I followed the quest path down the middle dungeon and faced this absurd boss fight. I called in a lvl 50 storm friend (I am 50 ice) and we spent an hour beating him (we both died and ported back twice). Would it have been easier if I did the side dungeons? I get a sinking suspicion that i was supposed to do them, and if so I feel dumb.
It's all up to you and how challenging you want the Jotun dual to be. By doing the 2 side portals first, you are able to fight his brothers one at a time (along with their minions, of course), and they will not be there when you go to defeat Jotun.
You will still need to do the 2 side portals (but you can skip the brothers and many of the other fights) if you what to get the yardbird (left portal) or the book (right portal).
Doing the side dungeons to kill the brothers makes it a lot easier. You can also get more items, which equals more money.
You don't have to do all the dungeons at the same time, but there are things you must remember about these dungeons.
1) If someone who has not done the side dungeons enters the hall of valor using the sigils then Jotun's brothers will be there.
2) Someone who has not done the side dungeons can port into the Hall of Valor, BUT you must first pass the doorway up and to the right of the entrance before they port to you.
3) If someone who has not done the side dungeons ports to you after you get past that door, you cannot go back through or Jotun's brothers will be there.
4) If someone does port to you before you pass that doorway then DO NOT enter that doorway until they leave the dungeon. Once they leave you can go through the doorway without the brothers making an appearance.
5) If you enter that doorway and hear a challenge from Jotun, then at least one of his brothers will be with him.
It probably would have been easier but not necessarily better. I defeated Jotun with just storm friends. We all died and ported back about three times, but we got it finished. Btw, his brothers were there. So, yea.
I followed the quest path down the middle dungeon and faced this absurd boss fight. I called in a lvl 50 storm friend (I am 50 ice) and we spent an hour beating him (we both died and ported back twice). Would it have been easier if I did the side dungeons? I get a sinking suspicion that i was supposed to do them, and if so I feel dumb.
No it's not Dumb. Just try it again until you beat it. I suggest taking a life friend and an ice friend and two people good at attacking.