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This information relates to the Manhattan Exclusion Zone (MEZ) raid in New York, aka the New York raid.
I’ll be covering Story mode, Elite 1, and Elite 5 difficulties.
If you already know the Story and Elite 1 mechanics, scroll down to the end for the Elite 5 differences!
The Raid Team
The raid is composed of 2 tanks, 2 healers and 6 DPS. Ideally, you want a maximum number of 2 melee DPS, (and that includes having a ranged primary and melee secondary,) I’ll be coming back to why this is a little later on.
The big damage
The Lurker’s main attack on the tank is a stacked debuff called Whisper of Darkness (WoD). As soon as the Lurker targets a player, they will receive 40 stacks of WoD. These tick down every 0.5 seconds, and deal highest damage at 40 stacks.
If the Lurker is still targeting a player when their WoD stacks reaches zero, it will inflict a few hundred thousand damage, killing the player. The way to handle this is by having tanks alternating being the Lurker’s target. WoD stacks will continue to decay, but as long as the tank with low stacks is not being targeted when their stacks reach zero, they will not take any extra damage. As soon as the Lurker changes target, that player will receive the maximum 40 stacks of WoD – even if they still had stacks remaining, they will go back to 40 stacks.
In Storydifficulty, when a targeted tank’s stacks drop low, the Lurker will automatically switch to the next on the aggro table. This means that the tanks don’t need to worry about manually trading aggro.
In Elite 1 and Elite 5, the tanks will need to co-ordinate passing aggro back and forth. This is normally done using taunts, so Glutton for Punishment, Evulsion and Enter the Fray. Be aware that the Lurker’s hit box is huge, so Enter the Fray may not work well, given the minimum range requirement. Gadgets will also work fine for taunts. The tank who is now second on the aggro table should remember to go easy on attacks for a few seconds to avoid pulling aggro straight back. Doing so will mean both tanks have high WoD stacks, which really pushes the healers.
Phase 1
The designated tank runs in first, (this may require Immutable, as any healing will risk pulling aggro before the tanks reach the boss,) the team follows. At this point, the first Filth circle will be cast on a player.
Filth circles and how to avoid them
Filth circles are a small targeted AoE cast on one player. When the cast completes, a puddle of filth will land at the player’s current location. Players should try to place the filth to avoid putting it in the middle of the raid – you should still have sprint on at this point, so drop the filth off to one side, then run in to the Lurker’s melee range. If the first tank in is unlucky enough to be targeted, it is best to drop the Filth in the right hand corner beside the Lurker – do not try to break off, just keep running in to hit the boss as quickly as possible.
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On the ground in front of the Lurker, there is a grey grate. Players who are standing on that grate or closer to the Lurker will not be targeted by Filth circles.
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For Storymode and Elite 1, all players should be standing on the grate or closer.
In Elite 5, if everyone stands this close to the Lurker, he will cast "Personal Space" – a large circular AoE placed about 10m in front of the Lurker. This normally wipes the raid. To avoid this, one healer will remain at long range during P1. This healer will be the only one targeted by Filth circles, and should do their best to place them off to the sides, out of the way of the raid.
In Storymode and Elite 1, Filth circles are removed after a short period. In Elite 5, Filth circles are not removed, making proper placement of them even more important.
IF YOU GET FILTH ON YOU: run out to the side, not just straight backwards. Leaving a wall of filth behind the raid creates real problems when we have to run away from the boss later on.
The Fist
The Lurker will periodically slam his fist down in front of him. This is telegraphed by a long column in front of the Lurker, which can be on the left, right or in the middle. Tanks and DPS should move to the side to avoid this attack. You should have enough time to strafe, but active dodging to the side also works. Running away from the Lurker is normally not fast enough to get out of the area of effect.
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Incoming Pods and catching them
The Lurker will regularly cast “From Beneath You It Devours” on a random raid member who is not a tank. This attack sends a burrowing tentacle from about halfway back in the arena to immobilise the target. This effect is commonly referred to as being podded. The target will get a little burning ball effect over their head, indicating that the pod is coming for them.
In Story difficulty and Elite 1, it is possible to stop the pod from reaching its target, and negating the attack entirely. A player can place themselves into the path of the burrowing pod, (visible as a cloud of dust like on the Ak’ab boss in DW 4,) and then simply has to walk backwards, away from the pod while facing it to stop the attack.
If the pod is not stopped, it will erupt under its target, and anyone within a few meters will be placed into a pod. This pod stops the player from doing anything. DPS should turn and shoot a pod ASAP to release the player. Because of this, it is best for the designated pod catcher to not run too far away from the raid, to help keep DPS uptime on the boss. Don’t try to do it too closely though, as the fist will still be able to kill you if you are unlucky with your time and location.
Healers need to keep an eye out for the pod catcher, as they are often the target of a filth circle which will kill them if not healed. The pod itself does a little damage, but not too much.
If several players are podded, try to burst them out ASAP, and if possible, try to get healers out first. There will often be filth circles landing on podded players, increasing the risk of them dying. Designated pod catchers may choose to bring a bit of extra hp to help give the healers time to keep them alive.
In Elite 5, the target of the pod will gain a debuff called "Inevitable Doom". This prevents anyone from stopping the pod – it will reach its target. You will get a slightly different effect over your head, with a little crosshair showing up. Whoever is targeted needs to run out of the pack to intercept their own pod. DPS should be ready to kill the pod fast to release them, and then get back to the grate ASAP to avoid getting Filth circles.
At 75%ish...
When the Lurker's hp drops below 75%, he will begin to cast "Shadow Out Of Time" and the fight transitions to Phase 2.
Shadowis a big wall of filth which moves from the Lurker to the back of the arena. If it hits you, you will be knocked down, take a bit of damage, and receive a debuff which decreases the amount of healing you receive and increases the Filth damage you take.
During the phase 2 transition, everyone needs to hide from this wave and break line of sight. On the picture below you can see the SAFE spots. The pink ones closest to the Lurker are sometimes covered in filth, so as soon as the wave passes you, run towards the back of the arena. Zombie adds will spawn, and need to be AoE'd down ASAP.
In Elite 5, a Filth Hulk will also spawn. While the hulk is alive, the small zombies will not stay dead. They will stand up and start moving again, but will move more slowly after each death. It is best to have one tank pick up the hulk and drag him away from the zombies. Leave one or two dps to AoE the little guys for a bit to slow them down, and they can then be kited by a healer while the DPS take out the Hulk. As soon as the Hulk dies, the zombies should be wiped out.
Phase 2: Enter the birds
The big thing in phase 2 is that you get a total of 4 Birds of the Zero Point Pathogen joining the fight. There are 3 spawn points for the birds - but the good news is that whilst the first bird may land anywhere, from then on they will be in order. The birds will land at the next spot going counter clockwise from the last bird.
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Filth birds have a cone AoE which they will occasionally cast, and so should be pointed away from the raid. Tanks should know that DPS and healers cannot be trusted to not stand in the stupid, so don't chance it! The tank should be ready to move out of the cone as it is being cast.
When filth birds' hp drops to zero, they will explode in a big circle AoE. Move out of it, it cannot be interrupted, though you can keep hitting the bird until the cast completes.
The first part of Phase 2 has two Filth birds in Story and Elite 1, but only one bird in Elite 5. If your team's DPS is good, you will be able to kill the first bird before the second one lands. Around the time that the second bird is dying, the Lurker will cast Shadow Out Of Time again. Everyone should hide in the green safe areas.
In Story and Elite 1, the Shadow cast is on a timer. In Elite 5, the Shadow cast is linked to killing the birds.
After the Shadow wave reaches the end of the arena, waves of zombies will spawn from the corners (the orange arrows). In Elite 5, a new Filth Hulk will spawn, and the group needs to handle him as before. In Story & Elite 1, the zombies can simply be nuked as they run in from the corners.
There will be a Shadow after bird 3 & 4 (2 & 3 for e5), the tactics are the same.
In Storymode and Elite 1, the 4th bird will land at the same point that the 1st bird did, so you can be ready to meet it.
The tanks need to remember who had aggro at the end of Phase 1, because they should be the first back in for Phase 3. The tank who did NOT have aggro on the Lurker should be the one to tank the last bird. This allows the tank who is going back in first to position themselves up at the front in the safe area by the cop car. Once the Shadow wave passes, there will be a final load of filth dumped in front of the Lurker. There should be a corridor through it, but don't just run into the filth, because your healer may get aggro keeping you alive!
Phase 3: Feeling buff
So, the good news is that you by this point have seen almost all the mechanics. Woohoo, right?
The even better news is that the main Phase 3 mechanic is a big buff for the DPS 😀
The NPCs from the beginning tutorial get powered up by Zuberi (who you'll see floating in the middle of the area in front of the Lurker). They are each surrounded by a circle which will buff the damage done by 4 players - but only 4. This is why it's best not to have too many melee DPS - because you need your tanks to be getting the circle buff, or there's going to be aggro issues. It doesn't matter what weapons you're using, all that matters is range. The circle on the left is mid-range, so pistols and shotguns will be able to reach; the middle is for melee range; and the right circle is the furthest away, so is used by blood, elemental and assault rifle users.
Be careful about where you drop filth circles in this phase, as you'll need to run and hide from Shadow, and still be able to make it back to your buff circles!
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During this phase, the Lurker will continue to cast Shadow Out Of Time waves. In Story and Elite 1, tanks who have stacks of WoD will not be knocked back by the wave, and can ignore it. That means that it's often best to swap aggro during the Shadow cast if a tank has low stacks. Otherwise it's hard to get back up and taunt in time.
In Elite 5, the tanks need to hide from Shadow too, which makes it even more important to make sure that you're not going to hit zero stacks before the wave passes.
Just as before, the Shadow wave will be bringing in zombie adds (yay). This time, there will also be a few filth soldiers as well. If these aren't killed before the next Shadow, they will change into Filth Beasts, and you're all screwed. DPS need to be turning and killing the adds, who will be headed for the healer at the front. The filth soldiers will also toss some grenades around once they stop moving, which can really put a healer off their game. Get em down fast! In e5, each cast of Shadow will once again spawn a Filth Hulk, just for funsies. The Hulk needs to go down fast, or the adds will get the healers!
The Lurker's last tactic is to overload Zuberi. He casts "Final Resort", which is a big circular AoE which covers the area in front of the Lurker. This also removes the buff circles, and puts 40 stacks of WoD on the entire raid. Luckily, there's not much healing required, but it means that you've got 20 seconds before everyone dies. This is a good point to use any buffs you have!
If you're feeling confident about your DPS, then ignore Final Resort, and aim to kill the Lurker before he completes the cast. If it's a bit dodgy, be prepared to GTFO of the circle and try to take him down in the last few seconds!
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First off - the grate cuddle & puddles
Normally in P1, everyone stands nice and close to the Lurker, and there aren't any filth puddles to worry about.
If you don't have anyone the Lurker can cast filth at, he'll cast Personal Space, which is essentially the same as Final Resort. That means you need to have one person running round at the back getting filthed - normally this is a healer.
Everyone else should be on the grate like normal. Filth puddles will not vanish any more. Dropping filth in a bad place will really screw you up now, because you'll have to deal with it for the whole fight.
No more pod catcher
Were you good at pod catching in story & e1? Pity, because you can't negate pods in e5. The targeted player will get a debuff called inevitable doom. They will be podded. You can't dodge it, or backtrack or cancel it, they will be eaten. The target should move away from the dps packs - but not too far. Basically you want to make sure only you get podded, but that you're still close enough that the others can simply turn and break you out. Go too far and people will have to run to reach you, which will cost uptime on the Lurker.
Phase 2 - birds and filth hulks
So good news, only 3 birds to worry about in E5. Bad news, each Shadow out of time will summon a Filth Hulk. While the Filth Hulk is alive, the zombie adds will not die. Dropping them to 0 hp will make them move a bit slower, but they'll heal up and keep going. That means the Filth Hulk is TOP priority. There will be a new Filth Hulk with every Shadow, including in P3, so get used to targeting the big guy fast. There should be one tank who picks up the hulk, the other gets the bird and ideally the zombies, but the healers may need to do a bit of kiting. In P3 the tank who is not the Lurker's current target needs to pull the Hulk to the front (using Eversion, don't run off to get him).
When you kill each bird in P2, you will trigger then next Shadow. That means a new Hulk and a new bird, so don't shoot the bird if the first Hulk's not dead yet!
