bubble called that heals and cures conditions, and his platform slowly moves into position facing Qadim on the other side of the Mythwright Cauldron. A series of platforms, some rotating, appear ahead of the squad. They split into two separate paths, each with a Pyre Guardian at the end.
The group can either split into two groups and make their way to both pyres simultaneously or move as one group first to one pyre, then past Zommoros to the second, before returning to fight Qadim. This section can be simplified greatly with the preemptive use of to skip a large section of the jumping puzzle. In addition, the DPS requirements for skipping the Stability pyre (north) and only killing the Resolution pyre (south) are much less than they were during the previous phases so that may be worth considering.
Whichever approach is taken, players will need to watch out for and as they travel.
The image below details the formation of platforms throughout the encounter, in addition to useful locations.
Qadim
Qadim’s attack patterns are very similar to before:
- → → → → →
After , Qadim will rush to a different corner of the platform, and start his attack pattern again. This time though, Qadim will replace with → . He will then rush to a different corner and start his attack pattern from the beginning. If the squad will not break Qadim's defiance bar during then as a last resort they may flee to Zommoros' bubble for protection.
Upon reaching 17% health, Qadim will jump to the last remaining platform and repeat the same attack patterns though he will not move again. Two magma elementals will spawn with groups of lava elementals and move towards Qadim on this platform, but they can be dealt with in much the same way as before.
Thanks to Linus, who made the Qadim images for the Guild Wars 2 Wiki.
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