Halfus Wyrmbreaker

How to win

(in one paragraph)

Halfus is harder to explain than he is to kill.  Select a drake killing order, kill the drakes, beat the enrage timer, …, profit!

Basic Instructions

Each week, you will have a different set of 3 drakes to deal with (inactive drakes have a stun-animation over their head). Each drake gives Halfus an ability, and when released, will apply a unique debuff to Halfus before attacking you.  You have choose which order to release the drakes in.

	Buff/Ability	Debuff	Notes
Slate Dragon	Halfus stacks a healing debuff on his target.	Periodically stuns halfus.	Low release priority. Switch tanks at 6-8 stacks.
Nether Scion	Doubles Halfus’s attack speed.	Greatly reduces Halfus’s damage output.	High release priority, especially when combined with Slate Dragon.
Time Warden	Proto-behemoth shoots fireballs at raid members.	Fireballs slow down, become dodge-able.	Medium release priority – raid damage is heal-able.
Storm Rider	Halfus casts Shadow Nova.	Doubles the cast time of Shadow Nova.	High release priority.  Shadow Nova must be interrupted.
Emerald Whelps	Proto-behemoth breathes on the raid.	Decreases breath damage.	Medium release priority – raid damage is heal-able.

Releasing each drake also causes Halfus to take more damage.  Since the fight has a tight enrage timer, you will always want to release all three drakes.  The fight proceeds like this:

• Engage Halfus.  Immediately release your first drake.  Burn it down ASAP.
• Release and burn the second drake.
• Release and tank the third drake.  DPS focuses on Halfus now.
• Below 50% health, Halfus periodically chain-stuns the raid. If Shadow Nova is in play, someone must always break the last stun and interrupt it.

Continue reading for more specifics…

Magmaw

How to win 

(in one paragraph)

Add management is the hardest part of this fight – master that and you win.

Basic Instructions

Phase 1

• Dodge flame pillars. If you stack all but one player up with the melee dps, that player can control flame pillar placement.
• Snare, kite, and optionally kill the groups of worms. AOE snares are your friend.
• Run out of half-the-room fire breaths.  If stacking on the melee, return to your original position once the breath is over.

Transition

• Magmaw will chew on the tank – heal through it.
• Two (25 man: 3) melee dps should ‘board’ his head (it’s a vehicle) as soon as possible and throw chains (the vehicle’s only ability) at the spike on the ground in front of him. Do this until you are kicked out of the vehicle and enter phase 2.

Phase 2

• Dps Magmaw’s head as fast as possible.  Save all cooldowns, including Heroism, for this phase.
• Switch tanks when he returns to phase 1 – the chew-toy will have an armor debuff.

Continue reading for more specifics…

Omnotron Defense System

First, thanks to all those that encouraged me to write cheat sheets for the raid encounters. Hopefully these will be as useful, if somewhat less concise.

Voss and I firmly believe that no encounter should be talked about for more than 10 minutes at a time, ever. Talk briefly, try it, learn, repeat.  With the raid boss posts, I hope to give you enough information to get through the first ‘talk briefly.’

Also, as before, if you have suggestions, leave comments! Occasionally I run heroics as DPS just to see what other tanks are doing. I’m just as eager to see what other guilds are doing.

How to win 

(in one paragraph)

This fight consists of 4 constructs, which rotate out such that you’re fighting 2 at any given time. On their own, each one is simple. You win by learning how to avoid or mitigate their individual abilities while adapting to different pairings.

Basic Instructions

• Only two constructs will be up at any given time. DPS must switch to new targets when they spawn (except when Arcanotron is active).
• Toxitron – Kill adds without letting them reach raid members. Don’t stand in poison clouds, but do position the active DPS target in them.
• Arcanotron – Interrupt his nuke. Pull him out of blue puddles. DPS/healers should stand in blue puddles. Spell steal/purge his 50% shield, and leave interrupters on him.
• Electron – Players with the lightning debuff should not stand near anyone. Spread out to mitigate chain lightning.
• Magmatron – Heal through raid damage. Run out of the Big Red Line. If you are the Big Red Line’s target, help out by pointing it somewhere convenient.

Continue reading for more specifics…