Filed under: Raid Guides

Solo the Chess Event with Tikari's Tricks of the Trade

by Kristin Marshall May 24th 2013 at 9:00AM

Oh, you want that pet in Kara The Chess Event SUCKS BUTT here's how to solo it

As ~~an obsessive~~ a big fan of battle pets, I was looking forward to everything patch 5.3 had to offer. Tons of battle pet changes, and the slew of new pets for the Raiding With Leashes II: Attunement Edition all had me especially excited. I zipped through The Eye and Serpentshrine Cavern hunting for the new pets, and emerged victorious with one. Huzzah! But on my way to Karazhan, I realized I'd need to solo the Chess Event to get to Prince Malchezaar, who also drops a pet.

I wiped a few times, but things turned around once I read through an excellent Chess Event soloing guide from WoW blogger Tikari of Tikari's Tricks of the Trade.

Keep in mind that even with a great plan, the Chess Event is still plagued with RNG issues. But knowing what to expect will hopefully keep your rage at bay.

Tikari lays out a simple set of moves -- with diagrams -- and priorities to give your king the best chance of surviving, which is the main goal. The event was nerfed to increase the delay between enemy moves, but keep a few tips in mind.

Move your king, and queen if you can, out of the fire immediately. Fire isn't a buff!
Attack the enemy king with your queen, using the Rain of Fire/Poison Cloud ability. Be sure to target the enemy king with the queen's main attack.
The Clerics seem to heal the enemy king more than I remember, but I kept them distracted with other pieces.
Medivh doesn't cheat as quickly as he did before, so you'll have time for about four moves before he does so the first time around. Be sure to at least give your king, ideally your queen as well, space to move. I was able to win in the end by moving backward out of fire, drawing the enemy king into it.

Good luck and be sure to check out Tikari's guide for all the details!

Filed under: Achievements, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Throne of Thunder: Pinnacle of Storms Raid Finder bosses in 5 seconds

by Kristin Marshall Apr 18th 2013 at 12:00PM

Huzzah! Pinnacle of Storms, the final wing of Throne of Thunder Raid Finder, is open this week, and that means you're almost done. If you're just venturing into ToT Raid Finder, we recommend you head over to our 5-second guides for the first, second, and third wings. This wing is mostly downhill in terms of difficulty, especially after the Durumu pre-nerfed maze business, but can still prove to be a challenge to Raid Finder champions clueless on strategy. And just for you, we've put together a quick guide for the final wing. We accept cookies and high fives. (Thanks Zhonya for the help!)

Iron Qon

Tank swap at two stacks of Impale. Stay off of fire, ice, or lightning lines on the ground throughout the fight, reposition the boss as needed. During the lightning phase, move out of and away from tornadoes once sucked in. Move the boss to the back of the room. Stay spread out during lightning phase. During ice phase, move to hit the boss on his unshielded sides. Stack in his final phase for healing.

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Throne of Thunder: Halls of Flesh-Shaping Raid Finder bosses in 5 seconds

by Kristin Marshall Apr 3rd 2013 at 8:00PM

The third wing of Throne of Thunder Raid Finder was unlocked this week after a short break from the last one. After our previous 5-second guides to the first and second wings, how could we abandon you now? You've almost made it through. If you thought the beasts in the Forgotten Depths were rough, just wait until you meet your new friends in the Halls of Flesh-Shaping. Here's a quick rundown to quickly share with your Raid Finder buddies (thanks for the help Lucid guildies!).

Durumu the Forgotten

There will be a tank swap, taunt at around 4 stacks of Serious Wound. Step into Life Drain to intercept. During phase two, the raid should split itself between the yellow, red, and blue cones. Move each cone around until the three fog adds are revealed, and kill them. Move out of Force of Will and pools on the ground. During the third phase, be patient and navigate the purple maze while keeping ahead of the death beam. In the maze, stuff on the ground hurts, so stick to the cleared melee or ranged path. Tip: Point your camera downward to better view the cleared maze pathing.

Primordius

Kite the boss to prevent him from picking up too many Living Fluids, and kill them. Tank swap at around seven Malformed Blood stacks and avoid dragging him over the purple Volatile Pools. Only tanks should stand in front of the boss. Collect the red Mutagenic Pools on the ground dropped by Living Fluids to become mutated, DPS the boss. Avoid the red pools when you are mutated.

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Throne of Thunder: Forgotten Depths Raid Finder bosses in 5 seconds

by Kristin Marshall Mar 21st 2013 at 3:00PM

The second wing of Throne of Thunder Raid Finder was just unlocked this week, so get ready to queue. After our last 5-second guide to the first wing, we couldn't just leave you hanging without a second! After being thrown down to the Forgotten Depths, you'll be introduced to a few beastly bosses -- be prepared. Here's a quick rundown perfect for sharing with your Raid Finder comrades (thanks for the help Thugmuffins!).

Tortos

One tank on Tortos, the other on Vampiric Cave Bat duty. Don't stand in Rockfall. Healers be ready to top the raid after Quake Stomp. Kill priority is bats, Whirl Turtles, then boss. Be sure to kick one of the turtles into Tortos to interrupt his Furious Stone Breath. Although you can mostly survive the breath on Raid Finder difficulty, make your healer's life easier by interrupting.

Megaera

Note: You will have to kill the three Eternal Guardians around the cave and ring their bells to spawn the boss.

Tank the two active heads facing away from the center, and don't tank the same head twice in a row to avoid debuffs stacking too high. The raid should stack in the center during Rampage for AoE heals. Kite the beam out of the raid if you're targeted with Torrent of Ice. Run out of the raid for a Cinders dispel. Run away from the Acid Rain. Kill order of the heads in this difficulty isn't too important, just rotate -- green, red, blue will work fine.

See Ji-Kun's quick strategy after the break!

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Throne of Thunder: Last Stand of the Zandalari Raid Finder bosses in 5 seconds

by Kristin Marshall Mar 14th 2013 at 2:00PM

The first wing of Throne of Thunder Raid Finder has opened this week, so it's time to slay a few bosses. Maybe you're ready to queue up right this second. In fact, with the staggered release schedule, you're probably very ready. No time to read through our full guides, or need a short explanation ready for other players? Here's a quick reference perfect for copy and pasting into chat, because we love you.

Jin'rokh the Breaker

Tanks have a swap, watch out for the Static Wound debuff and be ready to taunt. Everyone else stand in the pools unless they're electrified, step out and stack near the boss during Lightning Storm. If you're targeted by the Focused Lightning, run away, and don't electrify the pools.

Horridon

One tank on the boss, the other on adds -- switch after each door so Triple Puncture doesn't stack too high. The adds cast debuffs, so healers be ready to dispel. Stay away from Horridon's head and tail. Kill Dinomancer adds first and stay out of stuff on the ground. Click the Orb of Command when it appears. After the door phase, War-God Jalak will spawn. Off-tank and burn him, continue on the boss.

Council of Elders

Tanks focus on swapping Frost King Malakk before reaching 15 stacks of Frigid Assault. Prioritize killing adds: Loa Spirits and Living Sands. If there are no adds, DPS the empowered boss -- it'll be big and purple. Offing Sul first is usually easiest. Priestess: interrupt Wrath of the Loa, kill spirits. Frost King: stack on the player with Frostbite. Kazra'jin: avoid charges, use damage-reduction cooldowns on Overload. Sul: interrupt Sand Bolt, kill adds, don't stand in Quicksand.

If you want a more in-depth look of the bosses in the first wing of the Throne of Thunder, check out our complete guides:

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Patch 5.2 guide to the Throne of Thunder

by Sarah Pine Mar 5th 2013 at 2:00PM

The Thunder King is risen! Today, hordes (and alliances) of characters are flocking to the Isle of Thunder to take part in the hotly-anticipated new content. Many of you will be jumping straight into the new raid as well, and in the spirit of being prepared, WoW Insider has got you covered. Check out our Throne of Thunder write-ups and go in swinging!

The ultimate last boss of 5.2, Ra-den, is locked behind a heroic-mode defeat of Lei Shen and that encounter remains a closely-guarded secret -- for now. Happy patch 5.2 everyone, and happy raiding!

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Patch 5.2 PTR: Primordius

by Matt Low Feb 25th 2013 at 7:00PM

Your raid will run into Primordius in the later stage of the Throne of Thunder. Poor Primordius seems to be a saurok of some sort. The Dungeon Journal indicates that this is the chamber where the mogu first created or modified them. Check out the Know Your Lore column that Matt Rossi wrote a while ago about the subject.

I always thought these guys were annoying. Now you've got another chance to put one of the main saurok fellas to rest for good. Expect to be overwhelmed the first few times you try this. It'll end up being a little confusing simply because of all the different abilities, buffs, and debuffs involved.

Filed under: Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Patch 5.2 PTR: Crushing the Council of Elders

by Matt Low Feb 23rd 2013 at 8:00PM

Patch 52 PTR Crushing the Council of Elders

Thought you saw the last of Gara'jal in Mogushan Vaults, did you?

Yeah, so did I. Mogu'shan Vaults was merely a setback!

The Council of Elders is the third encounter in the Throne of Thunder. I surmise it's the whole leadership of the Troll empire right there looking to stop your raid team from progressing any further into the compound.

As you can guess, this encounter is the first council-type encounter of the raid. They'll have to handle the various abilities and spells that the Council is dishing out while slowly whittling them all down. They don't have a shared pool so you do you have your work cut out for you. Now there are going to be a ton of things going on but your raid should be able to pick up on the different abilities without too much of a hassle.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Patch 5.2 PTR: Killing Throne of Thunder's Dark Animus

by Olivia Grace Feb 5th 2013 at 2:00PM

Patch 52 PTR Deanimating the Dark Animus

Dark Animus is the ninth boss in the Throne of Thunder, followed by Iron Qon, Twin Consorts, and Lei Shen. It's preceded by some fairly stern trash, and on entering the room players are greeted by the image seen above. It's all a tad confusing to the uninitiated, but what you're essentially fighting against is that red, gloopy substance. The story goes as follows:

During his reign, Lei Shen labored to build a mechanical servant that would defend his citadel without fear. When this experiment failed, rage took hold of the Thunder King. He poured this negative emotion into his next, amd most successful creation: the Dark Animus. To this day, the ornate construct observes its duty, empowered by the mysterious substance at the heart of all the Mogu flesh-shaping experiments.

This fight is definitely one of the most interesting ones I've attended on the PTR. Again, I was privileged to join Lore from TankSpot and his guild Months Behind for testing on my restoration shaman.

The fight begins with the spherical blob you see in the center of the room. It will not aggro onto nearby players until struck, but when aggroed, it will explode, activating a number of the smallest robots visible above by powering them with Anima.

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Tankspot takes a look at the Council of Elders

by Anne Stickney Jan 15th 2013 at 7:00PM

The Council of Elders is the third boss in the Throne of Thunder raid, but the first that was open for testing on the PTR. Tankspot took a look at the encounter and put together a video that explains some of the mechanics involved with what looks like an incredibly complex fight. The video above is for the 10-man normal mode version of the encounter, and because this is the PTR, abilities and effects shown in the video may change over time.

Each Elder in the Council has their own set of abilities, and the fight requires three tanks to pull off successfully. But it's not that easy, of course. Also present in the fight is the pesky spirit of Gara'jal, last seen in Mogu'shan Vaults. Gara'jal will possess each Elder in turn, changing the Elder's abilities and making the fight just that much more hectic for players.

This fight has a very heavy emphasis on target swapping between both the various Elders, and the adds that those Elders spawn. Players must attack the Elder that is possessed by Gara'jal -- otherwise a raid-wide AoE will quickly stack to unmanageable heights and overwhelm the raid. In order to force Gara'jal to swap to another Elder, players must DPS the possessed Elder down by 25%.

Keep in mind that this is the first round of PTR testing for this particular encounter. There will doubtless be small changes and tweaks as the PTR moves on. If you'd like to participate in PTR testing, be sure to keep an eye on the official PTR forums for scheduling information regarding the different encounters in Throne of Thunder.

Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Guides, Mists of Pandaria

Raid Rx: Healing through Gara'jal and Spirit Kings

by Matt Low Nov 10th 2012 at 2:00PM

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poohbah of World of Matticus and a founder of Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests.

A few weeks ago, Joe wrote a piece about personal survivability on my blog. After healing some raid finder and pug runs, I wanted to help echo his sentiment. Whenever there's a new expansion, there's always additional abilities, bosses, and so forth. There's new players picking up the game and old players returning. It bears some reminding that you absolutely should help look after yourself.

Your class has talents that helps you live.

Use them!

Filed under: Raid Rx (Raid Healing), Raid Guides

Raid Rx: Healing through Feng

by Matt Low Oct 19th 2012 at 5:00PM

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poohbah of World of Matticus and a founder of Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests.

We'll get into healing tips for Feng momentarily but I wanted to examine the state of raiding healers.

It's been a couple of weeks since Mogu'shan Vaults opened up for raids. We've got another week and a few days to go before Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Springs open. A quick cursory glance at the preferred healers show that monks are the class to be right now. They appear to be dominating at the 25 level while in normal 10s, we're seeing additional representation from shaman and paladins. Priests have received some minor hotfixes. Prayer of Healing and Prayer of Mending was buffed by an additional 25% not too long ago.

5.1 is introducing another set of changes to priests:

Chakra: Serenity now increases single target healing by 25% (was 15%).
Chakra: Sanctuary now increases area healing by 25% (was 15%).

No additional healing changes have been announced for the other classes yes, but I'd expect some more tweaks coming down the road.

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Rx (Raid Healing), Raid Guides

Raid Rx: Getting started with healing Mogu'shan Vaults

by Matt Low Oct 6th 2012 at 6:00PM

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poohbah of World of Matticus and a founder of Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests.

Raids are out! If you're anything like me, you spent a good chunk of week 1 powering to 90 as fast as possible. With raids open in the second week of Mists of Pandaria, you are no doubt in the process of preparing to step inside Mogu'shan Vaults! Today we'll cover some of the pre-raid items you should be doing before taking on the Stone Guard.

Yes, we'll be going over Stone Guard healing tips, too!

Reputation grinds: Blizzard has generously nerfed the reputation requirements when it comes to purchasing select gear. Now you only need to be revered to purchase those delicious valor level items. If you managed to cap out your valor last week, you have the ability to pick up a neck piece from the Klaxxi (provided that you have been diligent with their dailies). As a bonus, many of these quests provide those Lesser Charm of Good Fortune which gives you an extra chance at loot in any raid difficulty level.

Consumables: Have you been leveling your cooking and farming abilities with the Tillers? If not, Megan has a great introductory guide. We're looking to become Master of the Steamer due to their spirit food. For potions, arm yourself with stacks of Potion of Focus. Look for the safe periods in a fight where you can use these without getting interrupted. Finally, expect to spend some money on Flask of Falling Leaves. Gold Lotus prices are typically going to be really high. But you'll want that extra regen.

Filed under: Raiding, Raid Rx (Raid Healing), Raid Guides

Healing Mogu'shan Vaults Part 1 in the raid finder

by Matt Low Aug 13th 2012 at 9:00AM

Raid Rx Healing Mogu'shan Vaults part 1 in LFR ANY

Every week, Raid Rx will help you quarterback your healers to victory! Your host is Matt Low, the grand poohbah of World of Matticus and a founder of Plus Heal, a discussion community for healers of all experience levels and interests.

Imagine my delight when I realized that the raid finder in the Mists of Pandaria beta was available for testing. The only instance available at the moment is Mogu'shan Vaults, but heck, who cares? I've been dying to get more practice in. I must've waited around 50 or so minutes before we had enough players to jump in. There were times where we had two tanks, six healers, and 11 DPSers. Other times we had 17 DPSers, 6 healers, and no tanks!

The raid finder for Mogu'shan Vaults has been split into two parts. You can't access the second half of it until you clear out the first three bosses in the first half.

There are some spoilers after the cut. Consider yourself warned!

Filed under: Druid, Paladin, Priest, Shaman, Analysis / Opinion, Raiding, Raid Rx (Raid Healing), Raid Guides, Monk

Arcane Brilliance: How to solo Magtheridon for fun and transmog

by Josh Myers May 5th 2012 at 2:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. In good news, the most esteemed archmage Christian Belt has escaped from the alternate timeline where he was forced to perpetually watch reruns of Fox Van Allen's appearance on The Price is Right. The bad news is that this means this is Josh Myers' last mage article for a while, but he had fun while it lasted!

My mage wasn't level-capped when Magtheridon was relevant content. I was a resto shaman, content to spam my one PUG raid night a week spamming four ranks of Chain Heal on other people. I still remember those days fondly, as they were my first exposure to "real" raiding. Also, Magtheridon's Lair was considerably easier than tier 4's other 25-man raid, Gruul's Lair, and the only way to get access to your tier four chestpiece.

I first learned Magtheridon's Lair was soloable at level 85 by managing to do it on my hunter, because pet classes are overpowered (though the ones with self-healing are even more so -- I'm looking at you, Megan O'Neill!). Speaking of potent self-healing, I followed with my blood death knight, and then conquered the pit lord with my enhance shaman. The natural next choice would have been to take a warlock or maybe a feral druid, but I wanted a challenge. Also, Magelam was craving a Crystalheart Pulse-Staff, so he was my fourth choice. I ended up spending about two hours last November perfecting my strategy and have since been able to down him consistently whenever I want a quick 50 gold and some level 70 epics to sell.

Filed under: Mage, (Mage) Arcane Brilliance, Cataclysm, Raid Guides

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