The R8-X8 world boss is found on Ossus in the Dead Forest area. It is one of two (and arguably the most difficult) Ossus world bosses in Star Wars: The Old Republic. A skilled group can reduce the number of times R8-X8 uses its strongest ability, Incinerate, or gets close to needed fuel cells by intelligently managing their surroundings. But be wary of where you drop red circles, because you can easily cause a group wipe if people don’t move out of the way.
Things to Know
Group Composition
Recommended: A group of 24 players with 2-3 tanks and 5-6 healers is recommended to tank on R8-X8.
I’m Crazy, So Why Not? You can down R8-X8 with as few as 8 people, including 1 tank and 2 healers. Groups must adhere to mechanics to prevent rampage at all costs. To break the shield, each DPS must average just over 7k within the 35s allowed.
Rewards
Difficulty
As one of the most difficult (and laggy) open world bosses in the game, positioning is highly important – and spike damage on tanks is extreme. The extra healing and extra tanks will ensure that the DPS have enough time to down the boss provided they handle mechanics involving red circles and fuel cells correctly. Manage the mechanics and the fight will be a breeze, if slightly long.
General Mechanics
Overview
R8-X8 has one overarching mechanic: stacks of Hypergolic Fuel. It will begin the fight with 30 stacks and slowly drop them as it uses various abilities. Contrary to popular opinion, none of his abilities can be interrupted, but nearly all of them have a channel.
Abilities
- Analyzing Threat: 35s channeled ability when combat is started, broken by dealing sufficient amounts of damage. Must break to begin encounter.
- Air Support: 45s CD – provides a 20s buff to the boss that causes Aerial Strikes to target a raid member every 2 seconds.
- Supplies: 30s CD – drops more fuel cells around the arena to replace lost ones
- Incinerate: 15s CD – massive AoE, consumes 10 Fuel over the duration.
- Refueling: 40s CD – Boss walks to Fuel Cell and gains 15 stacks of fuel.
- Seasoned Shot: 1 second cooldown – Ranged attack on targets within 6 to 20 meters that deals weapon damage and applies a debuff called INCENDIARY RESIDUE. That debuff reduces threat generation by 1% per stack and increases damage taken by the next fire (elemental) attack by 10% per stack, up to 50 stacks. if the boss cannot use Incinerate and its target is out of melee range, this attack will be used.
1. Starting the Fight
When you pull the boss, it will have a white shield around it. You must DPS the boss while the shield is up. If you fail to do enough damage during the shield, the encounter will reset, so don’t save your big hitter attacks (do save your raid buffs, though). Once enough damage has been dealt, the boss will become damageable.
2. Fuel and Incinerate
The boss starts the fight surrounded by yellow Hypergolic Fuel Cells, which are unattackable and undamageable. As the boss uses Incinerate, it will lose stacks of fuel (1 stack every 0.3 seconds, with 3 being required to even use the skill). At 2 fuel stacks, it will no longer be able to cast Incinerate, and if that ability is in use, it will be interrupted. The boss also has an attack where it will knockdown the current tank and drop their threat by 90%. The off-tank must taunt at this time.
3. Air Support and Red Circles
The boss will periodically perform a channel called Requesting Air Support. This causes a number of red circles to appear around random player’s feet. They will follow the player around for a few seconds before dropping and being replaced by fixed orange circles.
The orange circles do minor damage to players compared to most other of R8-X8’s attacks. However, they cause the fuel cells they land on to explode and knockback anyone standing in them.
Exploding fuel cells will have two circles around them: an inner red and outer purple. Both deal massive amounts of damage to anyone within. You’ll also want note that their telegraph will often disappear before they stop doing damage – so stay away from them.
The goal for managing these circles is to NOT clip any fuel cells near the boss with them. Else, stacks of heat are applied to the boss and poor management of red circles or fuel cell explosions will result in a rampage – which may result in a wipe.
4. Avoiding Rampage
If the boss stands in the fire from a destroyed fuel cell, it will gain a stacking heat buff called STATUS: HEAT WARNING. It was a maximum of 5 stacks and, per stack, will allow the boss to do 5% increased damage and deal periodic AoE damage (Force/Tech > Elemental) to anyone within 15 meters. This buff will decrease by one stack every 3 seconds, as long as the boss doesn’t gain another stack of heat in those 3 seconds.
At 6 heat stacks, the boss will gain a second buff called SYSTEM.EXCEPTION:0x46495245. At 6 stacks, R8-X8 will become immune to taunt, drop aggro, and rampage through the raid group dealing massive damage for 15 seconds. The AoE damage will continue and it will move away from the tanks and glow yellow.
Best case scenario, the group simply avoids dropping red circles under or exploding fuel cells by the boss.
But if rampage does occur, the group should do their best to stay alive at all costs. Stay out of range so you’re not caught in its superpowered Incinerate (which will still occur and will be turned on the group), any AoE damage and, at the end of the 15 seconds, bring the boss close enough to the tanks so they can re-taunt and re-position R8-X8.
Making the Fight Easier
Strategy #1
The recommended strategy for R8-X8 is to have two tanks stand on top of the south side of the bosses bunker, You can platform up to from the rocks just below. Tanks can maintain aggro from here and will not take damage from incinerate. If a circle follows a tank up top, the tank it is on MUST get off the ledge while the other taunts. If a circle drops up on the ledge, both tanks must be prepared to get back up as they will be knocked off. Melee DPS must be sure not to drop red circles on any hypergolic fuel cells under the boss so that it does not gain heat stacks (which are discussed above).
Strategy #2
The alternative and more difficult strategy is to have both tanks place their backs against the bunker, on the small metal circles.
When incinerate begins to cast, have the off-tank taunt and the tanks swap spots. Taunting during the Incinerate cast and having the boss’ target beyond 15 meters will cause the incinerate cast to stop. If Incinerate is not interrupted with this strategy, be sure to utilize strong defensives and get cleansed, if possible. Incinerate is Force/Tech > Elemental damage.
Also be aware that taunting out of melee range will cause the boss to put a stacking debuff on his current target, increasing the damage they take up to 50%.
Role Tips
What you should know if you’re playing a Tank, DPS or Healer in this fight.
Damage Profile
- Skill Name: Seasoned Shot and Incendiary Residue debuff
- Damage Type: Force/Tech > Elemental
- Frequency: Up to every second if target is between 6 – 20 meters. Will not be used if target is in melee ranged, as it is low priority.
- Damage Spread: Single-target attack used at range that applies stacking debuff called Incendiary Residue. The debuff can stack up to 5 times and when applied, it ticks for a small amount of health, reduces threat generation by 1% per stack and increases the damage taken by the next source of fire damage by 10% per stack before being dispelled. The debuff lasts 15 seconds and all stacks will fall off once that timer expires.
- How to Defend: Stay within melee range or, if positioning is an issue (likely to occur with strategy #1), have an off-tank hold the boss in the appropriate position. This attack is better to take than an Incinerate to the face.
- Skill Name: Recalibrating Threat
- Damage Type: Force/Tech > Kinetic
- Frequency: Up to every 20 seconds to targets within 10 meters of it. Indicated by a 0.5 second cast.
- Damage Spread: Single-target attack that incudes a knockback/stun and functions as a threat drop.
- How to Defend: There is no way to avoid this attack if you are within 10 meters, though it is possible to mitigate the damage associated with it. The threat drop and knockback occur periodically and tanks want to be aware to taunt at that time.
- Skill Name: Incinerate
- Damage Type: Force/Tech > Elemental
- Frequency: Up to every 15 seconds, if the boss has enough fuel. Incinerate consumes 10 fuel over the 3 second channel (1 fuel for every 0.3 seconds). The ability will stop early if fuel supplies deplete early.
- Damage Spread: Incinerate is a wide AoE frontal conal that extends 20 meters and starts at the center of the boss. Look for the large orange telegraph on the ground. Affected targets have a Burning debuff applied for the duration and the boss is immobile during the channel.
- How to Defend: As Force/Tech damage, the attack can be mitigated by defensives tailored to those attack types. Else, absorb shields and direct damage reduction skills will reduce overall damage taken – possibly (though unlikely) long enough to get to safety. Damage for this ability ticks every second, while the debuff associated lasts for slightly longer than the channel that applies it. Each tick of Incinerate occurs every 0.5 seconds, and will apply/refresh Burning. The general consensus is that if you are caught in Incinerate, you will die.
- Skill Name: Burn Off
- Damage Type: Force/Tech > Elemental
- Frequency: Up to evert 40 seconds whenever the boss is refueling.
- Damage Spread: This AoE lasts for 5 seconds and will deal damage to anyone under the boss while it is refueling.
- How to Defend: Ideally, don’t stand under the boss. Else, use an absorb defensive or one that utilizes Force/Tech damage, though it’s important to note those would be best saved for Incinerate.
