The second dungeon that Guardian players will encounter in
style="font-style: italic;">Rift is
the goblin infested zone known as Darkening Deeps. This multi-level
instance is similar in many ways to its Defiant counterpart with tons
of trash and a choose-your-own adventure feel that allows you to pick
the order in which you encounter some of the bosses.
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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/133951">
Group Configuration:
A more traditional group configuration may be beneficial in
Darkening Deeps. While tank and healer roles can be filled by any
capable calling, crowd control is necessary in many sections of the
dungeon so bring the best CC DPS you can find.
Quests:
There are several quests for Darkening Deeps, with one
needing to be picked up before you run the dungeon. Two are located
within the instance and one is granted on your initial zone in. Check
with each group member for their needed quests as it can make a
difference in the pathing you take as you make your way through.
style="text-shadow: none;">The Toxic Source
style="text-shadow: none;">
style="font-weight: bold;">Starts: Gloamwood
style="font-weight: bold;">
From: Paladin
Oakheart
Find the missing paladins. They are located just inside the zone
instance and will chain into another quest. The second part of the
chain asks you to figure out the Geldo Council's secret - defeat the
final boss encounter of the zone to complete.
Dragon Worship
Starts:
Darkening Deeps
From:
Crusader Bertrand
Destroy the Idols of the Maelforge.
The Bosses of
Darkening Deeps
Starts:
Darkening Deeps
From: Zone
in.
Defeat all the bosses in the instance.
Darkening Deeps feels much larger
than its predecessor,
Realm of the Fae, due in large part to the amount of trash mobs and its
non-linear layout. Most groups will want to start out by heading up and
away
from the first boss to knock out some quests and make zone traversal a
bit
easier. Clearing the upper trash packs regardless of quests is usually
a good
idea as they seem to aggro off of Z-axis and not actual proximity.
Bosses:
Alchemist Braxtepel
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src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/133955">
The first boss encounter of the zone
is a two phase affair
that starts with engaging the Alchemists two minions; Mursh and
Squersh before
the boss himself is targetable. The tank will need to grab the adds and
pull
them away from the boss as he will intermittently nuke the party, burn
Mursh
and Squersh quickly as Braxtepel will become active somewhere around
the fourth
nuke cast or upon their deaths. If the adds are dead you can proceed to
burning
down the boss who will now have two primary abilities: Hot Tar, a
single target
DoT and Flame Cleave a frontal arc attack. Hot Tar must be healed
through and
the cleave should be avoided by everyone except the tank.
Michael Bringhurst
alt="Bringhurst"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/133953">
A more appropriate surname for this boss would be BringHurt as he
can be one of the most difficult in the instance. Our foe starts out as
human, but it is soon revealed through dialogue that he is now one of
the two-natured; a werewolf. Once he transforms and the encounter
begins he will be bathed in moonlight that pours in to the center of
the room the moonlight provides a massive stacking buff that will
continue to grow the longer he remains illuminated. To add insult to
injury, our lupine friend will let out a howl that does huge AoE damage
whenever there is no one in melee range.
This fight is a true
test for tanks and healers as tanks have to make sure to move him out
of the light and position him properly. It is also wicked for healers
due to the heavy pounding the tank will be taking. To further
complicate matters, every 33% off life removed from the boss will cause
him to AoE fear the group and return to the light source in the middle
of the room luckily he wont howl until the fear wears off. If your
tank doesnt have a charge mechanic you can be in for a long night as
the cumulative damage plus the heavy hits the boss lays down can
overwhelm most tanks. Having a DPS with a secondary healing role, such
as a Bard or Chloromancer can be a huge benefit here. This isnt much
of a DPS race as the fear mechanic will go off at its preset intervals
no matter what. Managing damage and mastering the light mechanic are
the keys to success here.
Tegenar Deepfang
alt="tegenar"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/133956">
Now that you have vanquished Team Edward youre due a nice easy
tank and spank right? Wrong. Next up is a menacing spider boss that can
also test a groups reaction time and coordination. Unlike the prior
encounter, Tenegar Deepfang isnt taxing on the tank, who will simply
keep her faced away from the group at all times due to a nasty frontal
attack that reduces defenses and deals damage over time. No, this time
its the DPS and partly the healer who will need to be on their toes to
be successful. In addition to normal healing, the tank will need to be
dispelled as soon as they are afflicted by the bosses DoT. At
random intervals throughout the first phase of the encounter she will
also cast a web wrap on a random member of the party. This effect is
not interruptable but it is able to be avoided by line of sight and it
has a long enough cast time to allow quick reaction by the party. If
anyone does get web wrapped, DPS needs to break them out as soon as
possible and then resume damage on the boss.
At 50% Phase 2
begins. The web wrap will now cease, but 6 small adds will now enter
the fray. DPS has to burn down these adds as quickly as possible to
keep the healer from becoming overwhelmed while still maintaining
damage on the boss as the spiders will continue to spawn until the boss
is killed. If you tank has sufficient health and all their available
survival cooldowns available, you can have them pick up all the adds
and have DPS concentrate on burning the boss as quickly as possible.
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