Tips for first totem boss? I’m requesting spoilers.

[up2zero]

I get to this boss with all full potion charges but I get excited and can’t tell what’s going on.
I get that It periodically shoots projectiles in a spinning motion. I thought I destroyed it but it became active again.

Does it revive a certain amount of times?

Does killing it destroy the smaller totems?

Is there something I can destroy to stop regular enemies from spawning?

Thanks for any tips.

[Silanthous]

It's a 4 stage boss. Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Physical. The order is random. just gotta outlast it and kill all 4. gets a LOT easier as you get levels/skills/stats.

The adds are constant, and will swarm you each phase transition.

The smaller totems are just part of the fight, not killable.

My main tip is to stay mobile and focus the totem, then clear the mobs when they swarm you between phases. otherwise just pot shot them if you're close due to dodging things.

[Khadgar]

Totem boss has 4 phases, that occur in a random order. When you defeat one segment, another one becomes active. You can see which one is active by the name on the boss bar at the top of the screen, or just wait and see what it does.

Each phase has a distinct attack pattern, which specific hazards associated with it. Also, some random goblin whatever minions come to attack you and increasing intervals as the fight goes on. As far as I know, you can't stop the regular enemies from spawning, you just have to ignore, avoid, or defeat them as you go. Probably a mix, depending on your class and what's going on at the time.

Each element has 2 main things it does, and it alternates those things. Once it's done doing one thing, it will do the other thing, so you can always know what's coming next. Some specific tips are below, if you like.

The fire totem alternates shooting two lines of fire, and then 4 rotating fire whirly things, which you can either rotate with or take cover to avoid. If you are playing a class who can equip a shield, equip one, and then you can just block all the rotating fire sprays without taking any damage. (make sure to face towards the boss to achieve the block)

The Earth totem alternates shooting 4 high-speed high damage boulders at you from great range, and... shooting some sort of earth line atttack? The boulders hurt, avoid them at all costs. Once it's shot all 4, you can move in and attack safely for 5 seconds or so, then get back out and prepare to avoid boulders again.

The Ice totem's main attack is some sort of long range spreading ice spikes that attack in a cone. Circle strafing the boss seems to avoid these well enough. I forget the other attack, but it's pretty forgettable imo. This feels like the easiest element to me.

The Lightning totem alternates firing a bunch of lightning bolts from the outer areas of the map, and launching 3 whirlwinds from itself which do high damage very quickly. Avoid at all costs, standing in these will not be good for your prospects of living. Wait until all 3 whirlwinds are launched, then you can go in and attack for maybe 6 seconds, then get back out before the whirlwinds come back and appear on top of you.

As far as dealing with the regular enemies, some of the melee attackers will rush you, and if you're a melee fighter yourself, you should chop them up with your weapon while fighting the boss no problemo. If you're using a bow, i.e. the ranger, you'll have a much harder time keeping up with the mobs while still managing to get hurt on the boss. I'd suggest equipping a melee weapon like dual daggers as a ranger. It just works better for cleaving through the mobs faster. The wizard can probably get by with their fireball to clear the monsters in short enough time to attack the boss unaccosted for a bit.

[up2zero]

Originally posted by Silanthous:

It's a 4 stage boss. Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Physical. The order is random. just gotta outlast it and kill all 4. gets a LOT easier as you get levels/skills/stats.

The adds are constant, and will swarm you each phase transition.

The smaller totems are just part of the fight, not killable.

My main tip is to stay mobile and focus the totem, then clear the mobs when they swarm you between phases. otherwise just pot shot them if you're close due to dodging things.

Originally posted by Khadgar:

Totem boss has 4 phases, that occur in a random order. When you defeat one segment, another one becomes active. You can see which one is active by the name on the boss bar at the top of the screen, or just wait and see what it does.

Each phase has a distinct attack pattern, which specific hazards associated with it. Also, some random goblin whatever minions come to attack you and increasing intervals as the fight goes on. As far as I know, you can't stop the regular enemies from spawning, you just have to ignore, avoid, or defeat them as you go. Probably a mix, depending on your class and what's going on at the time.

Each element has 2 main things it does, and it alternates those things. Once it's done doing one thing, it will do the other thing, so you can always know what's coming next. Some specific tips are below, if you like.

The fire totem alternates shooting two lines of fire, and then 4 rotating fire whirly things, which you can either rotate with or take cover to avoid. If you are playing a class who can equip a shield, equip one, and then you can just block all the rotating fire sprays without taking any damage. (make sure to face towards the boss to achieve the block)

The Earth totem alternates shooting 4 high-speed high damage boulders at you from great range, and... shooting some sort of earth line atttack? The boulders hurt, avoid them at all costs. Once it's shot all 4, you can move in and attack safely for 5 seconds or so, then get back out and prepare to avoid boulders again.

The Ice totem's main attack is some sort of long range spreading ice spikes that attack in a cone. Circle strafing the boss seems to avoid these well enough. I forget the other attack, but it's pretty forgettable imo. This feels like the easiest element to me.

The Lightning totem alternates firing a bunch of lightning bolts from the outer areas of the map, and launching 3 whirlwinds from itself which do high damage very quickly. Avoid at all costs, standing in these will not be good for your prospects of living. Wait until all 3 whirlwinds are launched, then you can go in and attack for maybe 6 seconds, then get back out before the whirlwinds come back and appear on top of you.

As far as dealing with the regular enemies, some of the melee attackers will rush you, and if you're a melee fighter yourself, you should chop them up with your weapon while fighting the boss no problemo. If you're using a bow, i.e. the ranger, you'll have a much harder time keeping up with the mobs while still managing to get hurt on the boss. I'd suggest equipping a melee weapon like dual daggers as a ranger. It just works better for cleaving through the mobs faster. The wizard can probably get by with their fireball to clear the monsters in short enough time to attack the boss unaccosted for a bit.

Many thanks! This insight helped. I was able to beat it.

Thanks again!

[Nagash]

most bosses i get stuck on i play my paladin and one shot them just cause you can heal and avoid all mechanics. some bosses on certain class you need way more gear than it should

[Cass Kong]

Originally posted by Khadgar:

Totem boss has 4 phases, that occur in a random order. When you defeat one segment, another one becomes active. You can see which one is active by the name on the boss bar at the top of the screen, or just wait and see what it does.

Each phase has a distinct attack pattern, which specific hazards associated with it. Also, some random goblin whatever minions come to attack you and increasing intervals as the fight goes on. As far as I know, you can't stop the regular enemies from spawning, you just have to ignore, avoid, or defeat them as you go. Probably a mix, depending on your class and what's going on at the time.

Each element has 2 main things it does, and it alternates those things. Once it's done doing one thing, it will do the other thing, so you can always know what's coming next. Some specific tips are below, if you like.

The fire totem alternates shooting two lines of fire, and then 4 rotating fire whirly things, which you can either rotate with or take cover to avoid. If you are playing a class who can equip a shield, equip one, and then you can just block all the rotating fire sprays without taking any damage. (make sure to face towards the boss to achieve the block)

The Earth totem alternates shooting 4 high-speed high damage boulders at you from great range, and... shooting some sort of earth line atttack? The boulders hurt, avoid them at all costs. Once it's shot all 4, you can move in and attack safely for 5 seconds or so, then get back out and prepare to avoid boulders again.

The Ice totem's main attack is some sort of long range spreading ice spikes that attack in a cone. Circle strafing the boss seems to avoid these well enough. I forget the other attack, but it's pretty forgettable imo. This feels like the easiest element to me.

The Lightning totem alternates firing a bunch of lightning bolts from the outer areas of the map, and launching 3 whirlwinds from itself which do high damage very quickly. Avoid at all costs, standing in these will not be good for your prospects of living. Wait until all 3 whirlwinds are launched, then you can go in and attack for maybe 6 seconds, then get back out before the whirlwinds come back and appear on top of you.

As far as dealing with the regular enemies, some of the melee attackers will rush you, and if you're a melee fighter yourself, you should chop them up with your weapon while fighting the boss no problemo. If you're using a bow, i.e. the ranger, you'll have a much harder time keeping up with the mobs while still managing to get hurt on the boss. I'd suggest equipping a melee weapon like dual daggers as a ranger. It just works better for cleaving through the mobs faster. The wizard can probably get by with their fireball to clear the monsters in short enough time to attack the boss unaccosted for a bit.

I was looking all over for a post like this detailing strategy on when its safe to attack this boss/how to avoid damage. Thank you!