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Hell Eternal Nightmare

Posted by Impia on February 23, 2014
Last updated by Vikestart on August 28, 2015
Zone Starting Location Rewards
Agartha Portal (685,110) XP

1 077 410

PAX10 000  BB6
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[Image: the portal in Agartha leading to the Hell Eternal Nightmare dungeon.]

Hell Eternal is usually the fourth dungeon new Nightmare players will learn, after the Solomon Island dungeons. This dungeon does not require high stats, but has many complicated mechanics, so this guide is fairly long.

It is highly recommended that all players are able to bring the miscellaneous ability Sleight of Hand (SOH) for certain fights.

The tank in particular is hindered or impaired very frequently in this dungeon. Bringing the Pistol elite passive ability Contortionist is extremely useful for certain fights, even if you also have Sleight of Hand. If you do not have these abilities, pick other ones that can remove hinders and impairs, or do not attempt to tank this dungeon.
It’s best if the group has at least one DPS who’s experienced in this dungeon and willing to ‘run’ on bosses 2 and 4. Instructions for the runner on these fights will also be given with this icon.
Group heals are very important in many fights here; for leechers, Anima Vessel is incredibly useful. Leech healers should also bring some non-damaging heals from blood or fist for certain fights.
The third boss has very high damage output; healers should be able to heal the Ur-Draug fight without major problems before attempting this dungeon.

Note: the first blue barrier in this dungeon does NOT stop trash mobs from following you into a boss arena. Be careful not to aggro early adds unless the whole group is prepared to kill them. The Djinn trash mobs (Infernal Overwatch) will also aggro to the entire party if they see one person.

HE trash demonstration

Archaean Seismocratist

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[Image: the Archaen Seismocratist, the first boss of Hell Eternal.]

This fight is pretty basic except for a few straightforward mechanics.

Impair Shadow in the Blood, and impair or dodge the large AoE called Caldera. Also, be aware that this boss will frequently use an ability called Flame Lash that knocks you over, temporarily stunning you.
Keep an eye out for Rot Iron if you’re cleansing, and avoid AoEs in case the tank can’t impair them. Otherwise, simple burn.
Same as DPS players.

Rot Iron
Every 30 seconds, the Archaean Seismocratist casts Rot Iron on the entire party – this is a hinder that will explode and one-shot any player if it’s not cleansed. It appears as glowing green chains. One player will need to bring a full-party cleanse (generally Cleanup or Win-win). Since the cooldown on these abilities is not fast enough to handle every cast, the party will either need two of these cleanses, or one full-party cleanse and every player brings Sleight of Hand. Discuss in advance who will bring what cleanses, and in what order they’ll be used!

HE rot iron

Shadow in the Blood
A very dangerous AoE ability with a cast timer, cast at a random team member.

As the tank, you should interrupt this attack at all costs.

Caldera
Every now and then, the boss will cast this large AoE. Either the tank has to impair it, or everyone needs to dodge it.

[Image: the Archaean Seismocratist, first boss of Hell Eternal, casting Caldera, a large AoE with brown chalk.]

Lustrehunter

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[Image: Lustrehunter, the second boss of Hell Eternal.]

There is nothing to impair for this boss. When it casts Fallback and stuns the party, it also casts Rot Iron (green chains) on the tank, so have cleansing abilities ready – preferably both Contortionist and Sleight of Hand. Remember, don’t follow right behind the boss when it runs away! Stay a safe distance behind so the party doesn’t get killed by Mephisto’s Reach when it comes back. With practice you’ll learn how far you can go after each Fallback; in general, to play it safe, stay two spots behind the runner and don’t pass the fourth.
When Occluding Lens is active, mind your HP, it is very easy to accidentally kill yourself from reflected damage. Remember to stay with the tank when the boss runs, do not attempt to follow the runner.
When Occluding Lens is active, prepare to heal the entire group, as the DPS will start taking damage from their own attacks. They will very likely kill themselves if left to their own devices. This is an excellent time to use Anima Vessel, if you have it – then each attack by the DPS will fully heal the damage they take.

Fallback
At several points during this fight, the boss will cast Fallback, stun the party, and run away. The boss will then run to a predetermined point and start buffing itself until a party member goes into LOS.

Mephisto’s Reach
The boss then gains a giant green death aura and runs back to the tank. Anyone in melee range takes 8000 damage, and will die instantaneously. The aura wears off after six seconds.

HE 2 Mephisto's Reach

Consequently, it’s common for one DPS-player (the ‘runner’ or ‘rabbit’) to run ahead of the party, lying in wait for the boss. After the boss falls back, the runner then quickly gets LOS to scare the boss, who runs back to the party, waiting far enough away that the death aura will wear off in the meantime.

Occluding Lens
This looks like a blood barrier, but it actually doubles the damage the boss takes. However, it also reflects a portion of the damage back to the players! Watch your HP when this shield is up. More importantly, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PURGE OCCLUDING LENS. If anyone tries to purge this ability, they take 2500 damage. Cleanup can cause the entire group to die. DO NOT PURGE.

[Image: Lustrehunter, the second boss in Hell Eternal, with Occluding Lens active.]

Runner:

You want to keep sprint on for this entire boss fight – don’t use any abilities, and possibly even disable double-tap-to-dodge to prevent an active dodge from breaking your sprint.

You will want to have the boss as your active target throughout the fight, so you can tell when he’s casting Fallback, when Mephisto’s Reach is active, and so on. Be sure to click the boss before the actual pull, since you’ll spend most of the fight well out of range.

How this boss will proceed depends upon the group DPS (without your contribution). For mid to high DPS groups, particularly groups with a leech healer, the boss will frequently skip certain spots, or chain-cast Fallback when he hasn’t even gotten back to the tank yet. If the group got past Archaean Seismocratist with only two times Rot Iron snared the party, there’s a good chance this boss will skip.

If the boss is NOT skipping: your job is very easy. When the tank pulls, run past the group and straight through to the second boss spot – the spots are shown below. Get well ahead of where the boss actually buffs himself, so you won’t be caught in Mephisto’s Reach when the boss runs back to the tank. Then go to the next spot, and lie in wait there. Rinse and repeat until the boss dies (don’t forget to backtrack to where the boss is actually killed to get your bullion!)

If the boss IS skipping: your job is more complicated. You’ll want to run well ahead of the group, at least to spot 3. You want to stay well ahead of the boss; whether he’ll keep falling back or return to the tank is very difficult to determine, so you want to be prepared for either case! There’s no such thing as too far ahead in the maze; since you’ve got the boss targeted, you can always check to see when he’s casting Arcane Exposure, which means he’s stopped and buffing. As long as you’re ahead of him, always assume his next move will be to go even deeper into the maze, not to run back to the tank.

If you do fall behind the boss, you’ll need to be careful, as you can easily die to Mephisto’s Reach when the boss passes you on his way back to the tank. If you’ve fallen behind, try to have as much distance between you and the boss as possible when you LOS him, prepare to run (not backtrack!) the instant you do enter his LOS, and above all try to get out of the way – running down a dead end will get you out of the boss’s return path, for example, or running to the far corner of a larger room.

Spot 1
The boss runs here immediately once the fight begins; the tank should engage him here and the runner should always go on to spot 2. If the boss is returning with Mephisto’s Reach from spot 2, back further towards the entrance.

HE 2 boss spot 1

Spot 2
The boss will always skip this spot if under 200k HP, and never if over 250k HP.

HE 2 boss spot 2

Spot 3

HE 2 boss spot 3

Spot 4
Non-runners should not advance much past this point until the boss is dead; subsequent spots are much closer together.

HE 2 boss spot 4

Spot 5

HE 2 boss spot 5

Spot 6
The minimap doesn’t show what this part of the arena looks like, but it’s essentially a sideways figure-eight, with exits at points 5 and 7.

HE 2 boss spot 6

Spot 7
After this, the boss just moves further down the hallway to the north for every Fallback.

HE 2 boss spot 7

Prime maker

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[Image: the Prime Maker, the third boss of Hell Eternal.]

This fight works a lot like it did in elite – the boss has a reflect shield that can be dropped only by leading it over the pools of water. Once the shield is down, it will start building stacks of a buff called Heat. When Heat gets to 100 stacks, the shield comes back up and the boss needs to be dragged over another pool of water.

[Image: luring the Prime Maker into a pool of water]

Ignore the adds, just stay away from them. Unlike Elite, they do not affect the boss’s Heat stacks, but they still apply Corruption if aggroed.

The party starts with one stack of Lifeburn and gains more as the fight goes on; a DPS player might need to bring Cleanup or Win-win to support the healer.

Pull the boss by running in to get its attention, then running back to one of the pools of water. Don’t hit the boss before the shield drops! Once it does, start attacking immediately to grab aggro. Impair Carburizing Flames (which puts AoEs on the dps and healer) if you can. Impair Reduction (a damage buff) unless the fight is almost over. Dodge Furnace Blast, a large fiery AoE, when possible; impair it if you must.
As in elite, you’ll want to backpedal while fighting the boss, gradually dragging it near the next pool of water. Keep an eye on Heat – when it gets to the  90s, prepare to pull the boss into a pool.
Wait by the entrance until the shield has dropped. Stay away from the adds, burn the boss, and pause damage when Heat is at 80-90 or you’ll kill yourself on the shield.
This boss has extremely high damage output. If you’re struggling, try bringing active cooldown abilities that will boost your healing: eg Greater Good and Backup Drone, and Energize for leechers. If you’re leeching, also have a non-damaging heal for when the shield is about to go up.

Furnace Blast
Either have the tank impair or avoid this.

[Image: the Prime Maker, third boss of Hell Eternal, casting Furnace Blast, a large fiery AoE.]

Flagellatrix Superior

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[Image: Flagellatrix Superior, the fourth boss of Hell Eternal.]

This is a long, tedious fight. It can’t really be sped up, thanks to the boss’s shields. At 75%, 50%, and 25% health, she gains a damage reduction shield that absorbs 90% of all incoming damage. This shield lasts a long time, cannot be purged, and cannot be corrupted, you have to simply wait it out.

This fight also requires a DPS to be a ‘runner’. The runner enters before the rest of the group, and does not fight the boss.

All players must be sure they have nothing that heals every member of the party! If the runner receives any healing, they will lose aggro on the Piston Predators. This includes Curing augments (and all epic Support augments), Platoon, Fired Up, and Cold Blooded.

This does NOT include Reap and Sew or Anima Vessel, since these do not actually heal the runner. Group buffs (Deadly Aim, Breaching Shot, etc) and AoE heals with a small area of effect (Win-win, Shelter) are also fine.

After the runner goes in, you will wait a second then run in yourself to grab aggro on the boss. As soon as it’s clear, run down the path left of the entrance and pull the boss to the corner with you. Keep her there for the rest of the fight. Bring Contortionist and Sleight of Hand to deal with Spitelance, and keep the boss pointed away from the DPS and healer.
Enter after the tank, and don’t worry about doing damage until the boss is in the corner – you can’t do this fight quickly anyway, and the tank will be too busy kiting to get much aggro. Once the boss is in position, stay at maximum range as much as you can – never be in front of the boss. Otherwise her dash attack might get you.
Leeching this fight is strongly discouraged, due to the boss’s 90% absorption shield that will be up for most of the fight. Group heals are unnecessary. Enter with the DPS, and don’t overheal until the boss is in the corner. Once the boss is in position, stay at maximum range as much as you can – never be in front of the boss. Otherwise her dash attack might get you.

Spitelance
The boss will use this dash attack at regular intervals. Anyone in its path is stunned, and if they don’t move out before it finishes casting, it hits for about 12,000 damage, easily one-shotting a tank.

To survive this, the tank must have both Contortionist and Sleight of Hand (or other ways to break the impair) – it’s cast often enough that one will be on cooldown.

Since Contortionist is a passive ability that fires automatically, you might accidentally hit Sleight of Hand at the same time Contortionist works, and have neither ready for the next Spitelance. To prevent this, when Spitelance starts casting, immediately start strafing. If you move, Contortionist fired, and you can move straight out of the way. If you don’t move, hit Sleight of Hand and move out of the way.

Be very careful to keep the boss facing away from the DPS and healer, so they don’t get killed by Spitelance. DPS and healer, in turn, must try to make sure they stay well out of the way.

[Image: Flagellatrix Superior using Spitelance.]

Runner

You will never attack, just keep sprint on the entire time. You enter first, after the Piston Predator has reached the far corner left of the entrance (and the dog to the right is out of LOS). You must run past each of the three Piston Predators to get aggro on them, then keep running in a large circle or figure-eight to keep them away from the rest of the party while they fight the boss. Be careful – right after they see you the first time, the Piston Predators will do a large AoE attack that is easily avoided, but after that, if they see you again they will one-shot you with a laser.

You’ll be starting off down the path this dog is on, though wait until it turns the next corner:

HE 4 entry dog

Hadean Guard: Iscariot, Cassius, Brutus

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[Image: the Hadean Guard.]

When one of these three bosses dies, a living one is healed, grows stronger, and gains new abilities. This fight can thus have different kill orders and go very differently. However, the near-universally accepted kill order is Iscariot, then Cassius, then Brutus, commonly abbreviated ICB. Other strategies are not recommended and are beyond the scope of this guide.

Note – this is another fight where you must not purge. Do not use Cleanup. Do not even bring it. All players are strongly encouraged to bring Sleight of Hand.

Phase 1: Iscariot, Cassius, and Brutus

Iscariot has two dangerous attacks she casts constantly, so she must die first.

She will frequently cast Immolation Invocation on a random player other than the tank. Everyone needs to watch their feet – if fire appears at your feet, start running and keep running until it stops. If you stay still, you’ll die. Don’t run into other players or you’ll hurt or kill them too.

Iscariot will also frequently cast Rot Iron (green chains) on a random player. Everyone must have Sleight of Hand ready in case she casts it on them.

Run in and quickly grab aggro on all three guards. Open with active mitigation if you have any; incoming damage at the start is very high. Although everyone else is focusing on Iscariot, you should target Brutus in order to impair his Black Iron Bulwark – this is a strong buff that protects all the bosses, and will make the fight longer and riskier. Cleanse yourself if you get hit with Rot Iron.
Focus fire on Iscariot, full burn. If you get lit on fire, run (away from other players) and keep moving until it stops. Cleanse yourself if you get hit with Rot Iron.
This is the hardest part of the fight for you; incoming damage is extremely high. Use all your cooldowns if necessary. If leeching, target Iscariot. If you get lit on fire, run (away from other players) and keep moving until it stops. Cleanse yourself if you get hit with Rot Iron.

HE 5 Immolation

HE 5 immolation part two

Phase 2: Cassius and Brutus

When Iscariot dies, one of the others is healed, buffed, and gains Painwheel Overdrive, a large AoE attack that it will immediately use; dodge this.

Cassius, at this point, is basically like a Lustrehunter that doesn’t run away. She has Occluding Lens, which doubles damage done to her, reflects a small amount of damage done to her, and kills anyone who tries to purge it.

Continue to focus on Brutus. Continue to impair Black Iron Bulwark. Drink Deep is starting to hit much stronger now; you may need to impair or dodge away from it if your health is low, or if your healer is struggling. Dodge the large circle AoE (Painwheel Overdrive).
Focus fire on Cassius. When Occluding Lens is active, mind your HP, it is very easy to accidentally kill yourself from reflected damage. Avoid the AoE.
When Occluding Lens is active, prepare to heal the entire group, as the DPS will start taking damage from their own attacks. They will very likely kill themselves if left to their own devices. This is an excellent time to use Anima Vessel, if you have it – then each attack by the DPS will fully heal the damage they take. Avoid the AoE.

Phase 3: Brutus Alone

When Cassius dies, Brutus fully heals and grows stronger, and gains deadly new abilities.

Body Hammer
Periodically Brutus will start casting Body Hammer. Everyone must pay attention to this, and immediately run up to the boss. He will then attempt to dash attack to kill a random player other than the tank. If all party members are close enough, this will instead do nothing.

You must be very close to cancel Body Hammer – not just within melee range, but actually overlapping him as much as possible, ‘hugging’ the boss.

As soon as Body Hammer finishes, DPS and healer must back away to a safe distance, since Brutus has other attacks that are dangerous to anyone nearby.

[Image: a properly executed group hug on Brutus]

Mephisto’s Reach
When Brutus starts casting this, everyone needs to get away, and the tank needs to start kiting him around the edge of the arena.

This ability is the same as Lustrehunter’s – a large glowing green death aura, that hits anyone in melee range for 8000 dps. The tank will frantically run away from Brutus, and everyone else must stay out of the way (following well behind Brutus might be safest).

HE 5 Mephisto's Reach

Brutus will also continue to cast Drink Deep, which is now extremely strong, and the AoE circle Painwheel Overdrive, which is also strong but easy to dodge.

When Brutus starts casting Mephisto’s Reach, turn and run, kiting him around the edge of the arena. A dash ability, like Surging Blades or Death from Above, is strongly recommended to keep your distance. Try not to kite him into the DPS.
Dodge Painwheel Overdrive. Hug on Body Hammer (and maybe jump frantically to get the DPS’s attention). Drink Deep is now deadly and must be impaired (or possibly outranged, if he casts it while you’re running away from Mephisto’s Reach).
Full burn on Brutus. Pay attention to his castbar – hug on Body Hammer, and stay away from Painwheel Overdrive and Mephisto’s Reach.
Pay attention to Brutus’s castbar – hug on Body Hammer, and stay away from Painwheel Overdrive and Mephisto’s Reach.

Eblis, dominus inferni in profondis

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HE 6 title two

Eblis is one of the most mechanically complicated fights in the game. However, almost all of his abilities are used by other bosses in this dungeon, and once these mechanics are mastered, he is a pushover, with no high stat requirements.

A brief overview of abilities to bring along, before specific mechanics:

All – Sleight of Hand; NO PURGING.

At least two impairs. If you’re experienced with this encounter, bring an afflict, but if you die when Eblis casts consumate, remove the afflict. A dash is usually unnecessary, but if you’re slow to react to Solar Collapse, it could help.
Do not bring an afflict, if you had one at all.
Bring group heals for Occluding Lens. Leechers should bring a non-leech healing builder as well.

Occluding Lens
Eblis casts Occluding Lens more frequently as his health drops. As always, DO NOT PURGE HIM. Everyone must mind their health to ensure they don’t kill themselves with reflected damage, and the healer should prepare for group heals.

Rot Iron
Eblis will also periodically cast green chains on a random party member. Everyone must have Sleight of Hand ready.

Solar Collapse
Every so often, Eblis will start casting a massive AoE, and he or Wicker will shout something. When this happens, the entire group must flee to the opposite side of the arena – this AoE doesn’t only hit the marked area, but also summons red crosshairs of Firmament Barrage, just like Machine Tyrant. However, these dissipate quickly and won’t make it across the arena.

HE 6 FB

Drink Deep
An extremely powerful single target attack.

The tank must impair this ability as it can one-shot you.

Dark Rush
Eblis will try to use this dash attack against the tank whenever possible. It does high damage to anyone who gets in its path, after a short delay. However, if the tank has their back to a wall and Eblis is right next to them, it will do nothing, so the tank should have their back to a wall at all times. This ability still might be used when the group is fleeing from Solar Collapse, so DPS and the healer should not get between the tank and Eblis, just in case.

These are the most common places to tank Eblis to prevent Dark Rush, switching between them every Solar Collapse:

HE 6 tank spot 1

HE 6 tank spot 2

Consummate
Eblis shouts a threat and starts channeling an attack against a random player, who is stunned for the duration of the channel. It does progressively more damage until leaving them with 1 HP. Eblis is then stunned for a significant time.

If Occluding Lens is active and the consummated player has an affliction (or Fire in the Hole) running on Eblis, they might instantly die from the reflected damage when at 1 HP. Players with Blood Offering active on themselves might also die instantly after reaching 1 HP. Healing the player who is being consummated will not stop the process, but can make it take longer for the player to reach 1 HP, allowing afflicts to expire.

Prepare to heal whoever is targeted, which may be you. Eblis won’t be attacking anyone else during this time. Leechers beware – if Occluding Lens is up, and you are drained to 1 HP, then shooting the shield to heal yourself will instantly kill you. Cold Blooded used at 1 HP will also kill you before healing starts.

HE 6 Consummate

Cast Out (Bubble Phase)

At certain HP thresholds, Eblis will teleport to the center of the arena and cast Cast Out, which pulls in all the players to an alternate bubble phase. This will usually happen 2-3 times, but very high DPS groups might skip one or all of them.

When doing this at high HP, his health bar will be replaced by a different, much smaller one which appears full; when it is brought down to 1 HP, Eblis ends the phase, and returns to the HP total he had before it began.

If Eblis uses Cast Out and his HP bar is NOT replaced, then the phase will last until he is truly killed. He uses more abilities than usual in this final bubble phase, burn him down quickly!

Eblis will continue to cast Drink Deep and Occluding Lens during this phase.

During Cast Out, there are many AoEs to avoid. Unlike in the Elite version of this dungeon, the edge of the circle is dangerous, and statues around the edge will kill you if you get close to them. Stay close to Eblis, moving around to stay out of the moving floor AoEs and Eblis’s Vanquish side-column attacks.

HE 6 adds

Painwheel Overdrive
During the bubble phase Eblis can cast a large circular AoE called Painwheel Overdrive. You should not rely on doging this one because running too far from Eblis will result in death by statues and the circular AoEs. Everyone should remain close to Eblis.

The tank should impair Painwheel Overdrive or the group will most likely wipe.

Keep going until you defeat Eblis. Remember, if his HP bar is NOT replaced with a different one, then the phase will last until he is truly killed.

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