:::3 October 2005:::
Happy October! I can't believe that the year is in it's final quarter.
Hopefully some cooler weather will be just around the corner.
My gaming has slowed down a bit latley but when I do get on I have been doing A LOT of Zul'Gurub. ZG is the new
raid zone off STV. This place is rather neat with some tough mobs. Each of the sub-bosses are tough even some
of the area mobs are really tough and require their own strategy.
So far I have been on successful runs that have beaten the BatBoss and the SnakeBoss. I have been on one failure
for the SpiderBoss. These Bosses really require some strategy. These are not just a "zerg" where you put out mass
DPS and have the baddie fall. The raids allow a max of 20 players, the raid has to have a balance of DPS, Healing, and
Utility.
I am seeing how at least a couple of each class could be considered a requirement. You need at least
two priests, two druids, two magi, two warriors, two rouges, two hunters, two warlocks, and two paladins before you go into
the zone. You could make a case for having three Hunters, Three Warriors, and Three Magi to go with the rest of "recommended
minimum" that gives you a "flex" slot for one other of the classes (Druid, Rogue, Lock, Pally, or Priest) and a case could
be made for a third of any of those.
Here is my reasoning for having these numbers:
- Three Warriors - Tanking Rotation and Off-Tanking. During Boss mobs there are several "guard" mobs these cannot
be CC'ed via spell and need to be held at bay.
- Three Mage - In addition to their CC the power of Mage spells at range are needed. Having three Mage spreads the
amount of damage around or even allow multi-tanking with maximum Damage output
- Three Hunters - Range Damage. With the Snake Boss, Range is the Key! Also having frost traps througout the
raid really help controlling the fights. The more ranged damage you have the better you can do. Mana drain is
also a need on the bosses (at least the ones I have engaged). Also the Nature resist aura is a need.
- Two Priests - Healing, Healing, Healing and buffs. Thinking about is, two Priests are a MINIMUM. Some of the
boss fights do take some time and the more healing options you have the better your chances of survival.
- Two Druids - Buffs, DPS and healing. Druids are able to assist in many roles and are really needed
- Two Warlocks - Soulstones, draining, and reducing the power of the mobs. Locks are able to weaken mobs in many ways,
the weaker the mob the quicker they go down.
- Two Rogues - Hit the mob, hit it again, don't get hit. Scouting is also a huge asset rogues bring. Knowing
what is around the corner before you pull is a huge asset
- Two Paladins - Buffs, Resurections, Healing, off-tanking, DI, Cures, and did I say Buffs? Pallies don't deal a lot of
damage but can take a few hits. Having Paladins are not going to make or break a raid but not having them makes the
raid that much more difficult.
There are several "class" quests in ZG each requiring certain "faction" and the collection of items. With so many
classes needing these items it will take many visits to ZG to get even one done. However, the rewards from these quests
make the need for so many trips there worth it. I have yet to get anything from ZG but I have seen many really nice
items there and I have no problem going there quite a bit.
Since I talked about needing strategy being a key requirement for the boss encounters, here is what I learned about the
Snake Boss:
- First, clear the lower level of his "room". This is where you must stay while fighting. If anyone runs out of this
area during the fight the Boss resets and his guards will respawn.
- Once they are clear, Buff the raid and have the MT engage the Boss, use CC tactics to single pull the Cobras down the
steps and take them out, one at a time. Have at least one priest dedicated to keeping the MT healed and out of the Boss's
AoE Chain Lightening range.
- When the last snake is pulled have everyone that can cast a mana-drain/mana-burn cast it on the boss.
- When the last snake is finished, have the MT pull the boss to the lower level. Then have THE REST OF THE RAID MOVE UPSTAIRS.
At that point only the MT is melee fighting the boss and everyone else is using range. When the Boss shifts into a snake
he no longer casts the AoE lightening but has an area effect posion cloud. You MUST stay out of that cloud. Give
the MT time to re-establish aggro with the Snake then the MT will call assist. At that time all engage the boss and
UNLOAD on him. he will be around 50% at the time of the transformation. The key to him is first keeping the raid
out of his Lightening spell then when he transforms keeping aggro on the main tank. I have been on five attempts at
taking him out and when we used this method we were successful just a few casualities.
On the Spider boss, all I can say is SHE IS HARD! You have to have some serious AoE to kill off lots of spiders
that spawn during the fight. If you don't take out these when they are little they grow into BIG spiders really quick.
The Big spiders are much more difficult to take out.
Enough for now, Wish me luck in future ZG raids and I will post more info here.
