Barrier/Guide
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This content is part of the Atlas of Discovery Expansion.
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Ancient Relics mode, dungeons only require prior dungeon completion.The following guide takes the player through the combat of the Atlas of Discovery Expansion with as little effort as possible. This guide is targeted at people who have either completed or nearly completed the base game. Completion of at least the Air God Dungeon is recommended to follow the largest portion of this guide.
Every enemy in this expansion has a Barrier health bar as well as a regular health bar. Enemies cannot be damaged in anyway until the barrier is entirely removed. Only familiars are able to damage the barrier. Starting from the Trickery Temple dungeon, enemies also regenerate 25% every 7 attack turns.
Two-handed weapons are strongly recommended during the entire combat section, unless the alternative is required for Damage Reduction or the alternative simply does more damage. Two-handed weapons generally have a higher hit chance and because the familiar's hit-chance is based on the player's hit chance, the higher the hit chance, the better.
Since the combat portion is heavily focused on using familiars the following is strongly recommended:
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Tortoise 
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In case the 
Throne of the Herald expansion is owned, the following is a better alternative:
Because the combat mechanics in this expansion are rather complex, and minor changes in enemy, equipment and player stats can make specific items better or worse it is always recommended to use the Combat Simulator to verify how to get the most kills per hour or drops per hour.
The minimal and recommended requirements for every individual section is listed within the sections below.
Preparing for combat
Required:
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- Find
Torn Chart
Recommended
Old Summoning Amulet
Ring of Summoning or 
Aorpheat's Signet Ring
Necromancer outfit
Unlock the Ancient Market digsite and upgrade the map to perfect. It's heavily encouraged to also refine the map and get the +1 artifact bonus. Although it is possible to reduce the Tiny Artefact weight by 10, this generally isn't required as not that many barrier gems are needed for the entire combat portion.
From the Ancient Market, collect a whole bunch of barrier gems. These are needed to make Tortoise familiars. These are a must have for all the combat in this expansion. Depending on how many tablets you can make at once, and the preservation chance, more barrier gems should be obtained. 1,000 - 5,000 gems is a good number to aim for, depending on the previous factors.
Make Tortoise tablets and an equal amount of Dragon tablets. If possible use the Necromancer outfit, Old Summoning Amulet and the Signet Ring for more tablet output. Equip both the Tortoise and Dragon tablets. These will be used throughout the expansion!
Entry barrier equipment
Requirements:
- Discover
The Eye-Conic Cave - Any combat equipment.
Recommended
This portion of the guide aims at getting the very entry barrier equipment items, outside of the familiars of course. Gear doesn't matter much at this point, so prefer melee because it doesn't use resources. Use the melee weapon that provides the highest hit-chance.
- Get the
Barrier Touch Gem and 
Lesser Summoning Amulet from 
Blind Ghost.
- Optionally kill 100 of these for the Township task.
- Make a
Ring of Barrier Touch and equip it. - Get a
Sapping Barrier Gem and 
Barrier Sapping Gloves from 
Vampiric Bat.
- Optionally kill 100 of these for the Township task.
Golem Territory
Requirements:
- All items obtained in the previous section.
- Find
Ancient Stone Tablet
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Recommended
For this dungeon, we still do not require any specific (B) armour. Use the familiars made earlier and let them do most of the work. Make sure whatever equipment you are wearing doesn't result in death, and whatever weapon you are using should once again provide the highest hit-chance that you can find. Melee again works fine for this dungeon, as it doesn't consume runes or ammunition.
Optionally, a Summoning or Maximum Skillcape can be worn to save some familiar tablets, but is by no means required.
Run this dungeon until you have obtained 10 
Draining Barrier Gem to upgrade your gloves into 
Barrier Draining Gloves. The Township Task associated with this dungeon will also provide 3 gems.
All other items/loot received from this dungeon can be ignored. Do not use the familiar weapons. Unless the player is using very inaccurate and/or low level weapons, these will result in significantly lower clears per hour.
Dungeon Rush
The goal of this section is to unlock the Cult Grounds dungeon as fast as possible. The following two dungeons have to be completed once in order to unlock Cult Grounds. Starting from Trickery Temple the combat difficulty starts ramping up quite a bit!
Unholy Forest
Requirements
- All items obtained in the previous section.
- Complete
Golem Territory - Find
Old Route Chart
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This dungeon can be completed by ease, by using the same equipment as the previous dungeon. For instance, Ancient Armour will be more than enough to clear this dungeon. Just make sure you have enough damage reduction (combined with hitpoints) to survive the dungeon once. Melee is recommended to benefit from the combat triangle.
Trickery Temple
Requirements
- All items obtained in the previous section.
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- Find
Torn Scrolls
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The monsters in the trickery temple deal a lot more damage than previous dungeons. On top of that, the enemies there have a reflect mechanic (where part of the damage the player deals is inflicted back upon the player), and a mechanic where the enemies' max hit is based on the player's max hit. All enemies in this dungeon are also magic-based. It is therefore highly recommended to use the ranged combat style, preferably with javelins or throwing knifes to lower the player's max hit.
Although the Trickery Temple also drops 
Barrier Exalted Shard and 
Siphoning Barrier Gem, due to the reflect and max hit mechanic, the Cult Grounds dungeon is prefered, as the player can focus much more on dealing damage, rather than having to deal with the max hit mechanic instead.
Even with throwing knifes the reflect and enemy max hit still become very high. Always make sure to use the combat simulator beforehand to ensure you are not going to die! Alternatively, you can also do one clear by manual eating.
Upgrading to (B)
This section is about clearing and effectively farming the 
Cult Grounds dungeon and monsters for 
Barrier Dust. The player can progressively upgrade their Aeris God armour pieces to increase the kills per hour with every item upgraded.
Requirements
- All of the requirements mentioned above.
- Complete
Trickery Temple - Find
Lost Cursed Text
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Continue using your Aeris God armour setup for this dungeon. These monsters do not have the mechanic where they base their max hit off of the player's max hit, a crossbow with bolts can be used. As soon as enough Barrier Exalted Shard and Siphoning Barrier Gem have been obtained to upgrade the first item, it is advised to go collect barrier dust. All of the individual armour pieces have the same passive effect, so the order in which they are upgraded doesn't matter. Start with the armour piece that costs the fewest Barrier Shards and Siphoning Gems.
| Item | Upgrade Cost |
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4 Barrier Exalted Shard 2 Siphoning Barrier Gem
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10 Barrier Exalted Shard 5 Siphoning Barrier Gem
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6 Barrier Exalted Shard 3 Siphoning Barrier Gem
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5 Barrier Exalted Shard 5 Siphoning Barrier Gem
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Once enough upgrade materials have been obtained, depending on the gear the player has, kill either
or
. The benefit from killing Cult Members for barrier dust, is that only the Aeris set needs to be upgraded for maximum effect. However, the Cult Imp can potentially drop more barrier dust in a given hour. Especially if the player is using 
Big ol Ron. Terran God armour is also required in the next sections of the guide.
Collect enough barrier dust to obtain 2,000 
Imbued Dragonite Bar. Upgrade your armour piece and move back to the Cult Grounds dungeon until enough materials have been obtained for the next upgrade. Repeat this cycle until the full Aeris armour has been obtained. Finally, also upgrade a pair of 
(U) Ancient D-hide Vambraces as they are slightly better than the previously used Barrier Draining Gloves.
Recommended starting gear is similar to that of the previous dungeon. Be sure to double check the amulets and rings that offer damage and familiar damage bonus after every (B) Aeris upgrade, as what results in more kph can change!
| Slot | Item (most effective → least effective) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  Aeris God Helmet | ||
 |  Aeris God Platebody | ||
 |  Aeris God Platelegs | ||
 |  Aeris God Boots | ||
 |  Barrier Draining Gloves | ||
 |  Maximum Skillcape |  Ranged Skillcape |  Cape of Ranged Preservation |
 |  Lesser Summoning Amulet |  Old Summoning Amulet |  Deadeye Amulet |
 |  Summoner's Blessed Ring |  Deadeye Ring |  Ring of Barrier Touch |
 | Error creating thumbnail: File missing Shockwave |  Pure Crystal Crossbow | Error creating thumbnail: File missing Ancient Crossbow |
 |  Shield of Ranged Power |  Scaled Shield | |
 |  Jadestone Bolts |  Emerald Bolts | |
 | Old Summoning Amulet | ||
 |  Ranged Hinder Scroll | ||
The following gear is starter gear to farm cult imps for barrier. If you do not have Big ol Ron, simulate how many barrier dust you are receiving with your alternative, and potentially use ranged on cult members instead. It is recommended to upgrade the melee armour used, with a preference over upgrading Terran. This is because the extra Damage Reduction is required for the 
Underwater Ruins. The equipment below will result in roughly 2,400 barrier dust an hour. More or less can be obtained depending on the actual gear and other bonusses used. The amount of barrier dust an hour rises to around 3,100 with Terran fully upgraded to (B). Depending on your choice in the next section, you do not need to fully upgrade Terran.
Again, Terran is used in this recommended gear over Ragnar with the assumption that this will be (partially) upgraded into (B).
It is advised that the player stays at Cult Grounds until the 
Summoner's Blessed Ring is obtained. This is also a good time to go back to
with the gear recommended here since the 
Trickery Mirror is required for the next section. With fully upgraded Aeris (B) and the other barrier damage items, it shouldn't be a problem at all taking these down much faster than before.
Lastly, if the player has finished
at least once, and thus has obtained the passive slot, it's a good idea to go for another item. The enemies from now on will have a lot more barrier to take down. The 
Barrier Burn Shield from the Trickery Temple can be used in the passive slot for a lot of extra barrier damage.
Melantis?
This section is about unlocking the final combat zone and dungeon from Atlas of Discovery.
Requirements
- All of the requirements mentioned above.
- Complete Cult Grounds
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Water Expert Wizard Robes
Ancient Infernal Cape- Trickery Mirror.
Melantis is a Point of Interest that first needs to be discovered to unlock the 
Underwater City and Underwater Ruins dungeon and combat area.
The player first needs to find 
Melantis Clue 1 from the Monuments dig site and follow a trail of clues. Alternatively, you can look for the solution here.
Underwater Ruins
Requirements
- Have followed this guide up until this point, or have obtained all relevant items mentioned in this guide.
- Discover
Melantis
Recommended
- Full (B) god armour for the chosen combat style.
Cloudburst Staff for magic (if 
Water Pulse Staff isn't obtained prior.)
Ultima Godsword for melee.
Damage Reduction Potion IV
Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs- Barrier Burn Shield if the passive slot is unlocked.
- Summoner's Blessed Ring
The Underwater Ruins contains 4 enemies of which 3 drop weapons that are potentially an upgrade. The monsters also all drop plenty of Barrier Dust, which allows for easy upgrading of the remaining god armours that haven't been upgraded yet.
The player has a choice of killing the following monsters:
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Engulfing Vortex Longbow - Error creating thumbnail: File missingMerman for the Water Pulse Staff
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Hasty Trident
These monsters and their drops can be obtained in order, since they are all one part of the combat triangle. For example, the Mermaid Archer can be killed for the longbow, which can then be used on the Merman for the staff which then can be used to obtain the trident from the Merman Guard.
It is strongly recommended to start this section with the Ultima Godsword and killing Mermaid Archers. This is because the Ultima Godsword is a very strong weapon, and the Engulfing Vortex Longbow resulting from this is also a very strong weapon.
Mermaid Archer
The following gear is recommended for the Mermaid Archer, since she has a very high max hit. Getting the Ultima Godsword is highly recommended to start killing Mermaid Archers. Alternatively, Merman Guards can be killed first to obtain the Hasty Trident.
The gear below assumes an optimal situation for the gear that is available at this point. When diverting from this gear, be sure you have auto-eat threshold and damage reduction to idle this enemy!
Merman
The best weapon, by far, for killing Mermans is the Engulfing Vortex Longbow. Therefor it is suggested to get this bow from Mermaid Archers before killing Mermans. Mermans have a significantly lower maximum hit. As a result, the player needs a much lower auto-eat threshold and damage reduction. It is suggested to use a 
Ranged Strength Potion IV or 
Diamond Luck Potion IV, whichever results in more kills per hour.
The gear below assumes an optimal situation for the gear that is available at this point. When diverting from this gear, be sure you have auto-eat threshold and damage reduction to idle this enemy!
Merman Guard
Merman Guards can be killed with the Cloudburst Staff or the Water Pulse Staff effectively. However, because the Water Pulse Staff provides 8% extra damage reduction over the Cloudburst Staff, a player would need more hitpoints and more damage reduction to idle this enemy effectively.
Additionally, since the Water Pulse Staff cannot miss, a 
Magic Damage Potion IV can result in more kills per hour over the Cloudburst Staff.
The gear below assumes an optimal situation for the gear that is available at this point. When diverting from this gear, be sure you have auto-eat threshold and damage reduction to idle this enemy!
Underwater City
Requirements
- Discover Melantis
- Damage Reduction Potion IV
- 70%+ Damage Reduction depending on hitpoints
Recommended
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Relic Shield - Error creating thumbnail: File missingPiety
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- Agility obstacles that provide damage reduction
The enemies, and especially the
hit very hard in this dungeon. A lot of damage reduction is required in order to idle this dungeon without dying. Alternatively, the player can return after having progressed through the Throne of the Herald expansion. Having more hitpoints or other damage reducing and damage inflicting bonusses can greatly speed up the clear times of this dungeon.
The Relic Shield is preferred over the 
Earth Layered Shield, because it offers 4% more damage reduction at
and above. Alternatively the 
Devouring Barrier Shield can be used, once the upgrade item has been obtained from this dungeon. However, the player should check if the 4% reduction in DR doesn't result in death. The 
Eradicating Gloves (m) should be equipped immediately when obtained from this dungeon.
Clearing the Underwater City dungeon provides 1 
Barrier God Shard every time it is cleared. These can be used to upgrade (B) god armours into their respective (C) armours. These can then be used to very effectively clear
for 
Crystal Binding Dust if the player hasn't already done this.
The gear below assumes an optimal situation for the gear that is available at this point. When diverting from this gear, be sure you have auto-eat threshold and damage reduction to idle this enemy!
