Nordock Dungeon Mechanics

Introduction #

Dungeon and raid bosses are challenging encounters. The bosses are not only powerful opponents, they are further protected in their location by certain mechanics and traps. Many traps can be disarmed by rogues but some are protected by an object in the room and can only be eliminated by destroying that object.

There are several dungeon mechanics currently in use. Some dungeons have access to some of the mechanics, while RAIDs have access to all of them.

Since the hardest part of a boss fight, specially for RAID boss fights, is the beginning, where you have to deal with the boss itself, and all its allies, boss fight mechanics do scale as follows:

1. When the fight begins, the boss will be on its First Stage. That stage will have the boss run simple mechanics, easy enough to manage, while you also deal with all the boss allies.
2. Once the boss gets damaged enough and so it remains without heal potions/spells, the Second Stage beings. On this stage, mechanics become a little harder, a bit more frequent and a bit harder to manage.
3. Once the boss gets below 50% health, that is when the Third Stage will kick in: on this stage, the boss will unleash its full power against you, with complex, frequent and harder mechanics to follow, up to the boss death.

List of mechanics: #

1. AoE spell (acid fog etc.), fired at the player’s location
2. AoE circle of damage at the player’s location (warning glyph before explosion)
3. Mini-boss protector mechanic (boss immune to damages until the protector is killed)
4. Exploding Monsters chasers
5. Pulsing Pillar at the player’s location
6. Ancestral Prison mechanic (raid only)
7. Mass Helpers spawn
8. Damage to all enemies (a small damage to all enemies, resistances help here!)
9. No mechanic

Mechanics per Dungeon Level #

1. Low level dungeons:
   • Stage 1: chance for 1 and 9
   • Stage 2: chance for 1, 8 and 2
   • Stage 3: chance for 1, 2 and 3
2. Level 21+ dungeons:
   • Stage 1: chance for 1 and 2
   • Stage 2: chance for 1, 2 and 3
   • Stage 3: chance for 1, 2, 3 and 4
3. Level 40 solo/group dungeons:
   • Stage 1: chance for 1, 2, 3 and 4
   • Stage 2: chance for 2, 3, 4 and 5
   • Stage 3: chance for 2, (1 + 8), (1 + 3), (1 + 5) and (2 + 4) (the + means that multiple mechanics can work simultaneously)
4. RAIDS (group of 3+ lvl 40 players)
   • Stage1: chance for 2, (1 + 3), (1 + 8), (2 + 4), 5 and 6
   • Stage 2: chance for 2, (1 + 3), (2 + 4), (1 + 5), 6 and (1 + 6)
   • Stage 3: chance for (2 + 8), (1 + 3), (1 + 4), (2 + 5), (1 + 6) and (1 + 8 + 6)
5. Mechanic 7 is situational and can be assigned to specific creatures, regardless of the dungeon level!

Mechanics in detail: #

1. AoE spell at player location #

1. This mechanic creates spell AoEs, e.g. acid fog, blade barrier, cloudkill, incendiary cloud, wall of fire, in the range of the mechanic.
2. Multiple AoEs can be created, up to a maximum of 1 AoE per player.
3. The AoE level scales with the dungeon level.
4. The mechanic triggers for 60 seconds, then a new mechanic is selected.
5. An AoE is created every 12 seconds during those 60 seconds.

2. AoE circle of damage at players location #

1. This mechancs creates a warning glyph under each player in the range of the mechanic. After 2.75 seconds the glyph dissolves and an AoE of damage will explode in the same area as the glyph.
2. The damage type is random and determined at the beginning of the fight. T
3. he damage scales with the dungeon level.
4. The mechanic lasts for 60 seconds, then a new mechanic is selected.
5. A glyph is created every 12 seconds during those 60 seconds.

3. Mini-boss protector mechanic #

1. A specific creature is created in a specified zone, or near the boss itself. While this creature is alive, the boss master is immune to all damage and effects (visually indicated by circling shields).
2.  When the mini-boss dies, the boss master can be damaged again.
3.  This mechanic fires only once in the 60 seconds mechanic duration, then a new mechanic is picked.

4. Exploding monsters mechanic #

1. This mechanics spawns 1 exploding creature (2 in raids). These creatures will immediately start to follow and attack a random player in the mechanic range, and will keep following that player until killed. The creature created scales with dungeon level. These creatures prefer to spawn near non-melee targets.
2. Every “n” seconds (30 by default), these creatures will explode dealing damage against all creatures in an area of 5 meters around them. The effect applied is random. It can be damage only, damage and blindness, or damage, blindness and deafness. 
3. The mechanic proceeds until the creature is killed. 
4. New exploding creatures are created every 30 seconds during that 60 seconds mechanic duration, unless there are too many of the exploding creatures still alive, in that case the mechanic is skipped.

5. Pulsing pillar at player’s location #

1. One pillar is created near one player in the range of the mechanic. A new pillar is created after 30 seconds. This mechanic lasts 60 seconds, then a new one is picked.
2. Every 6 seconds, the pillar will pulse and will deal damage to all within 10 meters. The damage type is selected at the beginning of the fight. The damage scales with the dungeon level.
3. The pillar will pulse until destroyed.
4. Each pillar has an effect aura of a color that indicates the damage type it does. (red for fire, blue for cold, etc)

6. Ancestral Prison #

1. This mechanic only fires in RAIDs. It lasts for 60 seconds, then another mechanic is picked. The mechanic fires every 18 seconds during its 60 seconds’ duration.
2. When the mechanic is run, each player on the boss mechanic range is looped and checked. Each player then performs a DEX save vs the mechanic DC, and the first player to fail the save will get hit by it.
3. The mechanic will imprison the player for 6 seconds, and the player will be unable to move.
4. While imprisoned, you receive a damage immunity decrease effect, or a damage immunity increase effect, based on the amount of allies near you. The more allies you have near, the stronger the damage immunity increase. On the contrary, if there is no one nearby, the boss will have total control over you, and you will receive a damage immunity decrease for the duration of the mechanic.
   • The specific formula is the following: -50 + ((NumOfPlayersNearby - 1) * 20)
   • If the final value is positive, you receive a damage immunity increased effect, if negative, you receive a damage immunity decreased effect, against physical sources (bludgeoning, slashing, piercing), for the duration of the mechanic.
5. Once you get imprisoned, the boss will immediately try to reach you. If its near, it will just switch target to focus you, or if far, it will jump over you.

7. Mass helpers spawn mechanic #

1. This mechanic is optional and assigned to specific creatures. This mechanic, in most cases, also fires other default mechanics.
2. The boss will spawn a number of creatures which repeats after a certain time. There is an upper limit to the number of creatures the boss can create and that can be alive at the same time.

Generic mechanics rules #

1. Each mechanic lasts for 60 seconds, then another random mechanic is selected.
2. A mechanic can be picked more than once during a fight, with no limits or restrictions.
3. Each mechanic will work within a specific mechanic range. This range is defined and scales based on the dungeon level.
4. These mechanics also work if the boss is spawned in the open world. In this circumstance, the open world is considered a dungeon level and has its own scaling data.
5. When a boss with mechanics dies, all associated creatures, pillars etc. are also destroyed.
6. Each boss room has a perimeter defined by small fires. If the boss leaves that area the room will reset. This prevents players from luring the boss from the room and fighting elsewhere but also allows a party in difficulty to retreat and try again from the start. After 5 or more resets of a boss fight in the same instance, the creatures in that fight will have 0% chance to become unique the next time they are spawned.

Boss Berserk (RAID only) #

If the fight against the boss gets too long, after 20 minutes since the beginning of the fight, the boss enters on a special berserk mode, getting more AB, more damage, and more attacks per round. This is a potential point of no return for all adventurers.