in:Locations, Dungeons, Synodic,
and2 more
- Hardmode
- Main Path
- History
- Talk (0)
"Your mind is still disoriented from the warp."
Contents
- 1 Overview
- 2 Areas
- 3 Enemies
- 3.1 Bosses
- 4 Strategy
- 5 Stronghold Gauntlet
- 6 Gallery
- 6.1 Extras
- 7 Trivia
Overview[]
Stronghold of the Equinox is a Hardmode dungeon vital to game progression. It is a difficult dungeon, requiring late-endgame gear to survive and complete. Clearing this dungeon is required to craft Equinox tier items due to their reliance on the megabosses' drops. This dungeon is also the only way to access Gilgamesh.
To access the Stronghold, the player must use the teleporter item, Mysterious Artifact. It is only dropped by Equinox Praetor that spawns in the Cultist Legion, dropped at a 100% chance. Praetors that spawn in the Stronghold will not drop the artifact.
Unlike other dungeons, the Stronghold is not a wave based dungeon, but rather the player must fight enemies as they progress through the Stronghold and eventually get to Alrasid's arena.
Areas[]
The player will spawn outside of the Stronghold and gradually work their way inside by killing waves of enemies.
- Spawn (Wave 1) - The first area players reach. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- Cultist
- Cultist Knight
- Spawn (Wave 2) - After the Spawn area is cleared, the player progress to the front gate where several enemies will spawn rapidly. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- Cultist Knight
- Cultist Rider
- Cultist Mage
- Cultist Musketeer
- 2 Equinox Construct
- 1 The Controller
- Bridge (Wave 3) - After the entrance opens up, 5 enemies will spawn on the bridge leading to the Stronghold. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- 4 Equinox Construct
- 1 Equinox Guardian
- Praetor Arena (Wave 4) - After making it through the bridge hallway, the player can progress forwards and Equinox Praetor will spawn in a large arena. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- Equinox Praetor
- Interior Hall (Wave 5) - After the first Praetor encounter, the door will open to a hallway. At the back of the hall, a group of Cultist Assassins will spawn and Cultist Knights and Cultist Musketeers spawn at the front. The wave only progresses once the Assassins are killed. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- Cultist Knight
- Cultist Musketeer
- Cultist Assassin
- Main Room (Wave 6) - An onslaught of enemies spawn, notably including four Equinox Constructs, two Equinox Praetors, and two Controllers. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- Cultist Knight
- Cultist Musketeer
- 4 Equinox Construct
- 2 Equinox Praetor
- 2 The Controller
- Library (Wave 7) - The library door opens, revealing a slew of Cultist Mages and two Equinox Guardians. After completing this wave, they will be teleported to Alrasid's Arena if they do not make it there in time. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- Cultist Mage
- 2 Equinox Guardian
- Alrasid's Arena (Wave 8) - The final room of the contiguous Stronghold. Upon completion, players are teleported to Gilgamesh's arena after a 30 second intermission. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- Alrasid
- Summons The Arbiter
- Alrasid
- Balanced Craftwars Overhaul? - A replica of the main island that has been ruined and desolated by Gilgamesh. Enemies that spawn on this wave:
- Gilgamesh
- Summons Black Consumermite and White Consumermite
- TSUBOL
- Summons Illusion of the Supreme Uber Brightness
- Gilgamesh
Enemies[]
All enemies have a 2% chance to drop Essence of Conflict.
- Cultist
- Cultist Knight
- Cultist Mage
- Cultist Assassin
- Cultist Musketeer
- Cultist Rider
- Equinox Guardian
- Equinox Construct
- Black Consumermite (spawned by Gilgamesh)
- White Consumermite (spawned by Gilgamesh)
- Illusion of the Supreme Uber Brightness (spawned by TSUBOL)
Bosses[]
- The Controller (3 total)
- Equinox Praetor (3 total)
- Alrasid (Megaboss)
- The Arbiter
- Gilgamesh (Megaboss)
- TSUBOL (Megaboss)
Strategy[]
If the player killed all The Controllers and Equinox Constructs that appear in the main room, they can hop on the doorway at the very back of the hallway that leads to the Main Room to avoid the Equinox Praetors from hitting them. This is a good way to AFK for awhile if the player needs to take a break from combat, and also a way to easily deal with them.
- It is recommended to bring Seraphim Ring or Eldritch Tentacles as they have a high damage output and melt enemies. Unknown Signal Emitter can be worth bringing as a distraction for the Equinox Constructs and alright damage, though its recommended to unequip it before Alrasid if necessary.
- Lanite Railgun makes it much easier to kill the Equinox Praetors and The Controllers as they both have shielded states which can be broken with the weapon, making them much easier to deal with.
- Matrix Accelerator can be extremely useful due to its Z ability giving 99% damage reduction, on top of its C ability helping deal with the enemies that spawn during most of the stronghold.
- Heaven's Wrath can be a great damage option for Mages due to its high DPS and AoE explosions, It makes quick work of most enemies and can help destroy The Controllers and Equinox Constructs quickly with the right build.
- It is also recommended to have at least Angelic Armour/Void Armour and also have at least 1 piece of Eldritch Armour, Seraph Armour, Synodic Armour, or higher tier armour (to withstand Gilgamesh Reality Tear).
Stronghold Gauntlet[]
See main article: Stronghold Gauntlet
The Stronghold Gauntlet is a secret chamber contained within the Stronghold that is accessed through a special door in the hallway preceding the main room of the Stronghold. It contains 5 waves, and after all waves are beaten the player is able to open a portal to Hell. More information about the Gauntlet can be found on its page.
- Wave 1: Supreme Cultist Musketeer, Controller Turret Mk. II
- Wave 2: Supreme Cultist Knight
- Wave 3: Supreme Cultist Rider, Supreme Cultist Mage
- Wave 4: Equinox Bishop, Supreme Cultist Assassin, Stronghold Warden
- Wave 5: Equinox Praetor "KYRA", Equinox Praetor "SYPHION"
Gallery[]
Spawn area
The second spawn area, takes place in front of the entrance to the actual Stronghold.
A Bridge that connects the outside to the Stronghold.
The arena of the first Praetor encounter.
The interior hall leading to the primary fighting area of the Stronghold.
Main Room, primary location of the Stronghold.
Library, accessible after the main room.
Alrasid's arena from a ground view.
1/8
Extras[]
Hallway that leads to Praetor Arena.
First Gauntlet Entrance.
Sealed Gauntlet Entrance.
Second Floor of the Main area
Abandoned Storage room.
The entrance beneath the storage room.
A hallway at the storage room.
Hallway that leads to Alrasid's Arena.
Side view of the Alrasid's arena.
Full view of the Alrasid's arena.
A sigil resembling Mysterious Artifact on top of Alrasid's Arena, this was a ritual to summon Gilgamesh.
Activating the First Gauntlet Entrance will have unintended side effects.
Trivia[]
- One whole Stronghold run with Gilgamesh gives a total of 16 Ranks.
- All enemies in the Stronghold Gauntlet were intended to be featured in the Torment mode of the Stronghold, but this Torment mode was scrapped.
| Neutral | Tutorial • Limbo • Purgatory | |
|---|---|---|
| Pre Hardmode | ||
| Neutral | The Caverns • The Beneath | |
| Megabosses | Ring of Fire • The Blue Sea • Aurora Glacier • Eye of the Storm • Atlas Awakener | |
| Hardmode | Main Path | Khrysos Temple • The Trial • Null • Stronghold of the Equinox • Balanced Craftwars Overhaul? |
| Alt Path | Helio Vasilias • Machina's Research Base • Starfall Canyon | |
| Neutral | Hell | |
| Event | Free Items • Azure Rest • All Hallow's Castle • Arctic Zone • Christmas Gathering • MOW MY LAWN • Unknown Rift Area • Easter Gathering • Broken Egg World • Godslayer's Trial | |
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
