This week's mutation is hazardous Hellfire
It’s a busy week with the Springtide Bloom festival and the new Expeditions Unleashed. Mutated expeditions are on the Season Track and mutated caches contain a couple of the new artifacts, so it’s worth making some time for them too. We have some beautiful synergy with the fires of the Forge, plus a couple of old Corrupted favourites.
Contents
Mutation
- Ignited – 50% of all enemy damage is Fire.
- Fiery – Burn is applied on hit – M1: 4% Fire damage over time, M2 & M3: 8% Fire damage over time.
- Enflamed – Enemies with this title cast a Burn zone that deals Fire damage over time. M1: 20%, M2 & M3: 40%.
- Explosive – Enemies with this title explode on death, dealing 70% Fire damage.
Promotion
- Vampiric – Enemies heal a percentage of damage done. M1: 20%, M2 & M3: 40%.
- Phalanx – Enemies cast a shield that blocks ranged attacks.
Curse
- Blowback – Using abilities builds up to cause a zone of Silence that prevents the use of abilities. When it expires, the zone explodes, dealing 65% Fire damage.
- Truncated – During active periods of Silence, players lose natural mana regen. Standing in the Silence zone grants 25 mana per 0.75 seconds.
Consumables
- Flame Protection Amulet
- Rubies in Armor/Jewelry
- Desert Sunrise
- Fire Absorption Potion
- Honing Stone
- Attribute bonus food
Gearing up
- M1 – Opals in your armor is fine
- M2 – Add the Flame Protection Amulet
- M3 – Swap most of your Opals for Rubies
- Enchanted Ward – Aim for 4 or 5 pieces with this perk
- For more detailed advice on gear, check out our Gear Guide.
Dodge Explosions
Explosive enemies go boom! Not only does this do a big chunk of damage but it also throws you around, even off the edge of the dungeon, if you’re close. Look for the title and be ready to dodge or get out of the way.
The floor is lava
The Burn zone from Enflamed enemies can get pretty hot, so make sure you’re stacking on, and staying in, the heals. Leaving and returning to this space may cause an (unintended?) double stack of burn, so either stay with the clump or stay out of the fire.
M2 - Melee and chunder
There’s a penalty for using ranged attacks once again, with Phalanx enemies putting up a deflecting shield, so make sure you have at least one melee weapon. Vampiric slows down the time to kill on mobs that have it, so slotting your Bile Bomb Heartrune can help.
M3 - Strategic Abilities
Silence is incredibly annoying for every class. Tanks can’t taunt, Healers can’t heal, DPS can’t debuff or optimise damage. The excellent thing about Blowback is that you can see the gauge and can set off the silence deliberately, before entering a big fight. If you can’t help setting it off in the middle of a fight, try to stack and then move the group.
Dynasty Shipyard
Enemy Type: Corrupted
Weaknesses: 30% Arcane 20% Thrust 15% Nature
Consumables
- Corrupted Ward potion – 10% damage absorption
- Corrupted Coating – 15% bonus damage
- Corrupted Combat Trophy – 3/4/5% bonus damage x3
- Thrust damage – Spear, Rapier, Bow, Musket, Blunderbuss
- Sapphire gem in weapon for Arcane damage*
Note: *Elemental damage gems in your weapons are simply recommendations based on the elements your enemies are weakest to. Your playstyle may suit non-elemental gems better and you are encouraged to continue using those if so.
Artifact: The Butcher
Dropped by Zhou Taiying.
- +38 Magnify (selectable attribute)
- Hemorrhage: Bleeds lasts 33% longer (Works on both weapons).
- Jagged Whirls: Whirling Blade inflicts bleed, dealing 10% weapon damage for 6s.
- Empowering Whirling Blade: If 2 or more enemies are within its radius while performing a Whirling Blade attack, gain 24% base damage for each nearby target (Max 5 Targets).
- Keenly Jagged: Inflicts Bleed on critical hit, dealing 10% weapon damage per second for 6s (7s cooldown).
Strategy and tips
Be careful of the pink elemental Void attacks from maidens and mages, and either block or dodge out. A ranged weapon can be useful in here. Enemy muskets are also quite annoying, so either bring the fight to them or stand out of their line of sight so they come to you.
Main Damage Type: Slash and Void
Isabella begins this fight, leaping around and running away as usual. She has a range of physical damage types, so the tank may be best off with some Onyx and a Slash protection shield, while everyone else needs to just stay out of her reach. She will also spawn three abominations, which are pretty easy to kill.
At about 75% health, Isabella will fly toward the boats and canons will shoot from the distance. The group can huddle up next to the eastern dog cage to prevent the canon fire from landing on them, then go and resume the fight. Canon fire will continue, so make sure you’re not standing in it.
Just before she gets to half health, Isabella gets tired of fighting and opens two of the cages in the room to reveal Oro and Joven, her pet tigers. There are a few strategies for this part of the fight, including allowing the tank to hold one dog while the rest fight the other, or having a DPS play an off-tank for the second dog. This can easily go wrong, however, so you may want to get the group to stand over by the west-side dog and get the tank to grab both of them. That way, AOE attacks will hit both enemies, killing them faster. The dogs do Slash damage and watch out for them jumping back and doing a Void breath attack, catching DP who had been standing safely behind.
Main Damage Type: Void
Empress Zhou’s moves are mostly telegraphed by particle effects, so once you get to know these, you can react in time to avoid them.
- Small particles rising from the floor = Dragon Breath – only hits in front, so just dodge to the side.
- Small particles on the floor radiating out from her = Corruption Wave – dodge into the wave.
- Small particles spinning in a small and wider circle around her = Dragon Circle – if you have grit, you can stand inside, otherwise block.
- Points to a player = Dragon Dive Solo – she will shoot a dragon at you, so move!
- Multiple perpendicular pink lines – Dragon Dive – Dragons will shoot out along those lines and follow players, just step to the side and avoid them.
At about 60% health, the Empress will take a break and summon two waves of trash mobs, plus two pillars. These pillars can also perform her magic spells. Kill the mobs only, then everyone should stack at the East wall of the arena. Zhou will throw 3 more pillars and we want these at this end. Do not kill the pillars. Once all pillars are thrown, everyone should run to the West end to finish the fight.
Interesting Loot
- M3 – Empress Zhou’s Set – Light armour with Health and Refreshing, upgradeable.
- M3 – Harbinger weapon set for skins – split stat Con/Weapon scaling attribute, Enchanted/Purifying Breeze, Weapon Ability Perk.
- Shipyard’s Amulet – Health, Fortified + Random perk and attribute.
- Shipyard’s Ring – Hearty, Blood Letting + Random perk and attribute.
- Dynasty’s Earring – Refreshing Toast, Regenerating + Random perk and attribute.
Tempest's Heart
Enemy Type: Corrupted
Weaknesses: 30% Arcane 20% Thrust 15% Nature
Consumables
- Corrupted Ward potion – 10% damage absorption
- Corrupted Coating – 15% bonus damage
- Corrupted Combat Trophy – 3/4/5% bonus damage x3
- Thrust damage – Spear, Rapier, Bow, Musket, Blunderbuss
- Sapphire gem in weapon for Arcane damage*
Note: *Elemental damage gems in your weapons are simply recommendations based on the elements your enemies are weakest to. Your playstyle may suit non-elemental gems better and you are encouraged to continue using those if so.
Artifact: Magnetic Gauntlets
Dropped by Isabella.
- +32 Magnify (selectable attribute)
- Magnetic: Crit chance increased by 50%, but crit damage reduced by up to 30%.
- Empty Socket: Attach a gem to add its effect.
- Refreshing: Reduce max cooldowns by 4%.
- Physical Aversion: Receive 4.5% less damage from ranged, physical attacks.
Strategy and tips
The Tempest is a long dungeon, so players often like to run from one gate to another and fight whatever follows, when it catches up. This can be a little overwhelming for newer players, or in higher mutations. There are lots of resources to gather, and some of the mini-boss fights are quite challenging, especially Ekheke, the spriggan. DPS should clear the 2 musket enemies while the tank moves Ekheke either on or next to the stairs, to try and reduce his movement. You’ll also meet Isabella a few times. When she has her acolytes with her, make sure you kill them to reduce her power.
Main Damage Type: Void
Neishatun’s arena looks like it’s filled with fire but it actually does Void damage. Another of Aeternum’s snake-like bosses, Neishatun will slither away multiple times, leaving you with an arena full of fiery circles. Zoom your camera right out and look for a gap, because if you get caught in the fire when it pulses, you’ll get a Void DoT that can’t be cleansed until the fight is over. Trash mobs appear during this phase, and you can usually tell where a clear spot will be next by watching where they spawn.
Other moves to look for include a symbol above your head that means Neishatun is going to shoot at you – just move to the side to avoid it. An orb can also appear in the middle of the arena, which you need to destroy before it explodes and gives everyone a Void DoT. For those up close, be careful of the Tail Slam, Tail Swipe, Charge, and Charge Tail Whip, which all do Strike damage.
Main Damage Type: Void
At the end of this expedition, you can finally fight Isabella to the death – yours or hers. The shape of this boss arena is like a triangle, with 3 clearings on the corners. The space in the middle and on the edges is filled with a murky corrupted liquid that we call the spaghetti. Do not stand in the spaghetti, it does a fast DoT and will kill you quickly.
Isabella has really grown into her wings for this fight and uses them as a weapon, as well as to swoop down on players throughout the arena. If you get a symbol above your head, it means she is going to swoop you, so be ready to duck, dive, and roll. She also sends out tendrils of corruption along the ground, that cause a slow and DoT. You can avoid them by moving toward and to the side, but it’s difficult. Corruption Tinctures can help in here. Another attack is a wide slash of corruption that moves quite slowly and can be dodged forward into.
At about 40% health, she will put up a corrupted tower on one of the clearings. If you’re killing her quickly, you can just avoid this by fighting on another clearing. If it’s taking a bit longer, you can destroy the tower by pressing E. Beware of meteors – you can see if one is about to drop by a red circle outline on the ground. If the circle overlaps where you are standing, step out of the way and then resume destroying the tower.
Once Isabella is dead, you need to go to where she lands and use your Azoth Staff to make sure she stays dead. Otherwise, the fight starts over.
Interesting Loot
- M3 – Isabella’s Set – Light armour with Enchanted Ward and Void Harnessing, upgradeable.
- M3 – Befouled weapon set for skins – split stat Con/Weapon scaling attribute, Refreshing Move, Weapon Ability Perk.
- Myrkgard’s Amulet – Health, Empowered + Random perk and attribute.
- Myrkgard’s Ring – Hearty, Crippling + Random perk and attribute.
- Myrkgard’s Earring – Refreshing Toast, Healthy Toast + Random perk and attribute.
Empyrean Forge
Enemy Type: Human
Weaknesses: 15% Slash
Consumables
- Human Ward potion – 10% damage absorption
- Human Coating – 15% bonus damage
- Human Combat Trophy – 3/4/5% bonus damage x3
- Slash damage – Sword, Greatsword, Hatchet, Great Axe
Artifact: Dorgort's Blade Rapier
Dropped by Ifrit.
- +38 Magnify (selectable attribute)
- Lava Tip: Heavy melee attacks on both weapons cause 10% burning for 6s (Max 3 stacks).
- Empty Socket: Attach a gem to add its effect.
- Trenchant Strikes: Heavy melee attacks deal +23% damage.
- Refreshing Move: Light and Heavy attacks reduce your active weapon cooldowns by 2.5% (0.2s cooldown).
Artifact: Inferno Fire Staff
Dropped by Commander Marius.
- +38 Magnify (selectable attribute)
- Inner Power: If your strength attribute is higher, replace your base weapon scaling with strength. +15% damage when you hit a target within 15m.
- Empty Socket: Attach a gem to add its effect.
- Keenly Empowered: Gain 10% Empower for 5s on critical hit (10s cooldown).
- Vicious: +7% critical damage.
- Cannot add Gem Setting Pin
Strategy and tips
The main thing you should know about the Empyrean Forge is that you need to have your music turned on. The soundtrack for this expedition is so perfectly tuned to the environment that it would be a crime to miss it. The Forge is also the first expedition to drop two artifacts, one from each boss.
As you might guess from the name, Empyrean Forge is full of Fire damage, so it might be worth slotting your extra resistances in Fire. As well as the human Varangians, there are a few Lost enemies, but not enough to justify changing up consumables. Common pitfalls include falling in lava and getting crushed by giant pistons, so watch your step.
There is a puzzle to solve in the first section of the expedition and near the end. If you only stand on the trigger plate once, the code will be the same for both versions of the puzzle. This means you can make the second puzzle room much easier. Take the upper path and preload the sequence except for the last turn. Then send someone down to stand on the plate, and do the final rotation. This will stop the ghost spawns and make the Blunderbuss Mini Boss fight much easier.
Main Damage Type: Fire
Ifrit was originally going to be Lost but was then changed to Human due to feedback from the player community. He has unique weaknesses – 30% Arcane and 20% Ice so a weapon with a Sapphire in it, or an Ice Gauntlet may be helpful here.
The first time you fight Ifrit the myriad fire attacks feel chaotic but once you get to know them, the mechanics of this fight are predictable and easy to manage. Ifrit does not move from the centre of the arena, except to bend forward and bop someone if they get aggro from a distance.
Positioning is important in this fight, and no-one should be at the far edges of the room, so they don’t get caught in the Flamethrower. The tank should stand to one side of Ifrit, allowing the party to see the SE wall so they know when Fire Discs are emerging.
- Fire Discs: multiple discs of fire shoot out from the SE end of the arena. You can dodge these or even lie down beneath them if you’re nimble.
- Fire Balls: a large yellow sigil will appear on the floor at your feet indicating the imminent arrival of a fireball from the sky so that you can move out of the way. The impact will leave a crater of lava that does fire damage if you stand in it.
- Slam: a cross of fire will appear on the floor beneath Ifrit, indicating that he is about to slam four ways. Just stand on the diagonal to avoid it.
- Flamethrower: Fire walk with me. Ifrit will extend 2 beams of flame that extend to the edges of the room, in front and behind and then rotate anti-clockwise. You need to follow the flamethrower’s rotation to avoid being hit by it. The further away from the centre you are, the faster you have to run, so it’s important to be closer to the middle of the arena. This will be repeated and then followed by a double flamethrower, with 4 beams extending in a cross. By this time, the floor will most likely be covered in lava pools. While you should avoid as much fire as you can, if you have the choice between the flamethrower and a lava pool, walk in lava.
Main Damage Type: Fire
This is another trial by fire and you should swap into a Flame Protection amulet before stepping into the arena. First of all, make sure you touch the respawn crystal just outside the door, as this fight can go south quite easily and you don’t want to have to do the long run of shame.
The arena is quite small and has three raised platforms, with short corridors extending from the main central space at the lower level. You will need to keep moving but remain aware of the different spaces and how you can use them to your advantage. The fight goes more smoothly if you have a tank who will maintain a position instead of chasing Marius around, but either way, everyone needs to keep on their toes during this fight.
- Bungie Boss: periodically, Marius will spin away from the tank toward a DPS and then spin back. This is a dance move and not loss of aggro, so there is no need to freak out. Just dodge, whether you are the target or not, as he will spit firey sparks during the spin that cause a Fire DoT.
- Execute: Marius will do a large melee smack down with his Greataxe. You can’t block this but you can just step to the side and avoid it. Melee DPS need to be careful of their positioning.
- Volcanos: (or Pimples, as we call them) – Eruptions of fire will emerge from the floor throughout the arena, particularly under the feet of players. Move to avoid a nasty Fire DoT.
- Floor is Lava: Marius will go to the centre of the room the first time this happens, and raise his flaming axe slowly into the air. The lower section of the floor will fill with lava, leaving only the three platforms as safe zones. With enough fire resistance, this is not too much of a problem.
- Magmaballs: At around 50% health, Marius will start dropping his large, hot balls. This will start on the SE platform (to the right of the entrance) and continue to each platform in an anti-clockwise rotation. A large fire ring will appear on the floor to show you a ball is about to drop, then it will roll to the opposite wall. Each corner of the short corridors, just outside the ball drop radius, is a safe zone where the balls cannot hit you. At about 25% health, 2 balls will drop at once, so be very careful about where you are standing.
Interesting Loot
- M3 – Fire Lord’s Set – Heavy armour with Fire Harnessing and Enchanted Ward, upgradeable.
- M3 – Molten weapon set for skins – split stat Con/Weapon scaling attribute, Desperate Empower/Savior, Weapon Ability Perk.
- Molten Amulet – Health, Alacrity + Random perk and attribute.
- Molten Ring – Sacred, Refreshing + Random perk and attribute.
- Molten Earring – Refreshing Toast, Purifying Toast + Random perk and attribute.
