ESO High Isle Dreadsail Reef Guide

One of the peculiarities of the MMO genre as a whole is that they can generally be divided into two markedly different experiences. The first of these is the time spent leveling the player character to the maximum, while the game at the level cap or "endgame" can and often is an entirely different prospect. Providing activities that hold the player base beyond merely reaching the maximum level is therefore critical to the longevity of a game.

Trials are The Elder Scrolls Online's attempt to take the classic dungeon experience and expand it for high-level play. These instances are larger than the areas available in the normal versions unlocked after level 10 and offer an increased difficulty, with a further bump in challenge available to those running on Veteran mode. The latest addition is Dreadsail Reef, a pirate-themed effort to go with the recent arrival of the High Isle expansion.

Getting to the Trial & Taking Out the Trash

To head over and start the Trial, players need to go to the map marker in the North West of High Isle. There is a boat to take players to the Dreadsail Reef there, though the map marker can also be teleported to directly once discovered. There are a number of adds that appear throughout the instance, some of which pack a far more significant punch than players may be expecting.

Keelcutter - Arguably one of the most dangerous of the enemies in this list, their fire area-of-effect attack should be avoided where possible. They also have the ability to place a single-target dot that spreads fire to others, so avoiding allies should stop damage from snowballing.

Ranger - This unit has a wide but linear attack that targets players but spreading out should minimize its effects. This attack also drops a circular damage pool at the feet of party members it hits.

Serpent Caller - Its ability is to summon a Serpent Totem, which outputs a single-target ice attack, although it can be destroyed. It also summons a ghostly crab companion.

Swashbuckler - This melee unit is able to bypass taunts to leap to the person in the group who is the furthest away. Its main damage ability is a dot that causes one player to drop damage zones on the floor.

Brewmaster - Only appearing after the first boss, these healers should always be targeted first. They also throw potions which shrink party members, increasing damage taken and reducing healing done.

Overseer - These carry a nasty ability to encase a player in ice and push them off platforms to instant death. They also have a reflect shield for projectiles, though it only spawns after the second boss.

The First Boss Encounter Is a Brotherly Affair

The First Boss Encounter in Dreadsail Reef is actually two enemies, Lylanar and Turlassil, brothers who use different elemental attacks to decimate groups. This is actually one of the more mechanically awkward fights in the entire game. One brother uses fire abilities, while the other uses ice; countering these is the only way to win here. There are two orbs on either side of the staging area that correspond to each element, and when picked up by the player, they create a dome which they have to take to the boss of the opposite element. This allows players to damage them. The dome also increases the damage done to and by the player it is on, and the domes must not contact each other or they will explode and wipe the party.

The second and third phases of the fight task players with fighting the brothers individually. The first brother summons wolves and atronachs, which can be burnt down relatively easily, as well as casting debuffs and an elemental attack that must be interrupted. Brother two is much the same, just don't forget to switch domes when they swap. The final phase sees them come together, with their attacks from previous portions of the fight unchanged. Keep them separated so both domes can be used at the same time, and watch out for the adds, as they can overwhelm a group quickly.

Eliminate the Reef Guardian and His Miniature Allies

For the second main boss in the Trial, there are essentially two main elements to keep track of. Damaging the Reef Guardian down will cause the boss to split and create a smaller version of itself. Tempering the group's damage on the main boss to prevent too many copies spawning is key, as more than two or three are difficult to manage alongside the adds that spawn. The boss will also place lightning zones that stack damage and can wipe the group reasonably quickly, so look for spore plants which cleanse this effect.

The other key mechanic to keep track of relates to the small holes around edge of the arena (which all have a symbol) and the large one in the center. The Reef Guardian will head to one of the small pools and create a portal to the water underneath. One member of the group needs to use this and follow the path below using the corresponding symbol, before removing the heart at the end and returning to the arena above. Failure to do so will cause a wipe, but keep on top of this and the boss' splitting mechanic should make a win here relatively achievable.

Tideborn Taleria Is the Third and Final Test

The final boss of the Trial is as dangerous as it is massive. For tanks in particular, juggling both aggro and a number of high damage abilities that specifically target them is one of the more challenging in any encounter in the game. Start the fight and burn down the boss as quickly as possible, as there aren't any phases that lock out damage entirely. Taleria will place the aforementioned dot on the tank throughout as well as water orbs on the DPS, which need to be cleansed before they explode by walking into the water at the back of the staging area.

The other main mechanic to look out for are the tornadoes, which complete two full rotations of the arena and must be avoided entirely. Starting the encounter of the left-hand side should make it easier when this mechanic initiates, as you can essentially start behind the tornadoes and follow for the first rotation before staying ahead of the second. Keep damaging the boss from there, and victory is all but guaranteed.

The new trial has undoubtedly managed to capture the look and feel of the coastal areas of High Isle, while still adding some more variety thematically speaking. As one of a number of new activities to arrive in High Isle, there should be plenty here to keep players going for the foreseeable future. With some of the more difficult boss fights and two mini-bosses to contend with, it is also a challenging prospect with Veteran difficulty adding some further unexpected elements to contend with.