Raid Test Server Update: Boss Changes

Our team has been digging into the latest Raid: Shadow Legends Test Server changes to find out what’s in store when update 8.60 lands.

There have been some notable changes to certain Bosses, as well as some global changes affecting stats. That’s not all – we’ve got some new Champions incoming too!

Sand Devil has seen the most impactful changes in terms of team compositions and tactics. The Shogun and Iron Twins tweaks are slightly less impactful, but overall beneficial for most players looking to clear these content areas.

Both ACC and MAX HP stats for bosses, in general, have been reduced. We found that Iron Twins was possible with 400 ACC as opposed to the previous requirement of 555, for example. Shogun’s max HP appears to have been reduced to around 3 million, as opposed to the current 4.4 million.

The good news is these changes don’t appear to affect any strategies. In fact, many teams should clear bosses faster as a result.

The fearsome Iron Twins have had a slight retune. In update 8.60, they’ll have one less reset (or debuff cleanse) and a reduced amount of Ironbrand stack increases per attack.

The HP trigger points for debuff cleansing are now at:

• 80%
• 60%
• 40%

The Ironbrand stacks have been reduced from 10 to 7, with all others being reduced by 1 turn.

We don’t expect these changes to have too much impact on Iron Twins teams or strategies. In fact, Geomancer teams are likely to be even more reliable now thanks to the lower resets.

If you’re new to Iron Twins content, read our guide below for a complete breakdown of this boss, and how to beat it.

Al-Naemah, the sleepy Sand Devil, is now even more prone to a power nap. His slumber counter has been increased to 8 on stage 25 and is now more spread out across the stages, like so:

• Stage 1-5 slumber counter: 16
• Stage 6-10 slumber counter: 14
• Stage 11-15 slumber counter: 12
• Stage 16-20slumber counter: 10
• Stage 21-25 slumber counter: 8

Additionally, the amount a debuff reduces his damage reduction has been increased by 50% to reach 15%. The Max HP destruction Al-Neamah delivers has also been reduced by 5%.

We wonder if these changes could benefit players running Aniri teams. Previously, Awakening Aniri to 5-Stars was a must for tackling the Sand Devil. This may no longer be the case, as SPD may not be as crucial once these boss alterations are live. We’ll need to test this more extensively before knowing for sure.

Champions like Ramantu and The Calamitus should also be much more viable against the Sand Devil now, as they can land four debuffs in four hits. Previously, this would mean the slumber counter would reset, waking the Sand Devil before you could land any decent damage. The increased counter now allows for these additional hits.

Players running Blizaar teams, however, should note that the increased slumber counter could be an issue.

Increasing the slumber to 8 means Blizaar might be unable to wake the Sand Devil and activate his Brimstone Blessing (usually possible within a slumber counter of 5). This could increase the time it takes to kill Sand Devil, making Boss runs longer.

Check out the best strategies for the Sand Devil in our guide below.

Shogun Akumori’s Shade counter has had quite a major tweak. The effect of weak hits on his Shroud of The Shogun passive now varies per stage. Rather than weak hits adding a flat value of 8 to his Shade counter, values will now increase as you progress through the Stages, from 2 to 4 to 6 respectively (at Stage 25), like so:

• Stage 1-10: 2 point counter increase
• Stage 11-20: 4 point counter increase
• Stage 20-25: 6 point counter increase

What’s more, all Shade counter effects are now increased by 10 – meaning his immunities will start later (e.g. Poison Immunity will now activate when the counter reaches 20, rather than 10):

• Poison Immunity counter trigger  is now 20
• HP burn/smite counter trigger is now 30
• Max HP immunity counter trigger is now 40
• True damage counter trigger is now 50

Finally, Awakened Weakness now reduces stacks per hit, not per skill.

Overall, these changes should make battling the Shogun simpler. It also opens up this Boss to any players that can build effective damage-dealing teams, without too much of a focus on specific Champion tactics.

Champions like Gnut and Coldheart are also now solid choices for Shogun slapping. When Awakened, their multihit attacks are now even more valuable thanks to the fact Shogun Akumori’s counter now reduces per hit, not per ability.

If you need more Shogun slaying insights, our guide below has you covered.