The First Circle Normal Raid Guide

Last updated on Dec 22, 2021 at 12:00 by Lyra 1 comment

Welcome to our guide to The First Circle, the first encounter in the first raid tier of Pandaemonium, Asphodelos. This guide aims to prepare players for the raid so they will know what to expect, with simple mechanic instructions and notes on what to watch out for.

TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE
1.

Erichthonios

Erichthonios, Warder of the Condemned, is the first raid boss fought in Asphodelos.

1.1.

Unlocking The First Circle

To unlock The First Circle, players must complete the quest "Where Familiars Dare." This is the second quest in the quest chain starting from "The Crystal from Beyond," which can be received from Nemjiji in Old Sharlayan (x9.6, y11.9). There is a minimum item level restriction of 565 to enter through the duty finder in a matched party.

2.

Lore

The discovery of a crystal borne from the far reaches of the aetherial sea and the desperate plea contained within lead you once more to Elpis, where your trajectory quite literally collides with that of a young man named Themis. Like you, he is here for answers, seeking the source of an aetheric disturbance culminating in loss of contact with the gaol housing the ancients' most dangerous creations. It is this place─this Pandæmonium─into which you now descend...

3.

Raid Guide

Erichthonios is first fought in a square arena. The wall will instantly kill players who stand inside it or get knocked back into it.

3.1.

Phase One

Phase one has you do battle with Erichthonios, a warder of Pandaemonium.

3.1.1.

Mechanics

  • Gaoler's Flail is a half room cleave. Erichthonios will start spinning his flail, indicating the side of the cleave.
  • Warder's Wrath deals raidwide damage.
  • Pitiless Flail will target a player with a line AoE that moves with them. This line AoE will knock back all players standing in its path. Knockback prevention abilities do work on this.
  • True Holy is a stack marker on the player targeted with Pitiless Flail.
  • Heavy Hand is a tank buster.
  • Intemperance will mark all players with Hot Spell or Cold Spell, a debuff of fire and ice respectively. In addition, the arena is split into four quadrants with a pillar of three crystals containing hot or cold elements in each quadrant.
  • Intemperate Torment will cause the bottom-most crystal to explode in the quadrant it is located on. It will deal no damage to players with the opposite element and inflict them with the corresponding elemental debuff, but deal heavy damage and apply a vuln stack to players with the same element.
3.1.2.

Strategy

  • Be on the correct side for Gaoler's Flail. The side indicated will be shown around 40% through the castbar, so players have plenty of time to dodge.
  • The player targeted with Pitiless Flail should use their knockback prevention skill to ensure that they are in position for the stack marker that occurs afterwards.
  • Be on a quadrant with the opposite element for Intemperate Torment. Players can move between quadrants after every explosion to ensure they are on a correct quadrant.
3.2.

Phase Two

Phase two has you do battle with Erichthonios. The arena will be changed.

3.2.1.

Mechanics

Many previous mechanics will appear. A few new mechanics are introduced.

  • Shining Cells deals raidwide damage and transforms the arena into a circle, in addition to creating sections of blue and red across the arena.
  • Aetherchain will erupt either the blue or the red areas of the arena depending on what elements the orbs are circling Erichthonios during the cast. This will deal damage and apply a vuln stack to players standing on it. Fire orbs denote the red areas, while shining aether orbs denote the blue areas.
  • Aetherflail combines Gaoler's Flail and Aetherchain into one ability, dealing damage to one side of the arena while damaging players caught in the blast.
  • Slam Shut deals raidwide damage and transforms the arena back to a square.
3.2.2.

Strategy

  • Stand on the opposite element of the Aetherchain orbs to avoid getting damaged.
  • When Aetherflail is cast, players must stand on the correct element on the correct side of the arena. Ascertain the side first, then move into the correct element.
  • Erichthonios will cast Intemperance and Intemperate Torment again. As the third crystal is about to explode, he will cast Gaoler's Flail, but it will go off after the crystals explode. Go to the correct quadrant first, then dodge to the correct side.
  • Two Warder's Wrath abilities are cast in succession, so heal and mitigate quickly after the first.
  • After a tank buster, the boss will cast Shining Cells again and begin repeating previously performed mechanics until the boss is defeated.
4.

Loot

Coffers that appear after defeating Erichthonios will yield tokens that can be traded in for gear.

5.

Changelog

  • 21 Dec. 2021: Guide added.
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