Nightmare: Kaisinel's Illusion — Boss Guide

A detailed breakdown of the Nightmare boss Kaisinel's Illusion: the order of mechanics, when to use Defence, positioning for ranged and melee.

General Strategy

Throughout the entire fight, it's better to stay at close range to the boss — even for ranged characters. Reasons:

• The boss still shoots at range — there is no advantage to fighting from afar
• It's significantly easier to dodge most attacks up close
• You can often get behind the boss's back — he turns slowly
• Many mechanics require quick movement to a safe zone near the boss

Phase 1 — Core Mechanics

Mechanic 1 — Frontal AoE

The boss starts the fight with this attack. A frontal cone in front of Kaisinel.

• Easiest to dodge with a jump behind the boss's back
• That's why you should start the fight right next to the boss, even as a ranged
• At the start of the fight, you can use Defence if you're not fast enough

Mechanic 2 — Double AoE — Front and Back

Kaisinel teleports, then begins casting an attack that hits the area in front of and behind him simultaneously.

• Safe zone — to the sides of the boss
• If you're standing close to the boss — you will 100% have time to move to the safe zone
• If you're far away — easier to dodge with a dash/dodge roll

Mechanic 3 — Crystal — Explosive Zone

Kaisinel summons a crystal, which creates a field around it. After a certain time, the crystal explodes.

• You must leave the crystal's field — the explosion kills with 100% certainty
• Usually, at the same time as the crystal, Kaisinel teleports to a player and starts casting an AoE
• Tactic: Wait for Kaisinel's teleport to you, then start running away from the crystal and the AoE simultaneously

Mechanic 4 — Teleport + Circular AoE

Kaisinel teleports to a player and begins a circular AoE attack around himself.

• You must dodge — move out of the damage zone
• At the start of the fight, this mechanic follows immediately after the crystal summon

Mechanic 5 — Circles — 1 Large + 5 Small

One large circle appears under a player and 5 small circles appear around it. The mechanic repeats twice in a row.

• It's better to handle this mechanic near the boss, because the frontal AoE (Mechanic 1) comes right after it
• Ideally — dodge between the second set of circles, moving out of the large one
• Sometimes it's easier to stay in the large circle and take damage from one, than to miss and get hit by two

Mechanic 6 — Falling Spears (×4)

4 spears fall onto the arena, each applying a stacking debuff of −10% armor.

• You must dodge! With a high number of stacks, other mechanics become deadly
• Each hit = −10% armor, with 4 hits = −40% armor
• The debuff significantly increases damage taken from all subsequent attacks

Mechanic 7 — Diverging Beams

Kaisinel releases diverging beams from the center. You need to stand between the beams.

Your task is to jump through this moment by any means necessary. If you have ping issues, you will likely have to test exactly how to jump to avoid the damage. Also be careful, you cannot jump in place, as a damaging beam falls from above.

Phase 2 — Ancient Elemental

After the first beam mechanic, Kaisinel summons an Ancient Elemental. From this point, the fight becomes significantly harder — all previous boss mechanics continue, but the elemental's attacks are added.

Ancient Elemental's Attacks

Black Hole

Pulls all players towards the center. You must actively run away.

Tornado

Moving vortexes across the arena. Avoid contact.

Stun at Feet

AoE stun at the summon's location. Always keep your distance from the summon.

Laser Beam

The most dangerous attack. Usually misses, but if you are stunned — it instantly kills.

Phase 3 — Ground AoE Stuns

After the second beam mechanic, AoE explosions that stun begin to appear on the arena floor. They can be seen in advance via indicators.

• The explosions are visible in advance, but they can appear in the safe zones of Kaisinel's mechanics
• Because of this, sometimes you can only avoid them by dodging, not by standing in a safe zone
• Especially dangerous during the circle mechanic (1+5) — you can take a lot of damage
• All of Kaisinel's and the elemental's mechanics continue to work simultaneously

Using Defiance

Proper use of Defiance is critical in this fight:

Mechanics Order