The second trial. The Siege-Mistress has 1,500 health and never leaves the middle of the Siege Yard, a round yard 38 m across. She works a ballista and a mortar standing beside her and winds up one action at a time; fire on the floor can still be burning when the next one starts. Five plain shelters, four thin pillars under a flat roof, stand half-way from her to the wall: a roof stops anything that falls on it. Every hero has 100 health, so her numbers below read as percentages.
The video is one whole fight played by the game's test player as a male Berserker, a class the earlier guides had not used: the Siege-Mistress fell after 1 minute 50 seconds. The Berserker was hit once, for 20, when the first Homing Missile's fuse ran out beside him, and led the next three missiles into her (Return to Sender). Each 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% | Ballista Volley | about every 5 s | 30 + 10 fire | Stand between two lanes, or roll (stops the 30 only) |
| 75% | Mortar Barrage | about every 20 s | 70 | A shelter, or a spot where no shadow grows |
| 50% | Homing Missile | about every 15 s | 40 if it catches you, 20 to anyone near its burst | Keep running a wide loop until its fuse ends, or lead it into her |
| 25% | Burning Ground | with every bolt, shell, burst and hunting bolt's path | 10 per second | Step off the fire; never cross a burning lane |
An ability that has just joined the fight is used as soon as she is free, so each threshold is followed almost at once by its new attack. The name of whatever she is about to do appears under her health bar.
Ballista Volley
The ballista's turret spins and marks ten lanes 1.6 m wide, spaced evenly all round her and turned to cover as many heroes as it can. One second later a burning bolt flies down every lane to the wall, hitting anyone in it for 30 physical and 10 fire. Step sideways into the gap between two lanes; near her the gaps are narrow, further out they are wide. A roll that is still under way stops the 30, but not the 10 fire. A pillar stops a bolt, though the lanes are aimed to pass beside them.
Mortar Barrage (from 75%)
She loads the mortar and fires a barrage that comes down over about three quarters of the floor, in shells of 3.5 m radius, for 70 fire. There is no red warning marking like the Warden's: each shell's own shadow, a dark circle, grows on the floor for 3 seconds as it falls, and that is the only warning. A roof stops every shell, so under a shelter is always safe; otherwise move to floor where no shadow is growing. From the farthest spot on the rim the nearest roof is about 1.6 s away, so start walking as soon as the shadows appear. Fire is not physical: a roll does not help.
Homing Missile (from 50%)
She pulls her ballista's lever and it looses one huge burning bolt at each hero. Each bolt climbs out and arms for a second, then chases its hero for 5 seconds at 7 m/s, exactly a hero's walking speed: you keep the lead the arming gave you, but never gain on it. If it catches you it bursts on you for 40, and for 20 on anyone else within 3 m. If it does not, it bursts where it is when the fuse runs out, for 20 to anyone within 3 m. Run a wide loop near the wall rather than a tight circle (a tight one lets it cut across), and lead it away from your friends. A dash or a blink buys extra room; immunity ignores it.
Return to Sender: lead the bolt into her instead. Put her between you and the bolt (run round her, then on away from her), and when it reaches her body it bursts on her: 75 damage to her, 5% of her health, instead of a hit on you. Anyone within 3 m of where it bursts still takes the usual 20, friends included. A hero who fights at her side, like the Berserker in the video, often needs only to stay there: the bolt hunting him reaches her first. He returned three of the four missiles this way, and none of those bursts touched him. From range, start walking towards her as soon as the bolt climbs out: the second it spends arming is the lead you need to get round her.
Burning Ground (from 25%)
Nothing new is thrown at you: instead every bolt lane, every shell and every missile burst now leaves fire on the floor for 3 seconds, and a hunting bolt burns a trail along its whole path, at 10 health per second however many fires overlap. A burning lane is a wall for three seconds, so do not cross one to reach a shelter; pick the next shelter instead. A shell's fire never reaches under a roof, so a shelter stays safe from the barrage, though a lane or a missile burst can still burn there.
Achievements
Besides the shared no-damage achievement, this trial has two challenges of its own. In a group, every hero must keep the condition.
Under Open Sky
Defeat her without any hero ever standing under a shelter.
Return to Sender
Lead a Homing Missile into her, so that it bursts on her.
One returned missile is enough for Return to Sender. For Under Open Sky every barrage has to be answered in the open, on floor where no shadow grows. The fight in the video earned Return to Sender three times over; the Berserker sheltered from the barrage, so it did not earn Under Open Sky.
Tips
- Know where the nearest shelter is before she reaches 75%: the barrage gives you 3 seconds.
- Keep the roll for the volley: it does nothing against fire, and from 50% most of what she throws is fire.
- Immunity (1.5 s, 45 s cooldown) answers any one ability, including a missile that has caught up with you.
- A returned missile is free damage: 75 to her, and nothing to you if you are more than 3 m from where it bursts.