Sonavel is one of the most challenging and rewarding Guardian Raids in Lost Ark and will arrive West version today. Sonavel is a powerful dragon-like creature that can manipulate the weather and unleash devastating attacks. He is the first Raid Level 7 Guardian, requiring an Item Level of 1580 or higher to enter. He drops Tier 3 Accessories, Bracelets, Ability Stones, Upgrade Materials, and rare items such as Engraving Books and a Legendary Galewind rune.
This article will provide a comprehensive guide on defeating Sonavel, covering his raid mechanics, phases, attack patterns, and tips and tricks. We will also recommend some battle items, combat stats, and card sets to help you survive and deal more damage in this raid.
Raid Mechanics
Raid mechanics are the passive mechanics that are persistent throughout the entire raid. They affect how you interact with Sonavel and his environment.
•Crit+Stagger/Movement Speed Debuff: Getting hit by major attacks from Sonavel during Phases 1 and 2 will inflict a stacking debuff that reduces your Crit Rate and Stagger Damage. Stagger is a mechanic that interrupts the enemy's actions, while Crit is a mechanic that increases the damage of an attack by a certain percentage. The debuff lasts for 40 seconds and can be cleansed using Purify, Panacea, or any support ability that cleanses. It stacks up to four times. On the fourth stack, the debuff is replaced with Blind, which lasts 15 seconds and cannot be cleaned. Blind reduces your Crit Rate by 20% and your Stagger by 40%. During Phase 3, the debuff changes to Crystal Erosion, which reduces your Movement Speed by 5% per stack instead of Crit Rate and Stagger Damage. On the fourth stack, you get imprisoned for 10 seconds. If your teammates don't break you free within five seconds, Sonavel grabs you and slams you on the ground.
•Ball Companion: An orange ball surrounded with glyphs will spawn during Phase 2, accompanying Sonavel wherever he goes. If this ball is hit by Sonavel's Light Rays, Teleport, Frontal Cone, or Diamond attack, it gains one crystal stack and repeats that attack. Getting hit by repeated attacks of the Ball Companion will inflict one debuff stack on you. If the Ball Companion reaches four stacks, it triggers a mechanic that spawns an arena with a stagger and destruction check. Staggering and destroying the arena will prevent Sonavel from unleashing a powerful attack that can wipe out your party.
•Sonavel Speed-up: Sonavel gains heavily increased Damage, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed during Phase 3. Most of his attacks gain additional effects and are altered slightly.
Phases
Sonavel has three phases in his raid. Each phase has different mechanics and attack patterns you must know.
Phase 1
Phase 1 starts when you enter the raid and ends when Sonavel's health reaches 70%. The main objective of this phase is to stagger and destroy Sonavel's armor as soon as possible. This will increase the damage taken for the rest of the fight.
To stagger Sonavel, you need to use skills with Weak Point or Stagger Damage modifiers. These skills are usually marked with a yellow or red icon in your skill bar. You can also use battle items such as Flare or Destruction Bomb to help with staggering. Once Sonavel is staggered, he will fall and expose the armor on his chest. You need to use skills with Weak Point or Destruction Damage modifiers to destroy his armor. These skills are usually marked with a blue or purple icon in your skill bar. You can also use battle items such as Pheromone Bomb or Destruction Bomb to help with destroying.
Once his armor is destroyed, Sonavel will take increased damage for the rest of the fight. He will also use some new attacks in addition to his basic ones.
Basic Attacks
•Light Rays: Sonavel shoots three beams of light from his eyes in a cone shape before him. The beams have a long-range and deal high damage. You need to dodge to the sides or behind him to avoid them.
•Teleport: Sonavel teleports to a random location in the arena and slams his tail on the ground, creating a shockwave that deals damage and knocks back anyone nearby. You must move away from him when he teleports to avoid getting hit.
•Frontal Cone: Sonavel breathes fire in a cone shape in front of him. The fire deals damage over time and inflicts a burn debuff that reduces your healing received. You need to dodge to the sides or behind him to avoid the fire.
•Diamond: Sonavel creates a diamond-shaped area on the ground and charges up his energy. After a few seconds, he releases a blast of energy that deals high damage and knocks back anyone inside the area. You must move out of the area immediately to avoid the blast.
New Attacks
•Tail Swipe: Sonavel swings his tail from left to right or right to left, depending on which side he is facing. The tail has a long reach and deals moderate damage. You need to dodge in the opposite direction of his tail to avoid getting hit.
•Meteor Shower: Sonavel summons a meteor shower that rains down on the arena. The meteors have a red indicator on the ground before they land. They deal great damage and knock back anyone they hit. You must dodge the meteors as much as possible and avoid getting hit by multiple ones.
Phase 2
Phase 2 starts when Sonavel's health reaches 70% and ends when his health reaches 40%. The main objective of this phase is to deal with the Ball Companion and prevent it from reaching four stacks.
The Ball Companion is an orange ball surrounded by glyphs that spawn during this phase. It follows Sonavel wherever he goes and mimics some of his attacks. If the Ball Companion is hit by Sonavel's Light Rays, Teleport, Frontal Cone, or Diamond attack, it gains one crystal stack and repeats that attack. Getting hit by repeated attacks of the Ball Companion will inflict one debuff stack on you. If the Ball Companion reaches four stacks, it triggers a mechanic that spawns an arena with a stagger and destruction check.
To deal with the Ball Companion, you need to avoid hitting it with your skills or battle items. You also need to avoid getting hit by its repeated attacks, as they will inflict debuff stacks on you. You can use battle items such as Pheromone Bomb or Destruction Bomb to lure the Ball Companion away from Sonavel or destroy its stacks. If the Ball Companion reaches four stacks, you need to stagger and destroy the arena that spawns around it as soon as possible. This will prevent Sonavel from unleashing a powerful attack that can wipe out your party.
During this phase, Sonavel will use some new attacks in addition to his basic ones.
Basic Attacks
•Light Rays: Same as Phase 1, but now the Ball Companion can also shoot beams of light if this attack hits it.
•Teleport: Same as Phase 1, but now the Ball Companion can also teleport and slam its tail if this attack hits it.
•Frontal Cone: Same as Phase 1, but now the Ball Companion can also breathe fire if this attack hits it.
•Diamond: Same as Phase 1, but now the Ball Companion can also create a diamond-shaped area and blast energy if this attack hits it.
New Attacks
•Lightning Strike: Sonavel summons a lightning strike that targets a random player. The lightning has a red indicator on the ground before it strikes. It deals great damage and stuns anyone it hits. You need to dodge the lightning as soon as you see the indicator.
•Ice Breath: Sonavel breathes ice in a cone shape in front of him. The ice deals damage over time and inflicts a freeze debuff that reduces your movement and attack speeds. You must dodge to the sides or behind him to avoid the ice.
Phase 3
Phase 3 starts when Sonavel's health reaches 40% and ends when his health reaches 0%. The main objective of this phase is to survive and deal as much damage as possible.
Sonavel gains heavily increased Damage, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed during this phase. He also changes his Crit Rate and Stagger Damage debuff to a Movement Speed debuff instead. Most of his attacks gain additional effects and are altered slightly.
Basic Attacks
•Light Rays: Same as Phase 2, but now Sonavel shoots five beams of light instead of three.
•Teleport: Same as Phase 2, but now Sonavel teleports twice before slamming his tail.
•Frontal Cone: Same as Phase 2, but now Sonavel breathes fire twice in a row with different angles.
•Diamond: Same as Phase 2, but now Sonavel creates two diamond-shaped areas instead of one.
New Attacks
•Tail Swipe: Same as Phase 1, but now Sonavel swings his tail twice in a row in different directions.
•Meteor Shower: Same as Phase 1, but now Sonavel summons more meteors that land faster and have smaller indicators.
•Lightning Strike: Same as Phase 2, but now Sonavel summons two lightning strikes instead of one.
•Ice Breath: Same as Phase 2, but now Sonavel breathes ice thrice with different angles.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks to help you succeed in the Sonavel Guardian Raid:
•Use battle items wisely. Battle items are consumable items that can provide various benefits, such as increasing damage, healing, or cleansing debuffs. You can buy battle items from the NPC in the raid lobby or craft them using materials. Some of the most useful battle items for this raid are:
•Flare: A flare that deals high stagger damage to Sonavel and reveals his weak points. You can use this to help with staggering and destroying his armor in Phase 1, or to interrupt his attacks in Phases 2 and 3.
•Pheromone Bomb: A bomb that lures the Ball Companion away from Sonavel for 10 seconds. You can use this to prevent the Ball Companion from getting hit by Sonavel's attacks and gaining stacks in Phase 2.
•Destruction Bomb: A bomb that deals high destruction damage to Sonavel and reduces his defense. You can use this to help destroy his armor in Phase 1 or deal more damage to him in Phases 2 and 3.
•Panacea: A potion that cleanses all debuffs from you and your party members. You can use this to remove the Crit Rate and Stagger Damage or the Movement Speed debuff in Phases 1 and 2, or the Blind or Imprisoned debuff in Phase 3.
•Healing Potion: A potion that restores a percentage of your health. You can use this to heal yourself when you take damage from Sonavel's attacks or the environment.
•Optimize your combat stats. Combat stats are the numerical values that represent your character's attributes, such as damage, defense, crit rate, attack speed, etc. You can increase your combat stats by upgrading your gear, gems, runes, engravings, card sets, etc. Some of the most important combat stats for this raid are:
•Crit Rate: The percentage chance of landing a critical hit that deals increased damage. You want to have at least a 600 Crit Rate for this raid, as it will help you deal more damage and trigger some effects from your skills, engravings, or card sets.
•Stagger Damage: The amount of stagger damage you deal to Sonavel when you hit him with skills with Weak Point or Stagger Damage modifiers. You want to have as much Stagger Damage as possible for this raid, as it will help you stagger and destroy his armor in Phase 1, or interrupt his attacks in Phase 2 and 3.
•Destruction Damage: The amount of destruction damage you deal to Sonavel when you hit him with skills with Weak Point or Destruction Damage modifiers. You want to have as much Destruction Damage as possible for this raid, as it will help you destroy his armor in Phase 1, or deal more damage to him in Phase 2 and 3.
•Swiftness: The stat that increases your attack speed and movement speed. You want to have at least 1800 Swiftness for this raid, as it will help you dodge Sonavel's attacks more easily and use your skills more frequently.
•Choose your card sets carefully. Card sets are collections of cards that provide various bonuses and effects when equipped together. There are different types of card sets, such as DPS, GvG, and support, and each has advantages and disadvantages.
We hope this article has helped you understand how to defeat Sonavel, the first Raid Level 7 Guardian in Lost Ark. Whether you are a DPS, a tank, or a healer, you can enjoy playing this challenging and rewarding raid that tests your skills and teamwork. Happy gaming!