Laz, Savage, and Barnacles; Ice, Void, Nature
A fine selection of mutations this week, from the Icy Ancient-filled stone corridors of the Lazarus Instrumentality, to the Eternally lush caves of the Savage Divide, to the Overgrown Lost pirate caverns of Barnacles and Black Powder.
There are three levels of Mutation, as well as Story mode, for each Expedition.
- M1 requires 650 gear score and is relatively easy, introducing the mechanics of the mutation type at a reduced level of damage.
- M2 is a little harder and requires 675 gear score, with increased scaling and the addition of the Promotion challenges. It is still quite simple to do with an experienced group and is probably the most efficient mode, with improved loot for little effort.
- M3 requires 695+ gear score and optimised perks, gems and buffs. It is considerably more challenging than M2, both with increased scaling and the addition of the mutation Curse as well as the Promotion.
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
- Topaz gem Lightning damage
- Ancient Ward potion
- Ancient Coating
- Strike damage – War Hammer
General buffs
- Honing Stone
- Attribute bonus food
- Topaz gypsum attunement potion
Mutation specific
- Frozen protection amulet
- Aquamarine in armour
- Desert sunrise
Artifact: Spark of Mjölnir War Hammer
It’s The Lazurus Instrumentality week, everyone’s favorite place to be. As always, Ancient enemies require ancient solutions and this means Hammers! Crush those bones down, but don’t forget the utility of your secondary weapons. Every good mutation team benefits from a Spear with Perforate and a Great Axe with Grav Well to keep things running smoothly. Or any other way you can think of to weaken those enemies and buff up your friends.
You might want to consider Topaz for your weapons, as it converts some of your damage to Lightning, which is strong against Ancients, or you might choose to slot an Emerald for those large numbers in Chardis’ final down phase. Add an Ancient Coating, Infused if you can afford it, and a Honing stone to maximise damage. Chug down an Ancient Ward potion before getting started for some extra protection. Remember to eat an attribute food of your choice and take your Topaz if you need to collect some gypsum.
Mutation: Icebound
Ice, Ice, Baby! Everything slows down in the cold and this mutation is no exception. We start with Icebound, which means all enemies are dealing Ice Damage, so pull out your Aquamarines and Frozen Protection amulet. Most annoying is Shiver, a zone of exclusion that bites anyone who is outside of it, which keeps the group huddled up together. Be careful of enemies with Glacial, as they will drop a crystal that can root you in place. To prevent this, you need to destroy or run away from the crystal, depending on where it is positioned.
At M1 level, everything is a bit easier, so you will be fine with Opals rather than Aquamarines, and may not need to use Ward potions or Coatings.
M2 - Barbaric
At M2, 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.
M3 - Fiendish
The first of our M3 curses is Weary, which slows down player movement as well as increasing damage taken by 20%. This is on a timer and while you’re meant to be able to delay it by using abilities, it’s been glitchy in game so don’t rely on that.
The other curse is Blood Offering. Using abilities causes a 4.5% Ice DoT, which can stack up to 3 times, however while under the influence of Offering players also get a 25% life leech. So as long as you’re doing damage, this curse has little effect. The main person it impacts is the healer, so they may need to focus on healing themselves. Drinking some Desert Sunrise before you start the expedition should help reduce the effect.
Expedition specific
- Opals in Armour (elemental protection)
- Beast Ward potion
- Beast Coating
- Thrust damage – Spear, Rapier, Bow, Blunderbuss, Musket
General buffs
- Honing Stone
- Attribute bonus food
- Topaz gypsum attunement potion
Mutation specific
- Void protection amulet
- Amethyst in armour
- Desert sunrise
Artifact: Endless Thirst earring
The Savage Divide is a beast-filled warren of caves, which is very easy to get confused in. Beasts have no specific elemental weakness, so feel free to use any gems your like in your weapons. Watch our for hard-hitting chameleons and annoying gorillas throwing their stuff at you. If you’re curious, you may want to see whether you can lure the mammoth Madhu down the Vast Chasm to help you find a secret.
Both boss fights focus around a range of elemental damage types, so your best bet is to keep at least some Opals in your Armour and use a Protection amulet and mutation-specific gems in your jewelry.
Mutation: Eternal
It’s all purple in the Divide 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 M1 level, everything is a bit easier, so you will be fine with Opals rather than Amethysts, and may not need to use Ward potions or Coatings.
M2 - Savage
When you get to M2, Festering enemies start to appear, dealing disease against you so your incoming healing will be reduced. Remember, debuffs can be Purified in a number of ways. Slicer enemies also turn up, adding 30% base Void damage, so think about diversifying your protective gems in this mutation.
M3 - Frenzied
The real trouble starts when things get Frenzied. At M3, players begin being penalised for dodging, by acquiring a stack of Unstable that does 1.5% of max health as Void damage per second for 10 seconds and cannot be cleansed. You can get up to three of these stacks, and when you do it 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
- 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
- Nature protection amulet
- Amber in armour
- Desert sunrise
Artifact: Void Darkplate Heavy Chest
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. 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. 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 use some Angry Earth ward and coatings, but while it might be worth swapping to an ice weapon, don’t be fooled into thinking your slash weapon would be any stronger than it already is.
Mutation: Overgrown
Overgrown means those mobs are going to be healing one another, which really should be a privilege exclusive to us. Compost mobs drop a healing circle that works like a Sacred Ground for them and looks a bit like one too. This is one of the rare times that disease perks are useful in PVE, so pull out your Hatchet with Infected Throw, or slot a weapon with Plagued Strikes or Plagued Crits. Your Bile Bomb heartrune will also spread disease around, so vomit away to your heart’s content.
Toxic mobs spawn THE most annoyingly friendly little green blob that follows you around, does damage over time that increases at the higher mutations, and casts an area root. We just love not being able to move and getting damaged at the same time! Best bet is to try and stay out of its way. If you get stuck, it might be worth it to have Nature Absorption potions slotted and chug one down. Arboreal enemies are dealing 50% of damage as Nature, and Bramble enemies deal 20-40% base damage as Nature, so Amber slotted in your gear will protect you.
At M1 level, everything is a bit easier, so you will be fine with Opals rather than Ambers, and may not need to use Ward potions or Coatings.
M2 - Oppressive
Once we reach M2, we start seeing Mage Hunters, who drain mana when hit, so healers need to make sure their mana potions are slotted. Suppressor enemies cast a silence zone in which no abilities can be used, but at least it doesn’t have the explosion at the end.
M3 - Dessicated
The Curse of the Overgrown Barnacle is Desiccated, which is your basic dip and nae-nae. When a player gets a Nature ring around them, they need to dip all team members in order to remove their Shrivel. But make sure they nae-nae away before the timer ends to avoid spiking others with a chain Nature for 50% of their max health. If you’re unlucky enough to be left shrivelled, damage and healing will be reduced by 50% until the debuff wears off.
