Illidan Stormrage Guide: Strategy, Abilities, Loot

Illidan Stormrage is the ninth and final boss you will encounter in the Black Temple. Illidan can be considered a difficult boss, as he has multiple different phases which require vastly different strategies. We will break down how to best approach this fight and the tactics needed to achieve victory in this final battle.

This boss does very high tank damage, so be healing the tank at all times. Early phases mostly only have tanks taking damage, so be sure to focus your healing on the tank early on. Phases 2 and 4 both have very high raid damage; make sure to top the raid up quickly and continue watching the tanks as these phases have very high healing requirements.

Throughout the fight there are random damage-over-time debuffs being placed on random raid members, be sure to quickly top them up. This fight can last a while, so be sure to conserve Mana as much as possible. With the high amounts of raid damage during this fight, it is very easy to run out of Mana early on.

Almost every phase change comes with a threat reset, so be sure to allow the tanks time to pick the boss up before continuing DPS. Phases 2 and 4 have assigned positions, so make sure to prioritize getting into the correct position before DPSing as being in the wrong spot can easily get you and others killed.

During Phase 2, melee DPS need to be mindful of all fire on the ground, as the patches of fire can easily prevent you from dealing damage if you are on the wrong side. If during Phase 2 you find yourself high on threat on one of the Flame of Azzinoth, simply change targets to the other one. Remember your tanks are likely wearing Fire resistance gear and will deal lower threat than usual.

Illidan is one of the harder-hitting bosses in the game, dealing high damage throughout the entire fight. He cannot deal crushing blows as his Shear requires Protection Warriors to save Shield Block for when he begins this cast. Shear can be dodged, parried, or blocked, but it cannot miss. This ability must never hit you without blocking, or your max HP will be reduced by 60% and you will most likely die to the next autoattack.

Each phase transition is a threat reset, so be sure to keep cooldowns and resources at the ready to pick the boss up as soon as he resets his threat. Phase 5 Illidan will Enrage temporarily, greatly increasing his damage dealt. Simply find the trap that has been dropped by Maiev Shadowsong and drag the boss over it to stun him for a brief time.

Two tanks wearing Fire Resistance gear are required for this fight for Phase 2, as the Flame of Azzinoth deal very high Fire damage. Make sure to face them away from the raid at all times. Also be sure to avoid standing in any of the fire patches left on the ground.

A Shadow Resistance ranged tank is required for Phase 4, as the boss deals very high consistent shadow damage to his highest aggro target. Typically a Warlock is used for this job. Make sure to be max range away from the boss and avoid standing near any other players as Illidan's cast will kill anyone near you.

If you are a Warlock that has taken on this responsibility, we have created a separate guide dedicated to helping you out with this important job.

As Illidan is a multiple phase fight, we will break down his abilities based on each phase down below. As a few of the phases are very similar and use the same abilities, we will group them down below and state if a certain ability is only used in a certain phase.

• Shear — 1.5-second cast; reduces the maximum HP of the current target by 60% for 7 seconds. It can be blocked, parried, or dodged, but it cannot miss.
• Draw Soul — This is frontal cone AoE with a 1.5-second cast, dealing 5,000 Shadow damage and healing Illidan for 100,000 health per target hit.
• Parasitic Shadowfiend — Targets a random player, putting a 10-second debuff that dealing 3,000 Shadow damage per tick. At the end of the debuff, two Parasitic Shadowfiends will spawn on the player.
• Flame Crash — 1.5-second cast; places a 10-yard AoE circle of fire on current target, dealing 5,000 Fire damage per tick to any enemies in the area. The ground effect lasts for 2 minutes.
• Agonizing Flames — Only used in Phases 3 & 5. This ability creates a 5-yard AoE centered on a random player, dealing 5,000 initial Fire damage and placing a fire debuff on all players hit that deals 36,000 Fire damage over 60 seconds. The DoT starts out slowly, and deals more damage the longer the debuff is out.
• Shadow Prison — Used at 30% health. Illidan will stun the entire raid for 30 seconds and a short RP event will play. This begins Phase 5.
• Enrage — Used in Phase 5 only. After 40 seconds, Illidan increases his attack speed by 30% and damage dealt by 50%.
• Cage Trap — Used in Phase 5 only. Dropped by Maiev Shadowsong twice during Phase 5; dragging Illidan on top of this trap will stun him until he transitions into Demon Form.

• Fireball — 2-second cast time; Deals 3,000 - 4,000 Fire damage to a random target and any allies in a 10-yard radius.
• Eye Blast — Drops a trail of blue fire on the ground that deals 20,000 Shadow damage on impact. The fire trail remains on the ground for 1 minute, dealing 2,000 Fire damage per second to players standing in it. This ability has a 30-second cooldown.
• Dark Barrage — Debuffs a random target, dealing 3,000 Shadow damage per second for 10 seconds on a 40-second cooldown.

• Flame Blast — Frontal cone attack, dealing 9,000 Fire damage to all enemies 15 yards in front of the Flame of Azzinoth.
• Blaze — After Flame Blast goes off, Blast will appear on the target of the breath. This deals 5,000 Fire damage per second to enemies caught in the patches of fire.
• Uncaged Wrath — If either Flame of Azzinoth is more than 25 yards away from its blade, they will enrage, wiping the raid. In addition, if ANY raid member is more than 25 yards away from either Blade of Azzinoth, the Flames will charge that player and consequently trigger Uncaged Wrath as well.

• Demon Form — Illidan transforms into a Demon for 1 minute, increasing his Physical damage dealt by 500% and gaining the Aura of Dread buff.
  • Aura of Dread — A 15-yard aura surrounds Illidan during this phase, dealing 1,000 Shadow damage per second to nearby enemies. This aura also increases all Shadow damage taken by 30%, stacking each time damage is taken from the aura.
• Shadow Blast — Deals 8,750 - 11,250 Shadow damage to the highest aggro target and anyone within 20 yards. Illidan casts this every 2 seconds, but it is resistible.
• Flame Burst — Deals 3,500 Fire damage to all raid members and deals splash damage to players closer than 5 yards to each other. It has a 20-second cooldown.
• Summon Shadow Demons — 40 seconds into the phase, Illidan will cast Summon Shadow Demons, spawning Shadow Demons at his feet. They will target random raid members and stun them, preventing all actions, then move slowly toward their targets. If they reach their target, they will kill them, then target somebody else and repeat the process.

The encounter is started by talking with Akama, who can be found at the top of the Black Temple. After some short RP, Illidan will become attackable and engage your raid. Be ready to heal your tank quickly and wait for them to establish threat.

Phase one of Illidan is a fairly straightforward boss fight. Tanks will want to avoid being hit by Shear, tanks and melee should avoid patches of fire, and anyone debuffed by Parasitic Shadowfiend will run to the designated area, typically a Hunter outside of the raid with a Frost Trap ready. Ranged DPS should be sure to turn and quickly kill the Parasitic Shadowfiends that are then summoned.

Avoid being in front of the boss at all times as the Draw Soul heals for a large amount per target hit. Aim to keep up either Mortal Strike or Wound Poison debuff on the boss, as this cuts his healing in half from this spell. At 65% HP, Illidan will fly up into the air and Phase 2 will begin.

Phase Two is probably the hardest phase of the fight, requiring 2 tanks with Fire Resistance gear. At the start of Phase Two, Illidan throws his warglaives into the floor and spawns Flame of Azzinoth at the location of each blade. Illidan himself will fly around the battlefield bombarding the raid with a barrage of different spells that the raid needs to be ready to handle accordingly.

This phase has very high tank damage as well as raid damage, so everyone should be playing safe and aiming to survive. The raid will want to split up into either 2 or 3 groups to avoid taking too much raid damage from Fireball, while still being mindful of the warglaives' positions. If ANY raid member is more than 25 yards away from either Blade of Azzinoth, the Flame of Azzinoth will charge that player and trigger Uncaged Wrath, wiping the raid.

Stack tightly on your assigned location, avoid fire patches on the ground, and mind your threat. Remember you can always swap targets if you are high on threat. Both tanks and melee need to be aware and avoid the Eye Blasts as these will instantly kill you while they are landing. After both Flame of Azzinoth are dead, Phase Two will end and Phase Three will begin.

Phase Three is exactly the same as Phase One, except the raid should now be spread out to avoid the Agonizing Flames from hitting too many players at once. Melee DPS will want to spread out into multiple groups behind the boss to avoid this debuff from hitting all melee at once. About every minute, Illidan will swap from phase three to phase four.

Phase four is different from other phases. This phase requires a ranged tank with full Shadow Resistance gear, usually a Warlock. Melee cannot hit the boss during this phase as Aura of Dread will quickly kill anyone in melee range of the boss.

Illidan will cast Shadow Blast on his highest-threat target, dealing very high Shadow damage to his target and anyone within 20 yards of the target. Have your Shadow Resistance tank stay at max range away from the boss and stand out on the side of the raid, away from other members. Wait for this tank to pick the boss up and establish aggro before starting to DPS.

The raid will need to be spread out for this phase, as Illidan will cast Flame Burst 3 times during this phase, dealing damage to every raid member and dealing splash damage to any allies standing near each other.

Lastly, about halfway through the phase, Illidan will summon multiple Shadow Demons at his feet. The raid will want to AoE these down as soon as possible or single-target any that are outside the range of AoE. Killing these should be the number one priority for DPS players, as these will instantly kill anyone they reach. After about 1 minute, Illidan will transition from Demon Form back to his normal form/Phase 3. Use any slows or stuns available on these if they get too close to any raid members.

Phase Five starts when Illidan reaches 30%. He will stun the entire raid with Shadow Prison for 30 seconds, then a short RP event will play where Maiev Shadowsong joins the fight to help the raid defeat Illidan. Allow the tank time to pickup the boss after the stun wears out and be ready to use any instant-cast heals on them.

Phase Five is exactly the same as Phases One and Three, except the tank now needs to be looking for Cage Traps dropped by Maiev Shadowsong. Whenever Illidan casts Enrage, be sure to keep the tank alive while they drag the boss into the trap, stunning Illidan. While Illidan is stunned, he will take double damage. The fight will now continue to alternate between Phase Four and Phase Five until Illidan is defeated.

Item	Item Type	Slot
Chestguard of the Forgotten Protector	Tier Token	Chest
Chestguard of the Forgotten Vanquisher	Tier Token	Chest
Chestguard of the Forgotten Conqueror	Tier Token	Chest
The Skull of Gul'dan	Accessory	Trinket
Black Bow of the Betrayer	Ranged Weapon	Bow
Crystal Spire of Karabor	Weapon	Main-Hand Mace
Memento of Tyrande	Accessory	Trinket
Bulwark of Azzinoth	Off-Hand	Shield
Cowl of the Illidari High Lord	Cloth	Head
Cursed Vision of Sargeras	Leather	Head
Faceplate of the Impenetrable	Plate	Head
Shard of Azzinoth	Weapon	One-Hand Dagger
Shroud of the Highborne	Accessory	Back
Stormrage Signet Ring	Accessory	Finger
Zhar'doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer	Weapon	Staff
Warglaive of Azzinoth	Weapon	Main-Hand Sword
Warglaive of Azzinoth	Weapon	Off-Hand Sword

If you were looking for a full guide for the Black Temple raid, or would like to know what specializations the loot from Gurtogg Bloodboil should be prioritized to, see the links below.