Last updated: Exalt Version 2.0.3.0 (Sep 2021) |
|---|
The Cursed Library has a chance to drop from Beholders and is a guaranteed drop from the Lucky Beholder, a harder and rare version of the regular Beholder.
The Cursed Library Key (
) can also be purchased in the Nexus for 100 
.
Try not to get hit by the Beholders’ 
Blind shots, as they can make it hard for you to dodge, especially if near a wall of gods.
The Cursed Library is a reliable source of Wisdom and Vitality from the main boss, along with an Attack from the second boss and a chance at Defense from a certain enemy. The Cursed Library also offers 4 different UT’s, 3 of which are white bag rarity, and one of which drops from a minion. The Cursed Library even drops half of an ST set that fits the dungeon’s theme.
These are all the UT abilities dropped in the dungeon.
The Necronomicon is one of the few tomes that damages enemies, and the only tome to inflict 
Curse. While Mystics in groups can outclass this tome, it can still see use when solo.
The Scholar’s Seal is another strange UT that sacrifices the ability to give 
Healing and 
Damaging in exchange for boosting group MP and WIS. This ability is quite useful, but only if there are other Paladins to give the standard buffs.
Ronin’s Wakizashi does not inflict 
Exposed like most tiered wakis, but instead inflicts 
Slowed. This UT is more practical than the other UT abilities in this dungeon, as its relatively high MP cost is balanced by its lengthy 6 seconds of Slowed. This is best used when utility matters more than damage.
The Corruption Cutter is the only weapon UT that drops from the Cursed Library. For such an accessible midgame item, it is actually one of the best daggers in the game, dealing the most damage out of any dagger at 0 defense, similar to the Pixie-Enchanted Sword. While it is beaten by Avarice in terms of DPS, the Corruption Cutter is still much easier to get and very effective on 
Armor Broken enemies, making it surprisingly valuable even in the endgame.
The Cursed Library can drop half of the Phantom Archer Set, specifically the bow and the leather armor, dropping from the second and first boss respectively. Wraith’s Brigandine can potentially be used as a defensive leather armor, but is heavily outclassed by later endgame leather armors and is only really effective when the full set is worn. Meanwhile, the Deathless Crossbow acts as an inferior Bow of the Void, though it may be sought after since the latter is much harder to obtain.
The main reason you would want to do a Cursed Library is for the potions, specifically Potions of Vitality and Wisdom, both of which are guaranteed drops from the first boss. A Potion of Attack has a chance to drop from the second boss along with guaranteed Vitality, while a certain enemy has a chance of dropping Potions of Defense. This dungeon is very reliable for farming Vitality and Wisdom.
The first boss also has a very rare chance of dropping the Cultured Bookwyrm pet skin.
The following is a table of notable drops from each enemy (if any):
| Enemy | Item/s |
|---|---|
 Avalon the Archivist |
 |
 Corruption Phantom |
|
 Enlightened Beholder |
|
 Deholder |
|
 Lips of the Lost |
|
 Hand of the Helpless | |
The Cursed Library has a more complex map than common Godlands dungeons. There are many branching hallways that lead to dead-end switch rooms, and a guaranteed room that will be full of bookshelves that act as walls, with many twisting turns. This dungeon is deceptively hard to rush, as some enemies can inflict 
Quiet on you, which can disable rushers that are reliant on their ability. Some enemies can easily insta-kill you with their radial shotgun. Some enemies will even inflict Slowed, which can be annoying or even life threatening, and 
Sick, which is equally, if not more, dangerous. If one simply wishes to defeat the main boss, then try to avoid heading into dead-end switch rooms. However, opening the second boss’s room, which can appear behind spawn after the first boss is defeated, requires activating all switches in the dungeon. Getting to the second boss is arguably longer than getting to first, requiring you to explore through almost the entire dungeon. Tricksters and Rogues (if the latter have Cloaks of the Planewalker) can easily skip over walls of bookshelves and tables, along with being able to instantly teleport out of a room after activating a switch.
Bookwyrms are on the more dangerous side of the enemies in the dungeon, as they shoot a shotgun on itself inflicting 
Stunned while also healing nearby enemies for 400 HP. Destroy this enemy before any other if clearing, and make sure to steer clear of it when rushing, as its shotgun can easily insta-kill you.
Enlightened Beholders act exactly the same to their Godlands counterpart, shooting a five-way shotgun with an aimed Blind shot. Just try not to get Blind and you should be able to dodge easily.
These enemies are grouped together due to their similar textures, colors, and theming. Specifically, they all seem to reference cursed parts of a body, such as the eye or mouth.
Deholder, in contrast to the Beholder, is a bleeding eye-socket missing its eyeball, firing only a single shot periodically. Granted, it inflicts 
Bleeding and deals a high 180 damage, but because it’s so slow and predictable, this enemy should not be much of an issue.
Eye of the Edified is the missing eyeball to the aforementioned Deholder, and so they are always paired up when they spawn. The former is also more aggressive, charging towards nearby players while constantly using an AEO attack on itself, before retreating to its Deholder and repeating its attack cycle. Fortunately, the attack does not deal much damage, so simply sidestep the charge.
Hands of the Helpless, another accursed body part, have an attack cycle remniscient of the game Rock Paper Scissors, which are telegraphed with the hands’ shape. If its fist is closed like a rock, it will throw AEO grenades towards the nearest player. If its hand is open like paper, it will fire V-shaped Finger Guns or single armor piercing ones. If its index and middle finger are closed together like scissors, it will charge towards the nearest player shortly before firing two sprays of 
Confused Sharpened Fingernails. Pay close attention to the Hand’s telegraphs to preempt these attacks. Keep moving during its Rock and Paper attacks, and move backwards during its Scissor attacks.
Headless Specter is possibly the most dangerous enemy in the dungeon from pure damage alone. It will fire a radial shotgun on itself that may not be that bad with a single shot, but can easily insta-kill even a maxed 8/8 character if sat on. Take great care to not let this enemy sit on you, and keep your distance as much as possible.
Again, in great contrast to the previous enemy, the Lips of the Lost has a very predictable shot pattern of a single spiral shotgun rotating in one direction inflicting Quiet, only periodically jumping towards the player. The damage is low and while the debuff can be crippling in rushes, this enemy shouldn’t show too much challenge during a clearing.
Poltergeists can be annoying to deal with, as they fire a single shot inflicting Curse, but turn invisible at half health, making them much harder to defeat. Also, they do not have an HP bar nor do they appear as a red dot on the minimap, so the best way to deal with them is to shoot where they shoot from. Crowd clearing abilities such as scepters and maces are great for defeating invisible Poltergeists.
These are the most normal-sized enemies in the dungeon and most fit the theme of being “soulless.”
Soulless Scholar is another very dangerous enemy, as it fires pairs of Slowing pink shots, which can especially be dangerous while rushing. If clearing, it is actually best to stay close to the Scholar in order to stay in between the shots. However, avoid these enemies at all costs while rushing, as they can easily leave you vulnerable to other dangerous enemies such as the Headless Specter.
Soulless Scribe is possibly the easiest minion in this group, as it stands from afar firing a continous streaming of blue shots towards the player. You could rotate around the enemy to avoid the shots or sidestep through the gaps, but either way works. Just do not stand still and you should easily avoid this enemy.
Soulless Student is the most aggressive enemy in this group, constantly chasing the player and firing pairs of wavy purple shots. It does a fair amount of damage, so try circling opposite of the enemy until you kill it.
Vile Maggots are probably the weakest enemy in the dugeon, only dealing contact damage and inflicting Sick while also being incredibly slow. They can be found in rooms with switches. They can also spawn from the Deholder, Hand of the Helpless, or Lips of the Lost upon killing them.
The Cursed Library has two main bosses, with the second only unlocking after beating the first, even if you activated all switches prior to beating the first boss.
Avalon the Archivist is the first boss of the Cursed Library. The fight is fairly difficult for a midgame dungeon, with emphasis on map awareness and prioritizing targets. He will be located in the middle of nine smaller square-shaped rooms, with hallways connecting each one.
Once approached, the boss will be activated and begin the fight. He will run along the hallways of the rooms and pause for a few seconds at each room. Avalon will leave trails of blue Slowing stars as he moves, so make sure to stick to the side of a wall if he’s running near you. After leaving a square, he will leave behind a Book Bomb, which will then explode into both an AoE inflicting 
Silenced and rows of book-shaped shots inflicting 
Dazed. Avoid sitting on Book Bombs, as the debuffs can fairly inconvenience you, and the damage can stack up. Avalon will always take 3 turns on squares before returning to the center, then taking another 3 turns in the opposite direction. For example, if he heads left, up, right, then back middle, he will then head right, down, left, then back middle. Learning what movement pattern he uses can be great for tracking and attacking him.
After losing a third of his health, Avalon will return to the middle of the room and initiate his second phase. He will stand still, shooting rows of Stunning books instead of Dazing, simultaneously firing a boomeranging Stunning armor piercing shotgun on himself, while also periodically throwing Book Bombs into the squares in his cardinal directions. Using a centered camera is great for seeing book shots from both Avalon and the Book Bombs, and if you need to recover, head to a corner square for safety. Just be careful to not sit on a Book Bomb while re-entering the fight.
Now on his final third of HP, Avalon will once again walk around the room and pause for a moment at each square, though his movement is now random and more unpredictable. Avalon will fire Stunning shockwaves whenever he stops, while also spawning in Soulless Scribes, Scholars, and Students. Note that Avalon will be Armor Broken while moving, but 
Armored while stationary. Prioritize killing the Soulless minions before attacking the boss since they can distract you while dodging his attacks. Also, try to damage him the most when he moves, meaning you have to predict where he goes next, which can be difficult. However, he only has a 25/30/50% chance of moving to a square, so you should guess correctly at some point.
The Corruption Phantom is the second and final boss of the Cursed Library. It can only be fought after both all pressure plates in the dungeon are activated and after Avalon has been defeated. Once unlocked, a secret passageway leading to the boss room behind the spawn room will appear, with the Corruption Phantom circling an imprisoned Realm Eye in the middle. It will activate the fight once damaged.
The Corruption Phantom will initially be 
Invulnerable after taking any amount of damage, only circling the Realm Eye clockwise while constantly firing a clockwise-rotating spiral of Sickening shots. It will then spawn waves of minions, visually shrinking after every wave until all four are cleared. In order, with each wave introducing the next minion in addition to the ones prior, the boss will spawn the Corruption Phantom Wisp Charger, Stalker, Watcher, and Ravager. Note that you will have Curse for the entire fight while in the room, so you will take more damage. Memorize the minions’ attacks and leave the room if you need to recover. Just be careful when re-entering, as the Corruption Phantom will throw a Sickening AoE bomb at the entrance if a player is standing there. Knights are great for Stunning most of the minions. In fact, melees shine in this close-quarters boss fight.
After all four waves of minions are defeated, the Corruption Phantom will flash red before turning vulnerable and orbiting the room towards the edges. It will then fire both radial bursts of boomeranging Slowing stars and single parametric orbs that deal high damage. Note that the Corruption Phantom will randomly switch directions during its spiralling attack, so make sure to react first before you get sat on and possibly insta-killed. Upon defeat, the red cracks on the floor and AoE inflicting Curse will disappear, freeing the Realm Eye, whom you can ask one question of regarding certain items, dungeons, and bosses for lore purposes.
The Cursed Library is a fairly difficult mid-game dungeon that provides a reliable source of Vitality and Wisdom, along with chances at a few very situational yet useful UT’s and half of an ST set. The second boss is more difficult to both unlock and defeat, but gives a chance at a powerful mid-game dagger and a way to learn more about the game’s lore directly.
