Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
This is the final raid of the Mists of Pandaria expansion. The raid entrance is located in the very center of the ruined Vale of Eternal Blossoms, beneath the well next to the spot where the Golden Lotus quartermaster used to stand.
The raid features fourteen bosses in total, divided across four wings: Immerseus, The Fallen Protectors, Norushen, Sha of Pride (Wing 1); Galakras, Iron Juggernaut, Kor'kron Dark Shaman, General Nazgrim (Wing 2); Malkorok, Spoils of Pandaria, Thok the Bloodthirsty (Wing 3); Siegecrafter Blackfuse, Paragons of the Klaxxi, Garrosh Hellscream (Wing 4).
We will be describing abilities from the Heroic version of the raid. If an ability does not exist on other difficulties or works differently there, we will be sure to point it out.
The ancient inhabitants of Pandaria understood how vital the life-giving Pools of Power were, and they laid a whole network of channels beneath the Vale of Eternal Blossoms to carry the living waters to every corner of it. Over time, corruption seeped into these streams, and Immerseus became the embodiment of the sorrow that engulfed the Vale.
Below we will break down each of the boss's abilities in detail.
At the start of the fight Immerseus has 100 points of corruption on a separate bar, and the raid's goal is to bring that value down to zero. Each time the boss runs out of health, he shatters into a multitude of puddles of two kinds, which crawl toward the central pool. DPS players must destroy the hostile Sha Puddles, while healers must heal the Contaminated Puddles to full purity before they reach the center. After every shatter the boss reforms with a smaller health pool, and his remaining corruption level depends on how well the raid handled the puddles. This repeats until Immerseus is fully cleansed.
Immerseus is a water elemental who fights the players himself, without minions.
The boss hurls a bolt of sha at every player: it strikes an area around the point of impact and leaves a pool beneath the target that keeps burning anyone standing in it with Shadow damage.
The raid should therefore stay spread out, with healers distributed evenly so the pools do not overlap. Move out of the newly spawned pools immediately.
Swirl (Important)Corrupted water bursts from the rifts in the floor. Anyone it catches is knocked back and takes Shadow damage.
The boss turns to face a random direction and sweeps roughly half a rotation clockwise, sending a stream of water out in front of him. Either keep ahead of that stream or move to the side opposite the rotation in advance. At the same time, mobile geysers of sha energy erupt from the ground and must also be avoided.
Corrosive Blast (Tank)In a cone in front of him, aimed at his primary target, the boss deals Shadow damage and applies an effect that increases the target's Shadow damage taken. The effect stacks with each application.
The cone must be faced away from the raid, and tanks should swap after every cast so the debuff does not build up on one of them. The second tank should not run through the boss's model while doing so.
Coming too close to the sha surrounding the boss makes them lash out with Shadow damage and a knockback. Simply do not stand flush against Immerseus's model.
Swelling Corruption (Heroic difficulty and above. Important)The higher the boss's current corruption level, the more stacks of this effect he gains. In response to single-target abilities he releases globs of corruption at his attackers, spawning congealed sha, and applies a debuff to the attacker that ticks for Shadow damage and grows stronger as it accumulates.
As soon as the boss's health runs out, he becomes unstable and splits into a multitude of Sha Puddles and Contaminated Puddles, which strive to merge back together at the central pool. Every Sha Puddle killed and every Contaminated Puddle healed to full reduces the corruption level by 1 point.
When splitting, the boss spawns one of these puddles for every 4 points of remaining corruption. Killing one before it reaches the center reduces the corruption by one point.
A destroyed puddle leaves behind
Sha Residue: it affects anyone standing nearby and increases damage dealt to the remaining Sha Puddles. The effect stacks, which helps finish off the remaining puddles faster.
The boss creates one of these for every 4 points of missing corruption. If such a puddle is healed to full, it becomes purified and, upon reaching the boss, reduces the corruption by one point.
Congealing (Magic) — the more health a Contaminated Puddle has, the slower it crawls.
Purified Residue (Magic) — a puddle healed to its limit releases residue that restores mana and increases the healing done by nearby allies. The effect stacks.
When a puddle reaches the boss, it erupts: a Sha Puddle or a Contaminated Puddle hits the entire raid with Shadow damage, while a purified one deals noticeably weaker Frost damage.
Sha Pool (Heroic difficulty and above. Important)The central pool gradually expands and burns anyone standing in it with Shadow damage once per second, hitting harder the more stacks have accumulated. Touching the pool shrinks it, but every puddle that reaches it makes it grow again.
The group's main job is to survive the "Tears of the Vale" phase by dodging Swirl and the Sha Bolts, then spread out around the ring during the "Split" phase, killing Sha Puddles and healing up Contaminated Puddles, gradually bringing the corruption down to zero.
The Golden Lotus and the Shado-Pan, who watched over the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, were caught at the epicenter of the explosion that tore the Vale apart with a burst of dark energy, and they died defending the land they had sworn to protect. Their spirits, tormented by the memory of defeat, still linger at this very spot.
This is a fight against three bosses at once: the brewmaster Rook Stonetoe, the rogue He Softfoot, and the priestess Sun Tenderheart. Below we will cover the shared mechanics and the abilities of each protector.
All three enter combat at the same time, and each has their own health pool. At 66% and 33% a protector resorts to Desperate Measures, summoning the spirits of fallen comrades and temporarily ceasing to act until those spirits are slain. Avoid pushing several protectors to their Desperate Measures thresholds at once. The fight only ends when all three are left at 1 point of health simultaneously.
Bond of the Golden Lotus (Important)The protectors are linked by shared spiritual bonds. If one of them is left at 1 health while any of the others still fights, they all begin casting a spell that restores 30% of their health upon completion. Only when all three are at a single point of health at the same time do their minds clear — and the fight is won.
The bosses therefore cannot be finished off one by one: their health is kept even, and all of them are brought to the execute point almost in sync. Usually the 66% Desperate Measures thresholds are dealt with one at a time first, then the 33% ones, and only then are all three finished off together under cooldowns.
Vengeful Strikes (Tank)Rook assumes a stance, stuns his current target, and hammers away at a cone in front of him for several seconds.
While the target is stunned it cannot defend itself, so healers need to be ready to heal through all of the incoming damage.
Rook hurls a keg at a distant target: it deals Shadow damage in an area and slows anyone it hits. In Heroic difficulty every second cast shortens the keg's flight time.
Rook and his target charge toward each other and collide halfway, after which he immediately uses 
Corruption Kick — spinning in place, dealing area damage for several seconds and applying a ticking Shadow damage effect.
At 66% and 33% Rook raises evil doubles of his friends: Embodied Misery, Embodied Sorrow and Embodied Gloom.
Embodied Misery attacks with
Defiled Ground — it knocks the target back and leaves damage zones, so a tank picks it up and faces it away. The damage of Embodied Sorrow's
Inferno Strike is split among everyone within range, so players group up for it. Embodied Gloom's
Corruption Shock (interruptible) strikes an area with lightning. In Heroic difficulty all three embodiments share
a single health pool.
Garrote (Healer)Sneaking up from the shadows, He strangles a target, dealing Physical damage to them every couple of seconds. The effect fades as soon as he enters his Desperate Measures.
Gouge (Tank)He attempts to blind his target and incapacitate it for several seconds; if the target is not facing him, it is knocked back instead. The tank must therefore turn away in time.
He coats his weapons with poisons: 
Noxious Poison leaves pools of poison on the ground (they can be jumped over), while 
Instant Poison adds Nature damage to his attacks. In Heroic difficulty the poisons also trigger during Garrote.
At 66% and 33% He raises an Embodied Anguish, which hunts the player bearing the Mark of Anguish.
The
Mark of Anguish (Important) roots its bearer and ticks for damage, but it can be passed to another player nearby. Embodied Anguish's attacks apply
Shadow Weakness, which increases damage taken from the Mark, while
Sha Sear (Interruptible)A burst of Shadow magic around the target that hits harder and harder over time. It should be interrupted.
Shadow Word: Bane (Magic)A debuff that ticks for Shadow damage and jumps to one more target with every tick (up to three in total). It must be dispelled as quickly as possible so it does not spread.
A powerful blast that hits the entire raid for a third of their health and removes Shadow Word: Bane. In Heroic difficulty the damage grows with each cast.
At 66% and 33% Sun raises an Embodied Despair and an Embodied Desperation.
The group's main job is to keep all three protectors' health even, handle the Desperate Measures thresholds in sync, pass the Mark of Anguish along a chain, interrupt Sha Sear, and bring all the bosses down to 1 point of health almost simultaneously to play around the Bond of the Golden Lotus.
It is said that the mogu race was created in the image and likeness of this colossus, who keeps Pandaria's darkest and most dangerous secrets in its depths. Norushen is a warden of the titans, assigned to guard the remains of the Old God Y'Shaarj. Before letting heroes approach the heart of Y'Shaarj, he tests them, forcing them to come to grips with their own corruption and pride.
Below we will break down every ability of this fight in detail.
At the start of the fight Norushen seals the raid inside a quarantine zone and draws a particle of corruption out of every player, forming the Amalgam of Corruption, which must be destroyed. To damage the Amalgam at full strength, players need to lower their own corruption level: to do so, they touch the flickers of purifying Light and are transported into a personal trial, different for each role. Completing it cleanses the player.
Everyone starts the fight with 75 points of corruption. The higher this value, the weaker the player's damage against the Amalgam.
When a player's corruption drops to zero, they become purified: healers heal for more, tanks take less damage, and DPS hit harder. The effect lasts until corruption touches the player again.
Look Within (Important)By touching the purifying Light, a player enters a personal trial based on their role and returns with zero corruption. The ability is unavailable while under the Purified effect.
Test of Serenity (DPS) — the DPS player must defeat manifestations of corruption: a Manifestation of Corruption strikes in a cone, while an Essence of Corruption fires bolts in a straight line.
Test of Reliance (Healer) — the healer defeats a Greater Corruption while dispelling its
Lingering Corruption in time.
Test of Confidence (Tank) — the tank holds a Titanic Corruption for about a minute, interrupting its
Hurl Corruption and surviving
Burst of Corruption.
Unleashed Anger (Tank)The Amalgam strikes the current tank with Physical damage.
Self Doubt (Tank)The Amalgam plants doubt in the tank, and every accumulated stack amplifies Unleashed Anger. That is why the tanks swap.
Blind Hatred (Deadly)An expanding zone of corruption sweeps beneath the raid, burning anyone standing in it with Shadow damage. Move out of it.
Fusion (Deadly)Every released glob of corruption that makes it to the Amalgam temporarily empowers its damage.
Icy Fear (Healer)The Amalgam hits the entire raid with Frost damage, growing stronger the lower its health falls.
Frayed (Important)At 50% health and then with every additional −10%, the Amalgam releases an unleashed Manifestation of Corruption.
A slain manifestation leaves behind
Residual Corruption (Important), which pulses damage across the entire zone until someone absorbs it; only a player who has shed enough of their own corruption can absorb it. Meanwhile, damage dealt to the creatures released during the Test of Serenity is transferred to the Amalgam itself through the
Foul Link.
The group's main job is to take turns cleansing through Look Within, bringing their corruption to zero for full damage output, to move out of Blind Hatred, swap tanks on Self Doubt, and never let the released globs empower the Amalgam.
The seventh sha, the Sha of Pride, proved to be the one trial Emperor Shaohao never managed to overcome. It was because of this sha that the emperor shrouded Pandaria in mists, hiding it from the world for thousands of years. When Garrosh awakened the heart of Y'Shaarj, his arrogance pulled the streams of dark energy together in the chamber where the heart was kept.
Below we will break down each of the boss's abilities in detail.
Players enter the fight with zero Pride. Every hit taken from an ability of the boss or his servants adds 5 points of Pride, and at the 25, 50, 75 and 100 marks Swelling Pride inflicts increasingly dangerous side effects. The key to the fight is keeping your Pride as low as possible.
From time to time Norushen grants players a short immunity to Pride. If everyone bearing this gift stacks close together, they gain 
Power of the Titans, which hastens them and increases their damage and healing.
Upon reaching full energy, the Sha hits the entire raid with Shadow damage and adds 5 points of Pride to everyone. On top of that, a side effect triggers depending on each player's current Pride.
At 25–49 —
Bursting Pride: a glob of sha appears beneath the player and explodes after a couple of seconds, so step away from the others. At 50–74 —
Projection: a double appears nearby, and you must stand in it, otherwise it detonates across the raid. At 75–99 —
Aura of Pride: the player starts burning their neighbors, so spread out. At 100 —
Mark of Arrogance (Healer, Magic)The Sha marks several players with a debuff that ticks until the end of the fight and stacks. It can only be removed with a single-target dispel, and the dispeller themselves gains 5 Pride — which is why a healer handles it while under the Gift of the Titans.
Wounded Pride (Tank)The Sha leaves a festering wound on its target, making them gain Pride from each of the Sha's melee hits. Tanks swap as soon as the debuff appears.
The Sha raises servants from time to time. Their Mocking Blast (interruptible) hits a random player and adds Pride, while on death their 
Last Word grants Pride to the two closest players.
The Sha forces several players to mirror it, leaving Reflections beneath them that strike the area after a couple of seconds. Move out of those zones, and finish off the adds themselves quickly.
Corrupted Prison (Important)The Sha activates titan traps, locking one player into each (two in 10-player, four in 25-player). The activation hits everyone around and adds Pride, while the prisoners are stunned and take damage. They are freed by standing on the lock runes around the trap and holding them until they discharge. Do not step on the traps themselves.
Banishment (Heroic difficulty and above)The Sha banishes a player into its corrupted realm, leaving their physical manifestation behind in the real world. Inside the Sha realm the player moves faster and cannot stop, taking damage from touching corruption.
Orbs of Light in the Sha realm heal the player and weaken their manifestation in the real world.
Unstable Corruption (Heroic difficulty and above)Rifts of corruption periodically open around the chamber, spitting globs at random players. The rifts can be closed, triggering an explosion; whoever closes one loses the ability to close another for a minute.
If no one is in melee range of the boss, it strikes its target from afar and increases their Shadow damage taken. The tank therefore always stays right next to it.
At 30% health the Sha breaks loose, instantly kills Norushen, and periodically blasts the entire raid until the end of the fight. Before dying, Norushen manages to cast his 
Final Gift, resetting everyone's Pride to zero. This is the burn phase — the perfect time for Heroism.
The group's main job is to constantly watch their own Pride and correctly handle whatever effect their Pride level triggers during Swelling Pride; to quickly pull prisoners out of the prisons, finish off the Manifestations of Pride, dispel Mark of Arrogance only under the Gift of the Titans, and ramp up the damage in the final phase after Norushen's death.
Warlord Zaela grew close to Garrosh back during the events of the Twilight Highlands, and now she serves him together with her orcs of the Dragonmaw clan. Zaela holds Orgrimmar's defenses on the seaward side, riding the monstrous Galakras — a direct descendant of the progenitor of all dragons.
Below we will break down the fight phase by phase.
The ship cannot dock while the cannons are pounding the shore, so they must first be put out of action to secure the landing.
Zaela throws the clan's finest soldiers into battle. The towers with the anti-air guns are protected by guards, and only after defeating them does the raid gain access to the guns themselves. Two accurate shots are enough to bring Galakras down.
A mini-boss awaits at the top of each tower. Master Cannoneer Dagryn fires a deadly 
Muzzle Spray (Important) — a cone that must be avoided. Lieutenant Krugruk swings his spear, delivering an 
Arcing Smash (Important) in front of him. High Enforcer Thranok drags players to himself with chains using 
Crusher's Call (Deadly) and then strikes the area around him. Korgra the Snake spreads a 
Poison Cloud and turns into a snake at low health.
The towers are shelled by a Kor'kron Demolisher — only head inside once it has been destroyed, otherwise the bombardment will knock the group off their feet.
Waves of reinforcements roll into the fight. The most dangerous are the Dragonmaw Bonecrushers (Important, tank), who charge at allied commanders with 
Fracture, and the Dragonmaw Tidal Shamans (Important, interruptible), who heal their allies with 
Healing Tide Totem. Alongside them advance Dragonmaw Flameslingers, Dragonmaw Grunts, Dragonmaw Wind Reavers, Dragonmaw Proto-Drakes and Dragonmaw Flagbearers, whose banners empower their entire warband.
The priorities are to interrupt the shamans' healing, intercept the Bonecrushers rushing toward allied commanders, and bring down the banners. The Proto-Drakes are faced away from the raid.
As soon as the dragon is shot down, the direct fight against him begins.
Flames of Galakrond (Important)Galakras directs a stream of pure flame at a random player. Everyone standing in its path takes Fire damage, but with each additional player in the line the damage to those farther along grows weaker. Upon reaching its target, the bolt explodes across the entire raid, and that explosion is likewise weakened for every person along the path.
The raid therefore lines up so the beam passes through as many players as possible and loses its force. Anyone who has picked up several stacks steps aside until the debuff wears off.
Again and again Galakras washes the raid with a wave of fire, and every pulse slightly amplifies all of his subsequent Fire damage — this works as a soft enrage timer.
The group's main job is to clear the shore of guns and soldiers, clean out both towers and shoot Galakras down with the cannons, and in the second phase properly split the Flames of Galakrond in formation while ramping up damage before Pulsing Flames becomes lethal.
This mechanical monstrosity, built to destroy and to terrify in equal measure, is Garrosh's primary siege weapon. Modeled after the Kor'kron battle scorpions, the Iron Juggernaut guards the gates of Orgrimmar, ready to crush anyone who dares stand against the True Horde.
Below we will break down each of the boss's abilities in detail.
The fight consists of alternating modes: in Assault mode the Juggernaut moves around freely and must be tanked, while in Siege mode it digs in, stops striking single targets, but unleashes heavy area damage on the raid.
In this mode the Iron Juggernaut moves around freely.
The Juggernaut sinks its drill into the ground, and fissures race outward, dealing Physical damage. These trails chase players, so keep moving out of them.
The tail cannon locks onto random players and hits them with Fire damage, leaving an additional burn for several seconds.
The top cannon lobs an explosive shell at a random player, hitting an area around the point of impact. Move out of that zone.
The Juggernaut scatters Crawler Mines, which creep up to players and start a countdown to an explosion that hits the entire raid. A brave soul can step on a mine and detonate it beneath themselves — they take a heavy hit and are tossed into the air, but they spare the raid the full blast. Usually the free tank handles the mines.
Ricochet (Heroic difficulty and above)The Juggernaut launches a circular saw that cuts on contact and bounces toward a distant player.
Flame Vents (Tank)From its front vents the Juggernaut releases a jet of fire in a cone in front of itself. Anyone hit receives Ignite Armor, which increases their Fire damage taken and ticks every second. The effect stacks, so the cone is faced away from the raid and the tanks swap.
Staying in place, the Juggernaut burrows into the ground and stops striking single targets. In return, it now deploys Crawler Mines more often.
The Juggernaut shakes the earth, continuously dealing Nature damage to the entire raid and periodically triggering a 
Shock Pulse — a wave that hurls players far away. Stand with your back to an obstacle before the pulse.
The shoulder turrets launch shells into the sky above random players, and they explode, hitting everyone nearby with Fire damage.
The tail cannon scorches a path along the ground, steering it toward its target and dealing Fire damage on contact.
The Juggernaut sprays tar in every direction: players caught in it are bogged down and take Nature damage. If the Cutter Laser is led across a tar pool, it detonates loudly across the entire raid.
The number one rule of Siege mode — never, under any circumstances, lead the Cutter Laser through the tar pools.
Mortar Barrage (Heroic difficulty and above. Deadly)The top cannon saturates one side of the Juggernaut with volleys, leaving numerous explosion zones dealing Fire damage.
The group's main job is, in Assault mode, to face Flame Vents away while swapping tanks and to defuse the Crawler Mines, and in Siege mode, to stand with their backs to a wall before Shock Pulse, never run the Cutter Laser across the tar, and survive the constant damage of Seismic Activity.
Haromm and Kardris trained thousands of shaman to call upon the elements. But Garrosh's army does not ask — it takes by force in the name of the True Horde. The Dark Shaman enslave the elements, twisting them into ash, befouled water and poisoned air.
This is a fight against two bosses — Earthbreaker Haromm and Wavebinder Kardris. Below we will cover the shared mechanics, the totem system, and the abilities of each.
Damage is shared between Haromm and Kardris, so it does not matter which one you attack — they will die at the same time.
Bloodlust (Important)At 25% health the shaman are gripped by a fury that hastens them and amplifies their damage. This is the burn phase.
At the start of the fight the masters are protected by their wolf mounts. Their 
Swipe strikes in front of them, while Rend causes a ramping bleed. The wolves are killed first.
As their health drops, the shaman place totems that unlock new abilities for them: at 95% — a Rusted Iron Totem (Heroic difficulty), at 85% — a Poisonmist Totem, at 65% — a Foulstream Totem, at 50% — an Ashflare Totem. The fight essentially splits into stages, each adding a new set of tricks.
Froststorm Strike (Tank)Strikes the target with an ice-charged weapon and increases the damage the target takes from this ability. The effect stacks — hence the tank swaps.
Poisons several players, dealing Nature damage and building up 
Toxicity, which amplifies all Nature damage taken by the target. It works from within, so immunities do not protect against it. Granted by the Poisonmist Totem.
Deals Nature damage to everyone standing in a line with Haromm. Do not stand in the stream's path. Granted by the Foulstream Totem.
Raises a row of motionless ash elementals perpendicular to the boss's facing. Do not run into them, and there is no need to kill them — they disappear on their own. Granted by the Ashflare Totem.
It is convenient for the tank to keep Haromm with his back to a wall or in a doorway — that way the wall of ash lands along the wall and does not cut the raid's area in half.
Iron Tomb (Heroic difficulty and above)Hits nearby players with Physical damage and seals them inside an iron tomb. Granted by the Rusted Iron Totem.
Strikes the target with a freezing bolt dealing Frost damage.
Raises a storm that roams the arena, searing players with Nature damage and from time to time spawning 
Toxic Tornadoes that toss players into the air. Granted by the Poisonmist Totem.
Pummels the current tank with a stream of foul water, dealing damage for several seconds and spawning a Foul Slime with every splash. The tank keeps moving the entire time, spreading the slimes out to be finished off afterward. Granted by the Foulstream Totem.
Lifts a core of ash into the air, which comes crashing down after a delay: heavy damage at the center of the circle and a hit on the entire raid upon impact. Get out of the big red circle. Granted by the Ashflare Totem.
Iron Prison (Heroic difficulty and above)Locks a player inside an iron prison that, after a minute, deals damage equal to their entire health pool. Granted by the Rusted Iron Totem.
The group's main job is to kill the wolves, keep both bosses together and kite them away from the zones scattered across the field, drop Foul Stream and Falling Ash sensibly, lead Foul Geyser away with the tank, and never let Toxic Mist build up high Toxicity, pouring on the damage during their shared Bloodlust.
Under Warchief Thrall, Nazgrim was a simple soldier of the Horde, but he quickly rose to general after resounding victories in the Grizzly Hills and sunken Vashj'ir. Loyal to the Horde to the very end, he lives by a strict code of honor and duty and will defend his warchief to his last breath.
Below we will break down each of the boss's abilities in detail.
Nazgrim fights like a warrior: he builds Rage in various ways and then spends it, always choosing the most expensive ability available. After spending his Rage he enters a 15-second 
Cooling Off. The raid's task is to keep him from building up too much Rage and to handle the waves of reinforcements.
Sundering Blow (Tank)A heavy Physical strike that weakens the target's armor. The boss gains Rage for the hit and for every stack already on the target, so the tanks swap.
A mace blow that cuts the target's maximum health and leaves a bleed.
Execute (Heroic difficulty and above. Deadly. Tank)A monstrous blow with enormous Physical damage that cannot be dodged, blocked, parried, or avoided with an immunity.
Battle Stance — calm; steadily grants Rage every second.
Berserker Stance — the boss deals and takes more damage and builds Rage twice as fast. This is the window for burst damage.
Defensive Stance — the boss takes less damage but gains Rage from attacks against him. Attacks from the player afflicted by Sundering Blow generate no Rage, so in this stance only the tanks attack the boss.
Heroic Shockwave (30 Rage)Nazgrim leaps to a player, hits the area, and leaves three Aftershocks — spreading fissures that erupt with Fire damage and grant the boss Rage for every player they touch. So do not bunch up.
Kor'kron Banner (50 Rage)Plants a banner that makes the raid's attacks on the summoned adds feed the boss Rage. The banner is taken down immediately.
War Song (70 Rage. Healer)A shout that hits the entire raid for two-thirds of their health. It is best not to let the boss reach this much Rage; if it does happen, use raid cooldowns.
Ravager (100 Rage. Deadly)A whirling blade that remains until the end of the fight, burning everyone near it and feeding the boss Rage for each person it touches. This must never be allowed; as for the blade itself, simply stepping away from it is enough.
Nazgrim summons wave after wave of reinforcements (with a separate wave at every 10% of his health), and they usually matter more than the boss himself. Kor'kron War Shamans are the primary target: they heal their allies with 
Empowered Chain Heal (interruptible) and place totems. Kor'kron Arcweavers are dangerous for their ramping 
Arcane Shock (interruptible). Kor'kron Assassins strike with 
Backstab, so never turn your back to them. Kor'kron Ironblades spin their 
Ironstorm. In Heroic difficulty, Kor'kron Snipers join in with their 
Multi-Shot.
The group's main job is to keep the boss's Rage low, never letting him reach War Song or Ravager, to stop attacking in Defensive Stance and ramp the damage up in Berserker Stance, and to strictly follow the add priority: War Shamans first, then Assassins and Arcweavers. Because the reinforcement waves are fixed, it is important not to burn the boss down too fast, or you will be left with a pile of adds at the end.
Malkorok was Garrosh's most trusted and most zealous lieutenant throughout the entire Pandaria campaign. When the warchief needed a volunteer willing to take the power of Y'Shaarj into himself, Malkorok agreed without a shadow of doubt.
Below we will break down each of the boss's abilities in detail.
The fight is one-on-one against the boss on a circular platform, with no adds and no target swapping (in Heroic difficulty only the Living Corruption appears). Malkorok has a tight enrage timer, so this is largely a test of the raid's damage. The fight is split into a long first phase and a short second phase of about twenty seconds, which alternate until the boss dies.
Ancient Miasma (Important. Healer)The chamber fills with a miasma that stops healing from restoring health directly; instead it is converted into an absorption shield — the Ancient Barrier (up to the player's full health pool). On top of that, the miasma ticks for Shadow damage, which makes constant "blanket" healing that maintains shields on everyone especially valuable.
In Heroic difficulty the miasma spawns an
Essence of Y'Shaarj every few seconds — orbs of corruption that remain until the end of the fight; on contact an orb strips the Ancient Barrier and deals Shadow damage.
Malkorok picks a random player and brings down a blow that strikes a wide cone in front of him. Run out of the cone.
Following the Arcing Smash, several dark vortices appear (three in 10-player, seven in 25-player). If no one stands in a vortex, it explodes across the entire raid after a few seconds, so each one must be soaked — one player (not a tank) steps in, ideally with a personal cooldown active.
The boss smashes the ground beneath a random ranged player, dealing damage nearby and launching them into the air (the fall damage is soaked by the Ancient Barrier). Ranged and healers therefore stay spread out.
In Heroic difficulty a Living Corruption rises at the point of impact, heavily slowing everyone nearby with its
Languish.
After three "Arcing Smash + Imploding Energy" combos, Malkorok draws on the power of Y'Shaarj and detonates anew every spot recently hit by Arcing Smash, dealing lethal Shadow damage. There is no marker on the ground, so the strike locations are tagged in advance with raid markers and everyone retreats into an untouched sector.
Fatal Strike (Tank)In melee, Malkorok leaves a wound on his target that increases their damage taken for 30 sec. The effect stacks, hence the tank swaps.
Eradicate (Deadly)If the boss is not killed within the allotted time, he annihilates the entire raid.
Blood Rage (Deadly)Upon reaching full rage, Malkorok absorbs the miasma and goes berserk: each of his melee swings deals monstrous damage that is split evenly among everyone in front of the boss. The whole raid therefore piles in right at his face. His rage drains while this lasts, and once it runs dry he releases the miasma again and returns to the first phase.
In this phase the miasma does not interfere with healing, and healers restore everyone's health; meanwhile, the shields already accumulated still work against the boss's hits.
Displaced Energy (Magic)A wave bursts from the boss's body, placing a debuff on players that ticks for damage and, upon expiring, explodes, hitting everyone nearby who does not carry the effect. The marked players therefore run away from the group. In Heroic difficulty the debuff also roots its bearer.
When Blood Rage ends, Malkorok gains a stacking effect that increases all of his damage by 25%.
The group's main job is, in the first phase, to always soak every Imploding Energy vortex, escape Breath of Y'Shaarj using the pre-placed markers, and keep shields up on everyone — and in the second phase, to stack tightly in front of the boss, splitting the Blood Rage damage, and run Displaced Energy well away from the group.
Upon discovering Pandaria, Garrosh saw in it a source of tremendous power. Over the course of the campaign he carted away pandaren, mogu and mantid weapons, treasures and artifacts, and all of it is stored in the very heart of his underground sanctum — guarded by a mysterious security system, by all appearances built by the titans.
Below we will break down this unusual fight in detail.
There is no single boss here: the raid fights the reanimated creatures, objects and spirits sealed inside the crates of the storeroom, racing against the full activation of the defense system. Victories release titan energy that powers the four levers used to shut the defenses down; the levers open access to new sectors of the storeroom. A crate's contents are only revealed once it is opened, and opening too many crates at once is unwise. The raid is usually split into two groups, each clearing its own sector within the allotted time, while 
Lift Hooks help players move between the storeroom and the platform.
Inside are the most dangerous creatures, saturated with titan power.
The mogu crate conceals a council of Shao-Tien elders: their
Return to Stone (Important) drains energy from players and turns it into statues that strike the area, while
Strength of the Stone empowers the council for every statue left alive. The council includes Jun-Wei, Zu Yin, Xiang-Lin and Kun-Da, each with a powerful area attack of his own.
The mantid crate holds commanders with
Set to Blow (Important): bombs are strapped onto players' backs and must be dropped on the ground well away from the group, and with a
Pheromone Cloud that ticks for area damage.
Inside are seasoned veterans with a moderate amount of titan power.
The mogu crate releases a Modified Anima Golem with
Matter Scramble (you must stand in the highlighted spots) and
Crimson Reconstitution, as well as a Mogu Shadow Ritualist, whose
Torment (Magic) jumps to the nearest player when dispelled, and who places a
Mogu Rune of Power and casts an interruptible
Forbidden Magic.
The mantid crate releases a Zar'thik Amber Priest, who summons a
Mantid Swarm and heals with
Residue, and a Set'thik Wind Wielder with
Windstorm and the dangerous, damage-amplifying
Rage of the Empress (Magic), which must be dispelled without fail.
Inside are vanguard troops with weak titan power; they are easier to fight.
Mogu crates may contain an Animated Stone Mogu (interruptible), a Burial Urn that spawns sparks of life, and Quilen Guardians. Mantid crates hold a Sri'thik Bombardier, an Amber-Encased Kunchong and a Kor'thik Warcaller with a ramping
Enrage.
These crates contain no titan power, but they are watched over by mighty spirits who, when finished off, grant a weapon blessing for the corresponding role.
The Ancient Brewmaster Spirit attacks with
Breath of Fire (Important) and tosses kegs, while his
Blade of the Hundred Steps empowers tanks. The Wise Mistweaver Spirit pulls everyone in with his
Gusting Crane Kick (Important) and bestows the
Staff of Resonating Water upon healers. The Nameless Windwalker Spirit leaves a fiery
Path of Blossoms (Important) and gives DPS the
Claw of Burning Anger.
Unstable Spark (Heroic difficulty and above)Any creature raised by unstable titan energy turns, in desperation, into a spark and races toward the far sector to go supernova; if it succeeds, it blasts everyone nearby with damage.
The group's main job is to plan wisely how many crates to open and which ones, so the lever energy is gathered in time and nothing extra is opened; to always clear both massive crates, drop the mantid bombs far away, dispel Torment and Rage of the Empress, and wring the useful blessings for their roles out of the relic crates.
When the Isle of Giants with its ancient devilsaurs was discovered off the coast of Pandaria, Garrosh ordered the mightiest of the beasts captured, to be broken in and put to work. Countless orc beastmasters perished in Thok's maw trying to subdue the monster and cage it — yet it never managed to quench its thirst for blood.
Below we will break down the fight phase by phase.
The fight takes place on a circular arena, along the edges of which stand three cages holding prisoners. The phases alternate: in the first, Thok is tanked; in the second, he is not. Different captives are locked up around the arena, and which one you release determines what element colors the boss's abilities in the following phase.
Fearsome Roar (Tank)Thok roars, dealing Physical damage in a cone in front of him and applying a debuff that increases damage taken. The effect stacks, so the tanks swap, and no one but the active tank should stand in front of the boss.
Deafening Screech (Important)Upon reaching full energy, Thok screeches, dealing damage to the entire raid and interrupting spellcasts, and then begins building energy faster. The length of the phase largely depends on how well the healers keep up with this damage.
Lashes everyone behind him with his tail, dealing damage and stunning. So no one stands behind the boss either.
Electric discharges run across Thok's collar, striking random players with Nature damage.
When a player's health drops below half, Thok smells blood. If enough wounded players end up close together, he flies into a blood frenzy — and that is exactly how the fight is pushed into the second phase.
Thok roars, scattering everyone in front of him, and goes berserk, devouring anyone who ends up at his maw as he runs. He speeds up over time, so the phase cannot be dragged out. In Raid Finder this happens at 80%, 55% and 30% health.
Fixate (Deadly)Thok can no longer be tanked: he marks random ranged players and chases after them, instantly killing everyone in his path. The marked player runs, spending every ability they have on speed.
The roar attracts a jailer, whom the raid tanks and kills; from his body you take a key that opens one of the cages holding the prisoners.
In Heroic difficulty, the other cages burst open at the same time, releasing a Starved Yeti with its devastating
The released prisoners try to help the raid, but Thok lunges at them and devours them, ending his Blood Frenzy and taking on the element of whomever he ate.
Akolik (saurok) — after him, Fearsome Roar turns into
Acid Breath (tank), which strips armor, while the stacking
Corrosive Blood pounds the raid; Mass Dispel helps greatly here. Waterspeaker Gorai (jinyu) — grants
Freezing Breath (tank) and
Icy Blood: upon reaching 5 stacks, a player is sealed inside an ice tomb that must be broken open. Montak (yaungol) — grants
Burning Blood, which leaves pools of napalm on the ground.
The group's main job is, in the first phase, to heal through Deafening Screech while staying at the boss's flank, to push him into the second phase at the right moment, there quickly kill the jailer and outrun Fixate, and then release the prisoners in a convenient order, playing around the element Thok absorbs.
Helix Blackfuse proved to be the only goblin whose engineering talents and readiness to fulfill the warchief's every whim made him the engineer of the True Horde. The mercenary Blackfuse's love for his machines — and for the gold they bring in — bound his fate to Garrosh's forever.
Below we will break down each of the boss's abilities in detail.
The fight takes place in a spacious workshop: an assembly line stretches along one wall, while a second conveyor delivers weapons to the boss. Blackfuse himself has little health and no hard enrage timer, but there is a test of coordination instead: while part of the raid holds back the boss and the Shredders, individual DPS take turns heading onto the conveyor to destroy the weapons being assembled.
Blackfuse launches a magnetized sawblade at a random player; it stays where it lands until the end of the fight (or until the electromagnet sweeps it away). The blade's 
Serrated Slash deals heavy Physical damage and knocks back anyone it clips.
Protective Frenzy (Tank, Healer)Every time one of his creations is destroyed, Blackfuse's attack speed doubles for a short while. This is unavoidable, so the healers and the active tank brace for the damage spike.
Electrostatic Charge (Tank)Zaps the target with a discharge, increasing the damage they take from this ability and sharply increasing their damage against Shredders protected by Reactive Armor. The effect stacks — hence the tank swaps.
The boss heals damaged Shredders within 35 yards, so they are dragged well away from him.
If three weapons in a row make it down the conveyor to the assembly machine, it overloads and covers Blackfuse with a shield that reduces his damage taken by 90%. At least one weapon must therefore always be destroyed.
In Heroic difficulty the boss uses
Blackfuse periodically starts up weapon production: disassembled prototypes ride down the conveyor, pass through assembly, and emerge fully built on the belt, from which they attack the raid. Through the 
transport pipes DPS players get onto the conveyor and destroy one of the weapons; after that, the rest are covered by a shield and become invulnerable.
On the belt you must avoid the
Matter Purification Beam (Deadly), which kills on contact, and not let yourself be dragged into the wall. After a trip to the conveyor a player cannot use the pipes again for about a minute, so the runs are taken in shifts.
If a weapon is not destroyed, it begins to act against the raid:
The Shockwave Missile Turret fires a
Shockwave Missile that sends out rings of seismic energy (dodge them by moving inward, toward the center). The laser turret scorches the ground with
Superheated beams, leaving a ramping burn. The electromagnet activates a
Magnetic Crush, dragging players in and sweeping all the sawblades off the platform. Crawler Mines chase their target and explode on reaching it (
Detonate!, Deadly); for the first minute they can be crowd-controlled, after which they speed up and become immune to control.
From time to time the boss summons Shredders with 
Reactive Armor, which reduces their damage taken by 90% (though they are vulnerable to the sawblades and the weapons from the assembly line). Their 
Death from Above is a leap dealing damage at the landing spot, after which the Shredder is stunned and takes double damage, while 
Overload (Important) hits everyone in the raid outside the conveyor.
The Shredder is picked up by the tank with the most Electrostatic Charges and parked no closer than 35 yards from the boss, inside the zones left by the weapons (especially under the laser) so it takes damage quickly.
The group's main job is to send DPS onto the conveyor in shifts and always destroy at least one weapon so the boss never gains his shield, to drag the Shredders into damage zones away from the repair beam, swap tanks on Electrostatic Charge, and steer clear of the sawblades, the mines, and the zones left by assembled weapons.
The nine living Paragons of the Klaxxi'va are ancient mantid heroes who fought side by side with the Wakener against the mad Empress Shek'zeer. Loyal to their master, as all mantid are, they descended at his call into the caverns beneath Orgrimmar when Garrosh claimed the heart of Y'Shaarj.
Below we will break down this boss-council fight in detail.
No more than three Paragons are in combat at any one time. When one dies, the rest fully restore their health and gain 
Paragon's Purpose, which ramps up their damage, while the fallen one is replaced by the next Paragon — the one bearing 
Ready to Fight (Important). A defeated Paragon's body can be used once to claim its Paragon power — a special ability for your role (some are available to any role). The composition of the active Paragons and their pairs of mutual buffs determine which combinations you will have to play around.
Hewn (tank) amplifies Rik'kal's damage against the target, while
Bloodletting summons blood creatures that heal the Paragons — intercept and kill them. Power:
Genetic Alteration amplifies Skeer's damage against the target,
Injection ticks for damage and breeds Amber Parasites, while Mutate turns a player into an amber scorpion that must hunt down the parasites. Power:
Multi-Shot and
Rapid Fire strike along lines, while
Aim (Important) fires a powerful beam whose damage is split by standing between Hisek and his target. Power:
Flash is a dash that leaves a deadly
Whirling along its path, while
Hurl Amber leaves pools of searing amber. Power:
Strong Legs (DPS) — a leap onto the platform to detonate the amber and destroy Korven's healing amber.
Encase in Amber seals away a Paragon below 50% health and fully heals it if the shell is not broken, while
Shield Bash stuns the tank before a series of Vicious Assault strikes. Power:
Master of Amber (tank) — grants an ally brief invulnerability.
Calculate assigns players a shape, a color and a number, by which
Insane Calculation: Fiery Edge (Important) links targets with fiery beams — stretch them far apart.
Diminish cuts the target's health. Power:
Toxic Injection (Important) doses every player with one of the colored toxins, and Catalyst triggers a reaction by color: red (explosion), blue (split damage), yellow (cloud) and the mixed ones — orange, purple, green.
Caustic Blood on the tank threatens a
Bloody Explosion (Deadly). Power:
Summons hungry kunchongs and uses
Mesmerize (Deadly) to drive a player toward
Devour; outside feedings the kunchongs are invulnerable, and once full of energy they
Molt into Mature Kunchongs. Power:
Master of Puppets (any role) — calls a young kunchong over to your side.
Exposed Veins amplifies Xaril's damage against the target,
Reave (DPS) — a leap dealing area damage that strips the Thick Shell from kunchongs.
The group's main job is to play around the mutual-buff pairs among the active Paragons (Skeer and Rik'kal, Xaril and Kil'ruk), to properly dismantle each one's special mechanics — the blood creatures, the parasites and scorpions, Iyyokuk's beams, Xaril's toxins and Kaz'tik's kunchongs — and to hand out the Paragon powers among the roles wisely, since the remaining bosses hit harder and harder after every death.
Garrosh, son of Grommash Hellscream, first heard of his father's deeds from Thrall when they met in Outland — and that is when the seeds of pride first took root in his soul. He led the Horde on a victorious march through Northrend and consolidated its might during the Cataclysm, but his belief in the supremacy of orcs over all other peoples ultimately brought the armies of the entire world to the gates of Orgrimmar.
Below we will break down the fight phase by phase.
At the start of the fight Garrosh calls in Kor'kron warbringers and farseers, while siege engineers attempt to launch the Iron Stars lying by the walls. When Garrosh is down to 10% health, he absorbs the power of Y'Shaarj, restores his health, gains new abilities and stops summoning orcs; in this phase he periodically carries the raid off into the Realm of Y'Shaarj, where you must fight your way to him through sha minions. With every +25 energy, one of his abilities becomes Empowered, and when he reaches 10% for the second time and fills his energy bar, all of his abilities remain empowered until his death.
Garrosh marks distant players, turning the mark into a weapon that leaves a growing zone on the ground. The weapon must be destroyed, and the zones avoided.
Ranged and healers therefore stack together on one of two markers and, when the weapon appears, shift over to the second one, finishing off the dropped weapon from range.
Garrosh inspires his minions, sharply increasing their damage and health pool.
Kor'kron Warbringers and wolf-riding farseers casting chain heal (interrupt it) join the battle. Siege engineers along the sides of the hall launch Kor'kron Iron Stars, which roll across the room, instantly killing everything in their path.
Usually one engineer is killed to secure half of the room, while the minions are crowd-controlled into the path of the remaining star — its damage very nearly finishes them off.
After Garrosh first reaches 10%, the raid is carried into one of the locations of the past (the Temple of the Jade Serpent, the Terrace of Endless Spring, or the Temple of the Red Crane), where you must cut down the sha minions and break through to Garrosh, stopping him from drawing in power. Slain adds occasionally leave behind a buff that reduces damage taken until the end of the intermission, while all the while Garrosh sweeps a cone of Annihilate, which you must move out of.
Garrosh takes control of several players, who then try to convert the others; to bring them back, interrupt their cast and knock their health down to a threshold. The Empowered version grants the controlled players immunity to crowd control, so only interrupts and silences work against them.
Garrosh pounds the raid with whirling damage; in its Empowered form he scatters projectiles across the area and spawns adds that heal their neighbors when they die, so they are dragged apart and killed one at a time.
Gripping Despair (Tank)A stacking debuff on the tank; in its Empowered form, when it expires it hits the entire raid, all the harder the more stacks there were. The tanks swap.
Trips into the Realm of Y'Shaarj repeat roughly every two and a half minutes, and as his energy builds Garrosh empowers Desecrate, Touch of Y'Shaarj, the whirl and Gripping Despair one after another.
Reaching 10% for the second time, Garrosh completely drains the heart of Y'Shaarj and fills his energy to the maximum: all of his abilities are now empowered until his death. The mechanics are the same as in the second phase, but at their absolute peak — the raid stays together and keeps moving so as not to flood the room with zones from the invulnerable weapons, shuts down the mind controls promptly, and drags the whirl adds apart.
If the fight drags on, Garrosh flies into a frenzy, sharply increasing his damage, after which the raid quickly dies. That is exactly why Heroism and all offensive cooldowns are popped in the final phase.
The group's main job is, in the first phase, to take down the Iron Stars through the engineers and interrupt the riders' healing, to break through to Garrosh quickly during the intermissions, and in the second and third phases to shut down Touch of Y'Shaarj with interrupts at any cost, split the whirl's damage and drag the spawned adds apart, finishing the warchief before Berserk triggers.
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Sha Bolt
Seeping Sha
Corrupted Brew
Clash
Calamity
Purified
Gift of the Titans
Swelling Pride
Reaching Attack
Unleashed
Pulsing Flames
Borer Drill
Laser Burn
Seismic Activity
Demolisher Cannons
Explosive Tar
Spirit Link
Toxic Mist
Foul Stream
Froststorm Bolt
Foul Geyser
Falling Ash
Bonecracker
Breath of Y'Shaarj
Relentless Assault
Tail Lash
Shock Blast
Bloodied
Automatic Repair Beam
Energized Defensive Matrix
Desecrate
Hellscream's Warsong
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