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Dragon Lord's Refuge

Dragon Lord's Refuge map

Dragon Lord's Refuge (DLR), also known as Tiamat's Sanctuary, is a solo instance for players of level 57 and above. Once Tiamat's shelter and her last stand before her death, players will now travel here as part of their campaign quest and re-experience the events that took place via flashback.

This instance was originally introduced in the 3.5 update as a 12-man alliance instance, but was remastered into its current format with the 6.0 update. It can be accessed from the Saphic Bog in Cygnea (Elyos) and Pentachroma Coast in Enshar (Asmodians).

Backstory[]

The only approach to the lair of the Dragon Lord was a magical passage in the center of Tiamaranta’s Eye, closely guarded by the Tiamat Protectorate. Recently, Reian wizards have managed to create a magical passage of their own, but it remains in an unstable state, and cannot always be used.

Aware of this, Tiamat attempted to organize a conference between her and Kahrun. Expecting it to be a trap, Daevas join him. While being face to face with Tiamat, they confirm it was a set up so she takes Kahrun out of the way by sending him to the past, leaving Daevas alone with the Dragon Lord for the final battle.

Upon the destruction of Tiamaranta in 4.8, Tiamat's throne room was destroyed, and with it any trace of this successful day. When advancing into the newly risen lands, Daevas and Reians were surprised upon discovering certain fragments of Tiamaranta's Eye which had crashed against this new region. Between the ruins, scatterings and fire they found certain relics which had been imbued with Tiamat's own emotions. Two of them were the Crystal Ball of Lament and the Crystal Ball of Phantasma, which, powered by her pain and desperation moments before her death, allowed travel into her memories, recreating the final moments of the Dragon Lord.

Walkthrough[]

Post-6.0 (Remastered)[]

3.5-5.8 (Original)[]

DLR Waiting Room

Waiting room map

Once inside, players will find themselves in a small platform with a mounted jewel in the middle and <Kahrun>, who will activate the jewel, enabling players to transport to Tiamat's throne room. Most party members take this time to coordinate and ensure everyone knows their roles.

Once transported to the main room, approaching <Tiamat> and <Kahrun> will trigger a small set up scene; a discussion between both discussing the terms and showing how the Dragon Lord easy puts the Reian elder away. Thinking Daevas are mere bugs, she sends her bodyguard; <Calindi Flamelord>, who spawns in the middle of the room, protecting her and the relics. To avoid starting the fight too early, players must move out from there.

It is advisable to move him onto one of the walls and face him away from the alliance. He will mostly use Fire Dragon Claw <Fire Dragon Claw>, a single target attack which will affect whoever he is targeting. At the same time, players should be aware of his two most important abilities: Blaze Engraving <Blaze Engraving>, through which he will spawn flames on the ground, dealing a strong damage over time, which must be avoided, and Hallucinatory Victory <Hallucinatory Victory>, a very dangerous reflecting shield. This last one marks the spawning of floating Surkanas which must be disposed of swiftly, as they will buff Calindi up, increasing his attack speed and other offensive attributes. To avoid any additional damage, it is suggested to turn him away from the rest of the alliance.

Once the servant has been defeated, players will confront an empowered <Tiamat>. But not too late, Kaisinel/Marchutan appears to hold Tiamat while the alliance members weaken her by taking out her four Incarnations; (<Graviwing>, <Fissurefang>, <Petriscale> and <Wrathclaw>). The objective in this phase is defeating the four of them before the Empyrean Lord is slain (Chanters or Clerics can increase his max HP with buffs). Each Incarnation stays on a separated realm which can be accessed through special portals on the four corners of the throne room. Most players choose to split into two groups; each of them killing two. There is a <Balaur Spiritualist> in front of each portal, which when killed will heal and buff the Empyrean Lord, giving more time to defeat the Incarnations.

Each Incarnate has its own skill-set and elemental damage, however they do not usually present a major threat. All of them share certain skills; Incarnate Surge <Incarnate Surge>, which will deal damage and knockdown nearby targets, Bite <Bite>, which will inflict damage on a target and knock it down, and Smash <Smash>, a single target attack.

  • <Petriscale> (Gravity Incarnate - South-East portal): Located in Petrification's Realm, deals Water Damage, will summon crystals which will paralyse nearby enemies.
  • <Wrathclaw> (Wrath Incarnate - North-East portal): Located in Wrath's Realm, deals Fire Damage, will reduce elemental defences and HP of enemies and increase its own offensive attributes.
  • <Graviwing> (Gravity Incarnate - South-West portal): Located in Gravity's Realm, deals Wind Damage, will put enemies in aether hold state and paralyse them.
  • <Fissurefang> (Fissure Incarnate - North-West portal): Located in Fissure's Realm, deals Earth Damage, will reduce attack speed.

With her Incarnations defeated, <Tiamat> has been weakened, but she is not defenceless. The last phase in the instance will be a fight against her. It is important to note players are given 30 minutes to eliminate her. If the countdown ends, the instance will be over. From now on, no one should resurrect at the start, as they will be unable to join the battle.

DLR pos

Optimal positioning; melee and ranged group

Players should position themselves on either side of her claws and therefore avoid Ultimate Atrocity <Ultimate Atrocity>, a frontal AoE which will hit any player wrongly positioned. This skill will only affect certain places of the battlefield however. She will also summon Earth Stalagmites in specific locations in front of her, which can be easily avoided by moving away from them. Across the fight she will also continually use Dragon Lord's Claw <Dragon Lord's Claw>, an instant attack which affects several alliance members.

Before reaching 50% of health (most will opt to stop at 51%), all damage dealt should be stopped. This small break serves as a preparation for the greatest challenge this instance has to offer. Below 50%, Tiamat will begin summoning <Divisive Creations>, strong petraliths additional monsters, every 80 seconds on the sides of the arena. Most alliances decide to let the Templar kite them around while being healed by a Cleric or Chanter (the former being the usual). The Templar will have to aggro or pull the mobs onto them to keep them off from the rest of the alliance. Magic Resist sets play an important role for these two people as the magical attacks casted by these mobs are strong and can be resisted that way; aiming for values around 2,600 and 2,800.

Players usually choose to begin this phase after the Earth Stalagmites disappear. It is here when damage dealers will resume damage, and (if present), the Chanter uses Word of Wind I <Word of Wind I>. In order to avoid being overwhelmed by the additional monsters, players will have to burn Tiamat down really fast.

At 25%, all burst damage must be casted (and Chanter should use Word of Quickness I <Word of Quickness I>) to finish off the last bits of HP. It is during this phase Gravity Crushers, floating orbs which will damage nearby targets, will spawn. After reaching 25% of HP, every 90 seconds Infinite Pain <Infinite Pain> will be used by Tiamat; an all room-wide AoE which will stun and DoT the affected. Being a very damaging skill, shields or any defensive skills are highly suggested to be casted in preparation.

Usually, groups who fail once are able to retry this phase once more, as long as no members resurrect at the start. The timer should give enough time for these two attempts.

Once defeated, a big chest for everyone will spawn in the middle of the room as a reward for having slain the Fifth of the Dragon Lords, giving all the successful Daevas a bundled box rewarding their efforts.

Throne of Blood[]

Throne of Blood is an area related to this instance, only sharing the terrain design. Its sole purpose was to make ground for the original level 60 campaigns set in Tiamat Stronghold:

  • Tango quest icon Kaisinel's Command [?] (E)/Tango quest icon Marchutan's Will [?] (A)
  • Tango quest icon Traces of the Past [?] (E)/Tango quest icon Footsteps of the Past [?] (A) - Aethertechs only

Prizes[]

Dragon Lord's Refuge[]

Calindi Flamelord

Tiamat

Anguished Dragon Lord's Refuge[]

Tiamat

Trivia[]

  • Dragon Lord's Refuge was the first instance to drop Mythic tier gear, introducing the Mythic Grade to the game.
  • The instance has been changed on various occasions since its release:
    • Its original entry level was 60. In the 4.8 update this was raised to 63, and then finally lowered to 57 in the 6.0 update.
    • The original entrance was located in the Commander's Room in the center of Tiamaranta's Eye, but was moved to Ruinhold Scatterings in Cygnea and Dragonfall's Glare in Enshar with the 4.8 update. The current entrance is at the location of the former Aturam Sky Fortress instance.
    • A Hard Mode equivalent of this instance (Anguished Dragon Lord's Refuge) was added with the 4.8 update. This version, for players of level 65+, could only be accessed by rifting over and using the entrance on the opposing faction's land (Enshar for Elyos, Cygnea for Asmodians). It followed an identical structure to its previous version, except enemies in this instance were of level 65 and dealt more damage. Loot was adjusted as such. In the 6.0 update this version was removed.
  • The instance is composed of three different layers; the waiting room (a platform floating above the throne room), the throne room itself (where <Calindi Flamelord> and <Tiamat> are fought) and the four realms (where the Incarnates are fought).
  • The default rewards included a chance at a weapon series of extendables which started with the level 60 Distorted Dragon Lord's eternal weapons. These could later be upgraded into the level 65 Furious Longtooth eternal weapons. And these, in turn, could finally be upgraded into the level 65 Upgraded Distorted mythic weapons.
  • Although it is 3.5 content, it remained to be considered as one of the most challenging instances for endgame players up until the 6.0 update.
  • As of 4.8, this instance was required to upgrade a legion to level 7.
  • Both this instance and Tiamat Stronghold are referred to as "idtiamat" in files.


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