Druid Boss Guide: Cairn

The goal of this guide is to provide a synopsis of my recommended builds and strategies with an emphasis on group support, not DPS. An in-depth explanation of the fight and its mechanics can be found here.

Cairn is a boss fight that is entirely dependent on mechanics. Players that fail mechanics will get into downstate quickly, and Cairn wins by chain-downing players with shared agony and shards as they attempt to rez their friends.

Your role as druid is to keep your squad topped off as best you can. Pet rezzing via the Allies’ Aid trait, “Search & Rescue!”, and Spirit of Nature are all excellent ways to help your team recover from failed mechanics. You also have Sublime Conversion (staff 5) to help protect yourself and others from shards while rezzing.

Druids are typically tasked with healing shared agony but may be asked to kite, as well.

Role: Agony Healer

Weapons/Skills	Traits	Pets
|		Tiger Fury and DPS Fern Hound Regen and DPS Red Moa Fury and passive heals Fanged Iboga DPS

Priorities
If you don’t have shared agony, stand just behind the DPS stack to get it
If you have shared agony, move to other side of boss; keep shared agony off the DPS stack
Use targeted heals in CA to heal teammates and stack might; prioritize targets with shared agony
Help with rezzing: Allies’ Aid (trait), “Search & Rescue!”, protect w/ staff 5
Camp axe/warhorn, switch to staff for burst heals

Role: Shard Kiter

Weapons/Skills	Traits	Pets
|		Fanged Iboga DPS Fern Hound Regen and DPS

Priorities
Strafe to find gaps in shards
Dodge roll if you’re going to miss a gap
Use staff 3 if you need to dodge but are out of endurance
Use targeted heals in CA to heal teammates from afar, but take care of yourself first
Help with rezzing: Allies’ Aid (trait), “Search & Rescue!”, protect w/ staff 5
Camp staff, use staff 2 off-cooldown; switch to axe/warhorn for emergency heals (blast water field)
Dodge roll left for Cairn’s twirling attack; dodge roll in for his ripple attack