How to: Herald Volazj (Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom)

[limiteded]

Having now sorted what I believe is way to complete this boss 100% of the time, despite the incredible damage his "Twisted Visage" npc spawns can dish out, there are two options.

I. Option 1: Complete "Zerg"
4 dps + 1 plate dps / high damage tank / feral druid with crit cap in bear form, etc...
Pretty self-explanatory here. Down the boss before he can cast insanity. The tank needs only stay alive long enough for the dps to rack up big numbers. I have now successfully accomplished this strategy twice without losing anyone (the tank very nearly, though!). Takes approximately 17 seconds. You need a minimum of ~4.3k dps (single-target) per character, unless the tank can pull 4k+ (again, single target), then that number reduces to ~3.9k per character.

II. Option 2: Patience + Finesse
Standard group setup (1 Tank, 1 Healer, 3 Dps)

A. Phase 1 (pre-insanity)
Fight the boss like normal. Tank hold CD's for insanity phase.

B. Phase 2 (Insanity)

1. Step 1:
3 dps and Healer DO NOT TAKE A SINGLE STEP, and DO NOT USE abilities while insane. The trick to the method is that if you do not move during insanity, you will not aggro pet damage bugged twisted visages.
The Tank will have to kill his/her 5 twisted visages alone. They will not have the increased damage from the pet bug, though. Use your defensive cooldowns to ensure you survive.

2. Step 2: Once the Tank's 5 Twisted Visages are defeated, the Healer will be released from insanity. The Healer is then free to move and cast. The tank must ensure that the healer is protected from the aggro of the twisted visages. However, they spawn directly at Volazj's feet, so it shouldn't be a problem. The 3 insanity Dps continue to NOT TAKE A SINGLE STEP, and DO NOT USE abilities.

3. Step 3: Once the healer's 5 twisted visages have been defeated, a dps'er will be released from insanity. The dps that is free from insanity must not move until the tank has taken their aggro. Once the tank has aggro on the twisted visages, the dps can move to come help. The 2 insanity Dps continue to NOT TAKE A SINGLE STEP, and DO NOT USE abilities.

4. Step 4: Once the dps'ers 5 twisted visages have been defeated, a second dps'er will be released from insanity. That dps that is free from insanity must not move until the tank has taken their aggro, and the previously free dps must ensure NOT TO PULL the new twisted visages. Once the tank has aggro on the twisted visages, the dps can move to come help. The remaining insanity dps continue to NOT TAKE A SINGLE STEP, and DO NOT USE abilities.

5. Repeat step 4 for the remaining dps'er, dps and Healer ensure not to aggro the newly spawned twisted visages. The final dps in insanity must continue to ensure NOT TO MOVE and NOT USE ABILITIES during insanity.

6. Once the final dps'er's twisted visages are finished, Volazj will begin attacking the highest threat target again. Attempt to finish him before he casts his second insanity, or else you will have to repeat the above steps.

Following these steps will ensure your victory against Volazj. It takes a pretty long time, though, which sort of sucks. Again, use your finesse, and don't go crazy spamming your highest dps moves to defeat the visages quickly- your goal is to ensure that the tank has the first hit on the twisted visages.

Good luck out there, and happy hunting!

- J

[Ragnorak]

Or u can do it the way i did
Get a 6.5k fury warrior with shadowmourne to tank/dps the entire dungeon
Get a 6.3k hunter capable of dealing OP amounts of DPS
Get a Shaman for BL
Get 2 other nabs
Burst the fuck out of the Herald so hard that you kill him before he is able to finish casting Nightmare.

[limiteded]

Please see "Option 1", above, Ragnorak.

[Ragnorak]

:O i didnt read option 1

[Sanity]

Main issue here is the visages' crazy melee damage. Spell damage appears alright, except perhaps for spells that scale with melee power. Easily fixable by an SQL statement like

Code: Select all

UPDATE creature_template SET dmg_multiplier = dmg_multiplier / 2 WHERE name LIKE "twisted visage" AND entry > 31000;

Key to this would be setting the appropriate dmg_multiplier so that it's both doable by a group geared for it, as well as challenging. The dmg_multiplier/2 would roughly decrease all melee damage by 50%, as the code suggests.

The only creatures captured in the clause "WHERE name LIKE "twisted visage"" are those spawned by Herald Volazj. By adding "AND entry > 31000", only the heroic versions are selected, although this could be omitted to nerf normal mode at the same time as well.