Buffslave II and Azura's Colosseum Guide

Related topics: Colosseum, Advanced Colosseum Arena

General

• The Colosseum runs on Darktide take a slightly different approach in a few areas, but overall tend to be nearly the same as one done in a non-PK world.
• This guide makes heavy use of quest weapons.
• This guide assumes no rares will be used, but mentioned when rares can be. A well-equipped, experienced fellowship without rares can finish with 5-7 minutes remaining.
• This walk through is designed for Darktide and high level players (nearly maxed). Some parts only work correctly with PK status. If you want PK status in a non-PK world, use /pklite.
• A good fellowship should probably have at least 5 mages, maximum of about 7, and the rest archers/melees, with strong preference for archers.

Optional Augmentations

In general, it is assumed that most PvP augmentations are already obtained, such as Asheron's Lesser Benediction. The following augmentations can help but are not necessary for a win.

• Archmage's Endurance - Without this, your buffs will likely wear in the final room
• Enduring Enchantment - If you die, you can immediately recall and jump back in without buffing.

Special Roles

• Pick one mage with Life Magic specialized be the "designated mage". Pick another archer/melee be his/her partner. This pair will be the "Commandos" who will take various specialized roles in the later portions of the arena.
• Pick a melee be the fellowship leader, or if there are none, an archer. See Time Savers.

Equipment

Equipment plays a huge role in the success of the fellowship and its importance should not be underestimated. Most guides suggest that rares are required, but this is only the case in a poorly equipped fellowship or one that drags along lower level players. Since there is a variety of equipment needed, this section is broken down into common equipment and then class-specific equipment.

Common

• Soul Bound Weapons (Ghost Slayer)
• Upgraded Ultimate Singularity Weapons (Virindi Slayer)
• Lightning Rending weapon.
• Fire Rending weapons with Undead Slayer. Replica BloodScorch or Great BloodScorch works but the rings can damage others, beware.
• Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapons Quest (Olthoi Slayer)

Mages

• The spell Tusker Fists, failing that, Hammering Crawler.
• Bludgeon Rending wand with Mukkir Slayer.
• Tusker Paw Wand (Tusker Slayer)
• Full Adept's Set (and possibly Wise Set).

Melees

• Pierce Rending weapon with Mukkir Slayer, Bludgeon Rending if pierce not available.
• Armor Rending Frost weapons, or Critical Strike if not available.
• Slash Rending weapons.

Archers

• Will need piercing, slashing, fire, cold, and lightning arrows.
• Pierce Rending weapon with Mukkir Slayer
• Slash Rending weapon.
• Weeping Weapons or Blighted Weapons.
• [OPTIONAL] Spectral Chill Arrows
• [OPTIONAL] Raider Lightning Arrows

Rares

In general, rares are not required for a well-equipped and experienced fellowship. The only useful rares for this run are War Magic rares, but Mana Conversion rares can improve performance when casting Tusker Fists, which uses a lot of mana. Since Spectral Mastery Crystals are no-drop and very cheap to get (only two Ancient Mhoire Coins), it is nice to have them if the fellowship starts losing time. If truly desired, Blood Drinker rares can be used, but it is suggested by the authors that these be saved for PK fights.

Mages

• Spectral Crystal of the Hieromancer
• [OPTIONAL] Converter's Crystal

Melees and Archers

• [OPTIONAL] Pearl of Blood Drinking

Formations

• Bell - As the name implies, everyone runs to the center of the arena and tried to get as close to the bell as possible. This is usually due to fast moving monsters such as Viamontian Hands which switch targets quickly and cause war magic spells to miss.

• Corner - The entire fellowship crowds into a corner, usually the southeast since it is near the drop. The weakest should be towards the back since this effectively blocks melee attacks from reaching them. They can even jump on top if they are very weak. Melee characters should always be near the outer most part of the pile facing the bell, otherwise they will be stuck and unable to attack.

• Spread Out - The fellowship spreads out evenly along the arena around the bell. This is done typically when monsters do not move, or typically cast a few spells then attack.

Time Savers

• If your fellowship has experienced a few deaths, using rares may be able to steal a win from an otherwise coin-run.
• Killing the entire first spawn before a second group can spawn makes the second group not spawn at all. Always aim to do this!
• Use a voice chat program to coordinate quickly and effectively.
• If someone is disconnected, the leader of the fellowship must recall to the Colosseum drop to recruit them again. Have the leader be a melee, since they tend to deal the least damage (except for perhaps two-handed combat).
• Have one person designated to ring the bell as soon as they enter.
• Visually check for another monster in the far corners so you do not find yourself waiting for a new spawn when there is still one alive.
• As soon as the last monster is dead for that arena, pile on the North wall for the door.

Walkthrough

All players should proceed through the Advanced Colosseum entrance, which begins at Arena 6.

Arena 6

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Low-level Mosswarts
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Fire Rending wand Pre-ring fire, then streak after spawn.
  • Melees - Fire Rending weapons - Attack nearest.
  • Archers - Fire Rending weapons - Attack nearest.
• Rationale:

Low level Mosswarts tend to die in one to two hits from even modest weapons. It is usually possible to clear this before the second spawn comes, saving 10-15 seconds.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Lugians, War Mattekars
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Fire Rending - Shoot one war and then streak into a Mattekar, switch to next.
  • Melees - Lighting Rending - Attack Lugians.
  • Archers - Lightning Rending - Attack Lugians.
• Rationale:

These too, tend to die in one to two hits from even modest weapons. It is usually possible to clear this before the second spawn comes, saving 10-15 seconds.

Arena 7

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Eaters
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages: - Soul Bound Staff - Pre-ring piercing, then streak.
  • Melees: - Slash Rending - Attack any target.
  • Archers: - Slash Rending - Attack any target.
• Rationale:

The Eaters are exceptionally vulnerable to slashing weapons, but the Soul Bound Staff can one-hit them on a critical hit. Pre-ringing usually takes down a few the moment they spawn.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Viamontians
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Lighting Rending wand - Pre-ring lighting, then streak.
  • Melees - Lightning Rending weapons - Attack nearest
  • Archers - Lightning Rending weapons - Attack nearest.
• Rationale:

So far, this strategy is somewhat effective, need to try out Tusker Fists to see if it is any faster.

Arena 8

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Armoredillos, Zefirs
• Formation: Corner
• Roles:
  • Mages - Soul Bound Staff (Casting) - Imperil Armoredillos closest to group, then shoot wars at Zefirs. The Commando can continue to imperil the Zefirs.
  • Melees - Slash Rending weapons - Attack Armoredillos first, then Zefirs.
  • Archers - Slash Rending weapons - Attack Armoredillos first, then Zefirs.
• Rationale:

The high health but low armor of the Armoredillos makes them fodder for physical attacks when imperiled. The Zefirs are a bit harder to kill, but a critical hit from the Soul Bound Staff can devastate them. Since there are relatively fewer Zefirs than Armoredillos, one mage can continue to imperil the Zefirs afterwards while all of the mages shoot wars.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Crystal Shard Sentinels, Sentient Crystal Shards, Crystal Lord, Crystal Minions
• Formation: Corner
• Roles:
  • Mages: Bludgeon Rending - Pre-fist, then repeat Tusker Fists at Sentient Crystal Shards until they approach, then use regular wars. Ignore Crystal Lord and Crystal Minions. One designated mage should bludgeon vuln each Sentient Crystal Shard. If all shards are dead, use a racial/rending weapon (if available) to finish the Crystal Lord.
  • Melees: - Slash Rending - Attack Crystal Lord when it approaches the corner. Ignore Crystal Minions.
  • Archers: - Slash Rending - Attack Crystal Lord. Ignore Crystal Minions.

Rationale: The shards are large, weak to bludgeoning, and extremely slow moving, making them a very good target for Tusker Fists. It is often possible to kill a few before they even can engage in melee combat. Since using a bludgeon vuln increases the damage per fist by around 60% (Rend caps at 150%, level 8 is 210%), this dramatically improves the rate at which they go down. The Crystal Lord is immune to magic, and thus why archers and melees attack it.

Arena 9

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Olthoi Larvae, Egg Orchard Olthoi
• Formation: Corner
• Roles:
  • Mages: - Paradox-touched Olthoi Wand - Use arcs and/or streaks to kill the Larvae, which spawn first.
  • Melees - Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapons Quest - Attack nearest.
  • Archers - Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapons Quest - Attack nearest.
• Rationale:

Nothing kills Olthoi dead quite like Olthoi Slayer weapons. Using wall spells isn't recommended here because there is a large (10-15) second gap between when the larvae spawn and when the actual Olthoi do, which makes most of the efforts wasted. Clearing the larvae before the other Olthoi spawn is extremely difficult due to their long death animation.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Shadows
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Shadowfire Weapons - Pre-ring fire, then streak as soon as everything spawns.
  • Melees - Fire Rending - Attack nearest target.
  • Archers - Shadowfire Weapons - Attack Shadows that spawn in corners and on the permimeter first since they tend to escape ring spells.
• Rationale:

The Dark Isle Shadows are notoriously hard to hit, even with 530+ melee skill. The Shadowfire melee weapons have a low attack modifier, making them even harder to hit, which is why a Fire Rending weapon is recommended, especially if it has a Heart Seeker cantrip. The Biting Strike, high damage bonus percent, and Shadow Slayer property on the wands makes many streaks into one-hit kills.

Arena 10

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Sleeches
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Soul Bound Staff - Pre-ring piercing, then streak once and switch targets.
  • Melees - Pierce Rending or Paradox-touched Weapons - Attack Sleeches that spawn in corners and on the permimeter first.
  • Archers - Pierce Rending - Attack Sleeches that spawn in corners and on the permimeter first.
• Rationale:

Sleechs have relatively low health and tend to die quickly to the mages. Streaking works very effectively, usually killing them in one to two hits. The Paradox-touched weapons work well since they shoot can an additional shockwave, though it can be hard to hit them if they aren't moving. Overall though, it should be easy to kill all of these before the second spawn.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Tanada Nanjou Shou-jen
• Formation: Bell
• Roles:
  • Mages - Fire Rend - Shoot wars.
  • Melees - Fire Rend or Elemental Weeping Weapons (NOT physical) - Attack nearest.
  • Archers - Weeping Weapons or Blighted Weapons with elemental arrows - Attack nearest.

Arena 11

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Low Tuskers, Virindi
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Fire Rending weapons and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity Wand (Commando) - Streak the Tuskers. The Commando mage should Blade vuln all of the Virindi, then shoot wars.
  • Melees - Fire Rending weapons and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity Weapons (Commando) - Attack Tuskers. The Commando helper should use an Upgraded Ultimate Singularity weapon to kill Virindi. Attack only vulned targets first.
  • Archers - Fire Rending weapons and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity Weapons - Attack Tuskers. The Commando helper should use an Upgraded Ultimate Singularity weapon to kill Virindi. Attack only vulned targets first.
• Rationale:

There are many Tuskers in this room, but they all have low health and can be easily taken down by anyone. There are only a few Virindi here, thus the Commandos take them out.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Tortured Spirits
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Soul Bound Staff - Pre-ring piercing, then streak once and switch targets.
  • Melees - Soul Bound Weapons - Attack nearest.
  • - Soul Bound Weapons - Attack spawns furthest from the bell.
• Rationale:

The ghosts here have low health and go down very quickly to streaks. It is often possible to kill the first spawn before the second arrives.

Arena 12

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Ruschk Draktehn
• Formation: Corner
• Roles:
  • Mages - Bludgeon Rending - Pre-fist and continue until fists hit just one target. Concentrate on thrown weapons ones. Watch for those that spawn in the opposite corner. Attack nearby ones with wars.
  • Melees - Fire Rending or Bludgeon Rending (if available) - Attack targets that are nearby.
  • Archers - Fire Rending weapons and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity Weapons - Attack
• Rationale:

These are fairly weak to bludgeoning (more so than fire, unconfirmed. Armor rending may do more as well, need experimentation). They have highish health (3000+), so the more damage upfront dealt with Tusker Fists, the better.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Mukkir
• Formation: Corner
• Roles:
  • Mages - Bludgeon Rending wand with Mukkir Slayer - Pre-fist and continue until fists hit just one target. Attack nearby ones with wars. Low/no melee defense mages to the back.
  • Melees - Pierce Rending Weapon with Mukkir Slayer - Attack targets that are nearby.
  • Archers - Pierce Rending Weapon with Mukkir Slayer - Attack targets that are nearby.
• Rationale:

These are fairly weak to bludgeoning (more so than fire, unconfirmed. Armor rending may do more as well, need experimentation). They have highish health (3000+), so the more damage upfront dealt with Tusker Fists, the better.

Arena 13

ARENA 13 - Ravager & Virindi / Lugian / Ursuin

This arena is unique in that it has 3 spawns, but the first two only happen once and the third one happens twice as normal.

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Ravager and Virindi Quidioxes
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Soul Bound Staff and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity wands (Commando) - Frost vuln all Ravagers first, then shoot wars. Commandos blade vuln the Virindi and then shoot wars.
  • Melees - Armor Rending or Critical Strike Frost weapons - Attack vulned Ravagers first. Commandos attack vulned Virindi first.
  • Archers - Soul Bound Bow with frost arrows and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity weapons (Commando) - Attack vulned Ravagers first. Commandos attack vulned Virindi first.
• Rationale:

There are many Ravagers here, and only a few Virindi, so once again, the Commandos will focus on the Virindi. The Ravagers have fairly high armor level, so an Armor Rending frost weapon works very well. The critical hits from the Soul Bound weapons work well.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Path of the Blind Lugians
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Any wand - Imperil everything and dodge rocks.
  • Melees - Lightning Rending weapons - Attack imperiled targets first.
  • Archers - Lightning Rending weapons - Attack imperiled targets first and dodge rocks.
• Rationale:

These Lugians have high health but low armor level. When imperiled, they can be killed in two hits by most any weapon. The have moderately high magic defense, so archers/melees should not wait for a target to be imperiled, but instead switch to one that is.

Spawn #3

• Creatures: Inflamed Ursuins
• Formation: Bell
• Roles:
  • Mages - Any wand - Imperil everything.
  • Melees - Fire Rending weapons - Attack imperiled targets first.
  • Archers - Fire Rending weapons - Attack imperiled targets first.
• Rationale:

Another high health but low armor monster. When imperiled, they go down in one or two hits.

Arena 14

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Virindi Paradoxes and Virindi Quidioxes
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Upgraded Ultimate Singularity wands - Blade vuln all targets, and then shoot wars.
  • Melees - Upgraded Ultimate Singularity weapons - Attack vulned targets first.
  • Archers - Upgraded Ultimate Singularity weapons - Attack vulned targets first.
• Rationale:

This room has a lot of Virindi, and nothing works as well as the upgraded Ultimate Singularity weapons. Not all Singularity weapons deal slashing (mace/spear/staff), so they can vuln (works well for Life specialized and frees up a mage to shoot more wars), heal, or just attack (still fairly effective).

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Egg Orchard Olthoi, Olthoi Progenitors
• Formation: Corner
• Roles:
  • Mages: - Paradox-touched Olthoi Wand - Pre-wall piercing, then shoot wars at the Olthoi Progenitors first, finishing any remaining Olthoi.
  • Melees - Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapons Quest - Attack any except Olthoi Progenitors.
  • Archers - Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapons Quest - Attack any except Olthoi Progenitors.
• Rationale:

Olthoi Progenitors have an extremely high armor level, making melee and archer attacks less efficient. The remaining Olthoi are standard fare Egg Orchard Olthoi and go down to Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapons Quest as one might expect.

Arena 15

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Mosswarts
• Formation: Bell
• Roles:
  • Mages - Imperil everything, then switch to the Mosswart Gladiators and shoot wars. The Commando mage should start shooting wars at the Mosswart Gladiators.
  • Melees - Fire Rending weapons - Attack everything except the Mosswart Gladiators , which are the final targets.
  • Archers - Fire Rending weapons - Attack everything except the Mosswart Gladiators , which are the final targets.
• Rationale:

The Mosswart Gladiators have an extremely high armor level and fairly high magic defense. The remaining Mosswarts go down without any real problem once imperiled. The Commando mage gets a head start on the Gladiators since they take the longest. Fire vulns may be useful but not required.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Enraged Ancient Soul (Undead)
• Formation: Corner
• Roles:
  • Mages - Fire Rending wand with Undead Slayer - Pre-wall fire, then shoot wars. Optionally use War Rare here if desired.
  • Melees - Fire Rending weapons with Undead Slayer - Attack nearest.
  • Archers - Fire Rending weapons with Undead Slayer - Attack nearest.
• Rationale:

These undead have a fairly high magic defense, expect to get resisted with 475+ War Magic. Archers and melees can do a bit of damage, but largely mages are the ones that decimate this group. Bludgeon Rending wands and Tusker Fists does very well, but few mages have these handy, and once the Undead are close, Bludgeoning wars do not do as much damage (unconfirmed but suspected).

Arena 16

ARENA 16 – Hands / Swarm Demons

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Viamontian Hands
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Lighting Rending - Shoot arcs at ones using thrown weapons, streaks on the rest.
  • Melees - Lightning Rending - Attack nearest.
  • Archers - Lightning Rending - Attack nearest.
• Rationale:

These resist quite a bit, even sometimes with 500+ War Magic, which is why streaks are recommended for mages with 490 and lower War Magic. If you used a War Magic rare from the previous room with Undeads, it has likely carried over here and makes this go very quickly. The Viamontian Hands run fast and switch targets quickly, so staying near the bell is critical for archer and mages to make contact with their projectiles.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Swarm Demons (Olthoi)
• Formation: Corner
• Roles:
  • Mages: - Paradox-touched Olthoi Wand - Pre-wall piercing, then shoot wars. Commandos should pierce vuln everything.
  • Melees - Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapons Quest - Attack nearest.
  • Archers - Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapons Quest - Attack nearest.
  • Rationale:

The Swarm Demons have a lot of health, so vulning them to piercing is an overall win. The Commando should do this while the rest of the mages focus on dealing damage. If the Paradox-touched Olthoi Weapon of your skill does not do piercing (mace/staff/two-handed) and you have Life Magic specialized, then switch roles with the Commando and vuln/heal. If it doesn't do piercing and you have don't have Life Magic specialized, then use an Armor Rending pierce weapon or just heal others. Healers or weak mages/archers should jump on top of others in the corner to avoid taking damage.

Arena 17

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Annihilators (Tusker) and Virindi
• Formation: Spread Out
• Roles:
  • Mages - Tusker Paw Wand and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity Wand (Commando) - Fire vuln and then war the Tuskers. The Commando mage should Blade vuln all of the Virindi, then shoot wars.
  • Melees - Fire Rending weapons and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity Weapons (Commando) - Attack Tuskers. The Commando helper should use an Upgraded Ultimate Singularity weapon to kill Virindi. Attack only vulned targets first.
  • Archers - Fire Rending weapons and Upgraded Ultimate Singularity Weapons - Attack Tuskers. The Commando helper should use an Upgraded Ultimate Singularity weapon to kill Virindi. Attack only vulned targets first.
• Rationale:

The Tuskers in this room have an extremely high health and outnumber the Virindi, but they can be taken down fairly quickly using the Tusker Paw Wand. There are only a few Virindi here, thus the Commandos take them out.

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Uber Penguins
• Formation: Bell
• Roles:
  • Mages - Fire Rending wand - Shoot wars.
  • Melees - Fire Rending weapons - Attack nearest.
  • Archers - Fire Rending weapons - Attack nearest.
• Rationale:

Straightforward enough, just kill these with rends.

Arena 18

WARNING: The Uber Penguins from the previous room cast Tusker's Gift. There will be a lot of fists flying around, so if you are bludgeon vulned, you should dispell it. If you die to a PK death, you will lose your spells and possibly not return in time for a reward.

Spawn #1

• Creatures: Tremendous Monougas
• Formation: North/South
• Roles:
  • Mages - Soul Bound Staff or Critical Strike Bludgeoning wand - Have Commando vuln bludgeoning, and two other mages imperil and vuln frost for the melee/archers. Fist away.
  • Melees - Armor Rending or Critical Strike Frost weapons - Attack any.
  • Archers - Soul Bound Bow with frost arrows - Attack any.
• Rationale:

Tusker Fists hits many times, dealing tons of damage very rapidly. Critical hits with the Soul Bound Staff are huge, as usual. DO NOT USE A BLUDGEON RENDING WAND. There will be tons of fists flying everywhere, and using a rend is likely to get people killed.

Spawn #2

• Creatures: Elite Guardians
• Formation: Everyone to North Wall
• Roles:
  • Mages - Soul Bound Staff or Critical Strike Frost wand - Have Commando vuln cold, and one other mage imperil. Everyone else shoot frost wars.
  • Melees - Armor Rending or Critical Strike Frost weapons - Attack vulned targets first.
  • Archers - Soul Bound Bow with frost arrows - Attack vulned targets first.
• Rationale:

A surprisingly tame finale. If you've made it this far, killing these should be easy. Make sure you attack vulned ones first.