 The Paragon Wiki Archive documents the state of City of Heroes/Villains as it existed on December 1, 2012.
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Dilemma Diabolique Trial
Overview
| Dilemma Diabolique Trial | |
|---|---|
| Team Size | 8-16 players |
| Badge |
 Death Denied |
| Enemy Groups |
 Banished Pantheon?? |
| Incarnate XP | Psychic and Physical |
 Requires a VIP subscription. | |
The Dilemma Diabolique Trial (DDT or DD) is one of the Incarnate Trials connected to the release of Issue 22 which takes place in Dark Astoria. A minimum of 8 and a maximum of 16 players can raid the Moth Cemetary.
During the mission, a voice will "radio in" information about your progress. While there is no specific contact (the trial is entered entirely through the LFG menu), it is however likely that your unseen helper is meant to be the Dream Doctor.
All Issue 20 Incarnate Components will drop during this trial, and both Psychic and Physical Incarnate Experience is gained towards unlocking the Alpha, Judgement, Lore, Interface and Destiny Incarnate Slots.
In Detail
The Dilemma Diabolique Trial is an incarnate trial that takes place in the Moth Cemetery. There is no contact for this trial, though it could be argued that Prometheus is your contact. However, rather than going to anyone for a mission, the players use the Team-Up Teleporter to find other interested players.
Phase 1
The trial starts on a bone path leading into a plateau of the cemetery. Along the path are four Repulsive Spines protected by Banished Pantheon. The incarnates must defeat all four spines to progress to the next level.
If all four spines are defeated within one minute of each other, the Spinebreaker badge will be awarded at the completion of the trial.
Phase 2
After defeating all four spines, the incarnates proceed to the plateau, where seven heroes are being held in thrall. Not all heroes will be available each time. Each hero is marked on the map and protected by another spine and a group of Banished Pantheon. For each hero, incarnates must defeat the Banished Pantheon, click on the spine to release the hero, then defeat the hero to save him/her. Only four heroes may be saved in this stage, and each neglected hero awards a specific power to Sentinel in the later battle.
Starting from the south, and going clockwise in a circle, the captured heroes, and the powers they can grant the Sentinel, are:
- Citadel or Infernal: +RES, +DEF, Hold
- Positron or Valkyrie*: +DEF, +Regen, -DMG
- Numina or Swan: +ToHit, +RNG, Heal/DMG Field
- Sister Psyche or Luminary: +Regen, +RES, DMG Pulse
- Manticore or Aurora Borealis*: +RNG, +ToHit, Weaken
- Synapse or Ms. Liberty*: +RECH, +DMG, EndDrain
- Back Alley Brawler or Mynx*: +DMG, +RECH, Fear
*To receive the Sentinel Smasher badge, incarnates must rescue, in any order: Positron/Valkyrie, Manticore/Aurora Borealis, Synapse/Ms. Liberty, and Back Alley Brawler/Mynx.
Note that defeating the guards around a hero's spine "locks in" the choice of that hero as one of the four to be saved.
After freeing four heroes, The Sentinel of Mot will spawn on the plateau, containing one of the three remaining captured heroes, and must be defeated. When the Sentinel reaches 50/100 health, the contained hero will be freed, removing that hero's bonus powers from the Sentinel.
Once the Sentinel has been defeated, there is an untimed segment during which additional instructions may be given. However, as soon as a single incarnate enters the maw, the next phase begins.
Phase 3
Upon entering the maw, players are given five minutes during which they must survive the onslaught. If at any point in the five minutes there are no living incarnates within the region, the trial is failed. A new wave of Banished Pantheon will spawn every 30 seconds during this portion.
Phase 4
At the end of the five minutes, the incarnates are teleported into another dimension where Diabolique waits, along with the two remaining captured Heroes under her control. Any players previously defeated in Phase 3 will be automatically resurrected with full health and endurance. She will give an in-game monologue, then become targetable for defeat.
Every 30 seconds during this battle, four Lifegiving Essences will spawn in the room. At the end of the 30 seconds, Diabolique will consume any undefeated essences, healing herself by 10%. Defeating the essences, on the other hand, awards a league-wide heal over time and rezzes allies?. After Diabolique consumes any remaining essences, four more will spawn. The Life and Death badge is awarded for preventing Diabolique from consuming a single Lifegiving Essence during the battle.
The Sacrificial Lamb badge is earned by defeating Diabolique without defeating either of the controlled heroes. Heroes do not possess the Scaling power making them fairly easy for a League to defeat accidentally with indiscriminate attacks despite their Level Shifts.
Any players who are defeated during this phase will strengthen Diabolique's damage and resistances, making her increasingly harder to defeat. If more than 20 defeats are accumulated in Phase 4, Diabolique will automatically defeat the entire league and the trial ends.
On the defeat of Diabolique, players view a cutscene and then receive trial rewards, including all badges earned during the trial.
Notable NPCs
Please note that all Archvillains and Heroes will be level 54(+3). Almost all other enemies will be level 54(+2), with some ambushes at level 54(+1). Level Shift and Incarnate Shifts are recommended to defeat them.
Six of the following Heroes (four in one phase, two in final phase):
- Numina or Swan (Heroes)
- Citadel or Infernal (Heroes)
- Sister Psyche or Luminary (Heroes)
- Positron or Valkyrie (Heroes)
- Manticore or Aurora Borealis (Heroes)
- Back Alley Brawler or Mynx (Heroes)
- Synapse or Ms. Liberty (Heroes)
- The Sentinel of Mot (Archvillain)
- Diabolique (Archvillain)
- Lifegiving Essence (Level 54 Minions)
Rewards
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Death Denied | Complete the Dilemma Diabolique Trial. |
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Spinebreaker | Destroy all four Repulsive Spines (maintaining the protective barrier around Mot) within one minute of each other during the Dilemma Diabolique trial |
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Sentinel Smasher | Defeat the Sentinel with three specific powers acquired from controlled heroes during the Dilemma Diabolique trial |
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Sacrificial Lamb | Defeat Diabolique without defeating the two heroes under her control during the final battle of the Dilemma Diabolique trial |
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Life and Death | Defeat Diabolique without allowing her to heal from a single Lifegiving Essence during the final battle of the Dilemma Diabolique trial |
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Master of Dilemma Diabolique | Earn the Spinebreaker, Sentinel Smasher, Sacrificial Lamb, and Life and Death badges. |
Incarnate System
- Incarnate Threads drop instead of Incarnate Shards.
- Psychic Incarnate Experience and Physical Incarnate Experience, which unlocks the Alpha, Judgement, Lore, Interface and Destiny Slots if any of those slots are locked.
- Once per 20 hour period, two Empyrean Merits will be awarded upon successful completion of the Trial.
- Any successive completion of the Trial within that 20 hour window will instead award only one Empyrean Merit. This functionality is essentially the Incarnate Trial version of Merit Reward Diminishing Returns.
- The following actions during the Trial award an Astral Merit:
- 5 Total
- Open League Bonus: If the league is left open in the LFG queue, an extra bonus of 1 astral? is awarded.
+++ Missing Information +++
- Random Uncommon Components can be awarded for the first time a badge is obtained. A random Rare Component can be awarded for the first time the Master of Dilemma Diabolique badge is obtained. Bonus Astral Merits can be earned multiple times as long as the requirements for the badge is fulfilled, even if you already have the badge.
