Lady Serpenta: how to beat

Lady Serpenta — dungeon “Howling Caverns”, level 16. The deck: phases, turn cycle, damage and healing by mode, cold, test strike, role tips.

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Dungeon Howling Caverns, boss 2 of 6, level 16.

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, 15–21), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
2 phases, 5 cards in the deck. Schools: ⚔ Physical 2, ☠ Poison 2, 🌿 Nature 1.
“The Tea Went Cold” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 960, keystone +10 800 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
“Drink Up” 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 “Drink Up”: 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. “First Cup” — from the start of the fight

Down to 40%: brews every 5 turns.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Ladle
2	⚔ Ladle + ☠ Brew
3	🌿 Brewed Herself a Cup
4	⚔ Ladle + ☠ Brew
5	⚔ Ladle

2. “Another Little Cup” — below 40% Health

Below 40%: brews at once and then more often.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: 🌿 Brewed Herself a Cup.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Ladle + ☠ Brew
2	⚔ Ladle
3	🌿 Brewed Herself a Cup
4	⚔ Ladle + ☠ Brew

The “Drink Up” 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
☠ Drink Up · Poison, 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.
⚔ Ladle · Physical, hit	A hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	2,233	285	3,895	A plain hit.
☠ Brew · Poison, stacking damage over time	Damage over time on everyone that stacks: each play adds a stack, up to 4. The number is per turn per stack; a stack lasts 5 turns.	106 per turn per stack	9 per turn per stack	123 per turn per stack	On everyone, builds up, wears off by itself. Party healing.
🌿 Brewed Herself a Cup · Nature, charge	Charges for 2 turns, then heals itself. Take 5% of the boss’s Health during the countdown and the charge breaks. Once broken, the boss plays “Spilled”.	heals 5,710	heals 230	heals 13,610	Brews for 2 turns, then heals herself for 5,710 (heroic) / 230 (normal) / 13,610 (keystone +10). Take 5% of her Health and she spills it.
⚔ Spilled · Physical, opening: more damage to the boss	The boss is open: damage to it ×1.3 for 2 turns.	—	—	—	The tea is on the floor and she is upset: +30% damage for 1 party turn.

“The Tea Went Cold” cold

She pours, and it is already cold. She pours anyway.

Heroic: 960 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Keystone +10: 800 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

“Drink Up” — 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 “Drink Up” 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.
“Ladle” hits you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Ladle” (“First Cup” 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

“The Tea Went Cold” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 960, keystone +10 — 800 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
“Brew” hits everyone. Before that turn, get everyone above half Health and put up shields.
“Brew”: damage over time — outheal it; a cleanse helps.

Damage dealers

“Spilled”: the boss is open and takes more damage — save your strong cards for that turn.
“Brewed Herself a Cup” can be broken: take 5% of the boss’s Health during the countdown and there is no heal.
Do not drag it out: heroic — enrage from turn 40.

The heaviest hits

“Drink Up” — test strike, through shields.
“Ladle” — on the tank; “First Cup” phase, cycle step 1.
“Brew” — on everyone; “First Cup” phase, cycle step 2.

Loot

All of the boss’s loot with rough drop chances is in the item atlas; rules and items by boss are on the Howling Caverns page.

Previous boss — Anacra the Slithering. Next boss — Cobrahn the Scaled.

All bosses of the place — Howling Caverns. Rules of a fight against a boss with a deck — How to beat: every boss.