Bestiary: The 29 Defenders
By the developer
Every hunting zone has one raid boss. The game calls it the zone's "true defender". In the lore, it is the warden of that zone's anchor. You fight each one solo, behind a raid doorway, and each one can drop your class's mythic set.
Killing a defender has a cost. That zone's Drift opens and something worse moves in. Under each boss I list the worst creature that shows up in its zone's Drift afterward. Those creatures exist nowhere else.
Levels 1 to 8
Overgrown Forest Monarch (Verdant Hollow, levels 1 to 3). A crowned mess of root and bark. Most people's first raid, and it hits harder than they expect. In its Drift: Bloom-Eaten Stag.
Briar Thorn Overlord (Thornwood Edge, levels 1 to 6). Guards the border of the Thornwood. Prepare for a solo raid fight; raids ignore gear resists. In its Drift: Edge-Warped Boar.
Harvest Wraith Reaper (Farmer's Crossing, levels 2 to 6). A scarecrow with a real scythe. The farmers left years ago and it never stopped working. In its Drift: Crowfield Reaper.
Prairie Rage Behemoth (Sunlit Meadow, levels 2 to 7). Big, angry and fast for its size. In its Drift: Meadowglass Badger.
Mycelium Spore Overmind (Mushroom Grove, levels 3 to 8). I think of every mushroom in the grove as part of it. The game does not say so. In its Drift: Puffball Abomination.
Levels 5 to 15
Quartz Mana Titan (Crystal Caverns, levels 5 to 12). Crystal and raw mana stacked into a body. The hum in the caves comes from it. In its Drift: Shardmind Parasite.
Gloom Thorn Matriarch (Thornwood Depths, levels 6 to 12). She cursed the Thornwood. The Briar Hag and the Corrupted Dryad live under her. In its Drift: Briarbone Matron.
Plague Fog Abomination (Bogmire Marsh, levels 6 to 13). You find it when the fog in Bogmire starts hitting you. In its Drift: Rotjaw Leviathan.
Gale Stone Colossus (Windswept Hills, levels 7 to 14). The hills, standing up. In its Drift: Skyroot Ogre.
Spectral Pharaoh Wraith (Whispering Ruins, levels 8 to 15). Ruled a dead city and kept ruling after he died. In its Drift: Pharaoh of Broken Echoes.
Levels 11 to 24
Abyssal Deep One Tyrant (Underground Lake, levels 11 to 18). Comes up from the part of the lake with no floor. In its Drift: Abyssal Pilgrim.
Blood Razorclaw Warlord (Razorclaw Den, levels 12 to 19). War chief of the Razorclaw beast-men. In its Drift: Totemhide Shaman.
Vein Iron Shadow Lord (The Deep Mines, levels 13 to 20). What the dwarves found when they followed the ore too far down. In its Drift: Vein-Sung Horror.
Thunder Cyclops Titan (Stormwatch Peak, levels 15 to 22). One eye and a storm's worth of lightning. In its Drift: Tempest-Eyed Oracle.
Abyssal Bloated Overlord (Drowned Village, levels 15 to 22). Sits in the Drowned Village like it swallowed the place. In its Drift: Bell-Tower Drowner.
Void Hell Pontiff (Forsaken Temple, levels 16 to 23). High priest of a cult that prays to the hole in the world. My favorite banner in the game. In its Drift: Altarborn Fiend.
Rot Treant Plague Lord (Blighted Hollow, levels 17 to 24). The oldest tree in Blighted Hollow, rotten through and still growing. In its Drift: Wiltmother Dryad.
That is the Pontiff's banner after a kill. Every boss has an alive and a defeated version.
Levels 22 to 36
Cinder Volcanic Dreadnought (Ashen Wastes, levels 22 to 29). A war machine made out of a volcano. In its Drift: Ember Maw Colossus.
Toxic Fang Matriarch (Venomfang Lair, levels 26 to 33). The serpent every whelp in Venomfang Lair came from. In its Drift: Venom-Crowned Oracle.
Glacial Ice Yeti Colossus (Frozen Pass, levels 27 to 34). Fills the Frozen Pass wall to wall. In its Drift: Mirror Ice Stag.
Bone Lich Overlord (Sunken Crypt, levels 28 to 35). Keeps the dead in the Sunken Crypt asleep. Mostly. In its Drift: Crypt-Tide Lich.
Reality Chaos Shaper (Void Sanctum, levels 29 to 36). Lives where the Veil tore first. Fights like it. In its Drift: Paradox Apostle.
Levels 31 to 50
Obsidian Shadow Curse Lord (Obsidian Spire, levels 31 to 38). Every curse in the Obsidian Spire started with it. In its Drift: Spirebound Arcanist.
Infernal Magma Forge Lord (Molten Forge, levels 35 to 42). Still forging. You are on the anvil. In its Drift: Anvilheart Colossus.
Ash Phoenix Storm Drake (Skyfire Summit, levels 38 to 45). Phoenix fire on a drake's body. In its Drift: Cloudflame Eidolon.
Frost Wyrm Ice Queen (Eternal Glacier, levels 39 to 46). The ice dragons on the Eternal Glacier sleep because she allows it. In its Drift: Crown of Rime.
Death Soul Reaper Titan (Necropolis Gate, levels 41 to 48). Stands at the gate every dead thing in Calem walks through. In its Drift: Tomb-Crown Behemoth.
Terror Dream Eater Lord (Nightmare Realm, levels 43 to 50). Feeds on fear. The Nightmare Realm is its kitchen. In its Drift: Mirrorfear Oracle.
Ancient Chromatic Dragon King (Dragon Sanctum, levels 45 to 50). Level 50. The last raid in the game for now. In its Drift: Chromablight Seraph.
When they come back for you
Go back to a zone you outgrew and clear its weak monsters, and the zone pushes back. The log reads: "The weaker creatures are stalling, buying time for something far worse." Then a doorway opens. I like to think the defenders hold grudges.
FAQ
How many raid bosses are in CalemDrift?
- One per hunting zone.
Are raids solo? Yes. Every raid is you against the boss.
What do raid bosses drop? Mythic class set pieces and legendary loot. Killing one also unlocks that zone's Drift.
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