Great Ancient Rootmane, Keeper of the Hall: how to beat

Great Ancient Rootmane, Keeper of the Hall — dungeon “The Blighted Sanctum (East Wing — Prison of the Ancients)”, level 46. The deck: phases, turn cycle,…

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Dungeon The Blighted Sanctum (East Wing — Prison of the Ancients), final boss, level 46.

The boss plays its own deck: every turn it plays the next line of its phase’s cycle, with no randomness. Learn the cycle and you know what is coming. The numbers on this page are the same as in the card tooltip in combat: before Hardiness and Defender’s Stance. Mechanics in detail — Boss mechanics.

In short

Modes: Heroic (at level 60), Normal (at the place’s level, 36–46), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
2 phases, 8 cards in the deck. Schools: 🌿 Nature 5, ⛰ Earth 1, ⚔ Physical 1, ❄ Cold 1.
“Damp Earth” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 600, keystone +10 500 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
“Root from Below” test strike — on boss turns 9 and 17: heroic 7,000, keystone +10 8,000; 40% weaker with a defensive card on yourself.
The heaviest hit is “Root from Below”: heroic 7,000, keystone +10 8,000.

Phases and turn cycle

The phase changes with the boss’s Health. In each phase the boss goes round its own cycle: at the end it starts again. The boss’s next turn shows on its portrait.

1. “Digesting” — from the start of the fight

Down to 30% Health.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	🌿 Root
2	🌿 Root + 🌿 Entangled
3	🌿 Digesting
4	🌿 Root + 🌿 Young Shoots
5	⛰ Roots from Under the Floor
6	🌿 Root

2. “Remembered the Night” — below 30% Health

Below 30%: shoots at once, angrier, roots more often.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: ❄ Remembered the Night, 🌿 Young Shoots.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	🌿 Root + 🌿 Entangled
2	⛰ Roots from Under the Floor
3	🌿 Digesting + 🌿 Root
4	🌿 Root + 🌿 Young Shoots
5	⛰ Roots from Under the Floor

The “Root from Below” test strike is not part of the cycle: the boss announces it on its turns 8 and 16 and hits on turns 9 and 17.

Cards and numbers

The number is what a hit takes before Hardiness (through shields — from Health only), how much the boss heals itself, the shield it puts up, a minion’s Health. A dash means the card is not in that mode or has no number. Keystone: +10 numbers; hits are the same from +7 to +9 and weaker per level below +7.

Card	What it does	Heroic	Normal	Keystone +10	How to answer
🌿 Root from Below · Nature, test strike	A test strike on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank). The boss announces it on its own, outside the cycle, and hits on its 9th and 17th turn; one turn before, there is a countdown on the portrait and a warning above your hand. The target plays a defensive card on themselves before the hit — it is 40% weaker. Not in normal mode. Through shields.	7,000 · with a defensive card 4,200	—	8,000 · with a defensive card 4,800	Test strike, one turn of warning. The tank plays a defensive card, the healer tops him up in advance.
🌿 Root · Nature, hit	A hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	2,468	735	4,305	A plain hit.
🌿 Entangled · Nature, stun	Stuns a damage dealer or the healer (past the tank) for 1 turn.	—	—	—	The target skips a turn.
🌿 Digesting · Nature, charge	Charges for 2 turns, then heals itself. Take 6% of the boss’s Health during the countdown and the charge breaks. Once broken, the boss plays “Heartburn”.	heals 4,700	heals 850	heals 15,090	Digests for 2 turns and heals himself for 4,700 (heroic) / 850 (normal) / 15,090 (keystone +10). Take 6% of his Health and he gets heartburn.
⚔ Heartburn · Physical, opening: more damage to the boss	The boss is open: damage to it ×1.35 for 2 turns.	—	—	—	+35% damage for 1 party turn.
🌿 Young Shoots · Nature, summon with a task	Summons “Shoot” ×2. While it lives, it heals the boss every turn.	Health 1,210 · hits 71 · heals the boss 670 per turn	Health 220 · hits 21 · heals the boss 120 per turn	Health 3,880 · hits 123 · heals the boss 2,160 per turn	Each heals him for 670 (heroic) / 120 (normal) / 2,160 (keystone +10) per turn. Cut them.
⛰ Roots from Under the Floor · Earth, charge	A charge: in 1 turn it hits everyone, the number is for each. Shields hold half, ignores 50% of Hardiness.	917	182	1,066	One turn of warning. Half through shields at everyone.
❄ Remembered the Night · Cold, boss empower	The boss’s hits ×1.2 until the fight ends.	—	—	—	Stronger by 20% until the fight ends.

“Damp Earth” cold

The root warms itself in the earth. The earth is no warmer for it.

Heroic: 600 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Keystone +10: 500 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Hits every fighter in the party through shields; Hardiness reduces it — better gear takes less.
The answer is healing every turn: shields do not stop cold. Healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
No cold in normal mode.

Test strike

“Root from Below” — on boss turns 9 and 17, through shields, on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank). On heroic, while the party’s tank is alive, it goes to the tank. Not in normal mode.
Heroic: 7,000 before Hardiness; 4,200 if the target answered with a defensive card.
Keystone +10: 8,000 before Hardiness; 4,800 if the target answered with a defensive card.
One turn before the hit there is a countdown on the portrait and a warning above your hand. The target plays a defensive card on themselves: a self-shield, damage reduction or “cannot be killed”. A card someone else plays on the target does not count.

Enrage

Heroic: from party turn 40, every boss turn is 4% stronger, and it stacks.
Normal: as before — if the fight drags on past its expected length, the boss hits harder every turn.
Keystone +10: as before — if the fight drags on past its expected length, the boss hits harder every turn.

Roles

Tank

The “Root from Below” test strike lands on the boss’s 9th and 17th turn (heroic and keystone +10). One turn before, play a defensive card on yourself — a self-shield, damage reduction or “cannot be killed”: the hit becomes 40% weaker. Keep such a card in hand for those turns.
Shields do not stop this hit: the healer tops up your Health before it.
“Root” hits you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Root” (“Digesting” phase, cycle step 1).
Do not fall: on heroic, mythic and in keystones, without a living tank the boss’s hits on its focus go through shields. A resident can be the tank too.

Healer

“Damp Earth” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 600, keystone +10 — 500 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
“Roots from Under the Floor” hits everyone. Before that turn, get everyone above half Health; it goes half through shields: shields hold half, the rest hits Health.
“Remembered the Night”: the boss hits harder — keep crystals and heals in reserve for those turns.

Damage dealers

“Shoot” heals the boss every turn — kill it first.
“Heartburn”: the boss is open and takes more damage — save your strong cards for that turn.
“Digesting” can be broken: take 6% of the boss’s Health during the countdown and there is no heal.
“Entangled” hits your cards and crystals: do not hoard everything for one turn.
Do not drag it out: heroic — enrage from turn 40.

The heaviest hits

“Root from Below” — test strike, through shields.
“Root” — on the tank; “Digesting” phase, cycle step 1.
“Roots from Under the Floor” — on everyone, half through shields, ignores 50% of Hardiness; “Digesting” phase, cycle step 5.

Loot

All of the boss’s loot with rough drop chances is in the item atlas; rules and items by boss are on the The Blighted Sanctum (East Wing — Prison of the Ancients) page.

Previous boss — Winterfur, the Imprisoned Demon.

All bosses of the place — The Blighted Sanctum (East Wing — Prison of the Ancients). Rules of a fight against a boss with a deck — How to beat: every boss.