firelands-raid-bosses
Latest
The Light and How to Swing It: Tanking the three intro heroic Firelands bosses
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Protection specialist Matt Walsh spends most of his time receiving concussions for the benefit of 24 other people, obsessing over his hair (a Blood Elf racial!), and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. So you've slain the minions and lieutenants of the Firelord and cast down Ragnaros himself, as well. The heroic versions of all seven bosses are now open to you, each with varying degrees of difficulty, starting with the walk-in-the-park Shannox to the much more dangerous remnants. These fights require you to step up your tanking game to a whole new level to survive everything the fights throw at you. In this column I'm going to start with the first three easiest heroic fights: Shannox, Majordomo Staghelm, and Alysrazor. I'll give you tips and tricks on proper cooldown usage, glyph load-outs, and trinket choices to maximize your performance against each so that you can stand up long enough for the raid to topple each.
The Light and How to Swing It: Overthrowing the Fire Lord
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Protection specialist Matt Walsh spends most of his time receiving concussions for the benefit of 24 other people, obsessing over his hair (a blood elf racial!), and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. Ragnaros, the Fire Lord, returns from vanilla WoW with a flaming vengeance as the last boss of the Firelands. Thanks to the recent hotfix nerfs or the culmination of weeks of hard work chipping away at the raid, many groups will be running up against Ragnaros for the first time and throwing their bodies at his waves upon waves of fiery doom. As a whole, the fight isn't particularly intensive to tank -- there's no real equivalent to Nefarian's add phase here for tanks -- but it's still going to be a challenge. This encounter is the ultimate "don't stand in bad" and will require your utmost attention to avoid being burnt to a crisp in an unfortunate moment of tunnel-visioning. Strap on those attention goggles, zip up that flame-retardant suit, and glyph that Divine Protection. We've got an elemental lord to cast down.
The Light and How to Swing It: Tips for tanking Majordomo Staghelm
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Protection specialist Matt Walsh spends most of his time receiving concussions for the benefit of 24 other people, obsessing over his hair (a blood elf racial!), and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. Here we are at Majordomo Staghelm, the last boss before Ragnaros himself. The final obstacle. As a member of the Horde, I don't really know much of Fandral Staghelm and can't enjoy the animosity he inspires in our leonine rivals. However, I imagine they're feeling the same satisfaction with this kill that I'll likely be feeling in the imminent future when Garrosh finally "goes crazy" and becomes a raid boss. That said, Majordomo Staghelm is not a particularly difficult fight to tank. At certain points, the damage is going to be coming hard and fast for the entire raid, and your healers are going to need any breathing room you can offer them. Like previous fights in the Firelands, the key is to break out your toolbox, dump all those cooldowns on the table, and toss them out at the proper times. You'll also be able to engage in some gratuitous strutting, thanks to the raid cooldown you bring to the table.
The Light and How to Swing It: Guide to tanking Alysrazor for protection paladins
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Protection specialist Matt Walsh spends most of his time receiving concussions for the benefit of 24 other people, obsessing over his hair (a blood elf racial!), and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. Just kidding. We're actually going to kill it. As tragic as the idea is of murdering a newborn creature that has Imprinted itself on to you -- it thinks you're its mother; chew on that! -- you'll need to do the dirty deed to eventually pluck the real from the skies. Alysrazor is one of those rare fights that is a blast to tank. Maybe it's just me, but the most fun I've had in Firelands thus far has been pushing myself to the upper limits of my damage dealing potential while not making myself any harder to heal. It's a crazy balancing act, one that requires an acrobat's precision and a daredevil's bravery -- but it can be done. And it is so rewarding!
The Light and How to Swing It: Tanking Beth'tilac and Rhyolith
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Protection specialist Matt Walsh spends most of his time receiving concussions for the benefit of 24 other people, obsessing over his hair (a blood elf racial!), and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. In previous columns, I've talked about how to tank Shannox and Baleroc, two of the early bosses of Firelands. Three bosses remain before you can cross the bridge to the Sulfuron Keep: Beth'tilac, Rhyolith, and Alysrazor. That latter of the three demands a column of her own, considering the nuances of that fight and the special requirements and responsibilities one assumes when tanking it. But the first two -- a walk in the park, comparatively speaking. Despite the general breeziness when tanking them, they still have their own slate of nuances. Allow me to offer a raft of tips to make your tanking duties as breezy as they should be.
The Light and How to Swing It: Tanking Baleroc (and somehow surviving to the end)
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Protection specialist Matt Walsh spends most of his time receiving concussions for the benefit of 24 other people, obsessing over his hair (a blood elf racial!), and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. Perhaps it's just me, but I find Baleroc to be one of the most intense fights to tank that I've thus far encountered in Firelands. You have three phases featuring varying degrees of speed at which you'll be mashed into a fine gruel, all performed by a dual-wielding boss with a swing speed that barely lets you catch you breath from the one-punch before the subsequent two-punch comes screaming in across your sweat-drenched brow and knocks whatever remaining molars you've managed to hold onto right out of your bloody maw and into the general direction of the profanity-uttering feral druid beside you. Or at least, that's how my active imagination likes to picture it while I'm laying on the ground waiting for my battle rez. It doesn't have to be that way, though. Despite his bag of tricks, Baleroc still comes up short in comparison to the raiding paladin, if only because our bag of tricks is actually a massive steel tool cabinet, and each drawer is packed with amazing tools that can cut right through whatever the boss might throw at us. We're like the iPhones of tanking -- there's a cooldown for that. Continue on, and I'll detail how to use each of your abilities to their optimum effect and thus achieve that hallowed nirvana of the boss fight: not having to get rezzed at the end.
Ready Check: WoW Insider's guide to Beth'tilac
Ready Check helps you prepare yourself and your raid for the bosses that simply require killing. Check back with Ready Check each week for the latest pointers on killing adds, not standing in fire, and hoping for loot that won't drop. Thus far in our adventures, we have tackled the Firelord's finest hunter Shannox and toppled another member of the "royal" family, Lord Rhyolith. This week, we zip clear across to the other side of the map in order to fling ourselves against the mother of all Lava Spiders. As the matriarch or the Cinderweb Brood, Beth'tilac has created and cares for a massive web network that spans a large portion of the west sector of the Firelands. Here, she and her children capture and feed off of other fire elementals. Seemingly, this is a bad thing, but despite being lavavores, the Cinderweb Brood seems to have at least a partial relationship with Ragnaros, often joining his forces in the field of battle. Perhaps the newly christened fire druids have something to do with this? Regardless, she's got loot, and we're here to take it from her! Let's get started.
Spiritual Guidance: Shadow priest's guide to Shannox
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. On Wednesdays, shadow priesting expert Fox Van Allen rains down sweaty, sticky, uncomfortably warm destruction on all who oppose him (especially Tyler Caraway). Fox encourages you to follow him on Twitter. It's pretty miserable here in Boston today. I'm sweating, and not in the sexy, glistening skin way -- in the wring out a T-shirt way. It's, like, 90-something, which to a New Englander is damn hot. And to all you people who live in Las Vegas (Oh ho ho, it's 129 here today, you wimp!), shut up -- you chose to live in a place that's awful year round, not me. Anyway, this uncomfortable sweatiness has me starved for revenge. Beings of fire, you shall face my wrath! Over the next few uncomfortable, sweat-stained months of summer, we'll be taking on the bosses of the Firelands right here in Spiritual Guidance in seek of precious relief (and purples). This week: vile hunter Shannox and his adorable flaming skeleton pets.
Ready Check: WoW Insider's Guide to Lord Rhyolith
Ready Check helps you prepare yourself and your raid for the bosses that simply require killing. Check back with Ready Check each week for the latest pointers on killing adds, not standing in fire, and hoping for loot that won't drop. WoW players are not unaccustomed to tackling giant creatures. We've slain dragons, gronn, elemental lords, and even ogres infused with the raw power of the Old Gods. In our time, there have been some big bads that were, well, literally big. Lord Rhyolith now falls into that criteria -- a massive molten lord covered in rocks so thick and so sharp that spells and blades couldn't even think to but dink away at his hide. This royalty of the Firelands is one of the first four "fluid" bosses in Firelands. You can reach Lord Rhyolith by following the road to the right, over the bridge and up the gauntlet ramp. There he stands, out on a platform surrounded by lava, begging for players to come and test their mettle against him. This is going to be one tough nut to crack; are you up for the challenge?
Ready Check: WoW Insider's guide to Shannox
Ready Check helps you prepare yourself and your raid for the bosses that simply require killing. Check back with Ready Check each week for the latest pointers on killing adds, not standing in fire, and hoping for loot that won't drop. Shannox is the leader of the Flamewalker hunters and generally the first boss that players tangle with in Firelands. He comes complete with his two pets, Riplimb and Rageface, all of which have to be fought at the same time. Shannox is different than most bosses in that he isn't initially in the dungeon; you must first clear a fairly hefty amount of trash in order to force him to spawn. Also unlike other boss encounters, he does not have a set location where you can fight him. Instead, he pads around the pathway that circles around the entire opening portion of the zone. He will always spawn at Baleroc's gate in the back center of the room and from there circle counterclockwise. Think your raid is ready to take on the best hunter in the Firelands?
Totem Talk: Restoration shaman tips on healing Lord Rhyolith and Beth'tilac
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Totem Talk for elemental, enhancement and restoration shaman. Want to be a sultan of swing healing? A champion of Chain Heal? Totem Talk: Restoration, brought to you by Joe Perez (otherwise known as Lodur from World of Matticus and co-host of the Raid Warning podcast), shows you how. Last week, we had a lovely little chat about tracking your cooldowns and how they have become much more important than in the previous tiers of content. Some great addon suggestions were made in the comments, and as a result, I'm even giving TellMeWhen a try this week in raiding. This week, I thought we would talk about something involving a considerable amount of fire. If you're a raiding restoration shaman, chances are good that this past week you got to set foot in the land of fire and giants that are set on fire. I'm talking, of course, about the Firelands raid. Healing in the new instance has been both fun and hectic all at the same time, and I've personally been having quite a bit of fun learning the encounters. Besides, what better way to fight fire than with the element of water! This week's image is supplied by the wonderful MagicalMelonBall, inspired by my love of Indiana Jones and hatred of spiders.
The Light And How To Swing It: Retribution changes and new gear in 4.2
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. With the Light as his strength, Durin Mundahl takes on the foes of Azeroth with all the wrath of a retribution paladin. Feel free to send your retribution questions or comments to durin@wowinsider.com. Where do retribution paladins stand now that 4.2 is here? Let's look at the current state of the ret pally. In future patches, this information may become outdated, so use your own Judgement when reading. Side effects may include increased raid AOE damage and an overall feeling of satisfaction. Working as intended. Let's get down to business, shall we? Seal of Righteousness now can be activated by any melee ability, not just single target melee abilities. This adds Hammer of the Righteous (the physical component) and Divine Storm to the list of abilities that can activate this seal. In addition, Seal of Righteousness procs can now be critical effects. Inquiry of Faith now increases Inquisition duration by 66/133/200%, up from 50/100/150%. The Seals of Command talent now makes Seal of Righteousness hit an unlimited number of melee targets, instead of only 2 additional targets. Selfless Healer can no longer be dispelled and cannot be stolen via Spellsteal; and, in addition to its current effects, it lowers the cooldown of Word of Glory by 5/10 seconds. Glyph of Seal of Truth expertise bonus now also works when Seal of Righteousness is active. source
Valor point awards for tier 12 bosses increased
There's terrific news this morning for those planning on raiding The Firelands when patch 4.2 launches: Blizzard has quietly increased the amount of Valor Points earned from downing tier 12 bosses and Occu'thar, the new boss in Baradin Hold. Patch 4.2 Public Test Realm Guide - [Updated 6/14] Valor & Justice Points The number of Valor Points awarded for killing a boss in the Firelands is 70 120 in 10-player mode, and 90 140 in 25-player mode. The number of Valor Points awarded for killing Occu'thar in Baradin Hold is 35 120 in 10-player mode, and 45 140 in 25-player mode. source The previous, lower values caused a lot of hand wringing on the official forums. As people rightly complained, they did not allow raiders to reach the weekly cap simply by running the new tier 12 content. Players would have to choose between five-man heroics and stale tier 11 content to cap their VP, something many considered a time-consuming tedium. The new values allow ten-man raiders to (almost) reach the new 960 980 point VP cap with a full clear of all new tier 12 content; 25-man raiders can reach the cap by beating any seven of the eight. The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new Tier 12 armor!
Patch 4.2 PTR Firelands Impressions: Lord Rhyolith
Do you like driving? Have a thing for coordinating DPS? Then you'll want to raid lead this bus of a boss. This oversized, flaming rock guy is a fairly unique encounter that involves much driving. If you can navigate through those driving cones on a track, then you should be able to master this guy in a timely fashion. On the other hand, it feels like a 10-legged potato sack race. Some tight and precise control will be needed here for coordination. If even one person deviates and isn't listening properly, everyone dies. Again, spoiler warning on this one. If you don't want to know what's hot, just moooooove on.
Patch 4.2 PTR Firelands Impressions: Alysrazor
It's Moltres! That was the first thing that came to mind when I was up close. One of the bosses we're tackling in Firelands is a giant, flaming bird. Actually, it looks more like a phoenix; the Encounter Journal says it's actually a dragon. Either way, it's a multi-phase encounter with some fast player movement, controlled DPS and a phase where we can just sit there and burn the boss. That being said, do you prefer your former dragons original recipe or extra-crispy? Also, spoilers after the jump. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Patch 4.2 PTR Firelands Impressions: Beth'tilac
When I was younger, I absolutely loved the Donkey Kong Country franchise. So when I got wind that one of the new bosses in Firelands was a flaming spider, the first thought that leaped into mind was "Oh my god, I get to fight Squitter!" He first appeared in Donkey Kong Country 2 as an animal companion for players. He had a goofy grin and had 8 sneakers. By the way, that game came out in 1995 on the SNES. Now that I've managed to remind some us how old we are, I'm going to move on and describe my first impressions with the Bethi'lac encounter after the jump. Spoiler warning -- don't say I didn't warn you!
Patch 4.2: Eight raid bosses confirmed [updated]
In a post on the official Blizzard forums today, Community Manager Bashiok confirmed the existence of eight total raid bosses in patch 4.2 -- six seven in the Firelands, and one new boss in Baradin Hold, all with unique models, animations, and effects. (No word yet on how many will have stubby little feet.) Further, it has been confirmed that Firelands, in Bashiok's own words, "is the raid in 4.2," and will be available for testing soon as part of the "aggressive development cycle": That it? Yes, Firelands is the raid in 4.2, and 7 is the total number of bosses. We think 7 is our current ideal for number of bosses in a raid. (We launched Cataclysm with two full raids of 4-6 bosses each.) We're also spending a lot of time making the Firelands bosses as awesome as possible - - creating unique models, animations, effects, sounds, etc. etc. Previously a lot of bosses were larger versions of existing models, which was fine, but that tradeoff is made somewhere. We shift to making fewer but more epic boss fights and there's a tradeoff somewhere. We're concentrating our efforts into a smaller number of fights so that each fight is bigger and better, they're still obviously going to be extremely challenging, but once it is on farm you're not having to spend two, three, maybe four nights just to clear it because the raid is so huge. source
