The Shatters (Rev. 128)

Last updated: Exalt Version 2.0.4.0 (Sep 2021)
The Shatters
Difficulty: 8.5Difficulty: 8.5Difficulty: 8.5Difficulty: 8.5Difficulty: 8.5Difficulty: 8.5Difficulty: 8.5Difficulty: 8.5Difficulty: 8.5
Teleportation Disabled
Music: The Shatters

The Shatters is an extremely dangerous dungeon, intended to be approximately the hardest dungeon in the game before Oryx’s Sanctuary. It is a source of high-level gear, a large number of powerful Untiered items, and the Twilight Archmage ST Set.

The dungeon portal is guaranteed to drop from the Avatar of the Forgotten King.

This dungeon is required to be completed to earn the ‘Explosive Journey’ and ‘Conqueror of the Realm’ fame bonuses.

For details pertaining to the version of the dungeon before Exalt Version 2.0.2.0 (Aug 2021), see this page.

The Realm Eye says:
The shattered kingdom was a city-state on an island separate from the realm’s main continent. Like many small kingdoms at the time, it was a monarchy.
Although isolated from the mainland, they were known as one of the most powerful kingdoms of their time, simultaneously raising formidable gladiators and making strides in magic research.
In truth, even Oryx himself was formerly a champion of this kingdom before his ambitions of conquest consumed him.

Key

Shatters Key The Shatters Key is available in the Nexus for 200 Realm Gold.

Guide

The Shatters Guide is currently outdated.

Contents


Layout

The Shatters is a massive, complex dungeon divided into three main areas, each one with its own distinct aesthetic style, enemies, and mechanics. Players must advance through the areas by completing specific objectives in each one, battling a boss at the end of each main area. Info about the areas in question can be found in order below.

Throughout all the areas, nearly every enemy has a chance to instead spawn as a purple Accursed variant of itself. These Accursed variants have visually purple attacks, increased damage, slightly higher DEF, and more aggressive behavior. Instead of dying, they will turn into corrupt graves on death, which will resurrect after a certain amount of time has passed with a sound effect and a visual cue.

The Derelict Village

The Derelict Village follows one of many preset layouts, but they are all made up of several dark forested islands and swamps connected by wooden bridges, surrounded by a sea of Corruption. Flocks of harmless animals which flee from players and blobs of violet sludge (some of which have animals trapped within) can be found scattered around the ground, and dirt paths sprawl throughout the islands. In the center of the islands lie the villages themselves, composed of many buildings and decorative structures like statues and farms connected by stone walkways.

Enemies are found in groups scattered throughout the map, with many of them hiding within the forests. Many enemies will remain still until provoked, although many will also patrol around the map.

Players must seek out and destroy 8 switches scattered at random locations throughout the islands, with the progress being tracked by a unique UI. When 7 of the 8 are destroyed, the last one will become highlighted on the minimap as a bright purple dot. Once all eight are destroyed, the drawbridge at the top of the area will be lowered, allowing access to the Great Bridge; all switches will also turn into teleporters that can be used to instantly warp to the bridge, granting players several seconds of invulnerability.

Note: Shatters Mages and Nobles can rarely spawn here.

Hollow Villagers

Stone Enemies

Other Enemies

Note: Eyes of the King appear uncommonly in both the Village and Castle Areas, and are significantly rarer than all other enemies.

The Great Bridge

The Great Bridge consists of a large rectangular platform paved with greyish brick and lined with torches which emit orange particles. Four Paladin Obelisks are found in the corners of the platform, and the first boss of the Shatters stands guard at the top.

Boss

Minions

The Royal Castle

The entirety of the castle consists of dark stone tiles and torches lining the walls. The hallways are lined by green carpets bordered by crown designs and golden trim.

Players enter the castle through a large, rectangular, grassy courtyard staffed by various enemies and filled to the brim with stone statues, some of which will come to life and attack you as Stone Enemies. The stone walkways feature special green carpets bearing the crest of the Shattered Kingdom. The courtyard terminates in a hallway leading to the Central Chamber, which then splits into four wings.

In order to progress, players must venture into the castle wings and obtain Untempered Magic to bring back to the Central Chamber. Each wing has numerous Magi Conductors scattered within (marked as white dots on the minimap) along with a Source Generator at the end which, when broken, releases the Untempered Magic within and allows the conductors to be activated. Players must then attack the conductors in order to activate them (generating conducting lines between them) and escort the Untempered Magic through the castle wings by using the lines between activated conductors as a pseudo-randomized path. Untempered Magic comes in the following forms:

  • Three Green flames that give Healing to all nearby players. Each flame moves at a slightly different speed.
  • A Red flame that inflicts Bleeding to all nearby players. This flame is slightly slower than the other flames.
  • A Yellow flame that inflicts Armor Broken to all nearby players. Unlike the other flames, it moves to the next active conductor regardless of players being nearby. Additionally, it is the fastest of the flames.
  • A Blue flame that grants Energized to all nearby players, but periodically emits rings of Paralyzing shots.

Accursed enemies can “contest” the conductors by standing close to them, causing them to flash red. If a conductor is contested for too long, it will break and sever the pathway, causing the Untempered Magic to slowly shrink before exploding violently and resetting to the beginning of the path. A status message will be broadcasted to the GUI of all players to warn them about a contested conductor.

The four castle wings are chosen from a set of 9 at random, and there will never be more than one of the same wing type in any given castle (outside of rare generation bugs). Only three of the wings must have their Untempered Magic brought to the Central Chamber to activate the boss, meaning one can be skipped entirely. The hallways leading up to the wings are lined with banners that hint at which wing type each one is.

Note: Hollow Brigands and Outlaws can rarely spawn in any wing.

Castle Wings

Armory
Represented by a green banner with a helmet symbol.

A 3x3 “grid” of medium sized rooms, the corner rooms being circular. The edges of the rooms are cluttered with armor stands, weapon racks, and other training equipment. The Source Generator is found at the very top or bottom.

King’s Knights, Crossbowmen, and Gladiators, which are normally only found in the Grand Hall of the Shatters, can be found early in this wing.

Alchemy Lab
Represented by a blue banner with a conical flask symbol.

A large, vaguely rectangular room with long blue tables, alchemy desks, vials of chemicals, and other alchemical equipment scattered within, along with a window at the top and a strange pool of flowing indigo tiles near the bottom. Many of the tall, cylindrical vials can be attacked and destroyed to produce certain effects depending on their color:

  • Red: Gives Healing to all players in range.
  • Blue: Gives Energized to all players in range.
  • Violet: Spawns a group of Blobombs.

Members of the Fire and Ice Mage groups are found in higher concentrations here.

Dining Hall
Represented by a green banner with a bowl symbol.

A large hallway with a long, blue dining table dominating much of the central space, leading up to a circular room with three similar dining tables and the Source Generator found at the end.

Living Quarters
Represented by a blue banner with a crown symbol.

A circular loop of square rooms with hardwood floor and windows along the outer walls. The rooms are decorated with various pieces of furniture such as tables, armor stands, cabinets, and easels with paintings on them.

Shatters Nobles are found in higher concentrations here.

Lockup
Represented by a green banner with a padlock symbol.

A long rectangular hallway lined with six diamond-shaped prison cells, which are initially found locked. When the Untempered Magic is first freed from the room at the very end, all of the prison cells are opened, allowing the Hollow Prisoners and Madmen within to break loose and attack in droves. Prisoners and Madmen cannot be killed while locked inside their cells.

This is the only location where Hollow Prisoners and Hollow Madmen can be found.

Observatory
Represented by a blue banner with a crescent moon symbol.

A massive circular chamber bordered by flowing indigo tiles. In the center of the chamber is a puzzle consisting of 9 small towers arranged in a grid; the towers are either red or green, and inflict Pet Stasis on proximity. Shooting one of the towers enough will switch its color along with the color of all the adjacent towers.

Unlike the other rooms, the Source Generator in this room will be locked behind a barrier. Solving the puzzle by successfully making every single tower green will unlock the barrier and allow the Untempered Magic to be escorted.

Treasure Keep
Represented by a red banner with a jewel symbol.

A set of 4 medium sized, sequential rooms arranged in a square formation, covered in gilded tiles and littered with decorative treasure chests, gold piles, and other riches. Standing on the piles of loose treasure will slow players standing on it and inflict Unstable until they reach stable ground again. The last room is larger than normal and contains the Source Generator.

Cellar
Represented by a red banner with a wine glass symbol.

A large wine cellar roughly shaped like an upside-down U, cluttered with countless crates, barrels, shelves of wine, and alcohol-laden tables.

Study
Represented by a red banner with a book symbol.

A series of rooms with various tables and windows, leading to a small maze of bookshelves. The Source Generator will either be within the maze or on the other side of it. Certain walls of the maze will break in order to clear a path for the Untempered Magic as the Magi-Conductors are linked.

Ice Mages

Fire Mages

Shatters Nobles

Other Enemies

The Central Chamber

A large, vaguely square room consisting of a central platform bordered by the same green carpets found throughout the castle; the platform is made of stone brick walkways arranged in a plus shape, with the space between the walkways being filled by glassy, flowing indigo tiles. Four inactive Magi-Generators are found in the four quadrants of the central platform, and a mysterious puddle of darkness stirs atop a carpeted, diamond-shaped platform in the very center of the room. Once you bring the Untempered Magic from three of the castle wings to the room, activating three of the Magi-Generators, the previously dormant second boss of The Shatters will awaken.

Boss

Minions

The Grand Hall

A large hallway in the castle with eight stone pillars lining the edges, surrounded by a moat of Corruption. The ground is mostly made of cracked stone tiles, and a green carpet bearing the crest of the kingdom extends down the length of the hall, with torches and additional green banners bearing the crest lining the walls. Two inaccessible hallways are present on either side of the hall, where members of the Shatters Royal Guard spawn and enter the hall via bridges to fight players.

The top of the room is initially closed, and the entrance will close after the first objective has been damaged; players must destroy 5 Tablets of the Monarchy which will appear one by one in randomized locations around the hall (except the last two, which appear simultaneously) as the Royal Guards attack, with more and stronger enemies appearing as the Tablets are damaged.

Once 5 Tablets have been destroyed, all Royal Guards will instantly despawn and the way forward will open.

Royal Guard

Other Enemies

The Throne Room

A large square room primarily made of smooth brown tiles. The top and the bottom of the room are covered with red carpet lined with ornate tiles, and a T-shaped green carpet divides the room in half; Corruption will flood the outer edge of the room midway through the boss battle. Two thrones are found at the elevated top of the room: a vacant blue one, and a red one upon which sits the final boss of The Shatters.

Boss

Minions


Drops of Interest

Back to top


Daily Quests

The Shatters is part of the Epic Quest pool from The Tinkerer and has one associated quest.

Name Description Items Needed Reward
The King Defeat the Forgotten King in the Shatters. Mark of the Forgotten KingMark of the Forgotten KingMark of the Forgotten King Royal Epic Quest ChestLucky Clover

Back to top


History

  • The concept for The Shatters was originally drafted by a player named LordShon in the old Wildshadow forums. The original design was heavily modified by the developers for its release.
  • This dungeon was added in Release 18.0 (Dec 2013), initially pre-released in Mystery Boxes, which were first implemented in that release. The Shatters replaced the Tomb of the Ancients as the most challenging dungeon in the game at the time. The Shatters status was later taken by The Nest in 2017.
  • This dungeon was the first to introduce Loot Chests in order for support classes to have a better chance at loot. As of Patch X.32.4.1 (Jan 2020), the chests have been removed, and loot now drops directly from the bosses. The soulbound thresholds are extremely low to compensate.
  • For years since its release, The Shatters gave a laughable amount of fame (approximately 3) for fully clearing the dungeon, which was a source of disdain from players. As of Patch X.15.0 (Jun 2017), enemies and bosses in the dungeon give significant amounts of experience, which made this one of the highest-yield dungeons for fame at the time. Since then, better sources of fame such as the Lost Halls were released.
  • The dungeon portal originally stayed open for 70 seconds, but this was changed to 30 seconds (like most other dungeon portals) in a Patch X.15.0 hotfix to combat a notification exploit.
  • The dungeon was completely reworked in Exalt Version 2.0.2.0, released for Month of the Mad God 2021. The rework was intended to to fix longstanding issues with the dungeon, such as the easily “cheesable” bosses, poor quality loot including low drop rates, chaotic layout, and inconsistent aesthetics.

Back to top


Trivia

  • As of it’s release, the Shatters has the largest XML document of any dungeon in the game, with the publicly visible files for the tiles and objects/enemies alone having a combined total of ~52,000 lines and taking up ~1,400 KB of space.
  • There are several unknown enemies found in the game files for the dungeon. Although they have sprites and coherent XML code, it is currently unknown where they are found or if they are even in the dungeon. They are documented below until their existences are definitively proved or disproved.
  • Many of the decorative objects within the dungeon, especially within the Castle, are references to various things both in and outside of the game.

    • One of the statues in the Alchemy Lab resembles the original sprite of the Twilight Archmage found in the 2012 draft of the dungeon.
    • One of the decorative objects found in the Treasure Keep is an recolored version of the original sprite used for Unbound rings.
    • The puzzle used in the Observatory is a simple lights out puzzle.
    • The paintings in the Living Quarters depict the bosses of the Shatters as well as several other scenes and entities native to the game. Some of the paintings also depict stylized portraits of some of the developers, including one of SaturnZCheery, the artist for the game’s loading screens.
    • A statue of a hooded figure resembling Malus can be found in the Castle.
    • The concept of the unstable ground in the Treasure Keep is lifted from the original concept of “Shattered Tiles” from the draft document.
  • The dungeon is a rich source of lore in the game.
    • The original name for The Shatters is unknown and lost to history.
    • The Shatters was Oryx the Mad God’s original home. Oryx became an esteemed gladiator but later forcibly took over the Realms out to fear of losing his power and respect to others.
    • Chief Beisa, one of Oryx’s four confidants, was also from The Shatters and served as Oryx’s sparring partner before becoming an elite commander of Oryx’s armies.
    • Jon Bilgewater the Pirate King used the Deadwater Docks to illegally smuggle alcohol between the mainland and The Shatters.
    • The Void Entity consumed The Shatters in darkness and corrupted all its inhabitants (particularly The Forgotten King), causing the kingdom to fall into ruin and creating the sea of Corruption that surrounds the area.
    • The Crystal Prisoner is the Forgotten King’s wife and the queen of the Shatters, who escaped to the mainland and was captured by Oryx during the kingdom’s ruination. The second, empty throne in the King’s throne room is almost certainly meant for her.
    • The flavour text of each Kingdom character skin describes the fall of The Shatters to the Void Entity from the perspective of several of its former inhabitants.

Back to top