SWTOR The Battle of Ilum Flashpoint Guide

This guide will tell you how to start and complete the Flashpoint, The Battle of Ilum, in any difficulty mode, what achievements you can unlock and the rewards you can earn.

How to Start the Flashpoint and its Story

The Battle of Ilum is the first flashpoint of two in the Ilum story arc. This is a classic “Malgus is causing trouble” story that would find itself repeating again and again. The planet Ilum is an important to the planet as it holds vast reserves of Kyber and Adegan crystals, the crystals used to create lightsabers.

Darth Malgus has decided to remake the Empire in his own image, with him as its new Emperor. Gathering support from various defective Imperials, Mandalorians, mercenaries, and pirates, Malgus seeks to destroy the “weak” Empire and destroy the Republic.

He seeks to use the Adegan crystals on Ilum to power a stealth fleet. Your goal is to defend the planet and secure a ship from Malgus’s stealth fleet.

This guide covers Story Mode, Veteran Mode, and Mater Mode for The Battle of Ilum.

To start the Ilum story arc, you need to complete the three chapters of your class origin story. Once you do, you’ll be able to find an NPC in the promenade around the fleet cantina that will send you to Ilum. For the Republic, this NPC is Lieutenant Ha’laa. For the Empire, this NPC is T9-M6.

If you prefer to get the flashpoint without going through the story arc, you’ll need to travel to Ilum. From there, head to your faction’s Ilum base and use the elevator to go to the lower level. For the Republic, the NPC that grants the flashpoint is DG-93. For the Empire, this NPC is S-K6.

The flashpoint is available in the Activity Finder under the Group tab. You can also obtain it under the Solo tab of the Activities window if you wish to complete this flashpoint alone.

Read our SWTOR Story Progression Guide to learn where this story fits in. The guide will help you experience the game’s narrative in the proper intended order of events and aid and assist you if you are not sure what to do and where to go next.

Bonus Mission: Evening the Odds

For this Bonus Mission, you’ll need to destroy six Turbolaser Batteries. This is easy to do as the Turbolasers are all in the first map you start in. If you’re looking for some extra XP or need Conquest points, this is an easy task to obtain either of those.

Bonus Mission: Crystal Fortress Phases 1 & 2

This Bonus Mission starts when you defeat any enemy in The Battle of Ilum Flashpoint. For phase 1 of this mission, you’ll need to defeat 30 of Malgus’s Forces in the flashpoint. Phase 2 has you defeat another 40 of Malgus’s Forces.

Mini-Boss 1: Gark the Indomitable

Gark the Indomitable is a Gamorrean Captain that has allied with Malgus. He’s not that bad by himself, unfortunately, he’s not alone.

Gark attacks by using his assault cannon to fire a hail of bolts to an area in front of him. He also has access to Concussion Rounds that when fired, will incapacitate his target for eight seconds.

Gark can summon a group of Gamorreans to back him up and attack your group. They are squishy but their damage can add up. Defeat them quickly by using AoE attacks then focus Gark when he’s alone. It shouldn’t take long at all to accomplish.

Veteran Mode Differences

There are no mechanical differences in Veteran Mode. The Gamorreans will hurt a bit more though, so practice some caution.

Master Mode Differences

The adds will add a lot of damage that can easily take out a squishy player. The tank needs to taunt them or use AoE attacks against them as soon as they spawn.

Shortcut to the First Boss

If you’re just looking to breeze through the first map of the flashpoint, mount up and follow the path below. Be sure to hug the walls and wait for the patrolling droids to move out of the way before proceeding. This path should minimize the amount of fights you’ll need to do to reach the first boss.

When you reach Gark, go to the right and behind the crates to work your way around so you don’t aggro him.

First Boss: Drinda-Zel and Velasu Graege

Here you have an Ongree Sorcerer, Drinda-Zel, and a Kaleesh Commander, Velasu Graege. I am going to make this incredibly clear, focus Drinda-Zel first!!!

Drinda-Zel will shoot Force Lightning at her target and stun them for the duration. This leaves that person open to attack from Velasu. He can be interrupted while channeling this lightning so help your party members out by interrupting him.

Once you’ve defeated Drinda-Zel, you need to then focus Velasu. He has an AoE pushback that’ll push away melee characters so be mindful of this. When he has around 50% of his hit points, he’ll summon four turrets to attack your group. Take out these turrets then finish off Velasu.

Veteran Mode Differences

Veteran Mode has no mechanical differences when compared to Story Mode. The two bosses will be tougher overall.

Master Mode Differences

Drinda-Zel gets the ability to leap to a target in Master Mode. They will reset aggro after leaping to a target. The tank will need to use their taunt against Drinda-zel right after they leap to a target. Otherwise there are no other mechanical differences.

The turrets are very deadly in Master Mode. Be sure to take out Drinda-Zel first then Velasu. You don’t want to end up in a situation where you’re being shot at by four turrets while being stunned by Drindra-Zel.

Bonus Mission: Crystal Fortress Phase 3

After you’ve disabled the Security Field and access the crystal mines, you’ll be able to start phase 3 of the Crystal Fortress bonus mission. You need to destroy 10 Crystal Mining Supplies. These are just cubical storage containers that you’ll need to right-click.

You can find these Crystal Mining Supplies in the Adegan Crystal Mines, at the Adegan Crystal Processing, and the Fort Barrow Courtyard.

Mini-Boss 2: Crystal Cutter Droid and Crystal Harvester Droid

At the end of the Adegan Crystal Mines, you’ll encounter two large mining droids. These droids can deal some heavy duty damage if you’re not careful but as a mini-boss, they shouldn’t pose a huge threat overall.

The Crystal Cutter Droid is the bigger threat of the two as it can deal damage with a continuous energy beam, and it has more hit points than the other droid. Use your interrupts against the Crystal Cutter Droid when it fires its energy beam to greatly reduce its damage output.

Veteran Mode Differences

There are no mechanical differences on Veteran Mode.

Master Mode Differences

The Crystal Cutter Droid’s mining beam will hurt a lot more on Master Mode. The tank needs to be prepared to taunt it at a moment’s notice as it will randomly swap targets.

Shortcut to the Second Boss

When you get to the Adegan Crystal Processing map, stick to the left and go past the crystals. Following this path will start a fight with the Imperial Paratroopers at the landing dock. This can’t be avoided as they’ll chase you around, so defeat them as they land.

When you reach the end of the path, climb up the metal slope and jump down and run straight towards the second boss.

Second Boss: Krel Thak

Krel Thak is a Weequay pirate that is full of tricks and will fight dirty to achieve victory. Before you take him on, defeat the two Weequay Sharpshooters flanking him.

If you’re using a melee character, then beware for he may kick you below the belt and stun you. It’s not a fun experience and no one wants a pirate to pilfer their family jewels.

Aside from low blows, Krel Thak can grant himself a shield with a Shield Probe that makes him immune to melee weapon attacks. If you use a melee weapon attack against him while this shield is up, you’ll be knocked back. Look out for the probe droid and blue shimmer on Krel Thak, this shows when his shield is active.

But wait, it gets worse! He can use a Defense Screen Projector that will temporarily grant him 100% bonus Ranged defense, Tech resistance, and Force resistance! While you can deal melee damage to get around this, he often pairs this with his Shield Probe. This in turn makes him completely immune to damage for a bit.

His last trick is that he’ll use a Flash Grenade against his primary target to temporarily incapacitate them. When he does this, a group of Weequay pirates will join the fight. Their combined damage can add up, so defeat them as soon as possible. Wait out or work around Krel Thak’s defenses, take out his backup, and you’ll eventually defeat him.

Veteran Mode Differences

There are no mechanical differences in Veteran Mode.

Master Mode Differences

The adds in Master Mode will deal a lot more damage. The tank needs to taunt them as soon as possible while the DPS burn through them. Krel Thak has a lot more health in Master Mode, so chances are you’ll be kicked below the belt a lot more often. Have fun!

Fort Barrow Courtyard Shortcut

The last big shortcut will be in the Fort Barrow Courtyard. Hug the invisible wall to the left (but don’t fall down a ledge) and work your way to the bridge. This should help you avoid a few unnecessary fights if you’re not doing the bonus mission.

Bonus Mission: Crystal Fortress Final Phase

For the final phase of the Crystal Fortress bonus mission, you’ll need to enter a cave in the southwest part of the Fort Barrow Courtyard map. With this phase active, it should show up on your map. Inside you’ll want to destroy the Auxiliary Generator, but only do so when you’re ready as this will spawn the bonus boss right on top of you.

Optional Bonus Boss: Guid Patriarch

This big boy is your bonus boss for this flashpoint and he will leave a bruise or two. This is a simple tank and spank but there are a couple of mechanics that you should be aware of.

The Guid Patriarch uses AoE attacks so if you’re melee, you might need to pop a medpac to help out your healer. If you’re ranged, stay as far away as you can to avoid the area damage. If you’re a tank, lure him to a wall and keep your back against that wall. He’ll knock you into the air and reset aggro, so you’ll need to use your taunt immediately after you get up.

Spank and tank until he can be spanked no more.

Veteran and Master Mode Differences

There are no mechanical differences in Veteran Mode or Master Mode. The Guid Patriarch just gets much stronger depending on the difficulty.

Mini-Boss 3: Commander Folex

Commander Folex and his group aren’t that bad once you know who to focus. Defeat the Forsaken Sith Marauder first as they can Force Choke you. Defeat the adds, then defeat Commander Folex. Commander Folex can stun you by carbonizing you, so you want to take out the Marauder first so you don’t have to deal with two sets of stuns.

Veteran and Master Mode Differences

There are no mechanical differences for this fight on Veteran or Master Mode.

Final Boss: Darth Severin

Darth Severin is both very simple yet so very annoying. Tanks and healers can have a hard time keeping up with this particular fight, so keep out for the following mechanics.

The first thing you want to do is defeat his Voss-ka ally, Queneth Li. He’s just extra DPS that you don’t need to take and it’ll make the fight simpler. Darth Severin will throw Adegan crystals at random party members, so it can be hard to predict who to heal. Group up together to use any AoE heals you may have to have an easier time healing.

Darth Severin will cloak out throughout the battle, becoming invisible and resetting aggro. As soon as he reappears, he’ll stun a random group member and attack them. If you’re a tank, taunt him as soon as he reappears so he can attack you.

Darth Severin uses a lot of channeled abilities when he’s not hurling crystals at you. You can use your interrupt to cancel these abilities and reduce his damage output. Be sure to interrupt his ability, Force Explosion. If casted successfully, he’ll stun the entire group.

So long as you follow these tips, you should survive and defeat Darth Severin without any issues.

Veteran Mode Differences

There are no mechanical differences on Veteran Mode.

Master Mode Differences

Darth Severin cloaks out a lot more often in Master Mode. This means he’ll end up chucking crystals at random people more often with the tank being unable to do anything about it. Since he’ll hit a lot harder in Master Mode, this will put more pressure on the healer.

Group up for AoE heals and be sure to interrupt Darth Severin when he’s casting his Force Explosion ability. If you’re all stunned from Force Explosion, he’ll heavily damage or take out a party member while they’re stunned.

Achievements for The Battle of Ilum

The majority of the achievements for this flashpoint are for defeating the bosses 1 time, 10 times, and 25 times. Though here are two that grant item rewards:

Defeat Darth Severin (Veteran Mode)

Elite: Battle Won (Master Mode)

Decoration Drop

The bosses in The Battle of Ilum Flashpoint can drop the Large Crystal Formation (Purple) decoration. If you complete The Battle of Ilum on Story Mode, you’ll have a guaranteed chance to get this decoration once you finish the flashpoint. This decoration will fit in a Medium or Large hook.

This is a fantastic crystal to have as a decorative piece for an office, museum, or in a Kyber Crystal cave. If you have the Bloom feature enabled, this crystal will be illuminated.

This concludes my guide to The Battle of Ilum Flashpoint in SWTOR. You can find more SWTOR Flashpoint Guides here on VULKK.com. For anything else, a great starting point is our SWTOR Guides Master Catalog!