Vertus Introduction
Vertus is the last Raid Level 1 Guardian and you need to be at least 420 Item Level to enter this Guardian Raid. This Guardian drops Tier 1 Accessories, Upgrade Materials and Ability Stones as well as rare drops including Runes, Engraving Books and Cards. It takes 10% more damage from Lightning Element skills.
Vertus has a combination of fast hard CC attacks and slow high damage attacks that can be very deadly. This fight has 3 different phases with phase 1 beginning when the Guardian is encountered, the transition to phase 2 happens shortly after the encounter begins or immediately after escaping to a new area. Vertus can also switch to phase 2 if you Stagger the Guardian while it is still in Phase 1. During the enraged Phase, Vertus glows red and deals increased damage. Phase 3 starts once the HP of the guardian drops below 25%, during this Phase the Guardian can't be Staggered. In addition to that, Vertus attacks faster and deals more damage.
If you Stagger Vertus by depleting the hidden stagger bar during the enraged state, you have the chance to cut its tail using skills or Combat Items with a Weak Point attribute. Cutting the tail is not recommended. Without the tail, Vertus changes into Phase 3 immediately and most of its tail-related attacks are removed from the Guardian's attack pool. This causes the Guardian to do the annoying and deadly breath/jump attacks more frequently. Cut the tail only if you want to unlock an achievement.
This Guardian guide assumes you know the basics of a Guardian Raid. Check out the General Guardian Raid Guide to learn more.
Special Interactions & Patterns
Counterable Charge
Counter attack is possible during the Charge attack pattern. At the start of this attack animation, the Guardian glows blue. The player has a short window to cast a skill with a Counter Attack affix while standing in front of the Guardian. If you manage to pull this off fast enough, the Guardian's attack will be interrupted and staggered for a few seconds. This gives you and your team a short window to use buffs and deal additional damage.
Be aware of the fact that the Guardian can hit everyone on its path multiple times. This skill can easily kill a player if you get hit multiple times, don't get caught between the Guardian and a wall.
Enrage (Phase 2)
As mentioned in the Guardian introduction, Vertus can change to Phase 2 a few minutes after the first encounter, once you Stagger the Guardian in Phase 1 or after escaping to a new area. The enrage state amplifies and modifies some of the Guardian's skills.
Staggering the Guardian in an enraged state gives the players a short window to cut the tail of the Guardian by using skills and Combat Items with a Weak Point affix. But once again this is not recommended due to the fact that the difficulty of the fight increases if the tail is cut.
Grab
The Guardian attempts to grab a player, the grab can be avoided if you react fast enough. Once a player gets grabbed, the fun begins. Vertus slams the player on the ground 3 times, then drags them away before tossing them into the air and unleashing a devastating breath attack. This attack one shots most squishy classes.
The remaining 3 players can prevent this from happening if they use Stagger related skills or Battle Items to free the grabbed player before Vertus uses the breath attack.
General Patterns
Backwards Jump
Vertus jumps backwards. This attack deals low damage and knocks up players on hit. The Guardian can combo it with any other attacks afterwards which increases the chance of you getting hit. Make sure to follow Vertus and close the gap between you and the Guardian as fast as possible.
Forwards Jump
This attack deals slightly higher damage than the Backwards Jump and also knocks up every player around the impact area.
Swipe
Vertus swipes up to 2 times which causes stagger and slightly knocks back the player on hit.
Tail Swipe
The Guardian slightly bends its tail and swings it towards a player on the side. If hit, the player is stunned and exposed to any follow up attacks. While Vertus is on the 3rd phase, there is a high probability that a Counterable Charge attack will follow after the tail swipe.
Spin
The Guardian tilts with its entire body to one side before he does the 360° spin attack. Players hit by this attack are knocked up. This attack is easily dodged once you understand the attack animation.
Tail Slam
Vertus slams its tail 3 times on the ground which knocks up everyone around the impact area up to 3 times in a row.
Ice Orb
Vertus shoots an ice orb towards a player which deals low damage and applies slow debuff on hit.
In phase 3, Vertus shoots 3 ice orbs at the same time. It is possible to get hit by all 3 orbs if you are too close to the Guardian.
Icy Breath
This attack has 2 stages. During the first stage, the Guardian breathes in and pulls everyone in front towards its mouth. Once Vertus collects enough air, it releases it during the follow up breath attack dealing high damage and knocking back everyone on hit. Between the breaths, there is a small delay which can be used to dodge to the side to avoid getting hit by the 2nd breath.
Freezing Ground
The Guardian lifts its front foot for a short duration then slams it on the ground. This spawns red circles at random locations which explode after a few seconds and freeze everyone standing in them. This attack deals low damage but any follow up attack of the guardian can't be avoided due to the freeze debuff.
Dive and Breach
Vertus dives into the frozen lake and starts to chase a player for a few seconds from underneath the ice. The Guardian finishes this attack by breaking through the ice from below, dealing high damage and knocking up everyone on hit at the breach point. It is recommended to group up as soon as the Guardian dives below the surface and run towards the same direction to prevent getting hit by the breach attack.
To figure out which player the Guardian will chase down, pay very close attention to the Guardian's movement before it dives into the frozen lake. The Guardian turns towards the chosen player shortly before the attack animation starts.
Gameplay Video
Credits
Written by Perciculum
Reviewed by Facefoot