Plague Quarter/Plague Wing
Noth the Plaguebringer
Commander Eligor Dawnbringer: "Behold, Noth the Plaguebringer. Responsible for the creation of the process that distills the souls of the living and places them within the cold cage of undeath, Noth was observed to be refining this process even now."
Noth the Plaguebringer has ~8.4million hp in 25man and about 2.5million hp in 10man. The fight is almost identical in both versions other than the inclusion of 2 extra abilities in the 25man encounter.
Abilities:
Curse of the Plaguebringer - Noth uses this ability at random and casts it on 10 random people in the raid (3 random people). If it is not decursed within 10secs it will inflict Wrath of the Plaguebringer on the target and everyone with 30 yards of the player as well. (This is the crux of the entire fight. If this is not removed immediately it will wipe the entire raid)
Wrath of the Plaguebringer - If a curse is allowed to go off after 10secs, everyone within 30 yards of the player will suffer 5500-6500 (3700-4300) Shadow damage and an additional 3-4k (1300-1700) Shadow damage every 2secs for 10secs. (This is why curses left on players will wipe the raid)
*25man only abilities:
Blink - Randomly throughout the fight, Noth will Blink a short distance away from the tank. He doesn't travel a far distance but this does cause an aggro wipe. Cool-down is roughly 25secs but he may not reuse the ability right away either. (Watch your threat when he blinks, give the tank a moment to regain control)
Cripple - This is used in conjunction with Blink and will hit about 5 people that were where Noth Blinked from. The debuff slows movement speed by 50%, attack speed by 100%, and reduces Strength by 50%; the debuff is dispellable. (This really needs to be removed from the MT as quickly as possible so they can reestablish threat; try to get it off of other melee too) Note: Noth does use Cripple in 10man, but it seems fairly random and sporadic when he chooses to do so.
Soft Enrage: None
Hard Enrage: Berserk - After 3 skeleton phases (Phase 2s) Noth will berserker enrage, increasing his damage by 1000%.
Adds:
Plagued Warriors - Every 30secs during Phase 1, Noth will summon 3 (2) Plagued Warriors into the fight. They have around 125,000hp (100,000), can hit for around 3,000 (1,000) on plate and use Cleave.
Plagued Champions - These will come out during Phase 2, 4 (2) at a time for a total of 2 waves. They have 130,000hp (105,000hp) and hit for about 3,500 (2,500) on plate, they also have a Mortal Strike attack and Shadow Shock, which does 3-3.5k Shadow damage to everyone within 25 yards.
Plagued Guardians - These adds only appear in the 2nd and 3rd skeleton phases and will replace 2 (1) of the Plagued Champions in each wave. They have 100,000hp (75,000hp) and hit for about 1,000 on plate. They cast Arcane Explosion, which deals about 6,000 (4,000) damage to all players within 30 yards.
Strategy:
In the picture, the raid can move into the room and setup in the right corner by the entrance. When ready, the MT will run in and aggro Noth, holding him near the back of the central diamond pattern on the floor while the raid moves up from behind to take position near the center of the room.
This is the first Phase 1 part of the fight, where the raid will have 1min and 50secs to do a hard burn on Noth. In 25man the dps will need to watch their threat whenever Noth uses Blink since it is an aggro wipe; in 10man the dps will just keep pressing him hard. The OT(s) will position themselves as shown in the picture in order to pick up all of the Plagued Warrior adds Noth will summon in this phase. The adds will be summoned from one of the bone piles seen in the room, 3 at a time (2 in 10man) and the OT will just keep picking them up and holding them until Phase 2.
The MOST important part of Phase 1 is to remove Curse of the Plaguebringer immediately everytime that Noth uses it on people. If this does not get removed from every single person within 10secs, it will likely cause either massive damage, cost you half the raid, or wipe the entire raid. Let me spell it out more clearly: BEING TOP DPS MEANS NOTHING IF YOU CAUSE THE ENTIRE RAID TO WIPE.
After the 1min 50secs, Noth will teleport to his balcony and Phase 2 begins. Lasting 70secs, Phase 2 is considered the "Skeleton Phase" and will consist of quickly burning down summoned adds before they overwhelm the raid. The first priority as soon as Noth leaves is to burn down all of the adds that were being OT'd during Phase 1 while the MT switches to add pickup.
During this phase, 2 more waves of adds will be summoned. In 25man you will get 2 groups of 2 adds in 2 different waves, while in 10man you will get 2 groups of 1 add each in 2 waves. During the first Phase 2 you will only see Plagued Champions, while in the second and third skeleton phases Plagued Guardians will be mixed into the adds. The Plagued Guardians can cause massive raid damage and should be picked off first. Anyone with the ability to interrupt spells should try to stay on top of interrupting Arcane Explosion as much as possible while these adds are burned down.
After 70secs, Noth will teleport back to the ground level and Phase 1 will begin again.
Ideally, you want to kill Noth during the second Phase 1, so as soon as the MT reestablishes aggro, use Heroism and blow cool-downs to quickly finish him off before you get to the second Phase 2 if possible. If the raid doesn't manage to do this, you will go into a second Phase 2 where the Plagued Guardians begin showing up. Stay on top of these adds and you should be ok; if they are allowed to run rampant or you have already taken too many casualties, getting through this phase can prove to be challenging.
Tanks: Noth himself isn't that difficult to tank and doesn't hit overly hard. Because of this it is usually a better idea to put the stronger tank on add duty since they will be taking quite a beating by Phase 2. Any tank can do either job, but Druids tend to make the worst OT for Phase 1 add duty since they might struggle the most with keeping up with AoE tanking so many adds at once. During Phase 2, the OT needs to stay still and wait for the Raid to burn down all of their adds they gathered from Phase 1, while the MT should switch to add duty and begin gathering the first wave of new adds. After that, let the other OT(s) gather the 2nd wave of adds while the MT gets ready for Noth to teleport back down.
Melee: As usual for melee, stay on the boss, move to the adds, get back to the boss next phase. During Phase 2 help burn down the adds and use interrupts on Plagued Guardians if the raid makes it to that Phase. In 25mans you will typically get stuck with the Cripple debuff; hope for a dispel but don't expect one, Rogues should use Cloak on this when they can. Rogues can also help during Blink by using Tricks of the Trade, but this can be difficult if Crippled.
Ranged DPS: Most of the fight you will be able to stay roughly in the Blue marked area in the picture. In 25man you HAVE to watch your threat during a Blink; if you get hate DO NOT RUN. The MT will most likely have the Cripple debuff on for a few seconds, so wait for them to pick Noth back up. If you get aggro, Blink towards the tank, Ice Block, Soul Shatter, Feign Death, etc but do not run or you only waste time and make it harder for the tank. Hunters can help with MD as soon as Noth Blinks also. Mages need to be on top of decurse as well, this is the most important role of the fight and will cause a wipe if not kept in check.
Healers: During Phase 1 the healing should be somewhat light. The MT doesn't take a heavy beating so focus more on the OT since they will be holding a lot of adds by the end of the phase. During Phase 2, raid damage will shoot up dramatically. Keep an eye on the tanks, watch healing aggro, and try to keep the dps up as best you can. Shadow Shock from the Plagued Champions will cause moderate raid damage to everyone near the adds, while Arcane Explosion from the Plagued Guardians in the later skeleton phases will cause massive raid damage. Druid healers help on decurse as much as possible.
Videos:
Tankspot VideoHeigan the Unclean
Commander Eligor Dawnbringer: "Observe, Heigan the Unclean. The mastermind behind the plague cauldrons that turned the wilderness of Azeroth into the Plaguelands. It is said that Heigan has rigged the very walls and floors of Naxxramas itself with a vast array of traps, which he can trigger at will."
Heigan the Unclean has roughly 9.3million hp in 25man, and roughly 3.1million hp in 10man. Other than more health and harder hitting abilities, the fights are identical in both versions.
Abilities:
Phase 1
Spell Disruption - This is a 30 yard aura around Heigan that will increase cast times on spells by 300%. (If fought properly this has 0 effect on the raid)Decrepit Fever - This disease is applied randomly on people throughout Phase 1's of this encounter. The disease does 4,500 (3,000) Nature damage every 3secs and reduces the max hp of everyone within 20 yards by 50%. (If people don't die to Eruptions, this is likely what will kill most people. Try to keep it off people as much as possible)
Phase 2
Plague Cloud - Deals 7,500 Nature damage each second to anyone that remains on the platform in Phase 2. (Should be a non-issue and simply forces everyone to "dance" in Phase 2)Eruption - This is used in both phases, but in Phase 2 the entire raid will have to deal with it throughout. Three-quarters of the room will be unsafe at a time, leaving only small sections safe from Eruption. If hit by this, it causes roughly 7,000 Nature damage. Someone hit near the edge of the Eruption's effect will probably live through it, but being in the middle of an unsafe zone will cause the person to eat multiple hits and die almost instantly. (Learn the "dance" and stop blaming lag; don't get too close to the next zone and don't fall behind either)
Soft Enrage: None
Hard Enrage: None
Adds:
None
Strategy:
The pictures here are pretty self-explanatory. The crux of the entire encounter is learning and performing the "dance." There is no enrage timer so as long as there is a tank, healer, and dps alive, the fight can be won (though I would rather call for a wipe than watch 3 people spend 30min killing Heigan). Only 1 tank is needed for the fight and there are no adds to off-tank.
In the picture, the Raid will enter the room from the left and hug the wall until ready to start. The MT will pull Heigan off of the platform into Zone 1 while all of the healers and ranged dps will run up to the platform. Because of the Spell Disruption aura, the MT will need to pull Heigan away from the platform, roughly 1/3 of the distance between the platform and back wall. Melee stick with the tank.
Phase 1 lasts 90secs and consists of the MT and Melee moving through the safe zones while everyone burns Heigan down. Paladins, Priests, and Shamans will need to also stay on top of curing the Decrepit Fever disease since this is what will kill people even if they do the dance properly. During this phase the Eruptions come slowly and only the MT and Melee will need to worry about moving through it.
The dance for Phase 1 works like this: Start in Zone 1 then move to 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2 and after that Heigan will teleport to the platform for Phase 2.
As soon as Heigan teleports to the platform, everyone must IMMEDIATELY run back to Safe Zone 1. The ranged people that were on the platform through Phase 1 should NOT jump down and head towards the tank, but instead move directly off of the platform to Safe Zone 1. During this phase there are no attacks from Heigan other than the Eruption, which is quickened dramatically.
Phase 2 lasts 45secs and is all about survival and dancing properly. Do not take pot shots at the boss, do not worry about healing people that screw up, and do not fall behind. Everyone has a few seconds to get to Zone 1 before the dance begins, but once it starts you will need to move immediately to the next safe spot and only pause for about 1 second before moving again. Aggro does not reset, so once this phase is over Heigan should return to the MT. The tank and melee will return to Zone 1 while everyone else returns to the platform. A word of caution here: make certain the Plague Cloud has dissipated fully before running back onto the platform or you will likely kill yourself. Rinse and repeat until Heigan is dead.
Tips on dancing:
Pay attention to where the Eruption bursts come up from; pick a spot on the ground you know is safe and always try to move to it.
Tilt your camera downward some so that you can easily see the ground and what spots are or are not safe.
Do not worry about your dps; this fight is not a race and no one cares how much dps you do if you get yourself killed.
Stay near the edge of the next Eruption coming up instead of lagging behind the group.
When moving into Zones 1 and 4, do not run all the way into them. Get out of Zones 2 and 3 and turn quickly so that you can move back into them soon. If you run too far into the outer zones you will end up missing the next window.
Tanks: Make the MT whichever tank feels most comfortable with the dancing portion of this fight. Only 1 tank is needed, but I would suggest a 2nd tank keep some threat on Heigan in case the MT dies from fever or poor dancing. If there's an extra Pally that isn't tanking Heigan, feel free to help out with Cleanse instead.
Melee: This fight is probably most complicated for you since you will need to dance the entire encounter while also dps'ing the boss and keeping up with the tank. One thing to remember here is that you shouldn't be worrying about maximizing your dps to look good. Most melee dps need to stand behind bosses, but on this fight you can't always maneuver behind Heigan while staying safe from the Eruptions. Staying alive is the #1 priority, so stand in front of the boss if you have to, and even stand by the tank and be out of range to hit the boss if you have to. Sometimes Heigan lags behind and will stand in the Eruption before moving closer to the tank, if that happens, wait it out instead of risking yourself to get a few hits in.
Ranged DPS: Phase 1 is simple for you here, just stay on the platform and burn Heigan down. When Heigan is about to teleport up to you, jump down to Safe Zone 1 quickly and get ready for the dance. Do NOT try to keep getting casts off on Heigan between bursts. Risking your life for a little extra damage in Phase 2 isn't worth it and if you die that just makes the fight harder.
Healers: During Phase 1 there will be lots of raid healing since Decrepit Fever will drop people's hp by 50% everytime it goes off. Other than keeping people topped off however, there shouldn't be any actual raid "damage" going on. Every non-Druid healer needs to stay on top of the disease removing though, since it can and will end up killing people because of the DoT applied. One dedicated tank healer should easily be able to keep the MT up though.
Videos:
Tankspot VideoLoatheb
Commander Eligor Dawnbringer: "Loatheb. The hideous result of fusing the living plague of the Plaguelands with the bog beasts of Azeroth, Loatheb is said to control the power of healing itself."
Loatheb has a little over 20million hp in 25man and almost 7million hp in 10man. The fight is a dps race and is almost no different in either version.
Abilities:
Necrotic Aura - Loatheb casts this aura on the raid every 20secs and it reduces healing effects by 100% for 17secs. Because of this healers only hae a 3sec window in which to heal the entire raid. (This is the single ability of the fight that will cause the most headaches. Healers must learn how to time and prioritize their heals, and raid members will need to help them out with properly timed health pots and abilities)
Deathbloom - Every 30secs Loatheb will cast this on the raid, which works like a reverse Lifebloom spell. It will do 400 (200) Nature damage a second for 5secs and then "bloom" for 1500 (1200) damage at the end. Cannot be dispelled. (Minor annoyance, should never kill someone)
Inevitable Doom - The first time this is cast on the raid will be 2min into the fight. After 10secs everyone in the raid will take 5,000 (4,000) Shadow damage. This will begin happening every 30secs from now on, and after 5min of fighting, Loatheb will increase it to every 15secs. The debuff cannot be dispelled and the damage cannot be resisted, though Cloak of Shadows, Ice Block, and Divine Shield will remove it until the next cast. (This is what will eventually make the fight un-healable)
Soft Enrage: After 5min of combat, Inevitable Doom will be used every 15secs, eventually making the fight un-healable and people will steadily keep dropping.
Hard Enrage: After 12min of combat, Loatheb will go into a Berserker Enrage and kill everyone still standing.
Adds:
Fungal Spore - One of these will spawn every 30secs from one of the 4 corners of the room and slowly float around. They do almost no melee damage and have very little health. When killed they apply a beneficial debuff to people which is how you shave off Loatheb's massive hp before the fight becomes un-healable.
Fungal Creep - When a Spore is killed, this debuff will apply on up to 5 people that are within 10 yards. This is a non-stacking debuff that boosts your crit rate by 50% and makes all of your attacks cause no threat. You do NOT want the tank to be hit with his however, since they will also no longer be causing any threat.
Strategy:
Other than the healing issue, this is a fairly straightforward tank 'n spank fight. Only 1 tank is needed.
Make sure everyone is in the door and hug the wall. When you're ready to begin, the MT will run in and grab aggro, keeping Loatheb in the center of the room and facing away from the door. Everyone else should stack up on the boss and keep dps'ing the entire fight.
Every 30secs one of the Fungal Spores will spawn. The DPS will run out and grab the debuff whenever they need it. Try to keep the debuff on you at all times and only run off the boss when you need to reapply it (if you have less than 20secs remaining, get a new debuff). Keep burning Loatheb down until he's defeated.
Tanks: Only 1 tank is needed for this fight. If the other tanks are dps'ing they will not gain any threat should the MT die, so keep that in mind. Taunts still work however, so be careful not to Taunt Loatheb off of the MT or threat can get screwy. Pally tanks should feel free to heal themselves during the window to help out the healers.
Melee and Ranged DPS: Burn nonstop, only run off the boss when you need to gain or reapply the spore debuff. Use healthstones or health pots during the 3sec window if you need a boost; don't count on healers to always save you at the last second.
Healers: This can be a very frustrating fight since you will be watching people's health drop constantly and have no way to help them outside of the 3sec window. Remember that the healing debuff only applies to heals that LAND during this time, so if you need to cast a big heal that takes 3secs to cast, you can start casting before the window opens and have it land just after the aura is lifted, then pop off some instant heals before the window closes again. Make sure that the MT gets topped off between windows. Loatheb's melee attacks are weak but if the MT drops, he will likely take out more people before another tank can pick him back up.