Quick Links
A lot ofOnce Humanplayers prefer to play casually, build houses, and venture to Rift anchors to explore the serene settlements. However, a few enjoy challenges and prefer to min-max their weapons to clear the hardest dungeons on their own.
As soon as the Pro Dungeons unlock, your weapons, gears, and the entire build are put to the test. One prime example is the Black Sector Zone Of Haze Pro Dungeon, where you have to fend off hordes of enemies while completing objectives at the same time.
While the Black Sector Dungeon isn’t that strenuous, the mechanics can be a pain to deal with, which leads to longer Dungeon clear time.
As someone who has run the Black Sector more than 200 times, maybe even more, I’ve compiled tips and tricks in this guide to help you easily clear the toughest Dungeon in the Way of Winter. With that said, let’s go over the Black sector and what it entails.
Dungeon Location And Core Mechanics
The Dungeon is located near the edge of Vena Fjord - Frost Forge Bay at(-3007,4765) coordinates. It’s hard to miss since the symbol is unique and resembles the LEA Research Institute’s symbol from the Manibus scenario.
You have to unlock the nearest waypoint to drive to it. But beware of the entrance area since Rosetta Personnel can attack you on sight. So, before you initiate the Black Sector, I recommend clearing out the area to avoid losing HP on the team menu.
This lab is fairly easy compared to the LEA labin the Manibus scenario;however, there are mechanics and terms that you need to remember.
Description
Glow Points/Pillars
Up to four columns marked with triangle symbols, activating audio cues for purifying Shadow Corrosion when nearby.
Glowing orbs used to dispel Shadow Corrosion stacks or activate Glow Points/Pillars to reveal Lambent marks.
Lambent Mark
Symbols atop the Pillars, named Hourglass/Time, Circle/Football, Square/Diamond/Rhombus, and Crescent Moon/Half-Moon.
Shadow Corrosion
Debuffs termed as Darkness stacks, causing HP and Sanity loss at 10 stacks when away from Pillars.
Enduring Lambent
A buff granted near Pillars, providing immunity to Shadow Corrosion, dispelling debuffs, and restoring HP and sanity.
It may look overwhelming at first. However, I recommend solving the first few puzzles to get the hang of it. The rest of the Black Sector is built around these mechanics, and it isn’t as tough as theManibus' LEA Research Institute lab.
Journey To The First Checkpoint: The Orderkeeper
Once you start the Dungeon, you’ll instantly come across a puzzle where two pillars will be present.Shoot the symbolsthat appear on the circular ringin the correct orderto open the passage to the first boss, the Orderkeeper.
Avoid using AoE effects or weapons to destroy the marks, as they can shatter other marks and mess up the order.
Once you pass through the first gate, you’ll start accumulating Shadow corrosion stacks that can only be dispelled by standing near the Pillars or picking up a light orb and throwing it at your feet to get the Enduring Lambent buff.
You mustmaintain a decent pace heresince Shadow Corrosion Stacks can kill you in a few seconds. I recommend avoiding enemies here, since they’re not much of an obstacle. Stand near the closest Glowpoint to rebuff yourself and make your move once again.
There are two pathways to this Glowpoint. The right one is the shortest. However, you could fall to your death if you make the wrong jump.
After you’ve recovered your HP and Sanity, head to the next Glowpoint near the Orderkeeper.Stand in Glowpoint’s rangeand slay the Orderkeeper.
I suggest focusing on theOrderkeeper since it can freeze you, which makes you vulnerable to mobs. If you’re affected by the Shadow Corrosion stacks, you can pick up the Glowballs and throw them at the ground to heal yourself.
Once you reach the last terminal, the checkpoint activates, and you can proceed to the next puzzle room.
Cross The Sloping Hall
In this area, you have to activate the dormant Glow points or Pillars to reveal the Lambent marks. The best way to obtain the Glowballs is by slaying the Rainfall reaper and throwing it at the pillars toreveal the Lambent marks.
You only need to throw the Glowball once at the pillar. Retriggering it doesn’t change the symbol
The order of the pillarsnever changes here,so the first pillar is in the middle, the second to the left, and the last to the right. As soon as youshoot the marks in the correct order, the passage to the next boss, along with the treasure chest, will be revealed.
Afew deviations may spawnbeside it, and you may choose to use a controller for the chest.
While you’re passing through the sloping hall to the next area, you’ll come across aMirror Deviant that’ll reflect your bullets; shoot at it, and once it goes inside the mirror, wait until the Deviant comes out to slay it.
A powerful burst of status damage (Frost, Power Surge) can instantly kill the mirror Deviant.
The Second Checkpoint, The Scorcher
The battles will be challenging here, and you’ll have to activate four pillars while fighting mobs. A sigil shield protects the main boss, and you have tocomplete the puzzleto remove its shield.
The order of the pillars doesn’t change here. However, they’re all dormant, so you need toactivate them by throwing Glowballsat them to reveal the marks.
Slay the mini-scorchers to get the Glowballs and activate all the pillars. However, all the Lambent marks won’t be visible from the get-go.
You have tointeract with the Round ward in the middleof the arena to reveal the marks and shoot them in the correct order.
Once you complete the puzzle, Scorcher’s sigil shield disappears, and you may finally kill it. Otherwise, it’llbe immune to damage.
Usually, there’s no RNG in the order of the symbols on the circular ring, so you always have toshoot the symbol at the top and go clockwise. As soon as you’ll slay the Scorcher, a treasure chest will spawn with a few Deviations.
Finally, take the elevator to pass through the next area to the main arena.
Though you’ll come across pillars in this area, there’s no puzzle that you need to do. Keep an eye on your Shadow Corrosion stacks, use Glow points or Glowballs to rebuff yourself and pass through the area to the Secret Servitor’s puzzle room.
The Final Checkpoint
If one of your team members is left out, they’ll beautomatically teleported to the bossroom in five seconds. So, you can always have one person lead the dungeon and trigger the cutscene to teleport others.
The final boss battle has two puzzle mechanics you must solve to remove its shield. Once you enter the arena, you’ll encounter Glowpoints/pillars,one of which will be beneath the bridgeleading to the boss’s spawn.
However, the symbols aren’t in a circular ring where you can see them; instead, theyare near the Secret servitor’s clones.
After depleting two bars of the boss’s shield, focus on the pillars and remove the clones in the correct order.
Beware of the boss’s lightning attack since it can knock you out. This is the only attack you have to watch out for since other attacks can easily be tanked.
In this phase, you won’t incur any Shadow Corrosion stacks, and you can stand near the Glowpoints to get the Enduring Lambent buff. The final battle begins once you’ve successfully defeated the clones in the correct order.
The Final Boss
After a few seconds,you’ll drop to the final boss arena, where you have to fight against the mobs and the boss simultaneously. I recommend keepinga finger on the spacebarto glide towards the nearest pillar since getting out of the Glowpoint’s range will affect you with Shadow Corrosion stacks.
As you drop down, you can reduce the boss' health to 50% after which it’ll obtain a sigil shield, which will grant it immunity to damage.
The mechanics here are the most challenging ones since the order and symbols of pillars will change each phase along with the circular rings. You still have to do the same thing you did in previous areas.
Figure out the correct order of the Lambent marks and shoot them on the circular ring. However, the boss has a shield this time, which regenerates over time.
The only way to counter the regeneration and make the boss vulnerable is to solve the puzzle, which gives you a window of30 seconds to deal damage to it.
I recommend using weapons withthe highest enhancement ratingto deal the maximum damage possible.
Worry not. If you’re able to’t complete the time attack, you can simply play three phases, and after that, the boss won’t regenerate the shield. However, to defeat the boss quickly, you must solve the puzzle as quickly as possible.
Finally, after successfully defeating the boss, the final treasure chest spawns, and all the remaining enemies vanish.
Once Human: Best Way Of Winter Base Locations
Find out the best locations for your base in Once Human’s Way Of Winter’s harsh weather conditions.
