Abyss

Seal the Pits in your maps, follow the Abyssal Wounds from the Well of Souls to the two Commanders, and jump into the Well to face the Vessel of Kulemak.

Start: Abysses in your maps0 of 4 lessons read

Down to the Vessel of Kulemak

Six stops, in order. Tick each one when you've done it in game.

0 of 6 done in game.

  1. Stop 1

    Abyss in a map

    Close the cracks, seal the Pits and open what they leave.

    You seal every Pit of one Abyss in a map.

    Taught in Abysses in your maps

  2. Stop 2

    The Well of Souls

    The Abyss hub. It appears on your Atlas after your first Abyss, and the maps around it give Abyss Atlas points.

    You enter the Well of Souls from the Atlas.

    Taught in The Well of Souls

  3. Stop 3

    Northern Wounds and the Dark Domain

    Clear the Northern Abyssal Wounds. One leads to the Dark Domain, where Vandroth, Blackblooded Enslaver waits.

    Vandroth is dead and the Invitation is in your inventory.

    Taught in The Commanders: Vandroth and Tasgul

  4. Stop 4

    Southern and Eastern Wounds, then the Lightless Void

    Close the remaining Wounds and beat Tasgul, Swallower of Light. Both Commanders always drop Kulemak's Invitation.

    Tasgul is dead and you've picked up the Invitation.

    Taught in The Commanders: Vandroth and Tasgul

  5. Stop 5

    Jump into the Well

    With Kulemak's Invitation, choose "Jump In" at the Well of Souls.

    You arrive in The Black Cathedral.

    Taught in The Vessel of Kulemak

  6. Stop 6

    Vessel of Kulemak

    A revival gauntlet. Each time you beat it, steal a Lich's power for a stronger fight and a better ring, or take the Finger and the loot.

    The map completes when you take the Finger or kill the final form.

    Taught in The Vessel of Kulemak

Three Petrified Liches

After each defeat, touch a Petrified Lich to revive the Vessel stronger and add a hidden modifier to Grip of Kulemak, up to three times. Amanamu leans to fire, armour and Strength, Kurgal to cold, energy shield and Intelligence, Ulaman to lightning, evasion and Dexterity.

The wiki says Return the Finger then gives a fourth, full-power fight and a fourth modifier. One guide says the ring stops at three.

The Abyssal Lich

Already ascended as a Lich? After the Vessel, an urn lets you switch to the Abyssal Lich and back.

Sources disagree on whether the fight must be fully empowered by the Liches. Check it in game.

Lessons

  1. Abysses in your mapsCracks, Pits and Troves, the three Lich factions, the Depths and what drops.Up next
  2. The Well of SoulsThe hub, the Abyssal Power quest, Abyss Tablets and revealing Desecrated modifiers.Open
  3. The Commanders: Vandroth and TasgulThe Abyssal Wounds, the Dark Domain and the Lightless Void, and Kulemak's Invitation.Open
  4. The Vessel of KulemakThe revival gauntlet, the three Liches, Grip of Kulemak and the drops.Open
  5. The DescentPass it to light up the test node on the map.After the lessons

Desecration

Abyss's crafting. A bone adds a hidden modifier; reveal it at the Well of Souls and pick one of three.

  • Three tiers of bone. Gnawed works on items up to item level 64, Preserved on any item, and Ancient gives a minimum modifier level of 40.
  • One bone per slot type. Jawbones for weapons and quivers, Ribs for armour, Collarbones for jewellery, Crania for jewels.
  • One per item. An item can only have one Desecrated modifier, and it doesn't count as your crafted one.
  • Full items lose a line. If the item has no open slot, one existing modifier is removed at random to make room.
Read the Desecration lesson
Read “The Vessel of Kulemak” as text

Jump into the Well

With Kulemak's Invitation, go to the Well of Souls and choose "Jump In". It takes you to the Black Cathedral, where the Vessel of Kulemak waits.

Choose after every defeat

Each time you defeat the Vessel, you choose. Steal a Lich's power: touch one of three Petrified Liches, which revives the boss stronger and adds a hidden modifier to the ring Grip of Kulemak. Or take the Finger: end the fight and take the loot. You can steal power up to three times.

  • Take the Finger now: End the fight after the first defeat. Pick it when: It's your first kill, or you only want the points. The cost: A weaker ring and a smaller unique pool.
  • Steal a Lich's power: Revive the boss, stronger, and add a modifier to the ring. Up to three times. Pick it when: Your character can take a harder fight. The cost: Each revive hits harder.
  • Return the Finger: After all three Liches, a fourth revive at full power. Pick it when: You're farming the best drops. The cost: The hardest version of the fight.

Know what each Lich adds

Amanamu adds crystal shards that burst near you and Lightless Serpents. Kurgal tethers you with a beam that builds cold damage while you move, and adds Blackblooded Elites. Ulaman fires beams between crystals, which flash first, and adds a Shepherd of the Pit.

The wiki groups the ring's modifiers by Lich: Amanamu fire, armour and Strength; Kurgal cold, energy shield and Intelligence; Ulaman lightning, evasion and Dexterity.

Dodge the main attacks

For the cleave, a marked lane with wind shows where the cold wave sweeps, so leave it. Step out of the line of the big eyebeam. For Kulemak's Inferno, stay inside the ring that follows you; everything outside it burns. When Engulfing Darkness falls, get into the one lit circle, because you can't deal damage in the dark.

Survive full power

Return the Finger after all three Liches and the Vessel comes back at full power: the arena splits, portals open on both sides, and orbs chase you and leave ground that stops life and energy shield recovery. Watch where the teleport slam lands.

The wiki says this adds a fourth modifier to the ring. One guide says the ring stops at three.

Take the loot and the points

Grip of Kulemak always drops, along with a chance at Ancient bones and one more unique that depends on how far you pushed. The Master's Reach only drops from the fully empowered fight. Since 0.5.5 Hotfix 10, the Abyss Atlas points arrive when the map completes.

Already a Lich? An urn after the fight lets you switch to the Abyssal Lich and back. Sources disagree on whether the fight must be fully empowered, so check in game.