Halatali Hard Mode is an end-game dungeon added during patch 2.2. It requires an item level of 55 or above to enter and rewards players with ilevel 70 equipment that was formerly rewarded in exchange for Tomestones of Philosophy. This gear is called Darklight. The dungeon is found within the Eastern Thanalan and is accessible upon completion of Halatali normal mode and the quest “The Ultimate Weapon”. You can then take on the quest “This Time’s for Fun”, which is given by Hugubert in Mor Dhona (X:22, Y:8).
Boss Guide
Halatali Hard Mode contains three bosses, called Pyracmon, Catoblepas and Narashima + Mumuepo. Below is a guide for each of them.
Pyracmon
Pyracmon is pretty simple and only has one mechanic that you need to be aware of. You will notice a mammet that starts wandering around the room who is attached to a lever at the back of the room. This mammet will shield you from the boss’ most devastating attack – the 1000 Tonze Swipe.
When the boss starts his 1000 Tonze Swipe attack you will notice the arena has turned a shade of blue. This means it is time to activate the mammet by pulling on the lever. The mammet will then stop running and create a shield that party members can run into to mitigate the attack.
Another attack by the boss that you should be aware of is the 100 Tonze Swing that will deal low damage to anyone near him. He will try to suck you in before using it so you must be quick to dodge it afterwards, kinda like the first boss of Wanderer’s Palace. The boss will also use a Piercing Glower attack that is directed in a line towards a random party member.
Catoblepas
Catoblepas is also fairly easy and again has one main mechanic. You will notice four orbs around the arena; one for each party member so decide early who will stand near each when the boss uses his attack called Demonic Eye. This is because Demon Eye will deal a lot of damage if you do not activate the orb.
Cataoblepas will also spawn a Tainted Eye on his head that will give a stacking debuff to everyone in the fight that will increase their vulnerability. You should kill it quickly and then go back to the boss.
There are also a couple of AoEs to avoid. One is a large cone that is difficult to dodge if you are targeted with it and you are quite far away but it is nothing to worry about. There is also a ground AoE that will target players that they need to dodge, but it is quite forgiving.
Narashima + Mumuepo
This fight actually begins with four humanoid creatures rather than Narashima and Mumuepo. The have classes just like players, which are GLD, ARC, CNJ and LNC. These have low HP and die quickly so it is generally better to just round them up and AoE them down. If DPS is low then it makes sense to focus on the CNJ first so that he does not heal others. The LNC cannot be tanked and will run after a random party member so this player needs to apply defensive skills and place it near the tank so that AoEs hit it. One strategy is to use the caster limit break at the start of the fight to eliminate them quickly.
Upon defeating the four humanoids Narashima and Mumuepo will come racing into the arena. It is best that you kill Mumuepo first because he can use an attack called Absolute Bind. This will chain two people in the party and they will be unable to move or attack. One of the other party members needs to interact with the Thal’s Scepter in order to free them. This needs to be done quickly because while this attack is happening Mumuepo is charging up a highly damaging attack that everyone needs to run out of.
Once Mumuepo has been defeated simply kill Narashima. It does not have any mechanics itself however melee DPS should be aware of the tail swipe when attacking from behind.