Dredgen Sere is the menacing final boss of the Equilibrium dungeon. He’s notoriously difficult, as you can probably tell if you’ve seen countless reports of players and streamers spending hours and hours trying to take him down. But there’s a trick to beating him, and you’ll find that if you’ve mastered the Shadow mechanics specific to the Equilibrium dungeon, the battle with Sere, while still demanding, is mostly straightforward. This guide will take you through how you can use all you’ve learned to beat the Equilibrium dungeon’s final boss consistently.
Glossary
Since you’ve gotten as far as the final fight, you should already be familiar with these terms and mechanics, but here’s a quick refresher:
- Gathering Shadow Buff: The central mechanic in the Equilibrium dungeon. Collect the Taken energy dropped by defeated enemies to increase the power of this buff.
- Shadow Master: You get this after collecting the maximum amount of Taken energy. This state is crucial for the Dredgen Sere fight, as it always you to perform Compel on the Wizards in this fight. More on that down below.
- Shadow Ability: Replaces your grenade/melee action when in Shadow form (after collecting the minimum amount of Taken). This ability is used to break enemy shields.
- Compel: An action you can perform in Shadow Master form. Increases the DPS time window.
- HP Burst Limit: The amount of damage Dredgen Sere can take during the DPS time window. This can be increased by killing Wizards instead of performing Compel on them.
- Electric Pillars: Special structures scattered throughout the stage. Use the Shadow Ability to destroy them and disable the lightning hazards.
What is the core loop of Dredgen Sere?
The entire fight is comprised of a three-stage core loop:
- Cabal Realm (the regular arena)
- Taken Realm (the dark arena)
- DPS Stage(the damage stage)
Crucially, you can’t hurt Dredgen Sere in the first two stages, so to beat him, you’ll have to survive until the DPS stage. Fortunately, once you’ve got the patterns down, the stages are rather straightforward.
Stage 1: The Cabal Realm
Objective: Kill five shielded Nameless Apprentices
This is the stage of the arena that the fight begins in. Defeat the enemies in the arena to gather the Taken energy they drop. After you’ve gathered enough Taken energy, you’ll enter Shadow form, which allows you to use your Shadow Ability to take down the Nameless Apprentice shields.
Watch out for Dredgen Sere’s enrage attack! You can interrupt it by shooting at their arms before they get a chance to perform it.
Take as much Taken energy as you can. Once you’ve defeated all the Nameless Apprentices, the fight enters the next stage. You want to be at Shadow Master level when that happens.
Stage 2: The Taken Realm
Objective: Compel or kill five Blistered Shadows
After completing the Cabal stage, the game whisks you away to the Taken Realm.
Five Blistered Shadows spawn during this stage. How you deal with them affects how long the DPS stage lasts and how much damage the boss can take during the DPS stage.
Casting Compel (the Shadow Master ability) on a Blistered Shadow increases the DPS time window, making the DPS Stage last longer.
Killing a Blistered Shadow increases the HP burst limit of the DPS Stage, allowing you to deal more damage during the DPS Stage before the boss becomes invincible again.
Of course, what you do is up to you and depends on your loadout and damage output. A great general strategy is to Compel three Blistered Shadows and kill two of them (3 Compel, 2 Kill) for a balance of duration and damage ceiling.
After dealing with the Blistered Shadows, you’ll be taken back to the Cabal realm. Take this opportunity to farm armor charges and buff your Super and weapons damage. Destroy the Taken Orbs in the center of the arena to enter the Damage Stage.
Stage 3: DPS Stage
Dredgen Sere is now vulnerable to your attacks. Let loose with all you’ve got. How long this stage lasts and the maximum damage you deal is determined by the number of Blistered Shadows you either killed or used Compel on.
The Damage Stage ends when the hidden timer has run out or you’ve dealt the maximum amount of damage (the HP Burst Limit).
Stop shooting and get to the edges of the arena right away! Dredgen Sere will flood the middle of the stage with lethal Arc energy.
Later Phases
Once you’ve completed the core loop once, the fight cycles back to the start of Stage 1 again but with one key difference: the middle of the arena is filled with Arc energy. You can clear the Arc energy by using your Shadow Ability to destroy the Electric Pillars scattered throughout the stage.
Keep at it until Dredgen Sere is done and dusted. With a bit of tenacity, consistency, and luck, you’re sure to get a win over the Equilibrium dungeon’s final boss. Good luck!
