Shifting Perspectives: Karapalooza 2010
Every week, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them. This week, after saving the world, we end it for others. They were in our way.
Every so often I get the hankering to go stomp a place that previously rode my ass like Zorro, and I nominate Karazhan as being among the better places to do it. After wiping to heroic Icecrown bosses for a few hours, there's something wonderfully therapeutic about venting your frustrations on the tenants of an older raid, particularly when they cough up 1,000 gold, mounts, enchants, and gear that looks delightfully silly on a level 80.
You remember Kara, right? It's that place that used to be hard.
Doesn't narrow it down? It's the big building occupied by crazy dead people.
Also doesn't narrow it down?
Harumph. The place with the long hallway full of undead concubines?
I see that jogged your memory.
I've organized each boss by the order in which you'll typically encounter them, and divided each into the following:
Trash clear: How long it takes to clear trash to each boss if: a). it's necessary (e.g. Attumen), or: b). you're simply inclined to do so. Keep in mind that the trash is just as lucrative as the bosses, if not more so. When I say you can make in excess of 1,000 gold soloing Kara, that assumes you're doing most of the trash. If you're doing as little trash as possible, you should expect to haul in closer to 500-600 gold.
Kill: A ballpark figure on how long it'll take you to kill each boss.
Spec: Recommended spec.
Gear: Recommend gear set.
How hard?: Notes on possible complicating factors and an estimate on the overall difficulty.
Notable drops: If the boss drops something interesting -- like a mount, an enchant, or a piece that lots of druids wanted in Burning Crusade -- I've noted it here. The former two are obviously useful at 80, while the latter's just for a bit of historical background and fun.
And before you do anything else, make sure you've "packed" the following:
2/2 Improved Leader of the Pack: Absolutely invaluable.
Glyph of Maul: This is a huge damage boost on both trash and multi-mob boss fights.
Unless your bags are completely empty, some means of selling/mailing drops: Assuming you're already honored with the Violet Eye (if you're not, you will be quickly), you can repair and sell drops at Koren, the blacksmith at the end of the stables. The one problem with this is how inconvenient it becomes once you get into the no-man's-land in the middle of the raid, where it's an equally long hike to either Koren or Ythyar, the ethereal trader outside the Chess Hall. Engineers will have this covered with a Jeeves or MOLL-E, but I found an Argent Pony Bridle to be a godsend.
We'll be doing Attumen through Nightbane this week, so let's get started.
ATTUMEN THE HUNTSMAN
Attumen's a good warm-up; if you have trouble with him, that's a sign that your Karazhan odyssey shouldn't go any further than the stables. However, Attumen is doable even in blues at 80, so your gear would have to be really bad for you to have significant trouble.
Trash clear: 5-8 minutes. Yep -- you'll have to kill everything, unless you want company after you aggro Midnight.
Kill: 3-4 minutes.
Spec: Bear.
Gear: Bear or cat.
How hard?: Bah, not hard at all -- it'll just be annoying when you inevitably get Intangible Presence slapped on you. You should be able to manage Attumen easily, although it might be necessary to pop a cooldown or two. Otherwise, just tank and spank.
Notable drops:
Bracers of the White Stag: Moonkin at 70 were desperate to get these, as it was quite literally the only piece of non-set +spell damage leather that dropped until Black Temple (and it was +spell damage, back before +damage and +healing were consolidated into +spellpower). Welcome to Burning Crusade itemization!
Gloves of Dexterous Manipulation: Due to the meaty +agility allocation, these played a starring role on the "unhittable" leather set that made it possible for druids and rogues to tank raid bosses with total avoidance.
Fiery Warhorse's Reins: They're thought to be a 0.7 to 1% drop, so best of luck. I really like Droodhaxzomg's description of this on Wowhead:
This mount has fangs. You are riding a vampire horse that is on fire. Let me repeat that. You are riding a vampire horse that is on fire. I don't even have to say anything else. "My mount is the Black Qiraji Battle Tank, a rare mount belonging only to the select few people who were selected as champions by the mortal races of Azeroth and the Bronze Dragonflight." "My mount is a vampire horse on fire." "You win."
MOROES
Moroes is a gear check; if you can survive both him and the adds, you've got a good shot at soloing almost everything else, with the possible exception of Opera and Prince.
Trash clear: 7-10 minutes. You can skip most of the mobs in the ballroom (barring the Phantom Valets, who have Truesight -- don't bother trying to stealth past them), but you must clear the trash in the dining room. As with Attumen, they'll all aggro if you pull their boss, and you'll have enough incoming damage to worry about as it is.
Kill: 3 minutes.
Spec: Bear.
Gear: Bear. Cat gear is usable here if it's high-quality, but keep in mind that Moroes' Garrote will chip away at your health for most of the fight. Assuming 2/2 Improved Leader of the Pack, you can compensate for some of this while still in bear, and can pop out to heal a bit more during Moroes' Vanish.
How hard?: Another tank and spank, albeit one with more urgency than Attumen. Truthfully, this one's going to depend on the quality of your gear, and a small element of luck during the Vanishes if you need to heal. You need a certain amount of health to survive the Garrote without getting dangerously low -- I would estimate at least 32-34K health unbuffed in bear. During a Vanish, you've usually got time to pop out and cast a Rejuvenation and Regrowth, but don't stay out of bear for too long; with only one target to harass, Moroes tends to reappear quickly.
Notable drops:
Idol of the Avian Heart: If you were a Dreamstate druid in the early part of BC (the spec was actually competitive at that point), you probably wanted this. I'm restraining myself from saying anything further on the issue so as not to be hunted down and beaten by an enraged pack of Dreamstate enthusiasts.
Moroes' Lucky Pocket Watch: One of the best early bear pieces, and a more elegant trinket from a more civilized era. Before the dark times. Before...effective health.
Formula: Enchant Weapon -- Mongoose: Still the best bear weapon enchant, and either the best or second-best cat weapon enchant depending on your gear. If you're a druid and an enchanter, you need to have this.
MAIDEN OF VIRTUE
Trash clear: Eh. This depends entirely on how much you want to kill, because none of the trash outside of her room will aggro during the fight. If you want to kill the concubines and guardsmen in the hall, budget a good 7-10 minutes or so, as the trash has some nasty debuffs halving the amount of physical and spell damage you do.
Kill: 2-3 minutes.
Spec: Bear or cat.
Gear: Bear or cat. Honestly, it won't matter which.
How hard?: Not hard at all. Without the need to worry about anyone else in the raid getting Holy Fire or Repentance, Maiden is a straight tank and spank kill. ILotP will outheal most of the damage, so just park yourself and whittle her down.
Notable drops:
Mitts of the Treemender: One of the earliest resto gloves, and with two sockets it was arguably better than the tier 4 gloves (off Curator). As with much of the other non-set leather in Karazhan, it was a recoloring of the rogue's Bloodfang set.
Shard of the Virtuous: This was oriented more toward paladin and shaman healers (most druids took Light's Justice off Prince or Nightstaff of the Everliving off Nightbane), but this thing was everywhere during BC.
