The Lazy Gamer’s Guide to Normal / Heroic Raid Strategies
By Markiplierfan1995.
Note: As a large warning, this post contains spoilers about heroic raid strategies!
Classes
I used a Warden and Battlemage combo for my two tanks, an Archmage and Barbarian for Support DPS, and two Assassins for Main DPS. Here’s a link to an imgur album with their build cards! At the bottom, there’s a 1 Dummy and 5 Dummy DPS calc. I used max stats, but no Curse of Slowness.
That was the default state that I had them in, though some changed their basic attack for certain fights.
Archmage: Focused on Ailment Effect%. Very good Chill and Shock, plus certain things that enable the Helm of Command to become stronger (like Frostbolt having a unique debuff). Gems had Attack Speed, Cold Damage, Damage, and then Health and Physical / Magical Resist if it could fit. Did not do significant damage, but probably made everyone else better?
Fire Assassin: Highest DPS in fights with adds! If there were no adds, or I didn’t want to kill them, I swapped to Explosive Shot without issues. Gems had Attack Speed, Fire Damage, Damage Over Time, Damage, and then Health and Physical / Magical Resist if it could fit.
Poison Assassin: Highest DPS in fights against one enemy! It’s also important to have a strong physical attacker. Gems were the same as the other Assassin, but replace Fire Damage with Physical Damage.
Barbarian: Support DPS, much better at the DPS part than the Archmage but still not in the Assassins’ league. Slam provides a unique debuff to Armour, Armour Break also debuffs Armour, so does Earthquake – basically, that’s her whole deal. Gems are exactly the same as the Poison Assassin!
Battlemage: Ah, this tank is so fun! Thunderbolt gives a unique debuff to Critical Defence, which is basically just +Crit Damage% for everyone. Gems are Attack Speed, Barrier, Health Regen, and then Physical / Magical Resist. I did include Health if there was room, but her armor enchant severely reduces her Health to boost Barrier. Devotion on the Trinket makes Health Regen affect Barrier!
Warden: He’s cool, too, but not as stylish. The reduction to Area Damage against my team was clutch in many fights, that said! Sunder is a nice debuff that reduces Armour while Dragon’s Roar buffs the whole team with 100% uptime. This guy is all about Health and Armour, with a little bit of Evasion Rating.
Synergies
So, Helm of Command wants us to put as many unique debuffs as possible on the boss to give us multiplicative ‘More Damage’ on them. That’s why some of the enchants, especially on my Archmage and tanks, look a little strange. I have Esoteric despite having no Arcane Damage as well as Fulminate without Lightning Damage, but both are just there to toss another debuff on the pile.
The Malediction staff also spits out curses, which are debuffs of their own, and most of the skills that I chose have unique debuffs associated with them as well. Items like Belt of Decay and Malady make the team stronger against bosses covered in DoTs, and we just happen to slather those all over everything.
In later Heroic Raids, Warden has the ability to heal team Barrier via Taunting Blow and Archmage passively generates team Barrier via Repleneshing Aura. This makes the Barrier Potion extremely good, especially for bosses that lash out very hard at DPS infrequently. There’s plenty of time to regain Barrier in between! We only really use this tactic in those situations, though – Sunder is preferable on the Warden otherwise, and a high Barrier on the DPS isn’t necessary.
How to Get Gear
Everything equipped to these folks can be acquired before you enter raids. Check the Glossary to see how they’re acquired! Most are obtained via Bounty, Agony, and Faction Missions. Agony proved the most grindy, since I had to get a bunch of two different belts from Mastermind.
Gear can be Imbued for better stat spreads! Nature’s Gauntlets, for example, have a 3 Offense / 3 Defense stat spread normally. If you pick up Slayer’s Gauntlets from Factions, however, you can Imbue their 4 Offense / 2 Defense spread onto the Nature’s Gauntlets’ superior base item. This is true of many items! There are better Imbues you can acquire once you start raiding, but again — my goal was not to fiddle with gear at all.
DPS Gear Imbues
- Malediction: Imbue Plagued Staff
- Scorched Bow: Imbue Dragonslayers Bolter
- Hillstrider’s Ambition: Imbue Elegant Quiver
- Helm of Command: Imbue Berserker Helm
- Imbued Pauldrons: Imbue Tattered Wings
- Occult Robes: Imbue Conduction Plate
- Nature’s Gauntlets: Imbue Slayer’s Gauntlets
- Belt of Decay: Imbue Lucid Sash
- All Rings: Imbue Ring of Manipulation
- Jungle Cape: Imbue Assassin’s Cape
Tank Gear Imbues
- Rockwall: Imbue Shield of Renewal
- Cleric’s Robe: Imbue Stone Carapace
- Nature’s Gauntlets: Imbue Weathered Gloves
- Occult Leggings: Imbue Weathered Greaves
- Nature’s Shawl: Imbue Plated Cloak
- Mutant Shell: Imbue Cleric’s Mantle
- Vampiric Brace: Imbue Cleric’s Bracers
Nemesis Gear
Nemesis affixing and rolling isn’t required at all until you hit Heroic Raids, and even then not until you’re about halfway through. I’d still recommend doing it to make things easier on yourself! You don’t have to make your tanks’ gear Nemesis at all. I notably didn’t reroll affix ranks to save resources — as long as the right stats were hit, I moved on.
- Priority: Attack Speed > Crit Chance > Crit Damage > Melee / Ranged / Physical Damage > Damage Over Time > Specific Damage
Default Skill Setup
Skills are as listed on the Build Cards, but I’ll go over them here with other options as well. Unless otherwise specified, Tank attacks are on Round Robin and others are on Random.
Archmage: Frostbolt / Blizzard / Stasis / Nature’s Blessing. None of these ever change. Set Stasis to ‘Strongest’ so it always hits the boss.
Fire Assassin: Barrage / Rain of Arrows / Smokescreen / Nature’s Blessing. Barrage is sometimes exchanged for Explosive Arrow with Ignite Chance / Ignite Damage / Explosive Charge / Premature Detonation. Explosive Charge is another unique debuff to help the Helm of Command.
Poison Assassin: Poison Sting / Blade Flurry / Crippling Poison / Nature’s Blessing. None of these ever change. Set Crippling Poison to ‘Strongest’ so it always hits the boss.
Barbarian: Slam / Armour Break / Ground Slam / Nature’s Blessing. Slam is sometimes exchanged for Sunder with Leverage / Exposed Defence / Armour Penetration / Increased Duration when the Warden can’t use it. Set Armour Break to ‘Strongest’ so it always hits the boss.
Battlemage: Thunderbolt / Blizzard / Arcane Cloak / Elemental Bolt. None of these ever change.
Warden: Sunder / Dragon’s Roar / Imposing Cry / Nature’s Blessing. Sunder is sometimes exchanged for Taunting Blow with Threat Nullification / Prepared Defenses / Protective Strike / Shared Protection. This is reserved for bosses that hit the team pretty hard, and is more for the Barrier heal than the taunting part.
Default Potion Setup
I used Regeneration / Strength / Speed / Abrasion for most fights. If I used anything different, I’ll note it in the specific fight! Based on my own eyeballing, Abrasion is the least important for DPS, followed by Strength, and then Speed is most important.
Normal Raids
You can clear every Normal Raid with the Default Skill & Potion Setup. Just enter the raid and wait until you win. Some fights take longer than others, like Emerald Scalewarden, but that’s all. If you want to speed things up…
- Orc Warlord: DPS on Strongest
- Twin Barbarians: DPS on Strongest
- Consider Explosive Shot for Fire Assassin, too
Otherwise, just keep them on Random and watch them win.
Heroic Raids
Many of these do require some tactics or skill juggling to conquer, but nothing major. I did all of the puzzling and testing, so I can say what worked for each! You don’t have to do these in order, and if you plan to unlock and use better gear you may want to peek ahead at what’s available. If you do want to leave my lazy path, there’s a lot of gear updating you can do in Normal Raids right now, too…
Potential Gear Upgrades
- Band of Undeath: Accessed via the Reliquary after beating Lichlord. It’s not super necessary, but could act as a safeguard for Warden or Battlemage.
- Abyssal Cuffs: Accessed via the Reliquary after beating… I think Demon Highlord? It’s good for either of our Assassins.
- Toxic Bolter: From Serpent Caller. You could put it on the Poison Assassin with a Hillstrider’s Ambition and probably do more damage. Remember to change Poison Sting from Hidden Blade + Melee Damage to Weakened Strikes if you do.
- Huntsman’s Pads: From Serpent Caller. Ailment% for our Archmage!
- Huntsman’s Boots: From Travelling Alchemist. Ailment% for our Archmage!
- Huntsman’s Cape: From Serpent Caller. Ailment% for our Archmage!
- Strategic Grips: Better than Nature’s Gauntlets for all of our DPS, except maybe the Archmage?
- Cleric’s Clasp: From Orc Vizier. A belt for our Battlemage!
- Cleric’s Leggings: From Emerald Scalewarden. Pants for our Battlemage!
- Regal Greaves: From Demon Highlord or Demonic Juggernaut. Pants for our Warden!
Heroic Boss Strategies
Lichlord (H)
DPS to Weakest. Otherwise, just default stuff.
Orc Warlord (H)
DPS to Strongest. Switch the Fire Assassin to Explosive Shot, or equip the Demonic Spaulder from the Reliquary on ’em. After you beat Orc Warlord, if you’re not lazy like me…
- Savage Flail: A good weapon for our Warden. Imbue it with the Ancient Claw you were using before, since the stat spread is superior and it’s already pre-made. Score!
Ancient Yeti (H)
Taunting Blow on Warden, Sunder on Barbarian. Potions are Regeneration / Speed / Barrier / Protection. You can get unlucky here, at least I did, so it may take more than one try? After you beat Ancient Yeti, if you’re not lazy like me…
- Frozen Cape: Decent for our Archmage, though they’re never going to deal stellar damage. Just imbue it with the old Jungle Cape and you’re good to go.
Travelling Alchemist (H)
Literally just clobber this guy with everything on default.
Orc Vizier (H)
DPS to Strongest. Switch the Fire Assassin to Explosive Shot, or equip the Demonic Spaulder from the Reliquary on ’em. This one’s kinda slow, but you’ll get there. He’s not actually all that dangerous.
Demonic Juggernaut (H)
This guy was really tough. Taunting Blow on Warden, Sunder on Barbarian. Switch the Fire Assassin to Explosive Shot, or equip the Demonic Spaulder from the Reliquary on ’em. Potions are Regeneration / Barrier / Protection / Resistance. Similar to Yeti, this was a little hit or miss even going in with the same or similar setups. If you haven’t already made your DPS’ gear Nemesis, now is really the time. If you’re having trouble, remember that you can do Heroics in any order.
Emerald Scalewarden (H)
Switch the Fire Assassin to Explosive Shot, or equip the Demonic Spaulder from the Reliquary on ’em. It takes a whiiile because of Chromatic Scales, but isn’t otherwise difficult. After you beat Emerald Scalewarden, if you’re not lazy like me…
- Chromatic Stone: An awesome Trinket for our Archmage. It helps the Fire Assassin deal more damage.
Demon Highlord (H)
This guy took me the longest. The goal here is to pace yourself and not kill his cronies too fast, but definitely do kill them before he gets too strong. I personally set Barbarian to Weakest and my Assassins to Strongest, with Taunting Blow on the Warden — but NOT Sunder on the Barbarian. I used Regeneration / Speed / Protection / Barrier potions. Depending on how your gear looks, this may take some tactics shuffling until you find a good kill speed for the adds.
Twin Barbarians (H)
DPS to Strongest. Switch the Fire Assassin to Explosive Shot, or equip the Demonic Spaulder from the Reliquary on ’em. This is a DPS race, so once again make sure your DPS gear is Nemesis affixed. After you beat Twin Barbarians, if you’re not lazy like me…
- Nomadic Runestone: A great Trinket for our Barbarian. It helps the Poison Assassin deal more damage, and also our Barbarian, too.
Serpent Caller (H)
All DPS to Strongest, and that’s it. Barrage and Fire Arrow will kill some adds, but that’s a good thing as long as you’re not letting the boss totally spiral out of control. DPS health can get kind of sketchy near the end, so consider a Barrier Potion over Abrasion. After you beat Serpent Caller, if you’re not lazy like me…
- Toxic Tunic: Hoo-whee, this one is nice for all of our DPS due to its Ailment% bonus. However, if you want to take advantage of it on the Archmage, you’ll need to change her Relic to a Barbarian one.
Afterthoughts
This was a fun little thing to do! After I was done, I went back to actually get and equip the gear I could’ve. I concluded that it would’ve been way easier if I’d just made use of the tools that were given to me along the way, but what can I say? I’m a stubborn kind of lazy guy.
I think my favorite to build was the Battlemage, just because she had something really silly like 200K+ Barrier by the end. I did see my Warden briefly struggle in a few of the final fights, but her Barrier never really went below half. Either way, even without Nemesis affixing any tank gear, they never had issues.
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