ESO Quick Mechanics
Trial · 12 players · Craglorn · Base game (Craglorn update, 2014)

Sanctum Ophidia

VetEasyHMModerate

Scaled Court temple of the Celestial Serpent in Craglorn. Four bosses: Possessed Mantikora, Stonebreaker, Ozara and The Serpent, with lever rooms and a long trash bridge in between.

01

Bridge trash

Trash
☠ Wipe mechanic
  • Overchargers: kill first. A random player gets a large red AoE that moves with them for ~10s, and the Overcharger's bolts hit that player hard. That player leaves the group.
  • Troll boulder: only a dodge roll avoids it (knockdown through block).
  • Troll poison ball: dodge it, or it puts a poison AoE on you that spreads to anyone you touch.
  • Interrupt Serpent Fang 'Taking Aim' (orange light on the target).
Tank
  • Pull everything together. Kill the Shaman's totem, not the Shaman, so mobs stop running to it.
DPS
  • Priority: Overchargers > Trolls > Archers > War Priests.
Healer
    👁 Watch for
    • Overcharged: big red circle following a player; small red circles appear where people stand still.
    0
    02

    Possessed Mantikora

    Boss
    ☠ Wipe mechanic
    • Frontal cleave one-shots non-tanks. Only tanks in front.
    • Quake: 3 players get a growing circle that pops 3 times and launches them. Run backward to drag it out of the group.
    • Enraged Slam: everyone blocks. It leaves a bleed that lasts until you're healed to full.
    » Burn strat
    DPS check 44k Vet per DPS · Kill before the portal mattersrough
    • Skip the Portal: only the ported player (plus the OT) goes down; leave the Serpent's Image alone.
    • While the Image lives he casts no Quake, so the group upstairs just nukes.
    • If he's still up after ~90s, kill the Image fast.
    Tank
    • Turn him away. Don't over-taunt (more often than every 7–10s), or he rampages.
    • OT jumps into the portal to cover whoever got ported: block the Image's heavy and keep its cleave off them.
    DPS
    • Start a timer when the portal opens.
    Healer
    • Top people to 100% after the slam to clear the bleed.
    • Spear/Poison Shard targets the farthest player: 2 ranged players stand far back, loosely stacked, to kite it. Block, then step out.
    👁 Watch for
    • Portal cue: you hear The Serpent's voice and the boss is stunned.
    • Enrage: at ~10% he flashes red and hits harder over time.
    ↯ Alternatives
    • Low DPS fallback: kill the Image. A random player is sent below to the Serpent's Image. It must die within about 100s or the Mantikora enrages.
    • Fallback portal team: 1 tank + 1 DPS (up to 4).
    More detail
    Not fully confirmed:
    • Image timer: 100s per eso-mechanics and Fextralife; Xynode says 1m45s.
    03

    Stonebreaker

    Boss
    ☠ Wipe mechanic
    • Ground Slam / Avalanche: three hard-to-see lines from his punches, usually toward the tank, sometimes behind. Block; unblocked can one-shot.
    • Destructive Aura: a big AoE that completes when he punches the floor. Everyone blocks. Mandatory after his ~20% enrage (glows red).
    • Overchargers join at 75% (1), 50% (2), 25% (3). Kill each right away or they pile up.
    Tank
    • Turn him away. Don't drag him too far or he resets.
    DPS
    • Overchargers first, then boss. Dodge the poison ball.
    Healer
    • Split healers and DPS evenly on either side of him. Most of the group will carry the spreading poison.
    ↯ Alternatives
    • High DPS: skip add swapping: single-target Stonebreaker and kill each Overcharger with AoE cleave (Xynode).
    More detail
    Not fully confirmed:
    • Poison Blast (players who die with poison explode on others) was reportedly nerfed in Update 7.1.7 (eso-mechanics); Leaping Crush was removed then.
    04

    Ozara

    Boss
    ☠ Wipe mechanic
    • Trapping Bolts: pins players in place. Another player must stand on them and use the 'Remove Bolt' synergy. Pinned players emote; tanks and healers call positions.

    OT holds the Troll, archer and War Priest aside; the MT keeps her at the door so Overchargers die in the cleave.

    Tank
    • MT: hold Ozara near the closed door on the right, but not against it. Block her heavy or you're knocked through the door.
    • OT: take the adds (Troll, archer, War Priest) to the back of the room.
    DPS
    • One DPS kills the Shaman's totem on the left at the start. Don't kill the Shaman; she just drops a new totem.
    • Focus each Overcharger that spawns from the door. Adds respawn ~15s after dying.
    Healer
      More detail

      Three Trolls spawn after Ozara dies.

      Not fully confirmed:
      • Pinned count: Fextralife says 2, eso-mechanics 3, Xynode up to 4.
      05

      The Serpent

      Final boss
      ☠ Wipe mechanic
      • Celestial Spray: very wide frontal cleave that can wipe the group. Only the tank stands in front.
      • Magicka Bomb (blue totem): a player glows blue with a rising sound. Dump magicka to near 0 before it goes off, or you die. Killing the blue totem removes the bomb.
      • Run to Stone: pink orbs spawn. Everyone grabs one (tank takes the one under the boss; split left/right in advance). No orb = dead to the Repulse explosion.
      • Lamias explode when they die and one-shot anyone near. Keep them away from the group.
      • Mantikora stomp kills anyone who doesn't block.
      Tank
      • MT: turn him away; the group stacks on the round pad behind. Block his heavy.
      • OT: hold the Lamias off to the side (interrupt their scream, block the heavy). Park the Mantikoras away from the stack, or MT taunts them into the group to kill.
      DPS
        Healer
        • Poison Mist: he kneels in the center and poisons the whole room for ~10s. Spam heals. After it, wait for the MT to turn him before restacking.
        👁 Watch for
        • Poison phase: he burrows, surfaces on the center pad and crouches; green haze fills the room.
        • Mantikora spawn: a flushing sound from the blood pools.
        ↯ Alternatives
        • High DPS (non-HM): skip the totems (non-HM): stack and burn.
        • Low DPS fallback: kill the totems. MT drags the boss to them to cleave: blue (bomb), green pull (yanks a player; dodge mid-pull), green beam (empowers Poison Mist).
        Hard mode · veteran only

        Activate: Burn the Sacred Banners at the end of the left and right corridors on the stairs before his room (vet only).

        • More health and damage.
        • World Shaper: a growing green ball forms above a random player. Nobody moves until his arm swings to throw it. Then everyone runs out of the stack; return after the red AoE lands. It kills anyone inside, tank included.
        • Moving too early drags the landing spot onto the group.
        More detail

        Run to Stone happens after every 5th poison phase and at 0%, clearing Lamias, Mantikoras and totems. Then the cycle restarts. Without HM, most groups stack and burn.

        Not fully confirmed:
        • Banner count: UESP says all banners must be burned; forum posts say one is enough.
        • High DPS may kill him before the first Run to Stone (after the 5th poison phase). Likely, but unconfirmed.
        • Mantikora timing: eso-mechanics says ~60% and 40%; Xynode says after the 2nd and 4th poison phases.
        Sources · last checked 2026-11-10