Zekvir Article

[Saerec 1]

So, I think the article at https://www.icy-veins.com/wow/news/unlock-item-level-616-great-vault-slots-quickly-by-repeatedly-killing-zekvir/ needs some caveats.   I'm thinking whomever wrote the article was using a specific class/spec that is great against this boss, because I can't even get close with a ilvl 600 Guardian druid.

The problem I find (with the Guardian druid) is that the boss just constantly spams fears/stuns in melee range and there are things also that slow you down a lot, so you can't get out of the way.   I eventually die because I can't get out of the way of his fast casting dmg abilities, etc.

I'll try again with a caster class to see if being ranged helps with defeating this boss.  But, even if so, the article really needs to be re-written to include some caveats because it makes it sound like the boss is trivial for anyone.

Edited October 4 by Saerec

[Saerec 1]

Follow-up:   Tried with a 600 warlock and it was a little easier.  But, it's still extremely difficult, and I haven't even gotten close.   The problem is that to avoid those "Claw Smash" cone abilities (which he casts very fast), you have to interrupt the fast ability that he casts which slows you down.   Then, you have to somehow kill the add (which has a lot of hps), because the add stuns you constantly.   So -- the difficulty is somehow keeping the boss targeted so you can interrupt his casts, but also targeting the add so you can dps him down before he stuns you at the wrong place/time.

In any event, it's not as "trivial" as the article makes it sound.   I REALLY want to see a video of the author of the article beating this boss with ilvl 550.  Because, either I'm missing something obvious or they're using a class/spec that has some serious mitigation for that AoE.

I'm not bitter, but it is irritating to have wasted time on this due to a prematurely released article that made it sound like this boss was not a challenge.

Edited October 4 by Saerec

[Stan 5,240]

16 hours ago, Saerec said:

Follow-up:   Tried with a 600 warlock and it was a little easier.  But, it's still extremely difficult, and I haven't even gotten close.   The problem is that to avoid those "Claw Smash" cone abilities (which he casts very fast), you have to interrupt the fast ability that he casts which slows you down.   Then, you have to somehow kill the add (which has a lot of hps), because the add stuns you constantly.   So -- the difficulty is somehow keeping the boss targeted so you can interrupt his casts, but also targeting the add so you can dps him down before he stuns you at the wrong place/time.

In any event, it's not as "trivial" as the article makes it sound.   I REALLY want to see a video of the author of the article beating this boss with ilvl 550.  Because, either I'm missing something obvious or they're using a class/spec that has some serious mitigation for that AoE.

I'm not bitter, but it is irritating to have wasted time on this due to a prematurely released article that made it sound like this boss was not a challenge.

Hey, thanks for your feedback! I’ve updated the post to clarify that not all classes will find it easy to defeat Zekvir. From what I know, the “?” difficulty has been significantly nerfed, and I didn’t have much trouble taking down the boss. As long as you can save a major cooldown or ability for the add and eliminate it before it hatches and stuns you, interrupt Zekvir’s casts, avoid his fear and frontal attacks while grabbing Brann’s potions, you should be able to succeed.

I never died because my DPS was too low, but because I didn’t execute a specific mechanic correctly. If you don’t interrupt, the damage over time and melee attacks will kill you. If you don’t DPS the add quickly, it will stun you, allowing Zekvir to kill you with his frontal attack. If you’re feared, you lose valuable time and might get killed by something else.

Think of Zekvir like the Mage Tower—it relies more on skill than on gear.

[OhForFu 0]

On 10/4/2024 at 1:47 AM, Saerec said:

...

The problem I find (with the Guardian druid) is that the boss just constantly spams fears/stuns in melee range and there are things also that slow you down a lot, so you can't get out of the way.   I eventually die because I can't get out of the way of his fast casting dmg abilities, etc.

...

Still bashing away at him (ilvl 598 Guardian). I'm trying out ripweaving, as shifting from bear to cat clears the slow. I'm still dying to misreading/mistiming the mechanics, and Brann is a little to RNG too be reliable. Ripweaving does give enough of a dps bump to get rid of the cocoons pretty well though.

 

edit: just completed him (on '?') as an ilvl 588 ret pally. More manoeuvrable, much higher dps and more get out jail cards to play if you do miss something.

Edited October 7 by OhForFu
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[PaulCook 0]

Yeah, as a Blood DK, this boss is a joke. I literally just stood there and DPS'd him down, and popped a cooldown or two when needed. I can see how it would be much harder for other classes/specs, though. They should definitely add some sort of warning to the article.

[Saerec 1]

21 hours ago, PaulCook said:

Yeah, as a Blood DK, this boss is a joke. I literally just stood there and DPS'd him down, and popped a cooldown or two when needed. I can see how it would be much harder for other classes/specs, though. They should definitely add some sort of warning to the article.

Yea, but what ilvl are you?   My biggest concern with the article was that it made it sound like the fight would be doable around ilvl 550.

Blizzard just nerfed using it for the great vault today anyway, so it's all a moot point right now.   But, even as good as blood knights are at survivability, I'd still love to see someone beating him at 550 :)

[Saerec 1]

On 10/4/2024 at 12:40 PM, Stan said:

Hey, thanks for your feedback! I’ve updated the post to clarify that not all classes will find it easy to defeat Zekvir. From what I know, the “?” difficulty has been significantly nerfed, and I didn’t have much trouble taking down the boss. As long as you can save a major cooldown or ability for the add and eliminate it before it hatches and stuns you, interrupt Zekvir’s casts, avoid his fear and frontal attacks while grabbing Brann’s potions, you should be able to succeed.

I never died because my DPS was too low, but because I didn’t execute a specific mechanic correctly. If you don’t interrupt, the damage over time and melee attacks will kill you. If you don’t DPS the add quickly, it will stun you, allowing Zekvir to kill you with his frontal attack. If you’re feared, you lose valuable time and might get killed by something else.

Think of Zekvir like the Mage Tower—it relies more on skill than on gear.

I really appreciate it the reply and taking my feedback seriously -- thanks!   

And, you're right, I only ever died because of mechanics -- but, the struggle was dealing with the speed of the mechanics.   And, while dps isn't super important, I'm not sure how you can negotiate the mechanics if you don't have enough dps to take down the "add" before the boss does his other mechanics, etc.  Basically, when the add is up, you're dealing with two separate mechanics happening simultaneously -- and, if you can't survive the bosses big AE, then you're going to have a hard time beating the fight because that add is going to stun you while you're trying to deal with the boss' mechanics, etc.

But, I'm sure you're correct in that it's very class/spec dependent, and probably dependent on gear for some classes/specs than others.

Edited October 8 by Saerec