This week's mutation is organically Overgrown.
Everyone’s favourite mutation is up this week, so expect to get loaded into plenty of Glacial Tarns while adventurers desperately seek their Frigid Dawn gear. You might also want to give Genesis a go for some quick Dense Materia farming – an already short expedition with Nature synergy and a forgiving Curse. It’s a good chance to try M3 for those who are thinking about making the leap.
Contents
Mutation
- Arboreal – 50% of all enemy damage is Nature.
- Bramble – Attacks cause damage on hit – M1: 20% Nature damage, M2 & M3: 40% Nature damage.
- Compost – Enemies with this title drop a healing circle on death, healing enemies for 3% per second.
- Toxic – Enemies with this title drop a poison spawn that deals Nature damage over time and seeks out the furthest player to cast root on them. M1: 20% Nature DoT, M2 & M3: 40% Nature DoT.
Promotion
- Festering – Enemies apply a stacking Disease on being hit. M2: 2.5% reduced healing per stack, M3: 5% reduced healing per stack.
- Slicer – Enemies cast slicing beams that do 30% Void damage.
Curse
- Combustible – Selects the player with the lowest percent health and surrounds them with a Nature aura. When the aura expires, nearby players receive Nature damage of 50% max health.
- Shrivelled – All players except the one with the Nature aura get a Shrivelled Weaken debuff, reducing damage and healing by 50%. Stepping into the Nature aura cleanses the debuff.
Consumables
- Nature Protection Amulet
- Ambers in Armor/Jewelry
- Desert Sunrise
- Nature Absorption Potion
- Powerful Honing Stone
- Attribute bonus food
Gearing up
- M1 – Opals in your armor is fine
- M2 – Add the Nature Protection Amulet
- M3 – Swap most of your Opals for Ambers
- Enchanted Ward – Aim for 4 or 5 pieces with this perk
- For more detailed advice on gear, check out our Gear Guide.
Get out of the Compost
If a Compost mob drops while you are still fighting, the tank should reposition to get the mobs out of the compost healing circle. You can also use the Bile Bomb Heartrune, Plagued Strikes, or other disease to reduce the effectiveness of the healing.
Don't get caught
Toxic poison spawn will chase down the furthest player, so if you’re outside the clump playing range, keep moving. You can easily outmanoeuvre the little fella but watch out if you get caught as it’ll hold you down and DoT you to death. Perks like Relentless Freedom, Berserking Purge, or the 300 Dex milestone perk can help you escape if you get stuck.
M2 - Void and Disease
We all know Slicers are annoying, even more so when you’re fully gemmed up for a different type of elemental damage. Between these and the Festering disease, your healer might need a little help keeping you alive, so make sure you bring plenty of health potions.
M3 - Dip and Nae Nae
Desiccated is the easiest to manage of all the curses. If you get the Nature aura around you, be sure to dip all your teammates to remove their Shrivelled debuff. Then quickly move (or “Nae Nae”) away, so you don’t spike them with the chain Nature.
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.
Glacial Tarn
Enemy Type: Ancient and Human
Weaknesses: Ancient: 30% Lightning, 20% Strike, 15% Void. Human: 15% Slash
Note: there are multiple unique weaknesses in this expedition, see below for more details.
Consumables
- Topaz gem Lightning damage*
- Ancient Ward potion | Human Ward potion – 10% damage absorption
- Ancient Coating | Human Coating – 15% bonus damage
- Ancients Combat Trophy | Human Combat Trophy – 3/4/5% bonus damage x3
- Strike damage – Hammer, Void damage – Void Gauntlet | Slash damage – Sword, Greatsword, Hatchet, Great Axe
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: Deep Freeze
Dropped by Snorok Ice Fist.
- +38 Magnify (selectable attribute)
- Chilling End: Frozen, rooted or chilled enemies take 15% additional damage (on both weapons).
- Empty Socket: Attach a gem to add its effect.
- Vicious: +7% critical damage.
- Refreshing Move: Light and Heavy attacks reduce your active weapon cooldowns by 2.5% (0.2s cooldown).
Strategy and tips
Partner to the Empyrean Forge, Glacial Tarn is the icy portion of the underground Great Cleave. You will see fire pits along your journey, which provide you with a buff that melts through ice-forged enemies. As long as one person with the buff has attacked the enemy, everyone will be able to do normal damage. If no one has the buff, your attacks become weak and the enemies take a long time to die. Sometimes the group needs to decide whether to go back for a buff or whether to run forward to the next one.
The puzzle rooms in the second half of the expedition require some coordination. Each door requires someone on the previous plate in order to unlock it. There are ice-forged enemies here and a sheet of ice that cleanses the fire buff, so again you’ll have to choose whether to fight or run. If you do run and jump down, make sure you step out of the archer’s line of sight.
Not only does Glacial Tarn have two enemy types, a number of the mobs have different weaknesses than normal Ancients and Humans do.
- 30% Fire, 30% Lightning, 15% Strike – Ancient Sanctifier, Ancient Elemental Archer
- 30% Nature, 15% Ice, 10% Strike – Protector of the Ancient Spring
Main Damage Type: Ice/Strike
Snorok is categorised as an Ancient Guardian but has his own specific weaknesses – 20% Lightning, 15% Thrust, 15% Fire.
This Ice Troll throws plenty of temper tantrums, smashing the ground and bringing down stalactites on unsuspecting heads. Ranged weapons can be useful here, due to the slow and hypothermia effects from his large blizzard spell, although if you can stand the cold, melee will kill him more quickly. DPS should probably use a Frozen protection amulet in here, while the tank would be best off with Strike protection. While all his moves are predictable, it’s still easy to just miss one mechanic and get wiped out with one hit, so play carefully.
- Frost Breath – Snorok will emit a cone of icy breath about half the arena’s length. Be aware that this will follow you as you move out of it, so you might need an extra dodge.
- Charge – If a blue symbol appears above your head, get ready to move. Snorok will make a quick charge across the room and being hit generally results in death. He’ll usually do two in a row, not always to the same person.
- Personal Pound – Stalactites will drop in the melee vicinity of the boss, doing strike damage.
- Stalactite Storm – Snorok will rage and stalactites will drop everywhere in the arena. You have some warning of the drop zone by a circle appearing on the ground just prior to the drop. These do high amounts of ice damage, so do your best to avoid being hit.
- Blizzard – Snorok summons a large aura of cold, that almost fills the arena. If you are playing ranged, look for the edge of the storm and stand outside it.
Main Damage Type: Slash/Ice
This is an interesting boss fight, because it includes multiple enemies. Our task is to defeat Ser Loth, but he is supported by the giant Ice Entity in the centre of the area and the four Spellcasters who bring it to life. Ser Loth does mostly slash damage with his giant sword, while the Ice Entity does Strike and Ice. The arena consists of four island platforms joined by bridges, that form a ring around the giant Ice Entity. It is possible to fall off, so watch your footing.
The four spellcasters spawn periodically, initially with a protective aura. When this aura drops, they can be attacked, and killing all four mages puts the Ice Entity to sleep temporarily. When this expedition was first released, there were many bugs, and if you killed the mages at the wrong time it could prevent the fight from being completed. So, many groups simply ignore the mages and dodge the Entity attacks.
- Ice Javelin – a blue symbol will appear above the head of the player Ser Loth is throwing the ice javelin toward, warning you to dodge. Anyone else in the line of fire will be hit.
- Ice Wave – same as the Ice Javelin but a wider wave.
- Frost Breath – The Ice Entity will breathe on an island, making it slippery and spikey and causing damage – you need to get off the island!
- Ice Bomb – The Ice Entity will throw a bomb onto one island – you need to destroy it before it explodes.
- Break Bridges – a red symbol will appear above all bridges just before the Ice Entity breaks them. If you are on a bridge, you will fall and be out of the fight. After a period of time, bridges can be rebuilt by interacting at the edge of the island.
- Weak Spots – three greenish discs will appear on the Ice Entity. While these are up, Ser Loth will resist most of your damage. Ranged attacks need to destroy the weak spots.
Interesting Loot
- M3 – Verglas weapon set for skins – Weapon scaling attribute (except War Hammer has Dex, Fire Staff has Str, others have secondary damage stat), Vicious/Blessed, Weapon Ability Perk.
- Frigid Dawn Set – Heavy armour with Elemental Aversion and Enchanted Ward (illegal combo), upgradeable.
- Verglas Amulet – Strength, Health, Divine + Random perk.
- Verglas Ring – Dexterity, Leeching, Keen Awareness + Random perk.
- Verglas Earring – Intelligence, Refreshing Toast, Nimble + Random perk.
Garden of Genesis
Enemy Type: Angry Earth
Weaknesses: 30% Fire 20% Slash
Consumables
- Ruby gem Fire damage*
- Angry Earth Ward potion – 10% damage absorption
- Angry Earth Coating – 15% bonus damage
- Angry Earth Combat Trophy – 3/4/5% bonus damage x3
- Slash/Fire damage – Hatchet, Axe, Great/Sword, Fire Staff
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: Freya's Francisca Hatchet
Dropped by The Blighted Greenskeeper.
- +38 Magnify (selectable attribute)
- Thrown Mastery: Thrown Axe projectiles reduce all axe skill cooldowns by 25% (5s cooldown).
- Empty Socket: Attach a gem to add its effect.
- Empowering Rending Throw: Ranged Hatchet attacks deal +40% damage against Rending Throw targets.
- Refreshing Move: Light and Heavy attacks reduce your active weapon cooldowns by 2.5% (0.2s cooldown).
Strategy and tips
This Garden is full of snares and Blight, so this is one time you might choose to use Powerful Incense over Desert Sunrise. Genesis is the shortest expedition and lots of players are used to speed-running it, so expect to have to keep up with your group. There’s a lot of skipping, and the boss in the secret room is rarely killed. Right at the start, you will need to collect some Concentrated Blight to unlock the first door. You can find this down the first staircase to the left, just be careful of the patrolling archer.
Main Damage Type: Strike
This fight is the most difficult in the expedition. There are two main methods of killing him, “All In” and “4 and 1“.
The Caretaker spawns in a large boggy room, all alone. He’ll jump around a bit and will slap out a long tendril at the furthest player, so be careful if you’re playing range. When you get his health down to about 70%, he’ll move to the centre of the room and start putting up a wall of thorns. This is where the group has to decide whether to stay inside the wall with him, or to go outside and deal with the adds that spawn.
All In
The All In method is a DPS check. Everyone enters the ring with the Caretaker and does as much damage as they can. A Genesis Cap mushroom will spawn – you need to destroy the first one to avoid a wipe. The person who kills the Genesis Cap will receive an Empower buff. After, he’ll start diving under the floor and emerging periodically to attack. You can just avoid the lunge by watching and moving. After 7 lunges, the Caretaker will stand up and you can fight him again. Sometimes the walls will go down and let in the adds at this point, so you have to kill him very quickly. If the group can’t kill him fast enough and ends up dying to the adds, you may need to try the 4 and 1 method.
4 and 1
This method involves sending one player (usually the tank) inside the thorn wall, while the rest remain outside. The tank needs to play defensively and also destroy the Genesis Cap mushroom when it spawns. Outside the wall, there will be three lots of adds spawn, the first one on the side near the entrance. A point will light up, indicating where the spawn is going to occur. The outside group need to kill each spawn of adds as quickly as they can, then move clockwise around the wall to fight the next group. After a period of time, the walls will come down, allowing the tank to help with any remaining enemies. The Caretaker will go into the wall phase again, this time everyone should go in and do the All In method as outlined above.
Main Damage Type: Nature and Strike
The Greenskeeper is a snake-like boss, with poison to boot. The main attacks are Strike damage, but you should be able to avoid those. The AOE poison and ranged attacks are Nature damage and it’s more likely you might be hit by these. This is a relatively easy fight, as long as you know what to expect.
- Poison Pools – if you see a stream of poison headed your way, run to the edge of the arena. A large pool of poison is about to appear at your feet, so you need to get it as far from the group as you can. Also try to avoid dropping it on boulders if possible.
- Scream – if you’re playing ranged, the Greenskeeper may send out a scream wave at you. This can be dodged.
- Projectile – she also throws three quick projectiles, which can also be dodged
- Boulder – an outline of a circle will appear on the floor at the feet of a player, just before a boulder drops. You can easily move out of the way in time if you see it. These boulders are used later, so it’s important there is room around the back. Make sure you’re not fighting at the edge of the arena, especially if you are ranged.
- Burrow – the Greenskeeper will tunnel under the ground and come up under a player. If you get hit, it does a large amount of Strike damage. It will keep tunnelling to the furthest player, so to shorten this section, the group can stand together in a Sacred Ground and block.
- The Floor is Poison – later in the fight, the floor will be covered in a wavy poison. If there is no boulder between you and the Greenskeeper, you’ll be instantly killed. Everyone should hide behind a boulder, unless you have Defy Death, in which case you can live through it.
Interesting Loot
- M3 – Blighted Growth’s Set – Light armour with Nature Harnessing and Shirking Fortification, upgradeable.
- M3 – Mossbourne weapon set for skins – split stat Con/Weapon scaling attribute, Mortal Power/Blessed, Weapon Ability Perk.
- Garden’s Amulet – Health, Fortified + Random perk and attribute.
- Garden’s Ring – Keen Awareness, Hearty + Random perk and attribute.
- Garden’s Earring – Healthy Toast, Nimble + Random perk and attribute.
