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Overview
Chrono Gates are solo instanced encounters scattered across Setera. Each contains a singular boss, a Void Apostle (a corrupted time entity), that must be defeated to unlock a specific Specter for the Chronotector's Summon ability. Four Chrono Gates exist, each with distinct mechanics, arenas, and difficulty levels. Chrono Gates are designed as solo content, but post-CBT updates are adding optional NPC support for the first Gate to help newer players.
The first Chrono Gate was originally accessible at level 3 during CBT1. Post-CBT, it has been moved to level 5 to give players more time to learn the combat system before facing their first major boss encounter. This change reflects CBT1 feedback that players were thrown into the deep end too quickly.
The four Chrono Gate bosses
1. Thousandfold Piercer
A spear-wielding Void Apostle with aggressive melee attacks. The Thousandfold Piercer fights up close and punishes players who try to trade blows without understanding its attack patterns. This is the first Chrono Gate most players encounter.
Key attacks:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Four-Swing Combo -- A rapid horizontal slash sequence with the spear. The telegraph is subtle: a slight shift in the Piercer's stance before the first swing. Players should dodge after the first swing rather than trying to block the entire sequence. Attempting to parry all four swings is possible but extremely risky. | -- |
Overhead Slam | The Piercer raises the spear high and drives it into the ground, creating an AoE radiating from the impact point. This is the most damaging attack in the Piercer's moveset. The wind-up is long enough to dodge, but the AoE radius is larger than it looks. |
Lateral Aerial Spin | A spinning leap into the air followed by a massive AoE landing. This attack has 500+ damage potential and can one-shot under-leveled or poorly geared characters. The spin itself does not deal damage, so the key is recognizing the leap animation and getting out of the landing zone. |
Strategy: Ranged classes (particularly the Ranger) can outrange most of the Piercer's attacks. Melee classes need to learn the dodge timing for the Four-Swing Combo and the Lateral Aerial Spin. The Chronotector's Temporal Isolation ability can freeze the Piercer mid-combo, creating safe damage windows. Time Reversal serves as insurance against mistimed dodges. Post-CBT, optional NPC companions are being added to assist players with this encounter, reducing the solo difficulty for those who need it.
2. Earthbreaker
A very tall creature encountered in an arena filled with fire traps. The Earthbreaker fight is as much about the environment as the boss itself. The fire traps deal continuous damage and restrict movement, so players must manage their positioning while dealing with the boss's attacks.
Key mechanics:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Lever Mechanic | The arena contains two levers. Both must be activated to temporarily disable the Earthbreaker's energy flow, creating a damage window. While the energy flow is active, the Earthbreaker takes significantly reduced damage. This forces players to disengage from combat, navigate around fire traps, pull both levers, then rush back to deal damage before the energy flow restores. The cycle repeats throughout the fight. |
Stomp Quake | Telegraphed by the Earthbreaker's feet glowing, this attack releases an AoE shockwave in approximately a 3-second radius. Dodge sideways rather than backward, since the shockwave travels further in a line than laterally. |
Boulder Toss | The Earthbreaker grabs chunks of ground and hurls three in an arc toward the player's position. Each boulder deals heavy damage on direct hit. Sidestepping works, but using the arena's stalagmites as cover is more reliable since the boulders shatter on impact. |
Strategy: The fight is a test of arena awareness. Memorize the fire trap locations, plan routes between the two levers, and time your damage phases carefully. The Earthbreaker is slow but hits hard. Trying to brute-force damage without pulling the levers is not viable.
3. Primeval Capra
A beast-type Void Apostle with an add-spawning mechanic. The Primeval Capra is fast, aggressive, and becomes more dangerous as the fight progresses. Unlike the Thousandfold Piercer and Earthbreaker, which test mechanical precision and arena awareness respectively, the Primeval Capra tests the player's ability to manage multiple threats at once.
Key mechanics:
Screech Phase -- When the Primeval Capra's health drops below a threshold, it unleashes a screech that summons a wave of adds. These adds are individually weak but numerous, and they will overwhelm a player who ignores them. The screech occurs multiple times during the fight, with each wave spawning more adds than the last.
Add Management -- Use AoE abilities to clear adds when they spawn. A viable tactic is to keep one add alive and kite it while resetting cooldowns, then refocus on the Capra after clearing the rest. The Chronotector's Summon ability is effective at breaking the boss's stamina bar, which creates a stagger window to deal uninterrupted damage.
Strategy: The fight rewards controlled aggression. Burn down adds quickly, save Summon for stamina-bar breaks, and use Time Reversal as a safety net during the chaotic screech phases. Players who try to ignore the adds and focus purely on the Capra will be overwhelmed.
4. Arsenalith
A multi-phase Void Apostle with weapon-switching mechanics. The Arsenalith is the most complex of the four Chrono Gate bosses, with a unique chase sequence and two distinct combat phases based on which weapon it wields.
Key mechanics:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Chase Phase | The fight begins with four mini-encounters along a path. The player deals small amounts of damage to the Arsenalith, which then flees further down the path. This happens four times. The fifth encounter is the full fight. The chase phase tests the player's ability to deal quick burst damage under pressure, since each mini-encounter has a time limit before the Arsenalith escapes regardless. |
Large Bow Phase | When holding a large bow, the Arsenalith uses ranged attacks from distance. Projectiles are fast but telegraphed by aim lines. The strategy is to dodge the shots and close distance, since the Arsenalith is vulnerable at melee range during this phase. |
Massive Hammer Phase | When holding a massive hammer, the Arsenalith uses devastating melee smashes with wide AoE impact zones. Each hit can take a significant portion of the player's health. The strategy reverses: maintain distance and use ranged options (weapon swap or class abilities) to chip away at health while avoiding the hammer swings. |
Strategy: The Arsenalith switches between bow and hammer phases multiple times. Players need to be comfortable with both playstyles: closing distance and fighting up close during bow phases, then creating space during hammer phases. The weapon swap system is important here, since having both a melee and ranged weapon equipped allows players to match the Arsenalith's current phase.
Rewards
Each Chrono Gate awards a unique Specter upon first completion. These Specters can be summoned in future combat encounters via the Chronotector's Summon ability, providing powerful temporary allies. Each Specter has its own abilities and backstory, viewable in the Summon UI. The Specters are not just combat tools; they represent the captured essence of Void Apostles, entities that once served as guardians of time before being corrupted.
Chrono Gates can be repeated for additional rewards (materials, gear, experience), but the Specter unlock is a one-time reward per Gate.
Post-CBT changes
First Chrono Gate moved from level 3 to level 5, giving players more time to learn combat basics
Optional NPC support being added for the first Chrono Gate to assist newer players
These changes aim to smooth the difficulty curve without removing the challenge for experienced players