For every dungeon you encounter during your journey to the level cap, there is a second, more difficult, version for players at level 50. These dungeons are called “Expert” Dungeons. Ten in all, they are divided into two tiers; the first tier is aimed at players who have just recently hit level 50 and the second tier is geared towards those who have spent time in Tier 1 Expert Dungeons.
For the purpose of this guide, Deepstrike Mines is considered a Tier 2 Expert Dungeon. General requirements for all Tier 2 dungeons include a Tank with at least 100 Toughness, DPS minded players must have either 100 Hit or Focus, a credible healer and an off-healer. The Tank can be a Warrior, Rogue or Cleric if properly geared, however Cleric Tanks will have the hardest time of all three. Healers will consist of Clerics mostly where your best off healer will be a Chlormancer. This does not mean you will not be able to use a Bard or Justicar as an off-healer or a Chloromancer as a main healer.
All expert dungeons offer new challenges, more bosses and sometimes additional areas to explore. In Deepstrike Mines you will find three additional bosses, and a very extended dungeon path, the largest of all Expert Dungeons. This guide will go over each boss fight and what to expect during each encounter.
For a full list of Tier 2 Dungeon Gear please use this link.
Note: Before you start Deepstrike Mines, make sure you group is optimal as this is one of the more difficult Tier 2 dungeons. Make sure all your melee DPS players have a ranged off-spec they can use.
Overseer Markus
This fight is incredibly simple and not much has changed from the normal version. You will engage Markus and a few other adds. Markus cleaves, so make sure you stay behind him if you’re in melee range and not the tank. Kill the adds, and continue to DPS Markus.
At 50% Markus will disappear and split into 3 more adds. After a certain amount of time Markus will come regardless if you’ve killed the adds. Usually there is enough time for you to finish them up, however be aware that you’re on a clock. This might give some groups that aren’t nearly as geared some issues.
Once the three adds are down, finish Markus.
Gregori Krezlav
This is a difficult fight for warrior tanks and undergeared players. The fight itself is pretty simple mechanics wise, but there are moments where you have large amounts of damage done to the tank. The fight starts with Gregori come to the center of the platform where he will stay throughout the whole fight. He has two mechanics you have to watch out for.
The first ability is one where he summons an add. If it isn’t picked up by the tank it can become a nuisance and kill party members. Kill it ASAP or save it for the next phase.
Gregori also does a heavy hitting spell with a long cast time. It can either be interrupted or absorbed by the tank. This is where Rogue tanks benefit from their class mechanics. If you miss an interrupt, only well geared tanks will survive long enough.
After a certain duration Gregori will go immune and summon three channelers, this is the second phase. You must kill all three channelers to make Gregori vulnerable to attacks again. He will remain invulnerable for ever but he will still attack the tank. You can kill the add during this phase if you’re confident the tank can take all the damage.
These two phases will repeat over and over until Gregori is dead.
Bonehew the Thunderer
This fight is one of those fights that is easy mechanics wise, but incredibly frustrating. Ranged DPS is preferred on this fight as it makes the job of healing easier. The mechanics are somewhat similar to normal mode but with a few twists.
Bonehew will do the same mechanics as normal to start off. He will do AOE pound damage and stuns around him. He will also, on occasion, move to the edges of the platform and do a long range ground pound that will hit everyone from one side of the platform to the other. The only way to avoid it is to move to the sides.
You will know Bonehew is going to do this attack when he stops his attacks and run to the perimeter of the platform. At this point you need to run to the edges of the platform to the sides of Bonehew. If you don’t, you will be hit for a high amount of damage and be knocked back. Because of the terrain, it is possible to be knocked off the platform and fall to your death creating a long process to recover from a wipe.
One other mechanic that is different in this fight is that he will put a debuff on someone that does AOE damage on a short duration. Healers will have to not only heal the tank but heal the other player as well until it wears off.
At 50% Bonehew will split into two smaller versions of himself. The mechanics will remain the same however. Finish off the two splits and that is all.
Tips for this fight: Stay ranged. This will allow you to react to Bonehew’s cross-platform attack better and get into position. Also, the safest place for you to be is directly behind Bonehew. When he splits, the cross-platform attacks can form an “X” across the platform and it’s difficult to judge where it will be safe.
Gatekeeper Kaleida
This fight is a bit easier that normal mode in some respects. Instead of cycling between fire and earth modes, Kaleida will also add water and air into the mix. Range DPS is preferred on this fight.
When engaging Kaleida you should always start with him on Fire mode. You can tell which mode he’s in by his buffs under the target’s portrait. The reason for this is that it will give you the longest duration for DPS before his Earth phase begins.
What you need to be aware of:
- 1) During Fire Mode, Kaleida will toss out fire crystals that do heavy AOE damage when the explode and they have a large radius. Run away from them ASAP. Kaleida also has a nasty cleave, “wave”, attack. Melee must avoid this.
- 2) During Air and Water Modes, Kaleida will put out crystals that either silence, stun or do damage on impact, but can largely be ignored as they won’t cause you to wipe.
- 3) During Earth Mode, Kaleida will summon Earth Crystals that will begin to heal him. These must be killed ASAP or you will just prolong the fight even more.
This fight is all about endurance and patience. Once Kaleida’s Earth phase is done, he will go back to Fire and it will start all over again.
Dichrom
In the next room there will be tons of trash. You will want to clear out the whole room before engaging Dichrom. There will also be lasers that will try to hit you. These must be avoided as well. The best strategy to clearing the room is have everyone stand on the rubble right behind Kaleida and have the tank pull everything to the group. There are also two safe spots to the left and right of you as you face Dichrom. You can stand here to avoid laser harassment.
Clear the room and you will be able to freely pull Dichrom. It’s a pretty simple fight as he really doesn’t do anything special. What’s special about this fight is avoid the laser beams. There are a few tricks however that may or may not work depending on if the Trion devs fix them. If you stand directily in the middle of the intersection, no laser will hit you. You can then position Dichrom to the sides of the room having the tank stand on the ledge to avoid lasers.
Dichrom will cleave so you can’t all stack in the same spot.
Other strategies include pulling Dichrom to either dead end and have the group stand on the rubble while the tank engages Dichrom in a safe spot.
Caretaker Arcanis
Further on in the dungeon you will come across Caretaker Arcanis which is a relatively easy fight. The caretaker doesn’t have any special abilities that you really need to be aware of. However there are four crystal in the room you have to keep your eye on. At different times of the fight Caretaker Arcanis will activate a crystal that summons adds. You will have to destroy the adds and the crystal and then continue to attack Arcanis. This will happen four times.
Keep everything under control and you will easily win.
Plutonus
This is one of the most entertaining fights in all of the expert dungeons. Once you clear your way through even more trash, you will come to Plutonus’ room. The fight is quite simple but requires situational awareness and movement. The fight is a single cycle that will repeat itself until you are victorious.
Plutonus stand at the center of a circular platform. You will have to fight him on the platform because once the fight begins swirling laser beams will be sweeping the perimeter that will do more damage than the lasers outside in the hallways. This is very important to remember.
Plutonus cleaves so you will want to keep him and the tank in the center of the room. At different intervals throughout the fight he will begin to cast an ability, and you will get a warning across your screen that “Plutonous flows with energy”. When he’s finished he will knock everyone back.
Here’s the trick, walls will pop up on the perimeter of the circular platform. You will have to position yourself in front of these walls so you don’t get knocked back into the lasers. The configuration and placement of these walls will vary throughout the fight. They will be different lengths and in different places every time.
After you are knocked back lightning will shoot out from the walls and converge on Plutonous in the center. It will look like spokes in a bicycle wheel. Stand out of the lightning.
If you can manage not to be knocked back into the lasers and avoid the lightning damage you will easily win. Ranged dps is much easier to manage since you can line up against the walls before the knockback.
Here is where you need to be careful. On
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