Nefarian

[Bastet]

The Environment
The Nefarian encounter takes place in the final area of Blackwing Lair, a large rectangular room that opens out onto a large balcony, overlooking parts of both the Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge.

From the Torture Chamber and Chromaggus' kennel, a narrow passageway leads to this balcony, via a gated doorway in its NW corner. This entrance to the balcony is also its only true exit, as you cannot (try though you might) jump over the railing! With Chromaggus dead, this gate will remain open right up until the Nefarian encounter is triggered, whereupon it will slam shut, locking in all those within the confines of the balcony area. It remains closed until Nefarian is dead, or until the raid wipes during Phase 1 of the encounter (see below for details).

Two doorways pierce the western (interior) wall of the balcony chamber, each leading to a short passageway that dead-ends after only a few yards.

The Encounter - Overview
The Nefarian encounter itself can be broken down into 3 phases, as is the case with Onyxia:

1. The raid must engage and kill a continuous stream of 3 varieties of Elite draconid mobs, 2 varieties of which are randomly determined for each instance in a similar way to the active breaths of Chromaggus. All the while, Victor Nefarius will prowl to and fro across the balcony, untargettable and invulnerable, while he sows confusion amongst the raid. This phase ends only once the raid has killed a certain pre-defined number of draconid mobs. At this point, the draconids stop spawning, and Victor Nefarius vanishes from the balcony. He reappears moments later, revealed in his true dragon form as Nefarian, and lands to begin Phase 2 of the encounter.

2. During this Phase, the raid must engage Nefarian in his true form, dealing not only with a variety of rather "traditional" modes of attack such as a physical cleave, AoE Fear, and Shadowflame breath weapon, but also with a devilish set of random "class calls" uniquely suited to Nefarian's innate trickster nature. Each call turns the strengths of a single class against the raid's best interests, in a variety of amusingly ironic ways. This phase ends and Phase 3 begins when Nefarian is reduced to 20% health.

3. As this Phase begins, the dark magics of Deathwing's spawn work to reanimate the corpses of all the draconids killed during Phase 1, which subsequently rise up in an unholy "zerg" of Bone Constructs that assault the raid. Once this zerg is dealt with, the remainder of this Phase continues in an identical fashion to Phase 2.

Now, each individual Phase will be dealt with in greater detail.

Phase 1 - Razorgore Revisited?
To start this Phase of the encounter, a member of the raid ascends up to Victor Nefarius' throne and speaks to the lord of Blackwing Lair, at which point the gauntlet is thrown and a challenge to combat issued. Nefarius stands and enters Shadowform, the entry gate slams tightly shut barring any chances for escape, and the encounter begins. Moments later, Elite draconid mobs begin to emerge from each of the doorways in the western wall of the chamber, spawning inside the dead-end passageways and rushing out into combat with the raid. These draconids must be fought and killed, despite the dangerous distractions posed by Nefarius himself.

The primary focus of this Phase rests squarely upon how effectively the raid can handle the draconids. They spawn continuously once the encounter begins, right up until the transition to Phase 2 is triggered or the raid wipes, whichever comes first. There is no way to complete the encounter without killing each and every one of these mobs that spawns

Phase 1 - The Mobs
The mobs the raid must deal with during this Phase can be broken down into three general categories, as follows:

* Victor Nefarius - As alluded to previously, Nefarian wields a number of Shadow-based abilities while cloaked in his human guise, which he will use to assault the raid during this Phase.

First, he has two varieties of moderately powerful (~1400 dmg per hit) Shadowbolt attacks: a directed, single-target version that he tends to "spam" repeatedly at one target (4-5 times in quick succession, requiring a significant amount of extra healing to survive) before moving to the next, and a multiple-target volley that affects up to ~5 members of the raid in close proximity to one another that he uses much more infrequently.

Second, Nefarius will periodically mind control one of the raid members, forcing that person to attack his allies.

Third, he may vanish from his current position within the balcony chamber and reappear elsewhere in the chamber at any time.

And finally, he is able to remain in a kind of "super" Shadowform that renders him both untargettable and completely invulnerable.

It is not possible to disrupt, prevent, or avoid any of Victor Nefarius' attacks during the entirety of this Phase, except (possibly) by breaking LoS to temporarily avoid being targeted by some of his abilities. Doing so is not easy to manage, however, due to the fluid nature of thos part of the encounter. Thus, it is far easier to simply recognize the inevitability of his attacks, and take them in stride as you execute your tasks during this Phase.

* Chromatic Draconids - Are Elite mobs comparable in size to Death Talon Wyrmguards. They have ~25k HP each, and are highly resistant to all 5 schools of magic. They are considered humanoids, but are immune to being polymorphed, seduced, slowed, or disoriented. They are, however, susceptible to incapacitating attacks such as kidney punch. They only offensive abilities are their directed, single-target melee attacks, which are moderately but not devastatingly powerful (~400 dmg per hit).

Once the encounter begins, these draconids will spawn in at a rate of 1 every ~60 sec in each of the two dead-end passages leading away from the balcony, for an overall spawn rate of 2 every ~60 sec up until the transition to Phase 2 is triggered, after which they will stop spawning. Chromatic draconids will always be present in every instance of Blackwing Lair, regardless of which specific combination of Colored Draconids happens to be active in the current instance.

Due to their high magical resistances, it is not possible to efficiently dispatch these draconids via magical attacks (including AoEs). Instead, they must be brought down predominantly by physical DPS alone (Rogues/Warriors).

* Colored Draconids (Black, Blue, Bronze, Green, and Red) - Are subdivided into 5 varieties, one for each of the colors of the 5 Dragonflights. All 5 varieties are Elite mobs comparable in size to Death Talon Overseers, and the scales of each (predictably) match their specific color. They have ~15k HP each, and each variety is highly resistant to 1 of the 5 schools of magic (as follows: Black/Shadow (Also high FR), Blue/Frost, Bronze/Arcane, Green/Nature, and Red/Fire), while being susceptible to the remaining 4 schools. They are considered humanoids, but are immune to being polymorphed or seduced. They are, however, susceptible to slowing, disorienting, and incapacitating attacks such as blizzard, scatter shot, and kidney punch. In addition melee attacks similar to (though less powerful than) those of the larger Chromatic Draconids, each variety is equipped with one of five Brood Powers, as appropriate for its color. These Brood Powers are related to but distinct from those used by the Death Talon Wyrmguards (see below for more details).

Within each saved Blackwing Lair instance, a random pairing of only 2 of the 5 possible varieties of Colored Draconids will be "active", in a very similar way to the randomly determined selection of Chromaggus' active breath weapons. Until the Nefarian encounter is first triggered for each instance and Phase 1 begins, there is no way to know which pairing of colors the raid must fight each time they attempt to fight Nefarian until the instance resets.

Once the encounter begins, each active variety of Colored Draconid will spawn in at a rate of 1 every ~10 sec, for an overall spawn rate of 2 every ~10 sec until the transition to Phase 2 is triggered, after which they stop spawning. Both colors spawn in equal numbers and identical rates, but each passageway acts as a spawn point only for a single color. Thus, the two colors cannot intermingle without first leaving their spawn points and travelling across the balcony towards the other spawn point. Ideally, the two active colors can be kept completely isolated from one another for the duration of the Phase, making them easier to handle.

[TeaLeaf]

From Leftoversraiding

TL.

Victor Nefarius / Nefarian
High atop of Blackrock Spire, at the very pinnacle of Blackwing Lair, there lies a sight quite familiar to single men (and, yes, occasionally women too) of a certain age, regardless of whether they happen to have been born in our own world, or in the lands of Azeroth...

Yes, that's right. The bachelor pad.

Strewn with the detritus of a hard-living, party-hearty, just plain ol' good time, this bachelor pad *would* be as common as mud...were it not for the fact that the man who lurks there, nursing the inevitable hangover (you *DID* see those barrels of brew downstairs, didn't you?!?), isn't...quite...a man.

No! He is some kind of...DRAGON-MANNNNN!!!

Victor Nefarius, most eligible bachelor in all of Azeroth, also happens to be none other than Nefarian, spawn of Deathwing and elder brother to Onyxia.

And now...it's time to KILL HIM (and move into his hot pad, of course)!


The Environment
The Nefarian encounter takes place in the final area of Blackwing Lair, a large rectangular room that opens out onto a large balcony, overlooking parts of both the Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge.

From the Torture Chamber and Chromaggus' kennel, a narrow passageway leads to this balcony, via a gated doorway in its NW corner. This entrance to the balcony is also its only true exit, as you cannot (try though you might) jump over the railing! With Chromaggus dead, this gate will remain open right up until the Nefarian encounter is triggered, whereupon it will slam shut, locking in all those within the confines of the balcony area. It remains closed until Nefarian is dead, or until the raid wipes during Phase 1 of the encounter (see below for details).

Two doorways pierce the western (interior) wall of the balcony chamber, each leading to a short passageway that dead-ends after only a few yards.

A large alcove, enclosing a dais and throne, is set into the southern wall of the balcony chamber. Before the encounter is triggered, Victor Nefarius will be found sitting upon this throne. He is initially non-hostile to the raid.

Scattered around the balcony are a number of large columns, some broken and some mostly undamaged. Various pieces of stonemasonry, bones, and possibly even the occasional discarded pizza box litter the rest of the balcony.


The Encounter - Overview
The Nefarian encounter itself can be broken down into 3 phases, as is the case with Onyxia:

  1. The raid must engage and kill a continuous stream of 3 varieties of Elite draconid mobs, 2 varieties of which are randomly determined for each instance in a similar way to the active breaths of Chromaggus. All the while, Victor Nefarius will prowl to and fro across the balcony, untargettable and invulnerable, while he sows confusion amongst the raid. This phase ends only once the raid has killed a certain pre-defined number of draconid mobs. At this point, the draconids stop spawning, and Victor Nefarius vanishes from the balcony. He reappears moments later, revealed in his true dragon form as Nefarian, and lands to begin Phase 2 of the encounter.

  2. During this Phase, the raid must engage Nefarian in his true form, dealing not only with a variety of rather "traditional" modes of attack such as a physical cleave, AoE Fear, and Shadowflame breath weapon, but also with a devilish set of random "class calls" uniquely suited to Nefarian's innate trickster nature. Each call turns the strengths of a single class against the raid's best interests, in a variety of amusingly ironic ways. This phase ends and Phase 3 begins when Nefarian is reduced to 20% health.

  3. As this Phase begins, the dark magics of Deathwing's spawn work to reanimate the corpses of all the draconids killed during Phase 1, which subsequently rise up in an unholy "zerg" of Bone Constructs that assault the raid. Once this zerg is dealt with, the remainder of this Phase continues in an identical fashion to Phase 2.

Now, each individual Phase will be dealt with in greater detail.


Phase 1 - Razorgore Revisited?
To start this Phase of the encounter, a member of the raid ascends up to Victor Nefarius' throne and speaks to the lord of Blackwing Lair, at which point the gauntlet is thrown and a challenge to combat issued. Nefarius stands and enters Shadowform, the entry gate slams tightly shut barring any chances for escape, and the encounter begins. Moments later, Elite draconid mobs begin to emerge from each of the doorways in the western wall of the chamber, spawning inside the dead-end passageways and rushing out into combat with the raid. These draconids must be fought and killed, despite the dangerous distractions posed by Nefarius himself.

The primary focus of this Phase rests squarely upon how effectively the raid can handle the draconids. They spawn continuously once the encounter begins, right up until the transition to Phase 2 is triggered or the raid wipes, whichever comes first. There is no way to complete the encounter without killing each and every one of these mobs that spawns; Nefarius' bachelor pad must be turned into an abattoir.

This provides a stark contrast to Phase 1 of the Razorgore encounter, where kiting is mixed liberally with killing, minimizing the damage taken by the raid group while waiting for an exterior "countdown" (the destruction of eggs) to be completed. Spawns that remain alive when the Razorgore encounter transitions to Phase 2 simply vanish away harmlessly; no such luxury is possible here.


Phase 1 - The Mobs
The mobs the raid must deal with during this Phase can be broken down into three general categories, as follows:

  * Victor Nefarius - As alluded to previously, Nefarian wields a number of Shadow-based abilities while cloaked in his human guise, which he will use to assault the raid during this Phase.

   First, he has two varieties of moderately powerful (~1400 dmg per hit) Shadowbolt attacks: a directed, single-target version that he tends to "spam" repeatedly at one target (4-5 times in quick succession, requiring a significant amount of extra healing to survive) before moving to the next, and a multiple-target volley that affects up to ~5 members of the raid in close proximity to one another that he uses much more infrequently.

   Second, Nefarius will periodically mind control one of the raid members, forcing that person to attack his allies.

   Third, he may vanish from his current position within the balcony chamber and reappear elsewhere in the chamber at any time.

   And finally, he is able to remain in a kind of "super" Shadowform that renders him both untargettable and completely invulnerable.

   It is not possible to disrupt, prevent, or avoid any of Victor Nefarius' attacks during the entirety of this Phase, except (possibly) by breaking LoS to temporarily avoid being targeted by some of his abilities. Doing so is not easy to manage, however, due to the fluid nature of thos part of the encounter. Thus, it is far easier to simply recognize the inevitability of his attacks, and take them in stride as you execute your tasks during this Phase.

  * Chromatic Draconids - Are Elite mobs comparable in size to Death Talon Wyrmguards. They have ~25k HP each, and are highly resistant to all 5 schools of magic. They are considered humanoids, but are immune to being polymorphed, seduced, slowed, or disoriented. They are, however, susceptible to incapacitating attacks such as kidney punch. They only offensive abilities are their directed, single-target melee attacks, which are moderately but not devastatingly powerful (~400 dmg per hit).

   Once the encounter begins, these draconids will spawn in at a rate of 1 every ~60 sec in each of the two dead-end passages leading away from the balcony, for an overall spawn rate of 2 every ~60 sec up until the transition to Phase 2 is triggered, after which they will stop spawning. Chromatic draconids will always be present in every instance of Blackwing Lair, regardless of which specific combination of Colored Draconids happens to be active in the current instance.

   Due to their high magical resistances, it is not possible to efficiently dispatch these draconids via magical attacks (including AoEs). Instead, they must be brought down predominantly by physical DPS alone.

  * Colored Draconids (Black, Blue, Bronze, Green, and Red) - Are subdivided into 5 varieties, one for each of the colors of the 5 Dragonflights. All 5 varieties are Elite mobs comparable in size to Death Talon Overseers, and the scales of each (predictably) match their specific color. They have ~15k HP each, and each variety is highly resistant to 1 of the 5 schools of magic (as follows: Black/Shadow, Blue/Frost, Bronze/Arcane, Green/Nature, and Red/Fire), while being susceptible to the remaining 4 schools. They are considered humanoids, but are immune to being polymorphed or seduced. They are, however, susceptible to slowing, disorienting, and incapacitating attacks such as blizzard, scatter shot, and kidney punch. In addition melee attacks similar to (though less powerful than) those of the larger Chromatic Draconids, each variety is equipped with one of five Brood Powers, as appropriate for its color. These Brood Powers are related to but distinct from those used by the Death Talon Wyrmguards (see below for more details).

   Within each saved Blackwing Lair instance, a random pairing of only 2 of the 5 possible varieties of Colored Draconids will be "active", in a very similar way to the randomly determined selection of Chromaggus' active breath weapons. Until the Nefarian encounter is first triggered for each instance and Phase 1 begins, there is no way to know which pairing of colors the raid must fight each time they attempt to fight Nefarian until the instance resets.

   Once the encounter begins, each active variety of Colored Draconid will spawn in at a rate of 1 every ~10 sec, for an overall spawn rate of 2 every ~10 sec until the transition to Phase 2 is triggered, after which they stop spawning. Both colors spawn in equal numbers and identical rates, but each passageway acts as a spawn point only for a single color. Thus, the two colors cannot intermingle without first leaving their spawn points and travelling across the balcony towards the other spawn point. Ideally, the two active colors can be kept completely isolated from one another for the duration of the Phase, making them easier to handle.

   Because of their lower health, more rapid spawn rates, and susceptibility to a specific 4 schools of magic for each variety, the best way to efficiently kill the Colored Draconids active within a given instance is primarily by an appropriate selection of magical AoE attacks, augmented with more limited amounts of physical DPS, as the situation allows.


Phase 1 - Brood Powers
There are 5 Brood Powers, corresponding to the colors of the 5 dragonflights. Each of the Brood Powers used by a Colored Draconid of the appropriate variety is a frontal cone AoE with a range of 15 yds. The Powers are as follows:

  * Brood Power: Black - Fire - Inflicts ~1250 damage.

  * Brood Power: Blue - Frost - Inflicts ~750 damage, burns ~1000 mana (causing damage), and applies a debuff that reduces attack speed by 50% for 6 sec. The debuff is magic in nature, and can be dispelled.

  * Brood Power: Bronze - Arcane - Inflicts ~900 damage, and applies a debuff that reduces attack speed by 25% and casting speed by 50% for 6 sec. The debuff is magic in nature, and can be dispelled.

  * Brood Power: Green - Nature - Applies a debuff that stuns those affected for 1 sec. The debuff is magic in nature, and can be dispelled.

  * Brood Power: Red - Fire - Applies a debuff that inflicts ~300 damage per second for 5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. The debuff cannot be dispelled.

There is a fairly simple hierarchy of damage output "potential" for each variety of Colored Draconid, from highest to lowest, based upon the amount of magic damage they can inflict via their Brood Powers, above and beyond their basic melee damage output.

Red represents the highest damage output potential in most situations, followed by Black. Blue is next, then Bronze. Green takes a distant last place, since its effects do not cause any magic damage whatsoever.


Phase 1 - Organization
In order to complete Phase 1 of the encounter, the raid will split itself into two halves, of nominally equal size (20 men apiece), each assigned to control and kill the draconid spawns that emerge from one of the two dead-end passageways. For the sake of clarity, all odd-numbered groups within the raid will be assigned to the S doorway (on the left when facing the interior wall of the chamber; nearer to Nefarius' throne), while the even-numbered groups will be assigned to the N doorway (on the right when facing the interior wall of the chamber; farther from Nefarius' throne).

Thus, the groups on the left "side" of the raid display will control the left doorway and spawn point, while those on the right "side" of the raid display will control the right doorway and spawn point.

Members of each class/role will be divided up approximately evenly into the two halves, with similar numbers on each side of the chamber. Special cases, including where to put the "odd-man-out" when an even division is not possible, are dealt with as follows:

  * Casters - Require the greatest amount of care when being assigned to sides, because the specific color that spawns on each side of the chamber affect which spells are effective or ineffective on that side.

   Warlock AoEs and single-target spells are fully effective against Blue, Bronze, and Green. Versus Black, warlocks may still use AoEs effectively, but have a more limited repertoire of effective single-target spells. Versus Red, warlocks have minimal AoE effectiveness, and must instead rely upon single-target attacks, debuffs, and DoTs.

   The effectiveness of mage AoEs and single-target spells depends upon the spec of each mage. Versus Green and Black, mages can use their complete arsenal of spells to full effect. Versus Blue, Bronze, and Red, a subset of their abilities will be rendered significantly less useful; when fighting these colors, casters should focus on their remaining AoEs. Note that although short-ranged AoEs (such as Arcane Explosion) can be effective in some situations, they put the casters in significantly greater personal danger from the draconids as well.

   Each side should have at least one warlock, to provide Blood Pact to the warriors on that side and apply curses. The placement of the remaining warlocks, and of the mages, varies based upon the active color combination. In a "Type A" layout, all remaining warlocks are placed on a side with 1-2 mages, and the majority of the mages are placed on the opposite side. In a "Type B" layout, each class is divided up approximately evenly.

   When either color is Red, a Type A layout is called for, with the majority of the mages on the Red side. When either color is Blue, a Type A layout is called for, with the majority of the warlocks on the Blue side. If neither of these colors is active, either Type A or Type B layouts may be used.

   The "odd-man-out" caster, if any, is placed on whichever side is most susceptible to caster AoE.

  * Healers - The "odd-man-out" healer, if any, is placed on whichever side has the greatest amount of potential damage output as described previously.

   It is slightly preferable to place priests on the side with a more damaging color, since they can (at least temporarily) shed aggro via the use of Fade, if they draw the attention of newly spawned draconids as a result of their increased healing demand.

  * Hunters and Rogues - Perform a very similar role during Phase 1 of the encounter. Each class will be split up as evenly as possible across the sides, and the overall numbers of physical DPS players on each side will be as even as possible also. A rogue may be substituted for a hunter on a given side, or vice versa, as necessary.

   When one of the sides is Red or Black, it is important that the rogues placed on that side be those with the most effective stats while in full FR gear.

   The "odd-man-out" hunter or rogue, if any, is placed on whichever side has the greatest resistance to caster AoE. The resulting additional physical DPS helps counteract the loss in caster DPS on that side.

  * Paladins - The "odd-man-out" paladin, if any, can be placed on a side that is most difficult to control (in which case he will use Consecration, Righteous Fury, etc. in order to assist in controlling the draconids for that side) *OR* a side that is most in need of additional healing (in which case he will provide additional healing coverage on that side). Whichever role is most important will vary based upon the active color combination.

  * Warriors - Two warriors are assigned to tank the draconids (both Chromatic and Colored) for each side. As much as possible, these warriors should select gear that has a good balance of stats versus resistance for the active color on that side. In particular, if either side is Red or Black, the warriors assigned to tank on that side MUST be those with the best stats when in full FR gear.

   The "odd-man-out" warrior will be the assigned MT for Phases 2 and 3 of the encounter. The MT must be able to easily and quickly extricate himself from his side when the end of Phase 1 is triggered, and must properly select gear for his role as MT versus Nefarian. Thus, he should not equip alternate resistance gear that will overly limit his ability to effectively tank Nefarian; instead, his gear should have optimal tanking stats, and include SR if possible to reduce the effectiveness of Nefarian's Shadowflame attack and single-target curse.

It may be necessary to slighly adjust the numbers of players assigned to each side, particularly when there is a drastic difference in difficulty between the two active colors, but in many cases a balanced division will be necessary.


Phase 1 - The Approach and the "Magic Number"
Once the raid group has been organized and split into two large, balanced sub-groups, one of the raid members will speak to Victor Nefarius to initiate the encounter, and moments later draconids will begin spawning. Each sub-group of the raid must strive to hold all of the draconids that spawn on its assigned side within a "control point" in front of the corresponding doorway, and KILL ZEM ALL! Within each group, the tasks of each class/role are as follows:

  * Casters - Are the primary source of DPS versus the colored draconids. The most efficient way to kill these colored draconids is to focus multiple (ideally, ranged) AoE attacks on each "control point" in which the draconids will be held, catching each shortly after it spawns. Whenever possible, restraint should be exercised so that the warriors assigned to tank draconids within each "control point" have sufficient time to establish control of these mobs as they spawn, before casters inflict significant damage on the mobs and possibly pull them away.

   To assist in maintaining the best possible control over the spawns, it is ideal to ensure that at least one mage per side use Improved Blizzard continuously on the targeted area. It may be necessary to place two mages with Improved Blizzard on a side with blue draconids to get the desired effect, due to their resistance to Frost magic.

   When casters must use single-target attacks, it is best to periodically change targets to ensure they do not build up too much threat on an individual target, pulling aggro away from the tanks. DoTs, curses, and the like can be applied to multiple targets at once to ensure they are brought down efficiently, with threat spread across multiple targets.

  * Healers - Must, naturally, keep as many members of the raid alive as possible. If too many members die before the transition to Phase 2 occurs, it is likely that the raid will have severe difficulties completing the remainder of the encounter.

   Healers should pay particular attention, whenever possible, to those who are the current targets of Victor Nefarius' attacks. Whenever Nefarius decides to spam single-target Shadowbolts at a specific target, that person will require a significant amount of extra healing until someone else is targeted instead.

  * Hunters and Rogues - Are the primary source of DPS versus the chromatic draconids. Every time a chromatic spawns, all hunters and rogues assigned to the corresponding side should immediately aquire it as a target and quickly burn it down. Each chromatic must be dispatched before the next pair spawns; with a typical number of physical DPS classes, it should be possible to dispatch each one well in advance of the next spawn.

   After each chromatic is killed and before the next spawns, hunters and rogues should help to kill colored draconids on their assigned side.

   Hunters should make aggressive use of Feign Death, controlling their overall threat levels very carefully. They can use Scatter Shot to temporarily disrupt the actions of a colored draconid that is aggro'd onto one of the healers or ranged classes on their assigned side (including themselves, of course), but cannot do so versus chromatics.

   Rogues should use Kidney Punch, in an organized rotation when necessary, to prevent chromatics from being dragged away from their warrior tank and onto a hunter or healer. They can also disrupt the actions of colored draconids when not busy dispatching chromatics.

  * Paladins - Are assigned to tank colored draconids as they spawn (via the use of Consecration in conjunction with Righteous Fury, and so on), assist in controlling runners via stuns (such as Hammer of Justice) and directed damage, or spot heal, as the situation requires. Different combinations of colors may require emphasis to be placed slightly differently on any of these three tasks.

  * Warriors - One warrior is assigned to aquire and maintain aggro control on the colored draconids that spawn on each side. Ideally, the colored draconids should be tanked in a tight grouping just outside the doorway from which they emerge, to ensure that AoE effects will work on all of them simultaneously.

   A second warrior is assigned to aquire and maintain aggro control on each chromatic draconid, as soon as it spawns on each side. After each chromatic is killed and before the next one spawns, this warrior should assist in tanking colored draconids, controlling runners, etc.

   The assigned MT for Phase 2 and 3 of the encounter will be an "odd-man-out" warrior on one of the sides. He should assist in controlling chromatic and/or colored draconids, but must take care not to have too much lingering aggro from colored draconids when the transition to Phase 2 approaches. If he does, these draconids will follow him as he moves away from the corresponding draconid control point in preparation to begin tanking Nefarian, and may severely disrupt the transition.

The general division of the raid into two large sub-groups, their positioning during this Phase, and the two assigned "control points" are illustrated in the following diagram:



As alluded to previously, this Phase will come to an end after a specific number of draconids (including all types active in the current instance) have been killed by the raid. The "Magic Number" of draconids that must be killed is...

   FORTY-TWO!!! (Yes, it looks like someone at Blizzard reads Douglas Adams Big Grin)

Given that draconids spawn at a rate of approximately ~14 per minute in total across the balcony (~1 chromatic and ~6 colored on each side, per minute), it is clear that enough draconids will have spawned to complete this Phase after approximately 3 minutes. In an ideal world, if every draconid was killed by the raid an instant after it spawns, it would take only this long to trigger the transition to Phase 2 and the raid would only kill this many draconids in total during the encounter.

However, since there is always going to be a delay between when each mob spawns and when it can be killed by the raid, it is much more typical to expect that Phase 1 will last from 3.5 to 4 minutes in total. When the 42nd draconid is killed, no additional mobs will spawn but there will generally be ~6-12 additional draconids alive that must be killed as Phase 2 starts.

To help the raid know how close the "Magic Number" is at all times during the encounter, a small number of raiders will be assigned to utilize a "kill counter" AddOn which exists specifically to parse the combat log of those using it, reporting the deaths of all hostile mobs that occur within range so that they may be announced in real-time via /raid chat. The AddOn which we use is called "pdm_nef", and is available from the Curse-Gaming website.

NOTE: Only two raiders, one for each subgroups, need to have this AddOn enabled to record how many draconids have been killed during the encounter. If more than one raider per side has this AddOn active, some kills will likely be recorded multiple times, skewing the accuracy of the count severly. Similarly, its accuracy may suffer as a result of mind control, or when the "deaths" of non-hostile objects/mobs such as targetting dummies or lunar festival lights are recorded. It provides a helpful guide, but its accuracy cannot be completely guaranteed.


Phase 2 - The Transition
The transition to Phase 2 is one of the most challenging aspects of the encounter. When the last draconid necessary to reach the "Magic Number" is killed, there will be an accompanying yell which represents a 10 second warning before Nefarian lands in his true dragon form. He lands near the center of the chamber, slightly farther from the wall than from the open edge of the balcony.

When the previously described kill count reaches the mid-30s, the MT should extricate himself from his assigned side and prepare for the transition by moving out into the center of the chamber to ensure that Nefarian will be within melee range immediately upon landing. If the MT cannot extricate himself cleanly (ie. if he drags some draconids with him as he moves away from his assigned "control point"), some ranged DPSers from his side should move out as well to handle the mobs aggro'd on the MT. It may be beneficial, depending upon the situation, to cast Blessing of Protection on the MT as he begins moving away from his assigned control point, in order to temporarily prevent mobs from following.

When the kill count reaches approximately 40, an assigned group of MT healers (at least one from each side) should move out to ensure they are within range of the MT while Nefarian lands, and can immediately begin healing when Phase 2 begins.

As Nefarian lands, his aggro table is reset. It is vitally important that the MT quickly establish control over Nefarian's aggro at this point. Priests should use Fade at this point, to temporarily reduce their amounts of healing threat while the transition is ongoing.

All other raid members assigned to each subgroup should quickly round up and dispatch the remaining draconids left on their own side first, then provide any necessary assistance to the subgroup on the opposide side of the chamber, if live draconids linger there.

Everyone in the raid must remain calm and collected during this hectic transition, ensuring that no additional deaths are suffered unnecessarily. Once the final draconid is killed, the raid group may reform in positions for Phase 2, and the fight against Nefarian begins in earnest!


Phase 2 - Fighting Nefarian
Once revealed in his true dragon form, Nefarian presents quite the imposing figure. He has ~1.9 million HP, is untauntable, and has the following attacks and special abilities:

  1. Melee Attacks - Including both single-target claw and bite attacks, as well as a frontal Cleave attack.

  2. Tail Swipe - Similar to that used by various other dragons.

  3. Shadowflame - Identical to that used by the Three Drakes. Additionally, Nefarian will use an alternate form of his Shadowflame attack once at the very beginning of Phase 2.

   As Nefarian lands to begin Phase 2, he sweeps the entire balcony chamber with this weakened Shadowflame attack, striking every member of the raid group regardless of where they are located. This version only inflicts ~750 damage, but it DOES apply the "Fully Engulfed" DoT component of the attack on any players who do not currently have an Onyxia Scale Cloak equipped. Thus, EVERY member of the raid group absolutely MUST wear their Onyxia Scale Cloak if they wish to survive the transition to Phase 2 of the encounter.

  4. Bellowing Roar - AoE fear with a range of 35 yds. Used periodically, approximately every ~20-30 sec. Because of how frequently this fear occurs, some combination of Fear Ward along with stance-dancing by the MT and 1-2 OTs is necessary to mitigate its effects. As with the similar fears used by Onyxia and Taerar, each use of this fear is preceded by a ground shaking effect.

  5. Veil of Shadow - Applies a debuff to the affected player that reduces the effects of all healing abilities used on the target by 75% for 10 sec. This debuff is a curse, and is dispellable. It will be applied periodically to Nefarian's current melee target, normally the MT.

  6. Class Calls - Nefarian will periodically issue a "challenge" to a single class within the raid, approximately every 45 sec. Each of these challenges, or "class calls", is indicated by a corresponding yell that Nefarian will make, calling out the class in question in what is essentially an "insulting" way. Each class call in some way severely disrupts the activities of all raid members of the corresponding class, in ways that are both ironic and (often) deadly. The specific mechanics of each type of call will be dealt with in greater detail below.

Nefarian is tanked near the center of the balcony, facing away from the interior wall and out towards its open eastern edge. As the encounter continues, it is possibly that Nefarian may move out of position over time. If this occurs, the MT should reposition Nefarian appropriately once the raid is informed. The MT should actively stance-dance and use Berzerker Rage as necessary to avoid the effects of Nefarian's fear ability, wherever possible.

2 OTs are positioned on Nefarian's right side, outside of the area affected by his Cleave and Shadowflame attacks. The OTs must attack Nefarian and build threat to guard against the possible death of the MT. Additionally, these OTs take turns stance-dancing and using Berzerker Rage, much like the MT. By alternating in this way, it is possible to minimze the chances that Nefarian will turn to and Shadowflame the majority of the raid, in a situation where the MT is unable to avoid fear via Fear Ward or his own efforts. Note that although the presence of Fear Ward simplifies this, Nefarian will Roar more often than Fear Ward can be reapplied. This means that MT/OT stance-dancing will always provide a needed safety net during this encounter.

Rogues are positioned to Nefarian's rear left, outside of the area affected by his Tail Swipe attack.

The remainder of the raid is positioned to Nefarian's left. Generally speaking, each player should determine the best place to stand so as to be at maximal effective rand. Any person within range of Nefarian's Fear must be particularly careful to stand in a place that minimimizes the chance that he will run randomly in front of Nefarian while affected by the Fear, and thus possibly be struct by a Cleave and/or Shadowflame attack.

Most ranged DPS classes, and some healers, can remain safely outside of the range of Nefarian's Fear ability for almost the entire duration of this Phase.

The general positioning of the raid during this Phase is displayed by the following diagram:



As the above diagram makes clear, there is one unique addendum to the positioning of the raid - once the transition to Phase 2 has been completed safely, Nefarian is being tanked appropriately, and all draconid spawns have been killed, a rogue or hunter Engineer will pull himself out of combat (via Vanish or Feign Death, as appropriate) so that he may place a repair bot at the location indicated above. This bot is placed during the combat specifically to help mitigate the effects of the hunter-specific class call (see below for more details).


Phase 2 - Class Calls
There are a total of 8 class calls that Nefarian uses. Every 45 seconds after Phase 2 of the encounter begins, he will issue one of these calls, determined randomly. Although the timing of the calls is predictable, there is no way to know which call will be used next, until it actually occurs. None of the effects of these class calls are directly dispellable, or avoidable:

  * Druids - Will be forced into catform for the duration of the call. While in catform, the druids may take all actions normally possible in catform, but cannot shapeshift back to their humanoid form, or to another beast form. Naturally, druids will be unable to heal or remove curses for the duration of this call. In particular, mages must handle decursing of the MT to remove Veil of Shadow until the next call occurs.

  * Hunters - The ranged weapons currently equipped by every hunter will be immediately broken, reduced to 0 durability. Once the damage is inflicted, it is safe for hunters to swap to a different, unbroken weapon, to continue attacking. To deal with this call, all hunters MUST bring at least one additional "backup" ranged weapon with them when preparing to fight Nefarian. Each time there the class call warning is issued, all hunters must swap out their "main" ranged weapon and equip a backup one instead. If the call turns out to be the hunter challenge, the backup weapon will be broken instead of the main weapon. As soon as each call in turn is complete, the hunters may swap back to their primary weapons and continue to attack.

   Hunters whose primary weapons are inadvertently broken, which will occur primarily when no advance warning of an incoming class call is issued, will make use of the repair bot placed once Phase 2 is clearly under control to ensure that they are not rendered completely unable to attack during the remainder of the encounter.

  * Mages - Will immediately begin to randomly target members of the raid group, possibly including themselves, and cast a "Wild Polymorph" effect on each target in turn. While the call continues, mages have very little control over their own actions. The Wild Polymorph effect is similar to any other polymorph; it is magic in nature and dispellable. To deal with this call, paladins and priests must be ready to dispel the effects of Wild Polymorph on any and all raid members, *especially* the MT and MT healers. Mages can escape this call via use of ice block, if specced appropriately. While this call is active, druids must handle decursing of the MT to remove Veil of Shadow.

  * Paladins - Those who attempt to cast for the duration of this call will instead apply an Improved Blessing of Protection "debuff" to Nefarian himself, making him immune to all physical damage for 5 seconds each time it is applied. This debuff can be applied simultaneously by multiple paladins, and thus as long as paladins continue casting, Nefarian will remain effectively invulnerable to all physical attacks for the duration of the call. This call provides a good opportunity for hunters and rogues to exit combat (via Vanish or Feign Death), and bandage/eat/drink or use jumper cables as appropriate.

  * Priests - Those who attempt to cast direct healing spells on a friendly player will instead apply a debuff to the target called Corrupted Healing, which inflicts ~200 damage per second for 30 seconds, and stacks up to FIFTY times! It is imperative that priests stop healing raid members, and *especially* stop healing the MT, immediately when this call is issued. Thus, druids and paladins must shoulder the full burden of healing the raid while this call is active.

  * Rogues - Will be "summoned" directly to a single location within melee range of Nefarian, taken out of stealth, and rendered unable to move for the duration of the call. Affected rogues may attack, but cannot enter stealth or move away. If summoned to a position in front of Nefarian, the rogues will be subject to the full brunt of his Cleave and Shadowflame attacks, unless he is turned or repositioned. To prevent the rogues from dying outright as a result of this call, the MT must remain aware of where the rogues are summoned when it occurs. The MT may need to turn Nefarian away from the "frozen" rogues, as well as the majority of the raid, until the call ends if the rogue positions put them in direct jeopardy.

  * Warlocks - 2 Corrupted Infernals will be summoned in by each warlock, with each pair spawning on top of the corresponding warlock, and briefly stunning those nearby with an AoE attack called Inferno Effect that does ~200 damage. Once summoned, these Infernals will run rampant throughout the raid group, immediately focusing on and attacking the raid's healers first. Each Corrupted Infernal is a demon with ~6k HP and a short-ranged, fire based AoE damage aura that does ~25 damage per tick, in addition to its basic melee attacks. This aura is mainly an annoyance, but is significant since it can disrupt healing (as well as other) spells. The Infernals must be pulled away from the raid's healers to ensure that they are not overly disrupted by AoE stuns, and then the Infernals must be dispatched. Ideally, these Infernals can be gathered together and killed via massed AoE and focused fire.

  * Warriors - Are forced into Berzerker stance, and all damage inflicted on them for the duration of this call is increased by 30%. Thus, Nefarian's more traditional attacks will be that much more deadly to the MT and OTs during this call, and the healers must adjust to compensate for the additional damage. It is particularly important to note that when this call is active, a single Shadowflame can hit the MT for ~6-8k damage. It is absolutely crucial for the MT to have a health pool deep enough to withstand that level of damage in a single attack, for just this situation. The assigned MT should have at least ~9k HP or so when fully buffed for this encounter.

As noted previously, a warning will be issued a few seconds in advance of each time Nefarian issues a class call, but the exact nature of the call (the affected class) cannot be determined until it is actually used. Thus, the key to handling these calls is knowing in advance what to do in response to each and every possible call, and to react quickly and appropriately to each call when it occurs.


Phase 3 - Transition & the "Zerg"
This Phase is triggered as soon as Nefarian's health is reduced to 20% of his total. At this point, each of the corpses of the draconids killed during Phase 1 will be reanimated as a Bone Construct, undead mobs with ~6k HP apiece and only melee attacks. These Bone Constructs represent a massive "zerg", immediately charging the raid group en masse once they are active, and focusing their attention particularly upon healers.

Individually these mobs are not much of a danger to the raid, but they present a threat due to their sheer numbers (typically about ~48-54), and the intense graphical lag that occurs each time this "zerg" is onscreen while it charges the raid group.

The Bone Constructs must be quickly brought down via massed AoE. To facilitate this, the majority of the raid group must cluster together just before the Phase 3 transition, so that all the point blank AoEs wielded by the casters and paladins will form a tightly overlapping death zone for the incoming "zerg". If not dealt with in this manner, the Bone Constructs will run rampant through the raid group, killing cloth-wearers especially fast and starting a chain reaction that will undoubtedly lead to a wipe.

Because of how important it is for entire raid group to be fully prepared for this "zerg", and how important certain class abilities are while it is occurring, the raid group must control exactly when Nefarian's health is brought down to 20%. Phase 3 must be triggered immediately after Nefarian issues a class call, to provide the maximal possible amount of time before the next call occurs. Moreover, certain calls (mage, paladin, priest, and warlock) are very disruptive when attempting to handle the Bone Constructs simultaneously, making it far more difficult. The transition should be triggered only after one of the remaining calls (druid, hunter, rogue, or warrior) has been issued.

Thus, when Nefarian's health nears the 25% mark, all ranged classes and healers within the raid should gather close together. The raid should first hold fire, then slowly work him down to ~21-22%, after which it is imperative that EVERYONE except the MT stop attacking Nefarian, until an appropriate call occurs. Immediately after such a druid, hunter, rogue, or warrior call occurs, the raid will quickly burn Nefarian down far enough to trigger and deal with the "zerg".

The approximate layout of the raid group just before the transition to Phase 3 is triggered is shown in the following diagram:



If this transition is executed well, deaths from the assault of the Bone Constructs can be minimized, or even avoided entirely.


Phase 3 - The Rest
Once the Bone Constructs have all been killed, the remainder of Phase 3 continues exactly like the bulk of Phase 2. The raid must still deal with Nefarian's various abilities and special attacks, including his periodic fear and class calls, but he has no more cards hidden up his sleeve for the remainder of the encounter. Members of the raid should spread out from their "zerg" positioning, moving back to a semblance of Phase 2 positions instead.

Assuming a sufficient portion of the raid group survives until this point, the remainder of the encounter will be trivial in comparison with what came before it, and victory is almost assured. As long as there are no particularly extreme mistakes, it is simply a matter of time before the Lord of Blackwing Lair, Brood of Deathwing, will lie dead at your feet...and soon enough after that, his head will be placed atop a wonderful vantage point in Stormwind!


Addendum - Wipes and Additional Attempts
If the raid group wipes during Phase 1 of the encounter, the gate which shuts when the encounter begins will open back up, and Victor Nefarius/Nefarian will despawn along with any draconids alive. After 15 minutes, Victor Nefarius will reappear atop his throne at the southern end of the balcony, and the encounter may be triggered again.

Due to the fact that the organization of the raid into 2 sub-groups for Phase 1 will vary widely depending upon which 2 varieties of colored draconids are active in the current instance, it will likely be worthwhile to perform a "naked wipe", similar to that used while first learning to fight Chromaggus, the first time this encounter is triggered in a given instance, to identify which colors are active.

If the raid group wipes during Phase 2 or 3 of the encounter, the gate remains shut. As with a wipe during Phase 1, Nefarius/Nefarian will respawn after a 15 minute timer has elapsed, but the fact that the gate remains shut means that the raid must have some form of wipe recovery available (Soul Stone, rezzer with Divine Intervention active, etc.) when it wipes during this Phase to continue on further attempts without zoning out long enough to allow the instance to reset completely.

Finally, it should be noted that if the raid wipes during Phase 1 or 2, any draconids that are alive at the time of the wipe will despawn. If the raid wipes during Phase 3, however, any surviving Bone Constructs will return to their spawn points and stay alive indefinitely, rather than despawning. As such, recovering from a wipe during this phase will be complicated significantly by the presence of these mobs.

[Bastet]

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[Bastet]

Because of their lower health, more rapid spawn rates, and susceptibility to a specific 4 schools of magic for each variety, the best way to efficiently kill the Colored Draconids active within a given instance is primarily by an appropriate selection of magical attacks, augmented with more limited amounts of physical DPS, as the situation allows. A MA for each side will be appointed (mostly a mage/warlock) and runners will be pulled back by hunters before they reach the other side.

Phase 1 - Brood Powers
There are 5 Brood Powers, corresponding to the colors of the 5 dragonflights. Each of the Brood Powers used by a Colored Draconid of the appropriate variety is a frontal cone AoE with a range of 15 yds. The Powers are as follows:

* Brood Power: Black - Fire - Inflicts ~1250 damage.

* Brood Power: Blue - Frost - Inflicts ~750 damage, burns ~1000 mana (causing damage), and applies a debuff that reduces attack speed by 50% for 6 sec. The debuff is magic in nature, and can be dispelled.

* Brood Power: Bronze - Arcane - Inflicts ~900 damage, and applies a debuff that reduces attack speed by 25% and casting speed by 50% for 6 sec. The debuff is magic in nature, and can be dispelled.

* Brood Power: Green - Nature - Applies a debuff that stuns those affected for 1 sec. The debuff is magic in nature, and can be dispelled.

* Brood Power: Red - Fire - Applies a debuff that inflicts ~300 damage per second for 5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. The debuff cannot be dispelled.

There is a fairly simple hierarchy of damage output "potential" for each variety of Colored Draconid, from highest to lowest, based upon the amount of magic damage they can inflict via their Brood Powers, above and beyond their basic melee damage output.

Red represents the highest damage output potential in most situations, followed by Black. Blue is next, then Bronze. Green takes a distant last place, since its effects do not cause any magic damage whatsoever.

Phase 1 - Organization
In order to complete Phase 1 of the encounter, the raid will split itself into two halves, of nominally equal size (20 men apiece), each assigned to control and kill the draconid spawns that emerge from one of the two dead-end passageways. For the sake of clarity, all odd-numbered groups within the raid will be assigned to the S doorway (on the left when facing the interior wall of the chamber; nearer to Nefarius' throne), while the even-numbered groups will be assigned to the N doorway (on the right when facing the interior wall of the chamber; farther from Nefarius' throne).

Thus, the groups on the left "side" of the raid display will control the left doorway and spawn point, while those on the right "side" of the raid display will control the right doorway and spawn point.

Members of each class/role will be divided up approximately evenly into the two halves, with similar numbers on each side of the chamber. Special cases, including where to put the "odd-man-out" when an even division is not possible, are dealt with as follows:

* Casters - Require the greatest amount of care when being assigned to sides, because the specific color that spawns on each side of the chamber affect which spells are effective or ineffective on that side.

Warlock AoEs and single-target spells are fully effective against Blue, Bronze, and Green. Versus Black, warlocks may still use AoEs effectively, but have a more limited repertoire of effective single-target spells. Versus Red, warlocks have minimal AoE effectiveness, and must instead rely upon single-target attacks, debuffs, and DoTs.

The effectiveness of mage AoEs and single-target spells depends upon the spec of each mage. Versus Green and Black, mages can use their complete arsenal of spells to full effect. Versus Blue, Bronze, and Red, a subset of their abilities will be rendered significantly less useful; when fighting these colors, casters should focus on their remaining AoEs. Note that although short-ranged AoEs (such as Arcane Explosion) can be effective in some situations, they put the casters in significantly greater personal danger from the draconids as well.

Each side should have at least one warlock, to provide Blood Pact to the warriors on that side and apply curses. The placement of the remaining warlocks, and of the mages, varies based upon the active color combination. Untill event is beaten several times a naked pull will be done to determian colers and group set up.

* Healers - It is slightly preferable to place priests on the side with a more damaging color, since they can (at least temporarily) shed aggro via the use of Fade, if they draw the attention of newly spawned draconids as a result of their increased healing demand.

* Hunters and Rogues - Perform a very similar role during Phase 1 of the encounter. Each class will be split up as evenly as possible across the sides, and the overall numbers of physical DPS players on each side will be as even as possible also. Hunters should pull mobs leaving there origional spawn point back.

When one of the sides is Red or Black, it is important that the rogues placed on that side be those with the most effective stats while in full FR gear.

* Paladins - The "odd-man-out" paladin, if any, can be placed on a side that is most difficult to control (in which case he will use Consecration, Righteous Fury, etc. in order to assist in controlling the draconids for that side) *OR* a side that is most in need of additional healing (in which case he will provide additional healing coverage on that side). Whichever role is most important will vary based upon the active color combination.

* Warriors - Two warriors are assigned to tank the draconids (both Chromatic and Colored) for each side. As much as possible, these warriors should select gear that has a good balance of stats versus resistance for the active color on that side, however make sure that your gear is still good enough to tank Nef in phase 2.

The "odd-man-out" warrior will be the assigned MT for Phases 2 and 3 of the encounter. The MT must be able to easily and quickly extricate himself from his side when the end of Phase 1 is triggered, and must properly select gear for his role as MT versus Nefarian. Thus, he should not equip alternate resistance gear that will overly limit his ability to effectively tank Nefarian; instead, his gear should have optimal tanking stats, and include SR if possible to reduce the effectiveness of Nefarian's Shadowflame attack and single-target curse.

It may be necessary to slighly adjust the numbers of players assigned to each side, particularly when there is a drastic difference in difficulty between the two active colors, but in many cases a balanced division will be necessary.

[Bastet]

Phase 1 - The Approach and the "Magic Number"
Once the raid group has been organized and split into two large, balanced sub-groups, one of the raid members will speak to Victor Nefarius to initiate the encounter, and moments later draconids will begin spawning. Each sub-group of the raid must strive to hold all of the draconids that spawn on its assigned side within a "control point" in front of the corresponding doorway, and KILL ZEM ALL! Within each group, the tasks of each class/role are as follows:

* Casters - Are the primary source of DPS versus the colored draconids. The most efficient way to kill these colored draconids is to focus multiple (ideally, ranged) attacks on each "control point" in which the draconids will be held, catching each shortly after it spawns. Whenever possible, restraint should be exercised so that the warriors assigned to tank draconids within each "control point" have sufficient time to establish control of these mobs as they spawn, before casters inflict significant damage on the mobs and possibly pull them away.

To assist in maintaining the best possible control over the spawns, it is ideal to ensure that at least one mage per side use Improved Blizzard continuously on the targeted area. It may be necessary to place two mages with Improved Blizzard on a side with blue draconids to get the desired effect, due to their resistance to Frost magic.

When casters must use single-target attacks, it is best to periodically change targets to ensure they do not build up too much threat on an individual target, pulling aggro away from the tanks. DoTs, curses, and the like can be applied to multiple targets at once to ensure they are brought down efficiently, with threat spread across multiple targets.

* Healers - Must, naturally, keep as many members of the raid alive as possible. If too many members die before the transition to Phase 2 occurs, it is likely that the raid will have severe difficulties completing the remainder of the encounter.

Healers should pay particular attention, whenever possible, to those who are the current targets of Victor Nefarius' attacks. Whenever Nefarius decides to spam single-target Shadowbolts at a specific target, that person will require a significant amount of extra healing until someone else is targeted instead.

* Hunters and Rogues - Are the primary source of DPS versus the chromatic draconids. Every time a chromatic spawns, all hunters and rogues assigned to the corresponding side should immediately aquire it as a target and quickly burn it down. Each chromatic must be dispatched before the next pair spawns; with a typical number of physical DPS classes, it should be possible to dispatch each one well in advance of the next spawn.

After each chromatic is killed and before the next spawns, hunters and rogues should help to kill colored draconids on their assigned side.

Hunters should make aggressive use of Feign Death, controlling their overall threat levels very carefully. They can use Scatter Shot to temporarily disrupt the actions of a colored draconid that is aggro'd onto one of the healers or ranged classes on their assigned side (including themselves, of course), but cannot do so versus chromatics.

Rogues should use Kidney Punch, in an organized rotation when necessary, to prevent chromatics from being dragged away from their warrior tank and onto a hunter or healer. They can also disrupt the actions of colored draconids when not busy dispatching chromatics.

* Paladins - Assist in controlling runners via stuns (such as Hammer of Justice) and directed damage, or spot heal, as the situation requires. Different combinations of colors may require emphasis to be placed slightly differently on any of these three tasks.

* Warriors - Warriors are assigned to aquire and maintain aggro control on the colored draconids that spawn on each side. Ideally, the colored draconids should be tanked in a tight grouping just outside the doorway from which they emerge, to ensure that AoE effects (when needed, mostly towards end of phase1/start phase2 will work on all of them simultaneously.

The assigned MT for Phase 2 and 3 of the encounter will be an "odd-man-out" warrior on one of the sides. He should assist in controlling chromatic and/or colored draconids, but must take care not to have too much lingering aggro from colored draconids when the transition to Phase 2 approaches. If he does, these draconids will follow him as he moves away from the corresponding draconid control point in preparation to begin tanking Nefarian, and may severely disrupt the transition.

As alluded to previously, this Phase will come to an end after a specific number of draconids (including all types active in the current instance) have been killed by the raid. The "Magic Number" of draconids that must be killed is...

FORTY-TWO!!! (Yes, it looks like someone at Blizzard reads Douglas Adams Big Grin)

Given that draconids spawn at a rate of approximately ~14 per minute in total across the balcony (~1 chromatic and ~6 colored on each side, per minute), it is clear that enough draconids will have spawned to complete this Phase after approximately 3 minutes. In an ideal world, if every draconid was killed by the raid an instant after it spawns, it would take only this long to trigger the transition to Phase 2 and the raid would only kill this many draconids in total during the encounter.

However, since there is always going to be a delay between when each mob spawns and when it can be killed by the raid, it is much more typical to expect that Phase 1 will last from 3.5 to 4 minutes in total. When the 42nd draconid is killed, no additional mobs will spawn but there will generally be ~6-12 additional draconids alive that must be killed as Phase 2 starts.

[Bastet]

Phase 2 - The Transition
The transition to Phase 2 is one of the most challenging aspects of the encounter. When the last draconid necessary to reach the "Magic Number" is killed, there will be an accompanying yell which represents a 10 second warning before Nefarian lands in his true dragon form. He lands near the center of the chamber, slightly farther from the wall than from the open edge of the balcony.

If the MT cannot extricate himself cleanly (ie. if he drags some draconids with him as he moves away from his assigned "control point"), some ranged DPSers from his side should move out as well to handle the mobs aggro'd on the MT. It may be beneficial, depending upon the situation, to cast Blessing of Protection on the MT as he begins moving away from his assigned control point, in order to temporarily prevent mobs from following.

An assigned group of MT healers (at least one from each side) should move out to ensure they are within range of the MT while Nefarian lands, and can immediately begin healing when Phase 2 begins.

As Nefarian lands, his aggro table is reset. It is vitally important that the MT quickly establish control over Nefarian's aggro at this point. Priests should use Fade at this point, to temporarily reduce their amounts of healing threat while the transition is ongoing.

All other raid members assigned to each subgroup should quickly round up and dispatch the remaining draconids left on their own side first, then provide any necessary assistance to the subgroup on the opposide side of the chamber, if live draconids linger there.

Everyone in the raid must remain calm and collected during this hectic transition, ensuring that no additional deaths are suffered unnecessarily. Once the final draconid is killed, the raid group may reform in positions for Phase 2, and the fight against Nefarian begins in earnest!
 
Phase 2 - Fighting Nefarian
Once revealed in his true dragon form, Nefarian presents quite the imposing figure. He has ~1.9 million HP, is untauntable, and has the following attacks and special abilities:

1. Melee Attacks - Including both single-target claw and bite attacks, as well as a frontal Cleave attack.

2. Tail Swipe - Similar to that used by various other dragons.

3. Shadowflame - Identical to that used by the Three Drakes. Additionally, Nefarian will use an alternate form of his Shadowflame attack once at the very beginning of Phase 2.

As Nefarian lands to begin Phase 2, he sweeps the entire balcony chamber with this weakened Shadowflame attack, striking every member of the raid group regardless of where they are located. This version only inflicts ~750 damage, but it DOES apply the "Fully Engulfed" DoT component of the attack on any players who do not currently have an Onyxia Scale Cloak equipped. Thus, EVERY member of the raid group absolutely MUST wear their Onyxia Scale Cloak if they wish to survive the transition to Phase 2 of the encounter.

4. Bellowing Roar - AoE fear with a range of 35 yds. Used periodically, approximately every ~20-30 sec. Because of how frequently this fear occurs, some combination of Fear Ward along with stance-dancing by the MT and 1-2 OTs is necessary to mitigate its effects. As with the similar fears used by Onyxia and Taerar, each use of this fear is preceded by a ground shaking effect. The main decurser mage should remain in range, and the back up out range, so when fear happens the back up can take over.

5. Veil of Shadow - Applies a debuff to the affected player that reduces the effects of all healing abilities used on the target by 75% for 10 sec. This debuff is a curse, and is dispellable. It will be applied periodically to Nefarian's current melee target, normally the MT. 2 mages will be assigned to keep this off for the duration of the fight.

6. Class Calls - Nefarian will periodically issue a "challenge" to a single class within the raid, approximately every 45 sec. Each of these challenges, or "class calls", is indicated by a corresponding yell that Nefarian will make, calling out the class in question in what is essentially an "insulting" way. Each class call in some way severely disrupts the activities of all raid members of the corresponding class, in ways that are both ironic and (often) deadly. The specific mechanics of each type of call will be dealt with in greater detail below.

Nefarian is tanked near the center of the balcony, facing away from the interior wall and out towards its open eastern edge. As the encounter continues, it is possibly that Nefarian may move out of position over time. If this occurs, the MT should reposition Nefarian appropriately once the raid is informed. The MT should actively stance-dance and use Berzerker Rage as necessary to avoid the effects of Nefarian's fear ability, wherever possible.

2 OTs are positioned on Nefarian's right side, outside of the area affected by his Cleave and Shadowflame attacks. The OTs must attack Nefarian and build threat to guard against the possible death of the MT. By alternating in this way, it is possible to minimze the chances that Nefarian will turn to and Shadowflame the majority of the raid, in a situation where the MT is unable to avoid fear via Fear Ward or his own efforts. Note that although the presence of Fear Ward simplifies this, Nefarian will Roar more often than Fear Ward can be reapplied.

Rogues are positioned to Nefarian's rear left, outside of the area affected by his Tail Swipe attack.

The remainder of the raid is positioned to Nefarian's left. Generally speaking, each player should determine the best place to stand so as to be at maximal effective rand. Any person within range of Nefarian's Fear must be particularly careful to stand in a place that minimimizes the chance that he will run randomly in front of Nefarian while affected by the Fear, and thus possibly be struct by a Cleave and/or Shadowflame attack.

Most ranged DPS classes, and some healers, can remain safely outside of the range of Nefarian's Fear ability for almost the entire duration of this Phase.

[Bastet]

Phase 2 - Class Calls
There are a total of 8 class calls that Nefarian uses. Every 45 seconds after Phase 2 of the encounter begins, he will issue one of these calls, determined randomly. Although the timing of the calls is predictable, there is no way to know which call will be used next, until it actually occurs. None of the effects of these class calls are directly dispellable, or avoidable:

* Druids - Will be forced into catform for the duration of the call. While in catform, the druids may take all actions normally possible in catform, but cannot shapeshift back to their humanoid form, or to another beast form. Naturally, druids will be unable to heal or remove curses for the duration of this call. In particular, mages must handle decursing of the MT to remove Veil of Shadow until the next call occurs.

* Hunters - The ranged weapons currently equipped by every hunter will be immediately broken, reduced to 0 durability. Once the damage is inflicted, it is safe for hunters to swap to a different, unbroken weapon, to continue attacking. To deal with this call, all hunters MUST bring at least one additional "backup" ranged weapon with them when preparing to fight Nefarian. Each time there the class call warning is issued, all hunters must swap out their "main" ranged weapon and equip a backup one instead. If the call turns out to be the hunter challenge, the backup weapon will be broken instead of the main weapon. As soon as each call in turn is complete, the hunters may swap back to their primary weapons and continue to attack.
 
* Mages - Will immediately begin to randomly target members of the raid group, possibly including themselves, and cast a "Wild Polymorph" effect on each target in turn. While the call continues, mages have very little control over their own actions. The Wild Polymorph effect is similar to any other polymorph; it is magic in nature and dispellable. To deal with this call, paladins and priests must be ready to dispel the effects of Wild Polymorph on any and all raid members, *especially* the MT and MT healers. Mages can escape this call via use of ice block, if specced appropriately. While this call is active, druids must handle decursing of the MT to remove Veil of Shadow.

* Paladins - Those who attempt to cast for the duration of this call will instead apply an Improved Blessing of Protection "debuff" to Nefarian himself, making him immune to all physical damage for 5 seconds each time it is applied. This debuff can be applied simultaneously by multiple paladins, and thus as long as paladins continue casting, Nefarian will remain effectively invulnerable to all physical attacks for the duration of the call. This call provides a good opportunity for hunters and rogues to exit combat (via Vanish or Feign Death), and bandage/eat/drink or use jumper cables as appropriate.

* Priests - Those who attempt to cast direct healing spells on a friendly player will instead apply a debuff to the target called Corrupted Healing, which inflicts ~200 damage per second for 30 seconds, and stacks up to FIFTY times! It is imperative that priests stop healing raid members, and *especially* stop healing the MT, immediately when this call is issued. Thus, druids and paladins must shoulder the full burden of healing the raid while this call is active.

* Rogues - Will be "summoned" directly to a single location within melee range of Nefarian, taken out of stealth, and rendered unable to move for the duration of the call. Affected rogues may attack, but cannot enter stealth or move away. If summoned to a position in front of Nefarian, the rogues will be subject to the full brunt of his Cleave and Shadowflame attacks, unless he is turned or repositioned. To prevent the rogues from dying outright as a result of this call, the MT must remain aware of where the rogues are summoned when it occurs. The MT may need to turn Nefarian away from the "frozen" rogues (180 degrees turn), as well as the majority of the raid, until the call ends if the rogue positions put them in direct jeopardy.

* Warlocks - 2 Corrupted Infernals will be summoned in by each warlock, with each pair spawning on top of the corresponding warlock, and briefly stunning those nearby with an AoE attack called Inferno Effect that does ~200 damage. Once summoned, these Infernals will run rampant throughout the raid group, immediately focusing on and attacking the raid's healers first. Each Corrupted Infernal is a demon with ~6k HP and a short-ranged, fire based AoE damage aura that does ~25 damage per tick, in addition to its basic melee attacks. This aura is mainly an annoyance, but is significant since it can disrupt healing (as well as other) spells. The Infernals must be pulled away from the raid's healers to ensure that they are not overly disrupted by AoE stuns, and then the Infernals must be dispatched. Ideally, these Infernals can be gathered together and killed via massed AoE and focused fire.

* Warriors - Are forced into Berzerker stance, and all damage inflicted on them for the duration of this call is increased by 30%. Thus, Nefarian's more traditional attacks will be that much more deadly to the MT and OTs during this call, and the healers must adjust to compensate for the additional damage. It is particularly important to note that when this call is active, a single Shadowflame can hit the MT for ~6-8k damage. It is absolutely crucial for the MT to have a health pool deep enough to withstand that level of damage in a single attack, for just this situation. The assigned MT should have at least ~9k HP or so when fully buffed for this encounter.

[Bastet]

Phase 3 - Transition & the "Zerg"
This Phase is triggered as soon as Nefarian's health is reduced to 20% of his total. At this point, each of the corpses of the draconids killed during Phase 1 will be reanimated as a Bone Construct, undead mobs with ~6k HP apiece and only melee attacks. These Bone Constructs represent a massive "zerg", immediately charging the raid group en masse once they are active, and focusing their attention particularly upon healers.

Individually these mobs are not much of a danger to the raid, but they present a threat due to their sheer numbers (typically about ~48-54), and the intense graphical lag that occurs each time this "zerg" is onscreen while it charges the raid group.

The Bone Constructs must be quickly brought down via massed AoE. To facilitate this, the majority of the raid group must cluster together just before the Phase 3 transition, so that all the point blank AoEs wielded by the casters and paladins will form a tightly overlapping death zone for the incoming "zerg". If not dealt with in this manner, the Bone Constructs will run rampant through the raid group, killing cloth-wearers especially fast and starting a chain reaction that will undoubtedly lead to a wipe.

Because of how important it is for entire raid group to be fully prepared for this "zerg", and how important certain class abilities are while it is occurring, the raid group must control exactly when Nefarian's health is brought down to 20%. Phase 3 must be triggered immediately after Nefarian issues a class call, to provide the maximal possible amount of time before the next call occurs. Moreover, certain calls (mage, paladin, priest, and warlock) are very disruptive when attempting to handle the Bone Constructs simultaneously, making it far more difficult. The transition should be triggered only after one of the remaining calls (druid, hunter, rogue, or warrior) has been issued.

If this transition is executed well, deaths from the assault of the Bone Constructs can be minimized, or even avoided entirely.


Phase 3 - The Rest
Once the Bone Constructs have all been killed, the remainder of Phase 3 continues exactly like the bulk of Phase 2. The raid must still deal with Nefarian's various abilities and special attacks, including his periodic fear and class calls, but he has no more cards hidden up his sleeve for the remainder of the encounter. Members of the raid should spread out from their "zerg" positioning, moving back to a semblance of Phase 2 positions instead.

Assuming a sufficient portion of the raid group survives until this point, the remainder of the encounter will be trivial in comparison with what came before it, and victory is almost assured. As long as there are no particularly extreme mistakes, it is simply a matter of time before the Lord of Blackwing Lair, Brood of Deathwing, will lie dead at your feet...and soon enough after that, his head will be placed atop a wonderful vantage point in Stormwind!


Addendum - Wipes and Additional Attempts
If the raid group wipes during Phase 1 of the encounter, the gate which shuts when the encounter begins will open back up, and Victor Nefarius/Nefarian will despawn along with any draconids alive. After 15 minutes, Victor Nefarius will reappear atop his throne at the southern end of the balcony, and the encounter may be triggered again.

Due to the fact that the organization of the raid into 2 sub-groups for Phase 1 will vary widely depending upon which 2 varieties of colored draconids are active in the current instance, it will likely be worthwhile to perform a "naked wipe", similar to that used while first learning to fight Chromaggus, the first time this encounter is triggered in a given instance, to identify which colors are active.

[Bastet]

Phase 2 positioning

Note:  Primary MT decurser needs to stand in range of the MT.  The backup MT decurser needs to stand out of fear range at all times until the primary MT decurser is feared and then the backup MT decurser runs into range to take over the decursing until the primary decurser is out of fear and back in position, at this point the backup decurser goes out of fear range again.  (when TL acts as primary decurser he tends to do this by standing on the far side of Nefarian, on the left of the picture, as it is clearer and easier to avoid melee interuption from infernals, zergs and everything else)