Lairs – What are they and how do I find them?

When mentioning Dungeon loot, most people immediately think of either items drops, or Dungeon Clear rewards, but these are not the only rewards one can steal from a Dungeon's depths. The best loot is always found in Lairs, hidden areas filled with both great treasure and terrible danger.

The first thing to know is that Lairs are one hundred percent voluntary. You don’t need to clear them to clear the Dungeon. The second is that they are absolutely annoying to find. Very few Dungeons actually have clues leading to their Lairs, one needs to sniff them out for themselves.

The second thing you need to know is what Dungeons actually have them. Generic Dungeons, those that are basically carbon copies of other Dungeons, with a few modifications thrown in, never have them. Multiple sources have confirmed this, and it’s essentially a fact in the adventurer community. Neither do Trial Dungeons, for what good would that do?

Only Named Dungeons, such as the Garden of Vile Thorns, and Series Dungeons (i.e those Dungeons that are connected around a central theme) possess Lairs, and both come with their own challenges. We’ll start with the second since they’re usually much more infuriating.

Series Dungeons, or Serial Dungeons as they are sometimes called, are particularly nasty for one simple reason. They masquerade as simple Generic Dungeons, at least until one explores enough of the Dungeon to realize what they’ve entered. Only those with certain Authorities, such as World Record or Dungeon Record, can see through the façade.

However, these Dungeons’ Lairs usually possess an item tuned towards the rest of that particular Series, making it much easier to detect these otherwise hidden dangers.

Now Named Dungeons are a completely different beast. A well known fact about Dungeons is that Named ones only generate under certain conditions. The aforementioned Garden of Vile Thorns only generates in the presence of Plague Brambles, a type of magiflora that grows in high concentrations of Miasma. And because Named Dungeons always spawn when the conditions are met, we can farm Dungeons like the Garden that have been fully disseminated for all the loot inside.

Now as for a Dungeon's actual Lairs, that part is much harder to discuss. Some, like the Garden's Man-Eating Pumpkin Patch and Pod-People Production Pod-House, are so well known that they are routinely farmed for their unique loot. Others, like the Crags of Despair's Ravine of Blood and Ichor, are considered death traps on par with the Lockgate Dungeons, or the End of the World.

What I’m trying to say is that Lairs are mysterious and dangerous, but are often worth the effort of opening them. Just make sure that if you open one, you’re prepared for what’s inside.

Except from the Survivor's Guide to Dungeons

Written and distributed by

William Coleheart – National Ranked Hero of Orneith