Trial · 12 players · Western Skyrim (Kyne's Aegis) · Greymoor Chapter (2020)
Kyne's Aegis
VetModerateHMHard
A Nord fortress on a sea cliff overrun by half-giants and vampires. Three bosses: Yandir the Butcher, Captain Vrol, and the vampire lord Falgravn, whose fight drops through three floors.
- Hard mode: plant the Challenge Banner before each boss (veteran only).
- Lots of anti-stacking (Chaurus totem, lightning strikes, meteors, Instability). Use a loose stack: close but about 5m apart.
- PC addon: Code's Combat Alerts tracks most mechanics here.
Half-giant and vampire trash
Trash☠ Wipe mechanic
- Half-Giant Tidebreaker: it plunges its sword into the ground, then a 25m wave goes out with no telegraph. Block or dodge. It also has an untelegraphed cleave.
- Half-Giant Bulwark: its yellow circle makes all other enemies inside invulnerable. Drag them out of it. Its shield bash is a cone, so face it away.
- Bitter Knight: traps a player in a Sanguine Prison bubble. Break the bubble within 8s or the player dies.
- Crimson Knight: when it grows larger (Bloodlust), its heavy can kill a tank through block. Dodge it.
Tank
- Face Tidebreakers, Bulwarks and knights away. Pull enemies out of Bulwark circles.
DPS
- Interrupt Vampire Infusers (they empower the pack) and Shamans' heals.
- Step out of the Raider's orange spear-shard AoE; it looks like a friendly Templar ability.
- Stay away from Storm Callers (stationary); their aura ramps the longer you stand near.
Healer
👁 Watch for
- Bulwark: a big shielded half-giant with a yellow ring on the floor.
- Sanguine Prison: a red blood bubble around a stunned player.
- Blood Knight: it twists its arms, then sends 4 blood lines out in a cross. Step out of the line.
More detail
These enemies return during the bosses: Bulwarks in Vrol's HM add waves and the three vampire knights in Falgravn's second phase. Learn them on trash.
Yandir the Butcher
Boss☠ Wipe mechanic
- Hailstone Shield: Yandir and his pets all get ice shields. Break every shield within 16s or they explode on the group.
- Pets enrage if the previous pet is still alive when the next spawns (every 60s until 50%), or if they stay near Yandir. Kill each pet before the next one, away from the boss.
- Chaurus Totem (green glow): poison bubbles that spread to anyone nearby. Spread out.
- Dragon Totem (orange glow): two totems breathe fire in fixed lines. Don't stand in a line.
Tank
- MT: face Yandir away; his cleave reaches 10m. Block his pull. Below 50% he leaps onto you (block) and hits you with Sundering Strike (more damage taken).
- OT: hold each pet (Sea Adder and Gryphon alternate) out of Yandir's 10m heal range. Face the Adder's cone away.
DPS
- Priority: shields when they go up > pet > boss. Kill totems that hurt you most (usually Chaurus).
Healer
- Below 50%, lightning strikes hit random players and splash 2m. Keep people apart.
👁 Watch for
- Totem tell: Yandir raises a hand by his head with a glowing light. Orange = Dragon (fire lines), light blue = Harpy (wind AoEs), beige = Gargoyle (petrify; block or break free), green = Chaurus (spreading poison).
- Hailstone Shield: an icy shell on the boss and pets.
Hard mode · veteran only
Activate: Plant the Challenge Banner before the fight.
- Shamans: one at the start and another every 40s. Each calls meteors on 3 players that track and stun if you're not blocking. Kill Shamans fast; spread and block.
- Shamans spawn at set points in a clockwise order. Moving Yandir onto the next spawn point helps cleave them.
More detail
He starts with a Sea Adder and summons a new pet every 60s until 50% health. Pets alternate Sea Adder and Gryphon. Below 50%, he adds the leap, Sundering Strike and random lightning strikes.
Not fully confirmed:
- Shield timer: 16s per the forum mechanics guide (Code65536) and Xynode; Fextralife says 15s.
Captain Vrol
Boss☠ Wipe mechanic
- Shocking Harpoon (~every 45s): lands on the farthest player and makes a Sharpened Conduit that tethers people. Kill the conduit fast or it kills everyone tethered.
- Frigid Fog: a 5m frost AoE on his target that stuns. He's immune while standing in it, so the tank pulls him out right away.
- Shaman meteors (below 50%): meteors on 3 players that track and stun. Block and spread. Shamans on the longship can only be killed by ballista.
Tank
- MT: after a Fog, it's safe to turn him toward the group. Dodge through him to drag him out of the Fog.
- OT: pick up portal adds. Below 50%, each Storm Twin locks onto whoever held Vrol when it spawned. It can't be taunted.
DPS
- Ballista crew: take parts from the barrels, repair a ballista and fire. Conjurers take 3 shots; Shamans take 2.
- Portal (above 50%): one player can take the Conjurer's portal to the longship and kill it directly.
- Interrupt: Apothecary heals on Vrol (top priority), Storm Twin's Tempest, and Harpooner javelins if you can.
Healer
- Random lightning strikes splash 2m all fight. Keep spread.
👁 Watch for
- Frigid Fog: Vrol points his weapon at someone, and a misty frost circle appears under them.
- Conduit: a harpoon stuck in the ground with lightning tethers to players.
- Storm Twin: a lightning copy of Vrol sending out a travelling wave.
- Ballista parts: players carrying a big pack on their back.
↯ Alternatives
- Vrol has no frontal cleave apart from Frigid Fog, so positioning is flexible between Fogs.
Hard mode · veteran only
Activate: Plant the Challenge Banner before the fight.
- Half-Giant Bulwarks join the portal waves. Their circle makes nearby adds and Vrol invulnerable. Kill Bulwarks first and keep Vrol out of their circle.
More detail
From 100–50%, a Conjurer appears on the longship every 45s and opens a portal of reinforcements until it dies. From 50–0%, pairs of Shamans appear on the ship every 45s and Storm Twins join. Ballistas only damage enemies on the longship.
Not fully confirmed:
- Xynode lists extra lightning strikes on random players as an HM change; the forum guide says lightning strikes happen all fight on every difficulty.
Lord Falgravn
Final boss☠ Wipe mechanic
- Instability (P1–P2): lightning circles on 3 players (6 on HM) explode after ~4s. Stay 5m apart. Overlaps stack damage. You can't block it, but shields work.
- Daisy chain (90% and 80%): a wall sconce lights up. 6 players form a chain (5–6m apart) from the sconce to the boss. The first player must stand right against the sconce. Repeat for all 4 sconces; group damage ramps until done.
- P2 knights (70%, floor breaks): Crimson, Bitter and Blood Knights. Kill all three at about the same time; a dead knight's ability passes to the others.
- Hemorrhage (30s): barbed-wire visuals on you. Don't move; moving hurts. Kill Coagulants before they reach the Ichor Sphere in the middle, and don't stand under it. It explodes at the end.
- P3 (35%, floor breaks again): keep Falgravn in the pit. If he steps onto the stairs he Smashes and wipes the group. Leaving the Blood Dome kills you.
Tank
- MT: hold Falgravn. The Claw DoT ramps for 20s, so it only matters if you lose him. In P3 keep him off the staircases.
- OT: pick up Lieutenant Njordal shortly after the pull. Face his 15m cleave away. His DoT is unpurgeable and ramps; dodge the cleave. Stay close or he pulls and stuns you.
- P2: taunt the big Coagulant formed when the Ichor Sphere explodes (dangerous cleave).
DPS
- Kill Njordal early (off to the side).
- Hemorrhage: ranged DPS kill Coagulants from where they stand. Small ones have 1/10 the health of big ones.
- P3: every 50s the dome drops and two balls fly to two cells. Send teams to kill the torturers before the dome returns. Saved prisoners give buffs; a missed torturer joins the fight in the pit.
Healer
- Heavy healing during the daisy chain. Healers are usually outside the chain.
- Free Sanguine Prisons (incorporeal Bitter Knight shades keep casting them in P2).
👁 Watch for
- Instability: a lightning circle around a player.
- Sconce: a wall torch crackling with electricity.
- Knight shades (P2): reddish ghost = Crimson (buffs boss) or Blood (blood cross); purple ghost = Bitter (prison).
- Ichor Sphere: a blood ball in the room's center; small and large Coagulants crawl toward it.
- P3 dome: a red Blood Dome around the pit, with 8 prison cells on the upper ring.
↯ Alternatives
- One chain of 6 is easier than two chains, per the forum guide.
Hard mode · veteran only
Activate: Plant the Challenge Banner before the fight.
- 6 Instability targets and 6 Sanguine Grasp targets.
- Rezzing (P1–P2) drops the rezzer into the vault. They must reach a moving portal back while Death Seekers smash the ground (dodge-roll the smash or die).
- P3: Apotheosis is strong enough that the tank must dodge every Cross Swipe; an unblocked light attack kills. Each Cross Swipe leaves a permanent ichor pool, so the tank moves him in a tidy pattern.
- Very large health pool (~276M per Fextralife). This is a long DPS check.
More detail
Phase 1 is the ruins (100–70%), Phase 2 the hidden barrow (70–35%), Phase 3 the ritual vault (35–0%). In P3 he heals back to 40% and gets Apotheosis, a permanent buff that ramps over time and with each dead player. There's continuous unstable-energy damage in the pit. Njordal's fist circles (Sanguine Grasp) target 3 players (6 on HM); keep moving.
Not fully confirmed:
- Instability timer: 4s per the forum guide, 5s per Fextralife.
- Most mechanics here come from the 2020 forum mechanics guide (Code65536), cross-checked with Xynode and Fextralife. UESP and Alcast blocked automated fetches.