Starting Trash
There are no elite enemies before the first boss. You will be faced with one small pack of enemies upon entering the trial then make your way up along the narrow ledge until you drop down into the first boss room. There is one lonely Sealed Court Conjurer in this room to deal with which has an interruptible attack which will summon a line of flame which hits for moderate damage and spawns multiple flame AoEs.
To continue you will need to light the two nirncrux altars at the front of the room which will activate multiple waves of enemies spawning from all sides. This includes Lamias, Archers and Conjurers which you were just introduced to.
Stack in the middle of the room and have any players with a pull ability help with stacking all of the enemies on the group. Drop all of your damage and healing in the middle and burn everything down together. Try to get the interrupts on the Conjurers.
Boss One - Possessed Mantikora
Once the majority of the enemies have been disposed of the boss will spawn in the little alcove with the altars. While a lot more manageable today, this boss still gives a lot of players trouble due to the infamous "Popcorn" mechanic.
- Quake - The "Popcorn" mechanic happens when the boss looks up and appears to scream. Three players will be targeted by this attack and will each have a fast spreading AoE under their feet, three times in a row. Each time the circle reaches its full size anyone caught inside will be thrown into the air and receive a fair amount of damage. This can target the tank as well.
- Enraged Slam - A huge AoE spreads out from beneath the boss' feet and hits everyone inside once it reaches its full size which will do a lot of damage if not blocked. Everyone inside will be affected by a bleed that does not clear until your health reaches full.
- Portal - A large, black circle with a vague green outline is dropped on a random group member. Standing in this circle ports you to another area where you are greeted by The Serpents Image. This mini boss doesn't do anything fancy: applies a poison and has a frontal cleave. If The Serpents Image is not killed in 100s the Mantikora will enrage.
- Spear Throw - The boss throws a spear up into the air which will target the furthest player away from the boss with a large AoE that does a lot of poison damage to anyone inside. These remain on the ground for a long time.
- Enrage - When the boss reaches ~10% health it will enrage and start hitting a lot harder.
Have your main tank taunt and turn the boss away from the group (you have a bit more room for this fight if you move the boss over towards the entrance ramp). The group should spread out evenly forming a semi circle around the boss. A healer and two ranged damage dealers can stay at range to kite and position the "Piercing Spears" away from the group. If your kiters start on one side they can simply move in one direction together each time a spear is thrown (try to position these as close together, overlapping them as much as possible).
When the boss does its scream everyone can begin kiting the "Quake" attack by running backwards to ensure it is taken away as quickly as possible. If it is on you keep running backwards for two hits, when the third circle appears dodge roll forwards and get back in position. If it is not on you simply return to your position.
The main tank can be targeted by the "Quake" mechanic. If this happens you either need to focus heals on the tank and have them stay still and take the damage (this allows you to keep the boss still) or your tank deals with it the same as everyone else and repositions the boss as best they can afterwards.
Immediately after the second "Quake" attack a portal will spawn. You can spread out for this early to avoid too many group members getting ported away if needed. Your off tank should jump in here to grab and turn the mini boss. One or two damage dealers (or more if needed, this depends on your group damage) should jump into the portal and kill the mini boss. While the mini boss is alive the Mantikore will not do her "Quake" mechanic.
This boss can be overtaunted by a single player so your tank should only apply their taunt when it needs to be refreshed.
Tip: If you have enough damage in your group you do not need to kill the mini boss downstairs. The portal mechanic is incredibly fast so it's likely at least one group member will be transported, however, so your off tank should be ready to jump in and help. The benefit of this is that the upstairs players do not have to deal with the "Quake" mechanic for the rest of the fight. While trying this initially you can send a damage dealer into the portal and bring the mini boss to ~10% health. If the Mantikora is still alive after 90s then kill the mini boss quickly.
Bridge Approach
If you are wanting to do the "Feeding Pit" achievement then visit the small cave towards the back left of the room and grab some meat. Continue up the ramp behind where the boss spawned (to the right) and into the next room. Each encounter from here on will consist of the same selection of elite enemies (explained below). Once the room is clear you can head out and down the stairs towards the bridge killing the group on enemies that runs in. Make your way across the bridge, killing everything that spawns in and being very careful of the broken areas leaving large holes that you can fall down.
- Overcharger - Ranged enemies that will cause random members of the group to become "Overcharged"; inflicting them with a large red AoE under their feet which moves with them and causes a lot of damage to anyone standing in it. They also target group members with a continuous lightning attack which will spawn smaller, spreading red circles under the players feet and damage inflict damage if the player does not move out when they reach full size.
- Troll - Melee enemies that will throw rocks at random players, pound the ground dealing damage to anyone caught in the circle around them and throw poison on multiple players at a time. The poison shows as a green glow and an AoE around the players feet which will spread to any other player it touches.
- Serpent Fang - An archer with a frontal cone ability and an interruptible, charged-up shot that deals a lot of damage.
- War Priest - Barely notable but the last of the bannered enemies here. They are melee enemies with a snare and knockdown ability but do little damage.
The group should spread out a little to avoid stacking the poison and "Overcharged". Anyone affected by "Overcharged" should remain still and block cast while everyone else steps away from them and out of their AoE. Healers may need to focus some heals on these players. Any player with the smaller red lightning circles under their feet should kite (keep moving) to avoid the damage, both of these attacks can target the same player at the same time.
Prioritise the Overchargers always, then the Trolls and finally the Archers and the War Priests. The Archers should be interrupted when they charge up their "Taking Aim" attack and the group should remain still for a few seconds after the enemies are all dead to let the poison dissipate (don't expect this to happen in most groups, however, as the poison is quickly re-applied and it can be healed through).
If you can heal through the Trolls ground slam then maintain your positions and keep up the damage. Otherwise, make sure you organise well to be able to get out of the AoEs where needed.
Boss Two - Stonebreaker
This boss is incredibly challenging with some of the changes it has seen and is considered to be a bit "broken" to many (as of the time of writing). It can, however, be dealt with when you understand what is happening although any deaths in this fight will hurt the group a lot and this can quickly cause a domino effect which likely results in a wipe. There is also a Shaman, War Priest and Serpent Fang with the boss.
- Spreading Poison - As with the Trolls you have already faced, members of the group will be afflicted with a small poison circle that will do damage to anyone inside and spread to anyone it touches. It is likely the whole group will have this on them for the majority of the fight.
- Poison Blast - When a player dies with poison they will cause a poison explosion on anyone nearby. This is the major cause of issues as it can quickly cause a chain reaction of deaths spreading through the group. This has been greatly nerfed since the Waking Flame Update (7.1.7)
- Ground Slam - The boss will violently pound the ground causing shockwaves to travel out and cause huge damage to anyone they hit. Typically, these travel forwards but they can travel backwards and are very hard to see.
- Leaping Crush - The boss will jump to anyone too far away causing large amounts of damage to anyone where he lands (this has a huge area of effect). This no longer appears to be in the game as of the Waking Flame Update (7.1.7)
- Destructive Aura - The boss stands tall and beats his chest forming a large spreading AoE from under the his feet which will do a lot of damage to all players inside when it reaches its full size and the boss punches the floor.
- Overchargers - At 75%, 50% and 25% health Overchargers will join the fight. These will always spawn at the end of the bridge and increase in number by one each time (one at 75%, two at 50% and three at 25%). Thy have the exact same mechanics as the ones you have faced previously.
- Enrage - At ~20% health the boss will enrage and everything hits a fair bit harder.
Have your healers and damage dealers organise themselves into two even groups. One group will stay on the left and one on the right of the troll. You can spread out to avoid stacking too much poison and to easily escape the AoE from the Overchargers but your group will need to remain quite still during the fight. Your main tank can position the troll at the end of the bridge, where the Overchargers spawn, and turn it away from the bridge (towards the exit). Your off tank can grab the War Priest, Serpent Fang and Shaman and play with them over where they spawned; these do not need to be killed if they don't cause issues for you. The off tank remains in this position to bait the jump from the boss as this can be unpredictable otherwise.
Your group should stack as much mitigation here as possible: use barriers and novas on rotation if you have them, circles of protection, bone shields, frost cloak etc are all great, the more the better.
When the Overchargers spawn these should be focussed down as quickly as possible. They will be taking damage due to the AoE abilities on their spawn position but they should also be tab targeted to ensure they die quickly. The damage from these as well as the boss is huge so these need to die very quickly.
Everyone should block cast during the "Ground Slam" ability, block the hit from "Destructive Aura" and if the boss does do his "Leaping Crush" towards the group after jumping to the off tank then this should be blocked.
Tip: Many groups will try to avoid the Overchargers altogether by having their main tank grab the boss and bring him to the other end of the bridge. Pulling the boss too far, however, will reset it.
Rooms & Levers
Continuing on you will enter a large room with a pillar on each side, infront of each pillar will be a lever. These need to be pulled at the same time to open the doors on the sides of the room and this is a common mechanic for opening all of the doors from this point in the trial. You will meet no new enemies during the rest of the trial but there are several more packs to deal with along the way. Be careful of all the massive holes in the floor as you progress as it can be a long run back.
You can split the your team into two even groups (one tank, one healer and four damage dealers in each) to deal with to rooms simultaneously if this is preferred. It does speed things up a little but all rooms can be managed one by one otherwise. For the first two doors, however, all enemies are aggro'd when you enter either room so be prepared from them coming in behind your group if you choose to tackle this as one group. You should prioritise the enemies as before, don't be afraid to use ultimates on cooldown as the trash is particularly challenging in this trial.
Boss Three - Ozara
Shortly after entering the boss room you will see multiple enemies spawn in (all of which you have faced before) along with Ozara, a large Lamia. The additional enemies here cause more of an issue than the boss herself typically as they will respawn ~15s after dying. Immediately after Ozara dies the left door will open and three Trolls will come to congratulate you on your victory.
- Trapping Bolts - The boss throws her arms up into the air and pins three group members to the floor. These bolts can only be removed by another group member standing over them and using the provided synergy "Remove Bolt".
- Venemous Bite - The boss rears up and viciously bites whoever has aggro, this will knock the player back if they do not block.
- Adds - The boss has a War Priest, Serpent Fang, Shaman, Troll and Overcharger all join the fight shortly after it starts. Each one of these enemies will respawn shortly after being killed. The Shaman summons a totem of protection that can lure enemies towards it if it is left alive.
As you enter the room head towards to door around the corner on the right; this is where the Overcharger spawns. Have your off tank taunt all of the enemies apart from the Overcharger and run towards the back of the room where there is a little area to pull the enemies in with line of sight. Moving the adds over here avoids having to kill them repeatedly throughout the fight and will make things a lot easier if your off tank is able to stay alive. One damage dealer should, however, kill the totem that the Shaman summons immediately on the left as you enter the room as this will cause the Overcharger to run away when it spawns. A healer can move back after the "Trapping Bolts" mechanic to throw the off tank some heals and synergies if necessary.
The main tank can take the boss towards the door around the corner on the right and keep her there, making sure to block the heavy to avoid getting knocked back. Don't put your back to the door as if you do miss the heavy you can get knocked through it.
The rest of the group can form a tight semi-circle around the boss, focus the Overcharger when it respawns and make sure to quickly unpin any enemies hit with the "Trapping Bolts". It helps to have one player (raid leader usually) call when the bolts are coming and keep the chat clear to allow your tank and healers to call that they are pinned if not released immediately.
Feeding Pit
An optional battle is available in the room on the right hand side on the way to the final boss (after dealing with the final trash pack). The group member that picked up the meat after defeating the first boss will need to place it in the centre of the feeding pit and the group should brace for impact. Survive the onslaught of Trolls to get the achievement.
Final Boss - The Serpent
This is mostly a stack and burn fight with a couple of unique mechanics that can cause some issues. Catering to your group is key here as you may find you need to swap some skills or perform additional steps depending on the group you are in.
- Poison Mist - The boss fades into the floor and re-appears in the centre of the circle where he spawned and kneel down. During this attack everyone in the group will take a lot of poison damage.
- Totems - Totems will continuously spawn throughout the fight at random locations around the room. There are three types of totem and each has a different effect:
- Cursed Totem - A blue totem that places a "Magicka Bomb" on a random group member. They will see a blue glow to their screen and if they do not deplete their magicka within a few seconds they will explode and die.
- Wrest Totem - A green totem that yanks a random member of the group to it and snares them close to the totem if they don't manage to get away quickly.
- Empower Totem - Another green totem but this one forms a green beam from itself to the boss. Increases the damage done from the boss' "Poison Mist" mechanic and spawns small poison circles in the group.
- Mantikora - These spawn at ~60% and again at ~40% from one of the two blood pools on the edge of the room. They are similar to the first boss and perform the same "Enraged Slam" ability which will do a lot of damage if it is not blocked and apply a bleed to everyone in it.
- Lamia Howlers - These spawn behind the boss on the left of the room and have a front, conal attack (a scream) which will stun anyone caught inside it that isn't blocking. When these die they explode causing a "Sonic Boom" which does large amounts of damage to anyone nearby.
- Run to Stone - The boss remains kneeling with his sword in the ground after the "Poison Mist" mechanic and small pink orbs appears around the room. These provide a pink shield to any player that picks one up and will protect them from the "Repulse" explosion that the boss does shortly after they spawn. This will kill anything that is not protected, including any remaining Lamias.
- Celestial Spray - A frontal, cleave attack which will likely kill anyone but the tank.
Hardmode
Activated by burning a banner at the end of each corridor found on the left and right before entering the boss room. This adds one additional mechanic to the mix but also makes the boss put out a bit more damage during the fight.
- World Shaper - The boss holds a hand up and channels a green ball of energy for a few seconds before releasing it onto a random group member in range. This forms a large AoE on the ground where that player was standing and will kill anyone who is in it when the energy strikes. This can target the main tank also.
Non-Hardmode
Your main tank should taunt and turn the boss away from the group, holding it in place. Your off tank can position themselves behind the group over to the left and be ready to pick up any Lamias that spawn as if these are allowed to run into the group they can easily die to the AoE damage and explode everyone. The rest of the group can stack behind the boss and keep all damage and healing in one place.
Depending on your groups capabilities you may not need to kill the totems. If you don't kill them then make sure you have a high costing magicka ability to use if you get the "Magicka Bomb" and stay stacked with as much healing/mitigation as possible from your supports. If you get pulled by the Wrest Totem then try to dodge roll back to the group as soon as possible to avoid getting snared away from everybody else. If you do want to kill the totems then have your main tank move the boss onto the Totems so that they die to your AoE damage and reposition as a group when the next "Poison Mist" phase begins and the boss moves back to its starting location.
When the Mantikora spawns in get ready to dodge roll if it targets you as it will take the tank a second to taunt it. The main tank should peek around the boss without turning him in order to taunt the Mantikora and this should be focused by the group.
After the second Mantikora is dead the boss will usually perform a "Poison Mist" phase and then stay kneeling for the "Run to Stone" mechanic. Everyone needs to split up and grab one orb each here. It helps to have a left and right group so that people know where to go and your tanks should be selfish and just grab the closest orb to them in order to stay alive
The boss will perform one more "Poison Mist" and "Run to Stone" mechanic when he is on 0% health so keep fighting until this is over. The last "Repulse" attack typically never happens so grabbing an orb may not be essential but I'd still advise you do just in case!
Hardmode Changes
The fight positioning remains exactly the same but you will need to pay attention to the "World Shaper" mechanic and move to avoid this at the right time. You will see the boss raise his hand and start forming a green ball of energy which will pulse and fire smaller energy balls into the group while it is forming. When it is fully formed and the boss moves his arm to throw it into the group it is time to get the hell out of there; turn and run away from the stack until the big red AoE has hit then promptly get back into position. If you move too early and the attack is targeting you then you will drop the AoE outside of the stack and potentially kill anyone running in the same direction so keep a close eye on when to move or have someone calling it out. The main tank will need to pay attention to this also.