Elite Dungeon Master Encyclopedia Volume 2: Dragonkin Laboratory Guide

sterling · October 29, 2021

Foreword

Hi guys, it's Ster again with another comprehensive guide on every Elite Dungeon in Velheim. This time, we take on what I think is the easiest amongst the 3 dungeons to do, ED2- or the Dragonkin Laboratory. It's also one of the shortest ones, with an average solo for me being 14-15 minutes only. Despite its shortcomings, it is still fun to do, speedrun or not. Besides, how else are you going to upgrade your Tectonic? I'd like to leave off this foreword with a shoutout to @Fulltimewife for showing me basically everything I know about this dungeon. Thank you!

Let's get into it.

Presets and Equipment

Spoiler

In ED2, you will almost primarily run Ranged if you have a Seren Godbow, as well as a mage swap for the beginning. If not, you will be using both Ranged and Magic. Solo or not, preset is kind of specific for the best efficiency.

Footnotes: Equipment

Completionist cape/Max Cape/Skill cape for hybrid bonuses among Ranged and Magic, as well as Cinderbane Gloves to maintain hybrid stats, and increase poison damage.
Elite Tectonic is what I have, but is what some of you are here to get in the first place. Use your best magic top and robe bottom, and your best magic weapon- dual wield or 2h.
The best slayer helm upgrade you have. You will gain the benefits of the helmet on a Dragons task for this dungeon. Therefore, I see no better option.
Essence of Finality (or) with Eldritch Crossbow special attack stored. If ECB is not an option, MSB is your best bet for this dungeon as you will be able to use it a lot. If Essence of Finality is not an option, Amulet of souls/Blood fury are decent alternatives.
Ring of Death to restore special attack as you route. Most of the mobs in this dungeon have a sizable pool of hp, so each kill is a good chunk of spec back. It's also good to camp this ring in a dangerous situation so you don't lose your charges or auras.
Illuminated Book of Chaos slotted first, with a Illuminated Book of Law and a Book of Wisdom. You only need 2 of them, but I take all three.
Dragonbane arrows in the ammo slot. These prove to be extremely effective vs dragons, and Seren Godbow gains the benefit of extra damage to dragons with them.
Aura slot should be in priority order from greatest to least: Dark Magic, Reckless, Vampyrism, Accuracy auras (Sharpshooter, Runic Accuracy, etc)

Footnotes: Inventory

Your overload should be a salve variant, or one that has antifire. If you have the Bad Breath perk, this isn't as important. The dungeon mainly consists of dragons, so antifire is absolutely needed.
Xp Capacitor 5000 to passively level up while running the dungeon. Not necessary, just something I like to bring.
Enhanced Excalibur for the heal on activation.
Weapon Poison ++ to couple with Cinderbanes- most of the enemies in this dungeon can be poisoned, so take advantage of it!
Adrenaline Flasks for restoring special attack. Shouldn't be too necessary for this dungeon with Ring of Death slotted, but useful for bosses nonetheless.
Asylum's surgeon Ring for its special attack reserve passive. Use it for bosses only. Hazelmere's signet ring for the final encounter of the dungeon to possibly double your draconic energies.
Seren Godbow is going to be your mainhand almost the entire dungeon if you have it. It combined with the Dragonbane Arrow effect are very effective.
Ascension Crossbow Mainhand & Kalphite Repriser Offhand (Asc Offhand) with Onyx Bakriminel Bolts (e) for the black hands at Black Stone Dragon. Also good to use for Verak Lith pillars.
Elite Sirenic Top with regular Sirenic chaps as a swap for me- I take Genocidal + Dragon Slayer on these chaps, so instead of my Elite chaps, these get used for this dungeon.
Illuminated Book of Law for bosses, and Illuminated Book of Wisdom + Law for Black Stone Dragon due to how much he can possibly move around during the fight. All 3 books are not necessary, but they fufill the situational niches.
(Super) Saradomin Brews/Stackable Food + Divine Spirit Shield for emergencies.

Equipment Perks

All perks follow the Ancient Invention Handbook (Topic 3435) with the exception of Sirenic Chaps.

Dragon Slayer perk + Genocidal on Dragons task. Gizmo #2 is largely preference. Before taking on ED2, grab a task from Laniakea, and get your amount remaining down to a low number.

That's it for all of our gear preset and setup. Now, let's go in!

Area I: Dungeon Entrance

Spoiler

Since the Dragonkin Laboratory is one floor, there is only one map for the entirety of it. To avoid confusion, I'll break the map down into fragments. We'll start with the first area up to Astellarn.

Refer to these fragments for any miscellaneous information regarding the dungeon.

When you first step in, this is the first room you'll see. You'll have to deal with all of the laboratory slimes to open the gate. These slimes will create more smaller versions of themselves the longer they hit you. To avoid multiplication, you can kite the slimes around and only have to deal with the initial 6 slimes. Otherwise, follow the arrows to gain aggro of all of them, and aoe them down at the gate with your mage setup. Proceed down the stairs, and equip your ranged gear.

Start by either going down the right staircase to kill the single Red Dragon, or kill the 2x Reds in front of the gate. Either way, all 3 need to die to continue past the barrier. Follow the arrows path to properly pull the mobs into aoe stacks. You can use either SGB spec or use magic attacks, although SGB is generally a stronger approach. When all 7 dragons in this picture die, the gate will open. Proceed onto the bridge with your magic gear equipped.
Note: Lava Spiders spawn in the room to your left and commonly aggro you if they walk outside of it. They're annoying to deal with, so try to avoid them if you can.

7x Magma Golems occupy this bridge, and they all attack with melee. These can become overwhelming very quickly if you're not praying Melee, or healing it all back with Soulsplit and Blood Barrage. Their attacks are not synced up with their walking animations, so they can still hit you even if they're nowhere near you. Follow the arrow path to properly collect the golems into one pile to aoe down. Proceed into the next room.

In the next room is a cluster of slimes, and 1 Celestial Dragon to take care of. You do not need to kill the slimes, only the dragon. However, doing this will result in the slimes following you into the next area, and possibly multiplying into a stack that could instantly kill you. If that's alright with you, take the left arrow path. Take the right path to aoe the slimes down, then take care of the dragon to continue into the next room.

This room consists of purely Celestial Dragons, all of which do not have to die in order to continue into the first boss encounter. Start by following the arrow path to pull the outlier of the 3 dragons in front of you. Stack them up and SGB spec them all. Aim for the one in the center of the cluster of them. If SGB is not an option, do the same pull, and barrage them down. The next dragon in front of the gate is the only one you have to kill to open the 2nd gate. Same applies for the 3rd gate into Astellarn's arena. Be sure to activate the chest at the doorway, and prepare for the first boss encounter.

Astellarn

Astellarn will remain in the same spot she is in the entire fight, and is not hostile until you attack her. She attacks with magic dragon breath attacks if you are a distance away from her. These attacks do not miss, prayer or not. You can also get melee distance and she will only do slight melee damage to you.

Pulsar

Her first special is the pulsar. This is a single entity that will spawn anywhere in the arena. It does damage to you with cannonball hitsplats. It will hit you from anywhere in the arena, and will never miss or stop attacking you until its dead. It's recommend you either deal with it first, or destroy it when Astellarn begins her next special, Celestial Rain.

Celestial Rain

Celestial Rain will begin when Astellarn reaches 200,000 HP (20,000 in 718 numbers) , and Astellarn will gain immense damage reduction. Celestial Rain does typeless damage that ramps up the longer you stand in it, so you should avoid it at all costs. The arena has been divided into four quadrants to show where the rain may move to, and where you will be on either side of it to avoid it. After a while, Astellarn will select a random player in the instance (only you if solo) to become the wormhole anchor point.

Wormhole/Neutron Star Lure

When you are chosen, a secondary hp bar will appear overhead, and at the end of it, a wormhole will spawn underneath you. This will deal heavy typeless damage if you're standing in the center, marked with an X, but light typeless damage if on the outside of the center. A neutron star will spawn, and will be drawn to you. It will follow you until either the wormhole consumes it, or it detonates on you, which will deal up to 550+ typeless damage to you. If this happens, its recommend to teleport out and start over. Guide the neutron star into the wormhole by pathing ahead of it. If done correctly, the neutron star will be engulfed by the wormhole, and the wormhole will turn white.

When it is in this state, you are safe to stand back inside of it, and should definitely do so. This is the only time you will do full damage to Astellarn. You have to remain inside the wormhole, or damage will be reduced again. Do as much damage as you can before the next wormhole spawns. Once Astellarn dies, all special attacks on field will cancel, and the gate will open to your right. Proceed into the next area, killing the first 2 Celestials in front of you to open the following gate.

Area II: 'Kalist Kirah'

Spoiler

Here is the primary area you will explore on the way up to Verak Lith, the 2nd boss encounter. There are over 2 Elite Dungeon chests in this area alone, so you'll have plenty of checkpoints. After you kill the 2 Celestials post Astellarn, proceed down the small staircase into the next area.

Up ahead, there is a large cluster of Lava Spiders, and 2 Lava Strykewyrms. Only the Wyrms need to die to open the gate. Follow the arrows, while trying to not aggro every spider in the process, as they start to hurt a lot if all of them are hitting you. Use your SGB spec on the left wyrm to hit the one on the right as well. Magic attacks also work in this regard if you don't have an SGB. Proceed through the gate after the wyrms die, still following the arrow path. If you wish to kill the spiders, get to the end of the arrow path so they will stack up, and aoe them down. Continue forward down the path.

Follow the arrow path until you reach the 2nd set of Black Dragons at the gate. Only these 2 need to die to open the gate, and you can hit the one marked with aoe to also hit the one behind him, as dragons hitboxes extend on their Southeastern square/tile. They will not always be so close to each other, and you won't be able to pull the one closest to the gate. He will simply walk in place trying to reach you. If this happens, either hit him with the aoe, or take them on as single targets. SGB spec or barrage them and proceed forward past the gate.

There will be 7x Black Dragons in the room ahead, but once again only 2 have to die. They are always the ones closest to the gate, which in this instance, were the ones inside the rectangle. You can stand at the gate itself to bring all the dragons onto one stack, or you can simply kill just those two and continue up the path. After the gate is open, proceed up the slope to where the 4x Lava Strykewyrms and 2x Black Dragons are. Only the 2nd set of Strykes have to die, as well as the dragons. Follow the arrow path to pull them all near each other, and SGB spec the left wyrm to hit every target. You can use Barrage here too, and its just as effective.

This is what you should see before hitting the left wyrm. Once dead, move forward past the gate.

4x Black dragons are in this section, but only the one at the gate must die to continue forward. Follow the arrow path and prepare for the 2nd boss encounter of the dungeon, Verak Lith. Activate the 'Molten Ruins' Chest and proceed up the rock into the arena.

Verak Lith

Verak will be in the center of the arena in-between 3 piles of eggs, non hostile until provoked. Begin the fight with an auto attack into an SGB spec. Verak attacks with Magic and Melee attacks if in melee distance. Both are very accurate and can hit up to 350+ every hit. It is recommend you either flick Soulsplit between mage pray, or use your food to sustain yourself if using ECB EoF spec. Verak will attack you with magic or melee attacks 4 times before he uses his first special attack.

Stone Spires

For the first special attack, Verak will slam his tail against the ground, and a stone spire will come out from underground (+1 spire per player), dealing about 150+ typeless damage to every player in the instance. As long as this spire is active, Verak Lith will be invulnerable to damage. Kill them as fast as you can. If you have dual wield ranged weapons, now is the time to get them out to quickly take care of the spire. Once the spire is gone, get back on Verak Lith and take 4 more attacks into his next special.

Note: Verak's attack rotation continues immediately after the spire comes out, so the first auto attack he does to you after the spire is out is the 1st of the 4 before special.

Poison/Ice/Shock Ricochet

Verak Lith will fire a projectile at you, which will ricochet toward an area indicated by a flashing yellow arrow. If you don't absorb it by standing on the arrow, you will take a typeless damage hit up to 250 damage (+1 hit for every player in instance if not absorbed). If you do absorb it, you will be put on a timer, and will need to cleanse it from you by going to its counterpart. The picture above shows where to go if absorbed. If this timer runs out and you have not cleansed, you will be hit for up to 500+ typeless damage. Generally speaking, its a better idea to just ignore the ricochet entirely and keep doing damage to Verak. He will do 4 auto attacks once again into his next special.

Black Dragon Dive Bomb

Verak Lith will stop attacking briefly to allow a dragon above to dive bomb you. The dragon flies by fast, and hits anything in the spot it flew past for some typeless damage. This one is pretty basic, just step to the side once and keep damaging Verak. After the dragon has flown by, Verak will return to his attack rotation, doing one more Stone Spires special.

Flame Vortices

Verak Lith will summon embers around a selected player, and they have a limited amount of time to get away from the area before they form into Flame Vortices. These hurt a lot, hit for typeless damage, hit every tick, and should be avoided at all costs. Quickly reposition away from the vortices, and hop back on Verak Lith. His attack rotation will reset after this special.

Continue to do damage until Verak Lith is dead. Once he is, the giant barrier at the 'Kalist Kiket Fia' teleport will go down, and the teleport will available at the dungeon's chests. Open your teleport menu (Ctrl+T), and go to the Dragonkin Laboratory teleport. Re-enter your instance, select the teleport option on the chest in front of you, and select the 4th option.

Area III: 'Kalist Kiket Fia'

Spoiler

The last and smallest part of the dungeon. Once at the chest, proceed past the bridge towards the gemstone dragons.

Past the bridge are 2x Onyx Dragons immediately, 3x Dragonstone Dragons, and an additional Onyx Dragon at the gate. Only those circled have to die to open the gate. Follow the arrow path to route backwards to get all of the necessary dragons stacked up and ready for aoe. Use SGB spec or Barrage as per usual. Proceed up the stairs after the gate is down.

Additionally, you can take this route, where you aggro the 3x Dragonstones, and the 1x Onyx at the gate, tuck into the right corner, and SGB/Barrage spec whatever is on the X marked area.

Directly ahead to the left are 2x Dragonstone Dragons. Follow the path arrows to stack them up and kill them both. Proceed forward past the gate. On your way to the next gate will be 2x Hydrix Dragons. They are not required to die to move forward- however, their special attack will drain your entire special attack bar if it lands. If you keep them alive, be wary of their attacks.

4x Dragonstones to take care of, 2x at each gate. Follow the path arrows to route them onto a stack, and use your SGB spec or Barrage. Once both gates are down, activate the 'Kalist Kiket Kreath' chest, and toggle the auto loot function off for the final encounter boss encounter of the dungeon- The Black Stone Dragon.

Black Stone Dragon

Upon entry, you will see the Black Stone Dragon in the center of a giant circle inscription. She is non hostile until provoked. Start the fight by attacking her- I like to ECB Ammy > Auto Attack > SGB Spec as an entry rotation. Black Stone Dragon attacks with Melee, Ranged and Magic. with her magic attacks being extremely accurate and always doing a sizable amount of damage. She will also fire out a gemstone dragon spike occasionally, which after a short delay, will hit under wherever you were. If you're hit by this, it'll do at least a 3rd of your hp in typeless damage. DPS Black Stone Dragon until she reaches 520,000 HP (52,000 in 718) and says "Arrrgh! It comes."

Black Hands

Black Stone Dragon will place herself in the center inscription, and will be immune to damage. Around all 4 corners of the inscription are Black Hands that must all die in order to continue the fight. They will attack using magic, and will do so twice before they use their special attack.

From underneath the hand, a double file line of hands will advance toward you quickly. You will take up to 200+ typeless damage rapidly if you don't move. Maintaining distance from the hands will give you more time to evade the line of hands. Use your dual wield crossbows to deal with the Black Hands faster. After all 4 are dead, you will be able to attack Black Stone Dragon again. She will auto attack you 3 times before her next special attack.

Shadow Bomb

Black Stone Dragon will cancel her attacks, and will fling a bomb in a direction. This can go anywhere around you and her, near or far, and has a large detonation radius. The explosion does up to 350+ typeless damage to you. If you are in the epicenter of the explosion, you will be hit twice instead. Swap to your Spirit Shield to reduce the damage of this attack, as it can very easily result in a K-O if in the epicenter, combined with her melee auto attacks. The bomb may launch itself away from and far from you. In the case of this happening, keep doing damage to her normally until the next phase begins.

Pogo Phase

Famously named 'Pogo Phase' due to her 'bouncing' around the arena.

Black Stone Dragon will gain an immense amount of damage reduction and will appear next to you, with a fireball coming from nearby. This fireball will occur every time she lands next to you, and it will deal rapid 350+ typeless damage hits if you do not evade its path. Black Stone Dragon will bounce around until she says "SHOW ME THE LIGHT!!!" After a small delay, you can do full damage to her again, and she will continue her original attack pattern post Black Hands. Keep doing damage until she finally dies. A long dying animation will play out, and you will have finished the dungeon. Proceed to loot the drop, and hope that it doubles your energies with the chest toggle!

Congratulations on your completion of the Dragonkin Laboratory!

Conclusion

That's the end of that, hope you guys liked it! I tried to give all special attacks their own little subsections and subtitles in this one, and I think it went well.

ED2 is an enjoyable dungeon to run, but quite a grind with the amount of Draconic Energy you can get (minimum of 1 only!) Regardless, it's faster than all the other elite dungeons, with some OK additional resource rewards (Remember ECB Parts from ED2 Bosses?)

The next and final dungeon to cover is ED3, The Shadow Reef!

Definitely my favorite one of them all, with the most combined runs of all of the 3. I'll try to get the next guide out soon as I can.

Until then, good luck and have fun!

- ster

Final Collection Log & Pet Showcase