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Shattered Observatory Fractal Guide

GW2. Shattered Observatory Fractal Guide



Fractal Guide


This fractal is a series of boss fights with a unique mechanic added to your arsenal of skills. In general you should not stand directly underneath a boss. Even if you must be directly underneath their hit box to get the most damage out of some skills, move to the maximum range of the hit box afterwards.


Skorvald the Shattered


Upon entering the fractal you will descend onto a platform in the middle of a big open area. Begin the first boss by interacting with the sphere in the center. Once Skorvald appears he will begin creating cones that will deal damage and knock players back. These are created in a circular pattern that will overlap, so while it looks like there is no safe space to stand, the attacks will be staggered so it is important to remember when the cones were created.

A general rule to avoid these is to stand on the cones that were created last because those will be performed last, and then when the earlier ones clear up you can dodge to their location and be safe for the rest of the attacks. At 66% the boss will go immune and summon an attack that you must stop by traversing the platforms outside the main platform.



Take the updraft to the southwest to reach the platform with the first anomaly. Use stability or dodge the stomps of this mob while killing it or it can knock you off to your death. After finishing the mob take the updraft around in a clockwise manner, finishing all of the anomalies to stop the attack.



Use most of your stability on the first platform because this one has no safe space. Otherwise you can stand inside the anomaly to not get knocked as far back. Do not stay near the edges until the mob is finished. On the 2nd 3rd and 4th platforms there will be a wall which can be used as a safe space to prevent you from being knocked off. Once all four anomalies are down, take the updraft back to the middle to face Skorvald again. If your party has the White Mantle Portal Device from Raids, they can set the portal up at the start of this phase before leaving the platform, and then take the portal after the last anomaly to skip the updraft and damage the boss while they are still stunned.

In the second encounter with Skorvald, he will begin by dashing around the map during which he cannot be attacked. Try to stay away from the fixated player and prepare to attack him in the center. A new mechanic he will use will place a red circle around each player which will explode simultaneously. All players should dodge this because if they are stacked up the damage will be multiplied and they can get tons of burning.



Solar Blooms will spawn and tether to the player closest to them. These will move toward the player and after a certain amount of time they will explode and knock back everyone in a large radius. This can be dangerous as being knocked off the platform means instant death. Attacking the solar bloom will knock it away, and it is advised that a healer or support role focus on hitting the solar bloom to the edge of the platform so that it can explode safely off to the side while the DPS stay on the boss. At 33% you will repeat the anomaly platforms.



One final mechanic to learn is the Eye floating above Skorvald’s head. When you see this you must face your character, not necessarily your camera, away from the boss to avoid getting feared and blinded. This can be dangerous if you are close to an edge when you are feared. In general, staying near the center of the platform is the safest during all phases.



Marbles and Golems


After finishing Skorvald and taking the updraft into space you will gain the special action key ability Nova Launch. After defeating the second boss this will be upgraded further to the Hypernova Launch. Get used to this keybind as you can use it to save your life and to make the mechanics of the bosses much easier. It will stun break and launch you to the targeted location very quickly while evading and giving you aegis. Also from this point on you will have less of a gravitational pull. Jumping or leap skills will last longer and this will allow you to avoid attacks on the ground more easily or to jump further.



Continue progressing through the fractal until you reach a puzzle. To complete this puzzle you must utilize the special action key. There is a marble that will explode on the ground if it lands. You must bounce the marble by having one player stand in the white circle on the ground before it lands. A smaller white circle will show the next location of the marble. One player can complete the whole puzzle by themselves because whenever you bounce the marble it will recharge your Nova Launch ability. However, this marble takes the same path every time, so players can stand in the harder to reach spots beforehand while others move around to progress the ball.



Continue killing golems and jumping across the map until you reach the second boss.


Viirastra


Begin the boss by standing in a white circle when the marble bounces on it. At first she will perform the blinding wave attack that Skorvald used, so players must look away from her while avoiding the massive line blasts. Then she will move to the edge of the platform and begin casting attacks. It is helpful to have reflects on top of the boss during this because there are tons of projectiles flying around that can put slow and other damaging conditions on the party. Dodge the smash attack indicated by a large orange circle.



Flux Bomb is an important mechanic to learn for this fight and the next. A player will be targeted with a red and black skull above their head. They will receive a personal message to find containment. To do so you must move to the white circle in the middle of the map before the circle fills. You only need to be inside the circle the moment that the mechanic ends, so if its dangerous to stand there, wait until the very end. Failing to be inside the circle at the right time will result in the party getting nuked. Fortunately, the Nova Launch allows players to react to this mechanic very quickly and safely.



The boss will reposition to another corner of the platform after a certain amount of time if she has not been taken to 66% yet.

Once at 66% she will split into multiple places around the platform. You must break the defiance bar of every clone to progress to the next phase.



After she will return to the first phase mechanics of moving around the edges of the platform and targeting players with Flux Bombs. She will add the marble into the fight. Just like the marble puzzle, you must have one person in the white circle consecutively down the path the marble bounces. Because catching the marble resets the Nova Launch, one player can be designated for taking care of the marble mechanic by themselves. Usually this will be the more supportive DPS player, but not the main support as there is a lot of pressure on the party during this fight and they can give buffs to the others. A Warrior or Revenant works fine.

Also make sure to designate a player to backup the marble mechanic, because the first designated marble mechanic player may get the flux bomb which takes priority over the marble. So if the backup sees the designated marble player has the flux bomb they will take over.



If the marble is not bounced it will explode, damaging your whole party and triggering the boss to reposition. If the marble bounces all the way back to the boss it will trigger a defiance bar which your party can break to get in more damage.


Arkk


Once you reach the final boss Arkk there will be a mini event to teach you how to handle Solar Blooms in this encounter. Four Solar blooms will spawn at each edge of the platform. They will tether to the nearest player and follow that player. There are also four pillars one at each corner of the platform. Each pillar must have a solar bloom knocked into it within a short time. Each solar bloom can be hit to knock them toward pillars or the player who has the bloom attached to them can go towards a pillar.



The best way to handle this mechanic is to have players spread out and have each one get a solar bloom tethered to them. Then each tethered player will walk to the pillar to their right if they are facing the edge or clockwise. This leads to less confusion and helps to organize the priorities of mechanics on challenge mode. Also players should avoid using any skills unnecessarily or they can knock the blooms out of control. Trusting the tethered player to move to the right pillar will cause less miscommunication. If a player gets two more blooms on them, simply pretend that you only have one and then move to the next pillar. Other players can help speed up the process later on, just get as much done as you can.

The boss will also mark a player and use a cone smash attack that follows the marked player until right before the attack is fired off. The boss will also fire marbles from above its head. You must pay attention to this mechanic very closely as it has the potential of downing and killing you very quickly. The orbs leave an area on the ground which will tick for damage.



The boss will also use the blinding flash ability that the other bosses used. Face your character away from the eye to avoid this.

The final main mechanic players will need to pay attention to is the bomb. Just like the previous encounter, the player with the red skull over their head has the bomb and must be inside the white circle when the bomb goes off or the party will wipe.



At 80% the boss will become immune and you will need to push the four solar blooms into the four pillars. A defiance bar will appear if you successfully push all the blooms into a pillar which must be broken or the party wipes.

At 70% the boss leaves the platform and the Archdiviner will replace him. Arkk will still harass the players from off the platform using the eye mechanic combined with large beams, so avoid these while facing inwards to the platform. Finish this mini boss to have Arkk return.



Once Arkk returns you will need to watch out for a few new mechanics on top of all the previous ones. Arkk will create staggered cones that will deal damage and knockback at different times, similarly to the Skorvald encounter. Standing close to the boss means you will need to remember the order they appeared and stand on the ones that will detonate later, then move as more space becomes safe.

Arkk will also create an expanding circle which will damage and float party members. This is easily avoidable by jumping.



At 50% Arkk will become immune again and you must do the blooms into pillars again. Break his bar and get him to 40% where he will leave the platform and another mini boss event will occur. This mini boss is largely the same as the first but they will do more AoEs which you should dodge and break its defiance bar when it gets low to prevent it from dealing massive damage. Remember, for this fight your Hypernova Launch has been improved to do a CC which is good for breaking defiance.

After the boss returns you will need to deal with all of the mechanics previously but now platforms will disappear underneath you. This complicates things as you will have a lot less space to deal with. If you do fall through the floor, you will be ported high above the platform and fall to your death, but you can use the Hypernova Launch right before you land to break the fall.



At 30% you repeat the solar bloom phase into a break bar. From here you must defeat the last of the bosses health. Utilize as much of your damage as possible while the boss is stunned because this is the only time it will be easy to damage them. All of the mechanics will be going off now and it gets very chaotic. Don’t forget to use your Hypernova Launch to survive here.


Achievements


Shattered Observatory Fractal (Fractals of the Mists)

Total achievements: 10 – 35AP – 1MP


Shattered Observatory Fractal – 5AP – 1MP



This is the meta achievement for the Shattered Observatory Fractal, you need to complete six eligible achievements, you can see them below.


Be Dynamic (Hidden) – 5AP



To complete this achievement you need to complete Shattered Observatory Fractal in Challenge Mode with no one in your group being defeated. Rewards the title Leaves No Hero Behind. If your party wipes once you must restart the fractal and redo the first encounter even if you were working on the second.


Be Reactive – 3AP

To get this achievement, you need to defeat Arkk when all four reactor towers are active. Probably you will get this achievement by just doing normal runs on a daily basis, but still if you don’t get it, you can coordinate with your party to wait when his HP is low for the 4 reactors and then quickly kill him.



Blinded with Science – 1AP

This achievement is really easy to get, right at the start of the fight versus Arkk, after you destroy the reactor towers, he will do the eye mechanic with a giant laser beam, just stay in the area and get hit by the beam.


Closing the Loop – 5AP

To earn this achievement you need to complete the Shattered Observatory Fractal on Tier 4 (Difficulty scale 99).


Extracurricular Studies of the Astral Kind – 3AP

For this achievement you need to collect 5 Data Disks inside the Shattered Observatory Fractal, here you see in this video their location:


Credit to TimeWave for the video.

You will get rewarded with a Data Key Log: Extracurricular Studies, which will unlock a dialogue with Yokko, enabling you to activate the Cosmic Energy effect withing the Mistlock Observatory (low gravity).



In Bloom – 5AP

To earn this achievement you need to defeat Skorvald the Shattered without being hit by a Solar Bloom explosion.



Live Wire (Hidden) – 0AP

To earn this achievement, you need to jump down the platform, and while falling use your special skill to land on the top of one active reactor tower.


Mind Out of Time (Hidden) – 5AP



To complete this achievement you need to defeat the final boss of Shattered Observatory Fractal in Challenge Mode. Rewards the title The Archdesigner.


Playing for Keeps – 3AP

During the fight versus Viirastra, when the Marble mechanic is active, you need to be able to bounce the marble eight times in a row. To do this simply be aware on the blue circles on the ground and once you bounce the marble use your special skill to jump into the next blue circle, the marble will refresh the cooldown of your special skill so you can do this without a problem.



Challenge Mode


To access the challenge mode one person in the party must have completed all of the normal mode achievements. They can speak to the Harbinger at the beginning and enable it. This guide includes only the differences between normal and challenge mode. For a full perspective of the boss, read the normal mode guide above and learn those mechanics first. Once you are comfortable with them you should attempt the challenge mode.


Skorvald the Shattered


The normal and challenge mode Skorvald are very similar. Everything will just be slightly more punishing but have the same effect. However, the final phase will have a difference that makes it much more dangerous. As soon as you return from the second anomaly phase at 33% Skorvald will go into an enrage. He will shoot out eruptions in a line in a counter-clockwise motion. Standing inside the boss will get you hit by every single one, so make sure to stay at maximum melee range. When the boss is about to shoot an eruption in your direction dodge to the left or against the direction that the attacks are going so that you don’t have to dodge multiple attacks. With a lot of stability and condition cleanse this attack can be trivialized so long as no one stands inside the boss.



Artsariiv


On challenge mode the Viirastra boss inverts their name to Artsariiv. The fight immediately becomes dangerous as she stacks a lot of mechanics on top of eachother very often. She begins with the blinding attack which you must look away from, and then she will move to the corner of the room and create a shockwave that will stun while targeting a player with the flux bomb, creating an anomaly which must be killed before the flux bomb goes off, and spawning many mobs and AoEs that must be avoided. There are tons of conditions and CC going around during these moments of high mechanic layering, so having party wide cleansing and stability is extremely useful.



This fight benefits greatly from reflects and classes that do large AoEs for damage. There are many mobs that run around and can pressure the party. Also the boss is constantly shooting out marbles that will put slow on your party. The support should focus on giving out as many of their cooldowns while the party is on the boss in the corner of the room. Like normal mode there is a split phase where each copy has a defiance bar to break.

On challenge mode the boss will do a large AoE once this phase ends that you can either dodge or block. It is super important that no one goes down to this attack because right after it a ton of mechanics will be thrown at the party, such as the anomaly, the marble that needs to be bounced, and the number of AoEs the boss fires at the party, and having to rez an ally will complicate this greatly. Aegis is very reliable for blocking this attack, so a Guardian or Mesmer that can share aegis is valuable.



Arkk


On challenge mode, Arkk is arguably the hardest 5 player encounter in the game. This is because there are so many complications to the fight that require decisions if your party does not have enough DPS to bypass them. The first difference on challenge mode is that the marbles mechanic will become extremely punishing. Not only will more marbles be shot out and deal more damage, but the boss will shoot a shockwave out that will make it much easier for the marbles to obliterate you. The Hypernova Launch and a fast reaction can save you, but there is a much safer way to handle this mechanic. Right before the marbles are shot out, the marble above the boss will disappear and a blueish portal will appear above the boss where the marbles will be shot out of.



Once you see this portal you should preemptively jump to avoid the shockwave and then move safely away from the marbles. If your timing is very good you can save your party by soaking the marbles. This can be done by jumping into the hit box of the boss as the marbles are coming out, and using the Hypernova Launch in the same place. This will stall your character in the air for a bit while you are invulnerable. Because you are not evading the marbles but going invulnerable, you will block them and prevent them from going any further. This also prevents them from leaving the dangerous AoE on the ground. The better your positioning, the more marbles you can destroy with this technique. Usually a support class will do this, but everyone can do it to be safe.



Two other mechanics added to this fight on challenge mode are the anomaly and green circle. Already your party needs to deal with the red skull bomb by having the targeted player stand in the white circle. However, in challenge mode the white circle will not spawn until the anomaly has been killed. So if the anomaly is not killed, the bomb will go off and nuke your party. This means an anomaly will spawn every time a bomb spawns. Your party can designate one person to kill the anomaly which generally is a power class that can kill it quickly without the need for ramp up. This can be a good strategy for maximizing your party DPS which is useful on this boss because it helps to control the mechanics by phasing faster. However, due to the complications of all the mechanics stacking on top of each other, the designated anomaly slayer may not be able to do their job sometimes.



One of the mechanics that can complicate this is the green circle. Just like the red skull bomb this will target a random party member. There will be a huge party nuke if multiple people do not stand in the green circle when it goes off. Usually the best place to have multiple people soak this mechanic is on top of the boss. However, some mechanics force splits such as the Solar Blooms and the Red Skull Bomb which can make it more complicated to do this. There are potentially several mechanics going on at the same time, so understanding the priorities will make handling this boss much more clear.

Mechanics that require immediate attention are ones that will nuke or wipe the whole party and have a short time limit to fulfill them. Mechanics that require immediate attention but may have less priority than other mechanics might be ones that nuke or wipe the party but have longer time limits. This list of mechanics might help to understand this priority system better. Also remember that fractal instabilities can add even further complications to this. The highest priorities will be near the top:


Arkk Challenge Mode Mechanics Priority


1- Anomaly/Red Skull Bomb

This is the highest priority because there is not much time to do it, the player who must stand in the bomb is specific, and it will nuke the whole party if it is not fulfilled.

2- Green Circle

This mechanic is very punishing, but it is easy to satisfy and can be done while doing most other mechanics so there is no reason not to satisfy it. If you are the designated Anomaly slayer and you also get the green circle, you should stay near the person with the red skull bomb but not inside the white circle with them because it will nuke you. If you must go inside it for whatever reason to fulfill the green circle, it is better to do it to save your party who can then revive you. However, it is very possible to safely soak the green circle with the red skull bomb player because both can stand on opposite sides of the border of the white circle.

3- Boss Defiance Bar

While this mechanic is actually the deadliest because it will be a hard wipe if you fail to do it, there is a greater time limit on this than on an anomaly/red skull. Also this is a mechanic that every party member can partake in, while the anomaly/red skull bomb is specific to a few people, so others can satisfy it while you can’t.

4- Solar Blooms into Pillars

This mechanic will be a hard wipe if it fails, but it is the longest thing that can occur at the time it happens. Also multiple people can work on this so if you get an anomaly or a green circle, you can focus on that first while others help or do the mechanic for you.

5- Destroying Marbles with Invulnerability

It is ultimately up to your party members to avoid every other mechanic to survive, however you can help them survive the marbles by destroying them with the Hypernova Launch. If you have nothing higher on the priority list, make sure to Launch inside the bosses hit box when the marbles come out to help your party deal with the mechanics more easily. If the group doesn’t have a designated person to jump inside the hitbox to negate all the balls at once, it’s recommended that each player use the special skill at the right time on their location to prevent the bouncing balls, especially in pug groups.

The correct timing is just right when the ball on Arkk’s head explodes, and the special skill will negate the ball creation, while at the same time you can see on the left side how the guardian in the group is not doing the mechanic and the bouncing ball creates dangerous AoE that can complicate things for the rest of the party.


via GIPHY


6- Every other mechanic will threaten your life

Preventing yourself from going down is the next priority because then your allies will not need to revive you which can complicate things. Also if the boss is near a percent of health that will phase it, you can ignore some mechanics if you are confident you will make it in time to skip them.


Credit to Vallun for the video.

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