Anub’arak Boss Strategy Guide

Looking for more amazing Trial of the Crusader strats? Check out our complete Crusaders’ Coliseum Boss Strategy Guides!

Anub’arak is the fifth and final boss in the Trial of the Crusader instance.  For this encounter in Trial of the Crusader, you’ll basically need to know how to use Anub’arak’s abilities against him.  If you can keep him from burrowing, you’ll avoid one set of attacks which can really do a lot of damage.  Let’s start out this Anub’arak boss strategy guide with a look at his abilities.

Hit points: 19.77 million
The Loot: Tier 9, ilevel 232 items

Anub’arak Boss Strategy Guide: The Abilities

Leeching Swarm

• Leeches 20% of your health per second
• Takes at least 250 health points
• Hits multiple party members at once
• 50,000 yard range
• 1.5 second cast

Nerubian Burrower

• Spawns 2 at a time
• 50% physical damage debuff
• Stacks

Permafrost

• Reduces movement speed in a given area by 80%
• Instant cast
• The result of hitting down a frost sphere
• Protects your party members from some of the other attacks if you play it right.

Pursued by Anub’arak

• Anub’arak chases a raid member
• 50,000 yard range
• Lasts a minute
• Instant cast

Pursuing Spikes

• 2,828 to 3,172 damage
• Physical damage
• Left by Anub’arak when he starts to pursue a raid member
• Tosses you up in the air
• Armor does NOT affect this attack
• Cannot penetrate Permafrost
• Instant cast
• 4 yard radius

Submerge

• Anub’arak burrows into the ground
• 2.5 second cast

Summon Scarab

• A Swarm Scarab emerges

Impale

• 11,310 to 12,690 damage
• Physical damage
• Ignores armor
• Doesn’t penetrate Permafrost

Anub’arak Boss Strategy Guide: Step by Step Boss Fight Tactics

1. Start by tanking Anub’arak right in the middle of the ground.  Use one main tank on the boss when this encounter begins.  Save one off-tank for the Nerubian Burrowers, which will start to pop up during the first part of the encounter.
2. Watch for the frost spheres floating above your heads.  Shoot down a bunch in the middle of the area, right under the place where you’re tanking Anub’arak.  You’ll start to see plenty of Permafrost on the ground then, which will keep Anub’arak from being able to burrow.  This is a good thing!
3. Make sure one healer is assigned only to heal your main tank.  Anub’arak hits VERY hard.  Assign two other healers for DPS and the off-tank.  Also split your DPS into teams.  The majority will target Anub’arak, and you’ll need about three others to help the off-tank with the Nerubian Burrowers.  Kill ALL the Nerubian Burrowers before Anub’arak reaches 30% health.
4. If you’re unable to keep Anub’arak from burrowing, then have one or two ranged DPS focus on knocking down plenty of frost spheres.  The larger the Permafrost area is on the ground, the fewer party members will be hit by his Impale ability.
5. When Anub’arak burrows, he’ll also start to pursue one of your party members.  That player should make sure he’s ALWAYS on top of a Permafrost area to keep from getting impaled.
6. The final phase of the encounter begins when Anub’arak is down to 30% health.  Basically you’ll see a constant cast of Leeching Swarm when this part of the encounter starts, so healers need to be ready.  They’re going to have to bite the bullet and heal the whole party through Leeching Swarm because it doesn’t end until you’ve defeated Anub’arak.
7. Don’t over-heal during this final part of the Anub’arak encounter.  Healers need to keep all party members alive, but if they over-heal, then they’re just extending the encounter because Anub’arak gains life while party members lose it.

The Twin Val’kyr Boss Strategy Guide

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Fjola Lightbane and Edyis Darbane are the Twin Val’kyr, which is the fourth encounter in Trial of the Crusader.  They’re basically two halves of a whole and share the same health bar.  Let’s start this Twin Val’kyr Boss Strategy Guide with a look at their abilities.

The Twin Val’kyr Boss Strategy Guide: Edyis Darkbane Abilities

Empowered Darkness

• Increases damage dealt to Light targets by 100%
• Lasts 20 seconds

Shield of Darkness

• Absorbs 250,000 damage
• Prevents spell interruption for 15 minutes

Twin’s Pact

• Heals 20% of their hit points
• 15 second cast
• Begins after Shield of Darkness is cast

Dark Vortex

• 5,850 to 6,150 damage per second
• Lasts 5 seconds
• 8 second cast

Surge of Darkness

• 1,500 damage every 2 seconds
• Affects Light players

Touch of Darkness

• 7,313 to 7,687 damage per second
• Dark damage
• Affects players under the effect of Light Essence

Unleashed Dark

• 12,188 to 12,812 damage
• Dark damage
• 8 yard radius

Twin Spike

• Deals 100% weapon damage
• Increases damage taken by 20% for 15 seconds or 10 charges

The Twin Val’kyr Boss Strategy Guide: Fjola Lightbane Abilities

Empowered Light

• Increases damage dealt to Dark targets by 100%
• Lasts 20 seconds

Shield of Lights

• Absorbs 250,000 damage
• Prevents spell interruption for 15 minutes

Twin’s Pact

• Heals 20% of their hit points
• 15 second cast
• Begins after Shield of Lights is cast

Light Vortex

• 5,850 to 6,150 damage per second
• Lasts 5 seconds
• 8 second cast

Surge of Light

• 1,500 damage every 2 seconds
• Affects Dark players

Touch of Light

• 4,388 to 4,612 damage per second
• Light damage
• Affects players under the effect of Dark Essence

Unleashed Light

• 12,188 to 12,812 damage
• Dark damage
• 8 yard radius

Twin Spike

• Deals 100% weapon damage
• Increases damage taken by 20% for 15 seconds or 10 charges

The Twin Val’kyr Boss Strategy Guide: Boss Fight Tactics

1. Split your party into two teams.  Each team clicks EITHER the light or the dark portal.  That way each team gets either the Light Essence Buff or Dark Essence Buff.
2. The Dark Essence team attacks Fjola Lightbane, while the Light Essence team attacks Edyis Darkbane.
3. Separate Edyis Darkbane and Fjola Lightbane and tank them each near a portal of their OWN color.
4. Healers should be the opposite color of the team they’re in charge of healing.  The Dark healer should heal the team attacking Edyis Darkbane, while the Light healer should heal the team attacking Fjola Lightbane.  This way, healers aren’t damaged by the spells cast on their team because they are the same color as the boss they’re closest to.
5. Watch out for the light and dark orbs that are floating around the room.  If any player touches the light orbs, then each member of the dark team takes 7,000 damage, and vice versa.  Also, if any player touches the light orbs, then each member of the light team gets a speed and damage boost.  Once again, vice versa for the dark orbs.
6. The Val’kyr Twins also get a speed and damage boost if any of the orbs touch them.  Assign one player of each color to keep the orbs from touching the bosses and giving them power ups.
7. Whenever one of the twins casts Shield of Lights or Shield of Darkness, the team that’s currently attacking the twin which casts the shield should switch and attack the twin that’s not shielded.  This puts your maximum DPS on the Val’kyr Twin you can actually take some hit points from.  The twins share the same set of hit points, so there’s no reason to waste time trying to damage a Val’kyr twin that’s shielded herself.
8. The other power to watch out for is the Vortex ability.  As soon as one of the twins casts this spell, whichever team it was cast on must run to the portal and switch colors.  30,000 damage can devastate the team.  This is why you should tank each of the Val’kyr Twins next to a portal of their own color.  For example, if Edyis Darkbane casts Dark Vortex, all the players attacking her (which should be the Light team) should stop, run over to the dark portal and temporarily switch over to Dark.  As soon as Dark Vortex is over, the team will need to run back to the Light portal and switch back before beginning to attack again.  The same holds true when Fjola Lightbane casts Light Vortex.
9. Another time one of your party members may need to switch colors is if they’re hit by Touch of Darkness or Touch of Light.  This is an ability that only hits one player at a time, so it’s not quite the tactical nightmare the Vortex ability is, but players who don’t hit up the portal and switch colors when this is cast on them may die before the healer has a chance to heal them through it

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide

Looking for more amazing Trial of the Crusader strats? Check out our complete Crusaders’ Coliseum Boss Fight Strategy Guide!

The Faction Champions are the third encounter in Trial of the Crusader.  Put your PvP hats on and get scrappy, because the bosses in the Faction Champions encounter act just like PvP arena teams.  Let’s start this Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide with a closer look at each of the possible champions you’ll face.  Alliance teams will face Horde champions, and Horde teams will face Alliance Champions.  Here’s a breakdown of the champions.  Your team will face any 10 champions from this list (depending on faction) in the 25-man version of the Faction Champions Boss encounter.

All boss abilities listed first, step by step boss strategy at the very bottom of page

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Gorgrim Shadowcleave (Horde) or Tyrius Duskblade (Alliance)

Hit Points: Hit Points: 2.419 million or Hit Points: 1.935 million (depending on which ones you draw)

Loot: Tier 9 rewards

Frost Death Knight

Death Coil

• 5,550 to 6,450
• Shadow damage
• For friendly targets, heals 8,325 damage

Frost Strike

• 80% weapon damage
• 200 frost damage

Icy Touch

• 3,834 to 4,166 frost damage
• 1,388 to 1,612 damage (through Frost Fever) every 3 seconds
• Reduces attack speed by 14% for 15 seconds

Chains of Ice

• Reduces movement speed to 5%
• Target gets 10% of movement speed back every second for 10 seconds

Death Grip

• Pulls you to him and forces you to attack him for 3 seconds

Icebound Fortitude

• Immunity to stun effects
• Reduces damage taken by 45%
• Lasts 12 seconds

Strangulate

• Silences you for 5 seconds
• 180 shadow damage

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Birana Stormhoof (Horde) or Kavina Grovesong (Alliance)

Balance Druid

Wrath

• 5,170 to 5,830 damage
• Nature damage

Starfire

• 8,258 to 9,742 damage
• Arcane damage

Moonfire

• 2,300 to 2,700 damage
• Arcane damage
• Also adds 4,000 damage over time for 12 seconds

Faerie Fire

• Decreases your armor by 15%
• Lasts 40 seconds
• Takes away your steal ability

Insect Swarm

• Decreases chance to hit by 3%
• 16,650 damage over time for 12 seconds
• Nature damage

Entangling Roots

• Roots you to the ground
• 1,576 damage over time for 10 seconds
• Can be interrupted

Cyclone

• Throws you in the air, effective silences you

Barkskin

• Reduces damage by 40%
• Lasts 12 seconds

Force of Nature

• Summons 3 treants
• Lasts 30 seconds
• Treant hit points: 40,740

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Erin Misthoof (Horde) or Melador Valestrider (Alliance)

Restoration Druid

Nourish

• 83,250 to 96,750 instant healing

Lifebloom

• 7,540 to 8,460 healing over time
• 9,250 to 10,750 healing when it finishes

Rejuvenation

• 2,775,500 healing over time for 15 seconds

Regrowth

• 56,700 to 63,300 healing instant
• 129,500 healing over time for 21 seconds

Thorns

• 463 to 537 damage
• Nature damage
• Lasts 10 minutes

Nature’s Grasp

• Causes Entangling Roots when you hit him
• 1 charge
• Lasts 45 seconds

Barkskin

• Reduces damage by 40%
• Lasts 12 seconds

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Ruj’kah (Horde) or Alyssia Moonstalker (Alliance)

Hunter

Shoot

• 6,800 to 9,200 damage
• Physical damage

Steady Shot

• 150% weapon damage

Aimed Shot

• Adds 3,000 ranged damage
• Reduces healing by half
• Lasts 10 seconds

Explosive Shot

• 3,626 to 4,374 damage
• Fire damage
• Adds damage over time for 2 seconds

Wyvern Sting

• Puts you to sleep for 8 seconds
• 2,460 damage over time
• Nature damage
• 6 seconds

Wing Clip

• Reduces movement speed by half
• Lasts 10 seconds

Frost Trap

• Creates an ice slick which slows movement speed of nearby players by half
• Lasts 30 seconds

Disengage

• Allows the hunter to leap backwards, out of the fight

Deterrence

• Increases parry chance 100%
• 100% chance to deflect spells
• Lasts 5 seconds

Claw

• Damage dealt by Ruj’kah’s pet cat
• 2,063 to 2,937 damage
• 186,970 hit points for the pet cat

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Ginselle Blightsinger (Horde) or Noozle Whizzlestick (Alliance)

Arcane/Frost Mage

Arcane Blast

• 9,250 to 10,750 damage
• Arcane damage
• Increases damage of all Arcane spells by 15%
• Increases mana cost of Arcane Blast by 200%
• Stacks up to 3 times
• Lasts 10 seconds
• Cancels if any other Arcane damage spell is cast

Arcane Barrage

• 8,075 to 8,925 damage
• Arcane damage

Arcane Explosion

• 5,280 to 5,720 damage
• Arcane damage
• 10 yard radius

Frostbolt

• 8,788 to 10,212 damage
• Frost damage
• Slows movement speed by 40% for 9 seconds

Frost Nova

• 365 to 415 damage
• Frost damage
• Freezes you for 8 seconds

Blink

• Frees him from restraints
• Teleports 20 yards forward

Counterspell

• Silences one school of magic from any raid member for 8 seconds

Polymorph

• Changes you into a sheep
• Makes you wander for 10 seconds
• Silences you

Ice Block

• Protects the mage from all attacks for 5 seconds
• Keeps you from attacking
• 30 second cooldown

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Liandra Suncaller (Horde) or Velanaa (Alliance)

Holy Paladin

Flash of Light

• 56,550 to 63,450 instant healing

Holy Light

• 85,140 to 94,860 instant healing

Holy Shock

• 48,000 to 52,000 healing

Cleanse

• Removes 1 poison effect, 1 disease effect, and 1 magic effect

Hand of Freedom

• Grants immunity to movement impairing effects for 10 seconds

Hand of Protection

• Protects a party member from physical attacks for 10 seconds

Hammer of Justice

• Stuns for 6 seconds

Divine Shield

• Protects from all damage and spells
• Reduces damage dealt by half
• Lasts 12 seconds
• 2 minute cooldown

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Malithas Brightblade (Horde) or Baelnor Lightbearer (Alliance)

Retribution Paladin

Crusader Strike

• 110% weapon damage

Divine Storm

• 110% weapon damage
• 8 yard range
• Affects up to four players

Seal of Command

• Chance for melee attacks to deal extra damage
• 1,384 to 1,616 damage
• Holy damage

Judgement of Command

• 6,650 to 7,350 damage
• Holy damage

Repentance

• Incapacitates for 10 seconds

Hand of Protection

• Protects a party member from physical attacks for 10 seconds

Hammer of Justice

• Stuns for 6 seconds

Avenging Wrath

• Increases all damage and healing by 20%
• Lasts 20 seconds

Divine Shield

• Protects from all damage and spells
• Reduces damage dealt by half
• Lasts 12 seconds
• 2 minute cooldown

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Caiphus the Stern (Horde) or Anthar Forgemender (Alliance)

Priest

Dispel Magic

• Removes 2 harmful spells from a party member
• Removes 2 beneficial spells from one of your raid members
• 40 yard range
• Instant cast

Psychic Scream

• Causes you to flee for 8 seconds

Penance

• 9,390 to 10,610
• Instant healing and healing over time for 2 seconds

Power Word: Shield

• Absorbs 9,713 to 11,287 damage
• Lasts 30 seconds

Mana Burn

• Destroys 2,246 to 2,374 mana
• 3 shadow damage

Flash Heal

• 18,500 to 21,500 instant healing

Renew

• 46,250 healing over time
• 15 seconds

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Vivienne Blackwhisper (Horde) or Brienna Nightfall (Alliance)

Shadow Priest

Dispel Magic

• Removes 2 harmful spells from a party member
• Removes 2 beneficial spells from one of your raid members
• 40 yard range
• Instant cast

Dispersion

• Reduces damage taken by 90 percent
• Regenerates 6% mana per second for 6 seconds
• Unable to attack while this spell is cast

Mind Blast

• 5,670 to 6,330 damage
• Shadow damage
• 1.5 second cast

Mind Flay

• Inflicts Shadow damage
• Reduces movement speed for 3 seconds

Psychic Horror

• Makes you drop your weapons for 10 seconds
• Makes you tremble for 3 seconds

Psychic Scream

• Causes you to flee for 8 seconds

Shadow Word: Pain

• Inflicts shadow damage every 3 seconds
• Lasts 15 seconds

Silence

• Keeps you from casting spells for 5 seconds

Vampiric Touch

• 27,000 damage over time
• Shadow damage
• Lasts 15 seconds

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Maz’Dinah (Horde) or Irieth Shadowstep(Alliance)

Rogue

Hemorrhage

• Increases physical damage dealt up to 75
• 110% weapon damage
• Lasts 15 seconds

Fan of Knives

• Causes 90 % weapon damage
• 10 yard radius

Blade Fury

• Increases attack speed 20%
• Attacks strike other nearby opponents
• Lasts 15 seconds

Eviscerate

• 7,000 to 9,000 damage
• Physical damage

Blind

• Makes you wander for 10 seconds

Cloak of Shadows

• Removes all harmful spell effects
• Increases chance to resist spells by 90% for 5 seconds

Shadowstep

• Steps through the shadows and reappears behind you

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Thrakgar (Horde) or Shaamul (Alliance)

Shaman

Bloodlust

• Increases all attack speeds of all party members by 30%
• Lasts 40 seconds

Riptide

• 9,600 to 10,400 instant healing
• 20,815 healing over time for 15 seconds

Hex

• Changes you into a frog
• Keeps you from attacking or casting spells

Lesser Healing Wave

• 18,670 to 21,330 instant healing

Cleanse Spirit

• Removes 1 poison effect, one disease effect, and 1 curse effect

Earth Shield

• Makes your attacks heal instead
• Happens once every few seconds
• 6 charges
• Lasts 2 minutes

Earth Shock

• Heals 46250 over time
• Lasts 15 seconds

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Broin Stouthorn (Horde) or Shaabad (Alliance)

Melee Shaman

Bloodlust

• Increases all attack speeds of all party members by 30%
• Lasts 40 seconds

Earth Shock

• Heals 46250 over time
• Lasts 15 seconds

Lava Lash

• 100% off-hand weapon damage
• Increased by 25% if his off-hand weapon is enchanted with Flametongue

Stormstrike

• A two-weapon attack
• Increases the next four sources of Nature damage by 20%
• Lasts 12 seconds

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Harkzog (Horde) or Serissa Grimdabbler (Alliance)

Warlock

Fear

• Causes you to run away
• Lasts 10 seconds

Corruption

• 18,000 damage over time
• Shadow damage
• Lasts 18 seconds

Unstable Affliction

• 13,875 damage over time
• Shadow damage
• Lasts 15 seconds
• 24,975 damage and silences you if you dispel it

Curse of Agony

• 24,000 damage over time
• Shadow damage
• Lasts 24 seconds

Curse of Exhaustion

• Cuts movement speed in half
• Lasts 12 seconds

Hellfire

• 5,500 damage per second to you
• 1,500 damage to him
• Fire damage
• Lasts 15 seconds

Searing Pain

• 3,660 to 4,330 damage
• Fire damage

Shadow Bolt

• 7,560 to 8,440 damage
• Shadow damage

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: Narrhok Steelbreaker (Horde) or Shocuul (Alliance)

Warrior

Overpower

• Deals weapon damage + 35
• Can only be used after you dodge

Intimidating Shout

• Makes you cower in fear for 8 seconds
• 8 yard radius

Retaliation

• Instant counterattack to any melee attack
• Lasts 12 seconds

Disarm

• Disarms you for 10 seconds

Sunder Armor

• Reduces your armor by 4%
• Lasts 30 seconds
• Stacks up to 5 times

Shattering Throw

• Reduces your armor by 20%
• Lasts 10 seconds

Bladestorm

• Whirlwind attack for 1 second
• Lasts 8 seconds

Charge

• Stuns you for 1.5 seconds

Mortal Strike

• Deals weapon damage plus 380
• Reduces healing effects cast on you by half for 10 seconds

Faction Champions Boss Strategy Guide: The Basics

1. Start by deciding which team member you’re going to take out, and target your enter party on that one.  Use crowd control tactics on the others until the one you’re working on dies.  As with all PvP arena strategies, always take out the healers first.
2. Make sure you take out the healing shaman (Not the melee shaman) first.  Thrakgar and Shaamul spam the heals almost non-stop, so once this character is out of the fight, things will get slightly easier.
3. Take out your melee DPS characters after the healers.  The rogue may be easiest to kill because he wears leather.
4. The warrior should also be one of the first ones you take out after the healers.  His combination of stunning abilities and high DPS makes him very dangerous.
5. Also watch out for several of the Faction Champions to gang up on one of your party members.
6. The Faction Champions cannot be mind controlled.
7. Don’t clump together.  Make the Faction Champions move around a lot to target various party members.
8. Assign two party members to do distractions.  They should help keep the healers alive, especially calling out when the Faction Champions are all targeting one of the healers at once.

Lord Jaraxxus Boss Strategy Guide

Looking for more amazing Trial of the Crusader Strats? Check out the complete Crusaders’ Coliseum Boss Fight Strategy Guides!

Lord Jaraxxus: 20.2 million hit points

Loot: ilevel 232, Tier 9 items

Lord Jaraxxus is the second encounter in Trial of the Crusader.  Let’s start off this boss strategy guide with a look at his abilities, and we’ll get into more specific boss strategies later.

Boss Strategy Guide: Lord Jaraxxus Abilities

Nether Power

• Increases magic damage done by 20%
• Stackable
• Starts with 10 stacks, or Lord Jaraxxus’ powers increased by 200%!
• Instant cast
• Six second cooldown
• Lasts 30 seconds

Fel Fireball

• 24,375 to 25,625 damage on cast
• Fire damage
• 9,263 to 9,737 additional damage over time
• Damage over time lasts five seconds and hits every one second.
• Two second cast time
• Always cast on primary tank (unless your tank’s not holding the highest aggro, but hopefully he is.)
• 50,000 yard range
• Lasts five seconds
• Two second cast time

Fel Lightning

• 11,700 to 12,300 damage
• Fire damage
• Usually targets ranged players
• 50,000 yard range
• Starts a chain, hitting one player, and then moving to another
• Hits up to three players
• Stacks an extra 50% damage on the second player
• Instant cast
• Two second cooldown

Touch of Jaraxxus

• 3,900 to 4,100 damage per second
• Shadow damage
• Also casts Curse of the Nether on players near the player that was targeted with Touch of Jaraxxus
• Instant cast
• Lasts 12 seconds
• Two second cooldown

Curse of the Nether

• 4.388 to 4,612 damage per second
• Shadow damage
• Lasts 15 seconds
• Instant cast

Legion Flame

• 2,925 to 3,075 damage per second
• Fire damage
• Lasts six seconds
• Lights the ground on fire

Incinerate Flesh

• Absorbs 60,000 healing received
• Decreases damage you deal by 50% for 12 seconds
• Causes Burning Inferno if not removed

Burning Inferno

• 3,900 to 4,100 damage per second
• Fire damage
• Last five seconds
• Burns every single party member
• Caused by Incinerate Flesh if that spell isn’t dispelled

Nether Portal

• 9,263 to 9,737 damage
• Shadow damage
• All players in a 10 yard radius
• Summons a Mistress of Pain
• Mistress of Pain: 1.5 million hit points, cause melee damage to both main tank and another random raid member, has armor piercing abilities

Infernal Eruption

• 9,263 to 9,373 damage
• Fire damage
• Summons three Felflame Infernals
• Felflame Infernal: 400,000 hit points, 5,000 DPS through Fel Inferno to players within a 15 yard radius and 6,338 to 6,662 damage through Fel Streak to main tank or whoever holds the most aggro

Lord Jaraxxus Boss Fight Strategy Guide: Step by Step

1. You’ll probably need about five healers to beat Lord Jaraxxus.  The primary focus for healers (other than obviously keeping tanks alive) in the Lord Jaraxxus fight MUST be on dispelling Incinerate Flesh.  It’s a good idea to assign one healer specifically to dispel Incinerate Flesh.  The life of your raid depends on not letting Incinerate Flesh become Burning Inferno, which can easily cause a complete party wipe in just seconds.
2. You’ll probably need two tanks in this fight.  Elect a primary and a secondary tank.  Your primary tank will focus on Jaraxxus, and your secondary will take on the Mistresses of Pain and Felflame Infernals.
3. Take down the Mistresses of Pain and Felflame Infernals as quickly as possible, but don’t pull too many DPS from Jaraxxus.  Decide ahead of time which DPS will switch and target these extras when Jaraxxus calls them out.
4. Spread all raid members at least 10 yards apart.  This will help keep the damage from Fel Lightning down to a minimum.
5. Assign one or two DPS to interrupt Fel Fireball each time Jaraxxus casts it.
6. When Jaraxxus lights the floor on fire with Legion Flames, DPS should NOT stand in the fire unless they want to die.  Healers will need to heal the Tanks through the fire damage, so be ready for when he casts this spell.
7. It’s handy to have a mage or two along, and make sure they know to steal Jaraxxus’ Nether Power buff.
8. Make sure your paladins don’t all have the same aura up.  It’s helpful to have one with Shadow Resistance Aura, another with Fire Resistance Aura, and at least one more with Devotion or Retribution Aura.

Crusaders’ Coliseum Instance Guide & Boss Fight Strategies

Welcome to World of Warcraft’s newest instance, the Crusaders’ Coliseium aka Trial of the Crusader. This dungeon is located in northeasern Icecrown, in the center of the Argent Tournament Grounds. The Crusaders’ Coliseum includes the new 10 and 25 man dungeons, the Trial of the Crusader. These 2 high level instances are on a standard one week lockout period and like all high level dungeons have both normal and heroic modes available.

In addition to the 10 and 25 man encounters players may also engage in the new 5 man instance, The Trial of the Champion.

Crusaders’ Coliseum Boss Fight Strategy Guides

• Northrend Beasts
• Lord Jaraxxus
• Faction Champions
• Twin Val’kyr
• Anub’Arak

Northrend Beasts Boss Strategy Guide

Looking for more Trial of the Crusader Strats? Check out the complete Crusaders’ Coliseum Boss Fight Strategy Guide!

The Northrend Beasts make up the first encounter for the new 25-man Trial of the Crusader instance.  There are three phases to the Northrend Beasts part of Trial of the Crusader.  Make sure you kill each of the Northrend Beasts in less than 15 minutes.  If you don’t, whichever Northrend Beast you’re fighting will enrage.

Here are the stats when the Northrend Beasts enrage:

Berserker Enrage

• Begins 15 minutes into each phase of the Northrend Beast boss encounter
• Increases all damage by 500%
• Immunity to taunt

Here’s a boss strategy guide for the Northrend Beast encounter.

Northrend Beasts Boss Strategy Guide: Gormok Basics

Hit Points: 8.92 million

Northrend Beast: Gormok Strategy Guide

1. Use two tanks, and have them taunt Gormok off each other, back and forth.  Tanks should switch after Impale stacks three times.
2. Stay out of the fires which Gormok will start.
3. Assign two DPS to only kill Snobold Vassals.  Other DPS can help with this.  Your Snobold DPS may find this macro helpful: /tar Snobold
4. If you can disarm Gormok, this will be MUCH easier!
5. Gormok’s Abilities in a nutshell:

Staggering Stomp

• 9, 263 to 9,7,37 damage in regular mode.  11,700 to 12,300 damage in heroic mode.
• Physical damage
• 50,000 yard range
• Interrupts all spell-casting for 8 seconds
• Half-second cast time

Impale

• 150% weapon damage
• Bleed effect
• 3,500 to 4,500 damage every 2 seconds
• Lasts 30 seconds at a time
• Instant cast
• 10 second cool-down
• This ability stacks, so this is why you need two tanks taking turns.

Snobold Vassals

• Show up every few seconds during the encounter
• A total of six will appear.
• Debuffs a player with Snobolled, which effectively shuts down your casters’ abilities in that particular Northrend Beast boss encounter.
• Powers: Fire Bomb: 4,813 to 6,187 fire damage, 8 yard range,  Head Crack: Stun effect for 2 seconds, with a 30 second cool-down, Batter: 75% of normal melee damage, Interrupts spell-casting, Lasts 5 seconds

Northrend Beasts Boss Strategy Guide: Acidmaw and Dreadscale Basics

Northrend Beasts: Acidmaw and Dreadscale Strategy Guide

1. Put one tank each on Acidmaw and Dreadscale.  Acidmaw starts out immobile and sticking out of the ground on the left; Dreadscale starts out mobile on the right.  The two burrow through the ground and switch places periodically during the encounter.  Whichever boss is stuck in the ground acts like a turret gun, so you can easily see which player it is targeting.
2. Assign half your DPS to Acidmaw and the other half to Dreadscale.
3. All players who get hit with Paralytic Toxin should run over to the players that get hit with Burning Bile.  The Burning Bile dispels the Paralytic Toxin.
4. Kill Acidmaw first, but not until Dreadscale is almost dead.  When Acidmaw dies, Dreadscale will enrage, so be ready for at least 50% more damage from Dreadscale when Acidmaw dies.
5. Acidmaw and Dreadscale powers:

Acidmaw Abilities

Hit Points: 6.97 million

Paralytic Bite

• 12,950 to 15,050
• Nature Damage
• 15 yard range
• Paralyzing toxin
• Instant cast

Acidic Spew

• 2,775 to 3,225 damage
• Nature damage
• 100 yard range
• Instant cast

Paralytic Spray

• 8,325 to 9,675 damage
• Nature damage
• 100 yard range
• Debilitating paralytic toxin
• 1.1 second cast time

Slime Pool

• 5,088 to 5,912 damage
• Nature damage
• 0 yard range for targets inside the Poison Cloud
• Instant cast

Dreadscale Abilities

Hit Points: 6.97 million

Burning Bile

• 11,100 to 12,900 damage
• Fire damage
• 10 yard range
• Coats with burning bile
• Burning Bile debuff, which can get rid of the paralyze debuff on other players
• Instant cast

Burning Spray

• 8,325 to 9,675 damage
• Fire damage
• 100 yard range
• Coats with burning bile
• 1.1 second cast

Fire Spit

• 10,175 to 11,825 damage
• Fire damage
• 100 yard range
• 1.1 second cast

Molten Spew

• 3,700 to 4,300 damage
• Fire damage
• 100 yard range
• Every .25 second.
• Instant cast

Northrend Beasts Boss Strategy Guide: Icehowl Basics

Hit Points: 13.2 million

Loot: 3 Emblems of Triumph, Tier 9 items: ilevels 80-245

Northrend Beast: Icehowl Strategy Guide

1. Use a half moon formation for your DPS, with both tanks on Icehowl at the start of the encounter.
2. He will knock everyone back soon after he comes out, so be ready for that.
3. Make sure the tanks have their backs against the wall so they’re still up close and personal with Icehowl when he knocks all raid members back.
4. Use a basic tank and spank approach, but each player should be ready to move at a moment’s notice, depending on which player Icehowl targets with his Ferocious Butt ability.
5. Icehowl will indicate which player he is getting ready to target for his big charging hit, so pay close attention to it and MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!
6. If Icehowl hits you, you will die immediately.
7. Icehowl sprays frozen breath every 20 to 30 seconds, targeting various players each time.  The breath freezes all players in a particular cone area, so once again, be ready to dodge if he looks like he’s targeting you or anyone near you.
8. Icehowl’s abilities, in a nutshell:

Arctic Breath

• 20,000 damage in normal mode.  30,000 damage in heroic mode.
• Frost damage
• 100 yard range
• Freeze effect
• Lasts 5 seconds
• Channeled power

Ferocious Butt

• 69,375 to 80,625 damage
• Physical damage
• 8 yard range
• Stuns for 3 seconds
• Instant cast

Massive Crash

• 10,175 to 11,825 damage
• Physical damage
• 50,000 yard range
• Stun effect
• Knockback
• 1 second cast

Whirl

• 9,250 to 10,750 damage
• Physical damage
• 15 yard range
• Knockback
• 1 second cast

Frothing Rage

• Increases physical damage and attack speed by 50 %
• Lasts 15 seonds

The New Emblem Badge System

With Patch 3.2, Blizzard implemented a new badge system that has many players scratching their heads.  The new emblem system is simple though, when you break it down.  There are two ways to earn your badges.  One is by doing daily heroic quests, which you should be doing anyway.  This new system places a new importance on doing daily quests, in addition to running high level instances.  The other way to earn these new badges is to run through various instances numerous times.  No matter which way you choose to get your new emblems, you’ve got to have them if you want to get the new Tier 9 gear.  One bonus about running instances, as opposed to doing daily quests, is that the bosses can also drop the new Tier 9 gear.

Here’s a breakdown of what the new badge system looks like:

The New Emblem System: Emblem of Triumph

The Emblem of Triumph is the newest badge for the system, and it’s the top one in the tier.  You’ll be able to purchase the new Tier 9 items and Tier 9 gear with enough Emblems of Triumph.  Item levels for the Emblem of Triumph gear are between levels 232 and 245.

Any of the bosses in the Crusader’s Coliseum in both the 10- and 25-player modes can drop Emblems of Triumph.  You can run either normal mode or heroic mode of the instances in the Crusader’s Coliseum to pick up some Emblems of Triumph.  The bosses may even drop more than one badge.  As far as daily heroic quests go, you’ll get two Emblems of Triumph when you do the Proof of Demise daily heroic quests.  You’ll earn one Emblem of Triumph if you do the normal daily dungeon quest.

The New Emblem System: Emblem of Conquest

The next highest badge in the new emblem system is the Emblem of Conquest.  You can buy epic Tier 8 items with the right number of Emblems of Conquest.  You can also buy a Runed Orb, which is used to craft epic items and pick up the head and chest for your 25-man Tier 8 set.  Item levels for Emblem of Conquest gear range from 80 to 226.
You can trade your Emblems of Conquest down to Emblems of Valor if you need gear purchased by the lower badges, but it’s one for one, so be careful doing this.  Emblems are traded at the Emblem vendors in Dalaran.

You’ll pick up Emblems of Conquest from any bosses in the level 80 5-man instances in heroic mode only.  You’ll also notice that the raids which did drop Emblems of Heroism and Emblems of Valor now drop Emblems of Conquest instead.

The New Emblem System: Emblem of Valor

Second from the bottom of the badge tier is the Emblem of Valor.  You won’t pick up any of these badges as a drop under this new emblem system, but you can trade down one Emblem of Conquest for one Emblem of Valor.

The gear you get from your Emblems of Valor includes all Tier 7 pieces, specifically the shoulders and legs of your 25-man Tier 7 set.  Item levels for Emblem of Valor gear fall between 80 and 213.

The New Emblem System: Emblem of Heroism

The lowest badge on this new tier system is the Emblem of Heroism.  Like the Emblem of Valor, this badge no longer drops as a reward from bosses in instances.  Instead, you’ll have to trade your Emblems of Conquest down to get Emblems of Heroism.  You’ll be able to round out your 10-man Tier 7 set by collecting enough Emblems of Heroism.  Item levels for Emblem of Heroism gear include some antique level 1 items and items between levels 80 and 200.

Best Level 80 Instances

There are over 20 level 80 instances in World of Warcraft, but not all of these high level dungeons are worth spending your time on.  The best high level instances will really help you gear up for your end game.  Running level 80 dungeons is all about getting better and better gear so you can go further in the game.  Let’s take a look at the top five best level 80 instances.

Best Level 80 Instances #1: Trial of the Crusader (normal version) or Trial of the Grand Crusader (heroic version)

One of the newest dungeons also tops our list of best high level instances.  Trial of the Crusader includes five sets of bosses, of which two include three bosses at a time, and one is a PvP-type of encounter which pits your group against the opposite faction.  Trial of the Crusader is our number one best high level instance because of the awesome drops.  You’ll find plenty of new Tier 9 loot items when you run Trial of the Crusader.

Best Level 80 Instances #2: Trial of the Champion (heroic mode)

Our #2 best level 80 instance is almost as great as our number one.  You might just want to run Trial of the Champion over and over as often as you can because of the crazy epic drops in this high level instance.  Every single drop in this high level dungeon is epic, so you’re sure to end up with some great items at the end.  However, this level 80 instance is certainly not easy.  You’ll earn every bit of that epic gear you pick up in this high level instance.

Best Level 80 Instances #3: Vault of Archavon

Number two on our list of best high level dungeons includes the Vault of Archavon, or VoA, as you might see it called in chat windows.  In this level 80 dungeon you have a little wider variety of items.  Boss #1 is Archavon the Stone Watcher, who drops Tier 7 and Deadly Gladiator gear.  Boss # 2 in this high level instance drops Tier 8 items and Furious Gladiator gear.  Koralon the Flame Watcher is boss #3, and he drops Tier 9 items.

Best Level 80 Instances #4: Ulduar

An instance that’s pretty much a classic for all level 80 characters now is Ulduar.  This high level dungeon is pretty much a rite of passage for all level 80 characters.  It’s one of the first ones you’ll do when you hit level 80, but don’t write this instance off after you’ve been level 80 for a while.  Out of the 14 encounters you’ll find in Ulduar, ten of them have hard settings, which fall between normal and heroic modes.  In fact, the only time you’ll see Algalon the Observer is if you run the hard mode of the Ulduar instance.  Item levels for gear dropped in Ulduar range from 219 in normal mode up to 239 in both heroic and hard modes.  Ulduar definitely remains on our list of best high level instances and is worth a second (or 10th or 20th) look.

Best Level 80 Instances #5: Naxxramas

Yes, Naxx still belongs on our list of the top five best level 80 instances.  This is another level 80 classic instance, and gear drops in this one will start to add to your collection of level 80 gear.  The gear you’ll pick up in Naxxramas will push you further forward in your end game, allowing you to complete some of the higher level instances so you can get even better gear.  Naxx itself is a marathon high level instance made up of five areas, and you’ll defeat many bosses by the time you reach the end.  Loot dropped in the Naxx instance will be Tier 7 and Tier 7.5 raid sets.  You’ll also pick up a total of 16 Emblems of Conquest when you run this high level instance.

Stay tuned for strategy guides on the next two high level instances: Onyxia’s Lair (coming in Patch 3.2.2) and Icecrown Citadel (further down the road)

Koralon the Flame Watcher Boss Strategy Guide

Koralon the Flame Watcher boss strategy guide is a new boss you’ll start to see in early to mid September, when Season 7 stats.  Koralon the Flame Watcher will be found in the Vault of Archavon in Wintergrasp Keep.

This boss strategy guide will show you how to beat Koralon the Flame Watcher on your first time without a group wipe.  When you know what to expect ahead of time, figuring out your boss strategy is simple.

Only the faction which controls Wintergrasp Fortress will be able to access Koralon the Flame Watcher.  The boss de-spawns 10 minutes before every Wintergrasp battle and drops tier 9 and Season 7 items.  Koralon the Flame Watcher also has a chance to drop an epic mount: the Grand Black War Mammoth.

Koralon the Flame Watcher Abilities

Koralon the Flame Watcher has five abilities you’ll need to understand in order to set your strategy up ahead of time.  Meteor Fists is a self-buff, which during the 25-man raid causes all of his attacks to be split evenly among your entire party.  This means your healers have got to be on their toes and have a system set up ahead of time.  Everyone is going to be taking damage at the same time, so your healers must know exactly which group members they’re in charge of keeping alive.

Koralon the Flame Watcher Boss Strategy Guide: Phase One

The first thing Koralon the Flame Watcher starts to do when the boss fight starts is stack Burning Fury.  This power increases damage dealt by 5 percent during a 25-man raid.  Burning Fury stacks every 20 seconds, which is important to keep in mind when you’re planning your boss strategy.  Koralon the Flame Watcher opens the fight by casting Burning Breath, which will burn everyone in your party for about 4,000 fire damage every second for 3 seconds at a time in the 25-man raid.  The damage in this phase is about half of that for the 10-man version of the raid.

Koralon the Flame Watcher Boss Strategy Guide: Phase Two

After Burning Breath, Koralon the Flame Watcher moves to Flaming Cinder.  Basically, he tosses out fireballs along the floor and lights the floor on fire.  The strategy for this part of the boss fight is simple: just keep moving, stay out of the fire, and you should be good to go for avoiding damage from this ability.

Koralon the Flame Watcher Boss Strategy Guide: Phase Three

The last ability in the arsenal of Koralon the Flame Watcher is another version of Meteor Fists.  This is a melee ability which strikes everyone in your party, causing over 100 percent fire weapon damage.

Koralon the Flame Watcher Boss Fight Strategy: Recap

The 25-man raid for Koralon the Flame Watcher is a very healing-intensive fight.  This boss deals a lot of damage to all party members.  Some of his attacks cannot be avoided, which means your healer will do most of the work up front, keeping everyone alive so they can deal damage to the boss.

Make sure all your paladins have Fire Resistance Aura up because all the damage dealt by Koralon the Flame Watcher is obviously fire.  Your shamans should use Fire Resistance Totem.

You should be able to take him down with your basic tank and spank fight.  Heal through the fires, move when the floor under you gets lit on fire, and you should be good to go.  For the 10-man version of the Koralon the Flame Watcher raid, you’ll want two tanks, three healers, and five DPS.  Depending on the experience levels of those in your 25-man raid, you’ll be able to adjust your numbers accordingly.

Death Knight Focus Macro Guide

There’s a lot of controversy over whether macros are needed for World of Warcraft or not, but the unique way power is set up for Death Knights makes macros almost a necessity.  Death Knights’ power is rune-based, which basically means a runic power bar replaces the mana, rage, or energy bar which other characters have.  There’s also another restriction on how Death Knights can use their power.  Death Knights use runes to cast spells, and the more they do this, the more their runic power builds, which, when unleashed, can really cause some serious damage to the enemy.

When creating macros, it’s important to understand the difference between focus and target.  Your focus is your secondary target, which basically means your target takes the spell you cast first, but you can very quickly switch over to your secondary target, or focus, by using macros.

Macros can seem intimidating to those who have never used them, but it’s easy to set them when you have some examples.  Let’s take a look at the most common macros you can set up for your Death Knight.

If you haven’t seen them already…check out the regular Death Knight Macro Guide or my basic guide on setting up Focus Macros if you are unfamiliar with focus macros.

Chains of Ice is one common spell you’ll see in macros.  Because this is a crowd control power, it’s perfect to set a focus on through your macros.

Chains of Ice Focus Macro

#showtooltip chains of ice
/cast [modifier:shift, target=focus] chains of ice
/cast [nomodifier:shift] chains of ice

You’ll also find a focus macro for Death Grip to be very helpful.  If you’ve got two enemies fleeting at the same time, drag both of them back easily and efficiently with this macro:

Death Grip Focus Macro

#showtooltip death grip
/cast [modifier:shift, target=focus] death grip
/cast [nomodifier:shift] death grip

Many DK players love to play around with Death Grip.  One of the simplest ones to set up is Death Grip + Unholy Blight.  This one is very useful, even though there’s no focus in it.

Death Grip / Unholy Blight Focus Macro

#showtooltip
/cast Death Grip
/console Sound EnableSFX 0
/cast Unholy Blight
/script UIErrorFrame:Clear()
/console Sound_EnableSFX 1

Sometimes you’ll find it helpful to clear your focus and targets in order to get the biggest bang for your buck out of your spells.  Macros make it easy to clear your focus, grab a new target that wasn’t either your target or your focus, and then finish them in after you Death Grip them over to you.

Death Grip Macro for Malygos

#showtooltip
/cleartarget
/clearfocus
/tar Power Spark
/stopmacro [target=target,noexists]
/focus
/cast [target=focus] Death Grip

Macros are also perfect for help controlling your pet or ghoul.  This macro commands your pet to jump an enemy and start gnawing.  If your target is friendly, your pet jumps over to the target.  If you have no target, your pet returns to you.

Ghoul Focus Macro

#showtooltip
/cast [target=target, exists,harm] Leap
/cast [target=target,harm] Gnaw
/stopmacro [target=target,exists,noharm] Leap
/cast [target=player] Leap
/petfollow

There are also a few helpful macros that don’t involve setting your focus.  For an instant critical hit without a secondary target, use the Howling Blast + Deathchill macro:

Death Chill / Howling Blast Focus Macro

#showtooltip
/cast Deathchill
/cast Howling Blast

The Howling Blast + Deathchill is a great macro to have easily accessible because it works even if Deathchill is still on cooldown.  You’ll just get Howling Blast, but at least it gives you something.

This next macro is quite a bit more complicated, but it throws down major DPS on a single target:

Ultimate DPS Focus Macro

#showtooltip
/castsequence [button:1] reset=6/combat Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Frost Strike, Blood Strike, Blood Strike, Howling Blast, Frost Strike, Obliterate, Frost Strike, Howling Blast, Obliterate, Frost Strike
/cast !Rune Strike

This macro is one of the more common ones you’ll see a lot of DK players use.  It casts Icy Touch, Plague Strike, Runic Power, Blood Strikes, and then three castings of Obliterate and Runic Power, back to back.  Just keep in mind that this macro only works if you have a Glyph of Icy Touch, a Glyph of Frost Strike, and at least two points in Chill of the Grave.

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