Dungeon · 4 players · Blackreach (Greymoor Caverns) · Stonethorn (2020)
Stone Garden
VetChallengingHMHard
Arkasis the Mad Alchemist's Dwemer laboratory under Blackreach. Three bosses. The final fight has you drink potions and fight as a Werewolf Behemoth with its own skill bar.
- Hard mode is a banner before each boss (veteran). The banners unlock in order: you need an HM kill on Kraglen before the Stone Behemoth banner, and on both before the Arkasis banner.
- Alchemy rooms (optional): three locked side rooms, each guarded by a Bloodknight. Kill it for its Ichor and mix at the table for a run-long buff (Super Strength, Vigor, Resilience). Not needed for a clear.
- Vitalizer control rooms (optional): closing the flow valves changes how often Bloodknight adds join the Arkasis fight (per UESP). The 'Old Fashioned' achievement wants you to skip them and the alchemy buffs.
- Werewolf Behemoth bar: 1 bite/taunt, 2 gap closer, 3 Bonecrusher (interrupt), 4 Thunderous Stomp (ranged line), 5 heal that turns into a frost breath, ultimate leap that drops a synergy. Don't waste skill 3.
Exarch Kraglen
Boss☠ Wipe mechanic
- Slaughter (double claw heavy) one-shots anyone but a blocking tank. Keep him on the tank.
- Fault Line stomp: a big red circle around him. Get out, then come straight back. On vet it can one-shot.
- Blood Rage roar: knocks back and drains resources until someone interrupts him. Break free, then interrupt fast.
Tank
- Hold him in the middle and stay put. Block every heavy and the red-glow Charge.
- Interrupt Blood Rage right after the roar. Ranged players can help with Crushing Shock or Venom Arrow.
DPS
- Stay close to him (behind). Players who drift away get charged and knocked down.
- Step out of the winding line of fissures after the stomp. They stun and stack a damage-taken debuff.
Healer
- Fissure hits and roars stack debuffs on the group. Cleanse where you can and keep the tank topped through stacks.
👁 Watch for
- A huge grey werewolf behemoth. Charge: he glows red before rushing someone.
- Fault Line: one huge red circle, then a snaking line of small red circles toward players, joined by thin crack lines (Fracture).
Hard mode · veteran only
Activate: Banner before the boss (veteran).
- More HP and damage.
- Blood Rage leaves a heavy resource-drain debuff that stacks per failure. One guide says everyone should block the roar to avoid the debuff, then interrupt.
More detail
A block-and-interrupt check. Most deaths come from the stomp and from drifting far enough to be charged. Debuffs from Blood Rage and Fracture stack for the whole fight, so mistakes compound.
Not fully confirmed:
- Blocking the roar to negate the HM debuff comes from one guide only (Xynode). UESP just says interrupt it.
Stone Behemoth
Boss☠ Wipe mechanic
- Heater phase ends in Detonate: the whole floor of flames explodes. Be out of the fire patches when he slams his fists together.
- Freezer phase ends in Shatter: the arena freezes. Break free right away. Ice already on you makes it hurt more.
- Lightning Generator: a small hollow red circle under every player. Don't overlap with anyone, and block to avoid the stun.
Tank
- Block the heavy punch and both hits of Ground Pound. Hold him still; don't drag him across the room.
- Block Shattered Ground (he lifts his core overhead) to avoid the knockdown.
DPS
- Stone husks along the walls wake up and fire a resource-draining beam with a ground AoE at players. Kill the active husk(s), then go back to the boss. 1 husk early, up to 2 below ~65%, up to 3 below ~25–30%.
- If a husk's beam targets you, walk its AoE away from the group.
Healer
- Cleanse the fire and ice DoTs. Blocking the lightning stuns saves your resources late in the fight.
👁 Watch for
- A giant stone husk. Arkasis throws an icy (blue) or molten (orange) potion at it to set the element.
- Fire: flame patches burst under players and linger. Ice: ice shards erupt and linger, plus constant frost bursts across the floor.
- Husk beams: a beam from a wall husk to a player, with a moving AoE at the end.
↯ Alternatives
- Ice phase: walk in tiny circles so your four ice patches land side by side, away from the group, instead of spreading over the room.
- Mist Form or other big mitigation can get a slow player through the Detonate.
Hard mode · veteran only
Activate: Banner before the boss (veteran). Needs an HM kill on Kraglen first.
- More HP and damage.
- The three wall husks only go down temporarily and get back up, instead of dying for good.
More detail
The arena alternates fire and ice. In each phase, ground patches build up, then the boss detonates them all at once (fire = big damage, ice = stun). Husk count rises as his HP drops, so save ultimates for the late fight.
Not fully confirmed:
- The husk thresholds (~65% and ~25–30%) come from one guide (Xynode). UESP only says husks activate through the fight.
Arkasis the Mad Alchemist
Final boss☠ Wipe mechanic
- Werewolf phases: interrupt husk channels with skill 3 (Bonecrusher). A husk spitting into the air left alone kills the room fast.
- Shock Emitters / lightning mines: when the room lights up blue, break them from range with skill 4 (Thunderous Stomp) before they explode.
- Second werewolf phase: if your husk's head floats up and your screen goes grey, swap husks with someone right away. Staying on it one-shots you.
- Lightning phase (last): a big lightning AoE chases players. Keep moving as a group and never let it touch you.
- Pinned player: someone gets pinned by a lightning rod. Use the Remove Bolt synergy on them fast, or they die.
Tank
- Block his heavy and the frontal fire wave + stab combo. Hold him between the two walls of husks so you're ready for the werewolf phases.
- Taunt every alchemized add (bristleback, chaurus, durzog, Bloodknight). They stack heavy hits on you.
- Last phase: aim the frontal lightning cone (interruptible) away from the group.
DPS
- Adds spawn about every 10%. Kill the adds first. The boss has no DPS check.
- Werewolf phase: each player taunts one husk and drags it away from the others. Kill yours, then help.
- Fire phase: stay out of the three pops of fire. Poison phase: dodge or block the swirls from the spinning vials.
Healer
- Barriers or shields when an add goes 'magma' (glows and hits the tank very hard).
- Lightning phase: spam the synergy key while running with the group so you pick up pinned players instantly.
👁 Watch for
- Potions: Gwendis drops transformation potions on the floor. Drink one to become a huge werewolf.
- Shock Emitters: devices with a filling green-yellow circle. Wolfsbane: pale yellow mist that ends your transformation.
- Phase 3 Arkasis: glowing blue, lightning-form look. The pin is a rod stuck in a player with a red circle.
↯ Alternatives
- Advanced werewolf skip: if everyone saves their ultimate, stack the husks and chain ultimates every few seconds (each interrupts and drops a crit synergy), and burn them together.
- Fire phase tanking: move out of the fire as it pops (three pops, one second apart), then stand still. 'Pop, pop, pop, stop.'
Hard mode · veteran only
Activate: Banner before the boss (veteran). Needs HM kills on Kraglen and the Stone Behemoth first.
- More HP and damage. The adds and husks are much tankier.
- Husks enrage each other when close. Keep them separated.
- Final phase: the lightning chases every player (only two on non-HM).
More detail
Opening: drink the potion, then as werewolves smash the Pressure Valves in the tubes around his glass dome while breaking Shock Emitters. Wolfsbane mist then turns you back, and he comes down.
Human phase 1 (fire) to 60%, werewolf husk phase, human phase 2 (poison) to about 20%, second werewolf phase with the husk-swap mechanic, then he returns healed to 40% with lightning attacks for the final phase.
Not fully confirmed:
- Phase thresholds: Xynode and ArzyeL say husks at 60% and 20%. UESP says 60% and 15%. All agree he heals to 40% for the last phase.
- UESP describes the final phase's chasing attack as a homing orb. Xynode describes per-player lightning AoEs. The advice (keep moving together) is the same.