Unbearably HoT

A recent comment preempted this post by reminding me that my old list of “gear with Hit Rating” is dated. With the arrival of 3.0.8, we can now take advantage of two-handed maces and polearms—to great effect. For DPS purposes, two-handed maces and polearms nearly eclipse staves of similar item level for DPS purposes and often have Hit and Expertise Rating on them as an added bonus. Let’s take a look at some high-end weapons you’ll want to consider. As a reminder, all numbers are calculated assuming you’ve maxed out Heart of the Wild and Survival of the Fittest. 

Two-Handed Maces

Inevitable Defeat (Naxxramas): provides 120 STA, ~2,407 total AP, ~1.01% Crit, 169.6 AC, 2.03% Dodge, and 2.34% reduction in Dodge & Parry chance. 

The Jawbone (Naxxramas): provides 108 STA, ~2315 total AP, 2.97% Haste, and 1.77% reduction in Dodge & Parry chance. 

Demise (Naxxramas): provides 103 STA, ~2,051 total AP, 1.35% Hit, and 2.67% Haste. 

Titansteel Destroyer (BS crafted): provides 103 STA, ~2,129 total AP, and 1.62% Hit. 

Obviously if you can get your paws on Inevitable Defeat, do it. I’d roll against my mother for that shit. If, however, you’re a fresh 80, you’re looking for an entry-level weapon and you don’t want to rely on the RNG for something shiny, do yourself a favor and get the Titansteel Destroyer crafted. It’s pretty sweet. 

Polearms

Black Ice (Eye of Eternity): provides 88 STA, ~2,341 total AP, 1.37% Crit, 2.74% Dodge, 228.96 AC, 2.16% Hit, and 1.74% Haste. 

Cryptfiend’s Bite (Naxxramas): provides 108 STA, ~2,339 total AP, ~1.90% Crit, ~1.29% Dodge, 108.12 AC, and 2.35% Haste.

Wraith Spear (Naxxramas): provides 79 STA, ~2,072 total AP, ~2.62% Crit, ~2.28% Dodge, 190.8 AC, and 1.37% Haste. 

Saliva Corroded Pike (Heroic VH): provides 135 STA, ~1,799 total AP and 2.13% Crit.

Staves

Journey’s End (Naxxramas): provides 114 STA, ~2,679 total AP, ~2.81% Crit, ~2.21% Dodge, 184.44 AC, and 2.25% Haste. 

Origin of Nightmares (Naxxramas): provides 150 STA, ~2,353 total AP, ~1.27% Crit, ~2.54% Dodge, and 926 AC. 

Staff of the Plaguehound (Naxxramas): provides 150 STA, ~2,366 total AP, ~0.91% crit, ~1.83% Dodge, 1.77% reduction in Dodge & Parry chance, and 152.64 AC. 

The Undeath Carrier (Naxxramas): provides 151 STA, ~2,352 total AP, ~2.80% Crit, ~2.54% Dodge, and 212 AC. 

Staff of the Plague Beast (Naxxramas): provides 135 STA, ~2,080 total AP, ~1.13% Crit, ~2.26% Dodge, and 818.68 AC. 

Staff of Trickery (Heroic VH): provides 133 STA, ~2,124 total AP, ~1.13% Crit, ~2.26% Dodge, and 188.68 AC. 

I’ve charted out the “highest” and “lowest” options for ease of comparison. Note that the cells highlighted in purple denote the “best value” for each category.

A list of numbers is difficult to look at, nevermind make sense of. It’s easy to say hey, this piece has more Crit and AP than this other piece, but you also need to consider secondary factors. Like what? Many of these weapons have Hit and Expertise Rating. As frequent readers know, I’m a big fan of maxing out Hit and Expertise percentages for optimizing sustainable damage. You severely handicap your DPS potential if you’re not capped appropriately against the mob in question (usually, level 83 raid bosses). Thus, you stand to gain the largest DPS increases if you max Hit and Expertise (until the cap) over AP, Crit, and all those other fun things. 

What happens if you’re faced with choosing between one weapon with more Critical Strike and another with more AP? To determine which stat will ultimately be more useful to you (assuming, of course, that the two weapons aren’t wildly dissimilar otherwise), we need to refer back to a post I made about Cat consumables. In that particular article, I briefly discuss Tossk’s DPS methodology:

You can stack AP and STR forever, but you’ll want a corresponding amount of Critical Strike (via Critical Strike Rating and AGI) to gain the largest DPS benefits. I could draw my own pictures for you, but why do the work when Tossk of Kael’thas has been doing it forever? He’s got a fantastic graph that illustrates approximately when +1 AGI is > +1 STR, and vice versa. The giant red line that marches steadily upwards represents the place where 1 AGI approximates 1 STR—your theoretical happy place you want to find eventually. 

If you find yourself lacking in terms of critical strike (where +1 AGI > +1 STR), you may want to opt for the Elixir of Deadly Strikes rather than a flat out AP boost (since you’ll get nearly 1% Critical Strike out of it). If you’ve somehow managed to acquire an absurd amount of Critical Strike already, focus on improving your AP (via Elixir of Major Strength of Flask of Endless Rage). 

Your goal, then, is to find a balance between the two stats. Let’s consider the dilemma using our low-end weapons. The Staff of Trickery and the Titansteel Destroyer rank similarly: whereas the Destroyer has more overall AP and Hit%, the Staff of Trickery has more Crit%. Essentially, if you’re hurting for Crit, go with the Staff of Trickery at the expense of a few AP. If, however, you’re in good shape with Critical Strike and could also use a boost to your Hit Rating, the Titansteel Destroyer will give you over an entire percentage point. That alone might allow you to rid yourself of some high Hit pieces of gear that are otherwise dated. The Titansteel Destroyer is also crafted, which means that you’ll never have to play the RNG to get it (though Violet Hold is arguably the easiest Heroic out there). 

The clear winner from a purely damage based perspective is Journey’s End, one of our original dr00d staves. It’s got more AP and Critical Strike than both Black Ice and Inevitable Defeat, even if the Haste is a little extraneous. I’d rank Black Ice second (for the sexy balance between AP and Crit with the addition of Hit Rating) and Inevitable Defeat third. Just remember: if you’re in need of Hit or Expertise, the Black Ice or Inevitable Defeat will ultimately be your best option. Regardless of all the number crunching here, these three weapons are pretty exceptional, and you’d be lucky to steal any of them. Have all three? Even better! Optimize your armor sets for Expertise and Hit so that you can make the most of any given situation (or gear acquisition), or put together a Threat set (as if we needed more) for tanking.  

Want to know how I got those numbers? Using data from EJ, I made my own little spreadsheet that lets you plug in base weapon values and receive the interpreted data. You can download it here. 

Earlier today I received an e-mail from a reader asking for an addon that would monitor all his DoTs and debuffs to maximize Cat DPS. What a great question! Maximizing your damage as a slick kitten requires maintaining a series of bleeds and bleed enhancing debuffs while weaving in hard-hitting Shreds and making sure Savage Roar never runs out. Fortunately, there are two such addons that work pretty well separately or in conjunction with one another—and they’re not just for Druids.

NeedToKnow

NeedToKnow provides a moveable, unobtrusive set of receding bars on your UI that monitor whichever buffs and debuffs you specify. The add-on includes functionality to change the color of each buff and debuff for ease in reading, the ability to monitor buffs/debuffs on yourself and/or on your target, and the ability to differentiate between your debuff on a target and another player’s debuff on that same target. It’s still up to you to train yourself to monitor NeedToKnow and intuitively understand when it’s best to refresh each buff/debuff during your rotation. For example, if NeedToKnow informs you that both Rip and Savage Roar will run out and you have 5 combo points, you’re much better off using those 5 combo points to Rip just before Savage Roar runs out, even if it means you’ll have a few seconds worth of white and yellow damage without the AP boost.

The logic here is that you’ll be able to refresh your DoT at full strength while still being powered by Savage Roar, eliminating those pesky “a more powerful spell is active” notices. You potentially lose more damage allowing Rip to fall off rather than Savage Roar, because you’ll have to build up another 5 combo points to refresh that DoT. Savage Roar, however, functions a little bit like the Rogue finisher Slice and Dice; you generally only need a 2 combo point SR to maintain the buff for the duration of your rotations. Remember that rotations aren’t as simple as they used to be—Omen of Clarity procs should be exploited, Berserk requires some manuevering, and Tiger’s Fury gives you an unexpected (but necessary) Energy boost. Keep SR up as much as Druidly possible, and always Rip at 5 combo points. Be dynamic, and you’ve got it down.

Here’s how you set it up:

1. DL and install the addon in the usual way.
2. Log in.
3. You’ll see the default NeedToKnow bars sitting in the right hand corner of your screen. Size and place your group of bars where you’d like on your screen by clicking and dragging.
4. Want to track more than three buffs or debuffs? Bring up your “Interface” screen and drop down to the AddOn Options. This screen allows you to customize the look and feel of your bars (it’s pretty important, I know), add or subtract bars, and create different groups of bars (which you probably don’t need). Do what you need to do, Lock Addon if you don’t want to accidentally move your shit around during raid, and save.



5. To set up the bars, right click on each. Choose your buff/debuff to time by typing in the name exactly. Make sure your bar is enabled, and check “Only show if cast by self” if that’s your bag (it usually is).



6. Check whether the spell you inputted is a Buff or a Debuff. If you screw this up, NeedToKnow won’t end up tracking anything.



7. Check what unit you’re going to be monitoring. Buffs are usually monitored by Player, and Debuffs are usually monitored by Targets. You get the picture.



8. You can also change the color of each bar by futzing around with the “Bar Color” option. It’s pretty obvious.
9. Ready to rock and roll? Type /needtoknow and the bars will disappear and lock for battle.

This is how a simple NeedToKnow setup looks in action:

TellMeWhen

TellMeWhen is a little more dynamic, but essentially has the same functionality as NeedToKnow. I, personally, don’t use TellMeWhen, but it allows you to time buffs, debuffs, cooldowns, spell and weapon procs, and will display an icon when each event happens. TellMeWhen is extraneous if you’re using something like SCT that lights up whenever you get any status changing buffs, but if you need an in-your-face reminder that you should probably Shred when you get a Clearcast, this mod is probably for you.

Luckily for you, the way you set up TellMeWhen is much the same way you set up NeedToKnow.

1. DL and install the addon in the usual way.
2. Log in.
3. You’ll see the default TellMeWhen icons sitting in the right hand corner of your screen. Size and place your group of icons where you’d like on your screen by clicking and dragging.
4. Bring up your “Interface” screen and drop down to the AddOn Options. This screen allows you to add or subtract icon columns and rows, create different groups of icons (which you probably don’t need), and choose whether you want those icons to only display while in combat. Do what you need to do, Lock Addon if you don’t want to accidentally move your shit around during raid, and save.
5. Right click on an icon and choose the spell, buff, debuff, proc, whatever that you want to track. Enable the icon.
6. If you’re monitoring buffs and debuffs, fill in the information the same way that you’d do it for NeedToKnow.
7. If, however, you’re monitoring a temporary buff or procced effect, make sure you note whether the cooldown is a spell, ability, or item, and select when you’d like the icon for that cooldown to display.
8. Type /tellmewhen and the icons will lock and disappear.

That’s it! You don’t ever need an addon to tell you how to play (and I’d argue that you should easily be able to get along without either of these), but both NeedToKnow and TellMeWhen can make monitoring your DPS rotations easier than a drunk chick on prom night.

Any dedicated Bear has probably realized, by now, that all the new idols are relatively shitty for tanking. While Cats, Trees, and Bomb Owls have seen their favorite idols upgraded in some way, shape or form, we Bears are left with a curious mix of downgrades and TPS pieces. Fortunately, infamous blue Vaneras agrees:

A Bear tanking idol is indeed needed and we are therefore looking into getting one added to the game

He offered little else in the way of explanation save that we probably wouldn’t be seeing anything soon. Let’s quickly recap what we currently have available to us and what you should be carrying around in your bags.

1. Idol of Terror: your Mangle ability has the chance to grant 65 AGI for 10 sec. This item is available through Badges of Justice. This level 70 favorite still tops out at the best overall tanking idol. The internal cooldown on this is ~10 seconds, so out of every 40 seconds, you’ve got nearly an 82% chance that it will have been up twice, giving you nearly 1% to crit, an extra 65 armor, and an extra 1.65% to dodge. We can all probably agree that 65 AGI isn’t quite what it used to be, but considering our other options, this baby still tops the list.
2. Idol of the Plainstalker: your Mangle ability has the chance to grant 55 AGI for 10 sec. This item is a reward from a quest called “Get me outa here!” in the Borean Tundra. Totally lame. Essentially a watered down Idol of Terror, this is only worth holding onto if you don’t have the level 70 original.
3. Idol of Perspicacious Attacks: Increases the damage done by your Maul ability by 120 and Swipe ability by 24. What’s great about this item, available to you for the low cost of 30 Venture Coins, is that the idol effect is on equip—no need to worry about proc rate. This idol is well worth picking up, even if you’re only going to be using it on trash. Threat generation should hardly be an issue these days, but a little extra never hurt anyone. Consider the amount of damage Maul does, currently, and how you’re doubling that if using the Glyph of Maul like every good little Bear should. Maul is also a massive threat dump right now and should be used whenever possible. Additionally, if you’re tanking trash, chances are very high that you’re AOE tanking using Swipe. In that situation, your biggest TPS boosting attacks are receiving a direct benefit from this idol. Keen.
4. Idol of the Wastes: Your Shred and Swipe abilities have a chance to grant 61 STR for 10 seconds. This item is a reward from “My Old Enemy” out in Dragonblight. Reports say that the proc rate is 75%, and the actual AP benefit is approximately 137 (assuming Protector of the Pack). I’d say that this is an acceptable idol, but only for trash and only if you haven’t gotten over some kind of laziness and never managed to pick up the Idol of Perspicacious Attacks.
5. Idol of the White Stag: Your Mangle ability also increases your attack power by 94 for 20 seconds. This item dropped off Supremus in Black Temple. While the AP buff will affect any of your attacks, your Mangle still needs to land, and if you’re AOE tanking a group of mobs, you’re probably going to be spamming Maul/Swipe rather than Mangle.

Essentially, I’d make sure that you have the Idol of Terror and the Idol of Perspicacious Attacks on you at all times. Just think about how easy it’ll be to pick up the Badges of Justice if you missed the Idol of Terror the first go around! As for the Venture Coins, I picked them up by doing all the PVP dailies out in Grizzly Hills. This is easy gear, folks. Keep your claws crossed and hope we see something else soon.

You’re not tanking Patchwerk—you’re hitting it from behind. There are four seconds left on Savage Roar, two seconds left on Mangle, and Rake fell off one second prior. No problem, right? You Rake—but nothing happens. You go for a second Rake and Mangle runs out. By the time you’ve reestablished your debuffs, Savage Roar has been down for ten seconds and you’ve missed valuable Shred and Rip time. On a fight where you literally have nothing to do but stand there and click like a pro, you should be destroying DPS—and you’re not.

Nothing is more frustrating than trying to complete a timer-sensitive damage rotation and letting debuffs drop-off because you missed. As Feral Druids, we rely heavily on our yellow-damage, our specials, to ramp up our DPS—and two of our muchly-used specials are damage-over-time spells. While Rogues have a talent (Surprise Attacks) in the Combat tree that guarantees all their finishers will land, we’ve got no such luck.

To max your Cat DPS in a raid environment, it’s imperative that you reach 295 hit rating, or 9% chance to hit. To eliminate any chances of being dodged (which occasionally can happen from behind), you’ll want Primal Precision and approximately 131 expertise rating, or 6.5%—which is far easier to obtain naturally than hit. Don’t think of hit stacking as sacrificing other stats; without the ability to hit your mob of choice, you’re not doing any damage anyway. It’s pertinent to mention that, with the gear list I’m providing, you’ll still be able to eke out at least 5500 AP, providing your other slots are happily occupied.

Here’s a list of hard hitting must haves (without setting foot in Naxxramas):

Head

Mask of the Watcher, Heroic Oculus. This helm not only affords you the opportunity to use a meta-gem, but it also boasts 62 expertise rating. Likely the best non-crafted item you’ll get for DPS before Naxxramas.

Arcanum of Ferocity. Still not revered with Knights of the Ebon Blade and looking for a quick hit-boosting fix? This old-school head enchant will give you 34 AP and 16 hit rating. I’d really only recommend this if you’re desperate.

Necklace

Shit—something goes here? There aren’t any stellar necklaces that offer hit or expertise rating beyond PVP items (and those definitely aren’t best in slot right now). Do yourself a favor and spend 25 Emblems of Heroism to pick up the Pendant of the Outcast Hero.

Shoulders

Trollwoven Spaulders, LW BoE. A pretty excellent item to have on hand for just about everything, Pre-Naxxramas. Increases expertise rating by 28.

Spaulders of the Careless Thief, Heroic Nexus. Similar in terms of damage ranking to the above; however, this item gives you an easy +4 hit socket bonus and an additional 33 hit rating.

Cloak

Embrace of Sorrow, Halls of Stone. A normal instance? This is an easy 37 hit rating to farm.

Cloak of the Gushing Wound, Heroic Violet Hold. While slightly better than the Embrace of Sorrow (and actually, probably easier to get), this aptly named cloak has 29 hit rating.

Chest

Heroes’ Dreamwalker Rainments, Normal Naxxramas or 80 Emblems of Heroism. While I still find it slightly ridiculous that you can pick up T7 gear with Emblems, this is a totally slick pick-up. With two sockets and a static 35 expertise, you won’t be disappointed (and it’ll cover the monstrosities that will be your leggings and boots).

Gloves

Gilt-Edged Leather Gauntlets, Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle. An instance well-worth farming! These gloves will take you a long way, and with 66 hit rating? They’re pretty hard to beat.

Bracers

Drake-Champion’s Bracers, Heroic Occulus. 29 hit rating here, but I wouldn’t pick these up unless you’re desperate for that extra hit and you’re not Exalted with the Wyrmrest Accord. No excuses! All you have to do is put on a tabard and run around in level 80 instances. The Dragonfiend Bracers from your special dagron friends offer a fairly significant critical strike and AP upgrade.

Legs

Gored Hide Legguards, Heroic Gun’Drak. There are a multitude of items you’ll want from the new troll instances (because you’re not tired of trolls yet, m I rite?), so it’s definitely worth the time spent to pick up an extra 52 hit rating. These, coupled with the Gilt-Edged Leather Gauntlets and the Boots of the Neverending Path, will end up occupying the lion’s share of your hit input.

Feet

Boots of the Neverending Path, Exalted with Argent Crusade. Another easy reputation grind if you’re doing your normal dailies (and picking up the Argent Crusade token) and wearing your tabard. These are only slightly better than a rare drop out of the Heroic Halls of Stone, but the 66 hit rating here really makes a difference.

Rings

Hemorrhaging Circle, Heroic Gun’Drak. Remember when I said that there’d be other items of note from Gun’Drak? Here’s one of them. Superior ring with the added bonus of 33 expertise rating.

Ring of Scarlet Shadows, JC BoE. Still pretty pricey on the AH, but offers more hit rating (38) than the Mobius Band (25) from Heroic Caverns of Time: Stratholme.

Trinkets

Sphere of Red Dragon’s Blood, Heroic Nexus. This piece has yet to drop for me. If you’re comfortable with on-use trinkets, the Sphere of Red Dragon’s Blood will increase your AP by 670 for 20 seconds, and also gives you 55 static hit rating. Note that it’s in your best interests to acquire as many trinkets as possible so that you can optimize your set for your encounter. I personally wear the Mighty Alchemist Stone and the Mirror of Truth because I’m at 8.25% without any buffs, but there are certainly situations where I wouldn’t mind having the luxury of the Sphere.

Weapon

Staff of Trickery, Heroic Violet Hold. No, there isn’t any hit or expertise rating on this bitch, but it’ll be the best staff you pick up until you’re well into Naxxramas, hands down.

Belt

Jorach’s Crocolisk Skin Belt, 40 Emblems of Heroism. Also the best in slot belt for Cats, Pre-Naxxramas, Jorach’s belt offers a socket and 38 expertise rating.

You’ve got to mix it up, baby. If you wore every single item on this list, you could potentially end up with 396 hit rating and 196 expertise rating, a far cry above what’s actually necessary to cap yourself—and that’s without enchantments (expertise and hit to gloves and bracers) and gems (look for rigid, accurate, glinting or etched). If you’re especially dedicated to damage, you can keep one high hit set for bosses and a slightly lower hit set for trash—but it all depends on how much you’re interested in min/maxing.

Most, if not all boss encounters in both normal and heroic Naxxramas are relatively straight forward: DPS beats things, the tanks generate threat, healers play the bar graph game, and everyone makes sure they’re not standing in shit on the ground. Sure, there are tricks and gimmicks to everything; for example, kiting the Zombie Chow during Gluth’s encounter (if you have the tools to do it) is much easier on healers than standing there and letting 85 damage-increasing diseases (no exaggeration) stack on you.

 

But it rather goes without saying that waltzing into the Four Horsemen’s chamber without knowing what’s up essentially sets you up for failure. To that end, I’ve outlined a two-healer strategy for the 10-man encounter that involves a series of first-grade drawings. Use at your own peril, and note that updates and tweaking will follow.

 

For reference purposes, colors and numbers are as follows:

• 1 = Lady Blaumeux
• 2 = Thane Kor’Thazz
• 3 = Baron Rivendare
• 4 = Sir Zeliek
• Red = Bosses
• Brown = Warrior (substitute another melee tank if you’d like)
• Orange = Bear Druid (substitute another melee tank if you’d like)
• White = Healers
• Yellow = DPS
• Blue = Ranged DPS Tanks

 

Abilities

For a comprehensive list of all Horsemen abilities, I recommend checking out Wowhead. All you need to know is that each Horseman can indefinitely stack a “Mark” on you if you’re within a 55 yard range that exponentially deals Shadow damage. You do not want multiple Marks from different Death Knights, and you need to make sure you’re not letting more than three stack on you at any given time.

 

Other notable abilities to watch out for:

• Meteor. Hey guys, remember the anubisath in AQ40 and that guy who always lagged and died? Thane Kor’thazz’s Meteor functions in a very similar way. He casts this bitch frequently and it does a stupid amount of fire damage (upwards of 50,000) split between everyone within 8 yards. As you can imagine, stacking your DPS with whichever tank is on Thane is a stellar idea. Because of this  ability and the way you need to rotate tanks and Death Knights, Thane needs to go down immediately.
• Void Zone. Another basic DON’T STAND IN THE FIRE ability. Think Netherspite. Lady Blaumeux summons these at random intervals, and as you can imagine, you don’t want to keep standing around inside of it. The ranged tank on Blaumeux needs to be on the look out.
• Holy Bolt. Zeliek enjoys chaining Holy damage to fry people. While this ability isn’t a major issue while only a tank is on him, as soon as the DPS moves to kill him, they need to spread out as much as possible to avoid chaining more damage than is actually necessary.

 

Step 1

Everyone can assume their respective positions around the room before the Horsemen are pulled; this involves getting cozy with the wall. When the melee tanks initiate the event, each horseman pulls to his or her respective corner where each tank needs to pick them up. Note the position of the healers: the tanks on Blaumeux and Zeliek need to be tanking at max range, and the two tanks on Kor’thazz and Rivendare can’t shove themselves in the corner. The healer positions guarantee that they can hit each corner without taking multiple marks from different Death Knights.

 

All DPS starts by the tank on Kor’Thazz, in the case of my diagram, by the Warrior. Because Kor’Thazz’s Meteor deals much of the raid wide damage, your DPS needs to be spot on and nuke the shit out of him instantly: cooldowns, Heroism if you have it, explosionkapow! etc. In an ideal world, Kor’Thazz is killed before the first switch or at least after the second. It’s imperative that everyone stays grouped up to mitigate his Meteor damage, and whenever a transition is about to occur (covered in Step 2), melee needs to hover near the pick-up tank to diffuse the damage.

 

Step 2

The Horsemen will all be casting their respective marks of blah, Rivendare and Kor’Thazz with more frequency than their counterparts. Once each tank has his or her third mark, it’s time to pull the ol’ switcharoo. The melee tanks will move to the middle of the path where the arrows intersect and Taunt. In effect, the melee tanks do nothing except pull a different Death Knight back to their original corners. DPS stays with the first tank to let their marks wear off and gets some damage in on Rivendare. The tank left alone with Kor’Thazz (me, lol) takes considerable damage and will likely use cooldowns during that period of time to diffuse healer angst. Barkskin is great to save for transitions.

 

The two ranged tanks will also switch after every third mark is cast, but instead of taunting and pulling the Horsemen to separate corners, only the tanks will switch. If you’re not savvy to watching your own debuffs, at least make sure you have a boss timer type mod to facilitate knowing when marks will hit. Rinse and repeat.

 

Step 3

Kor’Thazz DIES. Sweet! The DPS will wait until his marks have faded and will then move on to Rivendare. RIVENDARE DIES. If necessary, the melee tanks can still alternate Rivendare to alternate corners to avoid stacking too many debuffs, but the DPS will still take extra marks. At this point in time, a spare ranged DPS can head back to Blaumeux and offer some transition rotation relief to the ranged tanks.

 

Step 4

With Rivendare and Thane dead, the two melee tanks and the DPS let their debuffs drop and then run to the back of the chamber to help kill Blaumeux. DPS now needs to watch out for the dreaded Void Zones and for realz tanks can take over. If Blaumeux does not die after three marks have been applied, the tanks and DPS need to rotate to Zeleik and repeat. Because Blaumeux casts marks at a lower frequency than Kor’Thazz or Rivendare, it’s likely that you’ll kill her without needing to switch again.

 

Step 5

Ding dong, the bitch is dead! All healers and DPS move onto Zel and kill him. Stay spread out.

 

Step 6

Collect loot.