Introduction

This guide aims to provide tips and strategies for defeating Hesperos’s second form in Asphodelos: The Fourth Circle (Savage).

The Fourth Circle (Savage) is the fourth raid encounter in the Pandaemonium series, available January 4, 2022 in Patch 6.05. Players must have completed the Quest “Who Wards the Warders?” and talk to Nemjiji in Labyrinthos (X:8.4, Y:27.4). Players must be item level 580 or above to challenge this fight in a non-premade group.

Videos

Red Mage POV

Drops

Chest One:

One of:

• Random Asphodelos Weapon
• Asphodelos Chest Gear Coffer

Chest Two:

One of:

• Asphodelos Weapon Coffer
• Demi-Phoinix Horn
• Nosferatu

Token

• Asphodelos Mythos IV

Eight of these tokens can be traded in for chest gear or a weapon at a Pandaemonium gear vendor.

Major Mechanics

Hesperos’s second form has a hard enrage of 8:25 into the encounter and requires roughly 47.9k raid DPS to defeat before then.

Pre-pull Preparation

Assign all players a clock spot. Assign two light parties of one tank, one healer, and two DPS each. In addition, assign each melee/tank and ranged/healer a number from one to four. These will be used to soak towers later into the fight.

Place markers on the arena as such.

Akanthai Mechanics

The fight is split into several Akanthai Acts. Each Act is preceded by Hesperos showing mechanics that will be cast with thorns on the arena. He will tether to thorns with Wreath of Thorns, showing the order of the mechanics cast. Thorns can represent towers, tethers to players, or large explosions. Tethers to towers will be represented with the Thornpricked debuff. Players can also be tethered to other players. All tethers are broken by distance.

Hemitheos’s Fire IV

This thorn will be a large semi-circular AoE on the outside of the arena.

Hemitheos’s Thunder III

This thorn will be a tower that players have to soak, dealing moderate damage and inflicting a Lightning Resistance Down debuff and a Magic Vulnerability Up debuff.

Hemitheos’s Fire III*

Two players will be tethered together with a fire (red) symbol on top. When this tether is broken, both players will take AoE damage that must be shared by two other players. All players damaged will receive a Magic Vulnerability Up debuff.

Hemitheos’s Aero III

Two players with be tethered together with a air (teal) symbol on top. When this tether is broken, both players will instantly die. If allowed to time out, both players will dodge this instant kill.

Hemitheos’s Dark IV

One player will be tethered to a thorn with a dark (purple) symbol on top. When this tether is broken, all players will take heavy magic damage and be inflicted with a Magic Vulnerability Up debuff. In addition, this will trigger the tethered thorn’s Hemitheos’s Fire IV if applicable.

Hemitheos’s Water III

One player will be tethered to a thorn with a water (blue) symbol on top. When this tether is broken, there will be an AoE around the player that deals moderate damage and inflicts a Magic Vulnerability Up debuff. In addition, this will trigger the tethered thorn’s Hemitheos’s Thunder III.

Hemitheos’s Water IV*

This thorn will knockback from the center of the arena.

Akanthai Acts

Akanthai: Act 1

Act 1 has two Fire IV thorns north and south, two Fire IV thorns east and west, and eight Thunder III thorns at intercardinals in and out.

Akanthai: Act 2

Act 2 has two Fire IV thorns north and south, two Fire IV thorns east and west, and four Thunder III thorns at cardinal edges, though all of these are slightly offset. In addition, one tank or one healer will be tethered with Dark IV, a healer and a tank will be tethered with Fire III, two DPS will be tethered with Fire III, and two DPS will be tethered with Aero III.

Akanthai: Act 3

Act 3 has four Thunder III thorns on one edge east or west, four Thunder III thorns on one edge on the opposite side, and one Water IV thorn in the middle of the arena.

Akanthai: Act 4

Act 4 has four Thunder III thorns at either cardinal or intercardinal edges and four Fire IV thorns at either intercardinal or cardinal edges. Four players will be tethered to the Thunder III thorns with Water III, while four players will be tethered to the Fire IV thorns with Dark IV.

Akanthai: Finale

The Finale has eight Thunder III thorns around the middle of the arena in a circle. In addition, there will be two thorns at opposite intercardinal edges which tethers four players of a role (tank/healer or DPS) with Aero III.

Akanthai: Curtain Call

The Curtain Call has eight Dark IV thorns at cardinal and intercardinal edges that tether to one player each.

General Mechanics

Searing Stream

A heavy raidwide AoE that deals magic damage.

Dark Design

AoEs will appear on the ground under all players. Bait these together and dodge.

Ultimate Impulse

A catastrophic raidwide AoE that deals magic damage.

Nearsight and Farsight

An AoE tank buster on two targets chosen by promixity to the boss.

• Nearsight will target the two closest players. The two tanks should be inside the boss’s hitbox and all other players should be max melee range or further.
• Farsight will target the two furthest players. The two tanks should be outside the boss’s hitbox at max melee range and all other players should be in the center of the boss’s hitbox.

Demigod’s Double

A devastating tank buster on the main tank in an AoE around them. This must be shared with the off tank and mitigated, or invulned by themselves.

Heart Stake

A heavy tank buster on the two players with the highest enmity. This will inflict an uncleansable bleed DoT for 15 seconds.

Kothornos Kick

Hesperos jumps to the furthest player, knocking back all other players that are caught in the radius. This deals moderate magic damage to the player jumped to and inflicts a Magic Vulnerability Up debuff.

Kothornos Quake

Hesperos will shoot three unmarked conal AoEs at the closest three players, dealing light damage and inflicting a Magic Vulnerability Up debuff.

Fleeting Impulse

Hesperos turns to each player in order and does an AoE around them, dealing moderate magic damage and inflicting a Magic Vulnerability Up debuff.

Hell’s Sting

Hesperos will shoot marked conal AoEs. After this ability is cast, he will shoot unmarked conal AoEs into the areas he did not before. Move into the marked conal AoEs to dodge. Getting hit will deal moderate damage and inflict a ~42% damage down debuff.

Fight Strategy

Akanthai: Act 1

• The fight starts off with a heavy hitting AoE, so pre-shield and mitigate.

• Players can generally ignore the actual cast of the Akanthai mechanic, and instead base their positioning when the boss casts Wreath of Thorns.

• For the first Act, players need to dodge two large AoE explosions at north/south or east/west, each soak a tower, and then move into the final safe spot at east/west or north/south. Here is a Toolbox Diagram explaining how to do the mechanic.

• Look at which thorns Wreath of Thorns tethers to first. If Hesperos tethers to north and south, players will be starting east and west. If Hesperos tethers to east and west, players will be starting north and south. Light party 1 should go north, and light party 2 should go south.

  • First, dodge the explosions - max melee range is safe.
  • Next, each player needs to go soak their pre-assigned towers. Healers and ranged DPS will be getting the outer four, and tanks and melee DPS will be getting the inner four. Tanks and healers go clockwise, DPS go counterclockwise.
  • Finally, move to the safe spot by rotating further to east/west or north/south.

• Immediately after, tanks will need to do Farsight or Nearsight. All other players should be either inside the boss’s hitbox or outside the boss’s hitbox to ensure they are not hit.

Ability Order

Searing Stream
Akanthai: Act 1
Searing Stream
Wreath of Thorns
Farsight OR Nearsight

Akanthai: Act 2

• Hesperos will then show Act 2’s mechanics.

• This is followed by Demigod Double. It is highly recommended to have the MT invuln this.

• The boss will then tether to two Fire IV thorns and two Thunder III thorns, and the the other two Fire IV thorns and two Thunder III thorns. Players will have to start either north/south or east/west based on which Fire IV thorns were not tethered first, just like Act 1. If Hesperos tethers to north and south, players will be starting east and west. If Hesperos tethers to east and west, players will be starting north and south.

  • Look north. There will be two thorns at the edge - if the left thorn is tethered, players are going north and south, and if the right thorn is tethered, players are going east and west.

• Players will receive tethers as the castbar finishes. Players will move to a specific position based on what tether they have. Here is a Toolbox Diagram explaining how to do the mechanic.

  • Tanks will always go south or east. The tank with fire will go between the numbered marker and the boss to bait Dark Design, and the tank with dark or nothing will go to the wall counterclockwise of the left thorn to bait Dark Design.
  • Healers will always go north or west. The healer with fire will go between the numbered marker and the boss to bait Dark Design, and the healer with dark or nothing will go to the wall counterclockwise of the left thorn to bait Dark Design.
  • The two DPS with air will go north or west and go between the numbered marker and the boss to bait Dark Design.
  • The two DPS with fire will go south or east and go between the numbered marker and the boss to bait Dark Design.

• The boss will then cast Dark Design, AoEs under each player. Bait these where specified, and immediately after move to the correct position.

  • The healer with dark or nothing will go to the tower at the wall on the lettered number, but ensure you are not hit by the Fire IV.
  • The tank with dark or nothing will go to the tower at the wall on the lettered number, but ensure you are not hit by the Fire IV.
  • The tank with fire and two DPS with fire will go to the numbered marker at their spot.
  • The DPS with air and the healer with fire will also go to the numbered marker at their spot.

• After Fire IV blows up and players take damage, return to the middle for heals and once healed head immediately towards your final positions.

  • The healer with dark or nothing rotates clockwise and soaks the tower at that location.
  • The tank with dark or nothing rotates clockwise and soaks the tower at that location.
  • The healer with fire rotates counterclockwise and heads to the numbered marker at that location.
  • The tank with fire rotates clockwise and heads to the numbered marker at that location.
  • The two DPS with air rotates clockwise together to the numbered marker at that location.
  • One DPS with fire needs rotate clockwise and one DPS will fire needs to rotate counterclockwise. Both will head to the numbered marker at their location.

• After the second Fire IV sets blow up, head to the middle and heal up for Ultimate Impulse. This needs 2 10%s and shields to survive.

Ability Order

Akanthai: Act 2
Demigod Double
Wreath of Thorns
Dark Design
Ultimate Impulse

Akanthai: Act 3

• After Ultimate Impulse, Hesperos will begin Act 3.

• Act 3 is much simpler than the other Acts. There are two ways to do this mechanic - either have ranged do all towers and melee do all jumps and quakes, or have each role do one set of mechanics each. Here is a Toolbox Diagram explaning how to do the latter.

• As Wreath of Thorns is casting, note which side of thorns he tethers to first, either east or west. All players should start on that side of the boss, inside the boss’s hitbox.

• Afterwards, the boss will cast Kothornos Kick. The main tank needs to bait this to the opposite side of the arena.

• Immediately after, the two melee and the offtank should head towards the boss, while the main tank who baited the jump runs behind the boss at max melee range. The two melee and offtank need to stand inside the boss’s hitbox: one in front, one on the left flank, and one on the right flank. This is to bait Kothornos Quake.

• At the same time, the ranged DPS and healers need to soak towers at the edge of the arena. Soak them from north to south in the order assigned.

• All players need to press their knockback immunity when they soak towers or take a Kothornos Quake.

• From here, the strategy diverges based on whether your group wants to have ranged or melee soak second towers.

  • If melee are soaking second towers, simply have the four melee stay on that side and soak their towers from north to south in the order specified.
  • One healer should bait Kothornos Kick while the other three players move towards the other side to ensure they are not hit.
  • Finally, the healer baiting moves through to the middle and the other three players bait Kothornos Quake inside the boss’s hitbox.
  • If you want to have ranged also take the second set of towers, have all four ranged run across the arena directly opposite to a tower.
  • The tank baiting will run across the arena to bait the kick. The other three will gap close across and bait the quake.

• After this mechanic resolves, players need to do Nearsight or Farsight. Heal up the tanks and mitigate.

• Move the boss middle and point him north. At this point if the off-tank is not second in enmity they will need to provoke the boss.

• Heart Stake needs to be heavily mitigated and healed through, and targets first and second in aggro.

Ability Order

Akanthai: Act 3
Wreath of Thorns
Kothornos Kick
Kothornos Quake
Kothornos Kick
Kothornos Quake
Farsight OR Nearsight
Heart Stake

Akanthai: Act 4

• After Heart Stake, the fourth Act will begin, which involves breaking tethers in a pre-determined order.

• Here is a Toolbox Diagram showing how to do the mechanic.

• Start by healing through the first Searing Stream.

• When Wreath of Thorns is cast, each player needs to look at what mark they have and which thorn they are tethered to, and pre-position towards their destination.

  • If a player has a water (blue) mark, they need to go directly opposite of the thorn they are tethered to and one thorn clockwise of that.
  • If a player has a dark (purple) mark, they need to go one thorn clockwise of the thorn they are tethered to.

• Wait until the second Searing Stream is cast. Heal up, and go to your designated positions to break the water tethers and soak the towers that explode when they are broken.

• All players should return to the middle and heal up. Next, all the dark players need to break their tethers, which deals moderate raidwide damage and triggers a large Fire IV AoE from their thorn.

  • Starting from the north or northeast thorn and going clockwise, each dark player should break their tether by running directly opposite. The party and all other players who are tethered but not breaking should start on the south side of the arena and rotate clockwise along with them so that they avoid the Fire IV AoE.
  • Mitigate explosions and heal between each explosion.

• After the last tether is broken, Hesperos will cast Ultimate Impulse. If done in a timely manner, the vulnerability should be wearing off and healers will have time to top the party before then. If too slow, Ultimate Impulse will hit when players have vulnerability debuffs or the final tether will simply explode on its own at the same time.

• Heal up another Searing Stream and get ready for the Finale.

Ability Order

Akanthai: Act 4
Searing Stream
Wreath of Thorns
Searing Stream
Ultimate Impulse
Searing Stream

Akanthai: Finale

• In the Finale, players will each take a tower in order of which they were hit by Fleeting Impulse.

• Here is a Toolbox Diagram explaining how to do the mechanic.

• When the first Wreath of Thorns is cast, players will be tethered to a thorn at an intercardinal. This will be an Aero III tether, so players need to get near the thorn and spread out for the next mechanic. Tanks and healers will all be tethered to one, and DPS will be tethered to the other.

  • To spread out, one light party’s members should go clockwise and the other should go counterclockwise. Ranged and healers should be at the wall, and melee and tanks can be at max melee range.

• Hesperos will then hit each player with Fleeting Impulse. Players need to remember the order of which they were hit, as this will be relevant for the Thunder III towers soon after. For example, the first player hit will be 1, and the third player hit will be 3.

• After all eight players are hit, the Aero III tethers will resolve without any issue. Players should all head back to the center, heal up, and pay attention to what thorn Hesperos tethers to first.

• When Wreath of Thorns is cast again, Hesperos will tether to the eight Thunder III thorns sequentially, clockwise, and starting from a cardinal position. Players will need to stand in Thunder III towers in the order they were hit by Fleeting Impulse.

  • For example, the player hit first by Fleeting Impulse will stand on the first thorn tower tethered. The player hit third by Fleeting Impulse will stand on the third thorn tower tethered, two spots clockwise.

• Afterwards, heal up the party and tanks, as tanks will have to do Farsight or Nearsight.

• Mitigate the next Searing Stream. Tanks should swap here if necessary to invuln the next Demigod Double.

Ability Order

Akanthai: Finale
Wreath of Thorns
Fleeting Impulse
Wreath of Thorns
Nearsight OR Farsight
Searing Stream
Demigod Double

Akanthai: Curtain Call

• Curtain Call has each party member take a bow twice, with a high HPS and mitigation check.

• All eight players will receive a Dark IV tether. A random tank/healer and DPS will have the same duration Thornpricked debuff, and they will start at 12 seconds, 22 seconds, 32 seconds, and 42 seconds.

• Players need to break these in order, heal through the damage, and dodge Hell’s Sting. The main tank is taking auto-attacks during this time.

• The sequence of events will be as follows:

  • The DPS with the lowest duration debuff will break their tether first. Any player, after breaking their tether, should immediately head back into the middle of the room to receive healing.
  • After that, the tank or healer with the lowest duration debuff will break their tether.
  • Dodge Hell’s Sting if it’s casted - it will be on the first tether breaks and the third tether breaks.
  • Heal up and the next pair will begin to break, starting with the DPS with the lowest duration debuff (as of that moment).
  • This will repeat until all players have broken their tethers, which then the boss will cast Ultimate Impulse. If players break tethers too slow, their tether will explode or the raid will still have their Magic Vulnerability Up debuff, wiping the raid. This hit needs to be heavily mitigated.
  • This entire sequence repeats once more.

• After the final Ultimate Impulse, the boss will start casting its enrage, a ten second Ultimate Impulse that wipes the raid at 8:25. Optimize your healing and damage cooldowns to beat the enrage!

Ability Order

Akanthai: Curtain Call
Hell's Sting
Hell's Sting
Ultimate Impulse
Hell's Sting
Hell's Sting
Ultimate Impulse
Enrage

Enrage is a hardcasted Ultimate Impulse that occurs after the final Ultimate Impulse starting at 8:15, wiping the raid after a 10 seconds cast at 8:25.

Party Finder Strategies

As the fights have just released, there are no strategies set in stone. I would highly recommend the strategies listed in this guide, as they are simple and effective. This guide will be updated with strategies once they are commonplace.

Role Specific Tips

Tank

• Position the boss back to the center after he moves for abilities like Kothornos Kick and face north to make player position easier.
• Use heavy cooldowns for Nearsight and Farsight, and use invulns for Demigod Double as to not waste cooldowns. This may necessitate a swap after Finale, as most invulns will not be up.
• Use Reprisal on instances of raidwide damage such as Searing Stream and Ultimate Impulse.
• Most other damage in the fight comes from the environment, so use tank shields and mitigation to help survive those.

Healer

• There is a lot of heavy hitting AoE damage in this fight. Healing players in between mechanic sequences relies on their positioning, party mitigation usage, and healing cooldowns.
• Use heavy mitigation for Act 2, Act 4, and Curtain Call. This includes cooldowns such as Expedient, Kerachole, Neutral Sect, and Temperance. However, the two healers should stagger their cooldowns during Curtain Call to cover the entire Act.
• Heavily mitigate Ultimate Impulse.
• Use instant heals when you need to heal the party and also break a Thornpricked tether.
• During Curtain Call, be ready to spot heal a DPS that was breaking their tether and out of range for heals.

DPS

• All two minute cooldowns should be used on cooldown in order to get full usage, as the enrage is at 8:25. Pot in the opener and at six minutes into the fight.
• Use Addle and Feint to mitigate raidwides and tank busters.
• When breaking Thornpricked tethers, make sure you stay out for a second to ensure it breaks. This may cost a melee GCD at times, but is far better than it not breaking and wiping the raid. Use disengage tools to ensure maximum damage.