Banished Cells is the first 4-man group dungeon the Aldmeri Dominion players get to explore. It’s located in the northern part of Auridon, the first major Aldmeri Dominion zone. The normal mode dungeon is tuned to players of roughly level 12, and the mobs inside are everything between level 12 and 16.
Daggerfall Covenant and Ebonheart Pact can access Banished Cells via the world map after they’ve completed the first group dungeon in their own zones: Spindleclutch or Fungal Grotto.
This guide is a walkthrough for the group dungeon Banished Cells, and includes the key mechanics for each boss encounter.
Banished Cells Overview
Just like all other group dungeons in ESO, Banished Cells has its own story which is driven by a quest. The quest can be picked up in the dungeon, and completing it gives a skill point as a reward.
Banished Cells is a quick dungeon to run through, and should not take longer than 15-20 minutes to complete.
It should be noted that right now the final boss, High Kinlord Rilis, may not spawn at all due to a bug. I don’t know what causes it, but it means you will not be able to complete Banished Cells. You can try running the dungeon again and hope for better luck.
Recommended Group setup
Out of the three level 12 dungeons, Banished Cells is arguably the hardest. In my opinion you’ll have a much easier time with the holy trinity composition. You’ll most likely want a tank, a healer and two dps. Off-heals will be helpful.
Bosses
- Cell Haunter (miniboss)
- Shadowrend
- Angata the Clannfear Handler (miniboss)
- Skeletal Destroyer (miniboss)
- High Kinlord Rilis
Normal Mode
Cell Haunter
Level: 14
Health: 4,790
Cell Haunter, a level 14 ghost, is the first boss in Banished Cells. This is possibly the most damage intensive encounter in the whole dungeon, which is ironic considering he’s a miniboss. Cell Haunter has a bunch of skeletal adds with him that need to be taken down asap.
Boss mechanics
- The main mechanic in this fight, and the most dangerous of them all, is his green, channeled cast. Periodically Cell Haunter chooses a random player, usually a distant target, and begins channeling a high-damage spell. You don’t seem to be able to interrupt it, but you could probably break his line of sight if the cast is on you, and only take damage from one or two ticks. You can see the channel as a green beam targeting the player, but you’ll definitely see it on their health bar. If the player being channeled is not topped up, there’s a good chance they’ll just die. The ability also heals Cell Haunter slightly.
- Cell Haunter also casts a cold damage ranged spell called Winter’s Reach every now and then. It’s a pretty big icy projectile travelling at medium speed on the ground, leaving snow on its wake. Ranged targets should be able to dodge it easily. It’s a good idea to stay spread apart for this ability.
Shadowrend
Level: 15
Health: 8,415
Shadowrend, a level 15 clannfear, is the second boss in Banished Cells. To summon him you need to activate two buttons in the room. Pressing the first button spawns a bunch of Banekin in the middle of the room which need to be AOE’d down quickly. The second button will spawn Shadowrend.
Boss mechanics
- The most lethal mechanic Shadowrend has to offer is his charge. From time to time he charges at random players, seemingly ranged players, knocks them down and starts feasting on them, dealing a high amount of damage over the duration of the ability. Unless you use the Break Free ability (default: hold down mouse 2 + tap mouse 1), you can die. Be ready to break free if you get charged.
- Shadowrend periodically does a cast which summons a small shadowy clone of himself. The clone doesn’t have much health, but should be taken down quickly either way.
- The ability melee players and the tank need to look out for is Shadowrend’s tailswipe. A red circle on the ground beneath Shadowrend marks the area of effect. It’s a full 360-degree attack which deals a lot of physical damage, and should be avoided.
Angata the Clannfear Handler
Level: 14
Health: 2,874
Angata the Clannfear Handler, a level 14 dremora, is the third boss in Banished Cells. She has lots of skeletal adds at the sides and in the middle of the room. Angata periodically spawns clannfear, which can be a pain unless they are dealt with.
Angata is all about fire damage, and her basic attack is a ranged inferno staff attack.
Boss mechanics
- Every now and then Angata casts fireballs at the tank. She is briefly surrounded by flame just before the cast is about to go off. The cast can and should be interrupted.
- Angata also casts fiery pools on the ground. Needless to say, don’t stay in them.
- Periodically Angata summons clannfear. She huddles down, almost kneels on the ground when this happens. I’m not sure if this cast is interruptible. The summoned clannfear have a charge ability which deals physical damage and knocks the targets down on its path. Kill the clannfear asap.
Skeletal Destroyer
Level: 14
Health: 7,185
Skeletal Destroyer, a level 14 giant skeleton guardian, is the fourth boss in Banished Cells. Executing this fight properly involves a lot of kiting and movement.
Boss mechanics
- The most dangerous ability Skeletal Destroyer has is called Dead Zone. He stomps and lays a big red-black circle on the ground. Standing in the Dead Zone deals a high amount of damage – avoid that. The tank should re-adjust and move the boss away after he sees the stomp animation.
- Skeletal Destroyer periodically summons three skeletons who explode after a short period of time. The skeletons have low health, and can either be AOE’d down or simply ignored. If you do ignore them, just move away from the explosion radius.
- The tank also needs to look out for a frontal AOE cone slam ability.
High Kinlord Rilis
Level: 15
Health: 8,415
High Kinlord Rilis (level 15) is the fifth and final boss of Banished Cells. The fight in itself is not difficult, but it does require you to know what’s going on.
Boss mechanics
- The main mechanic which can cause groups to hit a brick wall is The Feast. The feast are black-green blobs floating in the air, similar to the ones you have in the Fighters Guild quest where you have to kill Doshia. The feast periodically spawn at the “throne area” (where the boss is standing at the start of the fight) and fly towards Rilis. If they reach Rilis, they’ll heal him. Because of this, you probably want to tank him far away from the throne. The blobs have very little health, and the safest way to deal with them is to have one of the DPS or even the healer take them down.
- Every now and then High Kinlord Rilis lifts his sword in the air. This means he’s about to cast Daedric Tempest. Following the ability, four pools of purple fire appear on the ground. When you see him lift his sword up, be prepared to re-adjust your positioning.
- Rilis also has an annoying ranged knockback. It does deal a bit of damage on its own, but it can be lethal if the target is knocked into Daedric Tempest.
Veteran Mode
This section is still WIP. I’ll update this soon.