Desecrated Cathedral Explained

Discussion in 'Oracle’s Database (Guides)' started by Darkerusaelp, Sep 29, 2015.

  1. Darkerusaelp Devoted Player

    In DC REG and Elite there are some things in place you may not have noticed.

    Let's start with Raven, she is the last boss that you encounter. (The Trigon is in the details.)

    Brother Blood (from a safe position) will periodically use magic that will draw blood from you. This is a defensive debuff denoted by a red shield under your name. A tank can cleanse this effect or you can just hold block until it dissipates.

    The most important thing that most groups struggled with at first was her reflection move. When she encases herself in a red glowing rose like shield. Thankfully this effect has a short duration but anyone who attacks her while it's up will immediately be incapacitated.

    Raven also periodically throws out tornados and encases the group. These moves have several functions with the tornado having an additional function to damage or outright kill a group member at a certain height of one while debuffed by Brother Blood. Breaking out of these moves can drain your power bar but you should break out. The third function is to cause interference with a damage dealers A.M.

    So I have described the troll check and the the heal check mechanic sort of. So why would you need a tank? Well for the adds that the Brother Blood and Raven summon. If not defeated quickly enough they will not only harass but could potentially wipe the group. The adds have one more function and that is to keep you from picking up fallen teammates. If you have a tank you have less to worry about.

    James is the second boss that you encounter. (He is also dressed to kill.)

    Periodically while fighting James, he will gain a massive attack buff. When you see cross hairs beneath his name have the Troll use a Damage debuff.

    James has a lunging attack that does over 19,000 damage if he lands it while your not blocking. With a tank you again have less to worry about. He teleports around less, it seems and he pulls the group in a whole lot less. With the follow up attack being a one shot you definitely want to avoid. Staying in close proximity to him should probably be avoided as well if your not a tank. The final part that is less problematic are the imps who come out on different sides of the room and empower the boss if given the chance. They need to either be pulled or controlled.


    Finally there's Jared, he is the first boss you encounter. (Nice shoes bro.)

    Periodically while fighting Jared, he will gain a massive defense buff. When you see a shield beneath his name have the Troll use a defense debuff.

    Jared can be the hardest boss without a tank and even with a tank he periodically drops aggro to knockout the DPS, HEAL or TROLL. It appears as if he doesn't like switches being triggered either. The flames that enter the room have two functions. To either kill group members or possibly heal Jared. If possible hit all the switches. Finally he has this smoke he puts on a random person. After a set amount of time it becomes volatile and explodes. If your not blocking when this occurs well...

    In closing I would like to say that I have had a lot of fun running the Desecrated Cathedral Alert. It is well designed and proves to be challenging even when you have all the mechanics figured out. Especially if you live that PUG life.
    • Like x 4
  2. L T Devoted Player

    Good write up.

    To which I would add: All tanks have two group break-outs available (one in each tree). It's tanking 101 to run with at least 1 -- and attacks like this are the real reason (not just for picking yourself up when countered). Big Barda in Exams and the Villain version of security breach is another attack that the tank can break the group out of. There are a bunch more, but those come to mind.
    • Like x 1
  3. Mega Chiroptera Well-Known Player

    If you NEED (keyword "need", as some people go in as tank simply because they do not DPS ever) a tank for DC normal, then there's something wrong with your group dynamic. Even in DCe, I will rarely grab a tank as I know that my leaguemates and I are more than capable of doing what's necessary, even if we pug a DPS every once in a while. Even with a relatively weaker DPS power in there, if the three non-tank roles are playing everything right then it's pretty easy.

    However, thank you for including the notes about debuffs. Jared has a defense buff as well as James's damage buff, so the troll may need to switch powers from his/her loadout in order to combat these effects. +1!
  4. Darkerusaelp Devoted Player


    I agree for the most part but not having a tank in DCE is not recommended. Raven, her Minions and her brothers are much easier to deal with with one.
  5. Mega Chiroptera Well-Known Player

    No offense, but this is especially sad to read two months after the release of this content. DCe is so easy that at this point I'm doing either 4 dps or 3 dps/1 heal. You could also do 3 dps and 1 tank if you're feeling saucy. But a tank is not needed.
  6. Darkerusaelp Devoted Player

    Thanks for the response and the advice. This guide however was made for people that may not be as experienced as you and I.

    Not too long ago I was invited to a DC ELITE group with 2 other DPS and 1 Troll and while we made it to Raven. We wiped once on the second boss and ran into some difficulty on the last boss. The Troll we started with even said "This is Elite you guys, we need a Tank" and left the group. We ended up finishing after bringing another Troll in and rotating supply drops and orbital strike's on the adds and Raven. However one thing to keep in mind is that everyones experience is different. For example Happiness Home has been out for even longer than Desecrated Cathedral but I still see groups wipe on Lasha and Stompa.
    • Like x 1
  7. Mega Chiroptera Well-Known Player

    Right... but I say again. You shouldn't need a tank. A half-intelligent group should be able to get through it no problem despite having that much "experience". If the burn is half decent and you have a heal or troll, it's usually a pretty clean run even with a lew CR, less experienced player.

    Also, your original response was:
    Why even post this if you and I are on par as far as "experience" goes? Who do you think is searching forums looking for this?
  8. Darkerusaelp Devoted Player

    Knowing mechanics and having support is how you succeed in DCUO and this section of this forums is for guides.

    If you want to locate a base item boom there's a guide.
    https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dcuo/index.php?threads/furnishings-drop-locator-guide.4340/

    If you are looking for a rare weapon style from a leveling mission that's here too.
    https://forums.daybreakgames.com/dcuo/index.php?threads/list-aqualungs

    The point is that there are guides for everything from loadouts to color matching with NPC's. As time passes we become so strong that we may even become jaded.
    [IMG]

    Well this guide is just here to help out players that want it. If we were to never share our knowledge with "noob" players how would they ever get better?

    According to the wiki Desecrated Cathedral was released on 9\2\15
    http://dcuniverseonline.wikia.com/wiki/Desecrated_Cathedral
    This guide was first added on 9\29\15
    • Like x 1
  9. Mega Chiroptera Well-Known Player

    The mechanics are listed in your original post. I have been going into elite without a tank since a few weeks after this came out. It's easy. I'm trying to let other players know that it's not necessarily worth getting a tank when you can just have another dps to help you burn quickly. A half decent troll and heal could keep everyone going. Tank unnecessary when you clearly know when to block, when to debuff, etc. All I said is that you don't NEED a tank, and I stand by it. I've carried 120-134 leaguemates through this alert without them even dying. It's easy. Easy easy easy. Especially when you have the steps to do it. Have a wonderful gaming experience.
    • Like x 2