The Eighth Circle Phase 1(Savage) Raid Guide (2024)

As your journey into the depths of Pandæmonium concludes, you are left withnearly more questions than answers. Professor Claudien has disappeared, andPandæmonium has drifted into the modern age upon the currents of the aetherialsea. Even so, the glint in Nemjiji's eyes shines brighter than ever, and sheseems more than eager to provide her own answers as she hears your story.Whether those will give rise to ever more questions, however, remains to beseen...

The Eighth Circle (Savage) can be unlocked at level 90 after completing theNormal difficulty of the Abyssos raid and talking to Nemjiji in Labyrinthos(x8.4, y27.4). It requires a minimum item level of 610 to queue, but thisrequirement can be bypassed when entering with a full party.

Hephaistos has a hard enrage of 7:45 and has a DPS check of roughly 59,800raid DPS.

If you would prefer to watch a video that covers the fight, take a look atHope Productions visual guide.

All players should be assigned a clock spot, with tanks north and east,healers south and east, and DPS on intercardinals. The raid also needs to besplit into light parties of one tank, one healer, and two DPS each. Rotateclockwise one spot to find your role partner and quadrant. Some parties may optto keep the tank south to keep things consistent, but this sacrifices uptimefor that tank on certain mechanics.

The fight is divided into two sets of Gorgon mechanics, two sets of Dogmechanics, and two intermissions in between.

The arena is divided into sixteen squares by white lines, and nine squares byblack lines. These lines indicate the safe spots of certain mechanics.

When an ability is prefixed with "Conceptual", the ability will not go offimmediately. Instead, it is paired up with a mechanic later in the phase.Tetraflare, Octaflare, and Diflare can all be Conceptual.

• Genesis of Flame: Heavy raid-wide magic damage.
• Tetraflare: An AoE that needs to be shared with one other playeron either DPS or supports. Inflicts a magic vulnerability debuff.
• Octaflare: An AoE that inflicts a magic vulnerability debuff onall eight players.
• Diflare: An AoE on both healers that needs to be shared withthree other players. Inflicts a magic vulnerability debuff.
• Flameviper: A magic line AoE tank buster that hits #1 on aggrotwice and inflicts a magic vulnerability debuff on both hits. Tanks willneed to swap twice.
• Reforged Reflection: Hephaistos transforms into a creature, takingon the form of a snake (watch his arms) or a dog (watch his feet).
• Snaking Kick: After Reforged Reflection is cast and Hephaistosbecomes a snake, he will do an AoE inside his hitbox that instantly killsany player standing inside.
• Footprint: After Reforged Reflection is cast and Hephaistosbecomes a dog, he will knockback all players from the centre of the arena.

Hephaistos introduces the following abilities in this phase:

• Volcanic Torches: Blue flames spread across the white lines,creating an AoE on three squares on each quadrant. Watch where the blue linesenvelop, and stand on the safe square.
• Sunforge: Hephaistos will summon either a snake or a phoenix. If asnake is summoned, he will cleave the middle of the arena in a line. If aphoenix is summoned, he will cleave the outside of the arena in a line. Theblack lines indicate the safe spots.

The fight starts with Genesis of Flame seven seconds in, so make sureto shield before the pull and mitigate. Hephaistos will cast either ConceptualTetraflare or Conceptual Octaflare, and this will go off after thenext set of mechanics.

Hephaistos will cast Volcanic Torches next. Each player will split offinto their quadrant and look for the safe tile. The easiest way to do so is tostand in the middle of the four squares and look where the flames turn after theyreach the wall for the first time. The corner squares are never safe, so byprocess of elimination players can find the safe square after the first turn.

After the flames go off, he will cast Sunforge. This will go off at thesame time as the Conceptual cast from earlier. Players will either need to beinside or outside of the black lines, and stack with their partner if it wasTetraflare or spread out along the line if it was Octaflare.

The phase ends with a tank buster, Flameviper. The offtank needs tostand way from the party and Provoke during the cast, and then Shirk back or havethe other tank provoke after they are hit. It deals magic damage, and both tanksshould mitigate this heavily.

The order of the next phase is dependent on the Reforged Reflectionthat is cast. Therefore, the entire fight's timeline branches from this pointinto either snakes first or dog first.

Hephaistos introduces the following abilities in this phase:

• Gorgomanteia: Players are inflicted with Eye of the Gorgon orBlood of the Gorgon. In addition, they are inflicted with First in Line or Second in Line, indicating the order of which these mechanicswill resolve.
  • Eye of the Gorgon will shoot a petrifaction cone towards where theplayer is facing when it resolves.
  • Blood of the Gorgon will drop a poison AoE on the player when itresolves. This AoE will kill any petrified Gorgon.
• Into the Shadows: Hephaistos summons snake adds from the centrethat spiral out in two sets of two each. They will spawn at either cardinalsor intercardinals. When the they spawn, they will cast Petrifaction fromtheir location, and will enrage if not destroyed by Blood of the Gorgon.
• Ektothermos: Heavy raid-wide magic damage.

If Reforged Reflection turned Hephaistos into a snake, he will castSnaking Kick immediately after transforming. Gorgomanteia willinflict all players with debuffs. Check whether you have Blood of the Gorgon orEye of the Gorgon, and check whether you have First in Line or Second in Line.All players of the same role will be resolving their debuffs at the same time.Players must use these debuffs to destroy the Gorgon adds spawned by Intothe Shadows. Two players in each role will petrify one add each with theirconal debuff, and the other two players in each role will destroy them bydropping the AoE on top of them.

Resolving this mechanic requires players to look at the debuff of their rolepartner. As snakes can spawn cardinally and intercardinally, we must use theHeavensfall method of starting at a fixed location and looking clockwise orcounterclockwise to find the snake assigned to you. The simplest method is tohave two roles fixed: healers and ranged DPS. The healer and ranged DPS in lightparty 1 will always start looking Nort-West and take the first counter-clockwiseadd, while the healer and ranged DPS in light party 2 will always start lookingNorth and take the first clockwise add.

The other two roles, tank and melee DPS will have to flex. Essentially, theywill go opposite of their healer and ranged DPS in their light party unless bothhave the same debuff. The tank and melee DPS in light party 1 will start lookingnorth and take the first clockwise add, and the tank and melee DPS in lightparty 2 will start northwest and take the first counterclockwise add.However, if they match debuffs with the other person in their rolein their light party, then they will do the opposite of what they normally do.

The sequence of events is as follows. After Into the Shadows is cast,all players will look for where the first set of snakes spawn. They can beopposite each other or 90 degrees away. Look away from both snakes - the easiestway to do so is to stand in the centre of the boss's hitbox and look away orperpendicular to both of them. Find the snakes assigned to each player in thefirst role, and the Eye of the Gorgon player should look at them. immediatelyafterwards, the players with Blood of the Gorgon should move beside the add todestroy it. Those players need to look away from the second set of adds that arespawning in the other two cardinal or intercardinal spots. The second role willrepeat the same thing.

After the second set of AoEs has been dropped, meet back in the middle to healup for Ektothermos and get ready for the next phase: Manifold Flames orFourfold Flames depending on if this was the first mechanic or the secondmechanic.

Hephaistos introduces the following abilities in this phase:

• Rearing Rampage: Hephaistos stomps four times, dealing heavyphysical raid-wide damage each hit.
• Uplift: Two players will take light physical damage and be inflictedwith an Earth Vulnerability debuff during each set of Rearing Rampage.This deals damage in an AoE, so all players must spread out.
• Stomp Dead: Hephaistos jumps to the furthest player four times,dealing massive physical damage that must be shared with one other player.This deals earth damage and inflicts a physical vulnerability up debuff.

If Reforged Reflection turned Hephaistos into a snake, he will castFootprint immediately after transforming. Knockback prevention abilitiesdo work on this mechanic. All players need to head to their clock spots andmitigate Rearing Rampage. Note what order players received Upliftin. Physical mitigation is required for both Rearing Rampage and StompDead, as it will kill casters and healers with physical damage if notmitigated properly.

Immediately after, the boss will begin cast Stomp Dead. As the AoEitself is fairly small, players can achieve full uptime on this mechanic by usingthe two corners of a single white square. The players will bait the proximityjump in the order they took damage from Uplift earlier. Players can alsosee when they are supposed to bait as their debuff runs out right before.The first two players will move to the far corner, and the second two playerswill stay in the middle of the arena. The third and fourth sets of players willstay at either A or B in the diagram in the beginning. The third set will replacethe first set after the first jump, and the fourth set will replace the secondset after the second jump.

After the fourth Stomp Dead, get ready for the next phase: ManifoldFlames or Fourfold Flames depending on if this was the first mechanic or thesecond mechanic.

Hephaistos introduces the following abilities in this phase:

• Illusory Creation: Hephaistos summons stationary clones at thecardinal edges of the arena. These will do a Sunforge mechanic.
• Creation on Command: Hephaistos commands the clones to do eitherSunforge mechanic.
• Manifold Flames: Hephaistos will cast Hemitheos's Flare on onerole and Nest of Flamevipers afterwards on the other. Both hits inflicta magic vulnerability debuff. Afterwards, Volcanic Torches will spawn,leaving one corner tile of the room safe.
• Hemitheos's Flare: Magical AoE damage.
• Nest of Flamevipers: A magical line AoE. As a part ofManifold Flames, it hits the four closest players. When casted by theboss, it will hit all eight players.

Hephaistos will begin this dance-like phase with Illusory Creation andCreation on Command. Find the add that has a Sunforged Phoenix - the linewith that add will be safe. Players should stand in their quadrants, with meleein melee range and ranged on the outside. When the Sunforge AoE goes off,four players of one role will be hit by Hemitheos's Flare. The role thatwas not hit will need to go inside the boss's hitbox to bait Nest ofFlamevipers, so have all players go to their clock spots.

Immediately afterwards, another set of adds will begin to cast Sunforge.However, these will be the same add. If it is phoenix, all players will need tostand in the middle black square, and if it is snake, all players will need tostand on the outside four squares. Hephaistos will cast either Tetraflareor Nest of Flamevipers. If it's the former, stack with your partner inyour quadrant. If it's the latter and inside is safe, go to your clock spots.However, if outside is safe and it's Nest of Flamevipers, clock spotsdon't quite work. Have the melee stay in melee range, and the ranged in eachquadrant will go to an edge to bait the line AoE away from them. The line isthin enough for the inside melee to not get hit.

Finally, a set of Volcanic Torches will appear. These blue flames willconverge towards the South-West corner. Immediately after they reach that position,the safe spot (always in a corner of the arena) can be identified, and all playersneed to head there. The boss will cast Genesis of Flame afterwards, sostay in the corner to heal and mitigate.

After Manifold Flames, the boss will jump to the middle and cast ReforgedReflection, transitioning to either Snake 1 or Dog 1, whichever one was notdone before.

Hephaistos introduces the following abilities in this phase:

• Fourfold Fires: Hephaistos summons four proximity AoEs on theintercardinal edges of the arena. These will spawn fire puddles.
• Cthonic Vent: Two puddles will start bubbling. From these puddles,Hephaistos summons two snakes that jump to fire puddles. These will do alarge AoE from the fire puddle. Use the black lines to find safe spots.

Hephaistos will begin the phase by casting either Conceptual Tetraflareor Conceptual Octaflare. This will be done at the very end of the mechanicset, so type a reminder into chat if necessary. All players need to stack in themiddle to mitigate damage from Fourfold Fires and have easy access to thesafe spot for the first Cthonic Vent. Look for the puddles that arebubbling and go away from them.

After the first AoE explosion, the fire snakes will jump to different puddles.Hephaistos will cast either Tetraflare or Octaflare. Players willneed to stack with their partner or spread relative to the safe spot(s). It ispossible for two corners to be safe, or one entire side to be safe. To make thissimple, if two corners are safe have one light party always go to the West safespot and one light party always go to the East safe spot. If one side is safe,one light party will go left facing the middle and the other will go rightfacing the middle.

For this configuration for Tetraflare, melee should stack with tanksclose and ranged should stack with the healer in their light party for meleeuptime purposes. For Octaflare, have the melee close, tanks to the sides,and ranged far in the back. Unfortunately, if it is Octaflare in thecorner, tanks must lose uptime such as in the configuration shown above.

Finally, dodge the third set of AoEs. Hephaistos will cast Sunforge andcast the Conceptualized mechanic shown in the beginning in the phase. It is donethe same as the first Sunforge in the fight, and players need to hurry to theirquadrant to ensure they are in the correct position. Afterwards, he will castFlameviper so tanks will have to mitigate and swap.

The order of the next phase is set in stone based on the sequence earlier.If snake was first, it will be snake followed by dog. If dog was first, it willbe dog followed by snake.

Hephaistos modifies the following abilities in this phase:

• Gorgomanteia: All players are now inflicted with Blood of theGorgon and Eye of the Gorgon. In addition, two players in one role will beinflicted with Breath of the Gorgon, a stack AoE, and two players in theother role will be inflicted with Crown of the Gorgon, a circular petrifaction.
• Into the Shadows: Now summons all four Gorgon adds at the same time.These Gorgons must be petrified twice in order to be destroyed byBreath of the Gorgon, meaning that Blood does not kill it anymore.
• Illusory Creation: First, summons clones at the edge of the arenathat does a line AoE on the outside white tiles. Afterwards, summons oneclone at the edge of the arena. This will do a line AoE across the arena.This will always kill two Gorgon adds, leaving two other Gorgon adds toperform mechanics with.

Again, the phase transition, Reforged Reflection will cast SnakingKick at the end, so be sure to stay outside of the hitbox. Note which playershave Crown of the Gorgon and Breath of the Gorgon after the cast,as well as which of Blood of the Gorgon or Eye of the Gorgon resolvesfirst. Players will all head to their quadrant slightly clockwise. Look awayfrom the adds as they still cast Petrifaction. If your Eye debuff is resolving,you look at the add you are closest to. This will happen once more, so the otherperson needs to look at the add when their Eye debuff is resolving. The Blooddebuff resolves naturally in this formation.

Next, look for the clone at the edge of the arena. To resolve this, use theconfiguration from Snakes 1 to determine which debuff goes where. This shouldnaturally lead to one player with Crown and one player with Breath on each addnot being cleaved by the clone. Players without debuffs should spread to the addsas well, as Breath needs to be stacked by four players ideally to survive. To dothis, have supports start NW and look CCW, and have DPS start N and look CW.The player with Crown needs to stand behind the add relative to the other add,and the player with Breath and the players with no debuff will stand on theinside. All four players will take damage, not be petrified, and kill theremaining two adds.

Return to the middle. If this was the first mechanic set, the boss will castFlameviper. If this was the second mechanic set, the boss will castGenesis of Flame and enrage shortly after.

Hephaistos introduces the following abilities in this phase:

• Quadripedal Crush: Hephaistos will face north or south and jumpto the edge, doing a large AoE from that position.
• Quadripedal Impact: Hephaistos will face north or south and jumpto the edge, doing a heavy knockback from that position.
• Trailblaze: Hephaistos dashes across the arena, knocking backplayers from the outside of the black line and killing any player in his path.Standing just outside of the black line is always safe.
• Blazing Footfalls: Hephaistos will show four mechanics in order:a Trailblaze, a Quadripedal Crush or Quadripedal Impact,another Trailblaze, and the other Quadripedal mechanic. This isaccompanied with a Volcanic Torches that leaves one row or column safe.

Again, the phase transition, Reforged Reflection will cast Footprintat the end, so be sure to use your knockback prevention ability. Hephaistos willface North or South and begin to cast Quadripedal Crush or QuadripedalImpact - if it's Impact, go to the edge where he is facing, and if it isCrush, go to the opposite edge of where he is facing. He will cast eitherConceptual Diflare or Conceptual Tetraflare, and then BlazingFootfalls right after.

Players will have to stand in a line outside the black line for eitherDiflare or Tetraflare that happens at the same time as the firstTrailblaze. Use this knockback to get knocked to the first safe spotthat is safe from the first Quadripedal Crush or Quadripedal Impactshown. Afterwards, players will have to either move or get knocked back to thecorrect side for second Trailblaze into Crush or Impact. Finally, playerswill have to move or get knocked to the safe row or column for VolcanicTorches. An example is given below.

1. Conceptual Diflare is cast first, so stand in light parties forthe first knockback.
2. It is Crush (AoE) first at west, and then Impact (knockback) at north.Therefore, we are getting knocked back east first with Trailblaze whichdodges the Crush. We move north for the second Trailblaze, and getknocked back to the safe side for Torches.
3. After getting knocked back and dodging the AoE in light parties, move tothe black line north for the second Trailblaze.
4. After getting knocked back, you can see that the west side is safe. Getknocked southwest for Volcanic Torches by Impact.

The boss returns to the middle. If this was the first mechanic set, the bosswill cast Flameviper, and make sure no other players are on the Northside. If this was the second mechanic set, the boss will cast Genesis ofFlame and enrage shortly after.

As this is a door boss, no loot is dropped from the encounter until the secondphase is defeated.