Aivela & Esne

Detailed Strategy

Opener - Kill Codex Units, Nexus 100% - 50%

In the opener, the team kills all Codices around the room. Each Codex will drop 1 clickable item on the ground (2 in 16m) that provide a Polarity Module. Each player should pick up one. This enables the player to “swap colors”.

After killing all Codices, the team damages the Nexus (middle of the platform) down to 50% health, at which point it shields. Aivela & Esne spawn at this point and the main fight begins.

Phase 1 - A&E 100% - 72%

Aivela & Esne are immobile during Phase 1 and 2. They periodically target random players with Polarized Energy Burst (see below for priority of color matching). Glare droids spawn at the cardinal directions (points of the diamond-shaped platform) and target players with Purification Beam conal and knock back any players who get too close to them. Countermeasures spawn at the middle of each edge of the platform and target random players with low damage attacks.

The strategy for this phase is to DPS Aivela & Esne while moving away from the group and matching colors to deal with Polarized Energy Burst (AoE) and Purification Beam (long conal). See below for priority on these items. Each boss shields itself at 72% until both are shielded then the encounter moves to Phase 2.

Phase 2 - A&E 72% - 40%

All mechanics in Phase 1 continue here (bosses immobile, Polarized Energy Burst AoE attack, Purification Beam conal attack) and a new one is added. Aivela & Esne cast Radiance that applies a very large AoE circle that deals damage to anyone standing inside it without matching its color. See below for discussion of color matching.

The strategy is the same as Phase 1 to continue burning Aivela & Esne while moving away to deal with mechanics and matching colors to minimize damage. Each boss shields at 40% health and the fight moves to Phase 3 after both are pushed.

Phase 3 - A&E 40% - 15%

Phase 3 changes the fight significantly. The Polarized Energy Burst AoE and the Radiance huge AoE mechanics remain, but both Aivela & Esne are now mobile and the Purification Beam mechanic changes significantly. Called the "Wiper Beams", in Phase 3 the Purification Beam does not target a player but consists of two beams of the same color that sweep across the platform and affect everyone. See below for discussion of color matching.

The general strategy is to group up Aivela & Esne in the middle and burn them equally until both are around 15%. This strategy causes the group to take extra damage from Radiance but makes it easier to survive the Wiper Beams and the AoE damage and DoT spread damage can dramatically shorten the phase.

Burn Phase - A&E 15% - 0%

Once both Aivela & Esne are at around 15% health, the entire team should focus down one of them at a time. Once either boss reaches 7% they will start an 8s cast of Overdrive Mode, which if completed will heal them for 6-7% of their health, buff their overall damage, and change their Polarized Energy Burst cast (which can be mitigated by matching the color) to Overdrive Energy Burst (which cannot be mitigated via matching colors).

The idea behind this strategy is that by focusing one boss down first, most groups should be able to kill at least one boss before the Overdrive Mode cast heals them both and extends the fight. Even if one boss completes the cast, burning down the remaining boss despite the extra health is not a major challenge.

It is particularly important that any player targeted by Overdrive Energy Burst (the blue/white AoE) move away from the group.

There are no tank-specific mechanics in the Aivela & Esne encounter in Story Mode. Tank(s) should hold aggro on the bosses at all times (or as much as possible on both if solo tanking). It is helpful to use AoE taunts to hold aggro on the Countermeasures when possible but not super important in Story Mode.

Otherwise, follow mechanics and mitigate as much damage as possible by matching colors. Make sure to stand outside the Radiance on the far boss in Phase 2 onward.

Try to time your use of defensive cooldowns to make sure they are all up for the burn phase, as that is the only time damage typically gets difficult assuming players match colors to other mechanics.

There are no healer-specific mechanics in the Aivela & Esne encounter in Story Mode. The fight should feel very easy to heal until the burn phase, provided that players match color mechanics.

A helpful strategy to your DPS and tanks is to try and kite as many Glare beam attacks as possible. See the discussion below regarding Hard Mode where that healer mechanic is much more important.

When Aivela & Esne enter burn phase, be prepared for much higher burst healing. If either boss completes the Overdrive Mode cast, they will begin doing higher basic damage to the tank(s) and will substitute Polarized Energy Burst with Overdrive Energy Burst, meaning that it is guaranteed to hit for moderate AoE damage.

Aivela & Esne is very nearly a tank and spank encounter in Story Mode. The main thing to consider prior to burn phase is to watch each boss' health. The first one to reach the trigger for the phase (72% or 40%) will shield until the other boss catches up, so make sure to avoid attacking a shielded enemy.

Make sure to follow mechanics in burn phase. Once both bosses hit 15%, swap to one and burn it down. Make sure you swap to the correct one based on pre-fight discussions or in-fight call-outs from the ops leader. Assuming one boss completes Overdrive Mode, watch for the AoEs for Polarized Energy Burst and move out of the group to take the damage. If you hit a defensive cooldown and avoid clipping the group, the damage should be manageable for your healers to clear the phase.

Detailed Strategy

Opener - Kill Codex Units, Nexus 100% - 50%

Each player should stand on their assigned Codex and kill it (2 per Codex in 16m). After DPS kill their Codex they should immediately pick up the Polarity Module and then go help tanks and healers kill their assigned Codex.

After all 8 Codices are destroyed, all DPS should swap to the Nexus. Players should spread out so that only the targeted player is clipped by Charge Fire. Once the Nexus reaches 50% health it will become immune to damage.

While Aivela and Esne come down, players should make sure they have picked up their Polarity Module and teams should split to their assigned boss.

Phase 1 - A&E 100% - 72%

Teams should be split with half the team assigned to Aveila and half to Esne. The objective is to DPS each boss to 72%. If one boss gets pushed first, DPS on the other team should swap and help push the other boss.

Tanks should swap after each boss casts Remote Access. These casts should be synchronized during Phase 1 and happen simultaneously.

Players should match polarity with any Polarized Energy Burst AoE attacks and move out of the group. Any players targeted by Glare Charge Fire attacks should move to the edge of the platform to avoid the beam going through the group.

DPS players should maintain aggro on their assigned Countermeasure Droid. Watch for Prioritize for Countermeasures to reset aggro and swap to healers, and immediately regain aggro through damage or taunt. Prioritize has a visual cue (see above), an audio cue, it will be visibly evident that your Countermeasure is targeting someone else, you will also see healers begin to pick up stacks of Disruptor Pulse, and finally the healers and/or ops lead will start yelling to pick up Countermeasures.

DPS players with DoT spread should endeavor to periodically DoT spread to Countermeasures to maintain aggro while minimizing loss of uptime on the bosses. Tanks should periodically AoE taunt to assist with maintaining aggro, which is especially helpful immediately after Prioritize.

Skilled healers should try to be the Glare’s target as often as possible. See the role specific discussion for healers below.

Phase 2 - A&E 72% - 40%

Phase 2 has all of the same mechanics as Phase 1 with two additions, Synergy Protocol and Radiance. All previous mechanics (tank swap on Remote Access, match polarity to Polarized Energy Burst/Charge Fire, DPS/tanks keep aggro on Countermeasure droids) continue during this phase.

Radiance is a large color circle centered on each boss and matching their polarity (Aivela = White, Esne = Red). Standing in a circle without matching its polarity will deal steady light damage. Anytime a player is not changing polarity to match Polarized Energy Burst or Charge Fire, they should match the color of their boss’ Radiance circle. Players should also position themselves outside the far boss’ circle so that they are only standing in one circle and can mitigate its damage by matching the circle. Standing inside the overlapping Radiance circles will deal damage regardless of polarity and should be avoided except during tank swaps or Synergy Protocol.

Synergy Protocol is a channeled beam from the Nexus to each of Aivela and Esne. The beam will buff each boss’ damage to a point that is impossible to heal through if not interrupted. A DPS player on each side must stand between the Nexus and their boss to interrupt the beam. See the graphic above in connection with the ability graphic and description for an example of the positioning.

It is critical that one player takes all stacks continuously without either stepping out briefly or another player (most likely a tank during a tank swap) stepping in and taking a stack. A full channel will apply 24 stacks of System Shock.

As soon as a player stops getting stacks they pick up the Mortal Frailty debuff. Getting another stack of System Shock from another channel of Synergy Protocol will instantly kill the player. This prevents the same two players from handling all channels of Synergy Protocol.

The strategy must be to have two DPS players step in to take Synergy Protocol the first channel, then a different pair of DPS should take the next channel. If a third (or fourth) channel is needed, these four should continue alternating to allow time for the Mortal Frailty debuff to fall off safely.

Phase 3 - A&E 40% - 15%, Nexus 50% - 5%

Phase 3 continues all of the mechanics from Phases 1-2 except for Synergy Protocol and the Glare droids no longer use Charged Fire. Polarized Energy Burst AoEs, Remote Access tank swaps, Radiance huge AoE circles all continue.

Beginning in Phase 3 and continuing until the end, both Aivela and Esne are mobile and will follow the tank. Tanks should generally hold each boss around their original position, as this leads to Radiance circles not overlapping so that players can match polarity to Radiance to avoid damage.

Due to the impact of the Purification Beam mechanic in Phase 3 and Burn Phase, tanks generally should not change positions as they typically do in Phases 1-2. Instead, tanks should cross-taunt so that Aivela & Esne themselves swap positions. This means DPS need to coordinate and generally should swap targets as well.

Both Aivela and Esne begin to do more damage in this phase via a ranged attack if the tanks do not match their polarity. When tank swapping, it is especially important to match the color of the boss you are picking up immediately to avoid taking high burst damage.

The main mechanic introduced in Phase 3 is the Purification Beam mechanic, also called the “wiper beams”. This mechanic features all four Glare Droids targeting their beam attack at one side of the platform adjacent to the Glare then sweeping it across the platform. Two beams will be Positive/White and two will be Negative/Red. The beams can sweep in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. This leads to 8 possible combinations of Purification Beams.

The goal for Purification is to survive the sweeping beams by matching polarity. The most efficient strategy is for each team to move towards the pair of colored beams that will intersect first and closest to the group, then swap to the alternate color and wait for those beams to cross through the group.

See below for more extensive discussion on this mechanic.

Also during this phase, the Nexus will lose its shield. A DPS should be tasked with damaging the Nexus to around 5-10% health early in the phase. It is very important not to accidentally kill the Nexus but keeping it at low health is critical to a successful burn phase. A ranged DPS is the best to handle this task as they can avoid standing in the middle. Ranged DPS with DoT spread abilities should be careful during tank swaps to avoid clipping the Nexus and killing it too early.

Burn Phase - A&E 15% - 0%, Nexus 5% - 0%

The burn phase unofficially begins as Aivela and Esne reach around 15% health, though some teams may prefer a different level (20% is also common). There is a very clear order of operations in this phase to have a clean kill. It should generally proceed as follows:

• Focus DPS on the first boss to be killed. (It doesn’t matter which.)

• One or two DPS should swap to the Nexus around 10% health on the first boss.

• Push first boss to 7%. This will trigger Empowered Shield and make the first boss immune to damage.

• All DPS should swap to and kill the Nexus. This must happen before the first boss can complete the Overdrive Mode cast.

• The assigned DPS should pick up the Disruption Module.

• As soon as the first boss begins casting Overdrive Mode (again), the DPS with the Disruption Module should begin casting Disruption Pulse. Overdrive Mode is an 8 second cast while Disruption Pulse is a 4 second cast, so it must begin with more than 4 seconds remaining on the Overdrive Mode cast. A successful cast will interrupt the Empowered Shield and make the boss vulnerable to damage.

• Team kills the first boss.

• Team swaps to second boss and damages boss to 7% health triggering Empowered Shield.

• As soon as possible, the player with the Disruption Module casts Disruption Pulse to break the shield.

• Team kills the second boss.

There are a few other mechanics to consider during this phase. The most important is that no matter what happens, the second boss will complete its cast of Overdrive Mode. The cast will heal the boss 7.5% of its health, significantly buff its damage and enable it to cast Overdrive Energy Burst. This buffed AoE attack cannot be mitigated through matching polarity. The targeted player must get out of the group and use a defensive cooldown if possible.

The second mechanic is that Remote Access no longer goes out after the first boss is pushed to 7%. Once that happens, no more tank swaps are necessary. Yay!!!

The third mechanic to consider is that Countermeasure droids are still targeting players and applying the Disruptor Pulse debuff. It is really easy to lose track of this mechanic and find your healers with lots of stacks and unable to heal effectively. The team should communicate if healers pick up stacks and make sure to re-aggro their Countermeasures.

After the first boss is killed, the tank who had the first boss should take over Countermeasure duty for both Countermeasure droids on their side of the room. Particularly for groups with melee DPS, this helps them maintain better uptime on the boss.

Tanks have a fairly challenging task for the A&E fight just based on the frequency of the Remote Access tank swap. It is a straightforward mechanic but must be executed quickly and correctly many times during the fight. Once the group enters Phase 3, a mistake on the swap is likely a group wipe due to a tank getting Spike and dying to wiper beams since they cannot match polarity.

Tank Swaps & Focus Target

I highly recommend using the Focus Target function to make the tank swap easy and quick. Tab targeting or manually clicking your target for tank swaps is very frustrating due to the many other enemies. As soon as Aivela and Esne come down to begin Phase 1, I set the other boss as the focus target (default Alt+F) and then pick up my boss. (Assuming you have Focus Target cast bar enabled, this also means you can easily track the health and cast abilities of both bosses, which is super helpful if a tank is your ops leader.)

When Remote Access goes out, I hit Alt+F again to swap targets. For example, if I initially pick up Esne as my main target and have Aivela as my focus target, then hitting Alt+F will swap so that Aivela is my main target (whom I can now taunt to complete the tank swap) and Esne is now my focus target. This tool is very helpful on any multi-boss fights with tank swaps (e.g., Dread Guards and Dread Council).

Remote Access & Spike

As discussed above, initially the Remote Access casts will happen simultaneously and so the tank swap is fairly straightforward. Depending on how evenly the bosses are pushed to 72% or 40% the casts may get slightly out of sync. If so, it is important that you do not pick up the other boss until they place Remote Access on the other tank. This means you may briefly hold aggro on both bosses by taunting the other boss and holding yours until Remote Access goes out, or conversely may briefly have aggro on none.

If a tank gets Spike it is critical that the other tank picks them up immediately. Spike prevents you from matching polarity to that color, so you need to be hyper aware of any color mechanics that target you from the Spike color and use defensives accordingly. Charge Fire or Purification Beam are super dangerous from that perspective though since they are one shot mechanics. Shadow / Assassin tanks can use Resilience / Force Shroud or Guardian / Juggernaut tanks can use Blade Blitz / Mad Dash to cheese damage from the beams. If a tank gets Spike during the Purification wiper beam phase, use those defensives when the Spike colored beams near you and run/dash through the “X” so that you cross both beams and will survive.

Countermeasure Droids

Since Aivela & Esne are usually spaced far apart, tanks can and should use AoE taunts to help keep Countermeasure droids off of healers. I usually try to time my AoE taunt right after the Prioritize effect that resets aggro, which lets me hold initial aggro on the nearby Countermeasures until the DPS can re-establish aggro.

During Phase 3 and the burn phase, tanks should be very careful about using AoE taunts as the bosses are mobile and it’s very easy to clip both and cause a wipe. After the first boss dies in burn phase, the free tank should use their taunts to hold aggro on the far Countermeasures then help DPS the remaining boss.

Healers do not have any mandatory mechanics other than following general team mechanics for matching colors. They can be super helpful by helping to call out players who match the wrong colors for Radiance, as that will provide a noticeable impact on healing.

A useful trick for healers that can help minimize complexity for other players is to grab aggro on as many Glare beam attacks as possible. As a reminder, the Glares aggro to whichever player is closest and has the opposite polarity. The first color is always random but afterwards is predictable during Phases 1-2.

The simplest way to ensure you always get at least one Glare beam attack is to stand closest to the top or bottom Glares. The first color in each phase is random but just match the color of the first Glare beam attack, which will ensure you are the opposite color for the next. Continue changing your color to match the glare attack as usual and stay in that color to make sure you pick up the next one. This means you will take slightly more damage from Radiance when your color does not match, but is helpful especially during Phase 2 to reduce the chances of DPS in the middle for Synergy Protocol having to cleave beams through the middle of the platform.

DPS players have several specific responsibilities during the A&E encounter in Hard Mode. Their biggest task is to maintain aggro on the Countermeasure droids. As outlined above in mechanics, they reset their aggro periodically via Prioritize that has an audio and graphical cue. DPS players can use AoE attacks or DoT spreads to clip Countermeasures and keep aggro on the boss, DPS players with a taunt can use that, or players can simply swap to the Countermeasure for 2-3 GCDs then swap back.

In Phase 2, DPS players need to handle the Synergy Protocol mechanic. One player from each side needs to step in to absorb the channel for its full channel, then swap places with another DPS, and continue swapping for alternating channels until the phase ends.

In Phase 3, one DPS needs to handle damaging the Nexus down to around 5-10%. It’s important that players be careful to get the Nexus low but avoid killing it early at all costs. All DPS players need to remember the Countermeasures, as they will frequently reset aggro during Purification wiper beams and will need to be picked back up.

As the team enters the burn phase, DPS need to pay close attention to boss health. The easiest way to screw up the burn phase is pushing the first boss and Nexus in the wrong order. The easiest method is to push one boss to 7% and trigger Empowered Shield, then kill the Nexus during the first cast of Overdrive Mode. A DPS then picks up the device and casts to break the shield while Overdrive Mode is being cast again. DPS need to communicate about Nexus health and avoid pushing the boss if the Nexus has too much health.