The first trial. The Proving Warden has 2,400 health and fights in the Proving Ring, a plain circle 30 m across with nothing to hide behind. He winds up one action at a time; fire left on the floor can still be burning when the next one starts. Every hero has 100 health, so his numbers below read as percentages.
The video is one whole fight played by the game's test player as a male Necromancer, a class and body drawn at random: the Warden fell after 3 minutes with the Necromancer on 81 health. Each later boss guide draws its own hero, so every class gets its turn.
The abilities, in the order they arrive
| From | Ability | How often | Damage | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | Hammer Strike | about every 5 s | 40 | Step out, roll or blink |
| 75% | Debris Wall | about every 20 s | 40 | Roll, blink or immunity |
| 50% | Fire pools on every strike | with each strike | 20 per second | Walk out within 1 s |
| 25% | Charge | about every 10 s | 40, trail 25 per second | Side-step the body, keep off the trail |
An ability that has just joined the fight is used as soon as the boss is free, so each threshold is followed almost at once by its new attack. The name of whatever he is about to do appears under his health bar.
Hammer Strike
He walks towards the hero, and a red circle of 4 m radius locks on the spot where the hero stands. One second later the hammer comes down inside it. The circle does not follow you: walking out of it in that second is enough (at 7 m/s a step from the centre takes about 0.6 s). It is a physical blow, so a roll that is still under way when it lands turns it aside, and a blink always clears it.
Debris Wall (from 75%)
He raises the hammer for about a second and slams the floor; a ring of debris runs out from him at 3.75 m/s, all the way to the arena wall. It covers every direction, so running away only delays it. Let the front come to you and roll through it when it is about a metre away, blink across it, or use immunity if both are cooling down.
Burning hammer: fire pools (from 50%)
Every Hammer Strike now also throws three burning stones to random spots on the floor. Each leaves a pool of fire of 4 m radius that does nothing for its first second, then burns for 5 s at 20 health per second. Fire is not physical: a roll does not protect you. Walk out at once, or blink.
Charge (from 25%)
A lane 3 m wide is drawn from the boss to the wall in a random direction. One second later he runs it at 14 m/s, hitting anyone in the lane for 40, and leaves a trail of fire that burns for 3 s at 25 per second. At the wall he stands stunned for 2 seconds and cannot act: the best moment to hit him. Side-step out of the lane (or roll through the body), then stay off the burning trail.
Tips
- Keep the roll for Debris Wall once it has arrived: a strike can be walked out of, the wall cannot.
- Blink has the longest reach (15 m) but an 11 s cooldown; immunity (1.5 s, 45 s cooldown) is the answer when nothing else is ready.