For every dungeon you encounter during your journey to the level cap, there is a second, more difficult, version for players at level 50. These dungeons are called “Expert” Dungeons. Ten in all, they are divided into two tiers; the first tier is aimed at players who have just recently hit level 50 and the second tier is geared towards those who have spent time in Tier 1 Expert Dungeons.

For the purpose of this guide, Charmer’s Caldera is considered a Tier 2 Expert Dungeon. General requirements for all Tier 2 dungeons include a Tank with at least 100 Toughness, DPS minded players must have either 100 Hit or Focus, a credible healer and an off-healer. The Tank can be a Warrior, Rogue or Cleric if properly geared, however Cleric Tanks will have the hardest time of all three. Healers will consist of Clerics mostly where your best off healer will be a Chlormancer. This does not mean you will not be able to use a Bard or Justicar as an off-healer or a Chloromancer as a main healer.

All expert dungeons offer new challenges, more bosses and sometimes additional areas to explore. In Charmer’s Caldera you will find two additional bosses, and an extended dungeon path. This guide will go over each boss fight and what to expect during each encounter.

For a full list of Tier 2 Dungeon Gear please use this link.

Smouldaron

Smouldaron doesn’t take much in order to defeat him. There are only two mechanics you have to worry about outside him cleaving and other normal attacks. The first is that he will summon adds periodically, though they aren’t too tough. The second mechanic is a bomb he places on the ground at the feet of a random target. You can make them out by giant red pulsing rings. The circle of the bomb will start off small and expand twice to cover a large area.

The trick is to slowly kite Smouldaron around in a circle and have everyone trail behind him. This will allow the tank to constantly be moving away from the bombs that are placed on the ground. You will always be able to predict where the bomb will be placed because everyone is stacked in the same spot.

Cyclorax

This fight is quite difficult, especially for melee characters. There is a lot of movement and general awareness that is required by every player in the game.

Note: Before we go into the strategy, everyone should enter the room before engaging Cyclorax since there will be a forcefield preventing anyone from entering once the fight begins.

Cyclorax has a few moves that you need to be aware of. He has a “wrath” type ability that you will be warned about. It’s essentially a large radius AOE attack. Everyone will have to run away from him to avoid it. It will typically one shot anyone but the tank.

Cyclorax will also shoot out spears that do damage and small little energy pods on the ground that will snare players if they are hit. The snaring can be quite deadly, and here’s why.

Throughout the fight, laser will begin sweeping across the room. The pattern is the same each time as it sweeps first across the room and then back. Here is the pattern:

A player will have to manuever through the lasers and they sweep across and back through the room. This is why it’s best to avoid the smaller little mines that get tossed out into the room.

If you can survive all the movement, then the fight should be won.

Ryka Dharvos

This fight is much like Smouldaron is many ways. Ryka will summon adds that you will need the tank to pick up and dps to kill. She will also drop ground based damage/snare effects on a random party member that you will have to avoid. She also cleaves.

The strategy is quite simple, stay out of the bad ground effects and kill the adds as they pop up. Kill Ryka and win.

Oh yeah there is a laser to. Stay away from that.

Gronik

Gronik is a simpler fight where he comes with two adds and is a bit of a dps race. There are two strategies to this. You can kill Gronik first and then the two adds, or kill the adds then Gronik; we would suggest Gronik first.

There are two mechanics you have to be aware of. The adds will put an effect on one player that acts as a pulsing PBAOE Stun where that player will have to run out of the way of other people. The second mechanic is Gronik will gain a stacking buff on him over time that will increase his damage. So the fight becomes a bit of a DPS race depending on how well geared your group is.

Outside of those two mechanics the fight is quite simple. Just avoid getting stunned and heal through all the damage.

If you look at point 7 on the map above you will see a pathway, this is an uphill section leading to the next boss, Jultharin. Once you clear halfway up this hill a bluish air elemental will spawn behind you. Keep your head on a swivel and watch out for this pathing add.

Jultharin

This is a DPS race all the way. Jultharin has no special attacks that you must be aware of, however the fight takes place on a long narrow cliff. Once the fight starts two balls of light with a laser in between will slowly move across the ground and force everyone towards the edge of the cliff. You will have to kill Jultharin before you get pushed off the edge. You can not jump over the lasers or avoid them.

Caelia the Stormtouched

This fight can be extremely frustrating depending on how good your computer is. There are certain effects that either are bugged in game or don’t show up on your monitor. We will point out when this happens.

This fight requires AOE so make sure your dps has a spec that does this well. The fight starts off easily with a tank and spank phase. Caelia will randomly put a short range damaging aura on a random player, but it can be purged. It can also be applied to pets. The best way to help your healers out is to convert the group to a raid and click on the option to show pets since the typical party UI is horrid. They will be able to see the debuff icon more cleared.

Since this is a timed event, Caelia will then go immune and summon adds. All players must run and stack up on Caelia at this point to prevent the adds from charging and stunning players. You must AOE all these adds down before the next phase.

After the adds are dead, Caelia will then face one direction and shoot out lightning and then slowly rotate around clockwise. You will need to be directly behind Caelia the whole time. If you are not you will be killed instantly.

The easiest way to avoid getting hit is to stand directly on top of Caelia right before this phase. Once you see the lightning shoot out run through her so you are standing on the opposite side of the lightning field. This is where the graphics can glitch out so make sure you are aware of which direction she is facing.

After the rotating lightning field phase, Caelia will grip everyone and lift them off the ground and throw them back. Make sure your back is to the wall or you will get thrown off the cliff to your death.

This is the whole fight and you will most likely have to repeat that cycle 3-5 times before she dies.

Deep in the southern reaches of the Shimmersand Desert lies Charmer’s Caldera. Centuries ago it was the center of Ethian glory, a factory dedicated to the creation of machines. Long ago it was destroy and forgotten by many, but not all. The Storm Legion seeks to reclaim and dominate this ancient factory to take control of it’s power so that they can bring any planar creatures into the realm of Telara.

High above the peaks of the southern mountains is a volcano in which aids the old Ethian machines. Brave adventurers must be able to defeat Fire and Air elementals in order to get to Caelia the Stormtouched and help defeat this terror to Telara.

Quest Information

Charmer’s Caldera
Quest Giver: Automatic
Location: Dungeon Entrance
Objective: Kill all four bosses inside Charmer’s Caldera; Smouldaron, Cyclorax, Ryka Dharvos and Caelia the Stormtouched

With the fabled city of gold’s discovery, the Storm Legion threatens to unleash a power not seen since the destruction of the Empire. The demons and cultists must be destroyed before the power within is reactivated.

Evil’s Root (G), All That Glitters (D)
Quest Giver: Tam Daggerborne (G), Sylver Valis (D)
Location: Dungeon Entrance
Objective: Use Ethian Cores 0/5

The Storm Legion wants to reclaim this ancient Ethian factory. With its power, they can bring any planar creature into our realm and dominate it. With your help, we an disable their machinery and stop this vile plot.

Defiant Quest Rewards
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Guardian Quest Rewards
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In Death We Part
Quest Giver: Reesha Ahnar
Location: Inside Instance, See Map, Point 6
Objective: Use Reesha’s Remains while affected by Reesha’s Burden

Please, have mercy. My husband, Durak, refuses to release my soul so that I can move on. You are on Ascended, so my soul could ride in your body for a brief time. If you can carry me to my remains, I can purge them from this realm.

Charmer’s Caldera: Hot and Sweaty

Click on the map to see a larger image.

Bind on Pickup Loot Table
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Charm This!

Charmer’s Caldera is a level 50 instance that should be used for max level characters to gear up in order to attempt Tier 1 Expert Dungeons. Both this dungeon and Abyssal Precipice serve this function. A typical group makeup will be able to clear this dungeon, there are one or two tough pulls, but over all if you’ve completed all the dungeons to this point and have level appropriate green and blue items you should have no problem with this zone. Charmer’s Caldera is located in the southern portion of Shimmersand. There is one point that should be mentioned before getting into the dungeon itself. Outside there are a number of elite Fire Elemental NPCs that guard the valley leading to the instance. It is possible to avoid them however there other non-elites that you might engage that will end up pulling them.

There are three quests associated with this instance. The first is, as usual, the autoquest that asks you to defeat all four bosses. The second, Evil’s Root (G) or All That Glitters (D), is given by an NPC at the beginning of the instance. This quest asks you to use five different Ethian Cores which we’ll go over shortly. The third quest, In Death We Part, is given by an NPC near the third boss. It’s an interesting script and fight that might take some time to figure out, but we’ll give you the strategy next.

If you look above, we show a picture of what an Ethian Core looks like, and you can see where they are located on the map above. You must fiddle with five of these in order to complete the quest. In order to activate them you will have to play a little game. After activating the core via the lever in front of it, you will see the floating spheres start to light up. The trigger range is very short so you have to be right on top of them to click. The period in which they light up is very short so it will take a few tries so you can memorize the order and move appropriately closer to them. The first one is easy with three spheres to activate; later cores have up to five different spheres and the switch quickly. If you have enough patience you will succeed quickly.

After defeating the third boss you will see a Quest NPC on your minimap. The questgiver will ask you to release her soul by using the vessel her remains are kept in. The picture above is the item you need to activate. However if you notice it is being guarded by Durak. You will need to defeat him or keep him distracted long enough to complete this quest.

Durak has two phases, pre and post activation of the vessel. Pre-activation he’s pretty tough. He does an AOE knockback and stuns targets for 15 seconds. It will almost be impossible for you to defeat him, or it will take way too long. In order to defeat him, you will need to make sure you have Reesha’s Burden which is gained by clicking on the item (seen to the left) that is next to the quest NPC. This will prevent you from being knocked back. Have the tank fight Durak in the corner of the room while another member of the group runs up to the vessel and activates it.

All during this phase three bug or beetle like mobs will be summoned that you will have to contend with. They are low hitpoint mobs that die quite easily, but they do interrupt you if you are activating the vessel.

When Durak enters the post-activation phase once you activate the vessel. He will stop combat, reset, and the come after the nearest player. He will have significantly less hitpoints now, but he will hit harder. It’s a standard tank and spank fight. One you are victorious you can run back to the quest NPC and claim your prize.

The quests are a fantastic source of blue reward items that will significantly aid you in gearing up for T1 Expert Dungeons. Make sure you complete all of them.

Time for Adventure!

Charmer’s Caldera is a simple dungeon. There are no off-shoots or places you can make a wrong turn. You will see an assortment of different types of mobs. Fire based ones up to the second boss, air elementals up to the second boss. Serpents and birds up to the third boss. The fourth boss is immediately after the third.

Upon entering the dungeon you will immediately see the faction based quest NPC. Pick up the quest and get ready for your first pull. There are no surprises in any of the trash mobs. There are some wandering larger Fire Elementals that are tougher than standard elite mobs. Make sure you pull them separately from other trash pulls. Once you make your way across the first bridge and clear the mobs from the first island, you will see the first Ethian Core on your right. Complete it and move on.

You will eventually make your way onto the next cliff side by the first boss. He will have many trash packs in front of him. Clear them away and get ready to engage Smouldaron.

Smouldaron

Smouldaron is a pretty simple boss fight that requires a bit of movement. He has three abilities you have to watch out for. First is Flame Bolt which is a direct damage, or DD, attack on the tank, or highest threat person. He also casts Smoldering Bolt which is a random target DD spell that also puts a damage over time, or DOT, on the target. This DOT is dispelable. The last ability is called Smoldering Cloud that random targets someone and a Ground Based damage AOE effect is placed on the ground. There are also kamikaze mobs that fly into the group and explode, but the damage is minimal.

Have your tank keep Smouldaron busy. Everyone should pay attention to the ground and not stand in the fire. Have the clerics keep an eye on group health and stay on top of dispelling the DOT. If you have a decent healer, the fight is simple. Kill Smouldaron and collect your loot.

After defeating the first boss you will notice your second Ethian Core up the steps behind him. Complete the sequence and move on.

Between the first boss and the second will be full of air elemental NPCs. The next two islands will be swarming with them so get your AOE abilities ready. There are Ethain Cores on the next two islands. Clear through the trash, get the cores and you will come upon the second boss, Cyclorax.

Cyclorax

Cyclorax is probably the second hardest boss encounter next to the final boss. He has four different abilities and many of them are AOE damage abilities. This is a movement fight as well. The first ability is called Shocking Blast which is simply a DD spell cast on the highest threat target. The second ability is called Tempest Spear that he toss out to the group that when it hits one target it bounces to the next. One spear can potentially hit every player. There is also an ability called Suppressing Gale that targets another player, not the tank, and stuns them. At approximately every 20% of health he will spawn Static Charges that start randomly streaking across the ground. If they hit you they can put a stacking debuff that increases the damage from Tempest Spear. The final ability, and most dangerous one is called Cyclonic Destruction which is a swirling PBAOE that has a pretty large radius and does massive damage, and often one-shots lower health players.

The image above shows you what to expect with Cyclonic Destruction. All the DPS should switch to a ranged spec to avoid accidental deaths and dps downtime. At range they will be able to attack the boss an a constant pace. The tank should engage the boss where he stands and the rest of the group should stay spread out. You will notice a long cast bar pop up as Cyclorax starts casting Cyclonic Destruction. This is your queue to run, and run farther away than the graphic shows. It has a deceptively long range. This is essentially the whole fight. The rest of the damage is unavoidable. Keep your group healed and collect loot.

After defeating Cyclorax, pick up the Ethian Core behind him and make your way east along the perimeter of the zone. The only tricky portion of this segment are the roaming birds. They do a pretty decent amount of damage and can potentially wipe you if you take them lightly. If you look at the map above you will notice a spot marked “Tough Pull”. You will have to pull four mobs and a bird. It’s easily manageable if you have crowd control spells however pulling it fully without control may cause you to wipe.

Head up the stairs and you’ll be ready for the third boss, Ryka Dharvos.

Ryka Dharvos

Ryka is a pretty easy fight. She has three abilities that you have to watch out for and an add that typically spawns every 25% of health taken down. When Ryka reaches 25% Health left she will spawn two extra adds. Her three abilities are Bleeding Wound, which is a stackable dot that is curable. The second is Whirling Bolt which is a random target ranged attack. The last attack is Shattering Acid, which is a targeted ground base AOE damage attack.

The hardest part of this fight is staying out of the Acid and making sure your Clerics are keeping everyone cured from the bleeding effects. Have the tank pick up the adds, kill them fast, and concentrate back on Ryka. Keep this strategy throughout the fight and you’ll win.

If you noticed, there was a blue gate behind Ryka, once she is defeated it will come down. This is where you can begin the third quest of the instance. Follow the instructions given above at the beginning of the guide.

Once the quest is completed you will have a few short steps before coming across Caelia the Stormtouched.

After a brief introduction and show you will be able to engage Caelia. She is probably the hardest boss fight in this dungeon. She has three abilities. The first is called Shocking Paralysis which randomly targets someone and does AOE stun. The second ability is called Stormtouched Vision where Caelia will become invulnerable to damage and will summon three adds. These adds aren’t that difficult but they do but a debuff on you called Windburnt which increase air damage. The last ability is called Whirling Tempest that will target one person and cast and AOE damage attack.

Caelia has one more ability called Wild Lightning where she will start casting a frontal lightning attack and rotate clockwise until she gets back to her original position. It is uninterpretable.

The fight is tricky due to stuns and AOE damage, so it is suggested that you either go with two healers, or one healer and an off healer. The tank’s job is to keep Caelia busy and gather up the three adds when she becomes invulnerable. When she begins to cast Wild Lightning, everyone must run and stand behind Caelia and move to stay behind her as she turns around in a circle. When she is not casting Wild Lightning, stay spread out.

If you can avoid massive AOE damage, then the hardest part of the fight is controlling the adds and getting behind Caelia during Wild Lighting as it will one or two-shot lower health players.

Once completed a gate will open up and lead you back down towards the entrance of the dungeon. You have no completed Charmer’s Caldera.