Four Horsemen 10-man Boss Strategy Guide

Make sure to check out the complete Naxxramas 10-Man Instance and Boss Strategy Guide.

The four horsemen are the final bosses of the military (aka Deathknight) wing of Naxxramas 10-man instance. The four horsemen are a part of Kel’Thuzad elite guard, representing the most powerful Deathknights in all of Azeroth. This encounter was largely inspired from the four horsemen of the apocalypse, part of the Christian Bible’s book of Revelations.

Four Horsemen Abilities

• Mark of the Four Horsemen – each horsemen will apply his respective mark, these marks stack infinitely and deal more damage with each successive mark.
• 1 Mark – 0 damage
• 2 Marks – 500 damage per tick
• 3 Marks – 1500 damage per tick
• 4 Marks – 4000 damage per tick
• 5 Marks – 12,500 damage per tick
• 6 Marks – 20,000 damage per tick
• 7 Marks or more – adds 1,000 additional damage for each additional mark at this point. Note: you will never get to this point.

Than Kor’Thazz

• Meteor - deals 13,775-15,225 fire damage split amongst as many people as the meteor hits in a 8 yard AoE. Cast every 15 seconds.
• Applies the Mark of Kor’Thazz

Baron Rivendare

• Unholy Shadow – deals 2160-2640 shadow damage to primary aggro target. Additionally, applies a shadow damage DoT which deals 4,800 shadow damage over 8 seconds.
• Applies Mark of Rivendare

Lady Blaumeux

• Shadow Bolt – deals 2350-2650 shadow damage, range of 45 yards. Cast on the closest player to Blaumeux.
• Void Zone – Summons a shadowy area on top of a random player, deals 2750 damage per tick to anyone within the void zone. She casts one every 15 seconds, lasts 75 seconds.
• Applies Mark of Blaumeux

Sir Zeliek

• Holy Bolt – deals 2350-2650 holy damage, range of 45 yards. Cast on the closet player to Zeliek.
• Applies Mark of Zeliek

Four Horsemen 10-man Strategy

The Raid Setup

Ideal Raid Setup:

• 3 Healers
• 2 Tanks
• 5 DPS, with at least 1 ranged DPS

Possible Raid Setups:

• 2 Healers
• 2 Tanks
• 6 DPS, with at least 1 ranged DPS

Note: duo healing this encounter is certainly more difficult than 3 healers, but it is possible. I don’t recommend duo healing it if it’s your first time attempting the encounter, but after a few clears you could give it a try.

Raid Position and Setup

I want to preface this section with a short note, that is that there really is no right or wrong way to setup this fight. The only real encounter requirement is that you don’t want any one mark to stack more than 3 times. That said, I’m going to discuss the strategy my guild uses in addition to another variation you can use to complete this encounter.

Map Diagram Explained

• Pink Circle – Kor’Thazz position
• Green Circle – Rivendare position
• Red Circle – Ziliek position
• Blue Circle – Blaumeux position
• Red Box – zone to stand in to take holy bolts from Ziliek
• Blue Box – zone to stand in to take shadow bolts from Blaumeux

There are going to be 4 individual groups on this fight, one for each horsemen.

Front Groups:

• Kor’Thazz: 1 Tank, 1 Healer, 1 DPS (preferably melee dps)
• Rivendare: 1 Tank, 1 Healer, 1 DPS (preferably melee dps)

Back Groups:

• Blaumeux: 1 Healer, 1 DPS (preferably ranged)
• Zeliek: 2 DPS (preferably ranged)
• Note that the healer in the back will be responsible for healing all of the DPS in the back.

My guild uses this particular raid position setup for the purpose of completing the associated achievement. Said achievement requires you kill all of the horsemen within 15 seconds of each other.

Additionally, my guild often only uses 2 healers on this particular fight. This certainly adds a new level of difficulty, but between HoTs, self-heals, and healing during swaps most healers can handle it. I know I said it once, but if this is your first time on the encounter I strongly recommend you use 3 healers.

Optional Raid Position Setup

There are going to be 4 individual groups on this fight, one for each horsemen.

Front Groups:

• Kor’Thazz: 1 Tank, 1 Healer, 2 DPS
• Rivendare: 1 Tank, 1 Healer, 2 DPS

Back Groups:

• Blaumeux: 1 Healer, 1 DPS (preferably ranged)
• Zeliek: n/a
• Note that the healer and DPS in the back will be responsible for both Deathknights in the back of the room.

Group Rotations Explained

The most difficult aspect of this encounter to initially learn is going to be the group rotations. Both the frontal and back groups will rotate throughout the fight as the marks stack up. Note that these marks apply at random, for this reason you’ll want to have a different group transition caller for both front and back groups on vent.

When the mark hits 3 you’ll want to call the switch. When the switch is called both the groups on the respective side (front or back) must transition together. This will prevent any double marking and will lead to fewer headaches for your tanks and healers.

The front groups are the more tricky transition as a taunt is required. If you’re the tank on the a front Deathknight you’ll want to pull both mobs to to a central location between the 2 sides (note the map above), both you and the opposing tank will taunt each other’s boss and you will continue to drag that death knight to its original location.

The back groups are a bit easier, as no taunt is required. If you’re using my first raid setup (with 3 ranged DPS and 1 healer) you’ll simply swap the 2 groups. Since you’re probably dealing with ranged DPS in the back here you’ll want to be very cognizant of your position, IE…make sure you are not eating both marks.

As the healer in the back you’ll simply be healing who ever is taking the bolts on each side.

Interlude on Meteor

While none of the deathknights hit particularly hard the meteor still has the potential to drop a tank or dps if the group does not stack. Everyone who is on Kor’Thazz absolutely must stack up on the tank, particularly if you only have a total of 3 players on that side.

Killing the Four Horsemen

If everything goes as planned with the rotations you should have no problem in completing this encounter. That said, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind to ensure a successful kill.

1. Do not let the marks stack up beyond 3
2. Make sure you are not eating double marks
3. Stack up on the Kor’Thazz so the meteor is always split
4. If duo healing be very aware of your mana efficiency, this fight will test you