Gotta Start Somewhere

> "*The start of a story has its ups and downs.*"
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**Gotta Start Somewhere** is the third challenge on the *Beginnings* board. It consists of defeating a duo of Ash Dragonblade and Drakath Slugwrath  at the same time.

## Rules

### Global

1. Any time an extra action is gained, both Ash and Drakath will gain a stacking 20 All until they act.

### Ash Dragonblade

1. Ash can be stunned.
2. Ash has three different rotations.
	* The initial rotation has Ash gaining massive amounts of Bonus and Boost every time he completes it.
	* The second rotation has Ash gaining permanent +50 Bonus and Boost and ends with nuke into a full heal.
	* Ash's final rotation ends with a 33.3% heal.
3. Ash has three phases to his fight:
	* From 100-50% HP, Ash is in phase 1.
	* The first time Ash goes below 50% HP, he becomes immune to damage until his next action, resets his HP back to 100%, and enters Phase 2.
	* After using his entire phase 2 rotation, Ash enters phase 3.
4. When Ash is brought below 25% HP, he gains a permanent +50 Bonus and Boost buff.

### Drakath Slugwrath

1. Drakath will become immune to all damage until he takes a direct hit of a specific element, while protecting himself with BPD.
	* The elements Drakath can pick are:
		+ Darkness.
		+ Light.
		+ Fire.
		+ Water.
	* Until it is resolved for the first time, Drakath gains Boost and Bonus every turn.
	* The first time this happens, it will be one element with a unique popup. All times after, all four elements will be picked at random, and must be resolved in the same order they were applied.
		+ In addition, Drakath will use a different rotation after the first resolution.
2. Each time his protection is broken, Drakath will use a "recovery" rotation that opens with a nuke that grows stronger the longer his initial one element protection was maintained.

## Equipment

Like in Unending Empires, stacking both Light and Darkness resistance will greatly help in winning, since Ash Dragonblade deals exclusively Light damage, while Drakath Slugwrath deals exclusively Darkness damage.

The following is a relatively easy free player setup that reaches 80 Light and Dark:

* Exalted Apotheosis
* Relic DeathKnight Cloak
* Mechanical Ring VII
* Relic DeathKnight Helm
* Relic DeathKnight Amulet
* Exalted Blaster II (any version will work, but Amalgam is best)
* Relic DeathKnight Belt
* Legion Bracer

The following setup also reaches 80 Light and Dark and provides much better stats, but requires DM gear and DCs. Note that Relic DeathKnight Amulet and Belt may still be better because they offer elemental protection and Immobility resistance.

* Exalted Apotheosis
* Radiant Wings of Light
* Mechanical Ring VII
* Radiant Crown of Sek Duat
* Defender's Dragon Necklace XXXV
* Exalted Blaster II (Amalgam)
* Defender's Dragon Belt XXIII
* Legion Bracer

## Strategy

* Ash should be dealt with first, as he is the more immediate threat.
	+ The faster Ash enters phase 2 the better, as he constantly gains Bonus and Boost if he remains in phase 1.
* Ash can be stunned, which can be used to buy turns to deal damage.
* Drakath should have his initial 'Royal Right' resolved immediately, reducing the damage of his nuke, and forcing him into his second rotation.
	+ Doing this ASAP effectively removes Drakath from the fight, as his damage output is virtually nonexistent.
* In Phase 2, pay attention when Drakath picks his elements for 'Royal Right', as the animation is the only tell for what order to attack in.
* As Drakath does not attack with his nuke until you resolve the last Royal Right, you can delay triggering it until your defensive skills are off cooldown, ensuring survivability.
* Due to requiring four separate hits to resolve 'Royal Right' after the first resolution, Drakath is effectively only vulnerable during his recovery rotation.

## Classes

* DoomKnight is an excellent choice with a Protection Dragon, as it has the damage to burst Ash quickly, while being able to alternate between Void Barrier and Dragon Scales to handle Drakath's "recovery" nukes.
* DeathKnight is a solid choice, as it passively has lots of Light/Darkness resistance with Relics, and has the damage to burst Ash quickly, even without a fed dragon. In addition, after Ash is taken care off, Edge of Death can be safely used as a damage mitigation tool as Drakath does not apply any DoT effects.
* Technomancer is another solid choice, as it has high damage thanks to drive boost, and with correct shield timing is also able to avoid every instance of Shadowbreaker from Ash, ensuring survivability. In addition, it has high uptime +Bonus to be able to hit thru Ash and Drakrath's shields.