Asphodelos: The Fourth Circle

The fourth and final encounter of the Asphodelos raid tier. Hesperos, the keyward who has become a hemitheos (an amalgamation of mythic beast and man), guards the secrets of Pandaemonium.

Hesperos

A theatrical fight featuring elemental stage mechanics where the boss sets different “scenes” that determine upcoming attacks. The arena is surrounded by deadly spikes.

Key Mechanics

Mechanic	Type	Description
Elegant Evisceration	Tankbuster	Heavy tankbuster with red arrow indicator - tank must use cooldowns
Decollation	Raidwide	Party-wide magic damage - shield and heal
Setting the Stage	AoE	Curtains drop on arena quadrants, then reveal elemental zones for the next attack
Pinax	AoE	Triggers the revealed elemental quadrants with various effects
Bloodrake	Raidwide	Drains HP from all players
Shifting Strike	Knockback	Boss dashes and knocks back - position to avoid spike walls
Director’s Belone	Spread	Places AoE markers on players - spread to avoid overlapping
Inversive Chlamys	AoE	Cape attack that hits areas around the boss

Setting the Stage (Elemental Quadrants)

The signature mechanic of this fight:

1. Curtains drop on one, three, or four arena quadrants

2. Curtains glow red then disappear, revealing the element:

   • Fire - Large explosion in that quadrant
   • Water - Knockback from that quadrant
   • Lightning - AoEs spread across that quadrant
   • Poison - Leaves damaging puddles

3. Watch the reveals and position in safe quadrants before Pinax resolves

Pinax Combinations

Hesperos often combines multiple quadrant effects:

• Single quadrant: Simply avoid that area
• Multiple quadrants: Find the one safe zone
• With knockback: Position so knockback pushes you to safety, not into spikes

Tips

• The arena border spikes instantly kill - never get knocked into them
• For Elegant Evisceration, watch for the red arrow indicator on tank
• Track which quadrants are revealed during Setting the Stage
• Position for knockbacks to push you toward center, not edges
• Stay mobile and ready to adjust based on elemental reveals
• Healers watch for Bloodrake into Decollation combinations