The Merchant's Tale (Advanced) Criterion Guide

The Merchant’s Tale (Advanced) is the Criterion difficulty of The Merchant’s Tale: the step up from the Variant version, where all three route bosses appear back to back in a single run. You can bring two to four players, with boss HP scaling to party size, and exit after any boss or push through all three.

The headline reward is the Royal Magicked Carpet mount at 100 Corvosi Brass, so the more bosses you clear per run, the faster it comes. Use this written guide as a pull-by-pull reference for unlocks, rewards, boss order, and every major mechanic.

How To Unlock

Two requirements before you can enter:

1. Complete the quest A Spellbinding Read.
2. Clear each of the three unique route bosses in the Variant version of The Merchant’s Tale.

Once both are done, speak with Memolivia in Old Sharlayan (X:11.9, Y:13.3).

Rewards

Each boss defeated drops a personal spoils chest containing Corvosi Brass. Take yours to Trisassant in Old Sharlayan (X:12.0, Y:13.3) to exchange.

The Royal Magicked Carpet is the clear reason most players are here. At 100 Brass it takes several clears, but nothing about this dungeon is so punishing that you cannot build toward it at a comfortable pace.

Boss Order

Players choose the order for all three bosses on entering. Each boss is fully independent. You can exit the duty after any one of them and keep the Brass you earned. The sections below cover all three, so pick whichever order your group prefers and start there.

Pari Of Plenty

Heat Burst

Raid-wide damage that opens the fight. Heal through it and stay topped up. More is coming quickly.

Right/Left Fireflight

Pari jumps to a wall and telegraphs a line AoE on her right or left side, matching the cast name. While she dashes across the room, she cleaves the entire half on the same side as the AoE.

• Right Fireflight: stay to her left as she dashes.
• Left Fireflight: stay to her right as she dashes.

Sun Circlet

Follows Fireflight immediately. This is a massive donut AoE where the only safe spot is directly beneath her. After dodging the Fireflight dash, move straight into her hitbox.

Doubling

Pari spawns a clone that telegraphs its own Right/Left Fireflight. The clone dashes once to the opposite wall with a half-room cleave, then stops. Unlike Pari, the clone does not follow up with Sun Circlet.

Charmed Chains

Tethers link pairs of players. Everyone starts center and moves to opposite walls to break them. At the same time, Charming Baubles spawn plus-sign AoEs across the floor. The clone, the baubles, and the tethers all resolve together. Tethers can be broken slightly before they expire, so move apart early.

Doubling and Charmed Chains repeat twice back to back. Handle them the same way both times.

Fire Of Victory

Tankbuster: a point-blank AoE centered on the aggro player. Everyone else steps well clear of the tank.

Left/Right Fireflight: Four Long Nights

Pari moves to center and channels. A line AoE appears on the cast-name side, then arrows telegraph whether she rotates clockwise or counterclockwise.

• Clockwise then Clockwise: the cleave sweeps one half, then the other.
• Clockwise then Counterclockwise: the same side gets cleaved twice.

Watch the arrow order and dodge with each rotation. Each time she sweeps, a tether spawns on the boss. One player must take it, receiving Dark Vulnerability Up, which prevents them from safely taking a second. A standard tether order keeps things clean: Tank, Melee, Healer, Ranged. Adjust for your group, but settle on the order before the pull.

Left/Right Fireflight: Fact And Fiction

This is the same Fireflight move as the opener, but with fake telegraphs mixed in. Watch the path Pari actually commits to instead of reacting to the initial indicator. Only the real path determines the cleave. It ends with another Sun Circlet.

Heat Burst

Second raid-wide. Heal through it.

Pari’s Curse

Two players receive debuffs at the same time:

• Stack icon: three players need to stack together.
• Circle icon: large spread AoE on that player, who needs distance from the party.

Red Charming Baubles reduce safe floor tiles to just two. The spread player needs a separate tile from the stack, so confirm positions before the debuffs resolve.

Charmed Fableflight

Two clones spawn, one mid-wall and one in a corner, each cleaving half the room twice. The second dash on each returns to the original spawn. Only one-eighth of the room is safe at a given time. A Charming Bauble in the center adds a plus-sign AoE, tightening the safe window further. Take this slow on prog and call out which corner the group is targeting before the cast finishes.

Spurning Flames

Raid-wide that gives Pari the Fury buff. Everything that follows is under Fury until the mechanic loop resets.

Impassioned Sparks

Expanding fireballs spread across the floor. Players bait large puddle AoEs at their positions, and those puddles leave permanent fire patches. While puddles are dropping, a stack marker appears on one player. Keep a clear path to converge for the stack and avoid placing puddles in your chosen stack spot.

Scouring Scorn

Raid-wide that clears all fire puddles from the floor and resets the arena.

From here Pari repeats the full sequence. Handle each mechanic the same way as the first pass.

The Lone Swordmaster

The Lone Swordmaster uses a persistent ring mechanic called Malefic Quartering that tracks which directions you have taken hits from throughout the fight. One or two quadrants on your personal ring can go red from directional damage. The key is making sure you have clean quadrants available when the fight demands them.

Steelsbreath Release

Raid-wide that opens the fight. Heal through it.

Malefic Quartering

Each player gets a personal ring divided into four quadrants. A red quadrant means that direction is compromised. Taking a directional hit from a red side deals heavy damage. Keep at least one open north/south and one open east/west quadrant at all times.

Malefic Portent

Two tethers appear on two players. Each tether shows a green semi-circle with arrows indicating the incoming damage direction. The tether-bearer must not have a red quadrant facing that direction when it resolves. Being hit turns that quadrant red, so accept tethers carefully.

Shifting Horizon

Two alternating sets of conal AoEs. Start standing in the second set’s position, then step into the first as it resolves.

Unyielding Will

Four aetherial blades spawn and fire in an L shape, same pattern as the Variant version. Position so the L hits a non-red side of your Malefic ring.

Near To Heaven / Far From Heaven

One player is marked with an orange marker. The number of swords floating around the boss tells you how many players need to be inside the blast zone.

• Near to Heaven: point-blank AoE first, then donut. Start outside his reach, then walk in after the point-blank resolves.
• Far From Heaven: donut first, then point-blank. Start outside the donut, then walk in after it resolves.

Players beyond the sword count who stand with the marked player get knocked into the death wall. Count the swords and coordinate exactly who stays in.

Echoing Heat

Each player is targeted by a fire puddle AoE dropping at their position. Stack together as a group and rotate in one direction. Three sets drop in sequence. Move consistently so you are not standing in the previous drop.

Wolf’s Crossing

Between the first and second Echoing Heat sets, the boss places a delayed plus-sign AoE that detonates alongside the third puddle set. Factor that plus-sign into your rotation path.

Echoing Eight

One more round of puddles, but each one explodes into an 8-way starburst line AoE instead of leaving a fire pool. Drop yours cleanly and step out of the starburst path.

Near To Heaven / Far From Heaven #2

Immediately follows Echoing Eight. Resolve it the same way as the first.

Sting Of The Scorpion

Tankbuster line AoE on the aggro player.

Malefic Alignment

Four 90-degree conal AoEs with directional arrows, cast twice in a row. Taking a hit in a given direction turns that quadrant red. Choose which two quadrants go red across both casts, keeping at least one open east/west and one open north/south per player.

A clean approach is to have the whole party take the same two adjacent cleaves, such as South then East, so everyone ends up with the same orientation going into Cardinal Horizons.

Cardinal Horizons

Two alternating conal sets. Start in the second, then step into the first as it resolves. At the same time, four sets of aetherial blades divide the arena with two directional arrows each. Both arrows per blade set must land on non-red quadrants of your ring, or you take heavy damage and Vulnerability Up.

Meanwhile, the boss casts Echoing Heat, dropping fire puddles each time a blade set resolves. There are four total. Keep the center of the room clear so the party can pass through between sets.

Near To Heaven / Far From Heaven #3

Followed immediately by another Sting of the Scorpion.

Waiting Wounds

Three sets of AoEs detonate in the order they were spawned. Start standing in the third set’s position and rotate into the first as it goes off.

Silent Eight

Each player is marked with a personal point-blank AoE. Resolving gives Physical Damage Vulnerability Up, so players cannot safely overlap during this mechanic. After each marker explodes, an 8-way starburst fires from that spot. Each player drops their marker in their assigned quadrant’s corner, leaving large safe gaps between the starbursts.

Maw Of The Wolf

Half-room cleave in whichever direction the boss is facing when the cast finishes.

Near To Heaven / Far From Heaven #4

Same resolution as before.

Steelsbreath Release #2

Raid-wide that also spawns fire squares on the floor, leaving only half of each quadrant as safe ground.

Malefic Quartering #2

Two red quadrants are assigned per player, followed immediately by Malefic Alignment. After this cast, each player should have exactly one open quadrant remaining. For Vanishing Horizon to work cleanly, you need one player open North, one East, one West, and one South. Coordinate this coming out of Malefic Alignment.

Vanishing Horizon

Two alternating conal sets. Start in the second, then step into the first. New aetherial blades appear on each wall with directional arrows. Immediately after, chain tethers link pairs of players. Start at center, and when the tethers appear, fan out into your safe quadrant based on your one remaining open Malefic ring direction.

Malefic Portent #2

Tethers resolve right after the chains break. Each player can safely take only one specific tether at this point, so make sure the right players grab theirs.

Steelsbreath Release #3

Raid-wide that clears all fire tiles from the floor.

From here the Swordmaster repeats the sequence. Handle each mechanic the same way as the first pass.

Darya The Sea-maid

Darya’s fight focuses on water hazards, tether distance management, and a late-fight Forced March mechanic. The positioning details matter more than raw reaction speed.

Piercing Plunge

Raid-wide that opens the fight. Heal through it.

Familiar Call

Four types of adds spawn around the room walls: the same adds from the Variant version, plus crabs and sea turtles.

Echoed Serenade

Darya telegraphs a music score displaying the adds in a specific order. When the cast ends, each add fires a line AoE in that sequence. The music score is your roadmap. Watch which add fires when and dodge accordingly.

Sunken Treasure

Water donuts and orbs spawn across the arena. Some crack first, meaning they resolve first. Donuts produce donut AoEs; orbs produce point-blank AoEs. Donuts always appear in the corners.

Find the orb that cracks second. The donuts beside it are your first safe spot. After the donuts resolve, move away from the second orb before it detonates.

Hydrobullet

Simultaneous with Sunken Treasure resolution. Two players are marked with orange markers, each triggering a large point-blank AoE that applies Magic Vulnerability Up. Marked players cannot stack.

Default split: Supports go south or west, DPS go north or east. If both marks land on the same role, Tank and DPS1 swap.

Hydrocannon

Line AoE tankbuster on the aggro player.

Aqua Spear

Water puddles appear across the arena. Touching a water tile applies Dropsy, a damage-over-time debuff. Watch your footing until the mechanic clears.

Sea Shackles

Two pairs of players get tethered. Tethered partners must stay apart. Closing the distance triggers ticking damage and Vulnerability Up stacks. The tether shows the minimum safe separation.

Tidal Wave

A water pillar spawns and knocks all players back roughly four tiles. Surecast or Arm’s Length negates the knockback entirely. A second pillar fires immediately after the first. With Sea Shackles still active, position tether partners so neither knockback closes the gap between them and neither knockback drops anyone onto a water tile.

Piercing Plunge #2

Another raid-wide. Heal through it.

Swimming In The Air

Darya moves around the room placing markers that detonate at the end of the mechanic. The markers disappear visually before they go off, so remember where they landed. One player gets a stack marker, and another gets a point-blank AoE marker using the same visual as the floor markers. Both apply Magic Vulnerability Up, so they cannot overlap.

Standard resolution: the point-blank player positions in the west safe corner, and the party stacks in the east safe corner for the stack marker. Dodge the now-invisible floor markers as they explode.

Sea Shackles #2

Another set of tethers before the next mechanic. Same rules: stay apart.

Ceaseless Current

Both moving line AoEs resolve simultaneously here, unlike the staggered version in the Variant. Both must be dodged at the same time.

Surging Current

Simultaneous with Sea Shackles and Ceaseless Current: two 90-degree conal AoEs. Dodge the Ceaseless Current lines while standing in the Surging Current safe quadrants, all while maintaining tether distance. There is a lot happening at once here, so communicate positions before the cast finishes.

Alluring Order

Forced March debuffs land on all players. The arrow on the debuff shows which direction you will be pushed, but the push direction is based on which way your character is facing when the debuff expires, not the direction shown at application. Adjust your facing before the debuff resolves.

Aqua Ball

Each player is targeted with a small AoE dropping at their position, three sets per player. Spread out and move consistently to drop them cleanly without overlap.

Hydrobullet #2

Each player gets an orange marker that resolves when the Forced March fires. Position before the march activates so that when you get pushed, you land in a different corner from every other player. Overlapping AoEs here is a wipe.

Hydrocannon #2

Another tankbuster line AoE on the aggro player.

Familiar Call #2

Adds re-spawn along the walls in a new, shuffled arrangement.

Echoed Serenade #2

The music score telegraph plays again, immediately followed by Encroaching/Receding Twin Tides. Both resolve together.

Encroaching / Receding Twin Tides

• Encroaching: donut AoE first, then point-blank.
• Receding: point-blank first, then donut.

The Twin Tides sequence overlaps directly with the Echoed Serenade add line AoEs. Read both simultaneously. The add order from the score tells you which direction to move, and the Twin Tides cast name tells you whether to start close to or far from Darya.

From here Darya repeats the full sequence. Handle each mechanic the same way.

Quick Reference

Good luck in there. The dungeon reads harder on paper than it plays. Once the Malefic ring logic clicks for the Swordmaster and you have seen Darya’s Forced March once, the whole thing starts to feel very manageable.

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