The ancient Dwarven city of Volenfell was long lost to the sands of the Alik’r Desert. But its ruins have recently been discovered, prompting a race between scholars and treasure-hunters to be the first to search its storied depths.
Volenfell is a four-person dungeon in the game The Elder Scrolls Online. The dungeon consists of various rooms and corridors, each with its own challenges and enemies. Volenfell can be accessed at Level 28. In this guide, I shall explain the mechanics as well as what you should and shouldn’t do while facing the dungeon’s bosses.
Table of Contents
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Volenfell Location
Volenfell is located in the northern region of Alik’r Desert. Travel northeast from the Shrikes’ Aerie Wayshrine to reach the Volenfell. You can also access Volenfell specifically by using the Dungeon Finder.
Inside Volenfell
Banished Cells is a two-level dungeon with six bosses and one quest. The enemies in this dungeon include Dwemer constructs, treasure hunters, dunerippers, and assassin beetles.
Blood and Sand
Raiders have attacked the camp of Tharayya, a Redguard woman I met. They killed many of her companions, and are barring her path.
Completing Blood and Sand
You will need to defeat treasure hunters, pull levers, and defeat the Dwarven Centurions in Guardian’s Orbit. Speak to Tharayya to complete this quest. Completing this quest will reward you with gold, a skill point, and the Duneripper Ancient Crown, part of the Duneripper’s Scales armor set.
Volenfell Boss Mechanics
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Desert Lion
This boss is very easy as most first bosses are but you must be careful with your resources. There is a main boss (Desert Lion) and 4x lioness adds. The tank should grab the adds as soon as possible and stack them on the boss. If you are a dps or healer do NOT run around the room because a lion is trying to eat you, just get close to the tank so he/she can gain aggro. The adds will die to aoe quickly as they are low health and then you can focus on the boss.
Heavy Attack – This is a very simple and common mechanic from most bosses. A typical heavy attack that must be blocked or you will be knocked down. Whether you are a Tank or not, if this is aimed at you…you MUST block it.
Roar – Occasionally the boss will change positions making the fight a little bit mobile and also he will ROAR! This does exactly what you would expect a lion’s roar to do, and it FEARS the group. You will run in a random direction uncontrollably for about 3 seconds and he WILL jump someone in the back. SO as soon as you see this mechanic make sure you break free and get back into position. This is why you should keep an eye on your resources. Make sure you have enough stamina at all times to break free if and when you need to.
During the fight, the dps and the healer should position themselves away from the front of the boss and for the most part stand still. There is no other dangerous mechanics happening. The tank needs to hold a taunt and the group should burn the boss as best they can.
Quintus Verres
This boss is a tricky one. He has 3 phases! Phase one he is a melee type with a two-hander, phase two he is a mage with lots of fire damage, and then finally he calls down a gargoyle to finish you off!
The initial approach to the fight can be rough as there are many adds to kill and he jumps in mid-fight. So ensure your tank holds everything central while the dps focus on as much aoe as possible. The tank needs to be quick off the mark however in order to taunt the boss when he lands in the
Phase 1: Warrior – The boss will heavy attack with his two-handed weapon at whoever has aggro. This should be the tank since the tank is the one with the taunt, however, if you are a dps or healer do NOT panic and do NOT run away. Simply block and you will be fine. But if you miss it then it will knock you down.
Occasionally he will also do a whirlwind-like attack spinning his weapon around his head. As a dps or healer, you MUST stay out of this as it deals a LOT of physical damage. No need to run around, just move out of it and wait for it to finish.
Phase 2: Mage – The boss will alter completely now using a flame staff. He throws out constantly light attacks in the form of a fireball and the tank should be the only one getting hit so long as he/she is maintaining a taunt. If you get aggro as a dps or healer just block until agro is regained and you will be fine. His heavy attack will put a LARGE fire aoe on the ground, stay OUT of this. This will kill you rapidly so just watch your feet. Also finally the boss will cast a flame spirit effect on the tank fearing it. So if you are the tank keep enough stamina in your pool so that you can break free when this happens.
Phase 3: Gargoyle – As the boss is about to die he will call down a monstrous gargoyle. He is not as scary as he looks. Get your tank to position him in the middle of the room, while the dps and healer find a nice safe spot to do their job without running away or around. The gargoyle will attack the tank (or whoever has agro) with a flurry attack. Most tanks will be able to stand up to this but if not simply block, the same goes for other roles too, blocking is fine.
The gargoyle will breathe on a random player (do NOT stack up) and turn them to stone. This can be broken free from so be sure to have enough stamina at all times in case YOU are the target. After the first breath, he will slam the ground like crazy and you MUST get out of it until he has finished. Then the fight repeats making it so he flurries, does 2x breaths then a slam. Rinse repeat. Keep out of his face if you are a dps/healer and you will be fine. Remember to step OUT of the slam.
Boibite
This boss is simple but can hit like a STREAM TRAIN. Firstly there are 4 adds, the tank should stack these on the boss and each other member of the group should find a nice position around the boss where they are not in his face. The adds will die to aoe damage as they are very weak. Now it is time to focus on the boss damage-wise and pay attention!
Teleport – Just like assassin beetles this boss can teleport, be careful and be sure to block when this happens and get ready to move. the initial hit hurts but he usually follows it up with his next attack.
Fire Blast – The boss will stop in his tracks and a spreading aoe will grow from underneath him. Unlike most spreading aoes this does NOT just cause damage when it explodes. This actually pules fire damage every second until it explodes at maximum size. If you do NOT get out of this as a dps or a healer you are dead. It hits incredibly hard and you must get out of it immediately. The tank should be able to stand up to it but the rest will not. Once this mechanic is over, get back in position and continue to attack. Rinse and repeat until the fight is over. A very simple fight for sure but devastating if you do it wrong.
Tremorscale
This boss is a lot easy to kill than he looks and has some very basic, easy-to-avoid attacks. He doesn’t even hit that hard, to be honest, but of course, it is always safer to follow the mechanics.
Tail Whip – occasionally the boss will put out a ROAR and turn to his side. When he does this a cone aoe will happen and he will whip his tail. This will be in the direction of the tank or whoever has aggro. You have two options here, block it, or move out of it. Either option is fine but if you fail it you will be knocked down on the ground.
Burrow – This mechanic is actually quite fun. The boss will burrow into the ground and randomly choose a victim. Whoever he has chosen will have an erupting aoe appear under them and he will burst out of the ground doing damage to anyone caught in the aoe. This doesn’t hurt very much really but you should dodge roll or run out of it as soon as this happens and then get back into position.
The tank should always be in the boss’s face and the dps/healer should always be behind/beside the boss. Do not run around the room else the burrow mechanic can get a bit hectic. Relax, get out of danger, then get back into position.
Unstable Construct
This boss is a little tricky. The room is small and he attacks FAST. The tank should hold the boss and the adds all together while the group finds a nice position for their feet without running around.
Lightning – The boss fires a lightning shot along the floor. You will see a small circle aoe aiming at you or another member of the group, you CAN block this but it is safer to just move to one side and let it pass.
Spin – This attack is done on the spot, he will stand still and spin his torso. This does cause nasty physical damage but if you are about 3-5 meters out of range OR blocking you will be just fine.
Slam – During the fight the boss will go into a ball shape and jump in the air slamming the ground. There will be a small aoe under his feet so stay out of it. Very simple to avoid this one as it is only about 3 meters wide.
Bomb – one member of the group occasionally will get a large aoe under their feet. This is a bomb and if you run into the group you will blow them up. Step back, block and/or shield and you will be fine. DO NOT run around, step back so you do not kill your group.
Guardian Council
Three bosses for the price of one! Remember the boss in Darkshade caverns I where he had 3 different phases? Well NOW you are fighting all 3 phases at once as 3 individual targets!
This requires communication and awareness of the mechanics of the different constructs. They share a health bar so it doesn’t matter which one you kill first. However, if you can manage to stack them occasionally, they will take additional damage. Each one you are hitting contributes to the overall damage being taken. However, that is not as simple as it sounds because one of them can go completely rogue.
Blue Boss – This one will stay fairly still for the majority of the fight, if the tank can taunt it for a debuff that would be preferable but sometimes that is not possible so do not panic. This boss will aim his cannon into the air and cause lightning blasts to land on the ground, just watch your feet and move away from them before they land and you will be fine. you do not have to sprint around like mad, just move a bit each time one is coming down from the sky and prevent it from hitting you.
Yellow Boss – This one can be a nightmare if people underestimate it or get selfish and start running at their team. This CAN be taunted and will follow the tank so long as the tank does not drop the taunt. This one has a heavy attack called ”decapitate”. It is a cone aoe in front of him and anyone caught in it, if not a tank, will die in pretty much one shot. You can block it and you can dodge roll backward but do NOT dodge or run in the direction of your team. This can hit as many people as it can hit in the aoe and the aoe follows you when you dodge roll. DON’T spin the boss onto your friends. This boss will also occasionally try to heal the others. Some groups like to take this boss to one side of the room while the others are being dealt with. But if you are a strong tank, you can stack it on top of the blue one.
Red Boss – This is the fun one. He can be taunted with a debuff but he cannot be taunted to gain agro when he is spinning. This boss will decide on a target and chase them spinning like mad. If you are caught in the spin you will be snared and take rapid high physical damage ticks and die incredibly fast. if this boss is on you, take him away and run in a circle until he stops. You can kite him around where the damage is being done(in aoes for extra damage) BUT not at the expense of your group, do not choo-choo train through your own group.
GOOD LUCK!
Volenfell Dungeon Loot
Below is a list of all the loot you can expect to find in Volenfell.
On normal the loot is blue and the boss does NOT drop a monster helmet, but on veteran difficulty all of the loot is purple and the main boss DOES drop a special monster helmet.
Note: in dungeons some individual bosses can drop a unique item but generally, the weapons and jewelry (non-named items) come from the last boss. HOWEVER the entire loot table can also drop from trash and chests, so loot everything! Got the gear in the wrong traits? Don’t worry! You can alter the traits by either transmuting or reconstruct the piece with a trait of your choice. For more information see the Introduction to Transmuting and Reconstructing article.
If you are looking for a matching shoulder monster piece, visit the Undaunted Pledge Master Glirion the Redbeard at the nearest Undaunted enclave. He sells a 50/50 chance at the shoulder piece as part of the Sands and Madness Coffer or it could be in his mystery coffer. You can learn more about the Undaunted in the Undaunted Guide.
- Crusader
- Duneripper’s Scales
- Treasure Hunter
- Tremorscale (monster helm from vet only)
Volenfell Achievements
They Were Just Rusty
Defeat the Guardian Constructs in Veteran Volenfell, after invoking the Scroll of Glorious Battle.
Volenfell Assassin
Defeat the Desert Lion, Quintus Verres and the Monstrous Gargoyle, Boilbite, Tremorscale, the Unstable Construct, and the Guardian Council in Veteran Volenfell within twenty minutes of starting the dungeon. Timer starts when players engage the first group of treasure hunters.
Volenfell Conqueror
Complete Veteran Volenfell by defeating the Desert Lion, Quintus Verres and the Monstrous Gargoyle, Boilbite, Tremorscale, the Unstable Construct, and the Guardian Council.
Volenfell Survivor
Defeat the Desert Lion, Quintus Verres and the Monstrous Gargoyle, Boilbite, Tremorscale, the Unstable Construct, and the Guardian Council in Veteran Volenfell, without suffering a group member death.
Volenfell Vanquisher
Defeat Quintus Verres, Tremorscale, and the Guardian Council at Volenfell.
Veteran Dwarven Construct Slayer
Defeat 300 Dwarven Constructs in Veteran Volenfell.
Veteran Treasure Hunter Slayer
Defeat 250 Treasure Hunters in Veteran Volenfell.
Volenfell Leads
There are currently no leads found in Volenfell.
Final Note
Thank you for taking the time to watch the content and read this guide. Be sure on your travels to remember, although once you get very experienced you may make these dungeons much easier and faster… it starts from the ground up and it’s…
