The Cataclysm event in Anthem isn't just about solving and completing puzzles. It's also about taking down enemies, particularly the event's very own big bad, Vara. In the story, Vara is considered one of those who attempted to kickstart the event. Now defeating Vara ends your current Cataclysm run, so be sure to finish all other events before then. We have given an overview of how to complete the arena, and today we look a little deeper into how to defeat Vara.
The thing about Vara is that she fights in two different phases. This is dependent on how much health Vara has. At the start of the fight, she enters her Valkyrie phase and when her health drops down to 66%, she enters her Burh phase. When her health drops further down to 33%, she goes back to Valkyrie. It's important to know that when her health is at 33%, there is a chance she can switch between phases. This rarely happens, but at least you'll be prepared when it happens.
In terms of what to expect from her two phases, these are what you should look out for:
Valkyrie Phase
- Flame Waves
- While this is an AoE attack, the actual area is rather small.
- This attack is rather easy to avoid.
- Ring of Fire
- Vara calls for a ring of flames which appear at the arena's edges of the arena and then closes in towards the center.
- The trick is to stand in the arena's blue center if you want to avoid insta-death
- Ice Barrage
- Vara fires bolts that have a high chance of freezing players
- If the bolts manage to freeze a player, Vara follows this attack with a fire beam
- Fire Beam
- Dishes out extremely high damage and is very dangerous mainly due to its timing
Burn Phase
- Floor is Lava
- When walking on the ground, players take damage
- The higher the difficulty, the more damage players take
- Fireball
- Vara lobs fireballs at the players with its flames lingering for a bit
- This attack is mainly used to force players to reposition
When going against Vara, you need to destroy the spot right above her once you enter the arena. The reason for this is that it allows you to inflict damage. However the rift does appear after a period of time, which means that you have to destroy it every time the rift shows up. Remember not to use an ultimate ability until after you destroy the rift, otherwise it's just wasted. You also shouldn't use an ultimate while the rift is re-forming since it won't do any damage.
There are also times when Vara summons minions to attack you. You know it’s coming when Vara imbues her hand with acid elemental energy and says that "this world belongs to the Dominion."
So how do you known it’s time to deal the finishing blow? When you have dealt enough damage to Vara, she is going to collapse to the ground. This is the time that you and your team should give it all you’ve got. However, as we mentioned earlier, always keep an eye on the rift reforming. If it does reform, destroy it immediately.
Once you defeat Vara, you get rewards based on your Cataclysm score. You can learn more about increasing your score in our guide here. Rewards include the usual equipment along with a rare gear. You can also earn crystals, which allows you to buy new cosmetics.
Hopefully this gives you the needed edge to face off against Vara and win.
