Empyrean and Barneys, Fire and Void
It’s so nice when an expedition and mutation type align and that’s what we have with the Hellfire Empyrean Forge this week. Time to get back in and enjoy the underground soundtrack for some hot mutation rewards. Or, if you’re looking for something different, you could head down south into a purple piratey Barnacles and Black Powder, me hearties!
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.
Expedition specific
- Human Ward armour
- Human Bane weapon
- Any non-elemental weapon gem
- Human Ward potion
- Human coating
- Flame protection amulet
- Slash damage – Hatchet, Axe, Great/Sword
General buffs
- Honing Stone
- Attribute bonus food
- Topaz gypsum attunement potion
Mutation specific
- Flame protection amulet
- Rubies in armour
- Desert sunrise
- Fire Absorption potion
The Empyrean Forge is a fire-themed mountain stronghold, with mechanical puzzles and giant gears and pistons. The majority of enemies are Human Varangians, but there are also quite a few Lost ghosties around. Our advice is to stick with Human Ward, the Lost are not significant. Slash weapons are strong, but with the changes adding a 10% bonus to ranged Banes, there is scope for a wide range of character builds here. An interesting feature of the humans is they use weapons just like us and have similar moves. However, they don’t seem to be governed by the same cooldowns!
As you might expect from a Forge, there is quite a lot of fire around so you might either consider splitting your elemental protection, or using the new gear sets to swap out your setup for the boss fights. At the very least, a Fire Protection amulet will come in handy.
The first boss, Ifrit, is a fiery scythe-wielding worm-type boss who likes to throw his flames about. There are a few mechanics to watch out for, but once you have these down he’s not too bad. He stays in the middle of the room, rather than burrowing like some other worms we know. You can avoid the fiery space invaders by going prone, just make sure the floor is clear when you do. When he starts to project lines of flames, run anti-clockwise around him with them. The closer you are to him, the easier this is. Just don’t get burnt!
Commander Marius is the final boss and he also likes his fiery tortures. At some points during the fight, the floor is literally lava. Thankfully, there are some safety platforms provided in the corners of the room, just watch out if he joins you on them or drops a giant fiery meatball. For the DPS, ranged attacks allow you to stay out of reach from his heavy hitting AoE, so it might be worth considering a bow or magic weapon.
Burn baby burn, this rotation it’s Fire. At M1, we start with the basic Hellfire. Look at the enemies’ nameplates to see whether they are Explosive, and be sure to position yourself well away from edges when they die, to avoid being blown over. Fiery enemies apply Burn, giving you a Fire DOT, so it’s worth drinking some Desert Sunrise before you start. Ignited enemies deal 50% of their damage as Fire, so slot Rubies in your armour and wear a Flame Protection amulet to get your Fire resistance up. Enemies with Enflamed can cast a Burn zone on the ground, so watch your positioning.
Once we reach M3, we start seeing Mage Hunters, who drain mana when hit, so healers need to make sure their mana potions are slotted. Silence enemies cast a zone in which no abilities can be used, but at least it doesn’t have the explosion at the end.
The real trouble starts when things get Frenzied. At M6, players begin being penalised for dodging, by acquiring a stack of Unstable that does 1.5% of max health as Fire damage per second for 10 seconds and cannot be cleansed. You can get up to three of these stacks. When we get to M9, 3 stacks of Unstable drops a 3m radius zone that does 10% of max health per second for 15 seconds – ouch, that’s 150% of your health if you just stand there! If you enter this zone with stacks of Unstable, it will consume them and do 30% of max HP. So, it’s really important to manage your stacks and move away from the group if you can’t avoid dropping a puddle. Don’t poop on the group.
Expedition specific
- Lost Ward armour
- Lost Bane weapon
- Amber gem Nature damage
- Lost Ward potion
- Lost Coating
- Strike damage – War Hammer
General buffs
- Honing Stone
- Attribute bonus food
- Topaz gypsum attunement potion
Mutation specific
- Void protection amulet
- Amethyst in armour
- Desert sunrise
- Void Absorption potion
Arrrrrr me hearties, let’s get Lost and Angry. Barnacles and Black Powder is mostly full of Lost enemies like pirates and ghosties, but features a couple of angry ole tentacles and a final boss having an identity crisis. Lost Ward and Lost Bane usually suffice, but you can bring some Angry Earth gear if you want to go the extra mile. The Lost are particularly weak to Nature damage, so consider putting an Amber in your weapon. Hammers and Ice Gauntlets have a slight advantage but feel free to make use of the features of your favourite weapon if you prefer. Lost Ward potions can be scoffed in the big fights, or places like the ghost stack on the gold piles that can often get messy. As always, attribute food and honing stones keep you at your best.
The last boss in Barney’s is so annoying, she deserves a mention of her own. While she does move to a predictable pattern, her attacks become quite frenetic and she closes in the arena dramatically, leaving very little wiggle room toward the end of the fight. Legend has it that despite looking very similar to her Lost sister the Siren Queen, Nereid is of the Angry Earth with modified Lost weaknesses. Instead of the regular 30% Nature, 15% Ice, 10% Strike, she is weak to 30% Ice and 20% Strike only. So it might be worth swapping to Angry Earth Ward and Bane without an amber if this fight is causing a problem, but don’t be fooled into thinking your slash weapon would be stronger.
It’s all purple in Barney’s this week, with the Eternal mutation transforming the enemies to Void damage, so go with the theme and protect yourself with Amethysts. Paranoia is particularly annoying, with stacks building up as you hit the enemy. When you reach 4 stacks, a purple pool appears at your feet, dealing 40-70% damage. This is easily dodged as an individual, but when the melee are crowded together, you can end up with some big spikes of pain. It might be an opportunity to try a ranged DPS team for a change, with the tank holding aggro and 3 bow users shooting from afar. Creeping enemies Empower their friends when they die and Oblivion enemies use a life leech that heals them when they hit you.
At M3, some enemies start being Barbarically buffed. Shattering is annoying for your tank, dealing 40-75% increased stamina damage! It might even be worth stacking more of the stamina perks to keep up. Watch out for those large Enraged enemies, who deal 50% more damage once they get 20 stacks of Fury.
In the higher levels of the mutation, players are Censored with silence. Starting at M6, using abilities causes a meter to build up and when it is full, silence is cast on each member of the group where they are standing. Abilities cannot be used inside the silence zone and when it expires, it detonates with a massive 65% max health damage. So it’s pretty important to keep an eye on the meter and make sure that silence zones are strategically placed, especially in boss battle arenas. While silence is active, natural mana regen is turned off, however you can get 25 mana per 0.75 seconds by standing in the silence. Just don’t be in there when it explodes!
