Warcraft: Dragon Soul Encounter Recap

As a raider returning to WoW since my hiatus, I thought it would be useful to write a post that simply lists each encounter along with the normal and heroic strategies associated with each. However, rather than writing a long-winded post specifically detailing encounters that have been current for some good time now – let’s just do quick recaps of each and leave it at that.

Morchok

• Stay within 25m of the boss for the duration of the encounter.
• Two phases alternate the duration of the encounter:
  • Crystal Phase (~1 minute)
    • Tanks stand on top of each other to absorb Stomp.
    • Tank swap at 4x stacks of Crush Armor.
    • If targeted by a Resonating Crystal, you should immediately stack on it.
  • Black Blood Phase (30 seconds)
    • Everyone should immediately run out behind one of the rocks that will have fallen to avoid Black Blood of the Earth.
    • Ranged can position themselves so they can continue DPS’ing during this phase.
• Heroic
  • Crystal Phase
    • Boss splits into two at 90%
      • Tank bosses apart from each other
      • Crush Armor no longer occurs – no tank swap necessary.
    • Split into two groups – ensure you’re always within 25m of your boss.
      • Tank should move their boss to accomodate for Resonating Crystal location.
      • A designated melee should soak Stomp with the tank.

Yor’sahj

• Every 75 seconds or so, the boss will spawn 3x oozes at areas around the perimeter of the room.
  • Kill Priority = Purple > Yellow > Green
  • Based off which two are allowed to reach the boss, a different strategy will apply.
    • Instead of listing out every combination, simply visit Icy Veins for a good recap of each.
• Heroic
  • 4x oozes will spawn instead of 3x.

Zon’ozz

• Two phases alternate the duration of the encounter:
  • Ping Pong Phase
    • Bounce the ball between the ranged and melee group.
    • After about 7 bounces, let the ball hit the boss. This will trigger the Black Phase.
    • Disrupting Shadows must be dispelled – make sure the person is topped off first.
  • Black Phase (30 seconds)
    • Stationary burn phase – stack on boss and blow cooldowns.
• Heroic
  • Adds spawn during the Black Phase:
    • Kill priority = Flail > Eye
    • After the Flail and Eye are dead, continue attacking the boss.
      • The boss should be tanking on top of the claw, as to let it die from cleave damage (minimal damage output from the claw)

Hagara

• Alternates between main phase and one of two phases.
  • Main Phase
    • Tank should back out when boss casts Focused Assault to avoid taking damage.
    • DPS should break Ice Tombs immediately.
    • If targeted by Ice Lance, be sure you’re not next to anyone.
      • If a melee is targeted, a ranged or healer should intercept and soak it.
  • Lightning Phase
    • Kill the elemental.
    • Chain the lightning to each of the 4x Crystal Conductors around the perimeter of the platform.
  • Ice Phase
    • Everyone should run to the perimeter of the platform.
    • Avoid Ice Waves – move with them as the 4x waves rotate around the room.
    • Avoid Icicles – these are blue circles on the ground. Don’t stand in them.
    • DPS Frozen Binding Crystals.
• Heroic
  Main Phase
  • Focused Assault cannot be avoided.
  • Ice Lance applies a stacking debuff that increases damage taken.
  • • Added debuff, Frostflake, that reduces movement speed every second.
      • Affected player should immediately move to the edge of the platform to be dispelled.
      • Once dispelled, it drops a pool on the ground that slows any players in it – just avoid walking through it.
  • Lightning Phase
    • Storm Pillars will spawn and explodes 3 seconds later.
      • These should be avoided or healed through if necessary.
  • Ice Phase
    • Added debuff, Frostflake, that reduces movement speed every second.
      • Affected player should immediately move to the edge of the platform to be dispelled.
      • Once dispelled, it drops a pool on the ground that slows any players in it – just avoid walking through it.

Ultraxion

• Stack up and DPS your little hearts away.
  • If affected with Fading Light, use Heroic Will just before it falls off.
• When the boss casts Hour of Twilight, everyone except one designated soaker should use Heroic Will just before he finishes casting.
• Heroic
  • Fading Light now affects the tank and two other players, rather than one.
  • Must have 2x soakers for Hour of Twilight, rather than one.
  • When a player soaks Hour of Twilight, they cannot soak another for 2 minutes.
    • Create a rotation for swapping soakers, along with cooldowns.

Blackhorn

• Phase One
  • When Twilight Onslaught occurs – large purple void zone – everyone should immediately stack in it.
  • Players should also stack in the smaller void zones, Twilight Barrage.
    • 2-3 players per small void zone will suffice – preferably ranged and healers.
  • Burn down Twilight Sappers immediately.
    • These should be snared to increase burn time.
  • Ranged DPS should kill Drakes.
  • Melee DPS should kill Dreadblades and Slayers.
    • Tank should face these away from the raid.
    • Dreadblades perform Blade Rush, targeting a player and damaging anyone in their path to that player.
      • Players should just strafe out of the way when this occurs.
• Phase Two
  • Phase two begins when all Drakes are killed.
  • Ranged should finish burning the boss’s drake, Goriana – she leaves at 25%.
    • Goriana will continue to cast Twilight Flames until she departs.
      • These are large flame circles – don’t stand in them.
  • Melee should DPS the boss.
  • The boss stacks Devastate on the tank, a debuff that requires a tank swap at 2x stacks.
  • Casters should remain over 10 yards from the boss at all times, as to avoid getting silenced by his Disrupting Roar.
  • He also casts Shockwave, a frontal cone that deals damage and stuns for 4 seconds.
    • He may randomly face the raid before doing this – so just spread around the boss and strafe out of the way accordingly.
• Heroic
  • Fire patches will randomly spawn on the ship – don’t stand in them.
  • Phase One
    • Soaking Twilight Barrage places a 15-second debuff increasing damage taken by 50% – this can stack.
      • Just make sure the debuff falls off before you soak another.
  • Phase Two
    • Goriana will land on the ship at 80% and must be tanked.
      • Keep in mind – tanks will still have to swap to handle the boss’s Devastate debuff.
      • Once on the ground, all DPS should focus on Goriana.
      • She will cast Twilight Breath, a frontal cone AoE – so face away from the raid.
      • She will also cast Consuming Shroud on a player, causing all healing received to damage the raid.
        • Stacking and AOE healing is the best way to handle this.

Spine of Deathwing

• Kill 3 of the 4 Corruptions.
• Then everyone stack in an empty hole where a Corruption used to be.
  • This will force a barrel roll and cause all spawned adds to fall off.
  • Standing in the empty hole will grip all players so they don’t fall off during the barrel roll.
• The idea is to get the Hideous Amalgamation add to 9x stacks of Absorbed Blood.
  • Absorbed Blood is stacked on it by killing Corrupted Blood adds, then dragging the Hideous Amalgamation through the pool they drop after death. Using cleave damage helps.
  • Be sure to only kill 9x Corrupted Bloods, as killing more is just wasted DPS
    • The tank should just eat their damage and call out for a barrel roll when it becomes too much.
  • Once the Hideous Amalgamation reaches 9x stacks of Absorbed Blood, it should be positioned close to one side of the plate and quickly killed.
    • It will then begin casting Nuclear Blast – everyone should be 10 yards away to avoid damage.
  • After Nuclear Blast, the plate will lift and Burning Tendons will be exposed.
    • Everyone should immediately blow all cooldowns and burn it.
    • Once it dies, the plate will fly off and you will rinse/repeat.
  • After the plate flies off, two more Corruptions will be exposed.
    • You’ll want to burn one and DPS the other until 80%, then leave it – to stop the Fiery Grip mechanic.
• Heroic
  • Dispel Blood Corruption: Death immediately.
  • Do not dispel Blood Corruption: Earth.
  • Degradation is a stacking debuff applied to all raid members every time a Hideous Amalgamation is killed.
  • Burning Tendons have more health and require two burn phases each.

Madness of Deathwing

• Phase One
  • Everyone should begin on Ysera’s platform.
    • Ysera > Alexstrasza > Nozdormu > Kalecgos
  • The same strategy is used to clear each platform:
    • Begin DPS’ing the tentacle.
    • After 10 seconds, a Mutated Corruption will spawn.
      • These should be burned down immediately.
      • They will cast Impale, which requires a defensive cooldown.
    • While killing the Mutated Corruption, an Elementium Bolt will begin moving towards the platform.
      • Its landing zone is displayed by a golden void zone – move away from it.
      • Burn the Elementium Bolt as quickly as possible – defensive cooldowns help mitigate heavy damage.
    • Once the Elementium Bolt is destroyed, finish DPS’ing the Mutated Corruption, then continue DPS’ing the tentacle.
    • If the platform you are on has an Arm Tentacle, it will shortly after spawn 6x Regenerative Bloods.
      • AoE these down.
  • After you clear each platform, you lose the buffs that the dragon on each platform provided – making the encounter more difficult as you progress.
    • On Ysera’s platform, you have all buffs – use these to your benefit.
    • On Alexstrasza’s platform, you lose the healing and damage reduction action spell, Dream.
    • On Nozdormu’s platform, you lose the health buff and are forced to manually kill the Blistering Tentacles that spawn – these must be single target burned as quickly as possible.
      • Also, don’t bring the tentacle to 70% health before killing the Mutated Corruption and Elementium Bolt. Else, you’ll risk crappy timing on Blistering Tentacles spawning and causing a wipe.
    • On Kalecgos’ platform, you lose the haste buff and the Elementium Bolt will reach the platform much quicker.
• Phase Two
  • Deathwing will plop his head on Ysera’s platform – burn him.
  • Two types of adds will be spawned and should be burned immediately in the following priority:
    • Elementium Fragments – Casts Shrapnel, placing a debuff that deals large damage when it expires. Affected players should Dream just before it falls off.
    • Elementium Terrors – These should be tanked in Nozdormu’s Time Zone.
  • After the adds are dead, continue DPS’ing Deathwing.
  • A second set of adds will spawn shortly after.
    • Make sure the second set of adds are dead before pushing Deathwing to 10% health.
  • Once the second set of adds are dead, blow all cooldowns and full burn on Deathwing – ignore any additional adds from 10% on.
• Heroic
  • Phase One
    • A random player will receive a debuff, Corrupting Parasite, that spawns an add when it falls off.
      • The affected player should move into a Time Zone and receive extra healing.
      • Once the debuff falls off, a Corrupting Parasite will spawn and has no aggro table.
      • The tank should move the Regenerative Bloods on top of the Corrupting Parasite and both should be AoE’d down. Single target burn the Corrupting Parasite if it’s still alive afterwards.
  • Phase Two
    • Congealing Bloods will spawn at 15%, 10%, and 5% of Deathwing’s health.
      • These should be AoE’d down with the Elementium Terrors.
    • The all out DPS burn on Deathwing should occur at 5%, rather than 10%.