After 4 frustrating 1-hour sessions the stars finally aligned (pun intended) and managed to defeat the Algalon encounter.
Overall the encounter isn't difficult, the one hour time limit race against the clock routine is probably the most trying part.
Essentially it's a two realm encounter similar to Kalecgos or the drakes in Obsidian Sanctum. Algalons' realm is where all the fighting takes place, black holes play a part to shift you to the 'Worm Hole dimension' by simply running onto it (no need to click anything). The Worm Hole dimension is the same stage, with Dark Matter mobs roaming around which simply need to be avoided. The only way back out is when Algalon casts Big Bang, which transports you back by removing the black holes. Those not in the Worm Hole realm will get oneshotted unless they are a tank using a cooldown. Simple huh?
Using a Warrior and DKlol tank, three healers Resto Druid (raid) and Holy Paladin (MT) and myself as Disc Priest (MT/Raid) and a mix of caster/melee dps we only got to Phase 2, (20% HP) twice, and once there it was pretty much over.
The hardest part from a healing perspective was definitely dealing with the high damage being laid down on the Tanks. Algalon hits the tank fast and hard being a dual-wielding melee boss and block tanks are definitely advantageous, DK isn't ideal, but as we saw still workable and we did notice the difference in damage/healing to the tanks. This, coupled with some raidwide damage abilities certainly make it the most healing intensive fight I've experienced so far, healing Mimiron's Firefighter with just myself and a Holy Paladin does come a close second, however.
Main healing events to watch begin after the encounter starts, heavy healing is already needed on the tank, however, shortly after he summons Collapsing Stars the fun begins :
Black Hole Explosion : occurs when a Collapsing Star dies, hitting the raid for around 10k shadow damage (after Resistance Buffs).
Cosmic Smash : proximity based explosion (great sound effect I thought), looks like a red void zone and easy to get away from.
Those are the two Raid Damaging abilities, everytime a Star dies it will hit the raid for around 10k so working with the dps to cast Prayer of Healing was important. They'd time it to die so I could begin casting. It's important to not be near it when it dies as it leaves a Black Hole which ports you to the Worm Hole realm.
Watching out for Cosmic Smash (red void zones) and healing up Black Hole Explosion (stars dying) is what's needed for the raid, while Algalon is working on the tank who requires constant fast heals.
Big Bang: is the last event to watch for, it's a long 10 second cast which means you need to be in the Worm Hole realm via walking into a Black Hole before he completes the cast or it's instant death. A tank will stay up using a cooldown to soak it. After he casts (hopefully everyone got down) all the black holes are removed, and the raid is back in the normal realm.
Living Constellation's will also spawn in sets of three, they will agro from healing but only attack random players with Arcane Barrage. They're more of a nuisance than anything else, the damage they do is minimal compared to the amount of room they take up on the screen. They can be snared/rooted, and having some distance as you move to a Black Hole does help as when they touch they both despawn.
He will apply a stacking debuff on the MT called Phase Punch. After 5 stacks the tank will be shifted to the Worm Hole Realm, the two tanks will rotate because of this.
Repeating this pattern until 20% is all that's involved. I believe we saw 3 Big Bang casts. Phase 2 starts now with four Black Holes appearing at N S E W positions. Plan to be in a 'diagonal' quadrant so you don't get caught in one on the phase change. No more Collapsing Stars or Living Constellations will spawn, the problem is he will still cast Big Bang and now Dark Matters will periodically spawn, so timing this phase is important, it now becomes a DPS race to beat the 6 minute enrage but the healing workload becomes lighter.
At about 2% he is defeated, and in the traditional Ulduar fashion, delivers some RP which we were too excited to read or watch.
Overall I must say it is the most challenging encounter in the current content. The layout is beautiful and healing is very challenging with so much damage going on. One day I'd like to do this as dps to take in the scenery.
The buzz from downing this encounter is definitely in my top 5 along with Sartharion+3D, Illidan, Zulaman, Kalecgos and close to the alltime high I remember with Kael'Thas. We were on our second to last attempt with 14 minutes left on this lockout and things weren't looking good for another week, but we all know and love that feeling with things just click together and you know it's a kill before the boss goes down. I hope to have some pics and a video posted soon.
Algalon 10 down
The Assembly of Iron - Hard Mode (I Choose You, Steelbreaker)
Differences: Killing Steelbreaker last is the Hard Mode. His abilities increase after Runemaster Molgeim and Stormcaller Brundir are each defeated.
Sources of Raid Damage
Similar to normal mode with a few extra abilities.
High Voltage: 3k Nature damage every 3 seconds which comes from Steelbreaker and is now present through the entire encounter.
Fusion Punch: Same mechanic as normal mode and top priority for dispelling off the Steelbreaker tank as soon as it's applied. Will lead to a wipe if missed for even a few seconds.
As each boss dies, the others gain a 25% damage increase from Supercharge.
Two healers should be assigned to the Steelbreaker tank, preferably have a Shadowpriest dispel Fusion Punches as healing gets very intensive as the fight goes on, mana can be an issue if you're not careful. One healer can look after the offtank (Runemaster and Stormcaller tank) as they require little healing in P1 and 2, and none in P3 obviously and they should be able to raid/MT heal in P3. Two raid healers (3 if running six healers and can afford the dps) to cover the Nature Aura.
When one member of the council dies he gains the Static Disruption ability, nows the time to have 2-3 range 'soaking' this debuff as it is only applied to players outside melee range. Warlocks and Shadowpriests are ideal but we've been alright with the two MT healers and a Warlock. MT healers advantage is they don't need to run and heal/dispel during Stormcaller Brundir's Overload. All his Chain Lightning casts should be interupted, so the only healing is the High Voltage Nature Aura, Fusion Punch and Static Disruption.
When the second member of the council goes down he gains some more abilities, and healing really steps up a notch.
Overwelming Power is debuffed on the MT and their size and damaged increased by 200%. After 35 seconds they Meltdown, which means they die and kill anyone within 15 yards.
Electrical Charge increases Steelbreaker's damage by 25% and also will heal him if anyone in the raid dies. It's worth noting that Mortal Strike effects work but depending when this happens it's usually a wipe.
Lots more raid damage, and lots more tank damage, if the previous phase with two alive didn't wake you up a hatred of the global cooldown arises here as it really becomes a 'spamfest'. Tank healers will be going all out and this is the phase for cooldowns, such as Pain Suppression, Guardian Spirit, Divine Sacrifice etc, while raid healers will be dealing with great raid damage from the nature aura. Grid will look like a graphic equalizer.
After 30 seconds the MT will need to run out to take his death from Meltdown, be ready to swaphealing to the OT as he picks up Steelbreaker. They MT may be rezzed and will need fast heals and rebuffs. Remember, Electrical Charge heals Steelbreaker if anyone dies.
Dps are on the clock now to burn him down before anyone dies, the hard enrage is 15 minutes from the encounter start but it's more likely a raid member will die and allow Steelbreaker to heal and a wipe is called.
There is a lot going on in this hardmode and is a good indicator of your own gear/regen and playstyle.
XT-002 Deconstructor - Hard Mode (Heartbreaker)
Difference: Several new abilities, activated by destroying the exposed Heart of the Deconstructor.
Once engaging hardmode he heals to full and increases health by 60% (50% for 10man) and damage increased by 15%. His heart is severed so will no longer have the 'exposed heart' phases. The only adds to be dealt with are those summoned during the breaking of the heart phase.
Strategy-wise similar to normal mode, with some important differences. The raid damage is very predictable providing you know the events and are prepared.
Main Sources of Raid damage:
1. Tympanic Tantrum now does significantly more raid damage and assigning a healer to each party is critical. Unlike normal mode the full duration will kill a raid member if they are not healed, even if they are 100% prior to Tantrum due to the increased damage. AoE healing for this event should be determined and assigned prior to pulling.
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Glyph of Prayer of Healing really shines in encounters like this.
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Disc have the 'passive' 3% raid wide damage mitigation from Renewed Hope.
Paladins should use this time to 'Raid wall' with Divine Sacrifice/Divine Shield to assist the healing.
Tantrum cooldown is on a one minute cooldown, and it's important to make sure the raid is topped up in preparation for it.
2. Searing Light : More commonly known as Lightbomb is the same mechanic as normal mode requiring healing, HoTs+Shield is enough, and in addition, will spawn a Life Spark that deals damage to nearby enemies as the tank picks them up. We be sure to have the Searing Light debuff wear off as we move towards the melee group to assist the tank in picking this up.
3. The Life Spark casts the Static Charged debuff which deals 2k Nature damage to the raid every 3 seconds until it's killed. Not significant but need to be aware of especially if Tantrum isn't far off.
4. Gravity Bomb : Same mechanic as normal requiring PoM+Shield+Renew routine, and in addition, spawns a Void Zone with the traditional "don't stand in it" rules. We run these out away from the raid and for added fun, try get a perfect pattern.
This can feel like a long fight and you will glance at his HP and think 'what are the dps doing' but reality is he has a lot to start with. Mana conservation is important as with any hard mode and it's worth swapping in regen trinkets.
Plan Hymn of Hope's with other Priests and be sure the druids help the healers out with innervates if needed, especially towards the end of the encounter.
Due to the DPS requirement of destroying the heart to engage the hardmode healing spots are limited to maximise dps. 5-6 is recommended by most guides and depends largely on the AoE healing strength of the classes.
Hodir Hard Mode (I Could Say That This Cache Was Rare)
Difference: Dps race, kill him in 3 minutes instead of ten.
4 Main Sources of Raid damage:
1. Most significant is Frozen Blows two to three times. Definately do NOT have Biting Cold on you. Paladin Divine Guardian/Sac and Priest's Prayers of Healing while in Starlight.
2. Freeze: 5-7k Frost damage to players within 10yds, rooting them, dispellable.
The following are easily avoidable by moving and not being 'that guy':
3. Biting Cold - Exponential DoT every second, moving resets the stack as well as jumping and campfires. Never more than two stacks! And zero for Frozen Blows.
4. There's also Icicle - 12k Frost damage in a random area and leaves Snowdrift which protects from Flash Freeze, turn on 'Projected Textures' so you can see the circles onthe ground before they land.
Healers: Up to 5 if only one Priest, otherwise 3-4, at least 2 on the MT and rest raid healing. Dps needs to be on the ball with avoiding Icicle and Biting Cold damage.
At least one Paladin, any spec with Divine Guardian is useful for Frozen Blows.
Priests, more the merrier. Most resources I've seen have people mentioning 1-3 Priests, and group heals in Starlight seems to work well with Frozen Blows.\
Healing is all about handling the raid damage, which is significant during Frozen Blows, dps need to help by moving and being aware of what's around them.
Important stuff: Storm Cloud (Crit Buff called Storm Power from the Shaman NPC) Bossmods should put Mark on players head. Can spread buff to 6 players for 135% more crit damage (no good for healers but it's very important to spread this to the dps when you get it). Looks like lightning around you plus the raid icon should make it obvious. If in doubt, add 'Storm Power' to your Grid Auras and spread the love.
Next is the Haste Buff Starlight (cast by the Druid NPC).
DPS only: Worth noting that when next to a campfire, you have a chance to put Singed on the target, definately worth keeping in mind. One sourse mentions a good way to stack it is having a Survival Hunter or two next to the Toasty fires and using explosive shots. Otherwise, casters try to stay near the fires to keep the debuff up, but the priority should be standing in Starlights for haste.
Raid Videos
Yogg Saron (big download, need to add to streaming site)
It had been some time since I made a video for Offtime so I made this one special. Spent a bit of time and effort on it to make it good mainly for the guild and also to reflect the effort we put into learning it. We'd gone through a lot and recruiting was tough. Losing some key members to IRL hurt but we pulled through. It took a while to make but I think the wait was worth it. Being a two-realm encounter I used of our mage Destinex' fraps as well to play with some effects.
Some RP for fun and ends up with a pull of Brutallus while we were on a high. Music is "Nightwish-The Poet and the Pendulum" and "Within Temptation-Our Solemn Hour".
Below are our first kills of some of the bosses I was there for.
Final boss of Zul'Aman, certainly an fun encounter and after we got familiar with the phases and abilities, turned out to be easier than Hexxlord I thought. Transformers is the theme of the day, no idea why, just seemed fun to edit with.
Second to last boss and probably the hardest in terms of mechanics. The worst being he'll use abilities of a random member of the party, cc and raid healing as well as composition finally got us through this one, dropped some nice caster gear too. And of course the best item in the game today, Army of Darkness.
Teron GorefiendFirst kill was fun and we also used the encounter to gauge our dps numbers for when we started working on Brutallus in Sunwell as it was an 'all out' fight. One of my favourites for sure.
Video was fun to make and on this kill I wasn't chosen to die (probably a good thing), a few have asked me for the soundtrack and I have no idea what it was called, I made this a few reinstalls ago and no longer have the sonyvegas work files to find out. Its in my mp3 collection.. Somewhere..
It was around this time I had an IRL schedule change and could no longer raid with Offtime. After a few weeks of no raiding I started to miss it, knowing the guild was progressing through Black Temple without me the only option I had at the time was transfer, as there were no Aussie guilds on the server. Leaving my alt there I tried out a Singapore which was the same timezone as me at the time. Very different atmosphere than I was used to but I stuck it out. They had T6 content all on farm for several months and it was a change of pace. First night I had to learn quite quickly every boss from Teron Gorefiend upwards as they ploughed through the instance. Seemed too easy, there as no vent chatter and apart from the learning curve, got quite boring and I began to miss raiding with Offtime. I did make some friends there and a couple I still chat with regularly on msn today so it kept me raiding. Eventually my schedule changed again and I was able to return to Offtime's times and raiding.
Illidan
Our first look into T6 content began here, and was one hell of a relief after the hurdle that was Kael'Thas. Only problem was we only had 15-20 attuned fully so had to clear Vashj and KT for several more weeks to get some good regular numbers in for the T6 assault. It payed off and we stormed through the first few bosses in Hyjal, some much easier than ones we'd encountered in SSC and TK. We were one of the first guilds on the realm to be into the new content and felt pretty good haveing a change of scenery finally.
Rage Winterchill was a pushover really, but it did mean players getting their PvP trinke, Hyjal was all about the waves and waves of trash. A wipe meant a lot of wasted time even on the trash. The soundtrack here's dedicated to our GM Drparks.
Old guild anti-afk policyTBC Orgrimmar Raid, run but complete failure :)
15man Pug Tempest Keep/Hyjal (80s, no music, posted for fun and the pug)
Ulduar Raid Debuffs and notable abilities
Razorscale
XT-002 Deconstructor
(Hard Mode - Heartbreaker)The Assembly of Iron
(Hard Mode - Steelbreaker)Kologarn
Auriaya
Mimiron
Freya
Thorim
Hodir
(Hard Mode - I could say that this Cache was Rare)General Vezax
Yogg-Saron
Algalon
Ignis the Furnace Master
Debuffs:
Slag Pot: Direct heal through DoT until they’re released
Flame Jets: Interupts casting and silences for 8 seconds
Scorch: DoT, players should be moving out of this but watch to heal effected players.
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Razorscale
Debuffs:
Phase 1
Stormstrike: Dark Rune Guardians will debuff the tank with this, increases Nature damage taken by 20%, needs to be dispelled.
Devouring Flame: Someone's standing in the fire, heal till they move or figure it out.
Phase 2
Fused Armor: Slowing effect on tank, stacking upto 5 when the tank will be unable to move or use abilities, get ready for tank swap.
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XT-002 Deconstructor
Debuffs:
Gravity Bomb : 20 yd range, effected player should move to a distance greater than 20 yards until they ‘implode’. Shield+PoM is enough to cover with this.
Light Bomb (Searing Light) : Obvious bright glow on player, 3500 AoE on effected player, Shield+Renew+PoM more than enough for this, unless they’re AoEing nearby players, most of the time range (and even melee) won’t need to move as it has a short range 10-15yds
Abilities:
Tympanic Tantrum : Raidwide damage over 8 seconds, Prayer of Healing very useful here. Will no longer kill players unless they start with less than 80% health.
*Void Zone: Hard mode, spawned from Gravity Bombs, standard void zone mechanic.
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The Assembly of Iron
Abilities:
High Voltage : From Steelbreaker, DoT aura on raid.
Debuffs:
Fusion Punch: Absolutely positively must be dispelled off tank as soon as it’s cast. Will wipe the raid if not. Big DoT and big damage to tank.
1 dead
Static Disruption: (Steelbreaker up) Cannot be dispelled but effected players will require additional healing over the raid heals. Up to three players may be allocated to 'soak' these.
Rune of Death: (Runemaster Molegeim up) 26 yd green Void zone under a random player. Move.
2 dead
Meltdown: (Steelbreaker up) Tank has 30seconds to live before exploding, be ready for tank change. (nb Tank will get this after 30 seconds of Overwhelming Power).
Nothing notable when Stormcaller Brundir is up, except for Overload so stand more than 20yds from tank and it won’t matter (distance has been reported to have been nerfed).
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Kologarn
Abilities:
Shockwave : Left arm ability not a debuff but AoE’s the raid, requiring PoH/Good time to Divine Hymn
Debuffs:
Crunch Armor : Armour debuff on MT be ready for tank swap after 3 stacks, MT will gradually require more healing as it stacks.
Stone Grip: Right arm ability 3 targets requiring direct healing
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Auriaya
Abilities:
Sonic Screech : not a debuff but causes raidwide damage
Terrifying Screech : not a debuff but fears the raid, use Fearward and Mass Dispel the raid if possible. Try arrange for Tremor totem in your group as it helps a lot particularly with Disciplines fast Mass Dispels.
Debuff:
Savage Pounce : Damage and DoT
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Mimiron
Not many specific debuffs to note but plenty of abilities to heal through.
Leviathan MKII
Napalm Shell : Debuff that requires direct healing.
Plasma Blast : Ability that requires a CD on the tank, Pain Suppression or Guardian Spirit after Tank’s used his cooldowns.
VX-001 (Anti-personnel Assault Cannon)
Abilities:
Rocket Strike: Not a debuff but requires move or be killed
Spinning Up : Similar to Lurkers Spout, get ready to move around clockwise or be killed (only covers 3/4 radius). Watch for mines!
Rapid Burst : Targets a group/party (hopefully the raids split into parties around the room) Prayer of Healing on the effected group is useful here
Aerial Command Unit (Air phase)
Plasma Ball : Usually range tank, warlock etc. Dedicate one healer and the rest is dps.
Watch out for Bomb Bots which walk around aimlessly and explode.
V-07-TR-0N (Phase 4)
Rocket Strike : Two targets must now move when targeted for this
P3Wx2 Laser Barrage : Heal targeted party, Prayer of Healing useful here.
Plasma Ball : Heal range tank.
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Freya
Debuffs:
Sunbeam : If raider doesn’t move out of the raid with this they’ll AoE nearby players for 8k.
Nature's Fury : (Ancient Conservator) AoE on random player for 10sec, should be moving away from raid.
Abilities:
Conservator's Grip : (Ancient Conservator) Player is silenced until they move under a Healthy Mushroom.
Elder Stonebark (Increased physical damage done by Freya)
Ground Tremor : Ability similar to flame jets on Ignis, 8 second spell interrupt if you’re casting when this ability occurs.
Elder Ironbranch (Increased pysical damage done by Allies of Nature)
Iron Roots : DoT on target until Dps removes the roots.
Impale : Damage over 5seconds that require target to be healed through.
Elder Brightleaf (Increased magical dmage done my Freya and Allies of Nature)
Nothing additional worth noting.
Menu
Thorim
Debuffs:
Unbalancing Strike : Tanks should taunt of each other when one gets this, be ready to heal/shield taunting tank.
*Watch to Massdispell Runic Shield on the Dark Rune Evokers (initial trash) and when players get Frost Nova from in Phase2 (Sif-hardmode).
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Hodir
Debuffs:
Freeze : Keep Mass Dispel handy or expect complaints from the melee department.
Abilities:
Frozen Blows : Raidwide damage that requires AoE healing. This is the one to be ready for as rest of the encounter is relatively easy just healing the MT unless raid members 'lag'.
Notable Buffs:
Mage - Toasty Fire Stand near this if you see one to avoid the Biting Cold, Flash Freeze and Freeze debuff. Looks like a big campfire. Fires can also buff Melt Ice and Singed.
Druid - Starlight Stand in light column for haste buff
Shaman - Storm Cloud Stand near player with lighting bolts for Crit Buff.
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General Vezax
Abilities:
Aura of Despair: Means no mana regen, aggressive healing will run you oom. Stopcasting is essential to minimise overhealing. I'm usually with a Paladin on the MT, he will heal while I Shield and will only Penance/Flash when the tanks 40% or less. For hard mode 10 this works well, providing the range can dodge Shadow Crashes. If not doing hard mode Saronite Crystals (increasing Life Tap mechanic) are the only way to regain mana, 7 stacks hit for almost 13k but returns 6.4k mana, watch health while trying to regen as the 8th tick will most likely kill you unless you’re shielded and full.
Shadow Crash : Pray the targeted player can run from this missile, if not, heal all players near the impact. Priority isn't high as this is the only raid damage to worry about (besides Saronite Vapour ticks). This will only be cast on range (15yds plus) and the dps will stand in the dark patch left for a dps buff. This reduces healing done so is of no use to healers. It does reduce mana costs by 75% so can be useful in hardmode to certain classes, Druids Lifebloom for instance.
Mark of the Faceless : Drain Life mechanic if target is near other players. Only cast on range (15yds plus). Run from the raid when you get this or General Vezax will heal for a significant amount per tick, the drain life graphics from nearby players if too close is very obvious.
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Yogg-Saron
Dispelling is paramount here and as high a priority as healing the tank, for all classes.
Debuffs:
Sara’s Blessing : Initially heals but leaves a DoT which requires additional healing through over 20 seconds.
Squeeze : Debuff when Constrictor Tentacle has grabbed someone, they’ll require healing until dps has killed the tentacle. If you get grabbed, you can still heal/cast. Let DPS know you need to be broken out. We usually ping map/vent.
Malady of the Mind : Similar to the Warlock Deathcoil ability, lasts 4 seconds and then attempts to jump to someone within 10yds. Stay clear of players with this debuff.
Brain Link : Bright line connecting two players who must remain within 20yds of each other or receive a DoT and -2% per second. DPS should move with healers and try move with the tank if you’re linked to one.
Dispelling
Magic
Dominate Mind : MC, dispel nomatter what you’re doing. Only time to delay is if they’re in a cloud, wait until they are clear.
Apathy : Slowing debuff, dispel off tanks/melee then range as priority. Particularly the portal group when it’s nearly time for ports.
Disease
Black Plague : Also high priority on any player, randomly stuns (retch uncontrollably for 2 seconds).
Poison
Draining Poison : Mana drain and DoT, cleansing totems, Druids/Pallies/Resto Shaman should be on top of this.
Curses
Curse of Doom : Same as Warlock curse, 20k dmg after 12 seconds. Mages/Druids/Resto Shaman should remove before duration is up.
Abilities:
Sanity : Start with a 100 stack of this debuff, various abilities will remove sanity, when it reaches zero you will go insane and are effectively MC’d. Brez does not work (we tried and they rezed as the enemy).
Sanity Well : Green columns in the ‘corners’ of the room provided by Freya, the only way to restore Sanity.
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Algalon
10 man down, coming soon!
Adding custom Auras to Grid
Adding custom Auras to Grid
Add the debuff:
Grid -> Status -> Auras -> Add new Debuff
Type in (de)buff exactly, case matters.
New debuff will be listed under Status -> Auras
Give it a High priority (99 is foolproof) as you want it to show over anything else.
Do this for each custom debuff.
Now tell Grid to show the new debuffs as the Center Icon
Grid -> Frame -> Center Icon -> Tick the ones you want, list order doesn't matter, this is where the priority you gave it comes in.
Optional
In Grid -> Frame -> Advanced you can customise the border/size of the Center Icon.
There's a Grid plugin called Grid Status Raid Debuffs which has all the Ulduar raid debuffs (even ones you don't want to see), you just add it to the Center Icon thing and un/tick whatever you want, either way works but don't use both.
It makes sense after you play around with it, you'll quickly know what debuffs to anticipate and what needs the most attention.
I posted all this because people were asking how to do it, hope it's useful.