The Abyss Raids have been out for a while, and players are getting a taste of how hard the end-game content in Lost Ark is. The Guardian Argos is ready to take on adventurers, and defeating the ancient being isn't an easy task: it's a veritable end-game barrier. The boss has three phases that players will have to face separately. To increase their chances of clearing the raids, players should understand all the nuances and mechanics for each step; this guide will help them out - with Argos Phase 1 at least.
Phase 1 Summary
Phase 1 does not feature any hard team-wipe mechanic, unlike the other two stages. Surviving and clearing this part relies primarily on players' performance rather than team synchronization and party tactics. Raiders do not need to worry about a party member messing up a mechanic in this phase that will get them all killed.
The gameplay is very similar to how Guardian Raids work. The main difference is that instead of having the standard 4-man party, Abyss Raids are 8-man party instances. They are also significantly more complex than the average Guardian Raid.
The raid drops tons of good stuff like Tier 3 Accessories, Ability Stones, Engraving Recipes, Cards, and crafting materials for the Harsh Oath Launcher and the Preordained Diligence Launcher sets. Like Abyss Dungeons, adventurers will have to pay gold to get extra rewards from the raid. However, these additional prizes are worth the price.
Preparing for the Raid
As a Tier 3 content, Argos Phase 1 requires adventurers to have at least 1370 Item Level to be eligible for entry. Besides having tier 3 gear, there are several combat items that raiders should consider bringing. Here's the necessary items players should prepare:
- HP Potion (preferably Elemental)
- Time Stop Potion
- Protective Potion
- Splendid Dark Grenade
Need to Know:
When players start the raid, each party will be designated an icon. The Sun & Moon Affix is a vital status display because it tells players what they should do during special attacks or interactions. Adventurers with the Moon Affix will have purple moon icons beneath their feet, while those with the Sun Affix will have a golden sun icon under them. This unique interaction will be the main thing that adventurers should pay close attention to.
Argos has four special patterns and eight general attacks. Each attack will have varying effects depending on the affix of the party. Here is the list of all the Guardian's attacks:
General Patterns
- Small Roulette
- Large Roulette
- Sun & Moon Circles
- Two-Line Fissure
- Sun & Moon Ring
- Energy Orbs
- Swirl
- Blink
Special Patterns
- Sun & Moon Affix
- Safe Area
- Tranquility Phase
- Recovery Phase
General Attacks
Small Roulette
Argos blinks to the middle of the arena and will summon a roulette around him. Players should memorize the 5-part sequence to know which areas they should move to. Parties with the Moon Affix should follow the purple tiles, while those with the Sun Affix should follow the yellow spots.
Once the Guardian raises his head, adventurers should immediately follow their rotation. Standing on the wrong tile will deal damage to players. The 5th sequence will dish out the most damage, so raiders should take care to land on the right spot.
Large Roulette
The Guardian will let out a huge roar, summoning a large roulette around him. This will happen three times, and the skill will release a pulse of high damage each time. To avoid getting hit, parties will simply have to move to the tile that matches their affix. The color of the areas will swap between the 1st and 2nd attacks. When the skill is used for the third time, the placement of the tiles will be random.
Sun & Moon Circle
Now and then, the boss will create big circles that will either be purple or golden. These areas will explode and damage players with the opposite mark caught in those spots. To avoid getting hit by the explosions, adventurers with the opposite affix should quickly move out of the area while those with the same color can safely stay within those spots.
Two-Line Fissure
Argos will summon two lines that will appear either on the left & right or on the front & back of the ancient being. After a while, these lines will send out multiple shockwaves of damage that will spread outward. The animation is long, so players will have enough time to move to the side without any fissures.
Sun & Moon Ring
Argos will spawn a circle that is either golden yellow or purple. Parties who have the matching affix to the current circle can keep attacking the Guardian. Meanwhile, players with the opposite mark will start building up a gauge while standing on the circle. Once the bar is filled, the players will receive massive damage.
Parties with the opposite affix can still attack Argos. Before the bar fills up, adventurers should move outside the circle and wait for the gauge to reset before they continue attacking the Guardian.
Blink
Argos will disappear for a moment. He will then charge reappear at a specific location dealing damage to every player in that area. The path of the attack is highlighted, so it is easy to dodge this ability.
Swirl
The Guardian leaps to a location and rotates 360 degrees. After the animation, Argos will summon a huge shockwave at mid-range, which will damage everyone caught up in the area of effect. Adventurers should move very close to the Guardian or stay far away from the attack to avoid being hit by the attack.
Energy Orbs
Argos will summon four orbs representing the sun or moon color. These orbs will rotate in a specific path. These spheres will eventually disappear and call huge circles that will deal explosive damage.
To prevent these balls from exploding, players with the matching affix should touch or intercept one of the orbs to absorb them. Absorbing two of them will stun a player, so, ideally, each member of the party with the matching icon should take on one each.
Special Interactions
Safe Area
The Guardian will blink to the center of the arena. Argos will let out a huge roar and summon four moon spots and four sunspots orbiting him. After a while, the boss will unleash a shockwave that can one-shot every player.
To avoid getting killed by the skill, players should head to an area that matches their affix. Take note that one spot can only protect one party member. Moon tiles spawn closer to Argos while sun tiles spawn further away. In addition, one spot per affix will appear in each cardinal direction. Each party should assign which direction each member should go before the raid starts.
Tranquility Phase
This skill activates right away the Safe Area ability. Argos will summon a slowly shrinking circular aura beneath him. The Guardian will have a neutral affix at the start of the phase. While players attack the boss, he will accumulate a sun or moon mark depending on what type of affix the attacking players have.
If one of the parties attacks too much or more often than the other team, Argos will acquire the affix of the team that struck most. After the phase, he will then wipe out the whole party of the opposite mark. If the sequence ends with Argos having a neutral affix, he will be staggered, and every player will have time to deal huge amounts of damage.
The objective of parties during this stage is to ensure that Argos does not acquire a moon or sun affix and stays neutral. There are two ways to do this. The safest way is to have all adventurers stop attacking the boss during the phase so that he won't have a source for any marks. The other method is to do an attack rotation where each party will take turns damaging Argos.
While the first one is safer, players lose substantial time not attacking the Guardian. While the second method does ensure that the boss keeps receiving damage, a slight misstep can cause the other party to get wiped. It is ideal for communicating with each team before the start of the raid.
Recovery Phase
If Argos is staggered after the Tranquility Phase, gamers should observe the aura he is emitting beneath his feet. The Guardian will launch an attack after he recovers, depending on the color. If it is golden, then he will launch an attack AoE attack near him. If he has a purple glow, he will unleash an attack at mid-range and beyond.
To avoid getting damaged, the mechanic here is simple. If the glow beneath Argos is purple, players should move closer. If the aura is golden, then adventurers should move away.
Though Phase 1 has fewer party wipe mechanics, that doesn't mean that players should not communicate with each other. It is always ideal to talk to the other players and strategize before fighting the boss. Thankfully, there is enough preparation time to do this, so gamers should maximize their comms to ensure the raid's success.
