The Abyss — the Four-Depth Boss Island of Ove

The Abyss is the rarest event island in Ove: 4 depths stacked on top of each other, with the Warden waiting at the bottom. One team at a time fights its way down. Break a depth's Seal and the ground gives way beneath your army; fell the Warden and everyone who came along wins one of the best items in the game.

Its smaller sibling, the Shallow Abyss, has 2 depths and weaker guards, rises several times a day and pays less.

When it appears

While no Abyss is open, there is a chance every hour that one rises, about 1.5 times a day on average. It is announced on Discord and stays for 4 hours. On the world map it is the island with layered cliffs and rock hanging deep below it, marked with a star inside a triangle pointing down. Every player can see it, new players included.

Claiming the Abyss

Attack its portal. No key is needed. The first attack sent at the portal claims the Abyss for your team, or for you alone if you are not in a team, and starts a 30-minute run.
Nobody else gets in. While your run is on, no other team can attack, spy on or support the Abyss. Spying does not claim it, so you can look before you commit.
Bring your team. Teammates send units in, as support or as attacks, and attack onward from any field your team holds down there, not only from their own. Everyone who sends units in shares the finds.

The Abyss takes no new runs after its 4 hours are up, but a run that is already under way may finish. There is no siege: the claim is your protection, and the run's timer is your limit.

The four depths

Each depth is its own small map. Fight from the portal to the depth's Seal and break it: the ground gives way, and your whole army in the Abyss falls through the broken Seal onto the depth below, which brings its own guards. The view shows the island with everything above cut away, so you can see how deep you are.

**1. The Broken Crust**The surface, cracked open around its Seal.

**2. The Glowroot Hollows**Caverns lit by glowing roots and fungus.

**3. The Ember Deep**Hot rock, cracks full of embers.

**4. The Heart of the Abyss**Amethyst and the Warden on its dais.

Depth	Guards of its Seal	Seal	Relic Cache	Other fields
The Broken Crust	Guard Naki Pangoan	1'800'000	1'200'000	600'000–750'000
The Glowroot Hollows	Elder Spirit Nyxi	3'000'000	1'950'000	1'200'000–1'350'000
The Ember Deep	Athlas Vahloc	4'500'000	2'700'000	1'650'000–1'800'000
The Heart of the Abyss	Athlas Elder Spirit Ranax	12'000'000	3'000'000	2'400'000

Guards are total defense. On the last depth the Seal column is the Warden itself. The shortest way from the portal to a Seal crosses four fields, to the Warden two, so a full run costs about 44 million defense along its cheapest path: more than one strong army can carry, which is why teams go together.

The Warden

The Warden regrows 5% of its guard every 2 minutes in which nobody attacks it. Once you reach the bottom, keep the attacks coming.

Finds along the way

Relic Caches: each depth has two. Whoever takes one finds an item; it shows in their battle report and lands in their inventory.
Broken Seals: every Seal drops an item for everyone who took part in the run.

Finds are Essence Flasks, Mercenary Contracts, sealed artifacts and, more rarely, Forge Embers, Herald's Horns, Hourglasses of Ages and Four-Leaf Charms. The deeper the depth, the larger the contracts and the stronger the artifacts (+20% on the first depth, +35% on the last), and the more often a rare item turns up:

Depth	Rare item from a Relic Cache	Rare item from the Seal
The Broken Crust	20%	33%
The Glowroot Hollows	27%	43%
The Ember Deep	33%	50%
The Heart of the Abyss	38%	56%

Forge Embers only drop for players with an Artifact Forge, Herald's Horns only for players with a site that can host a home-island event. When the run ends, everyone who took part gets one message listing what they found.

The Warden's reward

Fell the Warden and everyone who took part wins one of these, at even odds:

Abyssal Crown

+10% attack and defense in every battle while it is in your inventory, for 7 days. Only one crown counts.

Titan's Hoard

Open it for 3 rare items and a sealed +60% grade 7 artifact that runs 72 hours once you start it.

Then the Abyss collapses: your units on it return home and the island is gone.

The Shallow Abyss

A smaller Abyss with the same rules: 2 depths (the Broken Crust over the Heart, where a lesser Warden waits), one Relic Cache on each, and about 10 million defense along its cheapest path. It rises about 3.4 times a day, stays 3 hours and gives a run 20 minutes. It can be open at the same time as the Abyss, and it is not announced on Discord. On the world map it is marked with a diamond inside a triangle pointing down.

Its Relic Caches and Seal hold the finds of the first two depths of the Abyss. Fell the lesser Warden and everyone who took part wins a sealed +30% grade 6 artifact and one rare item. There is no Abyssal Crown or Titan's Hoard down there, and a cleared Shallow Abyss does not count for Wardenfall.

When a run fails

A run fails when its 30 minutes (20 in the Shallow Abyss) are up, or when your team has no units left in the Abyss and none on the way. Then:

your surviving units, and any still on their way in, return home;
the Abyss seals itself again: it is back at its surface with fresh guards, open for the next team;
your team waits 10 minutes before it can claim it again. Everything you found is yours to keep.

Tips

Spy on the portal first: spying does not start the clock.
Send your army in one big push and keep teammates' reinforcements coming: the clock does not stop between depths.
Mix your units. Each depth leans on different defenders, and the combat types decide how hard your attacks land.
Clear room in your inventory first: a find that does not fit waits in the overflow for 3 days.

See also