Blackwing Descent

[Holyssa]

~ Most of these boss posts will contain TankSpot movies, which USUALLY cover 25-man. I would suggest watching the movies regardless, just to get a sneak-peek and 'feel' of what to expect from these guys. The commentary is well worth listening to.

~ I'll try to find 10-man movies where I can. Don't be surprised if some have sh*tty music. >.>

~ If you have any useful links, or strats to help with these fights, don't be shy: let's see them!

Magmaw (Giant Flaming Penis of Doom):

Tankspot post: http://www.tankspot.com/showthread.php?72554-Magmaw

10-man Movie (hunter PoV): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q9xT6h5F30...feature=related

The Orcala-Friendly Version: http://media.mmo-champion.com/images/news/...er/magmawww.jpg

- Many groups suggest using a single tank. However, once the MT is free of his Mangle ability, they take an armor-reduction debuff which makes things more hectic.

[Holyssa]

Omnitron Defense System (The Hulk Hogan Robot Army!):

TankSpot Post: http://www.tankspot.com/showthread.php?725...-Defense-System (VERY long read!)

10-Man Friendly movie (resto shaman PoV):

Wowhead post by the authors of the above vid:

General Boss Information:

*This encounter consists of 4 Mechanical units with unique abilities. Magmatron, Electron, Arcanotron, Toxitron.

*There will only be 2 engaged at a time. It starts off with only 1 active and will have up to 3 for a very short period of time. The order of activation is completely random.

*Each unit has a set of 3 unique abilities that are similar in effect. They each do a single target attack, a type of AoE and a barrier type ability. (More on each below)

Electron

*Single Target Ability - (Electrical Discharge) - Randomly targets a raid member and zaps them with a chain lightning for ~30k damage and jumps to up to three targets for +20% damage each jump. Just spread out a tiny bit for this, however it is very healable and just a nuisance.

*AoE Ability - (Lightning Conductor) - This is an ability that looks like an Ele Shaman's Thunderstorm. It will be cast on a random raid member... Including both tanks and any DPS. When this happens either just have that person move away from the group or just avoid him. It hits everyone within range for ~20k damage per second.

*Shield Ability - (Unstable Shield) - This is his shield ability, and if too much damage is done to him while this is active it will do an empowered Electrical Discharge type thing. It's a raid wiper if this hurts anyone. It's ~60k damage per second to anyone in range.

Toxitron

* Single Target Ability - (Poison Protocol) - When Toxitron casts this, he summons 3 oozes that fixate on random raid members and starts heading their way. If they reach their target without being killed they will explode for ~100k damage to anyone within the explosion. They ARE able to be slowed, however they are NOT able to be stunned. Just slow them and burn them quickly. Targeting includes the offtank. We are unsure if it will target Toxitron's tank, but just be ready for it just in case. (Happened once)

*AoE Ability - (Chemical Bomb) - This ability is cast on a random raid member. It has a diameter of about 25yards. It is a giant green poison cloud which puts a debuff that increases damage taken by 50% on anyone or anything standing in it, including the bosses. Very easy to avoid. Put the bosses in there if possible.

*Shield Ability - (Posion Soaked Shell) - This shield ability, when dealing damage against it, will put a stacking debuff on the player increasing damage done and also placing a DoT on them that stacks and deals ~5k DPS. This is not necessary to complete the fight and just adds extra stress to your healers. We avoided this and just switched targets.

Magmatron

*Single Target Ability - (Acquiring Target/Flamethrower) - This ability creates a gigantic red laser at a target for about 5 seconds. After the timer is over Magmitron will shoot a pillar of flame in the player's direction. Anyone caught in the line of fire will take ~30k damage every second for 4 seconds. When this happens, have that person run away from the raid and just eat it. NOTE: Iceblock, Feign Death, and other mechanics as such will negate the effect.

*AoE Ability - (Incineration Security Measure) - This is just a big AoE ability that must be healed through... I recommend stacking and using all healing abilities to get through it. Does about 16k damage per second to everyone in the raid for 4 seconds.

*Shield Ability - (Barrier) - This shield ability is kind of like a Priest's Power Word: Shield. It will absorb damage until broken, however if this happens, the whole raid will take ~75k damage. Pretty much a raid wiper.

Arcanotron

*Single Target Ability - (Arcane Annihilator) - This ability is an interruptable ability that is cast on a random raid member, including both tanks. It deals ~50k damage to a player. It is imperative that you interrupt as many of these as possible. They are cast about every 4 seconds or so and hurt.

*AoE Ability - (Power Generator) - This ability creates a galaxy looking puddle on the ground. It is similar to the poison cloud, however, anyone standing in it deals 50% increased damage, including the boss. It also regenerates 250 mana per .25 seconds. As many people should stand in this as much of the time as possible.

*Shield Ability - (Power Conversion) - This shield ability only lasts for ~5 seconds. Damage taken during this time will stack an increased damage and reduced cast time buff on Arcanotron. You must keep all interrupters on him at this time and just purge/spell steal the buff.

Overall Strategy:

*This is a fairly complicated encounter with the randomness of the bosses that activate and deactivate.

* When engaging, try and have everyone around the center of the room with the 2 tanks on either side of the center piece where they spawn.

*Try and tank them as close to here as possible, to avoid unwanted movement.

*Coordinate CDs when there are more than 2 active just in case.

*The main raid wiper is DPSing the bosses while they have their shields up. IMMEDIATELY STOP ALL DAMAGE

*Act accordingly to which bosses are up. Stack for Magmitron heals, get in Arcanotron's puddle, move out of gas clouds and DPS the oozes ASAP.

*Just learn each boss' abilities and you'll be set.

Tips:

*Bring very good healers. It is a very healing intensive fight.

*Bring 2 interrupters at least. You NEED this for Arcanotron.

*Use Bloodlust when you can have everyone in Arcanotron's puddle.

[Holyssa]

Maloriak (Starscream, is that you?):

TankSpot: http://www.tankspot.com/showthread.php?73393-Maloriak

10-man Friendly Video (Resto shammy PoV):

Strat:

*Maloriak channels Arcane Storm, which can wipe the raid quickly if not interrupted. Spells like Slow and Curse of Tongues also help here.

*He also uses Remedy on himself, which will need to be dispelled.

Phase 1:

*Red Vial - When Maloriak throws a red vial into the cauldron, everyone in the raid needs to stack up due to Scorching Blast which deals damage to everyone in a frontal cone. The damage is split amongst everyone in it. Along with this he will cast Consuming Flames. When this happens, that raid member needs to move away from the blast zone of his breath to avoid death, and then back in after the debuff dissipates.

*Blue Vial - When Maloriak throws a blue vial into the cauldron, everyone in the raid needs to spread out due to Flash Freeze, a Kel'Thuzad mechanic that chains to anyone close by. It has 5,000 health and must be destroyed before the player can be freed.

*Green Vial - When Maloriak throws a green vial into the cauldron, the vial explodes and everything in the room (Adds, Boss and Raiders) becomes coated in a Debilitating Slime which gets rid of any Growth Catalysts and causes a 100% damage taken increase.

*Phase one will last for 2 cycles of all 3 vials.

Phase 2:

*When Maloriak reaches 25% health, he will enter phase 2.

*During the transition into phase 2, Maloriak will release all of his remaining minions. The two large ones need to be tanked by the off tank.

*Once he has transitioned into phase 2, he will gain 3 new abilities. (Below)

*Fire - He will periodically cast Magma Jets on a random raid member. He will face the target beforehand and this can be strafed out of. It also knock the target into the air, causing fall damage.

*Frost - He will also cast Biting Chill which is an orb summoned below the target and slowly drops to the ground, exploding on impact.

*Poison - Finally, he will cast Acid Nova which will hit the whole raid and do AoE damage. This must simply just be healed through.

Strategy:

*Tank Maloriak close to his cauldron.

*Stack for red, spread out for blue. AoE adds during green.

*Get 9 adds per phase.

*Save Bloodlust for phase 2 and burn him ASAP.

*He has a tight enrage timer so you need to time the second adds to die close to 25% and then burn him.

~ TLDR Version of the Vials in P1:

Red - CLUMP!

Blue - SPREAD!

Green - ADDS!

[Holyssa]

Atramedes (Ray Charles in dragon form!):

TankSpot: http://www.tankspot.com/showthread.php?72723-Atramedes

10-man Friendly (Guess what? it's the shaman again):

Trash Tip from Wowhead:

The trash before Atramedes is rather annoying and took us a wipe or two before we decided to look up the dwarfs abilities and pick a proper kill order, as seen numbered below.

Right side:

1. Spirit of Angerforge - Stoneblood - Purge Hostile effects

2. Spirit of Burningeye - Whirlwind

3. Spirit of Thaurissan - Avatar (+25% dmg)

4. Spirit of Ironstar - Execution

Left side:

1. Spirit of Moltenfist - Thunderclap

2. Spirit of Anvilrage - Stun + high damage (AOE)

3. Spirit of Shadowforge - Chain Lightning

4. Spirit of Corehammer - 100% more damage

The way these guys work is pretty simple. Each mob has a unique ability that will be transferred to the remaining dwarfs upon death. When any dwarf dies, the remaining dwarfs will be healed to full, so you can't use a "burn evenly" strategy. We used two tanks on our trash attempt, first tank pulling the first and third mob slated to die, second tank pulling the second and fourth mob. On both packs ranged should spread out at least 10 yards, especially on the left side due to chain lightning.

On the right side, it's imperative that you switch to Ironstar when he begins casting Execution. He'll bubble himself and begin a 15 second cast targeting one person. If he completes his cast his execution will one shot anyone. After his bubble is burned off an interrupter must do the needful. IIRC his shield has 1m health, so switching quick is pretty important.

Boss strat:

*This boss is a cycling 2 phase encounter. Ground and Air.

*The boss is a blind dragon and therefore uses sound to find his enemies.

*The main mechanics of this fight involve a personal sound meter for everyone in the raid and the 10 Ancient Dwarven Shields around the perimeter of the room which act like gongs. When a shield is hit, it results in a Resonating Clash, at which time, Atramedes will gain Vertigo, casing him to be stunned and take 50% more damage for 5 seconds.

*The abilities he does increases your sound. If you reach 100% sound you WILL die.

Boss Abilities:

>>>Ground Phase:

* You spawn Atramedes by hitting the large gong in the back of the room, and the encounter will start in the ground phase.

*While on the ground he will cast a few different spells.

*The first of which is Modulation. This is a large AoE sonic blast coming from Atramedes to the walls of the room. It cannot be avoided and raises sound by 7, along with dealing damage and spawning Sonar Discs at his tail that head toward the raid. Heal through the Modulation and avoid the discs… they increases sound as well.

*Secondly, he will cast Sonic Breath on a random raid member. This looks like the Flamethrower from the Omnitron fight and when he casts this you need to move in a circular motion around him to avoid being hit. We found it easy to avoid this mechanic by stacking, having the one targeted move counter-clockwise while the rest of the raid takes a step or two clockwise.

*Along with those, he will cast Searing Flame. Here is where you will start to use the gong mechanic. Searing Flame is a raid wiping ability and must be interrupted using a gong ASAP. (Note: you CANNOT prevent him from casting this spell by stunning him prematurely, it merely delays the cast and wastes a gong.)

>>>Air Phase:

*After leaving the ground, Atramedes will remain in the air for ~40seconds. During which all DPS, including melee, can continue to DPS.

*He will cast a few abilities you need to look out for while in the air.

* The first of which is Roaring Flame Breath, an ability that targets a random player and begins to follow them in an attempt to catch them. It speeds up the longer it tracks a target and will kill them in a matter of seconds if it reaches them. You need to use another gong at this time. Once a gong is used, he will ALWAYS track the person who hit the gong, so be ready.

*Along with Roaring Flame Breath, he will also be casting Sonar Bomb, an ability that marks the ground with a small Sonar “void zone.” After a few seconds the bomb will crash in this area, dealing damage and increasing sound. This happens very often and needs to be avoided.

If you successfully survive an air phase, he will come down and P1 will start all over again. Rinse and repeat until dead.

Tips/Strategy:

*Tank him facing the entrance with the ranged stack for healing. Switch sides once the gongs are depleted on one side.

*Have a designated “gonger.” Preferably someone with good mobility that can still DPS. A healer is not recommended.

*Aggro dropping mechanics avoid the Roaring breath.

*Be liberal with the gongs… there are enough to go around and call out if you need one. Rather have 1 less gong than a raid member dead.

[Holyssa]

Chimaeron (DEAR GOD IT BURNSES THE EYES!):

TankSpot: http://www.tankspot.com/showthread.php?72784-Chimaeron

10-man Friendly:

(Yes, I am well aware that nearly everyone is dead by the end of each video, and wheelchair circles aren't to blame. Just read the strat and see why.)

Strat:

General Boss Information:

*This boss is a stationary tank and spank with very few mechanics. (Explained below)

*He hits EXTREMELY hard and must be 2 tanked.

*There is a Bile-o-tron in the room that prevents anyone in the room from dying by an attack that would deal >10,000 damage. Only if their health is at 10,000 or higher.

Boss Abilities/Tactics:

*You find Chimaeron lying on the ground asleep as you enter his chamber. To engage him you want to talk to Finkle Einhorn in the cage behind him.

*The main mechanic of this fight deals with the Bile-o-tron which wanders around the room throughout the fight. While active, it will apply Finkle's Mixture on the raid, while you are above 10,000HP any attack will just reduce you down to 1HP. Therefore you have no reason to heal the raid over 10,000 (Except for one occasion)

*You will need one main tank to take the normal melee hits of Chimaeron. They happen roughly every 5 seconds and deal a ton of damage. However, you only need to keep this tank up past 10,000HP like everyone else.

*The tricky part of the tanking is having to deal with the Double Attack. Fairly often, Chimaeron will gain his double attack buff. Basically this is 2 attacks in quick succession… Roughly 2-3 tenths of a second behind one another. Virtually impossible to predict and time healing. Therefore you will have the off tank taunt when he gains this buff and tank the double attack. He needs to be topped off.

*Throughout the fight, Chimaeron will actively cast Caustic Slime on 2 random raid members. It deals ~280,000 damage to each target (Split amongst those within range), however, while the Bile-o-tron is active, each will be reduced to 1 HP.

*Along with Caustic Slime, Chimaeron will periodically cast Massacre, an ability that will reduce EVERYONE in the raid to 1 HP. When this happens, it weakens the Bile-o-tron. After a few massacres, it will have a System Failure for a short period of time while it Reroutes Power.

*When the Bile-o-tron is inactive, Chimaeron’s heads will begin to Feud with one another rendering him unable to attack for ~30 seconds. While he is feuding however, Caustic Slime will still be cast. (At 15, 25, and 30 seconds into Feud) However, since the Bile-o-tron is inactive, it will kill any raid member instantly. Therefore, during Feud, the raid needs to stack on one another and use ALL healing possible to top each other off because you need to split the damage amongst everyone. He will end Feud with a Massacre at which time the Bile-o-tron will become active again.

*The final mechanic of this fight happens at 20%, in which Chimaeron will enter Phase 2. At this time, Chimaeron will gain a Mortality buff which increases damage taken by him, and places a similar Mortality debuff on the raid members which reduces all healing effect by 99%. Burn him.

TO CLARIFY:

*Break is not a healing taken debuff, however, it is a healing DONE debuff. This is to prevent Death Knight tanks from being completely overpowered in this boss fight. Although it increases damage taken, it's not really anything to worry about since he will only be reduced to 1HP at any given time.

Tips:

*Only heal the raid to 10,000HP, except the Double Attack tank… top him/her off.

*If you have a HPaladin, beacon the MT and spam heal the OT, with help from the other healers.

*Vampiric Embrace is your friend.

* Use Bloodlust at 20%.

~ When boss hits 20%, few things happen. Boss becomes untauntable, will not use massacre/poison bolts/double strike, takes 10% extra damage and ALL healing done is reduced by 99%. This is as simple as it gets as a burn phase, pop heroism, everyone including healers just nuke/kite the boss as much as you possibly can (priests can still shield stuff but it really isn't worth it). Everyone takes 2 hits to die thanks to bot buff still being active, so just nuke the boss down as hard as you can.

[Holyssa]

Nefarian (And his trusty sidekick, zombie Onyxia!):

TankSpot: http://www.tankspot.com/showthread.php?73050-Nefarian

10-man Friendly:

(side note: this guy sounds just like Draegloth!)

Strat (Wowwiki):

Phase One

The encounter begins with an introductory event in which Nefarian (as Lord Victor Nefarius) resurrects Onyxia. He then turns into his dragon form and flies into the air, landing 30 seconds into the fight.

- Before Nefarian lands he will spawn 6/12 (10/25-man) Animated Bone Warriors which can be either kited, CC'd or tanked until they run out of energy and die on their own in this phase.

- Onyxia and Nefarian should be tanked on opposite sides of the room to remove their 100% haste buff Children of Deathwing.

- Onyxia should be damaged down to low health but not killed. This will give you some time to burn Nefarian's health down before the last phase. Onyxia will eventually hit full energy and instantly kill the raid, and every 10% of Nefarian's health adds 25% to her energy charge. You will generally have time to burn Nefarian down to sub-80% before killing Onyxia and ending the phase (the vids recommend 75%-71%).

- Do not let either Dragon breathe on the Animated Bone Warriors as this will break CC, snares and roots and reset their energy to full.

Phase Two

The arena will fill with lava and three Chromatic Prototypes will spawn on each raised pillar of the room. They do not melee. They cast Blast Nova which must be interrupted.

- Assign players to each of the three platforms for phase two. Each platform needs one reliable interrupt for 10-man and two reliable interrupts for 25-man (you will need interrupt rotations on 25). A ranged interrupter is helpful in the beginning of the phase on each platform while everyone is jumping up.

- It is important to spread out around the edge of the platforms in phase 2 as splash damage from Shadowflame Barrage will cause deaths.

- You should try to damage Nefarian below 70% in this phase, survival cooldowns should be used to mitigate the electrocute at 70%.

- The phase will end after the Chromatic Prototypes die or after three minutes.

Phase Three

The lava will subside and Nefarian will land, stay spread out until Nefarian has stopped casting Shadowflame Barrage.

- P3 is like phase one except Nefarian will now cast Shadowblaze Spark, it will always be targeted on the location of the Animated Bone Warriors. It will break CC, snares and roots on the Animated Bone Warriors and reset their energy to full just as the dragons' breath does.

- Since Shadowblaze Spark is always targetted on the Bone Warriors, CC and roots are ineffective. You should have a tank kite the Bone Warriors away from Nefarian and continually move to avoid the Animated Bone Warriors ever regaining energy. They will die after 50 seconds and reset their empowering strikes stacks, this will allow the Bone Warrior tank to survive.

- Both tanks will need to use a survival cooldown to survive Electrocute every 10% of Nefarian's health.

The longer Nefarian takes to die the faster he will cast Shadowblaze Spark, until it is impossible to avoid and the raid dies.

[Kailand]

Thank you for taking the time to post this! Now there is no excuse for people not knowing the mechanics.