Rhyaehar
03 Jan 2009, 19:04
Rough Guide to the Vile Maw
Having had a brief encounter with The Watcher today, I'll try and write down what I know in an early version of the guide to Vile Maw.
What to bring
Full Radiance set 5 of 6 pieces is possible, but make sure you have at least 1000 DP for the Continuous Hope buff (30m +10 Radiance)
+50 Radiance pots for 30m
Food
Trail food
Morale & Power potions
Before the fight
Buff up outside the instance. The entire instance is a +150 Gloom (15 dread) area, so it helps to have your hope tokens and buffs up before entering, so you don't waste time.
Enter the instance and proceed to the gate. Make sure everyone is just over the gate. You won't activate the Watcher until you are within a few meters of his pool, so it's safe to go. This door will close behind you for the entire encounter.
Once inside the gate, you will get an acid damage over time effect, dealing some 100 damage every 5 seconds. Even when on solid ground, you will get this debuff.
Watcher need-to-knows
The Watcher fight consist of at least 3 stages. I've been through the first two successfully, but have no idea what happens at stage 3 (and possibly onwards).
"The Watcher shakes with anger"
It is vital to always keep an eye on the Watcher. He has a special attack, announced by the billboard text "The Watcher shakes with anger". Within seconds after this text, he will do an AoE attack in the direction he faces, dealing 8000 Acid damage. That's instant kill, unless you are extremely lucky and resist it. When he is facing your way and this gets announced, stop what you are doing and run. Don't finish a skill, don't do that one auto attack. Run.
Stage 1
Designate one of the tanks to be off-tank, with a minstrel. For sake of simplicity, both will be referred to as OT.
The entire group, with the exception of the one activating the Watcher (OT or Captain) swims to the right, hugging the wall, until they reach a piece of land. They will move to the far end of that piece of solid ground. OT group will be far left, but not as far as the main raid. Then, you can activate the Watcher.
As soon as the Watcher surfaces, he will do his shaking with anger. He usually faces center, towards the gate, so the person activating him should get the hell out of there, towards either OT or main raid. He will spawn two Elite Master tentacles, counting 44k morale or so, one on either side.
The main tank and raid take down the right one. The OT will keep the left one occupied. At all times, keep an eye on the Watcher. If he's facing you, prepare to run the second you see that text appear. Once the main group gets the tentacle down, kill the smaller tentacles that have spawned. They tend to grab people, dangling them upside down. Exception is the minstrel. If he gets grabbed, kill that tentacle quick. Then go on to the OT's tentacle. When that one is dead, you will have completed stage 1.
Stage 2
You've pissed the watcher off. He dives away, spawning another two tentacles, further into the water this time. A host of smaller tentacles will spawn in the area where you stand. Everyone (including hunters and minstrels and other chickenish folk) swims to the center, onto the structure that is there.
There's a number of tentacles going in circles around the structure. These will kill you if they grab you, but you're safe on that structure. If you get knocked off by the main targets, swim back fast. Apart from this, stage 2 is similar to stage one.
Until the last 5k of the last tentacle that is. Everyone will have to leave the structure and go back to land, killing all the tiny ones that are bugging you there. Be careful though, you dont want to swim into one of the circling tentacles. Hunters will have to range the last 5k off the main target down. Once done, the Watcher surfaces again and you have started Stage 3.
Stage 3
The great unknown..
Having had a brief encounter with The Watcher today, I'll try and write down what I know in an early version of the guide to Vile Maw.
What to bring
Full Radiance set 5 of 6 pieces is possible, but make sure you have at least 1000 DP for the Continuous Hope buff (30m +10 Radiance)
+50 Radiance pots for 30m
Food
Trail food
Morale & Power potions
Before the fight
Buff up outside the instance. The entire instance is a +150 Gloom (15 dread) area, so it helps to have your hope tokens and buffs up before entering, so you don't waste time.
Enter the instance and proceed to the gate. Make sure everyone is just over the gate. You won't activate the Watcher until you are within a few meters of his pool, so it's safe to go. This door will close behind you for the entire encounter.
Once inside the gate, you will get an acid damage over time effect, dealing some 100 damage every 5 seconds. Even when on solid ground, you will get this debuff.
Watcher need-to-knows
The Watcher fight consist of at least 3 stages. I've been through the first two successfully, but have no idea what happens at stage 3 (and possibly onwards).
"The Watcher shakes with anger"
It is vital to always keep an eye on the Watcher. He has a special attack, announced by the billboard text "The Watcher shakes with anger". Within seconds after this text, he will do an AoE attack in the direction he faces, dealing 8000 Acid damage. That's instant kill, unless you are extremely lucky and resist it. When he is facing your way and this gets announced, stop what you are doing and run. Don't finish a skill, don't do that one auto attack. Run.
Stage 1
Designate one of the tanks to be off-tank, with a minstrel. For sake of simplicity, both will be referred to as OT.
The entire group, with the exception of the one activating the Watcher (OT or Captain) swims to the right, hugging the wall, until they reach a piece of land. They will move to the far end of that piece of solid ground. OT group will be far left, but not as far as the main raid. Then, you can activate the Watcher.
As soon as the Watcher surfaces, he will do his shaking with anger. He usually faces center, towards the gate, so the person activating him should get the hell out of there, towards either OT or main raid. He will spawn two Elite Master tentacles, counting 44k morale or so, one on either side.
The main tank and raid take down the right one. The OT will keep the left one occupied. At all times, keep an eye on the Watcher. If he's facing you, prepare to run the second you see that text appear. Once the main group gets the tentacle down, kill the smaller tentacles that have spawned. They tend to grab people, dangling them upside down. Exception is the minstrel. If he gets grabbed, kill that tentacle quick. Then go on to the OT's tentacle. When that one is dead, you will have completed stage 1.
Stage 2
You've pissed the watcher off. He dives away, spawning another two tentacles, further into the water this time. A host of smaller tentacles will spawn in the area where you stand. Everyone (including hunters and minstrels and other chickenish folk) swims to the center, onto the structure that is there.
There's a number of tentacles going in circles around the structure. These will kill you if they grab you, but you're safe on that structure. If you get knocked off by the main targets, swim back fast. Apart from this, stage 2 is similar to stage one.
Until the last 5k of the last tentacle that is. Everyone will have to leave the structure and go back to land, killing all the tiny ones that are bugging you there. Be careful though, you dont want to swim into one of the circling tentacles. Hunters will have to range the last 5k off the main target down. Once done, the Watcher surfaces again and you have started Stage 3.
Stage 3
The great unknown..