An Inside Look: Mythic Vault of the Incarnates

With Dragonflight launching next month, beta testing of Vault of the Incarnates has seemingly concluded. Previously, we shared An Inside Look at the instance’s bosses on Heroic mode in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of our mini-series. Today, we report the changes to each of the 7 beta-tested bosses of Vault of the Incarnates from Heroic to Mythic difficulty. Although several Mythic bosses have been altered since their initial testing, we will discuss some key points to consider in preparation for the new tier!

Table of Contents

Eranog

On Mythic difficulty, Eranog now casts Greater Flamerift that (upon expiration) creates a rift similar to the ones dropped by Flamerift and spawns a Primal Captain. The Primal Captain casts Leaping Flames that deals damage to a player and then jumps to surrounding allies while applying a DOT effect. This ability stacks, making it even more deadly. The Captain also periodically casts Pyroblast which deals a large amount of fire damage, but can be kicked.




In Phase 2, Eranog summons an additional wall of Fire Elementals from the center of the room. In theory, this should require the raid to kill both an add from the outer ring as well as the inner ring. However, in beta testing, inner flame walls sometimes spawned with a hole in them already, trivializing the mechanic.






For a comprehensive Inside Look at Eranog’s abilities on Heroic mode, please click here.

Terros

One of the larger changes to the encounter on Mythic difficulty is that Rock Blast ability now deals damage to all players regardless, but is reduced by the number of players that soak the ability. This encourages players with the Awakened Earth debuff to stack on the edges of the soak.




Infused Fallout is a new mechanic that revolves around players clearing their Volatile Dust. Coming into contact with another player that has the Volatile Dust debuff will clear the effect while also causing an Explosive Reaction and leaving a patch of Reactive Bedrock behind.






For a comprehensive Inside Look at Terros’ abilities on Heroic mode, please click here.

The Primal Council

The most impactful change between Heroic and Mythic is that Scorched Earth is now Consumed whenever a player clears their stacks of Primal Blizzard. This means that players will want to wait until their stacks are high (at 10 stacks, they become encased in a Frost Tomb) and then clear the effect. Players should also remain spread while doing so since they can cleave one another, applying additional stacks to each player. This also means that if players clear their stacks too early, there won't be enough Scorched Earth for others to do the same.




In addition to the Scorched Earth change, Conductive Mark no longer has a duration (20 seconds on Heroic), which means players are forced to use the Earthen Pillars to clear the effect. In Heroic, some strategies on beta were based around players holding their conductive marks until expiration, but this change makes that impossible.






For a comprehensive Inside Look at the Primal Council’s abilities on Heroic mode, please click here.

Sennarth, the Cold Breath

Gusting Rime is a new mechanic that was added to the Dungeon Journal after Mythic beta testing. Sennarth forms columns of ice that inflict moderate damage and knock players back if they are touched. This could very well have been added to deter Warlock Demonic Gateway strategies invalidating the climb to the higher section of the room.

The other Mythic mechanic involves a change to Sticky Webbing. Players still want to acquire the debuff when the boss casts Gossamer Burst to avoid being pulled off, but at 5 stacks of Sticky Webbing, they become Wrapped in Webs. The only way to remove the Stick Webbing debuff or free a player that has been Wrapped in Webs is by coming in contact with a Caustic Eruption. The Caustic Spiderlings will explode upon death in a Caustic Eruption, which means players must be near them to clear their Web debuff or they need to be killed on top of players who are Wrapped in Webs. Being hit by the explosion also leaves behind the Dissolved Defenses debuff, which means a player cannot be hit by another Caustic Eruption for 30 seconds.






For a comprehensive Inside Look at Sennarth, the Cold Breath’s abilities on Heroic mode, please click here.

Dathea, Ascended

The only real difference between Dathea on Heroic and Mythic revolves around the Coalescing Storm mechanic. While it might sound relatively simple, proper management of the effect can be quite difficult at times.

Random players will periodically be given the Conductive Mark debuff, which does not expire on Mythic. To clear the effect, players must come in contact with a dormant Volatile Infuser. Doing so gives the Infuser a portion of its energy bar and at full energy, it comes to life. This add needs to be killed near the platform which adds have spawned on for the designated group to be knocked over successfully.




There are multiple Volatile Infusers placed around the room, giving the raid many options on where they want to start. However, it is worth noting that, once one Infuser is fully empowered, it drains any energy deposited into other Infusers around the room. The hardest part of the encounter is coordinating the order of Conductive Mark clears while also dealing with Crosswinds and the boss’s Cyclone effect. Tankier classes should be chosen to clear later on, as the Conductive Mark effect does stack.



For a comprehensive Inside Look at Dathea, Ascended’s abilities on Heroic mode, please click here.

Kurog Grimtotem

Mythic Kurog Grimtotem operates the same way in Phase 1 as it does on Heroic difficulty. The raid must decide between two elemental quadrants of the room to tank Kurog, who becomes empowered with abilities from said elements. However, on Mythic difficulty, there is a new add present for each section of the room, which brings with it a new mechanic.

The Altar of Flame summons a Flamewrought Eradicator add that will periodically cast Raging Inferno, which places magma pools on the floor that must be soaked. After 15 seconds, a Smoldering Helion add will appear from the pool. The Altar of Frost brings with it a Frostwrought Dominator add that casts both Icy Tempest and Frigid Torrent, requiring players to react quickly to each effect.




Earthwrought Smasher is the add that spawns from the Altar of Earth. Periodically, this add will cast Erupting Bedrock, which deals a large amount of damage to players hit. The Altar of Storm will summon a Stormwrought Despoiler add that casts Orb Lightning. This effect can be absorbed by players but also causes heavy raid wide damage at 10 stacks; therefore, it promotes multiple players splitting the soaks.




In Phase 2, Kurog summons two adds based on the Altars that previously empowered him. These elemental adds now also have a handful of mechanics that were seen in Phase 1. The Fire add casts Searing Carnage, Frost casts Absolute Zero, and the Earthen add periodically casts Seismic Rupture. However, the most threatening add may be the storm add, which casts Thunder Strike. This ability can become challenging to soak based on what other elemental the raid is killing in Phase 2, so this must be taken into account when deciding on an effective Altar order.






For a comprehensive Inside Look at Kurog Grimtotem’s abilities on Heroic mode, please click here.

Broodkeeper Diurna

Broodkeeper Diurna is a polarizing boss. Design-wise, it certainly has Stone Legion Generals vibes where the raid is partially “AFK” waiting for adds to spawn or a mechanic to happen. Then, players are periodically bombarded with a slew of mechanics that must be performed quickly or it will spell disaster for the raid group.

The main change from Heroic to Mythic is Diurna's Storm Fissure cast, which is cast in both Phase 1 and 2. Storm Fissure causes Diurna to deal moderate pulsing damage every half of a second to raid members that are within 3 yards of each fissure. Over the course of the fight, this will presumably lead to a large amount of area denial within the room. This will be quite the concern in Phase 2 when the raid is trying to dodge Empowered Greatstaff of the Broodkeeper effects and Wildfire.




Mortal Stoneslam is the other Mythic ability to note, and it seems to only occur in Phase 2. It causes Diurna to deal a large amount of physical damage and a moderate amount of Nature damage to her current target while also applying Detonating Slam and Mortal Suffering. Detonating Slam requires the effect to be split with multiple raid members to avoid the tank dying. This is also happening while the tank is under the effects of Mortal Suffering, receiving 90% less healing.




While Broodkeeper Diurna might not have a long list of new Mythic abilities, the few she does have will greatly change the fight and the way raid groups will need to design movement-based strategies. With Diurna being the Penultimate boss in Vault of the Incarnates, it could make for some pretty steep tuning as well.



For a comprehensive Inside Look at Broodkeeper Diurna’s abilities on Heroic mode, please click here.

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Related Reading

• An Inside Look: Vault of the Incarnates - Part 1
  
• An Inside Look: Vault of the Incarnates - Part 2
  
• An Inside Look: Vault of the Incarnates - Part 3

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