Mechanism

Reminder: Legion quests are the hardest and most challenging part of the game so remember to be patient. **This is among the hardest quests in the game.**

In Mechanism, your party enters an area that Armas speculates was built by the same mages as the Sky Sanctum. The party is faced with enemy orbs and obelisks that need to be moved or destroyed to move forward. This is the most “puzzle-like” battle in the game – as such, it can be the hardest to figure out, but once you know what you're doing, it becomes much more manageable:

   **Overall notes for Mechanism:**

* **Knock back** is an essential mechanic for this level, so be sure to have knock back weapons and/or abilities. Avalanche Hammer (2\* all-class weapon) is universally usable. For Priest, Hammer of Smiting is great due to its two-square knock back, as is Mjolner (both storm *and k*nockback). For abilities, the Archer’s Storm Arrow and Impale are great to use, as is the Fighter’s Bull Rush and the Mage’s Meteor Strike (Legion Epic ability) and Terror buff (obtained from events only)
* The Orbs resist Fire and Ice, are **weak to storm**, and ignore criticals. They are mage class and frequently attack at long range with voltaic spike. Fortunately, they do not have any AoE abilities. Defensively, they heavily cast mage buffs (Ancient Sigil, Concentric Shell) and have very high ranged defense, so taking advantage of their storm weakness and/or attacking with melee will greatly help
* Crafting **Staff of Lightning** (in Craftable Gear) will make Mechanism easier since everything is weak to storm, and mages are near-essential for the 1st and 2nd battles
* Crafting **Mjolner** (in Craftable Gear) will make Mechanism *substantially* easier, but it's a major investment because it's mythic. It's not a terrible weapon to have in other areas of the game (storm damage is generally advantageous in PvE), but it is largely outclassed by other weapons by the endgame, except in this situation.

 **Battle Breakdown:**

* Battle 1 requires you to move the two obelisks into green zones on either side of the map. Doing so will close the enemy portals that spawn a new enemy orb every turn (two orbs if you take too long). Once you've closed the portals, you still need to defeat all of the remaining enemy orbs to finish the level.

* In Battle 2, a particular set of obelisks (the blue ones) need to be destroyed. These obelisks **are only affected by storm damage, and must be killed simultaneously** or they'll explode and kill your party. The battle has recently been updated so that the middle obelisk has low HP, making it more challenging to quickly clear the level with Blizzard or Ancestral Wrath. As with Battle 1, once you clear the blue obelisks safely, you must finish the stage by killing any remaining orbs. There are a few approaches people in the community have found that work well:
	+ The 'standard' approach is to move the right-most crystal diagonally down by 2 (see images to the right) and then use Voltaic Chain to hit all three crystals (note that Transgress will *not* work to avoid the obstacles). With this solution, it is also important to clear away any nearby enemies or inert crystals so the chain 'bounces' the way you want it to. For a video on how to do this (with a more beginner's style party/deck), see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPIpa28nGxA. Note that this video (and the images) were taken *before* the update that changed crystal HP, but the videos & build below use this tactic in the new/updated level.
	+ The 'fast' approach has a few varieties and still leverages attacks that damage all enemies. For example Priest equipped with Mjolner and Wrukag Gauntlets can wipe all three crystals with Ancestral Wrath & Prophecy of Pain. Casting Anoint on an ally will keep one of them alive after the crystals explode. Another example would be to use a storm-element Blizzard (via staff of lightning). Rivi made a few videos of these approaches:
		- Priest / Wrath: https://youtu.be/s2C26ySVwhk
		- Mage / Blizzard: https://youtu.be/x4sgyDF3DW4
	+ A third approach would be to move *both* the rightmost and leftmost blue crystals and use Rain of Arrows to clear all three at once

* In Battle 3, there are red and purple obelisks, a Giant Construct in the center of the stage, and (as with Battle 1) a new enemy orb will spawn from the portal each turn. The three red obelisks are the initial focus of this battle, as they explode at the end of the turn after they've been attacked twice. You will need to move obelisks so that the red obelisk explosions destroy all of the surrounding purple obelisks to shut down the portal. Once this is completed, the Giant Construct will come to life and attack your party. **Note that the exploding obelisks no longer damage the construct before it is brought to life.** The construct is very strong, clears debuffs, and gets more powerful as the battle progresses. Here are some thoughts for how to take it down:
	+ It's possible to move the bottom left purple obelisk north so it is destroyed when the top left red obelisk explodes. This will leave the bottom left red obelisk unused and available to damage the construct once it comes alive.
	+ Since the construct has a ton of armor, bringing a fighter with Sunder Armor can really help push damage through, and setup a Rogue's Backstab
	+ The construct is melee, but it has extra reach and a ton of movement - it will be very difficult to run away from it with ranged characters. However, it *does not* have any AOE attacks, so stealth will work. If you can manage a permanent-stealth approach with multiple rogues, you should be able to take it down.
	+ Use the first part of the battle to make sure you have the right cards in your hand to quickly take down the construct. If you can clear the orbs quickly, then it's possible for allies to hide behind obelisks and/or the construct (or use stealth) to prevent newly spawning orbs from getting an attack in. That might buy you a turn of two to accumulate cards and MP for the construct fight.

**Party Choice:**

To provide some variety, there are two possible builds for each battle outlined and/or captured in video below. There are, of course, plenty of options that could work more seamlessly. However, for the sake of accessibility ***all of these parties will include no mythic abilities or gear***. Instead, the description will elaborate on thoughts for 'upgrading' the more baseline builds pictured and/or customizing for Weakness instead of Storm.

**Battle 1: FPM Party**

This is a fairly straightforward approach. Flank the mage out to the right and leverage Meteor Strike to move the rightmost obelisk, while the fighter and priest tag team the leftmost obelisk with knockback weapons. If you're not quick enough, it's easy to get overwhelmed (especially in the challenges), so don't be bashful about using potions to secure a victory. If you don't have Meteor Strike yet (or prefer Rogues), there's also an alternate FRR build below!

For **Weakness** challenge, Silver Etched Armor (or Holy Garments), Tower Shield, and Shimmering Cape are the gear I'd choose. To make this more **advanced**, Ancestral Wrath & Mjolner will make the Priest an incredibly strong weapon. I might also recommend switching the Fighter to an Archer, as Impale can move the left obelisk all three spaces it needs in just one attack. Archers also have the benefit of Roc-Skin for the Storm challenge.

See FPM in action: https://youtu.be/rVQX4r1\_ntM

Alternate build FRR: https://youtu.be/zHQNpgGLkY8

**Battle 2: FPM Party (different from Battle 1)**

This one is a bit more tricky, but is still very manageable. The key is to leverage Provoke to distract the orbs and buy time for the Mage and Priest to move/clear obelisks and take out the orbs. If you have Meteor Strike, then no knockback weapons are needed here. it's also best to ensure that Provoke and Volt Chain are the only attacks in the deck, so that By the Sword can effectively pull either one when you need it. The FPM build takes longer, but it's quite reliable save for an uncharacteristically bad draw. The PPM Blizzard/Wrukag Gauntlets approach is also shown in video below, but it's a bit more draw dependent.

For **Weakness** challenge, same armor choice: Silver Etched Armor (or Holy Garments), Tower Shield, and Shimmering Cape are the ones I'd choose. Upgrading this one to be more **advanced** is mostly via equipment - Mjolner on the Priest, and Triumph on the Figher, coupled with your best armor on the non-strom challenges will make this go more smoothly.

See FPM in action: https://youtu.be/ipYQLA32siI
Alternate PPM Build: https://youtu.be/2-V4UEDBiRw

**Battle 3: FPR Party**

This battle will take a few tries to get a 'feel' for how to best play it. In the first half, knowing where each hero needs to be at any given time is key - you want to clear the obelisks quickly, but you don't want to accidentally blow yourself up. The key here is using the Rogue to keep the orbs in check in the first phase, and then deliver the vast majority of damage in the second part. To help make that happen sunder armor will weaken the construct for a serious beat down. With a priest, you can also layer in Inquisition/Holy damage, but bringing a second Rogue also works (both examples below).

Similar to above, Silver Etched Armor and Tower Shield are your best bets for Priest/Fighter armor during **Weakness**. I'd leave Violeta with the Medallion of the Moon, but if you are using Corso, then Night Robes or Ragash gear (if you have it) may be your best bet. In an **advanced** party, I still recommend Hammer of Smiting on Livia (to move that purple crystal quickly), but if you've got Legion Shadow Armor, this is a perfect time to use it on the Rogue. For the fighter, Triumph is a good call and *Invincible* is a great play - she'll be surrounded by the purple crystals and can readily pop Invincible for 3-4 markers in the right position! Wrath and/or Avatar will complement the Priest spells nicely and, of course, Assassinate will make managing the Construct that much easier (or cover of darkness if you'd rather make the first part easier).

See FPR in action: https://youtu.be/ZYnSySchdn4

Alternate FRR Build: https://youtu.be/Ecz5xjW0vrA