Thank you for this. I wasn't a runner but I know there were plenty of wipes because someone couldn't find all the shadow priests on their route. We finally got through it in normal mode, but it was too late and we just couldnt get past the first boss in vet mode. Any help is appreciated. I'm sure we're missing something on the mechanics in vet mode. I know there are a lot of trial groups trying very hard to be the first ones to get on the leaderboard.

Rebeccas04nub18_ESO wrote: »

I'm sure we're missing something on the mechanics in vet mode.

The first boss mechanics on vet are the same as they are on normal, only they are much more punishing, so mechanics that you can fudge through (or even bypass) on normal must now be respected on vet.

1. The cleansing pads refresh a lot less frequently on vet, and the snare from the curse is stronger, so the curse-spreading mechanic is much less forgiving on vet. When the curse goes out, the recipient will have a red AoE at their feet for one second; anyone else in that AoE will also get the curse. Don't stack too close together, or your neighbor will get the curse when you do. If you do get the curse, wait for that AoE to dissipate before running to cleanse so you don't infect your neighbor by running past them with that AoE.
2. With enough DPS, it's possible to kill the boss on normal without ever encountering the hide-behind-the-pillars mechanic. Quick reaction is necessary, and so is careful positioning: pillars spawn at the player locations, so the more spread out you are, the farther away those pillars will spawn, and the farther you'll have to run to get to one.
3. The cats that spawn on vet hurt a lot more than the cats on normal. Felicide should be a priority when they spawn.
4. The shield phase is a joke on normal, but is much more punishing on vet. The damage bursts land on each player as an AoE. If two players are so close together that they're standing inside each other's AoE, they'll take the damage from both AoEs. So don't stack too close (you already shouldn't be stacked too close, for point #1). Spam healing springs. Drop damage ultimates to take down that shield ASAP. Drop AoE mitigation like a Nova. Don't bother with Warhorn since shields are uncrittable.
5. The whole fight is a DPS race, since the pillar phases will come closer and closer until you reach the point that you're getting pillar phases faster than pillars spawn, at which point, you wipe. Must maintain DPS despite all the mechanics. Be good about rezzing.

The key to the first boss is positioning. You want your group packed close enough that the healers can capture everyone in their healing springs and so that the pillars spawn close to the group. But you want people spread out enough that you don't run afoul of the problems in points #1 and #4. It's a delicate balance, with limited room for error.

Having done the first boss a few times on vet, for point 3. Try and chain the cats in, the AOE them down.
We assign 4 players to each of the 2 rune locations, the tank will always need access to 1 so 1 team is a little short but can manage.
Obviously healers have priority as usual too but are really only needed during the shield phase, the rest of the time they should output as much dps as possible.
It is a dps race, as you near the end and the explosions get faster and less pillars just have 1 person calling it out to avoid too much confusion.
We're on the second boss now, any tips/tactics would be great..
Good luck, and keep at it, it's tough but also a lot of fun.

Holy thread necro! This was from a year ago.

Anyway, this is the map that you should use:


Red dots: Left pads
Green dots: Middle pads
Blue dots: Right pads

Pink lines: Optimal path for left runner
Teal lines: Optimal path for right runner
Yellow lines: Alternate shortcut paths that can be taken if one of the sides finishes early.

The pad positions (dots) are always the same. There are always 2 shadow callers per side, at random locations (different every time), for a total of 6. Once you have revealed and killed the two on a particular side, there will be no more on that side. You should only use two runners. The middle pads are divided between the left and right runners.

NinthPrince64 wrote: »

@code65536 Okay, sounds good. Just to be clear, I will never have to double back. In other words, if I run my route correctly, I will never get to the end without having killed all the bad guys. Is that correct?

That's correct. If you follow a path that takes you through every pad, you will never miss one. Once you check a pad, the brazier at that pad will extinguish and you will never have to check that pad again for that particular running session.

But now and then, you will get lucky and get the two on a particular side early in the run. In that case, you can skip the rest of the pads on that side and move onto the next side. The map I posted above indicates which pads belong to which of the three sides. So, for example, if the first two right pads (blue dots) you check contained void callers, then there will be no point in checking any of the remaining right pads (the braziers will also extinguish automatically to indicate this) and you can make a beeline for the center pads (green dots).

Another option