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The Light and How to Swing It: Tanking the first three bosses of Throne of Thunder
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 9 other people, obsessing over his hair, and maintaining the tankadin-focused blog Righteous Defense. Like jumping into a cold pool after spending too much time in the hot tub, tanking Throne of Thunder after weeks of tier 14 may be a bit of a shocking experience. (Sorry, had to.) This place is no joke -- the health and damage requirements are ratcheted up severely from the previous tier of raiding. The bosses will hit harder and the mechanics will be tighter, but on the other hand, the loot will be even shinier. Honor and glory awaits in the halls of the Thunder King. The first quarter of the dungeon is designated as the Last Stand of the Zandalari, and you'll be seeing some old, tusked faces. Let's talk about what you'll need to do to withstand everything that the finest warriors of that dying land can throw at you.
Throne of Thunder: Last Stand of the Zandalari Raid Finder bosses in 5 seconds
The first wing of Throne of Thunder Raid Finder has opened this week, so it's time to slay a few bosses. Maybe you're ready to queue up right this second. In fact, with the staggered release schedule, you're probably very ready. No time to read through our full guides, or need a short explanation ready for other players? Here's a quick reference perfect for copy and pasting into chat, because we love you. Jin'rokh the Breaker Tanks have a swap, watch out for the Static Wound debuff and be ready to taunt. Everyone else stand in the pools unless they're electrified, step out and stack near the boss during Lightning Storm. If you're targeted by the Focused Lightning, run away, and don't electrify the pools. Horridon One tank on the boss, the other on adds -- switch after each door so Triple Puncture doesn't stack too high. The adds cast debuffs, so healers be ready to dispel. Stay away from Horridon's head and tail. Kill Dinomancer adds first and stay out of stuff on the ground. Click the Orb of Command when it appears. After the door phase, War-God Jalak will spawn. Off-tank and burn him, continue on the boss. Council of Elders Tanks focus on swapping Frost King Malakk before reaching 15 stacks of Frigid Assault. Prioritize killing adds: Loa Spirits and Living Sands. If there are no adds, DPS the empowered boss -- it'll be big and purple. Offing Sul first is usually easiest. Priestess: interrupt Wrath of the Loa, kill spirits. Frost King: stack on the player with Frostbite. Kazra'jin: avoid charges, use damage-reduction cooldowns on Overload. Sul: interrupt Sand Bolt, kill adds, don't stand in Quicksand. If you want a more in-depth look of the bosses in the first wing of the Throne of Thunder, check out our complete guides: Jin'rokh the Breaker Horridon Council of Elders
Blood Pact: Thundering on and on about raid gear in patch 5.2
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill maybe decides that commenter-suggested Zul'duar is the better name than Thund'uar for the troll-like Ulduar raid instance, Throne of Thunder. I mentioned last week that I'd discuss the changes for warlocks while listing out loot in the new raid instance. I may have fibbed a little. I tried to slide in patch change discussion without it reading like I shoved two posts into the space of one, and I miserably failed. You can read the latest patch notes for yourself, but the PvE DPS gist is that affliction's petless power days are diminished if not over and demonology might be the new top dog. PvP warlocks might be more interested in Blood Fear's metamorphosis from an offensive fear to the Nature's Grasp-like Blood Horror and Soul Leech's change from a trickle heal to a stacking shield. Regarding of whether you chase Conquest or Valor Points, we warlocks will have a major problem in patch 5.2. I'm not talking about the endless debates of whether fire should be green or whether warlocks should always have a minion at their side. I'm talking about the removal of the imp ability Blood Pact, due to Dark Intent gaining the 10% Stamina buff to its effect. Future warlocks will wonder what this column is named for!
Patch 5.2 PTR: Raid testing for Throne of Thunder continues
Raid testing for patch 5.2's Throne of Thunder raid continues tomorrow with testing of 10 player heroic content. For those wondering where all the 25 player testing is at, fear not -- there will likely be testing of 25-man normal modes at the end of this week. Keep your eyes peeled! Raid tests tomorrow will take place at 10:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 4 PM PST. If this is your first time testing, fear not -- your gear will be scaled to suit the encounter. WoW Insider Throne of Thunder boss impressions Jin'rokh, the Breaker Horridon (Olivia's take) Iron Qon Lei Shen, the Thunder King Tortos Megaera Raid Testing Schedule -- February 20 On Wednesday, February 20, we will be testing more raid encounters in the Throne of Thunder. Note that we will likely be doing 25-player Normal testing (of many encounters) on Thursday and Friday. I'll post a schedule for those tomorrow. Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms. Wednesday, February 20 Horridon - 10 Player Heroic 10:30 PST (13:30 EST, 19:30 CET) Ji-Kun - 10 Player Heroic 13:30 PST (16:30 EST, 22:30 CET) Primordius - 10 Player Heroic 16:00 PST (19:00 EST, 01:00 CET) As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback. Important Testing Notes Q: How do I get into the raid zone? A: At the northeastern edge of the swamp on the Thunder King's island, there is a Shado-Pan camp in a small cave. A sewer grate in this cave will take you directly to the zone-in point for the raid zone. (As more of the island unlocks, players will be able to access the main gate directly.) Q: What gear do I use to test the raid? A: As we did for Beta raid testing, we will be scaling players' gear inside the raid in order to facilitate testing. Gear will be scaled (up or down, as appropriate) for the purposes of testing the encounters, depending on difficulty and their location within the zone. source
Lichborne: Patch 5.2 Last Stand of the Zandalari loot preview for death knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. With the PTR getting closer to release, it's about time to start looking forward to that most cherished of patch rituals, the changing of the gear. Today, we will look at the first few bosses of Throne of Thunder and see what they have in store for death knights. There are a few words of warning to offer here. First, this is based off PTR Info, which means they may or may not decide to adjust, remove, or add loot before it goes live. Second, this information is based off normal mode raid loot. You may find monkey wrenches thrown into the gearing process courtesy of both heroic gear and Thunderforged gear, which can be 6 ilvls higher than usual for the item. You will have to make your own judgement calls in cases where you have access to that gear. Adding to the complication is the fact that tier gear won't be Thunderforged, meaning you may have to give up some Thunderforged gear despite the higher ilvl in order to keep set bonuses. We'll first look at the bosses in the The Last Stand of the Zandalari, the first section of the Throne of Thunder.
Patch 5.2 PTR: The horror of raid boss Horridon
You know what's worse than fighting a giant dinosaur? A giant dinosaur with cannons. I don't know what those Zandalari trolls have been up to, but they're outfitting these lovely and peaceful dinos with weapons of war with the aim of unleashing them on us. Are we just going to stand by and let them trample all over us? Nope! Not one bit! Read on!
Patch 5.2 PTR: An evening with the new boss Horridon
I had the pleasure of heading over to Thunder Isle last night to take on the new patch 5.2 boss Horridon with Lore from TankSpot and his guild Months Behind. I was playing my PTR goblin restoration shaman, and thought I'd fill you all in on some of my observations from this new encounter. Horridon is a very add-heavy fight. The first few phases, and indeed the final battle, focus heavily on adds, which enter the arena through several doors. Lore's video, above, shows off the fight from his perspective of tanking, while my angle was that of a healer. Horridon himself puts out fairly spiky damage on the tanks at first, hitting them with a stacking debuff that increases damage taken from his primary attack, Triple Puncture. Horridon also does a Double Swipe, shows pretty clearly by a red ring as well as two conical areas in front and behind him. He will periodically charge random members and then immediately Double Swipe, so keep a watchful eye on his position and target. The adds initially come out of the doors at the side of the arena, currently the doors and adds are a bit mixed up, but as soon as the first set, the Farraki, begin to appear, the tanks should swap on Horridon and the new off-tank needs to pick up the adds. From a healing perspective, the Farraki's Blazing Sunlight is an additional concern, the effect stacks and seemed to chain to nearby players, as well as dealing heavy damage, so dispels were a priority.
Patch 5.2: Horridon and Iron Qon raid testing announced
More raid testing has been scheduled tomorrow for both Horridon and and Iron Qon on 10-man normal difficulty. Horridon was originally slated for last week but technical issues forced the testing to be deferred. If your gear levels aren't at high enough level, player gear will be scaled in the raid to assist with testing. If you're not sure how to get to the Throne of Thunder, we can show you how! Raid Testing Schedule - January 17 On Thursday, January 17, we will be testing two more raid encounters in the Throne of Thunder. Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms. Horridon - 10 Player Normal 10:30 PST (13:30 EST, 19:30 CET) Iron Qon - 10 Player Normal 16:00 PST (19:00 EST, 01:00 CET) As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. This is particularly true for these early tests as we are still nailing down overall patch stability. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback. Important Testing Notes Q: How do I get into the raid zone? A: At the northeastern edge of the swamp on the Thunder King's island, there is a Shado-Pan camp in a small cave. A sewer grate in this cave will take you directly to the zone-in point for the raid zone. (As more of the island unlocks, players will be able to access the main gate directly.) Q: What gear do I use to test the raid? A: As we did for Beta raid testing, we will be scaling players' gear inside the raid in order to facilitate testing. Gear will be scaled (up or down, as appropriate) to item Level 502 for the purposes of testing Normal modes. source
Patch 5.2: Throne of Thunder raid testing schedule announced
Tomorrow on January 11, we'll be seeing raid encounters being tested on the public test realm for patch 5.2. Horridon and the Council of Elders will both be available on normal mode in the new Throne of Thunder raid. If your gear levels aren't at high enough level, don't worr. Player gear will be scaled in the raid to help with testing. In case you're wondering how to actually get into the raid instance, we have a guide showing you how to do just that! Raid Testing Schedule - January 11 On Friday, January 11, we will be testing our first two raid encounters of the 5.2 test cycle. Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Public Test Realms. Horridon - 10 Player Normal 10:30 PDT (13:30 EDT, 19:30 CEST) Council of Elders - 10 Player Normal 16:00 PDT (19:00 EDT, 01:00 CEST) As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session or cancel it entirely, due to bugs, builds, server hardware issues, etc. This is particularly true for this test, since it's our first 5.2 raid test. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback. Important Testing Notes Q: How do I get into the raid zone? A: At the northeastern edge of the swamp on the Thunder King's island, there is a Shado-Pan camp in a small cave. A sewer grate in this cave will take you directly to the zone-in point for the raid zone. (As more of the island unlocks, players will be able to access the main gate directly.) Q: What gear do I use to test the raid? A: As we did for Beta raid testing, we will be scaling players' gear inside the raid in order to facilitate testing. Gear will be scaled (up or down, as appropriate) to item Level 502 for the purposes of testing Normal modes. source
