WoW Cataclysm Classic: Firelands Raid Encounter Guide (All Bosses)

Table of Contents:

• Shannox
• Lord Rhyolith
• Beth'tilac
• Alysrazor
• Baleroc
• Majordomo Staghelm
• Ragnaros

The Rage of the Firelands update has arrived to WoW Cataclysm Classic, singing our hair and bringing destruction to Azeroth–destruction even worse than the tragedy of gold spent and wasted on so-called fireproof shampoo! Indeed, Ragnaros brings the heat in a way that none can face victoriously…or so one may think, venturing into the Firelands raid on November 7th just to be wiped out again and again.

Luckily for you, hero, this handy guide will help you and your team through each boss encounter. Delegated tasks for DPS, tanks, and healers will be covered with enough flexibility for your raid team to adjust. So buckle up, enchant your gear, purchase your potions and flasks, and prepare for the Firelands!

Note that the last three bosses of this fight only have Normal difficulty covered to preserve brevity.

How to Prepare?

Getting ready to raid depends mostly on your class and spec, but there are some basic things you should have to be ready, including basic knowledge of the raid. These things are listed in bullet points below.

Where is it?

• Kalimdor, Mount Hyjal (47.5, 79.6)

How long will it take?

• However long your team needs to defeat 7 bosses!

What difficulty should I expect?

• We have both 10 and 25-player modes with Normal or Heroic difficulties

Raid lockouts?

• Lockouts are boss-specific and on a weekly basis, separated between 10 and 25-player modes

What item level should I have?

• Ask your guild’s roster what they require, but a general good rule is 368 for Normal and 378 for Heroic

Shannox

Spawned by killing trash mobs, this foe is accompanied by two hellhounds named Riplimb and Rageface. It is suggested to clear an expansive area of trash mobs before pulling, as this fight requires a lot of moving. First, basic information about this boss is covered. Tips for all roles will then be shared. This section ends with a comprehensive strategy.

Health Pools (Approximate)

• Shannox
• 114M (25-player Heroic)
• 81M (25-player Normal)
• 33M (10-player Heroic)
• 24M (10-player Normal)
• Riplimb
• 14M (25-player Heroic)
• 28M (25-player Normal)
• 4M (10-player Heroic)
• 8M (10-player Normal)
• Rageface
• 127M (25-player Heroic)
• 28M (25-player Normal)
• 36M (10-player Heroic)
• 8M (10-player Normal)

General/Whole Raid

• Hellhound Risk Mitigation/Positioning
• Maintain a good distance between Shannox and the two hellhounds, but do not let them get further than 60-80 yards away from each other. This prevents a damage buff that could easily kill even your best tank
• Spear of Shannox/Hurl Spear Ability
• When you see a fire swirly on the ground, exit that area within 3 seconds or pop a major defensive if you cannot vacate. Expect a burdensome wave of Magma Flare soon after. More splotches of fire will surround the spear shortly. Avoid these too
• Immolation Traps and Crystal Prisons
• Every 25 seconds, one of these items will be thrown at a random player. That player has 2 seconds to move away before they either get a debuff bringing damage and more susceptibility to further damage (Immolation Trap) or frozen until their allies target the trap and attack it (Crystal Prison)
• Crystal Prisons can be used to trick Riplimb or Rageface for 10 seconds if they’re made to walk over the traps. This can be done every 25 seconds
• Frenzy
• Shannox will enter a deadly frenzy each time a hellhound is killed. This enrage effect will last for 5 minutes and can be stacked if both hellhounds are killed simultaneously. Consider this when deciding on priority targeting
• (NORMAL) Riplimb and Rageface will gain a frenzy buff if Shannox gets to or below 29% health. This enrage will make them four times as deadly and twice as fast, turning them into killing machines
• (HEROIC) Riplimb and Rageface will gain 5% buffs with every successful melee attack once Shannox is at low health. Be sure to delay the retrieval of the Spear of Shannox
• Rageface Threat
• A random player will be targeted by Rageface for 15 seconds, alternating without regard to a threat meter. Every 45 seconds, an ability called Face Rage will be cast by Rageface (creative naming, huh) which will cause the randomized target to be stunned and brutally attacked until Rageface gets a hefty 30K damage dealt to him.
• Fire
• Don’t stand in it. Seriously!

Now that you know the basics of this fight, let’s talk about composition and specific advice for tanks, healers, and DPS roles. In both 10 and 25-player modes, you will need two tanks to keep positioning held and the hellhounds occupied. Two healers normally are all that’s needed in 10-player, but four or five may be needed in 25-player. Some teams may need more ranged DPS than melee, but that is specific to your team and cannot be generalized.

Tank

• Arcing Slash Survival
• Around every 10 seconds, a frontal cone ability (120 degrees) is used. Make sure Shannox is faced away from squishy DPS and healers at all times, and pop a defensive if needed—this ability hits hard
• Timing
• Try to use the aforementioned Crystal Prison trick on Riplimb approximately one second before Hurl Spear is cast. Save your most powerful cooldowns and health potions for the last 30% of Shannox’s health
• Helping DPS
• Make sure that traps are not hidden under Shannox’s model so the melee DPS players will be able to spot and avoid them
• Taunt
• The whole Shannox team is immune to taunting, good luck

Healer

• Fixation
• If Rageface fixates on you, use any and all mobility skills you have to kite him. You’re squishy, your team is dying, so don’t die first. Also, note the Crystal Prison trick for Rageface and be prepared to utilize it when called by your leader
• Timing
• Player stood around too long and got struck with an Immolation Trap? Make sure to use HoT spells to keep them alive, mitigating their damage taken if possible. Save your big heals for the last 30% of Shannox’s health and for when the hellhounds are killed—enrages are no joke

Melee DPS

• Fixation
• If Rageface fixates on you, use any and all mobility skills you have to kite him. Pop a defensive if you have one to help out your healer. Also, note the Crystal Prison trick for Rageface and be prepared to utilize it when called by your leader
• Timing
• The last 30% of the fight is a DPS arms race. Save your big cooldowns for this last stretch. Combat potions may be best used here

Ranged DPS

• Fixation
• If Rageface fixates on you, use any and all mobility skills you have to kite him. Pop a defensive if you have one to help out your healer. Also, note the Crystal Prison trick for Rageface and be prepared to utilize it when called by your leader
• Rageface
• Two or three ranged DPS players should be dedicated to ending Rageface’s Face Rage channeled ability, as it is incredibly deadly if not interrupted by tons of damage
• Timing
• The last 30% of the fight is a DPS arms race. Save your big cooldowns for this last stretch. Combat potions may be best used here

NORMAL difficulty’s strategy is quite simple. Blast Rageface with as much DPS as you reasonably can immediately, allowing less of the nuisance but sacrificing yourselves to a stack of Frenzy. Melee players should focus on Shannox while ranged players focus on Riplimb. Riplimb should die just before Shannox reaches 30% HP. Remember to keep an eye on this and switch priorities as needed. Lust abilities should be used as soon as Riplimb is down. Kill the boss, get the loot, and carry on!

HEROIC difficulty’s strategy is debatably even more simple, but a bit strange to those unfamiliar with the fight. You will not be demolishing the hellhounds. Instead, you will absolutely need to utilize Crystal Prisons while bringing Shannox down to zero health. Once Shannox is dead, pat yourself on the back and carry on to the next boss!

Lord Rhyolith

Basically, he’s just really annoying. Like last time, basic information about Lord Rhyolith is covered first. Tips for all roles will then be shared. This section ends with a comprehensive strategy for getting this nuisance out of the way.

Health Pool (Approximate)

• Lord Rhyolith
• 78M (25-player Heroic)
• 47M (25-player Normal)
• 23M (10-player Heroic)
• 15M (10-player Normal)

General/Whole Raid

• Obsidian Armor
• Lord Rhyolith begins the fight with 80 stacks of this thick armor, with each stack reducing damage taken by 1%. So, you won’t be doing even a fourth of your damage potential at the beginning of the fight. Concussive Stomp is the ability that summons volcanoes–by steering Lord Rhyolith over these volcanoes, you can whittle down the Obsidian Armor 10 stacks at a time
• Directions
• By attacking either his left or right foot, you can steer Lord Rhyolith in a certain direction. Max out the meter with some physical “encouragement” and you’ll see this boss speed up, allowing you to knock off some stacks of Obsidian Armor faster
• Lava
• Do not allow Lord Rhyolith to reach the lava! This will allow him to do his dangerous Molten Spew attack, dealing massive damage to the whole raid
• Eruptions
• When the aforementioned volcanoes are randomly activated (about one every 25 seconds), 3-6 of the players will suffer around 12k damage and a debuff that increases fire damage taken for 15 seconds. This debuff can stack all the way up to 20 times! The Obsidian Armor can be whittled down with these erupting volcanoes, and these volcanoes should therefore be the main directional target–kill two birds with one fire? Is that just a phoenix or…ugh, back to the guide
• Dormant/Active Volcanoes
• Dormant volcanoes, when stomped on by the boss, provide your foe with a buff. Try to dodge them
• Active volcanoes will create hazards for the raid party when stepped on by Lord Rhyolith. Don’t stand in the fire, the swirlies, none of it!
• Adds
• About every 20 seconds, you’ll be met with annoying adds. Fragments of Rhyolith are mostly a tank concern, Sparks of Rhyolith should be cleaved, shot, or (insert ranged spell)’d to death, and on Heroic, Liquid Obsidian needs to be kept away from the boss to prevent more stacks of Obsidian Armor
• Phase 2
• After the boss reaches 25% health, all remaining Obsidian Armor fragments go away and the fight becomes a simple pew pew til it dies. As soon as this phase starts, you need to finish the fight ASAP due to a timer on the enrage buff. Use your group’s lust and all your DPS cooldowns

Now that you know the basics of this fight, let’s once again talk about composition and specific advice for tanks, healers, and DPS roles for Lord Rhyolith. In both 10 and 25-player modes, one tank could technically work, but two is better. Two healers normally are all that’s needed in 10-player, but five or six may be needed in 25-player. Once more, some teams may need more ranged DPS than melee, but that is specific to your team and cannot be generalized. Bring cleave if you bring melee!

Much of the advice for tanks, healers, and DPS players is found in the above general advice, as this fight heavily interlocks all roles!

Tank

• Stack n’ Cleave
• Stack the Fragments of Rhyolith to help out your DPS when it’s time to cleave
• Positioning
• Make sure Lord Rhyolith is, in phase 1, running over the correct volcanoes. Call out directions if your leader tells you to or if you are the leader.

Healer

• Defensives
• Pre-plan your healing for the enrage timer. Coordinate the appropriate defensive responsibilities

Melee DPS

• ABCDEF
• Always be cleaving, death enjoys failure!
• Timing
• Plan out your cooldowns for the last leg of the fight (not the attackable legs, leg as in part of time)

Ranged DPS

• ABCDEFGHIJK
• Always be cleaving, death enjoys failure! Good hell, I’m joking.
• Really, if you can cleave, do it. If that isn’t enough, focus on the sparks
• Timing
• As with all other roles, plan out your cooldowns for the last leg of the fight (not the attackable legs, leg as in part of time)

For this boss, the strategy is very much dependent on how Lord Rhyolith moves at the beginning. As such, simply look above and adapt! Please note, on Heroic difficulty, you must slay the Liquid Obsidian adds before they reach the main target.

Beth’tilac

If you also play retail WoW, this boss may remind you of Azj-Kahet’s inhabitants…she’s a spider, essentially, but she’s also on fire. This section is structured the same as the last two bosses.

Health Pool (Approximate)

• Beth’tilac
• 98M (25-player Heroic)
• 62M (25-player Normal)
• 32M (10-player Heroic)
• 21M (10-player Normal)

General/Whole Raid

• Cinderweb Travel/Positioning
• The moment Beth’tilac realizes that she’s been attacked, expect her to flee to a flaming web of annoyance. Venom Rain deals 15k (25k on Heroic) damage every 3 seconds to the whole raid until a few players sacrifice themselves and join her on the web. These players will need to start dealing damage
• There will also be a few adds called Cinderweb Spinners spawning every minute and a half. These nuisances will shoot and maintain a stream of Burning Acid at their randomly selected target, dealing more damage every 2 seconds than Venom Rain does every 3. Get them to the ground and cleave! On Heroic, this must be done within 25 seconds to prevent a random player from being stunned for almost half a minute
• Clicking on the web string left by the Cinderweb Spinners will take the player to the top of the fiery complex. The order for sending players should be tank > healer > melee DPS > ranged DPS. Keep up the heat on the ground too!
• On the web
• Once the tank begins the battle with Beth’tilac, Venom Rain will stop being cast. Instead, Ember Flare will pulse every 6 seconds, damaging those on the web
• Every 25 seconds, a Meteor Burn must be avoided. When you see the swirly, get 7 yards away. This will burn a hole in the intricate but apparently not strong web, so be careful to not fall. Your group can try to place the holes where they’re the least worrying
• Beth’tilac has an energy bar that lasts 90 seconds before Smoldering Devastation gets cast. 8 seconds later, your webbed friends are all dead…unless they jump through the center hole of the web. After three cycles of this, the next phase begins. But first, the adds that will be poking you need to be covered!
• Annoying Adds
• Three Cinderweb Spiderlings from three locations every twelve seconds…sounds terrible, right? Well, yes, but on Heroic you also get three Engorged Broodlings. They really like the rule of threes, huh? Hopefully, someone got that reference. Anyways. Less Anglo-Saxon history references, more mechanics!
• Cinderweb Spiderlings like to target healers. If they get within 6 yards, their chosen victim will receive almost 40k damage within 10 seconds. Ouch!
• On Heroic difficulty, Engorged Broodlings will explode either when they hit a player or hit zero health. All players within 8 yards will receive hefty nature damage. The explosion leaves behind a sticky Volatile Poison, which will slow players who misstep and damage them every second that they spend in the goo. If this bothersome creature can’t be killed quickly, someone should intentionally collide with the Engorged Broodling before it gets to where the Volatile Poison would be a huge issue
• Cinderweb Drones come in every 45 seconds, dealing enough melee damage to barely be a pain but sometimes casting a potentially fatal frontal. You also get to deal with more Burning Acid damage if you’re unlucky. Cinderweb Drones will eat other creatures if they get close. They’ll then gain 20% more lethality in two ways, damage output and movement speed. These buffs can stack. Don’t encourage cannibalism. If it survives for 100 seconds, the energy bar will reach zero. The Cinderweb Drone will absorb some of Beth’tilac’s energy to replenish itself, worsening the Smoldering Devastation your raid team is dealing with
• On Heroic difficulty, the Cinderweb Drones will fixate on a random unlucky player every 40-50 seconds. The targeted player should stay next to the tank during this time and face away from the rest of the raid. If you can drop combat with an ability like the Hunter’s Feign Death, you can avoid the fixation altogether.
• Frenzy!!
• As Beth’tilac descends, the adds you just sighed over will stop spawning. Kill any stragglers to prevent her from consuming them
• When Beth’tilac hits ground, an enrage effect starts to increase her potency. She’ll gain 5% extra damage almost every 5 seconds. On top of this buff, her Ember Flare gets stronger and affects the entire raid every 6 seconds. No more Meteor Burn, at least!
• The Widow’s Kiss is an ability that Beth’tilac uses every 30 seconds. It’ll put one of your tanks out of commission for 20 seconds or so
• Once the boss is at 30% health, use your raid lust, barrage her with cooldowns, and keep up the pressure til its over

Composition time! In both 10 and 25-player modes, you will need two tanks as a non-negotiable. Two or three healers can get you by in 10-player, but four to six may be needed in 25-player. An even mix of melee and ranged DPS will likely work best.

Tank

• Positioning
• Cinderweb Drones must be faced away from the group and kept in the center of the battle
• Meteor Burns needs special attention. Reposition as needed to help your melee friends
• When afflicted by The Widow’s Kiss, keep your distance from your team for the 20-second duration of this unpleasant debuff
• Taunt
• Taunt the Cinderweb Spinners without discrimination—it’s the most effective tactic for that section of the fight
• Timing
• Save your best defensives and self-heals for the enraged segment

Healer

• Positioning
• Stay near the center if you can to assist your tanks in their job of positioning adds. If the damage adds up, remember that dead healers are no help for most specs
• Communication
• This fight requires you to talk to your team. Tanks may ask you to switch focus from your assigned target. Make sure to call out major heals
• Coordinate defensives and big cooldowns beforehand with your raid, keeping in mind the enrage portion towards the end
• Timing
• Big spells for the last part, low cost, and short cooldown spells til then!

Melee DPS

• Taunt
• Assuming you can handle it, you should taunt the Cinderweb Spinners alongside your tanks
• Positioning
• Stack for Meteor Burns to minimize their impact
• Annoyances
• Cinderweb Drones are your priority. Try to not waste long cooldown spells if they won’t be ready again before the big enrage

Ranged DPS

• Positioning
• Stay near the center if you can to assist your tanks in their job of positioning adds. Try not to die and alert your healers if you need a shield
• Annoyances
• AoE down the Cinderweb Spiderlings and/or Engorged Broodlings as fast as possible without drying up your big spells before Beth’tilac enrages

NORMAL difficulty’s strategy starts with sending a designated tank and additional members that you can spare onto Beth’tilac’s web to whittle her health. The remaining members should AoE the adds. Beth’tilac will leave the web in a rage, so then you need to DPS race the boss down—quite easy with a good team.

HEROIC difficulty’s strategy is the same, just with more adds to manage and some mechanics explained above.

Alysrazor

All the effort during development for this fight was clearly put into cool animations and cinematics. Make sure you’re adrenalized, ‘cause you’ll feel brain-dead by the end of this one. Good luck. This section is structured, you guessed it, the same way as the others–minus the Heroic difficulty! Heroic for this fight, and the remaining fights in this guide, is too lengthy for us to cover in this brief article. You’ll get basic facts but no more.

Health Pool (Approximate)

• Alysrazor
• 231M (25-player Heroic)
• 155M (25-player Normal)
• 77M (10-player Heroic)
• 52M (10-player Normal

General/Whole Raid

• Cinematics
• When this boss is pulled, you must suffer over 30 seconds of roleplay. Try not to fall asleep
• Boss fight beginning
• Alysrazor bursts out of a volcano and deals 20-25k damage depending on difficulty. Ouch…well, you also get knocked 150 yards back from the pain. Which is only kind of good, because a ring of fire is then summoned to ensure no one escapes. Add in a consistent almost 10k damage pulse and a majorly hurting frontal cleave, and you’ve got yourself some battle scars
• Flight
• Picking up 3 Molten Feathers from the ground will increase your movement speed and let you cast while moving
• Once in flight, avoid damaging effects like Incendiary Clouds and make sure to maintain ground damage too
• Get near the ground before 4 minutes is up!
• Four minutes in…
• Stay between 15-60 yards away from the boss to avoid big damage!
• Thirty seconds later…
• Alysrazor takes 50% increased damage here. Interrupt the adds and focus down til the Molten Power bar is at 50%
• Final stage
• Tanks will deal with extreme damage and need for taunts til 25 seconds are up, then the phases recycle until the boss dies

For 10-player, you want 2 tanks, 2 healers, and 6 DPS with your chosen variety of ranged and melee. 25-player groups will want 2 tanks, 6 healers, and their choice of remaining slots for DPS.

Tank

• Priority
• Voracious Hatchlings

Healer

• AoE
• If you have any AoE healing spells, they will be very useful at the start of this fight

Melee DPS

• Starting early
• If you can avoid the frontal cleave, feel free to chase the boss in the beginning
• Priorities
• Blazing Talon Initiates
• Flight maintaining

Ranged DPS

• Starting early
• As soon as the boss dives, you can start dealing damage
• Priorities
• Blazing Talon Initiates
• Flight maintaining

NORMAL difficulty’s strategy has your group start crammed in a corner to avoid extreme damage, with DPS whittling away at what health they can. You’ll then need to kill and disable 8 Blazing Talon Initiates and 6 Voracious Hatchlings, stay away from flame-spewing worms, gain Molten Feathers to bring the fight to Alysrazor, and try to maintain your buff. The rest of the fight is just pain points.

Baleroc

The Gatekeeper is his title, and surely enough, he keeps many players from the gate of Sulfuron Keep. This patchwork-style fight with a 6-minute time limit is mostly a DPS soak, but watch out for your tanks and their HP! Remember, you’ll need to look elsewhere for intense details about Heroic.

Health Pool (Approximate)

• 196M (25-player Heroic)
• 133M (25-player Normal)
• 70M (10-player Heroic)
• 42M (10-player Normal)

General/Whole Raid

• Blades of Baleroc
• Current tank will be debuffed every 10 seconds, clearing when the encounter ends through victory or reset. This debuff is a 20% increase in both physical damage taken and, strangely, maximum health. On the same timer, Baleroc will get stacks of Incendiary Soul, increasing his fire damage by 20%
• After 30 seconds of combat, Balreoc will begin his cycling between fire and shadow damage attacks every 45 seconds, starting with fire. These rotations last 15 seconds each. With the fire effect, melee swings hit for a base of 125k fire damage. With the shadow effect, melee swings will deal a minimum of 250k shadow damage or 90% of the target’s maximum health depending on the HP of the target—this version of the swing also greatly decreases the healing done by the target
• Shards of Torment
• After 5 seconds of combat and every 35 seconds after, Shards of Torment will be summoned on DPS players. Two will be summoned in 25-player mode and one in 10-player. They last 25 seconds. Two players (minimum) will need to have at least one of them within 15 yards of the active crystals at all times to prevent an AoE wipe. These players will be debuffed with Torment, a damaging debuff, and then afflicted with Tormented for a minute after leaving the range of the crystal. Tormented players will receive 500% more magic damage and deal 50% less healing. Each player should be made to soak no more than 14 stacks of Torment. DPS is the best sacrifice for this
• Timing
• You have six minutes to kill or be killed by a massive enrage, good luck

Composition for this fight asks for 2 tanks on both modes, 2 healers for 10-player and 5 for 25-player, and the rest of your team should be extremely good DPS players. High health pool, plus enrage at the 6-minute mark, multiplied by heavy hits, equals a rough time for anyone undergeared.

Tank

• Tank swaps
• One tank needs to get enough stacks of Blaze of Glory to be above 250k HP. That tank then needs to only raise threat during shadow periods, remembering that cooldowns are a waste on these strikes unless they increase avoidance
• The other tank should always be active when the shadow periods aren’t up, getting as many stacks of Blaze of Glory as possible
• Ideal tanks
• High dodge and parry specs are the best for the first tank slot, while tanks that can block attacks are best for the second role

Healer

• Vital buffs
• There is a stackable way to get a 5% healing increase. You’ll want at least 50 stacks of this. Healing a player afflicted with Torment will give you a stack of Vital Spark, which can be turned into Vital Flame by healing the active tank (the one with the Blaze of Glory effect). Cycle these buffs by switching to a soaker after Vital Flame wears off or by healing the tanks to maintain the constant Vital Flame buff

Melee DPS

• Positioning
• Stack for the Shards of Torment to position them where you want them

Ranged DPS

• Positioning
• Stack for the Shards of Torment to position them where you want them

The strategy for this fight on NORMAL is to just kill the boss quickly without dying—nothing fancy.

Majordomo Staghelm

Once you open and cross the path to Sulfuron Keep, you will come face to face with Majordomo Staghelm, a druidic being dedicated in service to some not-so-amazing forces. As previously, the Heroic fight will not be heavily covered. This section is structured with the strategy revealed sooner, as the best strategy for this fight is rarely talked about.

Health Pools (Approximate)

• Majordomo Staghelm
• 432M (25-player Heroic)
• 179M (25-player Normal)
• 124M (10-player Heroic)
• 51M (10-player Normal)

General/Whole Raid

• General druid forms 
• In any of his forms, Majordomo Staghelm will rapidly gain energy, reaching maximum within 20 seconds or less. Once this bar is at max, Staghelm will use a powerful attack, with specifics depending on his form. Once this ability is used, he will get a stack of Adrenaline, causing even faster energy generation with no limit to stacking. When Majordomo Staghelm switches forms, the Adrenaline and energy amounts reset. He will then gain a stack of Fury, increasing the potency of his high-damaging abilities 
• Scorpion form
• Scorpion form is the morph Majordomo Staghelm takes when 7 or 18 players (depending on party size) stack together. Flame Scythe, the powerful ability he uses in this form once at max energy, deals around 2 million fire damage in a frontal cone, evenly divided among all affected.
• Cat form
• Cat form is the morph Majordomo Staghelm takes when there are not enough stacked players to activate his scorpion form. Leaping Flames, the main ability for this form, targets a random ranged player for a lunging attack that leaves a circle of fire which endures for a full minute. He will also summon a mirror image called Spirit of the Flame. This copy will not use the special ability
• Night Elf form
• Night Elf form is the morph Majordomo Staghelm takes after cycling through his other forms. Everyone will be trapped in a state of defenseless invulnerability, unable to act for three seconds. He will then cast a spell based on his last form. If he was last in scorpion form, he will summon five Burning Orbs. Five teams of two players will need to switch between soaking the damage they emit to the nearest victim, swapping with the six seconds of lingering damage in mind. This will need to be kept up for one minute. If he was last in cat form, he will use the Searing Seeds ability, giving everyone a time bomb with a varying delay. Once the time runs out, the bomb will damage every ally within 12 yards of the bomb. Five seconds prior to detonation is a good time to get out of the way. After casting Burning Orbs or Searing Seeds, Staghelm will shapeshift into the opposite of his last form

This fight has flexibility for your composition. 2 tanks will be needed for the strategy to work in both 10 and 25-player modes. 10-player groups will need 2 healers, while larger groups will need 5 or 6. The rest of your slots should go to DPS, with no significant need for disproportionate amounts of melee or ranged DPS players–however, classes that can do their rotation while moving may be preferred. A prime example of this would be Beast Mastery Hunters.

NORMAL difficulty’s strategy for this fight is contested, but statistics show that the following method is the most effective. You’ll need to rapidly switch Majordomo Staghelm between his forms, approximately every 15 seconds. These switches must occur before his energy bar reaches 100. The previously mentioned mobility-oriented classes will come in handy for this, as you’ll want to maintain damage output to down the boss quickly. Night Elf form will inevitably be achieved more often, causing the Searing Seeds to be an annoyance. The main burden, Burning Orbs, can be avoided though–if you’re clever. When these orbs spawn, the tanks must move the boss away from the entire raid as the other raid members also move away. Then, it is up to the tanks to deal with the orbs, swapping every 6 seconds to reset stacks or weathering it out with defensives. 

Tank

• Positioning
• Be mindful of the Burning Orbs
• Swapping
• Your defensives will only hold you for so long. Swallow your pride and announce when you need to swap to reduce your Burning Orb stacks

Healer

• Buff
• Maintain your Legendary Concentration buff by avoiding all damage, allowing you to deal some amazing numbers of healing per second
• Mobility
• Classes with mobile healing specs, such as Druids, may be preferred for your group
• Positioning
• Keep an eye on your Searing Seeds and don’t let them detonate too close!

Melee DPS

• Buff
• Maintain your Legendary Concentration buff by avoiding all damage, allowing you to deal some amazing numbers of damage per second
• Positioning
• Keep an eye on your Searing Seeds and don’t let them detonate too close!

Ranged DPS

• Buff
• Maintain your Legendary Concentration buff by avoiding all damage, allowing you to deal some amazing numbers of damage per second
• Positioning
• Keep an eye on your Searing Seeds and don’t let them detonate too close!
• Classes that can cast while moving may be assigned additional mechanics

Ragnaros

Oh boy…you’ve made it this far, so no need to give up–but be wary that this boss, the final boss, is much more difficult than his predecessors. This section is structured as normal, excluding in-depth Heroic details. Through fire and flames, your group will get through this!

Health Pool (Approximate)

• 247M (25-player Heroic)
• 201M (25-player Normal)
• 74M (10-player Heroic)
• 67M (10-player Normal)

General/Whole Raid

• Whole fight
• Every 30 seconds, Sulfuras Smash will summon a ring of magma near a random player. All players within 5 yards must run away to avoid being killed in one shot. 3 lava waves will then come. Avoid them. They will go directly in front of Sulfuras and at a 90-degree angle to the left and right
• Phase 1: 100-70% HP
• Sadly, for this boss to be immobile for 30% of his HP, he can parry and will deal raid-wiping damage with Magma Blast if his swings are not soaked. To counter this damage and help your melee DPS not rage quit, Ragnaros must be positioned with the tanks to the right with melee DPS players to the left. Strike from the back, no counter-attack!
• Hand of Ragnaros will deal damage and knock back all players within 55 yards. Usually, it’s better to just heal the damage than to try to avoid it, as this ability is only used every 25 seconds
• Wrath of Ragnaros will target 3 ranged players starting 5 seconds into the fight and every 30 seconds thereafter. This ability will deal damage and knock players back. Players within 6 yards will be affected as well. Positioning can mitigate the worst of this ability
• Magma Traps may be the worst pain point for this phase. 15 seconds into the fight and every 30 seconds thereafter, a ranged player will have an excessively large trap deployed at their feet. This trap takes 3 seconds to activate. When stepped on, the player who triggered the trap will be launched 100 yards into the air, and the entire raid will suffer damage. Since these traps will become more of a pain point with more of them present, classes capable of preventing fall damage such as Priests must trigger them when the raid can handle the incoming damage. Positioning can again mitigate the worst of this ability by spawning traps in less inconvenient places
• Intermission 1
• At 70% HP, Ragnaros will cast Splitting Blow, wait 8 seconds, smash Sulfuras somewhere in the room, and then go into the lava for 50 seconds or so. 8 Sons of Flame will spawn as a result, with fire pillars indicating their locations ahead of time. 
• Sons of Flame will rush for Sulfuras, running very fast, and will wipe the raid if they reach it. They gain a 75% buff to movement speed for each chunk of 5% health they have above half health, so they spawn with 750% speed. Stun, trap, and knock them back until they’re below 50% health. Prioritize the ones with the most speed remaining especially the ones closest to Sulfuras!
• Lava Bolts will afflict random players every 4 seconds with a nice bit of damage. Be careful with your own HP while paying attention to the adds
• After all Sons of Flame are killed or after one minute, whichever comes first, the intermission will end
• Phase 2: 70-40% HP
• Ragnaros continues to use Burning Wound, but ceases Hand of Ragnaros, Wrath of Ragnaros, and Magma Trap usage
• Molten Seeds will fall from the sky 15 seconds into this phase and every minute thereafter. They will land where players are at the time of them falling, dealing damage to everyone within 6 yards. Within 10 seconds, they will become infernos, dealing damage based on proximity. Stacking the raid on top of the tanks, on the far sides of the arena, and then running to the other side when the ability cooldown is over (try to aim for less than 2 seconds–use Stampeding Roar and personal movement abilities) is the best way to deal with this mechanic, using defensives as needed
• Oh, and that’s not all. There are also Molten Elementals that will spawn at the same locations. These elementals will target random players. Since they’re melee only, AoE them down before they can reach their victim, using stuns, snares, and any other CC you can to slow them.
• Engulfing Flames may be your end if Molten Seeds (and the associated nuisances) aren’t. Every minute, a third of the arena will be set ablaze. Players in this unfortunate scenario must swiftly leave the fire within 3 seconds to avoid extreme damage.
• Intermission 2
• Once Ragnaros is at 40% HP, you’ll deal with the same mechanics as in the first intermission, including Splitting Blow and Sons of Flame which must be handled. This time, you’ll also be visited by 2 Lava Scions
• Lava Scions are best dealt with via cleaving or AoE with the Sons of Flame. Every 20 seconds that they live, a random player will be afflicted with Blazing Heat, taking 3 seconds to activate and causing them to leave behind a trail of fire for 10 seconds after activation. While within 3 yards of the flames, Sons of Flame will be significantly healed per second spent by this trail, and players will be damaged every second they linger. If afflicted by this, you must run towards the entrance of the arena–away from the mighty lava pit
• After all Sons of Flame are killed or after one minute, whichever comes first, the intermission will end
• Phase 3: 40-0% HP
• Ragnaros continues to use Burning Wound, Engulfing Flames, and World in Flames from previous phases. He will, however, stop using Molten Seed
• Living Meteors will come from the sky every 45 seconds and land at a random player, damaging and knocking back everyone within 5 yards. After it lands, it will fixate on another random player and roll towards them, steadily gaining speed. If a player is hit, they’ll trigger Meteor Impact, dealing immense damage to themselves and everyone within 8 yards. They cannot be destroyed, but they can be knocked back 100 yards, forced to switch targets, and slowed to their original speed by direct ranged abilities every 5 seconds. Split the raid on opposite sides and assign two ranged DPS players to ping-pong the meteor back and forth. The first two casts will bring one Living Meteor, but after those first two waves, two Living Meteors will arrive per cast

Both 10-player and 25-player groups will need 2 tanks. 2 healers are required for 10-player, while 4-6 are suggested for 25-player. You’ll need to bring your best DPS players to fill the gaps, as this is a tough fight for groups without skilled DPS players. A mix of ranged and melee DPS will work best for this fight.

Tank

• Burning Wound
• Ragnaros may afflict you with Burning Wound upon successful melee attacks. When you reach 5 stacks, call for a tank swap
• Positioning
• Look above to figure out positions for the general fight–far left, far right, just stay to the edges!
• Drag the Lava Scions over the Sons of Flame for easy cleaving. If they live past intermission, cleave them with Ragnaros

Healer

• Positioning
• Stay 6 yards away from other healers and ranged DPS players, trying to be toward the edges of the arena
• Dispelling
• If a player is hit by a lava wave after Sulfuras Smash, dispel them ASAP

Melee DPS

• Positioning
• Stay on the golden rim near the lava pit to avoid damage from Sulfuras Smash

Ranged DPS

• Positioning
• Stay 6 yards away from other healers and ranged DPS players, trying to be toward the edges of the arena

NORMAL difficulty’s strategy for this fight is best described in the General/Whole Raid section, as each phase of this encounter is different. Other than that, the best strategy is to take a break before this boss, grab an energy drink, down it, and then go for the kill–the caffeine may keep you sane!

Concluding Thoughts

Congratulations! You’re now able to conquer the Firelands, a raid hotter than a dark interior minivan on a hot summer day. You know, that minivan owned by every mother to ever exist? Especially soccer player moms? I feel like that’s not just a me thing. Anyways, yes, you can now go out there and conquer Ragnaros! Go do that with this guide in hand. I need to go turn on the air conditioner…and maybe purchase lighter seat covers for my mother’s birthday, haha.