Challenge Mode: Gate of the Setting Sun

[Zagam 1,982]

1.  Introduction

 

The Gate of the Setting Sun is a relatively simple Challenge Mode with a moderately difficult Gold time requirement.  This guide will assume you are familiar with the Heroic version of the Gate of the Setting Sun dungeon.  Remember, to do Challenge Mode, you must complete the Heroic version of the dungeon on the character you are trying to do the Challenge Mode.

 

GOLD TARGET TIME: 13:00

 

2.  Trash Mobs Before Kip’tilak

 

This walkway is arguably the most difficult part of this dungeon.  Be prepared to reset the Challenge Mode if you have anyone die.  Repeat attempts until you make it to the first boss with all players alive.  On the way to Saboteur Kip’tilak, you will want to pull the first six Mantid enemies together.  These Mantid will use Smoke Bomb which will obscure targeting of these enemies if you are outside of the Smoke Bomb.  The Smoke Bomb will also not allow healing from outside of the Smoke Bomb, so your team must stack together.  Tank damage will be moderately high, so rotate through stuns such as Capacitor Totem, Shadowfury, or Leg Sweep.  The source of deadly damage during this will come from the bombs laid on the walkway towards Kip’tilak.  These bombs will do approximately 60-65% of your maximum HP if you get hit by the projectile fire that erupts from them.  Getting hit twice will prove to be lethal.  Carefully moving around as a stacked group to avoid the bombs blowing up will prove to be challenging, yet necessary.  Once 4 of the 6 mobs are dead, the tank should move down the platform and pick up the remaining 3 Mantid enemies.  These Mantid will climb on the back of random players, so healers should be prepared for spike damage on players other than the tank.  Once these mobs are below 20%, you can kite them inside the room to Kip’tilak.

 

3.  Sabotuer Kip’tilak

 

Saboteur Kip’tilak’s Challenge Mode fight presents no additional difficulty than the Heroic version.  While killing off the Mantid from the previous walkway, use Bloodlust/Heroism/Timewarp to burn Sabtuer Kip’tilak as fast as possible.  Avoid the damage from the bombs he places.  When the boss dies, the healer should use a restorative amber to regain all lost mana.  The rest of the group should exit the boss room and move towards the tower.

 

4.  Trash Mobs after Sabotuer Kip’tilak

 

As you exit the room with Sabotuer Kip’tilak, 4 Mantid enemies will jump up and sabotage the attacking Pandaren.  Your tank should use a cooldown to mitigate some of the damage since the healer will be slightly behind while restoring mana.  Bring these mobs below 20% and have the tank move towards the bridge that is being rammed by Raigonn.  As your group moves towards the bridge that Raigonn is ramming, notice that Raigonn rams the door with a much higher frequency than in Heroic mode.  Players crossing this bridge MUST jump just as Raigonn rams the gate to avoid a stun and unnecessary damage.  Inside the tower across the bridge is the 2nd hardest part of this Challenge Mode.  There will be a group of 5 Mantid enemies that do serious AoE damage with interruptible spells.  Be sure to use all available stuns and defensive cooldowns here.  With proper stuns, interrupts, and cooldowns, surviving this pack should be the last barrier between you and a gold time.  As you exit this tower, you will approach the tower with the elevator lift that takes you to Striker Ga’dok.  Outside of this tower are three enemies.  In order to achieve your required kill count, you must kill one of these enemies.  Have two of your party members CC two of the mobs while the tank grabs the third and moves it into the room with the elevator.  Hard CC’s such as Fear, Polymorph, and Hex work best on the other two.  Kill this add and move your group onto the elevator and activate the switch.

 

5.  Striker Ga’dok

 

Striker Ga’dok presents no new challenging mechanic.  The green slime on the ground hurts much more in Challenge Mode as do the Krik’thik Strikers’ melee attacks.  The tank should be sure to not let the Krik’thik Strikers hit the casters or healer.  During Striker Ga’dok’s Strafing Run, be sure to keep your party together so that when Striker Ga’dok picks up a random player and uses Prey Time, external defensive cooldowns and healing focus can be used with ease.  Once Striker Ga’dok is defeated, one player needs to remain at the cannons and shoot all of the flying Mantid down.  The other 4 players, preferably one with a sprint or engineering Rocket Boots, should run towards the next tower and click on the flame to trigger the cut scene.  This will teleport the player shooting the cannons to his teammates.

 

6.  Trash Mobs after Striker Ga’dok

 

The trash after Ga’dok and before Ri’mok is relatively simple as long as you focus the small adds and interrupt their casts.  Pull each of these 3 Mantid groups alone as combining the two groups will prove to be quite lethal on the tank.  You can grab the next pack as soon as the first Wind Reaver dies.

 

7.  Commander Ri’mok

 

Commander Ri’mok provides no additional challenge in Challenge Mode other than the standard increased damage from his mechanics.  The tank should kite the boss around but be sure to keep himself between the spawn location of the mobs and the group’s healer.  These small adds should be cleaved along with Ri’mok, but all DPS should be focused on the boss.  When Ri’mok dies, move through the tower and you’ll be faced with the two mobs you CC’d earlier.  Perform CC again and move past them.  Jump into the pit where Raigonn awaits.  Mitigate falling damage with Levitate, Slow Fall, or Hand of Protection.

 

8.  Raigonn

 

Your final challenge in this Challenge Mode will be to take Raigonn out before the allowed time expires.  You should send your two best single target DPS into the cannons after combat with Raigonn is initiated.  Be sure to wait for Raigonn to bash the gate before jumping in the cannons.  Pop small cooldowns to burst his Weak Spot.  Taking down Raigonn’s Weak Spot should take two iterations of jumping into cannons.   The tank, healer, and remaining DPS should be focused on the small adds that will spawn near Raigonn.  These adds must be AoE’d down and stunned the best you can.  When they lose a portion of their health, they enrage and hit the tank with lethal damage.  Slowing effects such as Frost Trap, Earthgrab Totem, or Demonic Breath can allow a tank to kite these mobs until they are finished by the DPS not on Raigonn.  After Raigonn’s Weak Spot is defeated, Raigonn will take increased damage just as he does in Heroic mode.  His Fixated target must run away while the rest of the group unleashes all of their remaining cooldowns along with Bloodlust/Heroism/Timewarp. 

 

Best of luck earning Gold in the Gate of the Setting Sun Challenge Mode!

 

[Twinkielock 15]

Thanks for the guide!   Hope to see the others!