RazorGore great walkthrough

[katakorinthia]

.. Has very good description on what each class is to do too. check it out will help you familiarize yoruself with the fight..

Posted 03 November 2005 04:08 PM Hide Post

The Razorgore the Untamed Encounter

The Razorgore encounter is fairly complicated, and requires every member of every class to fulfill a specific role, with a minimum of mistakes, if we are to succeed and emerge victorius. It is more chaotic than any previous endgame encounter up until this point, and presents a set of challenges completely unlike anything you will have seen elsewhere in the World of Warcraft up to this point.

Unfortunately, this complexity means that the full writeup on this encounter, which follows, is long! Apologies in advance, but you'll have to blame Blizzard for this one.

The Environment

The Razorgore encounter takes place in the first room of Blackwing Lair. There are no trash mobs to clear before you may begin the encounter; instead, you may immediately start the encounter as soon as the raid group has zoned in and prepared. The room itself is a large rectangle. For simplicity, we refer to the direction you are facing when you first zone into Blackwing Lair as "north". Thus, the left-hand side of Razorgore's room as you enter it is referred to as "west", and the right-hand side is referred to as "east".

Raised platforms are located in the middle of both the east and west ends of the chamber. Razorgore the Untamed starts on the eastern platform, and the Orb of Command is located on the western platform. The Orb of Command is protected by 3 non-boss orcs: Grethok the Controller, and 2 Blackwing Guardsmen.

Spaced along the northern and southern walls are eight semi-enclosed "cubby holes" (2 adjacent to each corner of the chamber), which you may walk through freely if you choose. All of the mobs which spawn during the Razorgore encounter do so in one of these "cubbies".

Spread throughout the chamber, on the ground level as well as on top of the raised platforms, are a total of 30 large eggs.

At the northern end of the chamber is a gate which starts off closed, and opens only once Razorgore has been killed. At the southern end of the chamber is a gate which starts off open, and closes when the Razorgore encounter is initiated. It remains closed for the duration of the encounter, opening either when Razorgore has been killed or when the encounter has reset following a wipe.

The Phases - Overview

The encounter breaks down into two phases. During Phase 1, we must mind control Razorgore the Untamed via use of the Orb of Command, and force him to destroy all 30 of the eggs in the chamber, while surviving a continuous onslaught of Blackwing Mages, Blackwing Legionnaires, and Dragonkin that spawn in at regular intervals. Once this has been accomplished, Phase 2 begins with Razorgore healing back to full health and all of the other remaining mobs vanishing, at which point we must kill Razorgore himself.

Furthermore, Phase 1 is broken down into 3 sub-phases, as follows:

The Pull (1a) - We pull Grethok the Controller and his two Blackwing Guardsmen down off of the western platform, while our designated orb controller rushes into position to take control of Razorgore. Grethok and the Guardsmen are quickly dispatched while the controller begins destroying eggs, and then the raid group splits into 4 corner control groups in preparation for the next sub-phase.

Corner Control & Kiting (1b) - 30 seconds after the encounter starts, Orcs and Dragonkin will begin spawning at regular intervals in each corner of the chamber. Each corner is assigned a control group that kills all Orc Mages that spawn in their corner, while tapping, CC'ing, or tanking all Orc Legionnaires that spawn in their corner as well. All Dragonkin are kited by designated hunters, or CC'd until they can be picked up and added to a hunter's existing train. As many Legionnaires as possible are kited by designated warriors.

Chaos (1c) - At the beginning of the last Razorgore control period, when anywhere from 4 to 8 eggs remain in the chamber, Razorgore's mass-aggro-generation ability Fireball Volley will be used to disrupt all pre-existing CC methods and draw aggro to Razorgore from all of the remaining mobs in the chamber. A combination of AoE fear, slow, and snare abilities are used by every character with access to these abilities to sow chaos throughout the room. These abilities, possibly with an additional Fireball Volley, are used to minimize the damage sustained by Razorgore, and by the raid, while the last few eggs are destroyed.

Phase 1a - Details

The raid gathers and buffs just inside (north) of the southern gate. Once buffs are applied, the entire raid group except for the designated orb controller moves into the area between the two southwestern cubbies. This places them directly south of Grethok and the Orb platform. The designated orb controller moves into the center of the chamber, as close as possible to the Orb platform without aggroing Grethok. Nobody should be anywhere near Razorgore or his platform.

When the raid is ready, Grethok is range pulled down off the platform. His Guardsmen adds are sheeped when the pull occurs. The orb controller rushes directly into position on the ground floor, snug up against the orb platform, and takes control of Razorgore; it is possible to manipulate the orb while standing on the ground floor, not only from on top of the platform.

Grethok the Controller has an AoE slow ability, along with a single-target mind control. He is DPSed down rapidly, followed by the two Guardsmen. Each Guardsman should be broken out of sheep by a warrior when the previous target has been reduced to 50% health or below. Avoid AoE and multi-target attacks that might disrupt the sheep effect prematurely.

Once these three orcs are killed, the raid will split up into four control groups (see below), and each group will immediately head to its assigned corner.

The first wave of Mages, Legionnaires, and Dragonkin spawns 30 seconds after the encounter begins. If the initial three orcs can be killed quickly enough, everybody will drop out of combat before the first wave arrives, so that individuals may top off their health and mana reserves by eating or drinking in the intervening seconds. Similarly, if any unlucky individuals are killed by Grethok or a Guardsman, they may be rezzed by priests or paladins during this respite.

Phase 1b - Details

The typical raid composition for the Razgorgore encounter is as follows: 4 Druids, 5 Hunters, 6 Mages, 6 Rogues, 5 Paladins, 5 Priests, 4 Warlocks, and 5 Warriors. This raid is further split up into 4 corner control groups, as follows:

Each corner has 1 member of each class.

The eastern corners (NE and SE) have an additional mage each, while the western corners (NW and SW) have an additional rogue each.

The remaining 4 raid members (1 Hunter, 1 Paladin, 1 Priest, and 1 Warrior) are each placed into a separate corner, and have special tasks during Phase 1b (see below).

The corner control groups are organized by party on the raid display. Parties 1 and 3 (on the top-left of the raid display) are assigned to the NW corner. Parties 2 and 4 (top-right) are assigned to the NE corner. Parties 5 and 7 (bottom-left) are assigned to the SW corner. Parties 6 and 8 (bottom-right) are assigned to the SE corner.

Once mobs begin spawning in the chamber, they will arrive at a rate of 1-2 per corner every 15 seconds, until the overall mob population cap (approx. 40) has been reached. Generally speaking, once a mob spawns in it will head directly towards and up onto one of the two raised platforms, after which it will stop, turn and acquire a target to attack via direct LoS. Occasionally a mob that spawns will head for and attack Razorgore, but this occurs infrequently. The Dragonkin population is capped at approx. 12 mobs, but the population of Legionnaires and Mages is limited only by the overall cap.

The goal of this sub-phase is to kill all Orc Mages that spawn, kite all Dragonkin, and CC or kite as many Legionnaires as possible. Legionnaires should be tanked and/or killed during this phase *ONLY AS NEEDED*.

Orc Mages are physically weak and boast the least amount of armor and HP of the 3 types of spawns. They have a ranged Fireball attack that hits for ~1-2k of damage, and an instant Arcane Explosion that hits for ~600-800. They are susceptible to all forms of CC, snares, and slowing effects that affect humanoids.

Orc Legionnaires are melee mobs, with decent armor and HP. They have single-target and cleave melee attacks, and a special melee attack that does large amounts of damage to Dragonkin. As such, it is important to keep Legionnaires from attacking Razorgore excessively during Phase 1c. They are susceptible to all forms of CC, snares, and slowing effects that affect humanoids.

Dragonkin are melee mobs, with good armor and a large amount of HP. They have vicious melee attacks. They are susceptible only to sleep (via druid hibernation or Razorgore's "Calm Dragonkin" ability), fear, and a hunter's Scatter Shot, but cannot be otherwise slowed or snared.

Each class and role has a set of specific tasks to undertake during this phase:

Druids - Each druid should hibernate the second Dragonkin that spawns in his corner, keeping it hibernated until a kiting hunter is able to pick it up and add it to his existing train of mobs. Once a hunter wakes up a hibernated Dragonkin, the druid should prepare to hibernate the third Dragonkin that spawns in his corner, and so on. Once Dragonkin stop spawning, druids should reserve their hibernate ability to be used defensively on any loose, unkited Dragonkin that enter their corner. Druids should heal as necessary to keep members of their corner alive, but must be aware of the dangers of pulling aggro as a result.

Dragonkin that are currently being kited by a hunter should *NOT* be hibernated.

Hunters - Each corner's assigned hunter should apply a hunter's mark on the first Dragonkin that spawns in his corner, then aggro that Dragonkin via a combination of max-rank Distracting Shot, Arcane Shot, and/or Serpent Sting. The hunter should then kite that Dragonkin across the chamber, up and onto a raised platform, and then back down and across to the opposite platform. When the hunter arrives back at his assigned corner, he should acquire any Dragonkin that is slept there as a target, apply hunter's mark to indicate that he will be adding it to his kiting train of mobs, and then wake and aggro it through the abilities mentioned above.

Kiting hunters should note that Scatter Shot *does* affect Dragonkin and may be used as a last resort. Kiting hunters should all have the Minor Run Speed Increase enchant applied to a set of boots for use during this encounter.

One hunter will be designated to act as the targeter/assist for Razorgore's sleep ability (see below).

Mages - Mages should kill Orc Mages that spawn in their corner, and sheep Legionnaires that spawn there. Orc Mages may be pulled from range via use of Counterspell, as needed. Legionnaires that are sheeped should be kept sheeped until one of the kiting Warriors is able to break the sheep and add it to his existing train of mobs. Each time a mage's sheeped Legionnaire is added to a warrior's train, that mage should try to find a new Legionnaire target in his corner that is not being kited, to sheep in a similar fashion. Mages should also make use of their instant attacks to quickly "tap" Orc Mages and Legionnaires that spawn in their corner, but might otherwise escape to a different area of the chamber if they are not attacked.

Legionnaires that are currently being kited by a Warrior should *NOT* be sheeped.

Paladins - Paladins are the primary healers during the entirety of Phase 1, and should strive to keep all members of their corner alive, along with all kiting hunters and warriors who will be moving around the whole chamber during this phase. Each corner will be assigned one Paladin to act as primary healer for that corner. One Paladin will also be assigned to "float" from corner to corner paying special attention to kiters (both Hunters and Warriors). Paladins may use Blessing of Protection as needed to save a healer in his corner, who would otherwise be in extreme danger due to a buildup of healing aggro.

Priests - Priests assigned to each corner should assist in keeping the members of their corner, as well as kiters, alive for the entirety of Phase 1. Priests should rely upon a combination of shields and direct healing to minimize their exposure to healing aggro during Phase 1. For a similar reason, the best place for Priests to stand during P1 is in between the two "cubbies" in their corner of the chamber. Priests should use Fade and Psychic Scream defensively, to keep themselves and the other members of their corner alive.

The two priests assigned to the west side of the chamber should keep the Razorgore controller covered with a shield for the duration of Phase 1. This will help reduce disruption suffered by the controller whenever he might be damaged by AoE effects, such as cleave and arcane explosion.

One priest will be designated as an out-of-combat rezzer. This priest should stay at the absolute north or south of the chamber, right up against one of the closed gates, to remain out of combat for as long as possible during P1. He should rez those who die during this Phase, for as long as he is able to remain out of combat. When he is eventually forced into combat, this priest should act as a wandering healer, paying special attention to healing kiting warriors and hunters.

Rogues - The rogues assigned to each corner should kill all Orc Mages that spawn there, and help in tapping Legionnaires that spawn and are otherwise un-CC'd, to prevent them from escaping to another area of the chamber. As mentioned before, Legionnaires should only be killed when no Mages are available as kill targets, when no CC methods are available to CC the Legionnaires, and when it is otherwise unavoidable. One rogue in each corner will be assigned to the MT display, so that the other members of that corner control group may easily assist those rogues to kill Orc Mages as well.

Warlocks - The warlock assigned to each corner should assist in killing Orc Mages that spawn there. Warlocks should use succubi pets for Phase 1, and they should use their pets' seduction abilities to assist in CC'ing Legionnaires, which may then be picked up by the designated kiting warriors. Warlocks should use their instant attacks and seduction to help ensure that all Orcs which spawn in each corner are tapped, before they may escape to another area of the chamber. Warlocks should reserve their single-target and AoE fear abilities during Phase 1b for defensive use, to protect the members of their corner (especially healers) only when absolutely necessary.

Beware the fact that the use of fear can disrupt the efforts of hunters and warriors to kite Dragonkin and Orc Legionnaires, respectively.

Warriors - The two warriors assigned to the western corners should gather up and tank as many un-CC'd Legionnaires as possible. The two warriors assigned to the eastern corners should attack the first Legionnaire that spawns in their corner and then begin to kite it, using Piercing Howl, AoE attacks, and AoE threat-generation abilities (such as Demoralizing Shout) to keep aggro as they move clockwise from corner to corner. As each kiting warrior arrives in a new corner where CC'd Legionnaires are present, the warrior should break and aggro one or more of those Legionnaires, adding them to his existing train of mobs. Eventually, each kiting warrior should have a very large kiting train, possibly with 10+ Legionnaires included in each.

One warrior will be designated to control Razorgore (see below).

Razorgore Assist - The hunter assigned as Razorgore Assist should move to the center of the chamber during Phase 1b, constantly scanning the four corners and searching for any loose, unkited Dragonkin, or any Dragonkin that have developed aggro on a raid member aside from the designated hunter kiters. Each time the Assist has targeted such a mob, he should indicate this over TS and use a special "assist me!" macro to indicate to the Razorgore Controller that the Assist's current Dragonkin target should be slept by Razorgore at the earliest opportunity. The macro can take the following form:

quote:

/t RazorgoreController Assist meh! Sleep mah target!!!

/cast Scorpid Sting(Rank 1)

/script SpellStopCasting("Auto Shot");

which will "mark" the target in question with a min-rank Scorpid Sting to indicate that it will be slept by Razorgore, while preventing the Assist himself from disrupting any CC on the target.

The Assist may also use this ability to extend the effective duration of the sleep effect placed on any Dragonkin by a druid, allowing druids more breathing room as a result.

Razorgore Controller - The Razorgore controller must control Razorgore, forcing him to destroy all of the eggs in the chamber one by one. The controller does so by using the Orb of Command. Each use of the Orb of Command has a duration of 90 seconds and is a channeled effect, so damage taken by the Controller will shorten the time remaining on the channelling bar. While he is controlled, Razorgore can use 4 special abilities: Destroy Egg, Calm Dragonkin, Fireball Volley, and Cleave. Cleave is the only ability that is never used by the Controller.

Destroy Egg is a short-range, untargetted ability that destroys one nearby egg. It has a 3-second cast time (during which Razorgore must be stationary) and a 7-second cooldown. Typically, it should be possible to destroy 7-9 eggs during each control period as a result.

Calm Dragonkin is a long-range, targetted ability that puts a single Dragonkin to sleep for 30 seconds. It is an instant cast, and thus it is possible to sleep 1-2 Dragonkin in between destroying each pair of eggs in sequence, if used on targets that in range and in LoS while Razorgore is being moved to the next egg.

Fireball Volley is a long-range, untargetted ability that affects all (or nearly all) of the Orc and Dragonkin mobs in the chamber on every use. Each will be hit for a fireball doing ~1000 damage, disrupting any existing CC, and generating a large amount of additional hate aimed at Razorgore. This ability is used once or twice during Phase 1c to draw aggro from all the mobs in the chamber onto Razorgore, and is *NOT* used before then.

To simplify the use of Razorgore's Calm Dragonkin ability, the Controller should make a macro to assist the designated hunter and immediately cast the Calm Dragonkin ability. It can be of the following form:

quote:

/assist RazorgoreAssist

/script CastPetAction(5);

/t RazorgoreAssist Your target is slept!

If desired, the Controller may also make macros to use the Destroy Egg and Fireball Volley abilities; to do this, replace the numeral 5 in the CastPetAction() call with a 4 or 6, respectively.

The Controller must destroy eggs as his first priority, and calm dragonkin (when a target is indicated by the Assist) as a second priority. Ideally, the Controller should destroy 8-9 eggs during each of the first 3 control periods, and thus should begin the 4th control period with 4 to 6 eggs remaining. When each control period ends, Razorgore will aggro onto the Controller, so the Controller may wish to move Razorgore away just before each period ends, for safety.

NOTE: regardless of your assigned task, all players should keep in mind that it is better to kite and survive than stand still and die during Phase 1. If you have unshakeable aggro from enemy mobs, and the only way to survive is to begin kiting, do so!

Also, the AddOn AggroAlert can be very useful during Phase 1b portion of this encounter, because it provides a visible indicator of who your current target is attacking. This can allow players to better judge when a Dragonkin is actually "loose" and/or is aggro'd onto someone aside from a designated kiter.

Phase 1c - Details

If the controller begins his 4th control period "on pace" with 4-6 eggs remaining, having suffered negligible disruptions to that point, then his first action at the beginning of this phase will be to use Razorgore's Fireball Volley. This should break all CC (sheep, sleep, fear, etc.) on every mob in the chamber, and aggro them all onto Razorgore, whereupon they will all make a direct beeline towards Razorgore. After using the Fireball Volley ability, the Controller must continue to move to and destroy eggs as before.

Once this chaotic sub-phase begins, it becomes the duty of every class member to keep Razorgore alive, to survive themselves, and to disrupt the enemy mobs in any way possible. Note that these tasks overlap in many ways.

To keep Razorgore alive, enemy mobs should be prevented from attacking him as much as possible. This can be accomplished via the use of AoE fear effects, snares, slowing effects, and so on.

Warriors should be organized into a specific rotation for the use of Intimidating Shout. Each warrior, in turn, should run towards Razorgore and use his Shout, sending all of the mobs near Razorgore running scared in all directions. Combined with Piercing Howl, each use of this ability can provide a significant amount of time where the enemy mobs cannot attack Razorgore at all.

Priests and Warlocks should use their AoE fear abilities in a a similar, though more limited, fashion.

Hunters should (if possible) Feign Death and set a Frost Trap at this point, and use Scatter Shot as possible to disrupt enemy Dragonkin.

Rogues should stun and otherwise disrupt mobs' mobility.

Mages should make liberal use of Blink, Frost Nova, Cone of Cold, and Blizzard to slow enemy Orcs.

Paladins should be ready to use Blessing of Protecion on Razorgore as necessary to keep him alive, as the last eggs in the chamber are destroyed.

Once the final egg is destroyed, Razorgore heals immediately to full health, all of the remaining Orcs and Dragonkin in the chamber will quickly vanish, and Razorgore will make a beeline for the Controller who broke the last egg, starting Phase 2.

Phase 2 - Details

During this Phase, Razorgore himself must be killed. This is a fairly straightforward task involving tanking, healing stamina, and (only) ranged DPS.

As soon as this Phase begins, the Controller will move immediately to the SW corner of the chamber, to wait for Razorgore. *EVERY* other player *MUST* get out of the SW corner when this occurs, and should stay well clear of Razorgore as he moves to attack the Controller.

Once Razorgore has engaged the Controller, the fight begins in earnest. Razorgore has the following attacks and abilities:

A standard melee attack.

A melee cleave.

A warstomp AoE ability that knocks down targets in melee range. This ability also temporarily reduces the aggro on those whom it knocks down.

Conflagration. This frontal cone AoE attack combines a nasty, unremovable DoT with a confusion effect. Each tick of the DoT also affects nearby friendly targets who do not have the DoT themselves, meaning that anybody near a conflagg'd target will be hurt also. Conflagg'd targets are completely ignored by Razorgore for the duration of the effect. When it wears off, their aggro level is restored immediately.

Fireball Volley. Approximately every 20 seconds, Razorgore will use his Fireball Volley attack, which will affect most (if not all) enemies within a moderate range (~40 yards) that are within LoS of Razorgore. This volley does ~1k damage. To avoid the effects of the Volley, players can break LoS with Razorgore by moving into a cubby, behind a platform, around a corner, etc. Players can also simply back away out of its maximum range.

Razorgore is untauntable.

To effectively fight Razorgore, two MTs must be engaged with him at all times. The current aggro-leader MT should be in front of Razorgore, and the secondary MT should be behind him. Each time Razorgore uses Conflagration on the current MT, he will immediately turn around and switch targets to the secondary MT. When the original MT is no longer congflagg'd, Razorgore may either switch back to the original MT, or (depending on how close the MTs were on his aggro list before the conflag) stay on the secondary MT.

It is vital that the MTs stay on opposite sides of Razorgore so that they cannot both be hit by Conflagration simultaneously, and so that when one is conflagg'd, his AoE does not affect the other.

Because Razorgore is untauntable and has aggro-reducing abilities, sufficient time must be allowed at the beginning of P2 for the MTs to build up aggro, before the rest of the raid attacks. Soulstones and combat rezzes should be used at this point, and healers or bandages should be used to top off players' health. Everybody except the MTs should stay at maximum effective range for their abilities, to avoid being affected by Conflagration.

Once sufficient time as been allowed for the MTs to build aggro on Razorgore, the raid will burn him down using ranged attacks *ONLY*. The only characters that should ever be within melee range of Razorgore should be the MTs and possibly paladins assigned to apply Judgements; it is too dangerous for rogues or other melee classes to stay in melee range, due to the unpredictability and AoE damage effects of anybody who is conflagg'd, especially combined with the knockdown effect of Razorgore's Warstomp.

Summary

The Razorgore the Untamed encounter is far and away the most complicated and difficult encounter you will experience to date in World of Warcraft. Every participant has a job to do, and must play at the top of their game with a minimum of mistakes.

Once the initial pull has been made, all of the mobs that spawn in a continuous stream must be killed, kited, or CC'd to keep the raid safe for as long as possible. All the while, Razorgore the Untamed will be mind controlled and forced to destroy the eggs littered throughout this chamber of Blackwing Lair.

Once all of the eggs are destroyed, Razorgore himself must then be killed.

And if everybody keeps their focus and accomplishes their tasks, the end result: PROFIT!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kieryn, 12 January 2006 09:16 PM

[Amahli]

Seems like maybe a few things would change with Shamans instead of Pallys though, since that's based on Alliance.