Lost Ark Valtan Gates 1 and 2 Guide

Valtan is the first Legion Raid Commander you will face after clearing the long battle in South Vern. This raid has two gates that drop relic accessories, ability stones, legendary engraving books, and, most importantly, the Demon Bone. Demon Bone is your first step in completing your relic-grade sets to enhance your character to the present content in the western version of the game.

Requirement

Valtan Legion Raid will be available once you complete your legendary gear and reach a minimum item level of 1415 (Normal) and 1445 (Hard). Hard mode yields more Demon Bone with additional mechanics, while Normal Mode provides decent materials and less punishable patterns. Be aware that you will need at least 2-5 runs to make your first three relic-grade equipment. On top of that, to avoid getting gatekept by other players, you need to have at least 3-4 level 3 engravings, level 5-7 gems, and level 2-3 tripods.

Party Composition

DPS

DPS (backup counter)

Gunlancer (main counter)

Support (Pally/Bard)

Note: Supports can also be backup counters, especially Paladin.

This composition is the most effective way to beat Valtan since you can focus on the patterns without getting punished by the boss. The Gunlancer's taunt ability let it cancels most of its deadly pattern while opening a DPS window for the party. Additionally, The Gate 2 of this raid needs people who can counter Valtan to cancel wipe-out mechanics.

Recommended Combat Items

• HP Potion: If you're in a progression party where you will try to learn the boss's mechanics, I suggest you opt for a cheaper HP Potion. If you're in a clearing party, use purple HP Potion for two more stacks of potions.
• Panacea: You will need this item to cleanse the bleeding stack by the Red Wolf. Do take note that even high iLvl characters tend to die quickly without cleanse.
• Whirlwind Bomb: This is mandatory to help you clear the wipeout mechanic at x30 and x15 Health Bar.
• Dark Grenade: This is optional, especially if you're saving gold. Only use this item if your raid party is doing less DPS than usual.
• Sacred Charm: Supports should bring this item since it deletes one random debuff from nearby party members.

Sidereal Skills

This is one of the major mechanics that makes this raid exciting compared to the previous raids you've ever faced in Arkesia. These skills are powerful and give you an advantage in a given situation. As with all Legion Raids, three skills are available when your sidereal bar is full. These sidereal skills have unique features, and the skills included differ in every legion raid. As for this raid, these are the skills that you can use:

• Thirain: Deals damage and could potentially delete x10 HP bar.
• Wei: This is used to stagger the boss in either x30 or x15 HP Bar.
• Balthorr: This skill will grant you push immunity and protects your raid party from certain boss wipe mechanics.

Position

If you want to do this raid correctly without doing any 'cheese,' you must assign positions for the wipe-out mechanic at x30 and x15 health bars. Players should position at 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11 o'clock. The first four positions should have the highest stagger, and the last two are for members who can kite the orbs.

Mechanics Overview

x45 HP = Red Wolf

x40 HP = Red Wolf + Blue Wolf Invader

x30 HP = Orb Phase

x25 HP = Blue Wolf + Red Wolf Invader

x15 HP = Orb Phase

Main Mechanics

Red Wolf (x45 HP)

After you deal with x5 Health Bar, the boss will teleport in the middle. Stay at 9 or 11 o'clock until the transformation to avoid any incoming attacks. Once the red wolf appears, you can now DPS freely. The Red Wolf will deal enormous damage due to his bleeding stacks, so here's what you need to know to prevent him from exhausting your HP Potions:

• Red Wolf applies a 'bleeding' stack upon players that deals DoT (Damage over Time) and could be lethal for classes with less HP. Additionally, when one of your raid members acquires three stacks, the wolf will do a large AoE bleed slash damage that could potentially wipe out your party.
• Prevent reaching three bleed stacks by reading the enemy's attack and cleansing it by using Panacea on yourself or using Sacred Charm for your party member. 
• Gunlancer's Neliah's Energy is useful in this phase since it provides a shield and cleanses any debuff from your party member.
• One minor pattern you need to look out for is the boss' slashing combo. It's indicated by a red telegraph pattern and jumps backward to make a follow-up attack. Wait for him to finish his animation before committing to your skill rotation.
• The Red Wolf will also turn into a tornado and follow a specific player. Getting hit by this will quickly melt your HP to 0. To avoid this, you can dash away from the red circle and wait for him to turn back.
• The safest place to deal damage is either away from the boss or staying by his side. This way, you will likely avoid any fatal damages while using the DPS window.

Invader (x40 HP and x25 HP)

Once you reach x40 HP, the red wolf will summon the Blue Wolf to help him on the battlefield. Two players will be marked by red and blue target icons and ought to go to opposite sides of the arena (12 and 6 o'clock) to lure them out of each other. Otherwise, both will gain a big defensive buff and prevents your DPS from dealing high damage due to restricted space.

Note: At x25 HP, a yellow buff will appear above four random players. These players need to damage the Blue Wolf.

Orb Phase (x30HP and x15 HP)

This is the major mechanic of this raid that could wipe out your party. In this phase, the boss will teleport to the map's middle and summon eight orbs. Your goal is to stagger the boss before the time runs out while consuming the orb in the correct order. But don't worry, there are two ways to beat this pattern:

Wei Cheese

This is highly recommended for beginners doing the raid for the first time. Seven players stack at the southmost corner of the map while the raid leader stands in the middle. The leader will cast Wei (CTRL+X) and runs north, making all orbs follow him until they disappear.

Orbs + Wei

This is the fastest yet risky method of dealing with this pattern. Remember the positioning I mentioned earlier? This is where you need to utilize it. Each player must take one orb in the correct order, or the team will be wiped out. 

The strategy is players with the highest stagger should be at the first four positions and take the orbs. After taking the orb, throw Whirlwind Grenade to help with the stagger. Meanwhile, the last two orbs should be kited away from your teammate, who are doing their best to stagger the boss. At x15 HP, you can just use Wei and follow the strategy of Wei Cheese. In this method, you will be able to save your sidereal skills for the 2nd wipe-out mechanics saving you a lot of time.

Tip: The timing is tight, so you must do this in quick succession and with no errors. The best tip would be to look at the boss' debuff number to know when to take your orb.

Final Phase

After you've finished the last major mechanic at x15 HP, the boss will enter its final phase. In this phase, you will just need to deplete the boss's remaining health bar to zero to clear the gate. The only thing that you need to look out for is when the purple wolf summons a gravity field and inflicts fear on the farthest player. The player who got 'feared' must ping (Ctrl+ LMB) it as soon as possible. Your remaining party member must go to that position and wait for the boss to appear. When the stagger bar is up, cast your high-stagger skills and throw Whirlwind Bomb. Failing this stagger twice will lead to a raid wipe.

Conclusion

Overall, this is an easy introductory raid that enables you to be accustomed to some mechanics in later raids, such as Vykas or Kakul Saydon Raid. I advise newbies to join learning parties encouraging Orb + Wei Method. This will benefit you in the long term since most of the Legion Raids have orbs mechanics, which will be discussed in other articles. If you liked this guide, tune out for more guides!

Lost Ark Valtan Legion Raid Gate 2 Guide

Valtan Legion Raid Gate 2 is the last part of the raid and offers one of the most exciting mechanics in the game. This will also train you to use your counter ability in the following legion raids in western Lost Ark.

Requirement

Like the first gate in Valtan Legion Raid, you must reach at least iLVL 1415 (Normal) and 1445 (Hard) and drop relic-grade accessories and additional materials. Moreover, I highly suggest you have 3-4 level 3 engravings, level 5-7 gems, and level 2-3 tripods to avoid getting gatekept by other players.

Note: Gatekeeping is the term where raid leaders don't accept you in the party because you lack the minimum requirement aside from item level.

Party Composition

DPS

DPS (backup counter)

Gunlancer (main counter)

Support (Pally/Bard)

This gate requires people to have at least one counter skill in their hotkeys. This is because many mechanics are involved in successfully countering Valtan to prevent a squad wipe or lethal patterns. 

Recommended Combat Items

HP Potion: I've been doing Valtan Raid ever since it arrived in western Lost Ark and the most efficient option to use is Blue Potion. This is because you won't likely die of some of his attacks due to damage but because he knocks you out of the arena.

Corrosive Bomb: This is needed to break Valtan's shield on the Armor Breaking Phase of the raid. The raid leader or the support should bring this.

Destruction Bomb: Aside from the Corrosive Bomb holder, the remaining party members must bring this item to break his armor stack as quickly as possible.

Time Stop Potion: This will help you 'cheese' some of his deadly moves and usually will save your life.

Dark Grenade: If you're struggling to deal massive damage, this will help you deal 20% more DPS.

Sidereal Skills

The sidereal skills are explained in my previous Valtan Gate 1 Guide and are the same. In this gate, you will likely use Balthorr twice and Thirain.

Mechanics Overview

x160 HP = Armor Break Phase

x130 HP = Wipe Pattern (Sidereal: Balthorr)

x110 HP = Pillar Hug

x85-80 HP = Stage Break + Pillar Hug

x65 HP = Counter Attack

x35-30 HP = Stage Break + Pillar Hug

x17-15 HP = Ghost Transition (Sidereal: Balthorr)

x40 HP = Ghost Phase (Sidereal: Thirain)

Main Mechanics

Armor Break (x160 HP)

1. Stack at the 4 o'clock pillar and wait for Valtan to charge.
2. After the 2nd charging animation, throw your Corrosive Bomb.
3. Dash away from Valtan after the red telegraph appears
4. Once Valtan is stunned, everyone must throw Whirlwind Bomb and use their Weak Point skills until he gets stunned for the 2nd time to remove his first armor stack.
5. Stack at the next pillar at either 2 or 11 o'clock of the arena.
6. Once he got stunned, use this opportunity to deal as much weak point damage as possible before he jumps off the arena.
7. Valtan will summon eight projectiles targeting each player in the arena. Run in a small circle and move immediately to the edge of the arena to survive the follow-up AoE attack.
8. (Optional) Use Time Stop Potion or damage reduction abilities such as Bard's Guardian Tune to avoid death.
9. Once Valtan lands back at the center of the arena, wait for him to commit his 3rd charge.
10. Stack at the 8 o’clock pillar and wait for Valtan to charge.
11. Repeat Steps 2-4

1st Wipe Mechanic (x130 Health Bar)

After reaching the specific health bar, Valtan will attack the ground twice. A red telegraph attack indicates the first strike, and the 2nd attack covers the whole arena leading to a raid wipe. Use Sidereal Skill: Balthorr when Valtan is around x130 Health Bar. This way, you will gain a damage reduction buff and push immunity that prevents you from taking lethal damage.

Note: If you missed Balthorr's buff, you could get the blue orbs lying around the map and dodge the first strike.

Pillar Hug (x110 HP)

Valtan flies into the air and summons a huge cone-shaped zone with the yellow telegraph on the map. The red zone follows a random player until it locks a specific location. The player with the cone-shaped telegraph should lure it away from the party members hiding behind the pillar.

Note: You can use time stop potion on the yellow pillar to avoid lethal damage. On the other hand, you can't time stop in the red zone since it's an instadeath pattern.

A similar pattern is repeated once Valtan is back on the ground, but there's no yellow zone this time. This long DPS window lets you deal massive damage or even push him to the next pattern. As for the targeted player, simply dodging out of the red zone once it stops moving is enough to survive this pattern.

Stage Break + Pillar Hug (x85 HP and x35 HP)

Upon reaching the specific health bar, he randomly destroys the arena's outer or right side. After that animation, Valtan will summon pillars and do the same strategy mentioned above. The easiest way to complete this mechanic is to group into the middle and go to the safe zone once Valtan lands.

Note: After the stage break pattern, Valtan can push you out of the arena leading to instadeath. This will make the raid a little harder because one pattern can push you out of the arena.

2nd Wipe Mechanic (x65 HP)

Valtan will leap into the air and land in the center of the arena. Afterward, he will stomp on the ground and causes a delayed explosion below each player. To avoid getting punished by this move, group up a few steps away from the center and dash (spacebar) as soon as he stomps on the ground.

After the stomp, the mechanic will begin. He will turn toward the group and prepare a charge-and-grab attack. You need to interrupt it to prevent it from getting wiped. The easiest way to do this is to count three seconds after the cutscene and use a counter skill.

Ghost Transition (x15 HP)

Once Valtan reaches this phase, he will charge into a portal and reappears back in the center with a slam attack toward the bottom side of the arena. To 'cheese' this mechanic, summon Sidereal Skill: Balthorr for the 2nd time after he leaves the arena.

Ghost Phase (x15 Health Bar)

This is the final pattern that you need to face to beat Valtan. He will turn into a Ghost and regenerate some of his health bars. He will gain four armor stacks (Normal Mode) and six stacks (Hard Mode). To deal more damage to him, you must successfully remove all his armor stacks by countering his clones. You only need to focus on dodging his attacks and countering the clone. Once the armor stacks are gone, you can damage freely and summon Sidereal Skill: Thirain to finish him off.

Conclusion

Overall, Valtan Gate 2 will take about 1-2 hours for the first clear and would take only 20-30 mins if you're an expert. This raid requires strong coordination and knowledge of his patterns. If you liked this guide, stay tuned for a more comprehensive raid guide.