Dragonsong's Reprise Ultimate (DSR) Guide for Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr

Pre-fight preparation:

• Assign a debuff passing order between Tanks and DPS for the Mortal Vow debuff. Mortal Vow needs to be passed a total of four times during this fight. We recommend passing in the following order: DPS that starts with Vow -> Tank 1 -> Tank 2 -> Melee 1 (Melee 2 if Melee 1 started with Vow) -> Caster. The debuff that is given by having Mortal Vow falls off of the first person a couple seconds before the final pass. This makes it possible for the caster to take the final pass even if they started with Vow.
• Assign a tank to take aggro of each dragon.

Recurring mechanics:

• Mortal Vow
  • A debuff that Nidhogg puts on a random player reducing their healing done (not taken). This debuff explodes in a AoE around the player once expired. If another player is in this AoE, they get the debuff instead. If it is not passed to another player, Nidhogg enrages. If more than one person is hit by the pass, that person will have their maximum HP cut in half, all but ensuring their death the next time they take damage. The player afflicted by Mortal Vow also takes a small amount of chip damage in the form of a DoT. It is a small damage tick, but it may be enough to strip shields, so ensure the player suffering from the debuff is topped off prior to receiving damage. In the event that the player with Vow dies, it will still explode on their body when the debuff expires. Therefore, it is possible to pick up Vow from their body.
• Wyrmsbreath
  • A tether cone of fire or ice that gives a debuff to a player. Taking both a fire and ice hit cancels out the debuff. Taking two of the same element kills the player instantly. This cone does proximity based damage even if you are not the one tethered to it meaning that you can still die to proximity damage if you are too close to the origin of someone else's tether. This is important for Wyrmsbreath 1.
• Solemn Vow
  • If a player dies to any source of damage from Hraesvelgr, the dragon instantly enrages receiving a damage done up and a damage taken down buff.
• Akh Afah
  • A light party stack on each of the healers. During this mechanic, both dragons need to be within 3% HP of each other, or else this stack instantly kills everyone in it.
• Cauterize
  • Cauterize can be cast by either dragon. Upon doing so, they will dive through the arena, dealing massive damage and putting a debuff on any player hit that deals damage over time. Nidhogg applies Burn, and Hraesvelgr applies Frostbite. These debuffs can be cancelled out if the player was already carrying a debuff from the Wyrmsbreath mechanic.

For the entirety of the phase, please reference these Toolboxes for a detailed view of how each mechanic is handled.

This phase is a group killer. Consistency on previous phases will ensure smooth progress to a clear. Due to how Akh Afah works during this phase, attempt to split damage appropriately between both bosses in order to keep them within a few percent HP of each other. The cast bar for Akh Morn is fairly long, so you have time to adjust for HP imbalances, but it is best to try and avoid this as much as possible. On a similar note, take advantage of the cleave abilities your job has, if it is a potency gain to use on two targets.

Tip: If you are having issues finding the safe spots mentioned in this guide or the supporting Toolboxes, you can enter Nidhogg Extreme to find these exact locations prior to seeing the mechanic.

1. Two dragons appear on either side of the arena. Have each tank grab aggro of one of them.
2. Have the two tanks run to the north side of the arena and prepare for a tank buster. If both Dragons' mouths are glowing, the tanks should stack. If only one of their mouths are glowing, the tanks should spread to North East and North West. If only one of their mouths is glowing, then only the tank with aggro of the dragon whose mouth is not glowing will take a buster. The dragon with a glowing mouth will shoot a cone through the middle of the arena. As long as everyone is in their assigned spots, this cone can be completely ignored.
3. The other six players form a triangle pattern in the south area of the arena, with one player acting as the anchor in each group. Three players will get marked with an ice tether, while the three other players will get marked with a fire tether.
   • The goal is to have one fire and one ice tether per stack. This negates the elemental debuff the dragons would otherwise be placing on you. Fire cancels out ice and vice versa. Have the anchor players remain in their position no matter what combination of tethers their pair has. If the flex player has the same tether as their partner, they will swap places with the flex player in the other group that has matching tethers.
4. After the mechanic resolves, DPS should spread out away from everyone else to see who gets the Mortal Vow debuff. Tanks and Healers should stack together toward the center of the room to ensure that DPS do not need to go as far to avoid hitting other players if Vow targets them. When Vow spawns on a DPS player it will do a small AoE around the chosen player that will apply a Max HP penalty debuff to anyone in the AoE that is not the person chosen.

Upon Wyrmsbreath resolving, everyone should ensure they're spread out as to not overlap the Mortal Vow application. This is something to be wary of every time the debuff is passed. Pick a spot on the arena to perform the pass to ensure no one is ever in danger of accidentally getting cleaved.

The pass order should be as follows:

1. Starting DPS
2. Group 1 Tank
3. Group 2 Tank
4. Group 1 Melee (Unless they were the initial target, if so then Group 2 Melee)
5. Caster

This is just a standardized order and is not mandatory. If your group has reasons for changing it, feel free to. The debuff that is given by having Mortal Vow falls off of the first person a couple seconds before the final pass. This makes it possible for the caster to take the final pass even if they started with Vow.

Both dragons will cast Akh Afah. Stack up into two light parties on each of the healers. Ensure both dragons are within 3% HP of each other by the time the cast ends.

• If there is a tether between the two dragons from the bosses being more than 3% HP apart when Ahk Afah finishes casting, one of the groups will take lethal damage.

1. Nidhogg will appear on the east or west side of either the north or south of the arena, casting Cauterize. Notice which edge of the arena he moves to, as Nidhogg will dive through the arena, cleaving slightly more than half of the arena.
2. At the same time Hraesvelgr will have one of their wings glow. They will cleave either the north or south half of the arena based on the glowing wing.
3. The combination of Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr cleaving 50% of the room but in opposite directions will leave 25% of the room as a safe corner. Identify the safe area and move toward it.
4. Take notice of Hraesvelgr's head now. If it is looking down, then the tanks will need to be standing closer to Hraesvelgr, and the party farther away. If the head is looking upwards, then the tanks will be standing far away from Hraesvelgr, and the party closer. Tanks also need to be spread apart from each other and mitigate appropriately as each will receive a large AoE tank buster.
5. After this mechanic resolves, have the Mortal Vow player and the player in the pass order stand in the middle of the arena to pass the debuff. Everyone else should make sure to stand clear to avoid the Max HP penalty debuff.

1. During this mechanic, three sets of orbs will explode in a cross shaped pattern. The first will always spawn in the middle, and the next two will spawn in opposite corners. Debuffs will apply to players like so:
   • Four people will be given a Red "spread" debuff that will explode in a small circle AoE centered on each Red player when it expires.
   • Two people will be given a White debuff which will be a two-person stack AoE centered on each white player. Each call Middle or Edge, or use a marker system for priority.
   • Two people will be given no debuff. They will need to choose one White debuff player each to stack with. Each call Middle or Edge, or use a marker system for priority.
   • A recommended marker priority is given slightly later in this mechanic's explanation.
2. Hraesvelgr will appear on the north or south side of the arena in one of three positions: far west, middle, or far east. The far east and west positions will cause Hraesvelgr to cleave 50% of the arena in front of them, similar to Nidhogg during Hallowed Wings. If Hraesvelgr is in the middle, they will cleave the middle 50% of the room, leaving 25% of the room safe along the east and west walls.
3. Move towards the square where the orbs spawned last that is not covered by Hraesvelgr's dive.
4. Stack up by the edge of the arena and move together. Each hit of Ahk Morn will leave behind a red puddle that will apply a severe DoT debuff to anyone who stays in it, gauranteeing their death. Move slightly outside of the puddle left by the Ahk Morn stack hits while staying as a group. Dodge the cross AoEs from the fireballs and continue to move as a group. There are four puddles left from Ahk Morn hits, and the group must be careful not to drop them in the middle of the room in order to resolve the next half of the mechanic. We recommend walking in a straight line straight from east to west (or west to east depending on the starting position of the group) for the first three puddles, and then curving slightly toward the middle for the final puddle. This creates a sort of "J" pattern with the puddles.
5. Nidhogg will now cast either Hot Tail or Hot Wing. Hot Wing will cleave the north and south side of the room, leaving a small rectangular safe spot in the middle of the room. Hot Tail will attack the exact opposite areas, leaving the north and south sides of the room safe, but the middle of the room unsafe.
6. Now spread out like so:
   • Have the four Red debuffs go towards Nidhogg and spread, avoiding overlapped AoEs.
   • Have the two White debuffed players stay in the middle or the edge towards Hraesvelgr.
   • Have the two players without a debuff stack on the white debuffed players in the middle or on the edge.
   • If using a marker system to assign positions, we recommend the following priority:
     1. Red debuff players are marked "Target to Attack" 1 through 4, with 1 at the west wall, and 4 toward the middle of the room.
     2. One White player and one no debuff player are marked with the "Target to Ignore" 1 and 2 markers, and stack together slightly east of center of the room.
     3. One White player and one no debuff player are marked with the "Target to Bind" 1 and 2 markers, and stack together at the east wall.
     4. This makes the total lineup from west to east: 1, 2, 3, 4, Ignore, and Bind. For a visual of this priority, please reference these Toolboxes.
7. Once the mechanic is resolved, pass Mortal Vow again at the center of the arena to the next person in line.

Keep an eye on both dragons' HP as some patterns of Wroth Flames make their HPs extremely uneven. Spread out into two light parties and prepare for another Akh Afah. Ensure both bosses are within 3% HP of each other.

Hraesvelgr will do the exact same things that they did during the first Hallowed Wings. They will cast Hallowed Wings, cleaving either the north or south half of the arena, while also targetting the two closest or two farthest players with large tank buster AoEs. The difference this time is that Nidhogg will not Cauterize half of the arena, they instead will remain where they are and cast Hot Wing or Hot Tail, which will resolve exactly as it did during Wroth Flames.

1. Notice which of Hraesvelgr's wings is glowing. Stand on the non glowing side.
2. Notice whether Hraesvelgr's head is up or down. If it is up, the party stands close. If it is down, the tanks stand close.
3. Notice what Nidhogg is casting. If it is Hot Wing, stand in the center. If it is Hot Tail, stand on the sides.
4. Position in the half of the arena that is safe from Hraesvelgr, while also making sure to be safe from Hot Tail/Hot Wing.
5. Once the mechanic is resolved, pass Mortal Vow to the next person in line at the center of the arena.

Wyrmsbreath will be cast again, tethering six non-Tank players with random tethers, totaling three fire and three ice again. However, this time the debuff needs to remain for the next mechanic, so players need to be spread enough to only get hit with their individual tether.

1. The commonly used community strategy for this mechanic is called Static Wyrmsbreath 2, and has very strict positioning. Please reference this image and the Toolbox provided for exact positions.
2. Group 1 players will head to the north side of the arena, while Group 2 players will head south. Each player will go to their assigned position. Using this strategy, only the Tanks will adjust their position based on which pattern of tank busters the dragons will use.
3. After the tethers resolve, three players should have a fire debuff, and three should have an ice debuff. Both dragons will appear on the north wall of the arena.
4. Both dragons will cast Cauterize and dive through the arena. Go to the dragon that is the opposite element of the tether you just got hit by. I.e. if you got hit with a fire tether, you need to stand in front of Hraesvelgr to cleanse the debuff. If you got hit with an ice tether, you need to stand in front of Nidhogg.
5. Tanks must ensure they are the farthest player to the north of each group of debuffed players, as the first player in line takes a tankbuster hit when the dragons dive. This requires heavy mitigation. If possible the Tank player with more mitigation available (or the one using their invulnerability ability if applicable) should stand in front of Hraesvelgr, as dying to Hraesvelgr causes them to enrage.
6. Be mindful of having Pyretic, a single tick is enough to lower your HP to a point where Cauterize will kill you. The DPS check is not difficult to meet so greed is not necessary here.
7. Healers should be mindful of the Tanks' HP as Cauterize will apply a long lasting DoT effect to each tank. Pay particular attention to the Tank with the ice DoT, as dying to it will trigger Hraesvelgr's enrage.
8. Nidhogg will now dive onto the middle of the arena dealing raidwide damage, falling off based on proximity. Move towards the north wall of the arena to minimize damage. Hraesvelgr will do the same at the same time, but on the south wall.
9. Pass Mortal Vow one last time.
10. Both Hraesvelgr and Nidhogg will now start casting Revenge of the Horde. Kill them both before the cast ends.

If you spared Thordan in Phase 5, you will now enter Phase 7: Dragon-King Thordan. If you killed him instead, you will wipe.