ESO Quick Mechanics
Dungeon · 4 players · Grahtwood (Tenmar mountain valley) · Scalebreaker (2019)

Lair of Maarselok

VetChallengingHMVery hard

A blighted jungle valley climbing to the dragon Maarselok. You fight Selene's beasts first, then Maarselok three times (in flight, on his perch, and grounded in his roost), with the Azureblight Cancroid in between.

01

Selene

Boss
☠ Wipe mechanic
  • Interrupt Selene's poison barrage. She keeps throwing heavy poison balls at everyone until stopped.
  • Selene's Fangs (the spider, second) can one-shot non-tanks. Tank grabs it the moment it drops in.
Tank
  • Selene's Claws (bear, first): face it away, block its heavies.
  • Re-find Selene after each teleport. She follows teleports with an attack.
DPS
  • Poison cone: if Selene targets you, turn the cone away from the group and block.
  • The bear rears up and smashes rock spikes under every player. Don't stack on each other; block or dodge.
Healer
    👁 Watch for
    • A spectral bear, then a giant spider dropping from above. Selene herself floats around the room.
    More detail

    You don't damage Selene; she's invulnerable while her Claws and Fangs live. Kill the bear, then the spider, and the fight ends. Spiderlings from the spider are minor.

    02

    Maarselok (In Flight)

    Boss
    ☠ Wipe mechanic
    • Keep the Azureblight Lurcher out of Maarselok's blue fire. The strafe and its lingering fire empower the Lurcher.
    Tank
    • Block the Lurcher's charged backhand.
    • Move the Lurcher away from fresh dragon fire.
    • Grab the adds that spawn when the Lurcher recharges (imps, spriggans, skeletal wolves). Taunt the ranged ones.
    DPS
    • Interrupt the adds that cast. AoE the packs during each recharge.
    Healer
      👁 Watch for
      • Maarselok flies overhead and blankets a strip of ground in blue fire.
      • The Lurcher punches the ground and spawns medium circles that drain your resources. Step out.
      More detail

      The Lurcher has three Health bars. Each time one empties, it goes immune to recharge while adds spawn, and Maarselok loses Health. After the first recharge, adds keep coming.

      03

      Azureblight Cancroid

      Boss
      ☠ Wipe mechanic
      • Don't stand in the deep blue aura around the Cancroid. It slows and damages you.
      • Azureblight Stranglers start spawning after the first vulnerable window. Kill them first, even during the burn window.
      Tank
      • Hold the Azureblight Infestor, facing away. Block its overhead smash and its forward energy cone.
      • Pull it out of its own blight circles after each stomp.
      • When one Infestor dies, the next walks in and heavy-attacks right away. Grab it fast.
      • Stay on the Infestor even during the Cancroid burn.
      DPS
      • When an Infestor dies, Selene cleanses its seed. A non-tank picks it up (synergy) and carries it to the Cancroid. This strips its barrier.
      • Burn the Cancroid while the barrier is down. It comes back after a short window.
      Healer
        👁 Watch for
        • A blight-covered growth inside a pool of blue energy, firing small blue bolts at players.
        More detail

        The fight starts when you engage the first roaming Infestor. Carrying the seed lowers your resistances, so stay clear of adds while carrying it.

        04

        Maarselok (On His Perch)

        Boss
        ☠ Wipe mechanic
        • Unrelenting Force: a targeted player sees heavy-attack-style yellow lines and an on-screen alert. Block, or get thrown across the field.
        • Keep moving through the dragon fire. It rains down as many blue fire orbs.
        Tank
        • Roam and collect stray adds and Lurchers into the Strangler kill zone. A Lurcher spawns after each vulnerable phase.
        • During the burn, drag adds onto Maarselok.
        DPS
        • Azureblight Stranglers pop up near the wall where Selene's spiders climb. AoE them down so the spiders reach Maarselok.
        • When he crashes down, dazed, burn him with everything.
        Healer
        • Hoarvor duty: stay by Selene. Azureblight Hoarvors crawl toward her and explode, stunning her. Just walk close to pop them early.
        👁 Watch for
        • Small spiders climbing the vines to his perch. When enough reach him, he falls, glowing green and stunned.
        More detail

        Loop: protect Selene, kill Stranglers, burn Maarselok when he drops, pick up the Lurcher, repeat. The encounter ends at 50% of his Health.

        05

        Maarselok (In His Roost)

        Final boss
        ☠ Wipe mechanic
        • Scourge Seed: 'The Azure Blight is claiming a host!' Selene marks three pads and shows the host, who glows dark blue. The host runs to a pad and uses the synergy. If they fail, a Lurcher spawns.
        • Charge: after his meteor shower he rears up and charges toward the tank. Everyone except the tank gets out to his sides.
        • Sweeping Breath: a side-to-side fire sweep. Dodge-roll through it. Blocking leaves a DoT.
        • Don't stand by his wings. Wing smash knocks you down and hits hard.
        Tank
        • Tank him angled to one side (not at the wings); the group stands on the far side so his head smash and shouts only hit you.
        • Block Unrelenting Force and his charge.
        • Azure Blaze lands on you after three hits from his fireballs or spit. Purging it backfires onto the others, so call it before you purge.
        DPS
        • Don't reflect his ranged spit (Azureblight Spume). A reflected spume spawns two empowered flame atronachs.
        • Thin out Wyrms, Stranglers and Lurchers as they come; don't tunnel the boss.
        Healer
          👁 Watch for
          • Invigorating Fumes: very large ground AoEs right before he charges. If he lands in one, he gets a blue glow and hits harder.
          • Meteor shower: fireballs scatter across the field; two of them leave big long-lasting pools.
          Hard mode · veteran only

          Activate: Veteran only. Interact with the Azureblight Seed at the entrance to his roost and choose to smash it, before engaging. If the group wipes, smash it again.

          • Selene is hostile. Interrupt her poison barrage. She's wrapped in Wicked Bonds (a damage shield). Break it to free her for ~25s. Pads only work while she's free.
          • Don't hit Selene until the Scourge Seed starts. Watch cleaves and pets, especially necro pets.
          • Scourge Seed, HM: from 60%, about every 70s. Nobody glows. The host dies if not cleansed in time.
          • Maarselok spits a blue Azureblight Seed on the ground. Healer and both DPS synergize it and call the safe pad they see: Blight, Grass or Dirt.
          • Odd one out is the host. They cleanse at the pad the other two called. All three agree → the tank is the host and goes to that pad.
          • Wrong pad = death. Never stand on a corrupted pad, not even when someone else cleanses.
          • Sweeping Breath applies Azure Blaze to everyone it hits. Dodge it. Purging four at once means four backfires; block when purges are called.
          • Putrid Stalk: vines cover dead bodies. Destroy them before you can rez.
          • Cleansing spits out small AoEs from the host that stun. Sidestep them. Stranglers also join.
          More detail

          Charging him back and forth between two fixed points keeps things predictable for DPS and healer. Avoiding the fumes is only needed for an achievement.

          Not fully confirmed:
          • Detailed HM numbers (25s Selene window, ~70s cycle, 30s to cleanse) come from a 2019 PTS guide (code65536). UESP and Fextralife describe the same mechanic without timers.
          • Fextralife says depleting Selene's Health frees her; code65536 says breaking her shield frees her. Same idea; treat it as 'break her shield'.
          Sources · last checked 2026-11-09