Vykas is an 8-player Legion Raid in Lost Ark split into 3 Phases and this complete guide will help you successfully clear Phase 1. Vykas was introduced in the June update and is essential to crafting a full set of relic gear. It is available at 1430 ilvl for Normal Mode and 1460 for Hard Mode.
Compared to Valtan, Vykas is considered at least twice as hard with coordination and precision being even more important. Even the smallest mistake can be fatal. However, with increased difficulty come increased rewards. Not only does Vykas allow players to complete their relic sets, but also includes a solid amount of gold and relic accessory rewards.
Check out our other Lost Ark guides:
- Vykas Phase 2 Complete Guide in Lost Ark
- Vykas Phase 3 Complete Guide in Lost Ark
- Valtan Phase 1 Complete Guide in Lost Ark
- Valtan Phase 2 Complete Guide in Lost Ark
- Lost Ark Currency Guide
Vykas Phase 1 Preparation
Vykas includes the sidereal mechanic, similar to the Valtan Raid. However, it includes some new sidereals. In addition to that, players must come prepared with the right items, as well as set positions beforehand to succeed in a variety of dangerous mechanics.
Sidereals
There are 3 sidereals available in the Vykas raid: Nineveh, Wei, and Azena/Innana. In Phase 1, the most commonly used sidereal will be Nineveh.
Nineveh (Ctrl + Z)
Nineveh, similar to the Thirain sidereal, focuses on dealing damage. In addition, Nineveh denies buffs like shields, which will be useful in later Phases. This sidereal is often used by the party that has the lowest DPS or, if they are even, by the party fighting the tankier demon boss.
Wei (Ctrl + X)
Similarly to Valtan, Wei is used for significant stagger. There is a stagger check for Phase 1, but using Wei there isn’t recommended as it can be completed fairly easy.
Azena/Innana (Ctrl + C)
The Azena/Innana sidereal serves a defensive purpose, similar to Balthorr. It reduces the damage taken by the party and slightly heals everyone. Since Phase 1 has no mechanics that can be dodged with this sidereal, using it isn’t recommended.
Items
- HP Potion
- Whirlwind/Clay Grenade (stagger check for 36 and 13 HP)
- Time Stop Potion (helpful to avoid certain attacks)
- Speed Mantle (optional – used for juggling orbs
Cards
Phase 1 is the only phase of Vykas that isn’t weak to holy damage. Therefore, the recommended card set is Lostwind Cliff (Awakening 12 or more) or the Field Boss set for some extra HP. Light of Salvation should not be used unless it is Awakening 18 or higher.
Positions
Before entering the raid, players should take certain positions. These will be needed for the mechanics at 48, 36, and 13 HP.
Imagine that the arena is a clock. 2 players (one from each party) should stand at each of the following positions: 1, 5, 7, and 11 o’clock.
Vykas Phase 1 positions in Lost Ark
Vykas Phase 1 Part 1 (60 – 30 HP)
Shortly after the fight begins, the two parties get separated. One fights the demon boss and the other the human boss. The 2 bosses have the same attacks with only 1 difference.
Vykas Phase 1 demon boss (left) and human boss (right)
For the human boss, players need to dodge the telegraphed attacks by not standing on them (the standard way of dodging until now). For the demon boss, players will need to dodge the telegraphed attacks by standing on them (the zone that is targeted by the attack will be the actual safezone). While this is a simple mechanic, it can be tricky to get used to.
Wipe Mechanic – Orbs and Doors (48 HP)
The mechanics at 48 and 36 HP are the hardest parts in this Vykas Phase 1 Complete Guide in Lost Ark. Specifically, in the 48 HP part, the party fighting the demon boss simply keeps fighting their boss with no mechanics. On the other hand, the human boss party should prepare for a challenging mechanic.
The human boss teleports to the middle and summons a white circle around it. Players should take positions as indicated in the preparation phase (at 1, 5, 7, and 11 o’clock) while making sure they are standing within the circle. After the boss does an explosion attack, the circle disappears and players can move further away from the boss.
Vykas Phase 1 white circle safezone in Lost Ark
Immediately after the explosion attack, 4 orbs will spawn at 1, 5, 7, and 11 o’clock and start following the closest player. At the same time, 4 doors will spawn at the same clockwise positions, a bit farther away from the orb spawn location (towards the edge of the arena). Each player must make their orb go through the proper door.
However, the tricky part is finding the proper door. Each door only accepts a specific coloured orb, while the orbs change colour constantly. The doors at 1 and 7 o’clock will accept either green or red orbs, while the doors at 5 and 11 o’clock will accept either blue or white.
All 4 colours will always be present. For instance, if the 1 o’clock door is green, the 7 o’clock one will always be red.
As for the orbs’ colour, they change every 3 seconds and follow a specific order: red, blue, green, white, black, and then repeat. To succeed in this mechanic, all 4 orbs need to get through the respective doors before they make 2 complete colour rotations (red to black 2 times; if it becomes red a third time, the party has taken too long and will get wiped).
Vykas Phase 1 orb & gate spawn location at 5 o’clock in Lost Ark. For this example, wait until the orb rotates to white and then pass it through the gate.
3-Step Wipe Mechanic (36 HP)
In this part, the demon boss party keeps fighting their boss and should only keep an eye out for the call out from the human boss party in Step 3. The human boss party has (again) some challenging mechanics to go through. To make it clearer, in this Vykas Phase 1 complete guide in Lost Ark, we have split this mechanic into 3 parts.
Step 1: Stagger Check
The boss teleports to the middle and begins a stagger check. As long as players use their Whirlwind/Clay grenades, this should be completed easily with no need to use the Wei sidereal.
Step 2: Positions and Orbs
After succeeding in the stagger check, players should take positions as indicated in the preparation phase (1, 5, 7, and 11 o’clock). Each player will have a small orb on their head, either blue or black.
When the orbs appear on players’ heads, 4 auras will spawn at the same positions as the orbs in the 48 HP mechanic (1, 5, 7, 11 o’clock). The 1 and 7 o’clock auras will be black, while the 5 and 11 ones will be blue. Players should take positions as indicated in the preparation phase and, after the orbs spawn above their heads, switch positions with the closest player if necessary. The goal is for players will blue orbs on their heads to be next to a blue aura, and black orbs next to a black aura.
Blue & black auras spawn location and orbs above players’ heads.
Now, for the tricky part, these auras will rotate a total of 4 times, either clockwise or counterclockwise. Keep a close eye on the auras and memorize the rotation pattern. This mechanic is similar to the Argos Pizza, where it shows players the full pattern before the mechanic begins.
After the pattern, orbs will spawn, in turns, at each of the positions indicated by the auras (5 orbs total for each player). Each player must follow the pattern and pick up a total of 5 orbs to succeed in this step.
Step 3: Safezone for the other party
Lastly, the human boss will do one large, telegraphed attack targeting either the inside or outside of the arena. This attack will not damage the party which is fighting the human boss.
At the same time, the demon boss will teleport to the middle and start charging a lethal attack with no revealed safezone. The safezone during the demon boss’ attack will be the safezone indicated during the human boss’ attack. Therefore, the human boss party must inform the demon boss part which area is safe during this pattern (either the inside will be safe or the outside). Typing “in safe” or “out safe” in the raid chat should be enough.
Safezone for the other party. In this example, outside is safe.
Vykas Phase 1 Part 2 (30 – 0 HP)
When both bosses reach 30 HP, the parties will switch. Since the demon boss is tankier compared to the human boss, in this Vykas Phase 1 guide, we recommend using the Nineveh sidereal to make sure not much time is spent waiting for the demon boss to reach 30 HP.
For Part 2, the party that was fighting the demon boss will now face the human boss and vice versa.
Wipe Mechanic – 4 Circles (25 HP)
White circles spawn. In this example, the other party should stand at the 3 o’clock circle.
When the human boss reaches 25 HP, it will spawn 4 large circles at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions. 3 of those circles will be black, and one will be white. The party fighting the human boss does not need to go into any of these circles.
Instead, the point of this mechanic is for the human boss party to inform the demon boss party which of the 4 circles was white. This is because shortly after the human boss does the circle mechanic, the demon boss will do the same thing with one exception: all 4 circles will be black. The party fighting the demon boss must go to the circle that was white previously, in the human boss mechanic.
3-Step Wipe Mechanic (13 HP)
This is the same mechanic as in the 36 HP part: stagger check, orb pattern and pick up 5 orbs, and inform the other party of the safezone. Since the teams swap after reaching 30 HP, each party will have to go through this mechanic once (one party at 36 HP, the other at 13 HP).
Empowered Attacks (5 HP)
Each boss, when it reaches 5 HP, will become more dangerous due to its stronger and faster attacks. In addition, neither boss will die, unless the other dies too. The boss will stay alive at 1% health until the other boss also reaches 1% health. Then they both die.
Vykas Phase 1 Hard Mode Mechanic
The hard mode has the same mechanics as the normal mode with only one exception. In hard mode, there is an extra wipe mechanic that occurs randomly, in either of the two Phases and affects one of the parties.
The boss teleports to the middle and starts casting a strong attack with the safezone being next to the boss. While inside the safezone, players should take positions as indicated in the preparation phase. 4 orbs will spawn at 1, 5, 7, and 11 o’clock positions and start following the closest player. Each player should take their orb just outside of the initial safezone and pick it up.
Vykas Phase 1 Hard Mode initial safezone and orb spawn location
When picked up, a 90-degree golden zone will appear, as well as a whirlwind that will whirl either clockwise or counterclockwise. The whirl’s rotation will indicate towards which way the golden 90-degree zone will rotate. Stand in the zone and rotate with it an additional 3 times to avoid the boss’ shockwave attack. Anyone who didn’t stand in all 4 of the golden zones, will die from the attack.
Pick up the orb outside of the central circle and rotate with the golden aura.
This is the end of the Vykas Phase 1 Complete Guide in Lost Ark. For a quick summary, a Reddit user has posted a brief cheat sheet for the Vykas Legion Raid. Good luck with all the mechanics and we’ll see you soon in the Phase 2 guide!
Videos in this article are from TheSandov on YouTube.
