Need a study guide for Lost Ark’s Vykas Legion Raid Phase 1? Here’s a cheat sheet to tell you exactly what special mechanics to expect during the battle. Note that we don’t go over Vykas’ normal attack patterns here, just the special combat and puzzle mechanics that come into play as her HP bar decreases. (We also have a guide if you’re still trying to start the Vykas raid.)
We’ll start with a full walkthrough of Phase 1. Scroll further down for a simplified cheat sheet.
Mechanics walkthrough
Before the start of the Raid, all party members need to claim a position that they’ll take on during special mechanic X49. It’s best to put each team member in one corner, also known as the X-pattern. If we view the battlefield as a clock, that means that one teammate is standing at one o’clock, another at 5 o’clock, the third one at 7 o’clock, and the final one at eleven o’clock.
Once the boss’ HP bar drops to 55, the boss will split in two. One team will have to fight the blue human boss, while the other has to fight the purple demon boss. The special mechanics are part of the blue boss fight only, but the purple boss has more HP. It’s important to remember that the purple boss uses inverted attacks, meaning that the areas prior to landing attacks are actually safe zones.
When the blue boss teleports to the middle, prior to the orb puzzle at the 49th HP bar, make sure you take up your position within the white circle. After that, lure the orb into the gate once they have the same color. A green orb needs to go inside a green gate, a white orb goes in a white gate, and so on. Roughly follow the pattern as shown in the picture to arrive at the correct time. The orbs change their color in the following order: red-blue-green-white-black.
Graphic: Marloes Valentina Stella/Polygon
Next, be ready for a stagger check at X36 HP. Deplete the stagger bar, then check whether the color above your head is blue or black. Blue players go to positions 5 and 11 o’clock, while black players take positions 1 and 7 o’clock. Watch the circles on the ground and memorize the pattern; this will tell you the order in which the orbs will appear. When they do, make sure you catch the orbs in your assigned color before they reach the Boss.
Right after that, the blue boss will cast a red area-of-effect attack, which will either indicate a safe zone right next to the boss or at the edge of the battlefield. Communicate the position of the safe zone to the other team fighting the purple boss, as they won’t get a warning.
At X30 HP, the teams will switch bosses. Be ready for X25 HP, as this will spawn four circles, with only one of them (the white one) being a safe zone for the purple team. However, as only the blue team can tell which one’s the safe zone, they’ll have to make sure to communicate this to the purple team.
After yet another stagger check at the twelfth HP bar (same as X36), you’ve finally cleared the Lost Ark Vykas Legion Raid Phase 1.
Image: Smilegate RPG via Polygon
Cheat Sheet
Start of the fight: Assign positions.
- Player one: 1 o’clock.
- Player two: 5 o’clock.
- Player three: 7 o’clock.
- Player four: 11 o’clock.
HP bar X55-50: Boss splits in human (blue) and demon (purple) form.
X49: Orb puzzle (blue boss). Take clock positions 1 o’clock, 5 o’clock, 7 o’clock, and 11 o’clock.
- Orb color order: Red-blue-green-white-black.
X36: Stagger check (blue boss).
- Blue players go to 5 and 11 o’clock.
- Black players go to 1 and 7 o’clock.
- Follow orbs pattern (see diagram above).
- Blue team communicates safe zone to purple team: inside or outside.
X30: Boss swap. Avoid the area-of-attack in the middle.
X25: Four circles appear; blue team informs purple team of safe zone position.
X15-12: Stagger check (blue boss), same as X36.
- Blue players go to 5 and 11 o’clock.
- Black players go to 1 and 7 o’clock.
X5: Boss frenzy.
Next up, here’s our walkthrough and cheat sheet for Phase 2 of the Vykas Legion Raid.
