Vharos, the Oathforged

Reach Vharos, use your eight attempts, break Cinder Ward, and collect his rewards.

### Where to find Vharos

- Complete The Oathfire Foundry Divine Writ at Monster Level 75 or higher. Your first successful completion guarantees a Cinderlock Brand; after you have established access to Vharos, later clears have a 5% chance to award another. - The Brand goes to Inventory. If Inventory is full, it goes to Boss Keys. If both are full, it stays in the Writ rewards until you make room. - Once you own a Brand, open Map and select the Cinderlock Vault beneath the Aegis Crown. The entry panel shows the key cost, your remaining attempts, and the encounter's main threats.

### You have eight attempts

- Using a Brand starts a challenge with eight attempts. Entering the arena uses one, so seven remain after your first entry. The game uses a Brand from Inventory before using one from Boss Keys. - Each later entry uses another attempt. Dying, returning to Bahast, closing the game, or crashing after you enter still uses that attempt. Reloading does not restore it. - The challenge ends when you defeat Vharos or spend the eighth attempt. You need another Brand to start over. - Normal Characters share their Vharos challenge. Hardcore Characters share a separate challenge. Each Ironman Character has a private challenge. You can store extra Brands during a challenge, but you cannot use another one until the current challenge ends.

### Prepare for The Furnace That Fights Back

- Bring strong Fire Resistance, Physical mitigation, and sustained damage. Spell Block helps against Cinder Brand and Oathfire Eruption but is not required. - Vharos uses Physical and Fire damage only. The blood-red final phase does not add a Blood damage type. - Every special attack has a visible warning and a localized caption one second before it hits. You can complete the encounter in either Auto or Manual mode.

### Break Cinder Ward

- Cinder Ward appears 25 seconds after the previous ward ends and lasts up to 10 seconds. Its Barrier starts at 10% of Vharos's maximum Life. - While it survives, Vharos gains one Furnace Pressure every 2 seconds, up to five. Each stack grants 10% more Fire damage. - Break the Barrier to clear Furnace Pressure and stagger Vharos for 5 seconds. During that opening, his Armor and Spell Block are reduced by 25%. - If the ward survives, Oathfire Eruption deals a heavy non-critical Fire hit and Vharos is not staggered. Cinder Brand also applies Searing Brand for 6 seconds, reducing Fire Resistance by 10%.

### Phase changes

- At 50% Life, Prison Inversion raises Cinder Ward to 12% of maximum Life, adds Furnace Pressure every 1.5 seconds, and strengthens Oathfire Eruption. A successful break still grants the full 5-second stagger. - At 20% Life, The Oath Breaks permanently disables Cinder Ward. Vharos loses 50% of his Armor and Spell Block, but gains 35% attack speed, 40% Fire damage, and 20% faster special-attack recovery.

### Rewards and repeat clears

- Each victory gives three or four equipment rewards. Non-Unique rewards are item-level-105 God-Touched items from the highest base tier, with a 70% chance to favor Keldan. - Vharos's Uniques are Cinderlock Aegis at 20%, Oathforged Plate at 40%, and Founders' Chain at 40%. Magic Find improves the chance that an equipment reward is Unique, but it does not change which of these three you receive. - Each victory also gives one Oathfire Fragment. It goes to Inventory, then Boss Keys if Inventory is full. If neither has room, it stays in the boss rewards until you can claim it. - Oathfire Fragment will become a key in a future update; it is not one of the twelve Shards of Rhistel. The Shard beneath the sealed Cinderlock ward is scenery and cannot be collected.