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[Player Guide] Bal Sunnar Trifecta / HM Guide ~With Puzzle Solutions~
thepandalore
✭✭✭
BAL SUNNAR
Visit Bal Sunnar, pride of the Telvanni, and experience the values and culture of the Dunmer people first hand! You'll encounter grand, imposing architecture, the enigmatic kwama, the diversity of the Sax'hleel, and the magickal ingenuity of Padomay's favorite Mer! You'll love it so much, you might just stay through the Last Era!
Dungeon's First Mobs
Drag first pack to second, down the stairs. Focus Telvanni Sun Mages and Telvanni Torchbearers. Sun Mages' heavy attacks are often followed by a Torchbearer knockdown, which is always followed by a Sun Mage meteor. This heavy attack, knockdown, meteor wombo-combo can be deadly. If the kwama survive, drag them to the third pack. At the third pack, focus fire the Argonian Behemoth and the Telvanni Torchbearers. Pull the Conjurer into cleave and watch out for exploding banekin.
Dungeon's First Puzzle
The Totem & Wheel Puzzle is left of the third trash pack, opposite the direction to the first boss. It consists of four wheels on a platform and a small totem in the middle of a prison yard. The totem consists of four segments which correspond to the small totem stacks near the prisons.
Contrary to popular misinformation, the dungeon's first puzzle is not entirely random. The variations of the puzzle can be quickly discerned by noting the totem segments on the left side of the screen. The solutions for these puzzles are noted in the images below. Solutions are not order dependent. Moving the wheels in the order of 4,3,2,1 achieves the same result as 2,3,4,1; inputting 4,2,2,1 achieves the same result as 2,2,4,1, and 4,2 achieves the same result as 2,4.
Completing the puzzle grants Strength of the Ancestors, increasing group Weapon and Spell Damage by 300
Boss 1 - Kovan Giryon
Moveset
Summons
70-65%
Strategy
Get used to the wide stack. Organize in squares or lines, not convenience blobs. If three of you are in a convenience blob, congratulations! You've just killed your fourth.
Burning the boss past 90% within the first 10s of combat will skip the first manipulation phase. DPS stack center-off-center toward entrance Rift to keep consistent burn on boss through Rift & Dash while providing a target for the large sticky AOE that persists through adds phase. Adds phase will start as early as 70% and no later than 65%. Focus the large adds and pull the spitters into center to burn; block/dodge the explosions. When the boss comes back, you have 5s to burn past 60% to skip the next Manipulation phase. Failing burn, wide stack 10m with 1 DPS and Heal on one side of the rift, and 1 DPS and Tank on the other.
Burn to 45%. DPS should again stack center-off-center Rift and burn through Rift and Dash while providing a target for the large sticky AOE that persists through adds phase. Focus the large adds and pull the spitters and salamanders into center to burn. When Kovan returns, you'll have 5s to burn to the next manipulation phase breakpoint, 30%. The math works out to 2 DPS pre-buffing their rotations immediately ahead of his return and ulting directly on Kovan when his healthbar reappears, without losing the target to movement, for a total of 121,500+ sustained DPS each for those 5 seconds, assuming he comes back at 45% health. It's not impossible, but it takes some coordination in buffs, ult casts, and RNG. Failing burn, organize yourselves for shield & heal through Manipulate. One successful strategy is a version of vDepths of Malatar cliffside line, i.e. healer DPS DPS Tank, on the entrance or exit-side block.
Burn to 20%. At 20%, adds will spawn. Focus adds without damaging the boss if possible to reduce pressure for the next mechanic. At 15%, Manipulate will happen as a scripted event. Once you're through manipulate without any adds, killing the boss is easy work.
Dungeon's Second Mobs
These trash packs are spread relatively far apart and introduce the next boss mechanics. Kill the Nix-Oxen, then the elves, then the kwama and nix-hounds. By the second pull, you'll get the idea that this next boss is a Nix fight with some nasty additions. Nix-hounds retain their spit mechanic, while kwamas continue to charge and harass. Foreshadowing the boss, the Nix-Oxen will attempt to Bisect the player in a nasty heavy attack and throw flaming AOE spit on the ground in a circle, just like Kovan's nix-oxen, but this time they'll also summon Darklight Orbs that cast Darklight Blast on the player. These must be interrupted with a bash or an Interrupt skill like Crushing Shock.
Dungeon's Secret Boss
Bal Sunnar's Secret Boss is Urvel Drath. It's a simple tank & spank fight without a hardmode, but there are two caveats. Angry Urkel summons lava pillars which will explode, meaning players should stay far enough back that they're out of harm's way, and casts a spell called Seeking Flame, which creates homing flame AOEs that players should dodge through to clear. You're welcome to kite them if you like wasted effort.
Boss 2 - Roksa the Warped
Moveset
Strategy
Roksa will Pincer Slam, Bisect, and Otherworldly Volley whoever has aggro. Darklight Orbs will spawn and need to be interrupted all throughout the fight. Periodically Roksa will jump from wherever it's being held to one of the three corners of the room, causing the whole room to go dark and deal environmental (Wraith) damage. To stay safe, stay in Saresea's light. Tank should always stay close to Roksa and kite Otherworldly Volley around the safe zone near Roksa while DPS damages from middle, in immediate range of all the Darklight Orbs as they spawn around the room.
When the boss ends Darkness, it will Frenzy, leaving a circle of small fire AOEs around its position. Damaging the boss to 70% during Darkness triggers frenzy and the next phase of the fight, which is the beginning of adds spawning throughout the rest of the fight. This phase is also the immediate lead up to Annihilation Beam Phase. It is a 30s period of the fight in which DPS can kill adds without the pressure of having Roksa on the stage. Killing the large Nix Ox during this phase keeps the tank safe during Annihilation beam. At every other phase, failing to kill it will interrupt Sarasea's protection for some time. During the Annihilation Beam, DPS should kite (and stack, if possible) the flame AOEs while killing the remaining Larval Nix-Oxen.
After beam phase, adds will continue to spawn. Large nix-oxen are the priority if you value Saresea's help. Dwayne the Roksa Johnson will perodically jump from wherever it's being held to one of the three corners of the room, causing the whole room to go dark and deal environmental (Wraith) damage. To stay safe, stay in Sarasea's light. When the boss ends Darkness, it will Frenzy, leaving a circle of small fire AOEs around its position. The flight flows exactly in this way down to 40%, at which time another long adds phase begins, Annihilation Beam Phase recurs, followed by execute shortly after.
Dungeon's Third Mobs
These trash packs are relatively spread out and don't do much but introduce the theme of the next boss and the Peryite's Glory slime. The only monsters you need to take seriously in these packs are Peryite's Glory.
Dungeon's Second Puzzle
The last of this dungeon's three group buffs comes from the second puzzle, a laser puzzle in the same location as the first. When you approach it, you'll see a totem in the middle, surrounded by short, flat obsidian shards, large, oblate stones, and tall, Daedric runes along the wall. Pulling the lever activates lasers from each of the runes. The rune to the player's left as you enter the room fires a laser directly at the totem. Your goal with this puzzle is to reflect the remaining lasers off the obsidian shards to burn the totem.
Contrary to popular misinformation, there are only a few variations, and it's not totally random. The variations of the puzzle can be quickly discerned by noting the unique positioning of the obsidian shards. The numbers overlayed on the shards in the images below indicate how many times that shard must be touched in order to position it correctly for that specific variation of the puzzle. To save time, one person should be responsible for quickly solving these while the rest of the group moves on to the final boss.
Pictured are the correct, final positions overlayed with the number of touches required to move the slabs into that position. Nordic bathing towel and good luck chicken optional.
Solving this puzzle grants Ancestral Resolve, which gives the group 3k extra health and 10% damage resistance. Worth the ~30 seconds needed for a single DPS to solve it and catch up to the group.
Boss 3: Matriarch Lladi Telvanni
Moveset
Strategy
This is an Adds & Survival fight. The first and most important adds to manage are the skeevers. They're over-friendly, and increasingly eager for your resources and health the longer they live. Root them and kill them as they appear. The second most important adds to manage in this fight are the oozes that spawn later on, Peryite's Glory. Its Weakening Blessing will make the tank's job of surviving Peryite's Embrace nearly impossible over time. Only after managing skeevers and oozes should you focus kill Peryte's Blessed, but take advantage of every beneficial Synergy AOE during to make Peryite's Blessed cleaveable in the interim.
The real progression in this fight is the 30-second Choking Pestilence AOE, occuring at 70% and 35%, during which you're meant to manage Skeevers, Glory, and Blessed while staying alive. Tank should be the one to grab farther beneficial synergies. The critical role of DPS and Heals is to crowd control and kill adds while running a barrier and healing rotation to survive the full 30s. In a group with 2 sorcerer DPS, staggering 2 casts of Absorption Field and a barrier at ~23s, ~15s, and ~8s, respectively, has proven suitable to strategy, resulting in a tri. Once you've survived the second Choking Pestilence phase, managing adds should supersede damaging the boss.
Edited by thepandalore on February 11, 2025 3:18AM Visit Bal Sunnar, pride of the Telvanni, and experience the values and culture of the Dunmer people first hand! You'll encounter grand, imposing architecture, the enigmatic kwama, the diversity of the Sax'hleel, and the magickal ingenuity of Padomay's favorite Mer! You'll love it so much, you might just stay through the Last Era!
Dungeon's First Mobs
Drag first pack to second, down the stairs. Focus Telvanni Sun Mages and Telvanni Torchbearers. Sun Mages' heavy attacks are often followed by a Torchbearer knockdown, which is always followed by a Sun Mage meteor. This heavy attack, knockdown, meteor wombo-combo can be deadly. If the kwama survive, drag them to the third pack. At the third pack, focus fire the Argonian Behemoth and the Telvanni Torchbearers. Pull the Conjurer into cleave and watch out for exploding banekin.
Dungeon's First Puzzle
The Totem & Wheel Puzzle is left of the third trash pack, opposite the direction to the first boss. It consists of four wheels on a platform and a small totem in the middle of a prison yard. The totem consists of four segments which correspond to the small totem stacks near the prisons.
Contrary to popular misinformation, the dungeon's first puzzle is not entirely random. The variations of the puzzle can be quickly discerned by noting the totem segments on the left side of the screen. The solutions for these puzzles are noted in the images below. Solutions are not order dependent. Moving the wheels in the order of 4,3,2,1 achieves the same result as 2,3,4,1; inputting 4,2,2,1 achieves the same result as 2,2,4,1, and 4,2 achieves the same result as 2,4.
Completing the puzzle grants Strength of the Ancestors, increasing group Weapon and Spell Damage by 300
Boss 1 - Kovan Giryon
Moveset
- Sword Strike (light attack)
- Interpose (dodge)
- Manipulate (shield/heal)
- Explosive Toxins (block/dodge)
- Lingering Toxins (dodge)
- Verge (block)
- Dash (block)
- Rift/Beam (avoid or dodge & pray; it's exactly like dodging Lokke beam)
Summons
70-65%
- Primitive Nix-Ox (center, conal aoe, circle aoes, interruptible attack)
- Primitive Kwama (charge and explode)
- Primitive Nix-Hound (poison spit)
- Iron Atronach (center, moving AOE, interruptible charge aoe, light attacks)
- Flame Salamanders (flame aura, flick)
- Fire Shalks (fire spit)
- Everyone
Strategy
Get used to the wide stack. Organize in squares or lines, not convenience blobs. If three of you are in a convenience blob, congratulations! You've just killed your fourth.
Burning the boss past 90% within the first 10s of combat will skip the first manipulation phase. DPS stack center-off-center toward entrance Rift to keep consistent burn on boss through Rift & Dash while providing a target for the large sticky AOE that persists through adds phase. Adds phase will start as early as 70% and no later than 65%. Focus the large adds and pull the spitters into center to burn; block/dodge the explosions. When the boss comes back, you have 5s to burn past 60% to skip the next Manipulation phase. Failing burn, wide stack 10m with 1 DPS and Heal on one side of the rift, and 1 DPS and Tank on the other.
Burn to 45%. DPS should again stack center-off-center Rift and burn through Rift and Dash while providing a target for the large sticky AOE that persists through adds phase. Focus the large adds and pull the spitters and salamanders into center to burn. When Kovan returns, you'll have 5s to burn to the next manipulation phase breakpoint, 30%. The math works out to 2 DPS pre-buffing their rotations immediately ahead of his return and ulting directly on Kovan when his healthbar reappears, without losing the target to movement, for a total of 121,500+ sustained DPS each for those 5 seconds, assuming he comes back at 45% health. It's not impossible, but it takes some coordination in buffs, ult casts, and RNG. Failing burn, organize yourselves for shield & heal through Manipulate. One successful strategy is a version of vDepths of Malatar cliffside line, i.e. healer DPS DPS Tank, on the entrance or exit-side block.
Burn to 20%. At 20%, adds will spawn. Focus adds without damaging the boss if possible to reduce pressure for the next mechanic. At 15%, Manipulate will happen as a scripted event. Once you're through manipulate without any adds, killing the boss is easy work.
Dungeon's Second Mobs
These trash packs are spread relatively far apart and introduce the next boss mechanics. Kill the Nix-Oxen, then the elves, then the kwama and nix-hounds. By the second pull, you'll get the idea that this next boss is a Nix fight with some nasty additions. Nix-hounds retain their spit mechanic, while kwamas continue to charge and harass. Foreshadowing the boss, the Nix-Oxen will attempt to Bisect the player in a nasty heavy attack and throw flaming AOE spit on the ground in a circle, just like Kovan's nix-oxen, but this time they'll also summon Darklight Orbs that cast Darklight Blast on the player. These must be interrupted with a bash or an Interrupt skill like Crushing Shock.
Dungeon's Secret Boss
Bal Sunnar's Secret Boss is Urvel Drath. It's a simple tank & spank fight without a hardmode, but there are two caveats. Angry Urkel summons lava pillars which will explode, meaning players should stay far enough back that they're out of harm's way, and casts a spell called Seeking Flame, which creates homing flame AOEs that players should dodge through to clear. You're welcome to kite them if you like wasted effort.
Boss 2 - Roksa the Warped
Moveset
- Pincer Slam (light attack)
- Bisect/Vicious Bite (heavy attack)
- Otherworldly Volley (Ranged AOE Spit)
- Frenzy (Melee AOE Spit, in a circle around it)
- Darklight Howl (Summons Darklight Orbs)
- Darkness Leap (periodic environment change)
- Annihilation Beam Phase ("70%", "40%")
- Darklight Orbs (interrupt them)
- Nix-Oxen (70% and onward)
- Larval Nix-Oxen (70% and onward)
Strategy
Roksa will Pincer Slam, Bisect, and Otherworldly Volley whoever has aggro. Darklight Orbs will spawn and need to be interrupted all throughout the fight. Periodically Roksa will jump from wherever it's being held to one of the three corners of the room, causing the whole room to go dark and deal environmental (Wraith) damage. To stay safe, stay in Saresea's light. Tank should always stay close to Roksa and kite Otherworldly Volley around the safe zone near Roksa while DPS damages from middle, in immediate range of all the Darklight Orbs as they spawn around the room.
When the boss ends Darkness, it will Frenzy, leaving a circle of small fire AOEs around its position. Damaging the boss to 70% during Darkness triggers frenzy and the next phase of the fight, which is the beginning of adds spawning throughout the rest of the fight. This phase is also the immediate lead up to Annihilation Beam Phase. It is a 30s period of the fight in which DPS can kill adds without the pressure of having Roksa on the stage. Killing the large Nix Ox during this phase keeps the tank safe during Annihilation beam. At every other phase, failing to kill it will interrupt Sarasea's protection for some time. During the Annihilation Beam, DPS should kite (and stack, if possible) the flame AOEs while killing the remaining Larval Nix-Oxen.
After beam phase, adds will continue to spawn. Large nix-oxen are the priority if you value Saresea's help. Dwayne the Roksa Johnson will perodically jump from wherever it's being held to one of the three corners of the room, causing the whole room to go dark and deal environmental (Wraith) damage. To stay safe, stay in Sarasea's light. When the boss ends Darkness, it will Frenzy, leaving a circle of small fire AOEs around its position. The flight flows exactly in this way down to 40%, at which time another long adds phase begins, Annihilation Beam Phase recurs, followed by execute shortly after.
Dungeon's Third Mobs
These trash packs are relatively spread out and don't do much but introduce the theme of the next boss and the Peryite's Glory slime. The only monsters you need to take seriously in these packs are Peryite's Glory.
Dungeon's Second Puzzle
The last of this dungeon's three group buffs comes from the second puzzle, a laser puzzle in the same location as the first. When you approach it, you'll see a totem in the middle, surrounded by short, flat obsidian shards, large, oblate stones, and tall, Daedric runes along the wall. Pulling the lever activates lasers from each of the runes. The rune to the player's left as you enter the room fires a laser directly at the totem. Your goal with this puzzle is to reflect the remaining lasers off the obsidian shards to burn the totem.
Contrary to popular misinformation, there are only a few variations, and it's not totally random. The variations of the puzzle can be quickly discerned by noting the unique positioning of the obsidian shards. The numbers overlayed on the shards in the images below indicate how many times that shard must be touched in order to position it correctly for that specific variation of the puzzle. To save time, one person should be responsible for quickly solving these while the rest of the group moves on to the final boss.
Pictured are the correct, final positions overlayed with the number of touches required to move the slabs into that position. Nordic bathing towel and good luck chicken optional.
Solving this puzzle grants Ancestral Resolve, which gives the group 3k extra health and 10% damage resistance. Worth the ~30 seconds needed for a single DPS to solve it and catch up to the group.
Boss 3: Matriarch Lladi Telvanni
Moveset
- Peryite's Embrace: Melee attack. Tank blocks, DPS dodges
- Plague Bomb: Thrown AOE to avoid
- Plague of Insects: A damaging rush to some point on the stage. This is a charge to avoid. The final rush is toward the center, and kicks off Choking Pestilence.
- Infectious Vomit: Massive cone AOE. Don't share this in HM.
- Choking Pestilence: Survival Prog
- Skeevers: Increasing resource drain as well as damage. Crowd control and focus fire. Biggest threat to DPS & Heals.
- Peryite's Blessed: Persistent threat to all.
- Peryite's Glory: Biggest threat to Tank.
Strategy
This is an Adds & Survival fight. The first and most important adds to manage are the skeevers. They're over-friendly, and increasingly eager for your resources and health the longer they live. Root them and kill them as they appear. The second most important adds to manage in this fight are the oozes that spawn later on, Peryite's Glory. Its Weakening Blessing will make the tank's job of surviving Peryite's Embrace nearly impossible over time. Only after managing skeevers and oozes should you focus kill Peryte's Blessed, but take advantage of every beneficial Synergy AOE during to make Peryite's Blessed cleaveable in the interim.
The real progression in this fight is the 30-second Choking Pestilence AOE, occuring at 70% and 35%, during which you're meant to manage Skeevers, Glory, and Blessed while staying alive. Tank should be the one to grab farther beneficial synergies. The critical role of DPS and Heals is to crowd control and kill adds while running a barrier and healing rotation to survive the full 30s. In a group with 2 sorcerer DPS, staggering 2 casts of Absorption Field and a barrier at ~23s, ~15s, and ~8s, respectively, has proven suitable to strategy, resulting in a tri. Once you've survived the second Choking Pestilence phase, managing adds should supersede damaging the boss.
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