Bastion Stair
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File:LS-160-Bastion Stair Art.png Bastion Stair loading graphic | |
| Location | Chaos Wastes |
| Race(s) | Chaos |
| Instance info | |
| Type | Dungeon |
| Advised level | 40 |
| Player limit | 6 |
"I saw a Stair, surrounded by pinnacles and columns and arches of blood and carven bone, circled by Daemons bound within black iron, brazen steps and hideous shrieking mouths. All that could speak or gibber vomited forth the praises of Khorne and shrieked out songs of blood and death."
The Bastion Stair
The Bastion Stair is one of the hardest dungeons currently available in Return of Reckoning. A Fortress of The Chaos Blood God Khorne, it is also the home of the cursed Rift of Rage,
This dungeon awards players the Bloodlord Set, which includes DPS-focused Weapons and Armor.
Entering the Dungeon
If your guild is level 32 or higher, you can purchase an instant Teleport Scroll from either Sigmar's Hammer or The Viper Pit.
If you're too cool for scrolls and prefer to walk, follow these instructions:
- Order: Fly to Chaos Wastes, and follow the PvE road South. Then, go east to reach 64,000 / 60,000 and the Dungeon's entrance.
- Destro: Fly to Praag, and follow the PvE road North. Head to the Tomb of Deathsword PQ in the Northeast, and follow that small road further North to the Dungeon's entrance.
Dungeon Basics
- Similar to Gunbad, Bastion Stair has three distinct wings, each filled with unique bosses to fight and defeat.
- Influence in Bastion Stair, which grants Bloodlord items, is earned only upon killing the final boss of a wing. (It is no longer given out for boss kills along each wing.)
- This means that skipping optional bosses is highly recommended for those looking to optimize their run - just don't ask for The Blood God's opinion.
- Bloodlord Weapons can only be earned via Influence. Bloodlord Armor can be found from boss kills and earned via repeatable quests.
- Thanks to a 2022 Patch that heavily reduced Influence required, you can now earn your first Bloodlord Weapon after only two full runs of the Dungeon.
Bastion Stair Quests
Be sure to take the Blue Repeatable Quests in the first room of the Fortress, as these will give you free Bloodlord Armor pieces after completing 4 runs of the dungeon.
One of these quests will also grant the Stalwart Soulstone, which is useful for 7-day BiS Talismans that slot into your Sentinel or Triumphant ring.
Wing Guides
For a list of Bastion Stair Guides, please the sections below.
Left Wing
First Boss: Borzhar Rageborn
Right Wing
Middle Wing
The Middle Wing is the final wing in Bastion Stair, and as you ascend the summit of the fortress, you'll encounter two bosses who both grant Influence.
This wing also contains a number of optional bosses, listed below.
First boss: Wrackspite (Optional)
Note: To skip this boss, simply hug the right wall and run through the room.
- Hold the boss in the middle of the room.
- If near the walls, he will enrage and hit your tank for upwards of 10,000+.
- DPS: focus down the statue adds as they come to life, and don't let them reach the boss.
- Tanks: Face the boss away from the group to protect from his cleave.
- Terror: This boss causes Terror, so healers won't be able to rez dead allies during this fight.
Wrackspite drops Bloodlord Boots.
Second Boss: Doomspike
- This boss fight will spawn an additional sub-boss, Clawfang, a Fleshhound of Khorne and a very good boy.
- The two bosses must be kept within 10% Health of each other and burned down together.
- Tank the bosses near each other to avoid taking increased damage.
This boss drops the Bloodlord Jewelry piece, which can be useful for some characters but is not part of the Bloodlord Set.
This pair of bosses must be defeated in order to progress further in the Wing.
Third Boss: Zekaraz the Bloodcaller (Optional)
- This boss has a "Bloodrage" buff that will steadily increase his damage the longer the fight continues, up to a maximum of 400%.
- Move out of the Fire AOE he drops on the ground. (This attack is called "Field of Screams" in your combat log.)
- In indents in walls you can find skulls, which, when offered on the altar in the middle of the room, appease the bloodrage, for a time. Be careful, as only three skulls can be placed, despite there being four of them.
- As of writing this, boss can be skipped by sacrificing one team member while others pass the door.
This boss drops the Bloordlord Gloves.
Fourth Boss: Kaarn the Vanquisher
Key Mechanics:
- Tank: Hold this boss on the platform you find him on. If he leaves this platform, he skin will turn to iron and he will take no damage.
- All: Make sure to avoid standing in the red puddles this boss will periodically spawn. The tank should move the boss out of these.
- Healers: You can stand further back from the boss to avoid getting hit by his AOE cleaves. Melee DPS will take damage from these.
This boss will spawn skull Totems which buff him, and these appear on the platform which has ramps leading up on the far left and right sides of the room.
You can either DPS him down and ignore these if your party is strong, or send one DPS (ideally a range DPS) to destroy them. The Range DPS can then still attack the boss from the ramp if it's pulled to a nearby corner.
This boss drops the Bloordlord Chestpiece.
This boss is considered the Final Boss of the Middle Wing, but not of the Dungeon, so note there's still one more boss to go afterward!
Final Boss: Skull Lord Var'ithrok
Skull Lord Var'ithrok is the Final Boss of the Bastion Stair, and behind him looms the Rift of Madness.
- Party Positioning:
Your party positioning is very important on this fight, so start by splitting up your DPS and Tanks into pairs. One tank and DPS stand in front of him, one tank and DPS (or just two DPS if solo tanking) stand behind him. Your healers both stand alone on the remaining two empty sides, parallel from each other.
You can see a visual example by hovering over or clicking this text.
Key Mechanics:
- This boss will give one player an "Infectious Rage" buff which looks like the Bright Wizard's "Funnel Power" skill. DO NOT ATTACK if you have this buff, or you'll kill yourself and everyone around you!
- This boss will periodically punt those in front of him and then aggro anyone else left in the circle. Those punted should simply run back into the fire circle and keep attacking. If you have a second tank, they begin tanking once the other tank goes flying.
- The boss will spawn hounds that should be pulled off the healers and can be AOE'd down by your DPS. Keep these killed to avoid them piling up as the fight continues.
This fight is actually quite simple beyond the Infectious Rage buff, so as long as you take it slow, you should have no problem.
- If you have trouble and your DPS keep dying, you can have your tank and heals run out of the fire circle and back towards the entrance ramp, and the boss will stop attacking and won't reset. You can have your DPS respawn and run back to rejoin the fight in this manner.
This boss drops the Bloordlord Helmet.
Once defeated, the Skull Lord is pulled back into the Rift, perhaps to be tormented by the Chaos gods for his failure, or perhaps to return to fight another day...
Congratulations on clearing the Bastion Stair Dungeon!
| Rubius' Editing Note |
| I've finished re-working the introduction and will stop here for now. Leaving the rest of the original page in its old format below. Will come back to condense and clean the rest of this up soon! - Rubius |
---(WIP Old Original Page below)--- Walk-Through Instructions for The Bastion Stair (Initial Edit - More will follow soon and eventually be transferred to an independent page)
Additional quest are available within the Dungeon Lobby for players to run if desired. These include but are not limited to the Bastion Stair quest available from Knight Zollner, the completion of which yields a Stalwart Stone, and the Delicate Balance quest available from Betchter Pultz, the completion of which yields the choice of one of four Bloodrage Talismans. Influence is gained while running the paths of the Bastion Stair, with the Influence Merchant located to the right of the entranceway. Sergeant Dunstan yields the Bloodlord Weapons and when a player's influence gain is complete the Bloodlord Warcoat. Additional Quest yield associated level 34 uncommon gear, or players may engage in the search for the legendary Spear of Myrmidia.
A Career Trainer and a Renown Trainer are also present in the Dungeon Lobby.
Influence rewards are gained upon reaching these levels: 17,970 for the Basic reward, 35,940 for the Advanced, and 62,820 for the Elite.
This PVE Dungeon is separated into distinct wings, the Trail of Carnage, the Path of Fury, and the Steps of Ruin.
The left portal leads to the Trail of Carnage, which in the original incarnation consisted of three Public Quest. These were entitled the Rise of Carnage, the Bloodherd Labyrinth, and the Trail of Carnage, but now consist of individual Chaos Heroes to be defeated. In order these are Borzar Rageborn, Gahlvoth Darkrage, and Azuk'Thul. The final boss in this wing is Thar'lgnan, whom when defeated drops the Bloodlord Boots and/or Gloves.
The right portal leads to the Path of Fury, originally comprised of Fury's Ascent, the Halls of Rage, and the Path of Fury. The Chaos Heroes to be defeated in this wing are Urlf Daemonblessed, Garithex the Mountain, and Chorek the Unstoppable. The final boss in this wing is Lord Slaurith, whom when defeated drops the Bloodlord Shoulders.
The middle wing leads to the Steps of Ruin, again originally comprised of the Step of Anger, the Step of Hatred, and the Brass Legion. In order the boss monsters to be defeated here are Wrackspite, Clawfand and Doomspike, and Zekaraz the Bloodcaller. The final boss to be encountered here is Kaarn the Vanquisher whom when defeated drops the Bloodlord Helmet.
Once these wings have been completed players may enter the Rift of Rage and battle Skull Lord Var'Ithrok, whom when banished drops the Bloodlord Chest and/or Helmet.
Details on these individual Chaos creatures and suggestions for defeating them will follow at some point.
A great skull beneath which is a massive cauldron from which flows what appears to be molten brass greets players as they first enter the main forum. The first landing is guarded by two Champions, a Bloodherd Gor and Skulltaker Chosen. Once these are defeated players are free to take the path of their choice.
As cited above Dungeon Bosses to defeat include Lord Slaurith, Thar'lgnan, Kaarn The Vanquisher, and Skull Lord Var'lthrok. Players of the various Warhammer Fantasy series of games will recognize the forms of many of the Bastion Stair inhabitants as transferred to the Age Of Reckoning game, to include the Bloodletters of Khorne, only known of here as Brass Bloodfiends. The final boss encountered is a Bloodthirster of Khorne, also known of as the Lord of Skulls, which can not be defeated in the normal sense of the word but only banished back into the Rift.
Background Lore: Illuminated by the shimmering light of the Rift of Rage and said to have been built through the will of the Chaos Lord of Skulls, the Bastion Stair sits as the entrance to the Outer Realm of Khorne. This horrifically and maniacally constructed fortress is a domain wherein dwell the manifestations of true nightmare, where walls stained with the blood of countless sacrifice house the minions of darkness which have plagued the Old World for ages, all serving Khorne himself. According to the Timeline For The Known World, as published in The World Guide section of Warhammer Fantasy (first publishing date 1986), the Bastion Stair was most probably built around the year 2300 (according to the Human Calendar) during the Second Incursion of Chaos into the Old World. During this time most of Norsca and the Northern Reaches were overrun by the forces of Chaos. Only an alliance between Dwarfs and Men was eventually able to turn the tide, repulse the invaders, and return the area to some semblance of its former order.
Walk Through:
Middle Wing:
Push up the stairs through the Bloodletters and then turn right at the first hall, clearing the Mobs as you go. Continue along the path until you reach a hall the walls of which are lined with skulls on spikes and occupied by a single Bloodletter of Khorne. This is Wrackspite, the first Chaos Hero to be encountered.
Wrackspite is standing on a mound of skulls and is best held there during the fight. The moment he is attacked a total of ten statues will appear, five along each wall. These will activate in a random order, one at about every ten percent damage done to Wrackspite, and begin moving toward him. Destroy these statues before they reach him. Little damage is required to accomplish this, however time is critical as they heal Wrackspite if they reach him. Continue to hold Wrackspite in the middle of the room if possible, as he tends to Enrage if allowed close to either of the Altars placed at opposite ends of the room. Account for his knock-back, intermittently utilized against one of the MDPS. Wrackspite tends to aggro one of the ranged classes following the employment of his knock-back. He also employs a Cleave, therefore it is best to have your tanks turn him away from the ranged classes.
Along the wall are small alcoves which hold a skull of the fallen. When Zekaraz begins to enrage one of these must be collected and then placed atop the primary altar in the middle of the room. This mechanic is designed to prevent Zedaraz from becoming overly enraged as he tends to be, you know, like always enraged but still running the skulls will help decrease his damage output. If Zekaraz enrages his damage tends to one-shot targets. It is suggested you wait until he reaches at least 40 percent but no more than 80 percent increased damage/rage before running the skull, as doing so also applies an Atrophy Debuff on your party, decreasing by 10 percent the overall damage your party members deal.
An effective strategy for defeating Kaarn is to have your Main-Tank pull him into the left-front corner of the platform. Holding him here more easily allows for the remainder of the party to be behind him and to avoid the bubbling Pools of Blood he spawns over time. Avoid these for the same reasons you would avoid any AOE applied by any Dungeon Boss anywhere.
Allow you tanks to gain Aggro and then attempt to build sustained damage and burn Kaarn down. However be aware aggro does drop randomly therefore your tanks need to maintain first and second aggro spot. The Aggro-meter Add-On easily allows for tracking this. Each tank must be ready to assume primary position and hold Kaarn static, thus preventing him from employing a cleave. And, like, killing everyone.
If aggro can be maintained the fight is best characterized as a DPS race.
One other aspect of this fight. Above the primary conflict area an altar will spawn which, over time, will cause Kaarn to enrage. If you combined DPS is sufficient on most occasions players do not need to be concerned with destroying this altar. Just be aware it may become a need in regard to certain group comps. Be certain to employ defensive morals as they become available.
Once Kaarn is defeated move through the portals and enter the realm of Skull Lord Var’ithrok. He is centered in a large oval area standing beneath the glowing and swirling Chaos Rift. Move your party up and around him, deployed as follows.
One healer to each side of Var'ithrok, aligned even with his feet. Two pairs comprised of one tank and one dps positioned front and back of Var'ithrok. Upon command of the party leader all move within the ring of fire and engage.
Var'ithrok will occasionally super-punt one pair of attackers half way to Thunder Mountain and then shift aggro. When this occurs the remaining pair must therefore be ready to assume primary tank duties just as when fighting Kaarn the Vanquisher. In addition Var'ithrok will occasionally employ the Bloodwarth Debuff (there is an obvious joke here, however I won't make it). The Debuff appears in the form of a funnel attack/power if you are using the Buffhead Add-on. When you see this stop attacking Var'ithrok.
If your party is correctly identifying when to halt the DPS cycle and holding aggro on tanks between punts, Var'ithrok can be simply brought down over time. When he is defeated he will become entangled within the Winds of Chaos and vanish into the Rift.
Walk Through:
Right Wing: (Right Wing Walk Through will be posted tomorrow. Right now I feel like going in game and killing stuff.)
