Bojun's Guide to Boss Battles

[Celestial_Cavalier]

Hello guys I'm sure most of you already have your main character at level 20. Some of you might even have multiple level 20 characters. But I'm also sure that we have a lot more players that are just starting or learning the ropes. This guide is made specially for them but I do believe it would be helpful to anyone who takes the time to read this.

Currently the game has 11 bosses in order of difficulty:

1. Plaguerider Skar (Level 5-8)
2. Lockbolt (Level 7-10)
3. Zombified Overseer (Level 8-11)
4. Dark Kraken (Level 9-12)
5. General Zuur (Level 12-15)
6. Rotting Golem (Level 14-16)
7. Cerberus (Level 15-19)
8. Lord Helion (Level 14-17)
9. Guardian Dragon (Level 16-19)
10. Hunter (Level 18-20)
11. Ice Lord Vallus (Level 20)

You might say that Cerberus seem to be stronger than Lord Helion because of the bracketed levels. Believe me that is not the case even after the developers made Lord Helion easier to beat after the latest patch (Chapter 3: Dragonmoor).

I have been playing this game practically from the start (was among the 1st 250 players) and have fought these bosses hundreds of times. Basically to be successful in a boss battle you need to have the proper equipment, the proper buffs (blessings/potions/runes) and you need to have time.

EQUIPMENT

I will not be venturing into the specific equipment you need due the sheer number available and the fact that different players have different preferences when in comes to them. Just be sure that you have a complete set of equipment (helmet, amulet, cloak, chest armor, weapon, gauntlet, leg armor, boots, ring, shield/off hand ( not needed if you are using a 2 handed weapon). The most important for the Justicar and Shadow Walker classes is your weapon because without it you will be dealing only a small amount of damage. War Mages would not be using it as often but it is still needed especially if all your spells are in cooldown.

POTIONS

Technically you can fight a boss battle using only healing potions. High level players with good equipment can do this with ease but for lower levels it would be quite challenging. What type of healing potion to buy would depend on your maximum health and also on your budget. If for example your maximum health is only 750 buying the medium potion would be the best option instead of buying the more expensive large potion. Regardless of what type of potion you have I recommend at least 10-20 at any given time.

The next question is when to use it. You must use your health potions strategically. You must take into account how much damage the bosses can deal. In my months of playing I found out that when facing Ice Lord Vallus and The Hunter you need at least 700 at any given time. Even for the weakest boss you need at least 300. As a rule of thumb if your health is below 50% of maximum it would be a good idea to use one. There are some exceptions like if you are sure that your last hit would not miss then even if you have few health left then you don't need to use any potion. I find it cheaper to buy healing in the Glenfort Temple (100 silver for 500 health) after each boss fight.

The second potion is the cleaning potion which is considerably more cheaper than healing potions. But consider that if you are fighting a 3 creature mob the possibility of having at least 3 negative buffs is very high thus like the healing potion this should be used strategically. The following situations would merit an immediate use:

a. any enemy buff that would slow you down
b. any enemy buff that would lower your damage
c. any enemy buff that has stacked twice or thrice

From experience I found that using the potion when an enemy buff hasn't stacked yet is wasteful because the damage is not really that significant.

For the newer players all I can say is that you already have it quite easy because when they released BoH last December 2011 we only had the above mentioned potions, the bosses had a lot more health and deal a lot more and their special attacks procs more often. The first time I fought Ice Lord Vallus I used more than 20 large healing potions because he healed 25 times and I was avoiding The Hunter because his special attack Twin Strike procs a lot.

RUNES

The runes are a relatively new addition to the game having been introduced during the Dragonmoor update. Currently we have the following:

1. Break Rune -interrupts an enemy attack
2. Purge Rune - remove 1 beneficial effect from an enemy
3. Fire Rune - deals fire damage and burns for additional damage
4. Frost Rune - deals ice damage and slows enemy
5. Blight Rune - deals nature damage and decreases enemy damage
6. Spirit Rune - deals Spirit damage and decreases enemy defense

The break rune and purge runes I consider essential in your daily boss battles with the other 4 optional. I use break rune when the boss is either going to heal, going to stun you or going to use his special attack while I use purge rune exclusively when the boss has a buff that increases his melee or spell rating (e.g. fury). The break and purge runes if used correctly can prevent the boss from killing you with their combos. Ice Lord Vallus is particularly scary with his fury, stun and attack combo. The 1st few times I fought him I almost died because I wasn't aware of this combo.

The elemental runes are most useful for lower to mid level players because the damage they can deliver is usually better than their weapon/spell damage. But it is also useful for level 20 players especially those who haven't farmed or brought good gear. It is very helpful against Ice Lord Vallus because he can heal 1,500 health at a time.

Now the next question is which of the elemental runes to use? For normal mobs I recommend the fire rune because aside from the initial damage it also deals additional damage so it's like 2 attacks for the price of one. Next is the blight rune because it decrease enemy damage followed by either the frost or spirit runes.

For boss fights you must use the elemental rune that is the opposite of the bosses element. For Ice Lord Vallus you use the fire rune while for the Guardian Dragon you use the frost rule. Why you might ask? It is because I noticed that if you use the rune that is the same as their element you deal less damage. This is just my guess as I haven't confirmed it with the devs but it can be expected that the bosses have some resistances to their native elements.

TIME

OK you guys might again wonder why I included time as one of the things to have when entering a boss battle. This is once again for people new to boss battles. It is alright to be in a hurry to defeat the boss but make sure you do not press the wrong tabs or you could end up losing a lot of health or worst even dead. There is also a possibility that you will run out of potions and/or runes and cannot make the next attack because you know the next hit from the boss will kill you. The only option available is to wait for your health to regenerate but be sure not to wait too long otherwise the boss will also heal. In case you people do not know bosses regenerate a lot slower than players. Just how slow I do not know but the time is significant.

Another aspect of time is that you should have enough of it because remember before you reach the boss you will have to go thru 9 regular mobs and some of these mobs (e.g. Ice Wraith, Rat'leen Ice Mage) can also deliver significant damage. Actually the Ice Wraith can hit you for over 400 damage while the Ice Mage can stun you (dangerous if there are 2 other creatures with it).

OTHERS

I hope this guide has been very informative and helpful. I have wanted to write this for a long time but the forum took some time in coming. Anyway if I missed something feel free to PM me. I would acknowledge him/her for any additions I would do. Lastly why didn't I mention anything about specific class abilities to use during boss battles? It is because my next guide would be about specific class so stay tuned!!!

[WarLord_1349]

Can't wait for the next part. good guide so far.

[Paramagnetic]

Nice Bojun- spot on guide! Thanks for adding it!

[Celestial_Cavalier]

Hello guys I have just completed the guide. Hope you enjoy reading it as I enjoyed writing it.

[edward]

good stuff, it's great to have this sort of info coming up in the forums. well done!

[Bj_Knows]

From experience I found that using the potion when an enemy buff hasn't stacked yet is wasteful because the damage is not really that significant.

Research Note: When Ice Lord Vallus stuns you, it lasts several seconds.
An enemy stun is broken when you take damage.
“Death Bite” is an enemy melee attack that does damage and has a chance of inflicting an enemy ice DOT (Damage Over Time).
If you already have an enemy ice DOT, when the enemy stuns you, the maximum time the enemy stun can last is 0.95 seconds because the enemy ice DOT breaks the enemy stun.

Player's Opinion: For this reason, if I have an enemy ice DOT and the enemy is readying "Death Bite", I will often use a Cleanse Potion. This prevents the enemy ice DOT from stacking, but gives me a reasonable chance of getting a new enemy ice DOT to replace it. With an enemy ice DOT, an enemy stun never lasts more than 0.95 seconds.

For boss fights you must use the elemental rune that is the opposite of the bosses element. For Ice Lord Vallus you use the fire rune while for the Guardian Dragon you use the frost rule. Why you might ask? It is because I noticed that if you use the rune that is the same as their element you deal less damage. This is just my guess as I haven't confirmed it with the devs but it can be expected that the bosses have some resistances to their native elements.

Reseach Note: The Guardian Dragon in Dragonmoor appears to take extra damage from ice attacks. A critical hit with an ice attack does even more damage. Ice Lord Vallus appears to be similar to a War Mage and have a resistance to all four elemental attacks (Nature, Spirit, Ice, Fire).

There is also a possibility that you will run out of potions and/or runes and cannot make the next attack because you know the next hit from the boss will kill you. The only option available is to wait for your health to regenerate but be sure not to wait too long otherwise the boss will also heal. In case you people do not know bosses regenerate a lot slower than players. Just how slow I do not know but the time is significant.

Research Note: If you exit the BoH app (Book of Heroes App), or switch to another character, or wait too long between actions, your current fight resets to the beginning.

Player's Opinion: When my wife is low on health, and a Dungeon Boss is 50% or lower on its Health Meter, she will leave the BoH app open, and check her character's inventory ever 2- 3 minutes.

Another aspect of time is that you should have enough of it because remember before you reach the boss you will have to go thru 9 regular mobs and some of these mobs (e.g. Ice Wraith, Rat'leen Ice Mage) can also deliver significant damage. Actually the Ice Wraith can hit you for over 400 damage while the Ice Mage can stun you (dangerous if there are 2 other creatures with it).

Player's Opinion: Depending on my current class and current level, it can take me 30- 40 minutes to fight through a Dungeon Encounter Zone (DEZ) and defeat a Dungeon Boss. If I am short on time, I will fight until I start the Dungeon Boss battle, then exist the BoH app. When I return, the Dungeon Boss battle resets to the beginning but I do not have to spend 15- 35 minutes battling through the nine normal enemy encounters to reach the Dungeon Boss.

Researcher's Note: Personal longest time to complete a Dungeon Encounter Zone, 60 minutes using an Obsolete Character Build in The City of Nithus DEZ. Personal shortest time to run Ice Dragon's Lair DEZ, start to finish, 9 minutes 56 seconds not counting opening the treasure chest. This was done while using an Experimental Vanish rank 3 & Shadow Stalker rank 2 Character Build of the Shadow Walker (Argh, I am always confusing Shadow Stalker with Shadow Walker).

Player’s Note: The Rotting Golem Bane Character Build (aka RG Bane) is now an Obsolete Character Build. In BoH version 1.1, Frozen Shard rank 3 was a de-buff Slow 50%. Venan has not commented, but this was most likely changed due to stun locking opponents or a MegaCombo. In BoH version 1.2, the War Mage’s Frozen Shard rank 3 is currently de-buff Slow 26%. The RG Bane is now an Obsolete Character Build.

[Celestial_Cavalier]

@ BjofCJandBj = I have read your research notes and frankly I'm very impressed!!! I simply don't have the time to list all of those things. What more to try different stats from equipping different sets of items. But I'm glad that many of my notes from experience are being proven correct by your research.

But regarding your 1st comment re: my not using a cleaning potion to remove an unstacked enemy buff. You seem to be talking about a War Mage ( Ice DOT) while I was not actually referring to any class.

Just a question what class and level were you using when you said "Researcher's Note: Personal longest time to complete a Dungeon Encounter Zone, 60 minutes. Personal shortest time to run Ice Dragon's Lair, start to finish, 9 minutes 56 seconds not counting opening the treasure chest."?

My personal best is 6 minutes using a lvl 20 Justicar.

[Celestial_Cavalier]

From experience I found that using the potion when an enemy buff hasn't stacked yet is wasteful because the damage is not really that significant.

Research Note: When Ice Lord Vallus stuns you, it lasts several seconds.
An enemy stun is broken when you take damage.
“Death Bite” is an enemy melee attack that does damage and has a chance of inflicting an enemy ice DOT (Damage Over Time).
If you already have an enemy ice DOT, when the enemy stuns you, the maximum time the enemy stun can last is 0.95 seconds because the enemy ice DOT breaks the enemy stun.

Player's Opinion: For this reason, if I have an enemy ice DOT and the enemy is readying "Death Bite", I will often use a Cleanse Potion. This prevents the enemy ice DOT from stacking, but gives me a reasonable chance of getting a new enemy ice DOT to replace it. With an enemy ice DOT, an enemy stun never lasts more than 0.95 seconds.

I dont know about your game experience but not once has it happened to me that I took damage from a stacked enemy DOT while being stunned. What does happen is that after Ice Lord Vallus hits me with death bite and the DOT procs the stun breaks (as you said above) but I don't take damage from that stacked DOT. What I do is simply use cleaning potion to remove said stacked DOT.

[Bj_Knows]

I dont know about your game experience but not once has it happened to me that I took damage from a stacked enemy DOT while being stunned. What does happen is that after Ice Lord Vallus hits me with death bite and the DOT procs the stun breaks (as you said above) but I don't take damage from that stacked DOT. What I do is simply use cleaning potion to remove said stacked DOT.

Scenario A
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Player uses Cleanse Potion to remove ice DOT stack 1 from player
Freezing Breath: does damage to player
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Player uses Cleanse Potion to remove ice DOT stack 1 from player
Frozen Tomb: player stunned until 3 seconds or takes damage.
Second Wind: Vallus heals, player still stunned
Vallus's Fury: Vallus buffs, player still stunned
Freezing Breath: half way through attack, stun runs out.

Scenario B
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Freezing Breath: does damage to player
Player sees Death Bite on enemy action timer and uses a Cleanse Potion removing ice DOT stack 1 from player
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Frozen Tomb: player stunned until 3 seconds or takes damage.
Second Wind: two-thirds of way through attack, player takes damage from ice DOT stack 1, breaking the stun.
Player uses Break rune to interrupt Second Wind.

Scenario C
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Freezing Breath: does damage to player
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 2 on player
Frozen Tomb: player stunned until 3 seconds or takes damage.
Second Wind: two-thirds of way through attack, player takes damage from ice DOT stack 2, breaking the stun.
Player uses Break rune to interrupt Second Wind.

In Scenario A, the player is helpless while stunned for 3 seconds.
In Scenario B, the player is helpless while stunned, until the ice DOT stack 1 frees them.
In Scenario C, the player is helpless while stunned, until the ice DOT stack 2 frees them.

Of the three, I prefer Scenario B.

[Celestial_Cavalier]

I dont know about your game experience but not once has it happened to me that I took damage from a stacked enemy DOT while being stunned. What does happen is that after Ice Lord Vallus hits me with death bite and the DOT procs the stun breaks (as you said above) but I don't take damage from that stacked DOT. What I do is simply use cleaning potion to remove said stacked DOT.

Scenario A
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Player uses Cleanse Potion to remove ice DOT stack 1 from player
Freezing Breath: does damage to player
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Player uses Cleanse Potion to remove ice DOT stack 1 from player
Frozen Tomb: player stunned until 3 seconds or takes damage.
Second Wind: Vallus heals, player still stunned
Vallus's Fury: Vallus buffs, player still stunned
Freezing Breath: half way through attack, stun runs out.

Scenario B
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Freezing Breath: does damage to player
Player sees Death Bite on enemy action timer and uses a Cleanse Potion removing ice DOT stack 1 from player
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Frozen Tomb: player stunned until 3 seconds or takes damage.
Second Wind: two-thirds of way through attack, player takes damage from ice DOT stack 1, breaking the stun.
Player uses Break rune to interrupt Second Wind.

Scenario C
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 1 on player
Freezing Breath: does damage to player
Death Bite: does damage to player and ice DOT stack 2 on player
Frozen Tomb: player stunned until 3 seconds or takes damage.
Second Wind: two-thirds of way through attack, player takes damage from ice DOT stack 2, breaking the stun.
Player uses Break rune to interrupt Second Wind.

In Scenario A, the player is helpless while stunned for 3 seconds.
In Scenario B, the player is helpless while stunned, until the ice DOT stack 1 frees them.
In Scenario C, the player is helpless while stunned, until the ice DOT stack 2 frees them.

Of the three, I prefer Scenario B.

I have already encountered the 1st 2 scenarios you stated above but the 3rd one simply hasn't happened to me and I have already fought Ice Lord Vallus hundreds of times. Btw when I mention stacked enemy DOT I meant stack 2 not stack 1.