The Zekvir Minibosses in Tier 8 Delves: Why You Might Want to Skip Them

Recently, Blizzard introduced new minibosses in Tier 8 delves, and they are proving to be quite the challenge. In fact, many players may find it more beneficial to simply bypass these formidable foes.

Table of Contents:

- Overview of New Zekvir Minibosses

- Tala and Velo

- Kas'dru and Venombite

- Anub'vir and His Guards

- Strategies for Skipping Minibosses

Overview of New Zekvir Minibosses

In the latest hotfix notes, Blizzard revealed that minibosses previously exclusive to Tier 9+ delves have now made their way into Tier 8. These minibosses are tough enough that players might be better off avoiding them altogether. Each Delve at level 8 and above features one of these minibosses.

Tala and Velo

The duo of Tala and Velo presents a significant challenge, each boasting around 31.5 million health. Tala, a caster, frequently uses Web Blast, dealing 1.5 million damage per cast. She also employs:

- Tala's Voidshell, which reduces damage taken by 99% while active.

- Venom Volley, which, if not interrupted, inflicts 1.5 million damage and applies a poison that ticks for 750,000 every 2 seconds over 12 seconds.

Velo, on the other hand, relies on melee attacks with Void Slice, dealing approximately 430,000 damage and applying a magic debuff that absorbs around 500,000 healing. He also casts:

- Grasping Darkness, an interruptible spell that deals about 3 million damage.

Due to Tala's shield, players are often forced to target Velo first, which can lead to complications as they juggle interrupting two powerful spells. Given the high health and damage output, it's advisable to skip this miniboss encounter entirely.

Kas'dru and Venombite

Another challenging pair, Venombite and Kas'dru, have health pools of 23.1 million and 34.7 million, respectively. A key point to note is that Kas'dru cannot be stunned or interrupted until Venombite is defeated. His abilities include:

- Venom Volley, which can be interrupted only if Venombite is down. This spell deals 1.5 million damage and applies a poison that ticks for 750,000 every 2 seconds for 12 seconds.

- Interrupting Shout, which cannot be interrupted and deals 1 million damage while interrupting any active casts.

Venombite, while having less health, can be burst down quickly. His abilities include:

- Evasive Dance, which increases dodge and spell dodge chance by 75% for 8 seconds.

- An interruptible cast that applies a damaging poison over time.

If your gear is up to par, this miniboss duo is more manageable, especially if you have a poison dispel to counteract the damage from poison DoTs.

Anub'vir and His Guards

Anub'vir has a health pool of 23.1 million but is accompanied by three Armored Shellguards, two Nerubian Webcasters, and one Nerubian Oracle. This encounter is likely the easiest of the three, as the pack is not linked, allowing players to pull Anub'vir separately.

Anub'vir uses Impaling Spikes, requiring players to dodge three waves of ground swirlies. The Nerubian Oracle heals nearby mobs by 4% every 4 seconds with Zekvir's Verve, while the Armored Shellguards reduce damage taken by allies by 75% with their channeling ability. The Nerubian Webcaster casts Web Bolt, dealing about 1 million damage per cast.

To simplify this encounter, aim to isolate Anub'vir or the Oracle to avoid overwhelming damage.

Strategies for Skipping Minibosses

These minibosses are reminiscent of the Mythic+ tech, teaching players how to navigate around tough encounters. Here are some effective strategies for skipping them:

- Invisibility Potion: Use potions like the Potion of the Hushed Zephyr to walk past mobs without aggro. However, be cautious—Anub'vir has Truesight, rendering invisibility ineffective against him.

- Death Run: If the miniboss isn't on an objective, you can run to the next checkpoint and die. Blizzard recently provided a free life for reaching a checkpoint, so take advantage of it!

- Burst Down Objective: If a miniboss spawns on an objective, you can either try to burst down the objective and then die or reset the instance in hopes of a better miniboss spawn.