Barnacles and Black Powder Guide for New World

This expedition is located in Southeast Cutlass Keys. Its in-game recommended level is 60, signaling that this is an endgame expedition designed for characters who have solid gear and a grasp of their role in an expedition. It is recommended that your gear score is at least 550 before entering this expedition.

Barnacles & Black Powder is full of Lost mob types. Weapons that will be most effective in this expedition includes the War Hammer and Ice Gauntlet. Regardless of what your build is though, it is highly suggest that you make sure It will be have Infused Lost Coating and three Major Lost Combat Trophys in your houses to deal additional damage.

"Cleansing Treasure" is a repeatable quest found just outside of Barnacles & Blackpowder. It is available from Quiggley Quorus. It's worth picking up this quick quest before entering each time to pick up a few extra rewards.

Clear all the trash mobs and you will eventually encounter Third Officer Gibbs. There will be no significant mechanics to keep in mind. Continue along and go to the large gate. This gate will require a switch to open, which is located inside the nearby hallway. A ranged attack must be used to activate the switch (your healer can do this with their life staff, so don't worry if you don't have a ranged DPS).

In the Grove you will encounter Gunner Jett. After they are defeated you will have to activate another switch to countinue, which is located behind the door.

The next areas will have some trash mobs that need to be killed. Once you have cleared all the enemies and reached The Broken Bones this will begin a sequence of enemies waves.

The first wave will have regular Lost enemies which can be clumped and defeated with AoE damage. The second wave will have Chompers and some other trash enemies. There are no specific mechanics for this fight, but be mindful of Chompers' damage. The final wave will spawn the Master of Arms and some trash mobs. Similarly to the previous wave, there are no mechanics to watch for - just be mindful of the Master of Arms' damage.

After completeing the encounter you will progress and encounter Fire Agent Jones. Once defeated, you will have to loot the nearby toolbox and use the tool in Dry Rum Passageway, which was the first area you encounter after using the final door switch by Gunner Jett. You will have to light the explosive barrels in order to blow up the wall.

Move through the hole in the wall and head down the stairs. Below you will encounter a second Officer Bartham. After defeating them, you will have to use a ranged weapon to hit another switch that is on the deck of the ship.

A bridge will be lowered after the switch is hit. You will then encounter First Officer Wells. During this mini boss, you will have to pick up cannon balls and fire a cannon at the kegs in the room. This will reveal another switch which will take you to the first boss.

• Barrel — Admiral Blackpowder will throw a powder keg. DPS need to focus it down so that it does not explode and deal party-wide damage.
• Escape and Lookouts — The Admiral will retreat and spawn 3 Lookouts. This will start another phase of the fight. Kill the adds and be ready for the Bombs..
• Bombs — When Admiral Blackpowder escapes he will launch patterns of bombs into the arena. Be sure to dodge through the explosions to avoid incoming damage.
• Cannon (Player Mechanic) — After the Bombs there will be cannon balls available to pick up. A player must take a cannon ball and fire a cannon at the Admiral to continue the fight.
• Mortar Blast — Players will be targeted by mortars which will lock on to them. To avoid this mechanic simply dodge before the explosive hits. Be careful because there will be an AoE that is left behind.

The fight is relatively standard at the start. Blackpowder will use an AoE slash attack and a cannon Attack that will knock players down, so be sure to avoid these. Once he is at 75% health, he will escape and begin the next phase.

In phase two, quickly defeat the lookouts and avoid the incoming bombs by using your dodge roll. The bombs will be indicated by glowing circles on the ground (you can't miss them). As soon as your group can, pick up a cannonball, load the cannons in the back of the arena, and fire it at the Admiral to continue the fight.

Throughout the course of the fight dodge Admiral Blackpowder's melee abilities, destroy any barrels that are thrown into the arena, and avoid incoming mortar blasts. There will be multiple escape phases, so be prepared to avoid bombs. This fight will be repetitive, simply deal damage when you can and defeat him to continue.

After defeating Admiral Blackpowder you will encounter Sergeant Morris. This will start a statue puzzle in order to open the gate. Players in the party will need to touch the statue in the water and a lightning storm will start. The second statue will need to be touched and whomever touches it will be afflicted with a slowing debuff and a DoT. Simply bring the offerings to the statue and have your healer maintain your group's health. This will need to be done three times.

Please note: It is best practice for your healer to NOT be one of the individuals that touch the statue. They should focus on healing your team members that are completing this short puzzle.

• Water Blast — Nereied will blast a target with a large wave of water.
• Cyclone — Nereid will whirlwind with her spear and move around the room dealing damage to anyone in her path.
• Lightning Strike — Nereid will throw her spear at a target and a strike of lightning will deal AoE damage to everyone nearby.
• Storm — Nereid will create a storm in the room and it will deal AoE damage to anyone that stands within its telegraphed area.
• Charge — Nereid dashes toward a target with her spear and will knock them back.

The main goal is avoiding damaging abilities. Nereid will use all of these abilities to cover the room with dangerous effects. If your group can use their dodges to effectively prevent incoming damage, this should be a rather simple fight. Position yourself in safe spots and be mindful of any targeted abilities. Be sure that the tank stays close and keeps Nereid facing away from the group. This will prevent abilites like water blast from hitting the group.

At 50% health, Nereid will gain a large empower. This will allow her to create Storms that will persist until the end of the fight. She will also use her abilities more frequently. Be mindful of your positioning during this phase and conserve stamina.

Be mindful of some chests throughout the expeditions. At times there will be cursed chests that will deal damage to you and slow you if you touch them. Avoid them, especially while doing a mutator.

The loot in Barnacles & Black Powder is designed for endgame players, and therefore can be some of the best found in the game. There are different drops depending on whether you are in the mutated or regular version of the expedition. Below is a list of some items that you can find within the regular version of this expedition.

• Priscilla's Shield
• Droplet
• Damp
• Teardrop
• Iridescence
• Brinicle
• Grasp
• Expanse
• Melting Point
• Soul Spine
• Maul of Fathoms
• Driftwood
• Arrowspine
• Deep Hole
• Explorer's Friend
• The Hook
• Brodesode
• Quaint Helm
• Shoes of Seine
• Lost Souls Gloves
• Wanderers Pants
• Song of the Sea
• Firewood

To acquire Heartrunes you must complete an expedition. The final boss will have a high chance to drop the minor version which can be upgraded into a legendary variant.

• Minor Heartrune of Cannon Blast

Some items can only drop on certain difficulty levels of the mutated version within some expeditions. Below is a list of some of the most sought-after drops within this mutated expedition.

• Admiral's Tricorn Cap
• Admiral's Petticoat
• Admiral's Claw
• Admiral's Pantaloons
• Admiral's Peg
• Siren's Headwear
• Siren's Chestwrap
• Siren's Gloves
• Siren's Thighguards
• Siren's Boots
• Illspirit
• Voidstealer
• Feral Cleaver
• Lightning's Whisper
• Deadeye's Defiance
• Swifthail
• Lost Shiver
• Agonizer
• Spiritpool
• Blastdrain
• Stubborn Cyclone

Once your character reaches max level, you will be given the opportunity to retake this expedition at a more difficult level (the mutated version, as mentioned above). When taking down the Nereid boss in this mutated expedition (at least M1), you will have a chance of obtaining a rare heavy chest artifact known as Void Darkplate, which is arguably one of the best artifacts in the game. The Void Darkplate has a unique perk known as "Dark Reinforced", which increases your armor by 20%. This artifact is a great addition to any medium or heavy bruiser or tank build.