The Gauntlet¶
Summary
A 10-level solo combat challenge in Riverne Site A01. Defeat a legendary NM at each of the first nine levels to advance — there is no skipping fights. Level 10 is the final trial: face Shinryu or be expelled. Clear the run and you earn a major jackpot, rewards for every level you survive, and a permanent place in the Hall of Champions. Multiple players can challenge the Gauntlet at the same time using separate arena lanes.
Where to start¶
Talk to The Gauntlet keeper (sword-and-shield icon) in GM Home — same row as the Apex Arbiter and Rupture Sage. When you're ready, choose Enter The Gauntlet and you're warped straight into the arena.
Rules:
- Solo only — leave your party and alliance before starting a fight. Trusts are dismissed on entry and cannot be summoned during a run. Pets are allowed.
- Outside help cannot reach you while you are fighting your Gauntlet NM. All healing from other players (spells, songs, pet abilities) is blocked.
- One death ends the run. You are expelled immediately, no exceptions.
- Leaving Riverne Site A01 also ends the run.
- You can bail at any time with
!gauntlet abort.
Arena lanes¶
The arena supports two independent lanes. Each lane has its own Challenge and Final Trial NPCs, so two players can run The Gauntlet at the same time without interfering with each other. If a lane is occupied, try the other one.
Your run is bound to the lane you start in — pick an open lane and stay with it for the full climb.
Progression¶
Every level is a real fight. Approach the Challenge NPC (sword icon) to summon the current level's NM. Defeat it to advance. At level 10, the Challenge path closes — use the Final Trial NPC (star icon) to summon Shinryu.
You must clear levels 1 through 9 in order before the final trial opens. There is no safe path and no way to bypass combat.
The ten levels¶
All Gauntlet NMs fight at level 99. Difficulty ramps through massive HP pools, escalating stat blocks, and shared combat mechanics layered on top of each boss's individual abilities.
| Level | NM | HP (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aquarius | 50M |
| 2 | Serket | 58M |
| 3 | Simurgh | 68M |
| 4 | Nidhogg | 79M |
| 5 | King Behemoth | 92M |
| 6 | Vrtra | 108M |
| 7 | Kirin | 126M |
| 8 | Absolute Virtue | 147M |
| 9 | Pandemonium Warden | 171M |
| 10 | Shinryu (final trial) | ~199M |
HP scales steeply each level — Shinryu has roughly 4× the health of Aquarius and demands sustained maximum DPS to kill within the enrage timer.
Shared mechanics¶
Every boss in the Gauntlet uses the same combat engine. These mechanics apply to all ten levels — intensity scales with level.
Hold Fire windows¶
This is the central skill check of The Gauntlet. Periodically, the boss broadcasts a warning message unique to that NM. When you see it:
- Stop attacking. Let the timer run out and the boss exhausts itself, dropping its defenses for 42 seconds — your opening to deal free damage.
- Keep attacking — you are immediately punished with a DoT that deals 35% of your current HP every 3 seconds. This will kill you.
The window repeats throughout the fight, appearing roughly every 65 seconds on Aquarius and tightening to every 26 seconds on Shinryu. Learn the warning line for each boss.
Pressure effects when you fail Hold Fire:
| NM | Pressure |
|---|---|
| Aquarius, Serket | Poison |
| Simurgh, King Behemoth, Kirin | Blindness |
| Nidhogg, Vrtra, Absolute Virtue, Shinryu | Curse |
| Pandemonium Warden | Random (Poison / Blindness / Curse) |
Stance cycling¶
Starting at a certain HP threshold, the boss alternates between two resistance stances. Watch the chat message and switch your damage type:
- "scales harden / steel barely bites" → switch to magic
- "wards the arcane / magic fizzles" → switch to physical
Each stance applies roughly –50% to the resisted damage type. You can push through it, but you'll be working twice as hard.
Stances begin earlier at higher levels:
| Levels | Starts at |
|---|---|
| 3–4 | 60% HP |
| 5–6 | 75% HP |
| 7–8 | 82% HP |
| 9 | 88% HP |
| 10 (Shinryu) | 95% HP |
Shinryu starts cycling almost immediately. Have both a physical and magical option ready from the pull.
Periodic CC¶
The boss applies CC on a repeating timer throughout the fight. Duration and frequency both increase with level:
| Levels | Effect | Duration | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Terror | 4s | ~22s |
| 3 | Terror | 5s | ~20s |
| 4 | Terror | 12s | ~35s |
| 5–6 | Terror | 6s | ~20s |
| 7–8 | Terror | 7s | ~18s |
| 9 | Terror | 8s | ~16s |
| 10 | Silence | 8s | ~14s |
Shinryu switches from Terror to Silence — bring Echo Drops or Remedy.
Drain tick¶
Every boss heals itself every 15 seconds. The amount scales with level:
| Level | Heal per tick |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10,000 |
| 5 | 50,000 |
| 10 | 100,000 |
Dragging the fight out works against you. Sustained DPS matters.
HP phase transitions¶
At key HP thresholds, the boss dispels your buffs and gains ATT and Haste. Higher levels have more phases and bigger jumps. Re-buff immediately after each dispel before the next stat spike lands.
Shinryu (L10) phase transitions:
| HP | Event |
|---|---|
| 75% | Dispels 7 buffs |
| 55% | +7,000 ATT / +200 Haste |
| 38% | Dispels 5 buffs |
| 22% | +9,000 ATT / +260 Haste |
| 10% | +12,000 ATT / +320 Haste — final form |
Timed enrage¶
Every boss has a kill timer. If the NM is still alive when the timer expires it enrages with a large ATT and Haste spike. Timers get shorter as you climb:
| Levels | Enrage timer |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | 155 seconds |
| 3–4 | 140s |
| 5–6 | 125s |
| 7–8 | 110s |
| 9 | 95s |
| 10 (Shinryu) | 80 seconds |
Physical mob skills bypass defense¶
All NM physical mob skills bypass parry, guard, and block. They cannot be mitigated through defensive stance or shadows (unless the skill specifies otherwise).
Boss-specific abilities¶
On top of the shared engine, several bosses have custom abilities that change how you approach the fight.
Serket (L2) — Earthbreaker Magical Earth attack. Deals up to 4,500 damage, wipes all shadows, and stuns for 10 seconds.
Nidhogg (L4) — Spike Flail + Absolute Terror
- Spike Flail: 3-hit physical slashing, attack multiplier 5×, minimum 12,000 damage, drains 3 shadows. Only used when you are not directly in front of Nidhogg — stay in front to prevent it.
- Absolute Terror: Inflicts Terror for 10–15 seconds.
King Behemoth (L5) — Meteor Magical damage (~6,500, reduced by elemental defense and Stoneskin). 60-second cooldown between uses.
Vrtra (L6) — Sable Breath + Spike Flail
- Sable Breath: Dark breath, 20% of your current HP (capped 7,000), conal. Face Vrtra to be on the narrow end of the cone and reduce damage. Partially resisted by INT.
- Spike Flail: Same behavior as Nidhogg — minimum 12,000, positional gate.
Kirin (L7) — Custom TP moves All of Kirin's physical TP moves bypass parry in the Gauntlet:
- Deadly Hold: Blunt physical, 30% critical hit chance
- Tail Swing / Tail Smash: Slashing → Bind for 90 seconds — cure it immediately or you eat the next hit rooted
- Stonega IV: Capped at 5,000 damage in the Gauntlet
Shinryu (L10) — Escalating skill pool Shinryu gains access to additional TP moves as HP drops. The fight becomes more dangerous the lower he goes — don't slow-play the final 33%.
Level 10: Shinryu¶
After clearing levels 1–9, only the Final Trial remains. Step up to summon Shinryu.
This is a full-pressure fight from the start — stances begin at 95% HP, Silence hits every 14 seconds, the drain tick is 100,000 HP every 15 seconds, and all five phase transitions strip buffs and ramp ATT across the fight. The enrage timer is 80 seconds.
Defeating Shinryu triggers the jackpot reward instantly and warps you back to GM Home.
Rewards¶
Every NM you defeat pays out on the spot — you keep what you've earned even if you die before reaching Shinryu.
| Per level (1–9) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gil | 50,000 × level (50k at L1 … 450k at L9) |
| Paragon Points | Level × 1 |
| Infamy | Level × 10 |
Milestone bonuses stack on top of the per-level payout:
| Milestone | Gil | Paragon Points | Infamy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 3 clear | +250,000 | +25 | +25 |
| Level 6 clear | +750,000 | +75 | +75 |
| Level 9 clear | +1,500,000 | +150 | +150 |
Final clear (Shinryu):
| Reward | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gil | 5,000,000 (5M) |
| Paragon Points | 500 |
| Infamy | 500 |
| Hall of Champions NPC | Permanent |
The jackpot repeats on every full clear — your clear count increments and your champion inscription updates each time.
First clear
On your first Shinryu kill, message GM Eren on Discord with proof of completion to claim a one-time Prime Trial completion reward.
Hall of Champions¶
Every player who defeats Shinryu is memorialized as a named NPC in Riverne Site B01 — the Hall of Champions. Talk to any champion NPC to see their name and how many times they've cleared The Gauntlet. The hall is visible to all players at any time.
The Hall updates after the next map restart following a clear.
Commands
!gauntlet abort — exit your current run (no penalty, just ends the run) · !gauntlet status (GM) — list all active runs.
Last updated: 2026-06-30 09:22 UTC