Along with the 2.6 update comes the second Empyrean Crucible, the Crucible Challenge.  Unlike the first, the Crucible Challenge is a solo instance. 

By running both the Empyrean Crucible and the Crucible Challenge, you are able to gain Crucible Insignias faster than normal.  Also, each has its own unique rewards.

There is a 22 hour re-entry timer for Crucible Challenge.

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Empyrean Crucible <<

1.  Entry Conditions:  Anyone Level 50 or higher may enter.  There are no separate entry quests and you may not enter again for 22 hours.

2.  How to Enter:  You will find the entrance to the right of the Empyrean Crucible entrance. 

     Elyos: Kaisinel Academy | Asmodian: Marchutan Priory

3.  Duration:  Plan to spend roughly 15-35 minutes inside.

4.  Recommended Level:  The Crucible Challenge is best handled by those Level 52 or above.  Those below that level may have some difficulty with the instance and should plan to bring more consumables and take their time within the instance.

5.  Death:  Just like the previous instance, the Crucible Challenge has a ready room that you will be sent to if you are defeated.  You may exchange a Worthiness Ticket with the NPC in the ready room if you wish to re-enter the battle.  Be aware that you will only gain 1 Worthiness Ticket during the Crucible Challenge.

6.  Rewards: By completing all stages of the Crucible Challenge, you will receive roughly 455 Crucible Insignias. You can gain a few more Insignias on top of these by completing the quests and getting lucky during the bonus chest selection.

7.  Quest:  There is no limit to the number of times you can repeat the final quest of the Crucible Challenge quest line.  By defeating Vanktrist Spacetwine 5 times, you will gain access to the Crucible Challenge Bonus Stage where you will have the chance at rewards such as medals, Godstones, and other prizes.

While there are no entry quests required in order to enter the Crucible Challenge, you will still want to take those available.  The tasks are fairly simple and the quests offer a way to gain a few more Insignias.  In addition, once you've finished the quest string, you will be able to access the Bonus Stage of the Crucible for a chance at many valuable items including the new Crucible Challenge Godstones.

Asmodian Quests

Elyos Quests

 Round 1: 

The first enemies you will face in Round 1 are a couple groups of Moladors.   The first group will consist of 3 of them with 2 more following as you defeat the initial wave.  Keep in mind that these are stationary enemies with a limited distance ranged attack.  If you start to get overwhelmed, look for a far off place to retreat to catch your breath. 

 Round 2: 

It's not too difficult to take out Grissil. He will begin the battle by casting Iron-Clad on himself and will continue to re-apply it throughout the battle.  One thing to note is that after 50%, Grissil will use his stun ability and summon monsters to his aid.  Grissil's stun has a 3 second duration and cannot be removed by using Remove Shock.  Dispose of Grissil's minions and finish him off!

 Round 1:

Stage 2 is made up of only 1 round.  Either three Avian monsters or two Kerubs will spawn.  The thing to note about Stage 2 is that if you stand completely still, the monsters that spawn will begin by fighting each other.  If you find it difficult to fight all the enemies at once, you can consider letting them fight amongst themselves for a while.  Be aware that you will receive no points if you do not damage an enemy before it dies.

 Bonus Round: 

Poppy is in trouble!  Though there was nothing that players could do to prevent Tutty's fate, the Stage 2 bonus round offers you at least a little bit of redemption.  Dukaki Cooks will begin to spawn and attack Poppy as the porgus flees for its life.  If you succeed in defeating all of the Dukaki before Poppy is roasted alive, you will be rewarded with a special pet food for the Runaway Poppy pet that can be purchased with Crucible Insignias.

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Runaway Poppy <<

In this stage, you will face either Kurins or Wind Spirits.  Both possibilities have roughly the same difficulty and the tactics for the fight are the same.  A barrel will appear along with 5 enemies.  You can distract most of the enemies for a short time by hitting the barrel to spawn up food.  The enemies will stop fighting to eat, giving you the opportunity to attack them one by one.  This distraction only lasts a limited time though, so be sure to watch for the barrel to respawn if you need to employ an additional distraction.

Fiery Gomju is your opponent for this round.  The main thing to watch out for during this fight are the adds and protective shield he spawns at around 50% health.  Gomju will not attack while his shield is up, so use this time to take out the two ads.  Once the shield has gone away, finish off Gomju.

Stage 4 consists of enemies from either Haramel or Kromede's Trial.  There will be 3 normal enemies and one boss who stand in a T shape.  If you move yourself to the left or right of the arena, you should be able to fight the minions one by one before taking out the stronger enemy.
 

 Round 2: 

During the second round, you will face either Hamerun Leechsoul  or Kaliga the Unjust depending on which version of the stage you were given.  Both will offer roughly the same level of difficulty.  The main differences between the two are that Hamerun will debuff your defenses, whereas Kaliga will use stuns and pulls as well as summoning a pair of bloodwings to his aid.

 Bonus Round:

Our old, decrepit, friend Administrator Arminos appears before us once again in the Stage 4 bonus round.  He offers a choice:  One of three chests.  Two of the chests will contain a small amount of Crucible Insignias, while the third houses a small creature that will attack you.  After you defeat it, Arminos will appear once again with another 3 chests.  Should luck be on your side and you choose the chest with the creature 3 times in a row, you will be rewarded with a golden chest containing 250 Crucible Insignias!

 Round 1: 

The difficulty of the Crucible Challenge increases once you reach Stage 5.  Your first opponent will be one of the 4 original class skill trainers.

Macus or Kalsten:  As the Warrior preceptors, these two rely on physical attacks throughout the battle.  They will use Weakening Severe Blow to lower your physical defense while striking at you with Robust Blow.  Once their health has been depleated to 50%, they will begin to use the more damaging Divine Blow in an attempt to finish you off.
 
Hygea or Lyfjaberga:  The Priest preceptors will employ a mixture of physical and magical attacks against their opponents.  They will use Throny Skin to reflect damage back and also summon Weakened Holy Servants.  The Servants do not do much damage, but they are easily defeated if you feel they are impairing your battle enough.  In addition to these skills, the priest will also use Hallowed Strike to lower your attack speed.  At 50% health watch for Infernal Blaze and be ready to Remove Shock out of the stun.  As they become closer to being defeated, Word of Wind will be used to increase their attack and movement speed, while Healing Light will be used once in an attempt to keep themselves in the fight.

Eumelos or Thialfi:  The sneaky sneaks that they are, the Scout preceptors will employ hide and run tactics for much of the fight.  If you have no way of seeing through hide, be ready to relaunch your attack when they reappear.  Watch out for the entangling arrow that slows your movement speed and keep on his heels.
 
Bellia or Ve:  The first thing to note in this battle is that any physical attack will cause the Mage preceptor to cast Robe of Cold.  This effect reflects 50 damage back to you with each attack and also slows your movement speed for 3 seconds.  Once they reach roughly 50% health, they will begin casting Chain of Earth, which is a speed reducing DoT.  The final trick up their sleeve is a 15 second sleep at about 25% that will not break on damage.  They will use this time to summon a fire spirit before getting a couple free hits in on you.

 Round 2: 

Berus/Genoti:  Throughout the fight, the Godstone Tuner will cast Godstone Pride on himself, raising his attack for a short while.  Other abilities used are Eio's Tears, which will lower your attack speed as well as Orissan's Blood, which poisons you for 15 seconds at about 50%.

Angparinerk/Paepaerunerk:  As with the other NPCs of this round, the Broker NPC will use a self buff often during the fight, raising his attack.  There isn't much else to watch out for in this fight, but at 50% he will begin using a stun skill that you are not able to Remove Shock out of.  Also be sure to be relentless in your attacks once he gets down to roughly 15% health.  If he is not defeated fast enough, he will use a self heal that will bring his HP back up to about 50%.

Bustant/Roskva:  The Warehouse NPC will use the self attack buff just as the others and follow much of the same patterns, following up the attack buff with Strike.  At 50%, they will begin to use an attack speed buff instead of their previous one.  As with the Broker NPC, If not killed fast enough when their health gets low, they will use a self heal ability, bringing their HP back up to 50%.

 Round 1:  

The only foe you will face in Stage 6 is Vanktrist Spacetwine.  A smaller, less powerful underling of the Master Boss of the Empyrean Crucible, Spacetwine employs some of the same abilities, albeit at power levels less than 9000.  The common abilities in Spacetwine's arsenal are Young Space Twist, which deals damage and stuns and Void Flame.  At about 75% health, he will begin to use his Gravitational Shift ability which will slow your movement speed.  Soon after, he will summon a couple Vortexes to assist him.  These are non-elite and relatively easy to defeat, so you may want to focus on them first.  Once he reaches 50%, he will add the Young Adrift skill to his attacks, which deals moderate damage and is used fairly often.  Since defeating Spacetwine is essential to progressing your bonus round quest, be sure to pull out all the stops, utilizing potions, DP, and high cooldown skills to make sure you are victorious!

In order to access the bonus stage, you must complete be at the end of the Solo Crucible quest line.  The final quest requires you to vanquish Vanktrist Spacetwine 5 times.  Upon defeating him for the 5th time, a Crucible Rift will open up taking you to one of two possible bonus stages. 

If you face the Tiamat Assassin, you will have a chance at Fluxes, Balic Materials, Enchantment Stones or Rare Manastones.

If you face the Opposing Faction enemy,  you will have a chance at Fluxes, Enchantment Stones, Rare Manastones, Medals, and exclusive Crucible Challenge Godstones!

Related Page:

>> Crucible Challenge Godstones