Instance Guide: Dome of the Stars (T1/T2C)

Dadislotroguides March 9, 2016March 18, 2016 0 Comments

Hello All,

This guide is meant to be a walkthrough that explains the strategies and mechanics that are not represented well via YouTube videos. I recognize that there are MANY ways to do this instance, this is only one …

The layout is identical for Tier 1 and Tier 2. The mobs are in the same place in Tier 1 as Tier 2. The major difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 is the difficulty of the mobs (More morale, better defences, and hit harder). There are some minor differences with the boss fights, and these will be pointed out.

Suggested Supplies
Suggested Group Make-up
The Start / Bridge
Archer Pull
Boss 1 – Upâl-keng
Trash Mobs – Part 1
Scouts
Sorcerers / Devoted
Boss 2 – Rook (Lord of Pinions)
Trash Mobs – Part 2
Boss 3 – The Black Blade of Lebennin
Loot

SUGGESTED SUPPLIES

Tome of Defence

+5% Attack Damage Scrolls

Max Morale / Power Scrolls

Scrolls of Westemnt Warding Lore

Scrolls of Westemnt Battle Lore

Westemnet Edhelharn Tokens

Anfalas Draughts (Fear, Wound, Disease, and Poison)

Cooked Food (Regen Food)

Trail Food (Stat Food)

Fortifying Food (Fear, Wound, Disease, and Poison)

Coffee

Combat Run Speed Boost

SUGGESTED GROUP MAKE-UP

This is a very subjective discussion …

Tier 1 – This can really be done with any combination of classes, but is best to include;

Healer
Tank
Any other classes

Tier 2 – This can really be done with any combination of classes, but is best to include;

Healer (Mini is best)
Tank (Guard is best)
Captain – For +10% Morale Buff, Blade Brother, Oathbreaker’s Shame, and much, much more
Rune-keeper (Fire) – For Do Not Fall This Day and massive AoE damage

The other 2 classes should be high DPS (especially for the first boss) like Hunter, LM, or 2nd Rune-keeper (fire).

THE START

To begin the fellowship ports in at the Starting Location. Dismiss all pets. The Minstrel in the group will use Song of Distraction to CC Troll 1 and Troll 2. Once they are “asleep,” the fellow can progress along the pink arrow, and pass right by them.

* A NOTE: If anyone dies during Phase One (up to the first boss) of this instance you will need to deal with these Trolls (reuse Song of Distraction).

In the event that the Mini fails to lock the trolls down (or you just plain want to kill them), the tank will grab aggro and pull the trolls to the Fighting Area. The tank will keep their back to the wall, and the group will keep their backs toward the entrance. This is important to prevent from being knocked through the air toward the second set of mobs (behind the trolls).

THE BRIDGE

Once passed the trolls you will see a bridge. You must be careful as the bridge has holes in it that you can fall through. If you fall, you die and will spawn at the Starting Location.

The fellowship should continue along the pink path, avoiding the holes in the floor, until they get to the Staging Area. Be careful not to aggro the Troll on the left.

You will arrive at the Staging Area where you will see two large catapults. In front of the catapult on the left you will see 2 Archers, 1 Champion, and 1 Warrior. In front of the right catapult there is 1 Champion, 1 Warrior, and 1 Troll. There is no reason to fight the group on the right.

Haradrim Archers – They have two things to be concerned about; Focused Aim (Corruption) and Poisoned Arrow (Debuff).

Haradrim Warriors – These zerg (even when aggroed) and can be an issue for squishies. They also can hit you with a Numbing Poison debuff.

Haradrim Champions – They are nothing special. They can drop an Unsteadied debuff on you, or/and stun you.

Possible Corruptions / Debuffs

Assign someone to keep a watch on the Archers and remove corruptions as needed. The tank should head into the group of mobs and tank them in place (in front of the catapult). The ranged people in the group can stay in the Staging Area. Burn down the Warrior first, followed by the Archers, and then the Champion.

Once the mobs are dead, move to the Staging Area (below). This upcoming pull is perhaps the hardest of the instance (T2).

Everyone except the tank needs to “hide” behind the wheel of the catapult (Staging Area). The tank then paths out along the pink line to prevent aggroing the mobs behind the right catapult. The tank heads to the Fighting Area, and hits one archer with Fray the Edge. The tank immediately runs to the Staging Area and waits for the Archers (five of them)to bunch up. Once they are grouped, the tank runs out to the fighting area and hits Challenge. The group follows and the fight commences in the Fighting Area. As before, these Archers have Focused Aim and Poisoned Arrow. You can assign specific people to be removing Corruptions and everyone in the group must watch for Poison debuffs on themselves; failing to remove the debuff before the timer expires can be devastating (especially for squishies).

BOSS 1 – UPÂL-KENG (Oliphant)

This is by far the hardest boss fight of the instance (especially T2).

Before the fight begins it is helpful to have 1 main Target Assist (usually a ranged class), and all others (except the tank) as secondary TAs. The reason;

The main TA is responsible for targeting the mob that the group should be doing damage on. The group focuses on this TA.
The secondary TAs are responsible for helping to pick up loose adds that the tank may have missed. Example; Healer (or anyone else shouts out that the have an add on them), that someone can quickly target the mob that is attacking them and the tank can locate it instantly.

The boss fight begins when the two Archers and Champion standing directly in front of him have been defeated. The tank will need to immediately grab aggro on the Oliphant.

Tier 1:

Mobs:

Haradrim Venom-Arrow – They have two things to be concerned about; Focused Aim (Corruption) and Poisoned Arrow (Debuff).

Haradrim Blade-masters – They can hit you with an Unsteaded debuff.

Timer:

You have 5 minutes to kill the Oliphant before he gets Enraged (+400% Melee Damage Buff and +25% Run Buff). You can check your timer by hovering over the Losing Patience icon under the stat bar of the boss (see below).

The Fight:

The boss does massive frontal AoE. It is imperative that all everyone (except the tank) stay behind him. It is everyone’s job to move when the tank is picking up adds that spawn. There are many classes that cannot move and attack so the tank needs to quickly do this and then position themselves so the back of the boss faces the group.

Throughout the fight ads randomly spawn from the Spawn Locations. The spawns can occur at multiple Spawn Locations simultaneously, and they appear to be random groups of 1-3 mobs (Archers, Blade-masters, and Warriors) per Spawn Location. It appears that these ads spawn at intervals of the Boss health (I will verify this and add it in).

When a Haradrim Venom-Arrow dies, a poisonous green cloud forms on the ground for 15 seconds (see below). This green cloud is beneficial, it puts an Envenom Debuff on the boss (+300% incoming Melee Damage, +300% Ranged Damage, and +300% Tactical Damage). Whenever possible, the tank should drag the Oliphant in to these clouds. Everyone needs to focus as much DPS as they can on the boss while he is standing in these clouds.

The tank starts off by dragging the Oliphant between Spawn Locations 1 and 2 (since the adds spawn at random locations this allows you to be closest to two locations at once).
Main TA stays on the boss at all times.
Everyone in the fight stays on the main TA, using as much AoE as they can when the spawns are up.
Try to save Oathbreaker’s Shame for when the boss is in a green cloud (Tier 1). For Tier 2, Oathbreaker’s Shame should be dropped as soon as the fight starts, and then every time the timer is up.

Tier 2:

Exactly the same as Tier 1 with these differences:

Mechanics:

There is the added mechanic of a Red Eye being placed over the head of one person in the fellow. This red eye causes the Oliphant to become enraged, and he focuses his attention on the person with it. It is imperative for the person with the eye to kite (run away with the mob chasing) the Oliphant around the room. If he catches up to you he does massive damage. Since the Oliphant also does big frontal AoE it is important for the other members of the fellow to not get in the way of the path that the player with the red eye is kiting. For this reason it is best to establish a path for people with the eye to follow; clockwise around the room (as seen by the red arrows on the screenshot above). All other players can follow behind the Oliphant.

Combat Run Speed Boosts really work well to escape the Oliphant (especially for squishy classes).

Mobs:

The major difference here is that they hit harder than T1, their morale is higher, and their defences are greater.

Trash Mobs

After killing the Oliphant you will follow a couple of mob NPCs around the corner to the left (after the chest). You will be standing in front of a bonfire with 2 Morgul Warriors and 1 Morgul Black Arrow (Archer).

Before entering this area it is important that the group understand the mechanics of each of the following enemies;

Morgul Corrupter

These mobs are a triple threat; they heal other mobs, they buff other mobs, and they can deal a corruption on you that does massive damage. All of these are the result of a casting skill that the Corrupter uses, making them possible to interrupt.

Bursting Boils

The most dangerous of the Corrupter skills is the Bursting Boils corruption that they can place on you. When they say; “Let disease take you !” they will place this corruption on one (or more) members of the fellow. You will know you have it by the tell tale green eye over your head (see below) and the Bursting Boils icon under your stats. There are two things to be aware of; when the corruption timer runs out it does unmitigated damage to you equal to 70% of your max health and instantly kills anyone within 7 metres of you.

If the tank gets the eye, run away from them.
If anyone else in the group gets the eye, run away from others in the fellow.
In all cases, call out who has the eye so the healer can be at the ready … they will need big heals.

Corrupting Presence

The Corrupter will say; “Bathe in the Master’s strength” or “You call yourself an Orc” as it casts the Corrupting Presence buff on nearby mobs. This allows the mobs to do +100% Melee / Ranged damage and reduces their attack duration by 30% (see below).

Healing Skill

This is a skill that Corrupters use to heal up nearby mobs. They will say; “Back in the fray, coward” or “Bathe in the Master’s strength” as they are casting.

Morgul Captain

The Captains provide a defensive buff (Commanding Presence) to all mobs in the area via their Aura of Command (cannot be removed). They are immune to Stun, Daze, Fear, and Root. The Commanding Presence buff essentially cuts the incoming damage to mobs (only 15% is getting through). This buff is especially dangerous on Warriors as it increases their run speed (and they Zerg). When two Captains are together the Commanding Presence does not stack, but you do need to kill both to remove it.

Morgul Warrior

These mobs cannot be aggroed. You should either lock them down via CC or focus big DPS on them to burn them down as quickly as possible. The healer will have to note who the warriors are attacking and keep an eye on them.

Morgul Black-Arrow (Archer)

Morgul Warg

Route – Trash Mobs

You can effectively navigate this section of the instance with only having to fight one group of mobs. After defeating the Oliphant you will be standing at the Staging Area in front of a camp with 2 Morgul Warriors and 1 Morgul Black Arrow), turn immediately to the right and follow tight to the right toward the rubble pile (solid pink line with pink arrows).

Scouts – Camps

Below is a map of the route the group should take (click on it to enlarge).

Scouts

Dismiss your pets. When first entering this area you can avoid activating the camp on the right (not shown on map) by staying tight against the tent on the left (see purple route) until you reach the Scout Fight area. Scout 1 and Scout 2 will run away to get reinforcements once they are engaged and begin taking damage. Scout 1 runs toward Camp 3 and Scout 2 runs toward Camp 2. Use CC (crowd control) on the scouts (Mini, LM, Burg, etc. all have the ability to do this); however, it is important that you do not use any CC that causes them to run away (i.e. Fear). Once CCed, the main TA focuses on Scout 1 (he has the shortest distance to run) and the group uses single target DPS only to prevent breaking CC on Scout 2. Once Scout 1 is down, rinse and repeat with Scout 2.

If you do not have CC, or reliable CC, you can also use a Forced Attack skill that does not do damage (i.e. Fray the Edge) to pull the Scouts back toward the group. Once they reach the group, unleash big DPS and AoE to burn them both down fast. This is a more risky approach, but it can work.

Be prepared that if a Scout gets away and runs in to a camp, you have a fight on your hands … the group should be prepared.

Once the Scouts are down, you can navigate along the purple path (pets dismissed) and avoid activating Camps 2,3, and 4.

Camp 5 consists of;

1 Corrupter
1 Captain
2 Warriors
1 Archer
1 Warg

You can avoid this camp by following the pink dotted path on the map above.

PHASE 2 – ROOK

CLICK MAP TO ENLARGE

THE MOBS

Easterling Berserker

– Double-edge (stackable damage buff)

Easterling Swift-bow

– Swift Draw (Corruption) [removable]

Easterling Captain

– Immune to Stun, Daze, Fear, and Root
– Dazes you and interrupts inductions (this can be a problem for the tank to hold aggro)

Easterling Warrior

– Low Cut (wound) [removable]

Easterling Sorcerer (Brotherhood)

– Peck! Claw! Peck! DoT [not removable]
– Deafening Silence [not removable]

Easterling Sorcerer

– Terrifying Wind [not removable]; but can interrupt the induction
– Deafening Screech [not removable]; but can interrupt the induction

Easterling Keeper

– Nothing special

Battle-cat

– Nothing special

Esterling Devoted

– Flurry of Talons [not removable]

Loyal Craban

– nothing special

MOB BUFFS & DEBUFFS (click to enlarge)

SHORTCUT (SKIP THE CAMPS AND SKIP ROOK)

If you follow the pink route (on the map) you can avoid fighting all camps except Camp 8. Dismiss all pets. From the start you head to the stable just to the right of you and stay close to the left side of it. Head up the rubble pile, and then jump up and over the roof of the next stable. When you land, turn 90 degrees to the left, and follow the line on the tiled floor to the left edge of the torch sitting in front of the tent. Follow the edge of the tent, around the corner. Cross over to the rubble and stay along the edge of it until you are near Platform 4. The group stays tight to the left and you can get by Platform 4 without fighting. Alternatively, the Mini in the group uses Song of Distraction on the mobs (Sorcerer/Devoted/Craban). Once asleep, go around the left side of the platform and head to the opening in the wall just before Camp 8.

If you choose to kill Rook, you will need to clear the 5 Sorcerers [Brotherhood of the Pinioned] (one on each platform and one inside the big tent – Camp 7) to unlock the gate to the area. You can clear (in this order) Platform 2, Camp 2, Platform 1, Platform 4, Camp 6, Platform 3, Camp 4, Camp 7 and it will unlock Rook. You then backtrack behind the tent (Camp 7) and head to Rook.

THE CAMPS

Camp 1
Kill Order
Warrior
Swift-bow
Keeper
Battle-cat

Camp 2
Kill Order
Warrior
Berserker x2
Captain
Swift-bow

Camp 3
Kill Order
Sorcerer
Berserker x2
Captain
Swift-bow

Camp 4
Kill Order
Warrior
Sorcerer
Berserker
Swift-bow x2

Camp 5
Kill Order
Warrior x2
Captain
Swift-bow

Camp 6
Kill Order
Sorcerer
Berserker x2
Swift-bow
Keeper
Battle-cat

Camp 7
Kill Order
Sorcerer
Captain x2
Craban x2

Camp 8
Kill Order
Sorcerer x2
Captain
Keeper x2
Battle-cat x2

Platforms (1-4)
Kill Order
Devoted x2
Sorcerer (Brotherhood)
Craban x2

Patrols (1-2)

Keeper
Battle-cat

KBC

There are 3 groups of Keeper / Battle-cat / Craban facing Camp 5. They from a triangle (see map) with how they are placed. Note, these mobs are all linked (you attack one set and they all come).

ROOK (BOSS 2)

This is an optional boss fight, it is not required to complete the instance. To skip this boss, see the above walkthrough of Phase 2.

If you choose to kill Rook, you will need to clear the 5 Sorcerers [Brotherhood of the Pinioned] (one on each platform and one inside the big tent – Camp 7) to unlock the gate to the area.

Once the gate has been unlocked, head through it and in to the area where Rook is (DO NOT ENTER THE ARENA UNTIL YOU ARE READY). Once you climb up over the rubble, it triggers the boss and a wall of craban keeps you from entering or exiting the arena.

There are 4 Sorcerer-Lords (one in each corner) and Rook (center) to start with. As you approach Rook he begins to talk;

Rook says, ”Ah, you have come!”
Rook says, ”I see the allure of confronting me proved too tempting.”
Rook says, ”When last I saw you, I swore to become a great Wizard in the East!”
Rook says, ”Yet, my quest was naught but folly, you see…”
Rook says, ”…for that old fool Saruman is defeated and left to rot in his tower!”
Rook says, ”I bet even he did not suspect such incredible feats from one so lowly…”
Rook says, ”Once a servant – now a Lord!”

At this point the Sorcerer-Lords activate. They do not move from their corners …

However, some things to know about these mobs.

They should only be attacked when there is not birds swarming around them (see pic below).
When birds are swarming them they get a -95% incoming damage buff and they summon Craban to attack you.

Rook (Craban-Master) does not activate (cannot be damaged) until all 4 Sorcerer-Lords are dead.

Throughout the fight, the Rook will summon Craban and Devoted (2 at a time). The Sorcerer-Lords will also summon Craban if you are too close to them when they have the birds swarming them. If you have this debuff (Vulnerable)

you are too close to the Sorcerer-Lords with the swarming craban animation around. This results in them summoning Craban to attack you.

The Devoted are particularly problematic as they get a buff that reflects 100% of Melee attacks (including bleeds)[see below]. The buff is readily identifiable by the swirling swords around the Devoted. When these are around they are the #1 target priority.

Since Craban and Devoted can spawn from either side of the arena it is advisable for the group to ball up in one area. Once the tank has aggro on the Sorcerer-Lords they do not move, so you can “tank” them from a distance. The ranged stay attacking the Sorcerer-Lords (when there is no swarming craban animation) and the melee focus on the Craban that spawn (they will fly to the group). When the Devoted are up they will run to the group. The melee classes attack when the Flurry of Talons buff is not on them; remember … no bleeds ! The moment the Flurry of Talons buff shows up, the melee single target any Craban in the area. There are many trees and posts that you can use to break line of sight from the Sorcerer-Lords; use them !

ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY FOR DEVOTED: Only 4 Devoted can be up at one time. If you have a secondary tank class they can pull the four off to the side and just tank them (no damage). This allows the others in the group to full out DPS the Craban and Sorcerer-Lords without having to worry about reflects.

Some cues from Rook as to when the spawns are coming;

Craban Spawn Coming

Rook says, ”Blot out the sky, my pets!”
Rook says, ”Aid me, my crebain!”
Rook says, ”My flock grows!”

Devoted – Flurry of Talons Coming

Rook says, ”I shall keep them from you, my devoted!”
Rook says, ”See how they swirl!’

Once all 4 Sorcerer-Lords are down, Rook “activates” and you can damage him. His is nothing special at all, but he does continue to spawn Craban and Devoted. When you get him down to low health (not sure the exact number or %), he turns green (cannot hit him) and he says;

Rook says, ”Enough!”
Rook says, ”I yield this worthless city to you!”
Rook says, ”But know this, Dadi…”
Rook says, ”Middle-earth shall still be mine!”

At which point he will run off … (this can take several moments).

Now that you have completed this boss fight you can make your way back to Camp 8 from the previous map (see above post).

Camp 8
Kill Order
Sorcerer x2
Captain
Keeper x2
Battle-cat x2

Upon clearing Camp 8, head up the ramp and through the door. You are now entering Phase 3.

PHASE 3 – THE MOBS

THE MOBS

Risen Black-Guard

These are pretty straight forward.

Black-Guard Constrainer

These have a Terrible Retribution buff that has a chance to reflect 25% of Common, Westernesse, Ancient Dwarf-make, and Fire damage in the form of Shadow damage.
Immune to Stun, Daze, Root, and Fear.

Black-Guard Door-Warden

These have a Terrible Retribution buff that has a chance to reflect 25% of Common, Westernesse, Ancient Dwarf-make, and Fire damage in the form of Shadow damage.
Shadow-Guard (Corruption) negates 95% of incoming damage.
Consuming Shadows Debuff reduces your Shadow mitigation.
Immune to Stun, Daze, Root, and Fear.

Unbound Fell-Spirit

Always the number one target priority if they are around.
These spawn after killing a Risen Black-Guard or a Black-Guard Constrainer. They are easy to kill, but they stack Unbound debuffs (794 Shadow Damage every 3 seconds).

PHASE 3 – ROAD TO THE BLACK BLADE OF LEBENNIN (Last Boss)

Map to Level 1 (Click to enlarge)

Map to Level 2 (click to enlarge)

LEGEND

Yellow Circles = Risen Black-Guard
Blue Circles = Black-Guard Constrainer
Red Circles = Black-Guard Door-Warden
Green Circle (Outline) = Possible spawn spot for a Warden

Blue Lines = Path that Constrainers wander (the number represents how many Constrainers)
Pink Lines (level 1) = Path the group takes to get to the 3rd Boss (Black Blade of Lebennin)
Peach Lines = Path the group can take to get to a possible Warden spawn spot on level 1
Pink Lines (level 2) = Path the group can take to get to a possible Warden spawn spot on level 2
Yellow Lines = Balconies on level 2 (you cannot cross these lines)

STRATEGY

Everyone in the group should switch their damage types to anything other than Common, Westernesse, Ancient Dwarf-make, or Fire. RKs switch to lightning, Htrs switch to light oil, Melee switch to Beleriand, etc. This is necessary because the Wardens and Constrainers have a chance to reflect 25% of these damage types.

After killing the first two Risen Black-Guards (and their respective Unbound Fell-Spirits) the groups watches for the 3 pathing Black-Guard Constrainers to move from left to right in front of the entrance hallway. After a few seconds has passed, head out and turn immediately right (pink path on the map). Stay tight to the right wall until you reach the stairs. Head up the stairs to level 2. Turn left and head to the balcony. You can look below and see the Black-Guard Door-Warden (see picture below). Have the Mini in the group use Song of Distraction on the two Risen Black-Guards standing immediately in front of the Warden. The Guard in the group hits the Warden with Fray the Edge. The Warden will now run up the stairs to the group and you can fight him there. Watch for corruptions (you must remove these or your damage will be pitiful).

If Song of Distraction fails (or you do not have a Mini), you will get one or two Risen Black-Guards that come with the Warden when the Guard uses Fray the Edge on him. Kill order should be Risen Black-Guard, Unbound Fell-Spirit, Risen Black-Guard, Unbound Fell-Spirit, Warden.

After the Warden is down the tank and the mini should follow the pink path (on level 2 map) to the potential Warden spawn spots (green circles on map). They must be careful to avoid the Constrainers that are pathing (blue lines on map).

Once they reach the Warden, wait until the Contrainers are heading away from you, and then have the Mini use Song of Distraction on the two Risen Black-Guards. The Guard picks up the Warden (with Fray the Edge) and you make your way back to the group, being careful to avoid Constrainers. As before, if Song of Distraction fails … bring them all to the group and fight on the stairs.

If you do not have a Mini, the group can make their way to the Warden spawn spot and kill from there (time it for when the Constrainers first turn away from the area).

If the Warden is not at one of the potential spawn spots on the upper level (pink path), the group will backtrack to the lower level and head toward the entrance and then follow the orange path to the other two potential Warden spawn spots. If it is at the spot on the far left (middle) of the map the group can move together and fight there. If it is at the lower left of the map the group should wait on the stairs and the mini / tank bring the Warden back to the group. Follow the same strategy as above for killing the Warden.

After you have killed two Wardens, the door to Hall of the Osgiliath-Stone will open (last boss is in here). It is right inside the vestibule immediately to the right of the top of the stairs you first came up (see map). If you are in combat you can enter this door.

THE BLACK BLADE OF LEBENNIN (FINAL BOSS FIGHT)

The Black Blade of Lebennin