Introduction
Inferno is the final difficulty level for all 
Legion Raids in Lost Ark. Item level 1445 is required to attempt Valtan at this difficulty. And while most people will try to attempt this brutally difficult challenge, only the toughest and most resilient players will dare to complete it! This raid rewards you with a prestigious title and a stronghold statue of Valtan himself. Inferno difficulties don't have an entry limit, letting you enjoy the suffering for as long and as much as you like! Will you try?
For a detailed description of all patterns not mentioned in this guide, visit the Valtan Phase 1& Valtan Phase 2 Guide.
Recommended Battle Items
Gate 1 DPS
- Elemental HP Potion
- Sacred Charm
- Dark Grenade
- Atropine Potion
Gate 1 Support
- Elemental HP Potion
- Sacred Charm
- Dark Grenade or Whirlwind Grenade
- Luterra's Horn or Stimulant
Gate 2 DPS
- Elemental HP Potion
- Destruction Bomb
- Dark Grenade or Flame Grenade
- Time Stop Potion
Gate 2 Support
- Elemental HP Potion
- Destruction Bomb or Corrosive Bomb
- Dark Grenade or Flame Grenade
- Time Stop Potion
Book of Coordination
The Book of Coordination is utilized to setup and freely customize your characters for Inferno difficulty to your liking. Access it through the Game Menu or by pressing ALT+Z. It provides you with the all necessary things such as:
- 11x level 8 Gems.
- 5x level 3 Engravings.
- 18x max level Skill Trees.
- All Skill Runes.
- Full Legion gear set.
- 404 Skill Points.
- 2200 Combat Stats.
Main Patterns
Gate 1
Orb Phase
The Orb Phase starts at x30 and x15 HP. For this particular pattern, you need to assign a number(yellow) to each of the 8 players before the fight starts, so that they can go to the positions(blue) shown below at the start of this pattern. Once the pattern starts, a blue or a red orb spawns from each of the portals and starts chasing the closest player. The players need to consume the orbs in the recommended order shown below.
Rotate properly, consume the Orbs in the correct order and stagger the boss on time. If you succeed, you can save the Thirian Sidereal Skill for the Invader mechanic later on and deal high damage to both wolf bosses, reducing the time they are split on the field.
Invader
This pattern happens twice. The first time at x40 HP, where the Blue Wolf is the invader, and the second time at x25 HP, where the Red Wolf is the invader. To succeed this mechanic, you need to kill the invader.
At the start of this pattern, 4 randomly chosen players get a golden orb buff icon above their HP bar. The invader targets 1 random player out of these 4. The other wolf targets one random player without the golden orb buff icon. A blue or red crosshair above the head indicates the targeted player.
If both wolves are too close to each other, they get a defense buff. To prevent that, try to move the invading wolf to the bottom side and the other one to the top side of the battlefield. This can be easily achieved if everyone with the golden orb buff moves to the bottom side and everyone without it to the top side of the battlefield. While one group tries to kill the invader, the remaining players should use this opportunity to deal as much damage as possible to the other wolf.
Inferno: Sidereal Thirain is utilized during this mechanic to quickly dispose of the invader and get past the Mist phase instantaneously. To accomplish this, people with blue and red boss markers need to align the wolves in a straight line so that Thirain may hit both of them at the same time. As a raid leader, position yourself a few steps away from the closest wolf near you to guarantee Thirain landing. Aim it so it hits both wolves.
Fear
The Purple Wolf fears the farthest away player and teleports behind him after a short delay. The remaining players need to rush towards the location and prevent the boss from killing the affected player by dealing enough Stagger Damage.
Inferno: Assign a tanky member to be a decoy and bait the fear onto him by staying far away from the group. Look outwards of the arena to create a good opportunity for back attackers when the boss pounces on you. Alternatively, let supports shield the person who gets feared to prevent lethal damage.
For a detailed description of all patterns, visit the Valtan Phase 1 Guide.
Gate 2
Armor Break Phase
Valtan starts the fight with 2 armor stacks, which needs to be broken before he reaches x130 HP and starts the Wipe Pattern. To break his armor, the raid needs to deal a certain amount of Weak Point Damage. After you force Valtan to charge into a wall, which incapacitates him for a brief moment, you can use Combat Items and skills with Weak Point Damage affix to destroy his armor. The charge animation is easy to predict, Valtan targets a random player and stomps 3 times with his fist on the ground before charging towards his target.
To be more efficient, I recommend that one player throws a Corrosive Bomb as soon as Valtan starts the charging animation. The other 7 players should wait until Valtan is incapacitated, to throw a Destruction Bomb at him.
Assign players to specific towers, so they can pick up the orbs without confusion when they drop. Below, you can see an overview of the attack pattern of Valtan during the Armor Break Phase. In general, you should try to destroy the 4 towers highlighted in the picture below with the help of Valtan. This is needed to create more space for the x8 Anchor pattern and is an important element for the Wipe Pattern at x130 HP. There is no particular order to destroy the towers, but I will guide you through the process by using the order shown below.
- Right at the start of the battle, move and group up in front of the entrance. Valtan will perform a Stationary Spin and create puddles beneath everyone. Dodge them and move to tower number 1. Valtan will Charge after a short delay towards the tower, destroys it and gets incapacitated. If you follow the above-mentioned instruction to destroy the armor properly, his first layer of armor should break before he recovers.
- As soon as he starts to recover, group up at tower 2 and wait for him to perform the Jump & Spin pattern and dodge away. This should destroy the tower 2.
- There is no time to rest, since Valtan will follow up immediately with his 2nd Charge, for which everyone needs to group up in front of tower 3. Once he charges and destroys the tower, he will be incapacitated again. Use this opportunity to deal as much Weak Point Damage as possible. If you've destroyed 3 towers and picked up 4-5 orbs up until now, the raid leader will have enough gauge to cast either Sidereal:Thirain or Wei during Valtan's Triple Axe Swing.
- As soon as he recovers, he will use the Triple Axe Swing pattern followed by the Anchor pattern. For the Triple Axe Swing pattern, only stay close to Valtan if your Paladin or Gunlancer are capable of dispelling the movement speed debuff. Complete the anchor pattern by running counter-clockwise with your preassigned partner. A final anchor will surround the outer edge completely, wait for it to explode and dash to safety immediately afterwards. If you fail to do so, use a Time Stop Potion otherwise you're dead.
- At the end of the 8x Anchor pattern, Valtan will land back in the center of the arena and start to prepare for his 3rd Charge attack, for which everyone needs to group up at tower 4. Avoid getting near or attacking Valtan as it may interrupt his Charge attack. If you follow the above-mentioned instruction to destroy the armor properly, his second and last layer of armor should break before he recovers. From that point on, simply deal damage to reach x130 HP to trigger the next main pattern.
8x Anchors
This pattern only occurs during the Armor Break Phase. Dodge 8x Anchors and dash to the outer edge into safety.
Inferno: Setup groups of 2 players based on similar movement speed and divide them between 1, 5, 7 and 11 o'clock locations. Rush to your assigned positions when anchors are about to spawn, start walking counter-clockwise with your partner while trying to keep a similar speed, so you don't trip on each other's anchors. Don't go too fast, or you'll run into the group ahead of you. A final anchor will surround the outer edge, wait for it to explode and dash to safety immediately afterwards. If you fail to do so, use a Time Stop Potion otherwise you're dead.
Wipe Pattern
Once Valtan reaches x130 HP, he starts to prepare a combo attack consisting of 2 axe strikes towards the ground. The 2nd strike can one shot players if they don't fulfil certain requirements. To survive this pattern:
The blue orbs collected during the Armor Break Phase protect you from the 2nd strike of this pattern. But be aware to not get hit by the first strike, since it removes the protection of the blue orb on hit. The benefit of choosing this method is, that you can use Sidereal: Thirain or Wei instead of Balthorr to deal additional damage, as dps requirements might be tough to reach otherwise.
Pillar Hug
Inferno: A third cone attack is placed on a random player right after the second expires, so be prepared to dodge quickly.
x65 Counter Attack
Inferno: The charge attack can happen anywhere within 1-4 seconds after his turn animation stops, therefore it's not possible to apply Hard Mode tactics of counting down or waiting for the grunt sound.
After the stomp, group up immediately near the wall on the side of the platform that is not broken. He will turn towards the group and prepare a charge and grab attack. As soon as his turn animation stops, move slightly upwards(counter downwards) if you're on the left side of the platform, and move downwards(counter upwards) if on the right side. Counter reactively whenever you see Valtan charging forward, as he hits the wall he will turn towards the group while still remaining in a counterable state, making it easy to succeed.
Ghost Phase
Valtan starts the Ghost Phase with 8 armor stacks on Inferno Mode. To deal normal damage to him, you need to remove all the stacks by successfully countering the Ghost Clone Counter pattern.
Use the first Sidereal: Thirian at x5 armor stacks right before a Ghost Clone is about to be countered, if performed correctly this will refill extra Sidereal gauge and give you a chance to lower the armor stacks to x4 at the same time as Thirain is landing his attack. If no other Ghost Clones are missed, you will fill enough gauge in time to cast a second Sidereal: Thirian by the end of the fight.
General Patterns
Stationary Spin
Inferno: A quick circle shaped telegraph around Valtan indicates that he will start spinning in place. Players should move to cardinal positions and wait for a green puddle to spawn under their feet, then dodge to either side and avoid the explosion that follows.
Triple Axe Swing
Inferno: While the attack pattern has remained the same, getting hit by the final swing now inflicts a massive movement speed debuff for 20 seconds. Avoid it by going close to the boss on the axe slam, then dodge outwards and back inside. Alternatively, the movement debuff can be dispelled by Paladin, Gunlancer, Sacred Charm or a Purify rune and therefore is not worth dodging within a coordinated team.
Enhanced Axe Strike
Valtan Roars, holds his axe on one hand and prepares for a forward swing attack. Pay attention to the axe. If the axe has a lightning effect, stay away from the impact area. If it doesn't, stand in front of the boss.
Inferno: Same pattern, but the indicator for the dangerous area won't be visible.
3x Anchors
After throwing 3 projectiles, the boss returns to the ground, dealing damage in a small impact area followed by a huge shockwave, which can be deadly if you are too close to a ledge. Avoid the shockwave by dodging to the area of initial impact.
Inferno: 8 different clockwise positions can be assigned for all party members. When Valtan jumps in the air, quickly run to your assigned spot on the outer edge of the arena and move slowly inwards to the center. Meet up there with your team and get ready to dodge Valtan's slam. The safe area around the boss's impact location will contain green puddles, so step carefully.
Portal Charge
Inferno: While the mechanic is identical to the other modes, beware that getting hit by a single portal charge will instantly kill you from full life. This can be prevented by obtaining damage reduction from a support or using a Time Stop Potion when in an unavoidable situation.
Counter & Silence
Inferno: Valtan sends out a small shockwave around him and prepares for an attack while holding his axe in his right hand slightly behind him. Shortly before he unleashes the attack, a Counter Attack opportunity appears to interrupt it. This will be repeated 4 additional times. If you fail to interrupt any of the 5 counter attacks, the raid wipes.
Upon a successful counter, the boss silences the player who did it and everyone close to him. So make sure to assign 5 people before the battle, each of who will attempt to interrupt one strike at a time. Assign the players based on their counter speed, since Valtan reduces the reaction time needed with each successful counter.
If that wasn't already enough, after the first strike or successful counter, orbs will spawn under your feet, which on contact create 2 circular shockwaves around you that explode in frequent intervals. If triggered too close to Valtan, it can prevent the player close to Valtan from countering. So if you are not assigned to counter or if it is not your turn yet, stay far away from the boss.
To complete this mechanic, have the first and second player to counter stay at the boss while the rest run far away and stack on top of each other without moving. This will spawn all the orbs in one place and create an overlapping shockwave away from the boss. The player who successfully counters needs to quickly run to a position away from the boss and the other members. Creating a new location for people to stack on top who have already countered. After each successful counter, the preassigned person in line can carefully leave the stack without getting hit by the shockwave and move towards the boss to counter himself. Repeat this 5 times and you're done!
4 Orbs
Valtan summons 1 orb at each cardinal direction, which send out shockwaves in frequent intervals. The players need to split and consume the orbs as fast as possible. At the same time, Valtan starts doing a counterable Charge attack. Make sure to have at least 1 player close to the boss, who tries to interrupt the Charge with a Counter Attack skill. After a few seconds, every unconsumed Orb explodes and deals high damage in a huge area.
Inferno: This orb mechanic occurs twice in a row. To complete it, have Group 1 pickup the 4 orbs based on their party number. For example, Player1 - North, Player2 - East, Player3 - South and Player4 - West. While members of Group 2 stay close to the boss and counter it. For the second round, reverse the roles: Group 2 picks up orbs while Group 1 counters. A Time Stop Potion can be used during the second rotation if things don't go as planned and orbs are not consumed in time.
Be aware, the players who consume an orb will take increased damage for a short period of time.
Ghost Clone Charge
In frequent intervals, multiple pairs of portals spawn at the edge of the arena. After a short delay, a ghost clone of Valtan will charge from one portal to another while pushing down everyone on their path. So be especially careful, if you fight close to the ledge.
Inferno: Three ghost clones appear simultaneously, creating three safe locations on the outer edges in the process. This pattern also appears more frequently compared to other difficulties. Make sure to remember the cardinal positions for the Stationary Spin, as it still creates puddles in the ghost phase and paired with a Ghost Clone Charge can cause a lot of trouble.
For a detailed description of all patterns, visit the Valtan Phase 2 Guide.
Summary
- Item level 1445 is required to enter Valtan Inferno difficulty.
- Utilize the Book of Coordination to setup and customize your character.
- Inferno difficulty can be completed an unlimited amount of times per week.
- Inferno difficulty hides the HP of the boss.
- Avoiding even the most basic boss patterns is crucial for surviving.
- Assign positions and roles before starting the fight.
- Complete the raid to obtain the title and the stronghold structure of Valtan.
Good luck, you'll need it!
Credits
Written by Choilicious