Black Drake Villa
A burning Imperial villa with a buried library on the Gold Coast. Three main bosses, three optional Avatar secret bosses, and a super-secret fourth, Sentinel Aksalaz.
- Hard mode is a banner before each main boss (veteran). The banners unlock in order: Kinras HM, then Geminus HM, then Encratis HM.
- Ice form (Sentinel's pads): marked pads around the dungeon turn you into an ice avatar for a short time. The heavy attack and synergy freeze enemies, and the synergy also resurrects allies. Each player has a cooldown, so plan who uses them. Per Xynode, they open up in boss rooms after you kill the Avatar of Zeal.
- Avatar Fragments: wisps only you can see. Each player needs at least 25 for the Aksalaz summon. Grab them as you go.
- Blazing Salamanders (trash and the Kinras fight) have a fire aura and run to buff enemies. Kill them fast.
Avatar of Zeal
Secret bossHow to spawn: In the first area with enemies, find the trapdoor with four pressure plates. All four players stand on one at the same time, go down, and activate the seal.
Easy fight. Keep its front pointed at the tank.
- Face it away. Its head beam and Ethereal Stomp (spectral indriks charging forward) both go out the front.
- It teleports to the far end of the arena. Re-taunt and turn it around quickly.
- Stay behind it. Block the charging spectral indriks if they're aimed at you.
- A frosty white indrik (antlered horse). The stomp sends out ghostly charging copies of itself.
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Avatar 1 of 3. You need all three Avatars dead, plus fragments, to summon Sentinel Aksalaz.
Kinras Ironeye
Boss- Kill Blazing Salamanders before they reach him. They buff his damage.
- Hammer Swing (big wind-up) kills anyone but a blocking tank.
- Fire mage phase: stay out of the Flame Zone (huge red circle) and the snaking flame swirls.
- Dying Fury (last ~10%): he glows and hits much harder. Save burst and finish him fast.
- Block the hammer heavy. Step out of the three fire-bomb circles he drops under you, keeping them close together.
- Keep taunt in the fire mage phase. His ranged fireball heavy hits only whoever has aggro.
- Priority: salamanders, then the Fiery Totem banner he throws (fires at the group, buffs him), then the boss.
- When he dumps the hammer and later rushes back to it, get out of his path. It knocks down.
- Avoid the flames erupting from the sewer grates in the walls.
- A huge minotaur with a hammer. Totem: a small burning banner that lobs fireballs.
- Salamanders have a visible fire aura.
- Ice form trick: drag salamanders onto him, then heavy-attack them in ice form. They turn to ice and debuff him instead. The synergy also stuns him.
Activate: Banner before the boss (veteran).
- More HP and damage.
- Burnt Offering (chains): he chains a player to the ground and charges an explosion. Interrupt him, then the freed player runs out of the growing AoE.
- Mantle Breaker geyser: his slam opens a lava geyser at the tank. The tank stands on it and blocks to plug it, or it sprays lava at the group (as in Bloodroot Forge or Scalecaller Peak).
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He swaps from hammer to fire-mage spells mid-fight, then rushes back to his hammer, then goes into Dying Fury near the end. There's no DPS check. Clean add control wins.
- Phase thresholds: UESP says fire mage at 60%, back to the hammer at 40%, Dying Fury at 10%. Xynode says he throws his weapon at 75% and 30%.
Avatar of Vigor
Secret bossHow to spawn: In the Servant Walkway's big chamber, activate all four Guardian Orbs (two are already lit). Split into pairs: each pair climbs the stairs on opposite sides, and both pairs pull their levers at the same time. Then stand on the two pressure plates to reveal the orbs. Carry the orbs' essence down to open the grate, then use the seal in the Glowing Cavern below.
Easy fight. Face it away and step out of the geysers.
- Block Crushing Ice (spiky ice ball dropped on the target).
- Move out of the water spout AoEs under your feet. Don't stack.
- A frozen nereid (water spirit) standing in water.
- Grab an ice-form pad and stun her as the fight starts.
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Avatar 2 of 3.
Avatar of Fortitude
Secret bossHow to spawn: In the last room of the Grand Archive (just before Captain Geminus), go up the stairs and use the controls to slide the highlighted statues onto the pads at each end. Two Guardian Orbs appear. Carry their essence to the pedestals below, and the wall opens to the Glittering Den. Use the seal there.
Easy fight, but it hits hard. Out-heal the core channel.
- Hold it in the middle facing away. Block Club Swing.
- Frosted Uppercut explodes at the tank. Don't stand next to them.
- Conflicting Core: its chest opens and blasts heat around it for a while. It can't be interrupted. Block and shield/heal through it.
- A big frost atronach with a club arm. Its chest opens to show a flaming core.
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Avatar 3 of 3. With all three dead, you can summon Sentinel Aksalaz after the final boss.
Captain Geminus
Boss- Kill the Shades of Geminus (blue ghost archers on the rim) first. They put a filling AoE on a player that ends in a big hit. Interrupt them.
- Double cleave + bleed (after the first atronach phase): two wide cones at the tank, with a heavy bleed. Anyone else hit is dead. Never stand in front of her.
- Heavy attack: block (tank) or dodge (anyone else).
- She teleports and shoots. Never drop taunt and don't spin her. Keep her facing away.
- Air Atronach (70% and 30%): taunt it, face it away, block its heavy and its lightning channel.
- Pick up the flame hounds that spawn after the first atronach phase.
- Priority: Shades, then flame hounds, then boss. During her bubble, kill the Air Atronach. She stays invulnerable until it dies.
- Spread out. Don't stack, so her wind/bomb-arrow waves can't hit everyone.
- Avoid her beast traps on the floor.
- Mind Rending: your screen goes dark and you take heavy damage over time. Heal the marked player. Per UESP, they should run to the small magic field she throws and stand in it.
- An Imperial archer. Shades: blue spectral archers around the edge.
- Bubble phase: she sits in the middle inside a magic shield, spraying fire waves outward. A big Air Atronach spawns.
- Arrow Spray: a wide red cone in front of her.
Activate: Banner before the boss (veteran). Needs an HM kill on Kinras first.
- More HP and damage.
- More Shades at once (3–4 instead of 1–2 per Xynode).
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She's invulnerable while the atronach lives and fires waves of fireballs outward. Dodge them (4 waves in the first phase, 6 in the second per Xynode). No DPS check.
- Mind Rending: UESP says to stand in the field she throws to cancel it. Xynode treats it as a damage-taken debuff you heal through. Check in game.
- Full HM change list. UESP lists no HM changes for Geminus.
Pyroturge Encratis
Final boss- Infernal Summoning – Close: a huge fire swirl under him. Get out. Even tanks die in it.
- Infernal Summoning – Far: the whole arena burns except a small circle at his feet. Get in next to him.
- Inner Bomb: a small red circle follows you, then explodes. Dodge-roll as it goes off. Xynode says to put your circle inside a small circle on the floor.
- Second arena: if you fall into the central pit, use a steam vent geyser to fly back to the edge. Face the safe zone before using it.
- Block his flamethrower channel and heavy attack. Face him away; his frontal flurry kills DPS.
- Taunt the Fire Behemoth (two-hander add during Far summons) and face it away.
- Priority: Fire Behemoth, then the Burning Specters (flame ghosts) during Close summons, then the boss.
- Second arena: Flame Fields overlap. Never stand in two at once.
- A True-Sworn fire mage. Close = a fire whirl centered on him. Far = fire everywhere except the middle.
- Second arena: a lair with a lava pit in the center, grates with salamanders, and steam vents around the pit.
- Ice form synergy can shut down his Close and Far summons, or stun him to stop him starting one.
Activate: Banner before the boss (veteran). Needs HM kills on Kinras and Geminus first.
- More HP and damage.
- 4 Burning Specters per Close summon instead of 2 (Xynode).
- Dragon-head statues around the room breathe fire during the summon phases. Stay away from them (Xynode).
More detail
At about half HP he goes invulnerable, smashes through a wall into his secret lair, and heals back up on the way. The second arena adds teleports, Flame Fields and the pit.
- Lair threshold: UESP says he escapes at 50% and heals to 75%. Xynode says about 60%.
- HM changes come from Xynode only. UESP's HM achievement page lists no details.
Sentinel Aksalaz
Secret bossHow to spawn: Kill all three Avatars and all three main bosses. Each player needs 25+ Avatar Fragments. After Encratis, each player activates the Avatar Artifact, and he appears in the central pit. You only get 5 attempts, then he leaves.
- Frost Eruption: he curls up and a circle fills almost the whole arena, then freezes everyone. Get to the edge or block it.
- Ice comets: a big spreading circle on a player. Block it, away from everyone else. Later, several players get one at once. Never overlap.
- Ice spikes: he plants his axe and ice patches appear under each player every half second. Keep moving.
- Whirlwinds: storms circle the arena edge while the middle explodes. Run around the ring in a gap.
- Below 25%: the outer room is covered in ice. Fight in the middle only, and dodge the frontal ice and the attacks coming in from the sides.
- Block the uppercut heavy. Aim his frontal Storm Swing (three ice storms) away from the group.
- Taunt the Avatar he summons and the boss together. Face both away.
- Priority: Frostkin, then the summoned Avatar, then Aksalaz. Don't overburn him into two Avatars at once.
- A spectral ice warrior with a battle-axe, summoned in the Athenaeum pit.
Activate: Per Xynode, you must also have killed all three main bosses on HM. There's no separate banner listed.
- Much more HP.
- Heavy, spikes and frontal swing leave a heavy DoT. Big heals needed.
- Two Frostkin at a time.
- Below 25%, all four players get an ice comet at once. Each goes to their own corner and blocks.
More detail
He summons weaker copies of the three Avatars: Zeal at 75%, Vigor at 55%, Fortitude at 30% (UESP). Xynode gives 85 / 60 / 35%. Each one has its full mechanics. No DPS check, but the space gets tight at the end.
- Artifact location: UESP's Aksalaz page says 'the side of the Athenaeum'. Its fragment page says the upper level of the Grand Archive (opens after Encratis). Xynode says a statue at the back of the final boss room.
- Fragment count: UESP says 25 each (25–30 on another page). Xynode says 25 each or 100 combined.
- The HM activation comes from Xynode only.