The past 2 weeks have been absolutely phenomenal for my raid team. Not 3 weeks ago did I feel like I was on the Titanic and was going down with the ship. But my raid and I managed to find a lifeboat and stayed afloat. Not only that, we've basically made more progress in the past 2 weeks than we have since Cataclysm came out.
Throughout our raiding time, I try to see what Chakra state is most beneficial for each encounter. I'm usually the second tank healer for our team and help out with raid healing when necessary. Our main tank healer is a Discipline priest and our main raid healer is a Restoration druid.
We are now 5/12 normal modes and we will be working on Ascendant Council next week.
Halfus Wyrmbreaker has pretty much been on farm for over a month now. There's always a small chance for a wipe depending on what drakes we have, but we haven't wiped on him for a few weeks now even with the Stormrider drake active (he's the one with the nasty shadow AoE). I found that the Serenity Chakra state is most beneficial for the first part of the fight when the drakes are up. Both tanks get hit very hard and having and instant cast heal is extremely vital. The second half, I usually switch to Sanctuary state when Halfus starts doing his Roar. Tank healing isn't as extreme and at this point, only 1 tank is being hit and can easily be healed by 1 healer. The extra boost from Sanctuary is extremely beneficial. I also switch to Inner Will for the extra efficient Renew that can be spammed for a bit.
Valiona and Theralion was a real problem for us. I think our strategy (which was taken from Tankspot) was too intense for the healers. 1 wrong move by anyone and it was pretty much a raid wipe. Penitent (our pally tank) came up with a great strategy and we ended up 1-shotting it. Goes to show you that not all strategies work well if you have a different raid composition. I spent most of my time in Sanctuary state. Depending on your raid strategy, burst AoE healing is needed to get through this encounter. Inner Will is up for efficient Renews. Be aware that casting Renew is actually faster and more efficient than Heal in Sanctuary state.
Magmaw was an interesting fight. We tried a few different strategies and found that the 2-camp strategy works the best for ranged dps and healers. Precise use of cooldowns (Guardian Spirit, Pain Suppression) helps save the tank while he's in Magmaw's mouth and AoE abilities like Holy Word: Sanctuary, Efflorescence, and Power Word: Barrier really shine in this fight. We got him down on the second night of raiding when we found a comfortable raiding strategy. Chakra: Sanctuary is the most beneficial state for the burst AoE healing that is needed. Inner Will is up for cheap Renews when needed. Prayer of Healing will be your most used spell and Holy Word: Sanctuary can be used in emergencies.
Omnotron Defense System took us 2 nights to down. Add control and careful interrupts need to be precisely dealt with or it spells WIPE for the raid. Our Chakra state will vary depending on what mob is active. For Toxitron, Arcanotron, and Electron Chakra Serenity seems to be the best. Most of the damage thats dealt is single target as long as everyone is spread out. When Magmatron is active, switch to Sanctuary. Magmatron does a heavy AoE damage ability that can't be avoided. Renew and Prayer of Healing really shine here. Avoid using Holy Word: Sanctuary because everyone is too spread out for it to be really effective.
The Conclave of Wind is a pretty fun encounter. It took us about 4 tries to down it. Communication is extremely important and the timing of the deaths of each of the bosses is vital to the raids survival. Each boss has to be downed within 1 minute of each other otherwise it's a wipe. Think of it like the Earth, Wind, and Fire achievement from VoA back in Wrath. 1 person needs to be on each platform at all times, otherwise the boss will cause a raid wipe ability that will either silence, reduce haste, etc. We had 1 healer on each platform. I was on the Rohash platform. This boss deals wind damage that doesn't need to be tanked, but you have to be aware of where the boss is facing when he does his "leaf blower" ability. This ability will knock everyone off the platform if you're not careful and will auto-wipe the raid. You're Chakra state will depend on what platform you are on. I found that the Serenity state is best for the Rohash platform since for 10-man, only you and one other dps will be on the platform. While I haven't done the ice platform yet, I imagine that with the constant AoE damage that Sanctuary will be the best state. The lightning platform will depend on how well your dps can control the adds.
Next week we will be looking at Ascendant Council. Fun stuff!
-Lunar
No comments:
Post a Comment