Onyxia Raid Guide for WotLK Classic

Onyxia's Lair was remade during original Wrath of the Lich King to celebrate World of Warcraft's 5 year anniversary. This updated raid encounter plays out almost exactly the same as the previous level 60 version, not having much changed. The main difference is the attunement being removed, allowing anyone to enter the raid without needing to complete an overly complex quest chain.

• Melee DPS must make sure they are attacking Onyxia directly from her side to avoid getting hit by both the Cleave and Tail Sweep.
• Melee DPS are unable to attack Onyxia during the air phase, unlike the previous level 60 version. Melee DPS should focus on handling the adds during this phase instead.
• All DPS should be sure to spread out to prevent multiple people from being hit by Fire ball.
• Melee DPS should be sure to attack the Onyxian Lair Guards from behind at max melee range to avoid taking damage from the IgniteWeapon.
• Unlike the previous level 60 version of the encounter, threat is not dropped between phases 1 and 3. It is possible for ranged DPS to pull aggro when Onyxia lands.

• The pull can be one of the most challenging parts of this encounter. Be sure to quickly flip Onyxia around to prevent her from hitting the raid with Cleave and Flame Breath. You must also be mindful of her tail position to prevent her from knocking back the raid with Tail Sweep.
• You may want to put your back to the wall to avoid being knocked-back too far by the frequent Wing Buffets.
• Quickly pick up the Onyxian Lair Guards as they come in. Drag them away from the raid group to prevent the Blast Nova from hitting others. Face them away from the melee DPS to allow them to out-range the Ignite Weapon damage.

• Be ready to quickly follow the tank into battle while they position the boss at the start of the encounter.
• Be mindful of the tanks position so they don't out-range you when knocked-back by Wing Buffet.
• During the air phase, you will want to stand near a tank so they can easily get aggro on the many Onyxian Whelps that spawn during that phase.

• Cleave — Frequently attacks all enemies in a frontal cone.
• Flame Breath — Deals high Fire damage to all enemies in a wide frontal cone attack.
• Tail Sweep — Knocks-back any enemies directly behind her, sending them flying a far distance.
• Wing Buffet — Deals moderate Physical damage to all enemies in a small frontal cone attack and knocks them back a small distance.

• Breath — After a few seconds Onyxia will shower the floor beneath her with her deadly fire breath and fly in a straight line to the nearest wall, killing any enemies caught in the path.
• Fireball — Every 2 seconds deals Fire damage to a random target and any nearby allies.
• Onyxian Lair Guard — Frequently spawns in during phase 2. Uses Blast Nova and Ignite Weapon.
• Onyxian Whelp — Frequently spawns in waves while Onyxia is in the air or if anyone touches the eggs found in the area.

• Bellowing Roar — Fears all nearby enemies for 3 seconds.
• Eruption — Lava erupts from the cracks in the floor, dealing moderate Fire damage to anyone it hits.

The most difficult part of phase one is the initial pull. Allow the tank to run in first to establish threat and position the boss. The raid should approach the boss from the side to avoid being hit by the Cleave, Flame Breath and Tail Sweep. The tank will want to position themselves with their back against the far-side wall to avoid being knocked-back far by the Wing Buffet. Phase one ends when Onyxia reaches 65%, then she will take off into the air for phase two.

The entire raid must always be aware of Onyxias position in the air as she can cast Breath at any time, dealing fatal Fire damage in a straight line at her current position. Always keep an eye on her position as she will frequently fly around the room to different areas. Whenever she emotes the line "Onyxia takes in a deep breath...", she will start her Breath and fly in a straight line. This must be avoided at all costs as the Breath will quickly kill anyone caught in Onyxias path.

While in the air, Onyxia will attack a random target every 2 seconds with Fireball. The raid should spread out as much as possible to prevent the Fireball from splashing and dealing additional damage to nearby allies.

Once Onyxia takes off and every so often during the air phase, she will spawn a wave of 40 Onyxian Whelps, 20 from each side of room. These must be quickly picked up by a tank and AoE'd down before they can deal too much damage. Healers should stand next to the designated AoE tank to make it easier for the whelps to be grabbed as they will likely have aggro on healers early on. Avoid touching the eggs on the sides as this will spawn additional whelps.

The other tank will need to pick up the Onyxian Lair Guards that spawn every 30 seconds during the air phase. These must be dragged to a safe spot away from all non-melee DPS, but still in range of the healers. Face them away from the melee DPS and quickly burn them down. They will buff themselves with Ignite Weapon, adding a large amount of Fire damage to their melee attacks. When they do this, have someone Disarm them to prevent them from dealing this extra damage, or have your tank use defensive cooldowns if no disarm is available. If the Onyxian Lair Guard lives long enough, it will cast Blast Nova, a 5 second cast that is almost guaranteed to kill any nearby melee DPS that do not run away.

Phase two will end when Onyxia reaches 40%, beginning phase three, the final phase of the encounter. Phase three plays out almost exactly like phase one. The tank must quickly position Onyxia, being sure to avoid her Cleave, FlameBreath and Tail Sweep from hitting the raid. Threat does not reset between phases one, two or three; it is possible that ranged DPS can pull aggro in phase three from damage dealt during the air phase.

The main addition in phase three is the Bellowing Roar that Onyxia will frequently cast, fearing all nearby enemies for 3 seconds. During these 3 seconds, the cracks in the ground will erupt with lava, dealing moderate Fire damage to anyone that touches them. Onyxia will cast her Bellowing Roar as soon as she lands and periodically throughout phase three.

It is crucial to prevent the tank from being feared by the Bellowing Roar. Use any available Fear Wards on them to prevent them from being feared. In addition, use things available like Tremor Totem to prevent the second tank and some healers from being feared.

Onyxian Whelps will also periodically spawn throughout phase three, requiring a second tank to pick them up. Typically you will want to ignore these and focus on finishing off Onyxia herself and ending the fight.

Depending on your raid composition you will want to either use major cooldowns such as Bloodlust or Heroism during phase two to bring Onyxia down quicker, or during phase three after the first Bellowing Roar to prevent the raid from being feared multiple times.

Item	Type/Slot
Circlet of Transcendence	Cloth Helmet
Coronet of Transcendence	Cloth Helmet
Nemesis Skullcover	Cloth Helmet
Netherwind Hood	Cloth Helmet
Bloodfang Mask	Leather Helmet
Stormrage Antlers	Leather Helmet
Stormrage Helm	Leather Helmet
Stormrage Hood	Leather Helmet
Coif of Ten Storms	Mail Helmet
Cowl of Ten Storms	Mail Helmet
Dragonstalker's Helm	Mail Helmet
Gaze of Ten Storms	Mail Helmet
Faceguard of Wrath	Plate Helmet
Frostforged Helmet	Plate Helmet
Frostforged Ringhelm	Plate Helmet
Greathelm of Wrath	Plate Helmet
Judgement Cover	Plate Helmet
Judgement Helm	Plate Helmet
Judgement Helmet	Plate Helmet
Fluttering Sapphiron Drape	Back
Eskhandar's Choker	Neck
Runed Ring of Binding	Finger
Purified Shard of the Flame	Trinket
Purified Shard of the Scale	Trinket
Antique Cornerstone Grimoire	Off-Hand
Empowered Deathbringer	One-Hand Axe
Gleaming Quel'Serrar	One-Hand Sword
Glinting Azuresong Mageblade	Main-Hand Sword
Rusted Gutgore Ripper	One-Hand Dagger
Sharpened Fang of the Mystics	Main-Hand Dagger
Singed Vis'kag the Bloodletter	One-Hand Sword
Keen Obsidian Edged Blade	Two-Hand Sword
Reclaimed Shadowstrike	Polearm
Snub-Nose Blastershot Launcher	Gun
Head of Onyxia / Head of Onyxia	Misc
Ashen Sack of Gems	Epic Gems
Enlarged Onyxia Hide Backpack	Bag
Reins of the Onyxian Drake	Mount

Item	Type/Slot
Aurora of Transcendence	Cloth Helm
Halo of Transcendence	Cloth Helm
Nemesis Skullcap	Cloth Helm
Netherwind Crown	Cloth Helm
Bloodfang Hood	Leather Helm
Stormrage Cover	Leather Helm
Stormrage Coverlet	Leather Helm
Stormrage Crown	Leather Helm
Crown of Ten Storms	Mail Helm
Dragonstalker's Helm	Mail Helm
Helm of Ten Storms	Mail Helm
Helmet of Ten Storms	Mail Helm
Frostforged Greathelm	Plate Helm
Frostforged Helm	Plate Helm
Helm of Wrath	Plate Helm
Helmet of Wrath	Plate Helm
Judgement Crown	Plate Helm
Judgement Heaume	Plate Helm
Judgement Hood	Plate Helm
Flowing Sapphiron Drape	Back
Antediluvian Cornerstone Grimoire	Off-Hand
Eskhandar's Links	Neck
Shiny Shard of the Flame	Trinket
Shiny Shard of the Scale	Trinket
Signified Ring of Binding	Finger
Burnished Quel'Serrar	One-Hand Sword
Tempered Vis'kag the Bloodletter	One-Hand Sword
Honed Fang of the Mystics	One-Hand Dagger
Tarnished Gutgore Ripper	Main-Hand Dagger
Polished Azuresong Mageblade	Main-Hand Sword
Raging Deathbringer	One-Hand Axe
Reinforced Shadowstrike	Polearm
Sharpened Obsidian Edged Blade	Two-Hand Sword
Rifled Blastershot Launcher	Gun
Head of Onyxia / Head of Onyxia	Misc
Ashen Sack of Gems	Epic Gems
Enlarged Onyxia Hide Backpack	Bag
Reins of the Onyxian Drake	Mount

Onyxia's Lair is just one of the many Raid instances you can tackle in Phase Three of Wrath of the Lich King Classic. If you would like to learn more about the others please see our pages below.