Horridon Detailed Strategy Guide (Heroic Mode included)
Table of Contents
Introduction
This guide is intended to provide a comprehensive description of the encounter with Horridon in Throne of Thunder. It is targeted at anyone who desires to understand the fight mechanics.
This guide is updated for World of Warcraft WoD 6.1.2.
Horridon is the second boss of the Throne of Thunder. This is not a difficult encounter, but there are a lot of mechanics to remember, as well as a lot of different adds to deal with.
The fight will require the raid to deal sustained damage to the boss, all the while AoE-ing down a number of adds and avoiding a number of abilities that the boss and he adds use.
General Information
Health Values
Boss
Difficulty | Horridon |
---|---|
10-man | 392M |
10-man Heroic | 654M |
25-man | 1,177M |
25-man Heroic | 1,962M |
LFR | 654M |
Zandalari Adds
Difficulty | Zandalari Dinomancer | War-God Jalak |
---|---|---|
10-man | 4.22M | 17.4M |
10-man Heroic | 6.32M | 26.17M |
25-man | 12.6M | 52.3M |
25-man Heroic | 19M | 78.5M |
LFR | ??? | 32M |
Farraki Adds
Difficulty | Sul'lithuz Stonegazer | Farraki Skirmisher | Farraki Wastewalker |
---|---|---|---|
10-man | 1.63M | 2.04M | 7.2M |
10-man Heroic | 2M | 2.85M | 12.65M |
25-man | 4.9M | 6.1M | 25.3M |
25-man Heroic | 6.1M | 8.5M | 38M |
LFR | 3.3M | 4.2M | 17M |
Gurubashi Adds
Difficulty | Gurubashi Bloodlord | Gurubashi Venom Priest | Venomous Effusion |
---|---|---|---|
10-man | 6.32M | 5.37M | 843k |
10-man Heroic | 8.85M | 9.5M | 1.26M |
25-man | 19.0M | 19.0M | 2.5M |
25-man Heroic | 26M | 28.4M | 3.7M |
LFR | 13M | ??? | ??? |
Drakkari Adds
Difficulty | Risen Drakkari Warrior | Risen Drakkari Champion | Drakkari Frozen Warlord |
---|---|---|---|
10-man | 815k | 2.45M | 8.92M |
10-man Heroic | 3.26M | 3.26M | 15.81M |
25-man | 2.4M | 7.3M | 31.6M |
25-man Heroic | 3.6M | 9.7M | 47.4M |
LFR | 1.5M | 5M | 21M |
Amani Adds
Difficulty | Amani'shi Protector | Amani'shi Flame Caster | Amani Warbear | Amani'shi Beast Shaman |
---|---|---|---|---|
10-man | 3.26M | 1.63M | 3.59M | 4.22M |
10-man Heroic | 3.26M | 2.45M | 6.32M | 6.32M |
25-man | 9.8M | 4.9M | 12.6M | 12.6M |
25-man Heroic | 12.2M | 7.3M | 18.9M | 18.9M |
LFR | 6.5M | 32M | 6.5M | ??? |
Enrage Timer
Horridon will enrage after 12 minutes.
Raid Composition
Difficulty | Tanks | Healers | DPS |
---|---|---|---|
10-man | 2 | 2-3 | 5-6 |
25-man | 2 | 5-7 | 16-18 |
Loot
Armor
Item Name | Armor | Slot | Main Stats |
---|---|---|---|
Flamecaster's Burning Crown (LFR, Heroic) | Cloth | Head | Intellect |
Vaccinator's Armwraps (LFR, Heroic) | Cloth | Wrists | Intellect/Spirit |
Spaulders of Dinomancy (LFR, Heroic) | Leather | Shoulders | Intellect |
Roots of Rampaging Earth (LFR, Heroic) | Leather | Legs | Intellect |
Bindings of Multiplicative Strikes (LFR, Heroic) | Leather | Wrists | Agility |
Legguards of Scintillating Scales (LFR, Heroic) | Legs | Intellect | |
Sul'lithuz Sandmail (LFR, Heroic) | Chest | Agility | |
Armplates of the Vanquished Abomination (LFR, Heroic) | Plate | Wrists | Intellect |
Bloodlord's Bloodsoaked Legplates (LFR, Heroic) | Plate | Legs | Strength |
Frozen Warlord's Bracers (LFR, Heroic) | Plate | Wrists | Strength |
Puncture-Proof Greathelm (LFR, Heroic) | Plate | Head | Strength/Parry |
Weapons
Item Name | Type | Main Stats |
---|---|---|
Venomlord's Totemic Wand (LFR, Heroic) | Wand | Intellect |
Dinomancer's Spiritbinding Spire (LFR, Heroic) | Staff | Intellect/Hit |
Jalak's Maelstrom Staff (LFR, Heroic) | Staff | Agility |
Amulets, Cloaks, Rings, and Trinkets
Item Name | Type | Main Stats |
---|---|---|
Horridon's Tusk Fragment (LFR, Heroic) | Amulet | Intellect/Spirit |
Petrified Eye of the Basilisk (LFR, Heroic) | Ring | Intellect/Spirit |
Horridon's Last Gasp (LFR, Heroic) | Trinket | Intellect/Mana on heal |
Talisman of Living Poison (LFR, Heroic) | Amulet | Agility |
Wastewalker's Sandblasted Drape (LFR, Heroic) | Cloak | Agility |
Horn-Rimmed Doomcloak (LFR, Heroic) | Cloak | Strength/Mastery |
Spark of Zandalar (LFR, Heroic) | Trinket | Haste/Strength |
Overview of the Fight
The fight against Horridon is technically a 2-phase fight, but it is easier to explain if we break it down into 5 phases.
Phases One, Two, Three, and Four are extremely similar. During each of these phases, you will fight Horridon and a specific tribe of Trolls, who keep pouring out of one of the four doors around the area. After 1 minute, a Zandalari Dinomancer will jump down into the arena. Killing it will allow the raid to force Horridon to destroy the door, effectively closing it and preventing new Trolls of the tribe from entering the arena. After 40 seconds, a new door will open up and a new tribe of Trolls will come to Horridon's assistance.
In the table below, you will find a bit of information regarding to the different tribes of Trolls that you will have to fight.
Phase | Troll Tribe | Door | Main Source of Danger |
---|---|---|---|
Phase One | Farraki | Northwestern | Sand Trap: very damaging sand traps that grow in size over time |
Phase Two | Gurubashi | Northeastern | Living Poison: dangerous poison pools that move around |
Phase Three | Drakkari | Southeastern | Frozen Bolt: damaging and slowing spell cast by moving Frozen Orbs |
Phase Four | Amani | Southwestern | Lightning Nova: damaging AoE effect created by Lightning Nova Totems |
1 minute after the end of Phase Four (so after destroying the fourth and final Troll door), Phase Five will start. During this phase, you will fight both Horridon and War-God Jalak. You will have to kill Jalak first and then deal with Horridon doing greatly increased damage. This final phase is very intense and all important cooldowns should be kept for it.
Note that if Horridon reaches 30% health before Phase Five starts, then Jalak will prematurely jump down into the arena, most likely causing a wipe.
We have released a video guide for the fight against Horridon. We strongly recommend watching the video in order to get a better visual idea of the fight.
DPS Requirements
Assuming that a raid needs 75 seconds to close a Troll door, the DPS requirements for AoE-ing the adds will approximately be:
- 10-man with 5 DPS: 88k DPS;
- 10-man with 6 DPS: 75k DPS;
- 25-man with 16 DPS: 82k DPS;
- 25-man with 17 DPS: 87k DPS;
- 25-man with 18 DPS: 73k DPS.
Assuming that the raid needs 75 seconds to close a Troll door and that when Jalakk appears (at 8 minutes and 15 seconds if Troll doors are closed in 75 seconds) Horridon has 80% health left (which should be easily doable), the DPS requirements for finishing the fight before the 12-minute mark is:
- 10-man with 5 DPS: 90k DPS;
- 10-man with 6 DPS: 77k DPS;
- 25-man with 16 DPS: 95k DPS;
- 25-man with 17 DPS: 90k DPS;
- 25-man with 18 DPS: 86k DPS.
Class-specific Advice
On our forums, we are maintaining threads with class-specific advice for each of the fights of Throne of Thunder. So, make sure to check them out, and if you have things to share, do not hesitate to contribute!
Class | Forum Threads |
---|---|
Death Knight | |
Druid | |
Hunter | |
Mage | |
Monk | |
Paladin | |
Priest | |
Rogue | |
Shaman | |
Warlock | |
Warrior |
Horridon
Horridon does exactly the same thing for the entire fight. So, we will present his abilities first and then explain how to deal with them.
Abilities
Horridon has 3 abilities.
- Triple Puncture deals heavy damage to the tank and applies a stacking debuff that increases the damage taken by subsequent casts of Triple Puncture by 10%. This forces a tank swap.
- Double Swipe causes Horridon to deal heavy damage to all players in a 35-yard cone in front of and behind him.
- Charge causes Horridon to charge a player and perform a Double Swipe once it reaches them.
In addition, Horridon will take increased damage as the fight goes on, as we explain in the Zandalari Dinomancer section. To sum things up, he gains a stack of Cracked Shell at the end of each phase. Cracked Shell is a debuff that increases damage taken until the end of the fight by 50% per stack.
Tank Swap for Triple Puncture
The implication of Triple Puncture is that the tanks will often need to perform a tank swap.
We advise you to do the tank swap at the end of each phase, when only Horridon is present in the arena. This will greatly simplify things.
Tanking Horridon for an entire phase will cause a tank to receive 6 or 7 stacks of the debuff, which can be managed.
Also, the tank that is not tanking Horridon will be able to fully focus on the Trolls.
Avoiding Double Swipe
To avoid Double Swipe, try to always stay on the side of Horridon. The ability has a 2.5-second cast time, so everyone should have the time to move to Horridon's side, including the tanks. It is also possible to outrun the ability, since it has a range of only 35 yards.
Double Swipe is not problematic by itself, but the positioning constraints it adds on the raid can be easily forgotten when trying to deal with the abilities from the current tribe of Trolls.
When targeted by Charge, the 2.5-second cast on Double Swipe will provide with enough time to move to safety. Also, players targeted by Charge are warned ahead of time, giving them some time to move to a location from which Horridon's Double Swipe will require the raid to move as little as possible.
When to Attack Horridon?
Until you kill Jalak in Phase Five, Horridon will not be a priority target. That said, you should attack him whenever you have the chance to, as it will make Phase Five (the most intense phase of the fight) shorter. Also, between each phase, there is a period of downtime during which you should focus on Horridon.
Zandalari Dinomancer
1 minute into Phase One, Phase Two, Phase Three, and Phase Four, a Zandalari Dinomancer will jump into the arena.
When this happens, your raid needs to burn him down and kill him.
Abilities
The Dinomancer keeps trying to channel Dino-Mending on Horridon. You need to interrupt it, as otherwise, Horridon is healed for 1% health every second.
At 50% health, the Dinomancer gains Dino Form. This increases his damage dealt by 50%, but he will no longer cast Dino-Mending.
Orb of Control and Troll Doors
When the Dinomancer reaches 50% health, he drops his Orb of Control. Someone in your raid needs to click it to take control of Horridon and force him to slam into the currently opened Troll door.
When this happens, the current phase ends. Then, you have 40 seconds to clear any remaining adds and deal as much damage on Horridon as possible, all the while bringing close to the next door (or the center of the room if the next phase is Phase Five).
Also, when Horridon crashes into the door, he gets stunned for 10 seconds and gains a stack of Cracked Shell, increasing his damage taken by 50% until the end of the fight.
Clicking the Orb of Control
Clicking the Orb of Control starts a channel. During the channel, you can freely move around. You should take advantage of this to avoid sources of damage (traps, void zones, etc.).
Phase One: The Farraki
During Phase One, you will fight Horridon and the Farraki Trolls, who come from the northwestern door of the arena.
Farraki Trolls and Their Abilities
5 seconds after the Farraki door opens, 1 Sul'lithuz Stonegazer and 1 Farraki Skirmisher will come out of it. Every 20 seconds after that, a new wave of the same composition will come out of the door.
1 Farraki Wastewalker will jump down into the arena 20 seconds after the Farraki door opens, and 2 more will follow 20 seconds later.
Sul'lithuz Stonegazers stun their target for 10 seconds with Stone Gaze while Farraki Skirmishers only have a melee attack. Stone Gaze can and should be interrupted and the stun it applies can and should be dispelled.
Farraki Wastewalkers have two abilities.
- Blazing Sunlight targets a random raid member, inflicting moderate Fire damage on impact and leaving a DoT that deals Fire damage every second for 30 seconds.
- Sand Trap creates a Sand Trap that slowly expands over time and that deals heavy damage to anyone standing in it.
Strategy
As soon as the fight starts, have a tank take Horridon and bring him to the northwestern door, from where the Farraki Trolls will enter the arena.
As soon as the Trolls start appearing, the off-tank should get aggro on them and make sure that they are always in the same place, to make it easy to AoE them down.
Main Concerns
In addition to avoiding Double Swipe/ Charge and interrupting Dino-Mending when the Zandalari Dinomancer appears, there are 3 main concerns during this phase.
- Sul'lithuz Stonegazers need to be killed quickly, so as to prevent people from getting stunned (their cast of Stone Gaze can also be interrupted). These adds have relatively low health, so killing them rapidly should not be a problem. The stun can be dispelled, in any case.
- Blazing Sunlight needs to be dispelled.
- Sand Traps need to be avoided. The ground effect can be hard to see, especially when busy avoiding Double Swipe, which has a much more noticeable spell effect.
DPS Priority
- Zandalari Dinomancer
- Sul'lithuz Stonegazers
- Farraki Wastewalkers
- Farraki Skirmishers
- Horridon
Transitioning to Phase Two
After Horridon destroys the Farraki door, you have 40 seconds before the Gurubashi Trolls start pouring out of the Gurubashi door. During this time, you should:
- clear any remaining Farraki Trolls;
- deal as much damage to Horridon as possible;
- slowly move Horridon to the Gurubashi door, which is the northeastern door of the room;
- have the tanks perform a tank swap on Horridon.
Phase Two: The Gurubashi
During Phase Two, you will fight Horridon and the Gurubashi Trolls, who come from the northeastern door of the arena.
Gurubashi Trolls and Their Abilities
5 seconds after the Gurubashi door opens, 1 Gurubashi Bloodlord will come out of it. Every 20 seconds after that, a new wave of the same composition will come out of the door.
1 Gurubashi Venom Priest will jump down into the arena 20 seconds after the Gurubashi door opens, and 2 more will follow 20 seconds later.
Gurubashi Bloodlords target random players with Rending Charge, causing them to bleed for a significant amount of damage every second for 15 seconds.
Gurubashi Venom Priests have two abilities.
- Venom Bolt Volley deals a low amount of Nature damage to the entire raid and leaves a stacking DoT that lasts for 60 seconds. The cast of this ability can be interrupted, and the DoT it leaves can be dispelled.
- Venomous Effusions are adds that the Gurubashi Venom Priest sometimes summons.
They cast the following abilities:
- Venom Bolt Volley, which is the same ability that the Gurubashi Venom Priest casts;
- Living Poison is a pool of poison that appears under a Venomous Effusion when it spawns. It deals heavy damage to anyone standing in it and it moves around slowly.
Strategy
As soon as the Trolls start appearing, the off-tank should get aggro on them and make sure that they are always in the same place, to make it easy to AoE them down.
Main Concerns
In addition to avoiding Double Swipe/ Charge and interrupting Dino-Mending when the Zandalari Dinomancer appears, there are 2 main concerns during this phase.
- Venom Bolt Volley needs to be interrupted. If possible, the DoT it leaves should also be dispelled. Surviving through Venom Bolt Volley is one of the most crucial parts of the fight, so expect high damage from it.
- Living Poisons need to be avoided. The ground effect is clearly visible, but it can be easy to forget about it when trying to avoid Double Swipe.
DPS Priority
- Venomous Effusions
- Zandalari Dinomancer
- Gurubashi Venom Priests
- Gurubashi Bloodlords
- Horridon
Transitioning to Phase Three
After Horridon destroys the Gurubashi door, you have 40 seconds before the Drakkari Trolls start pouring out of the Drakkari door. During this time, you should:
- clear any remaining Gurubashi Trolls;
- deal as much damage to Horridon as possible;
- slowly move Horridon to the Drakkari door, which is the southeastern door of the room;
- have the tanks perform a tank swap on Horridon.
Phase Three: The Drakkari
During Phase Three, you will fight Horridon and the Drakkari Trolls, who come from the southeastern door of the arena.
Drakkari Trolls and Their Abilities
5 seconds after the Drakkari door opens, 1 Risen Drakkari Champion and 1 Risen Drakkari Warrior will come out of it, followed by a second Risen Drakkari Champion 15 seconds later. Every 20 seconds after that, a new wave of the same composition will come out of the door.
1 Drakkari Frozen Warlord will jump down into the arena 20 seconds after the Drakkari door opens, and 2 more will follow 20 seconds later.
Risen Drakkari Champions and Risen Drakkari Warriors keep attacking random players, applying Deadly Plague on them. Deadly Plague is a disease that can be dispelled.
Drakkari Frozen Warlords have two abilities.
- Mortal Strike deals a large amount of damage to the adds' tank and reduces healing received by 50% for 8 seconds.
- Frozen Orbs are adds that the Drakkari Frozen Warlord sometimes summons. They move slowly and keep casting Frozen Bolt to anyone within 8 yards of them, dealing damage every second and reducing movement speed.
Strategy
As soon as the Trolls start appearing, the off-tank should get aggro on them and make sure that they are always in the same place, to make it easy to AoE them down.
Main Concerns
In addition to avoiding Double Swipe/ Charge and interrupting Dino-Mending when the Zandalari Dinomancer appears, there are 2 main concerns during this phase.
- Deadly Plague needs to be dispelled.
- Frozen Orbs need to be avoided. They are clearly visible, but it can be easy to forget about them when trying to avoid Double Swipe.
DPS Priority
- Zandalari Dinomancer
- Drakkari Frozen Warlords
- Risen Drakkari Warriors and Risen Drakkari Champions
- Horridon (unless he is nearing 30% health)
Transitioning to Phase Four
After Horridon destroys the Drakkari door, you have 40 seconds before the Amani Trolls start pouring out of the Amani door. During this time, you should:
- clear any remaining Drakkari Trolls;
- deal as much damage to Horridon as possible (without bringing him close to 30% health);
- slowly move Horridon to the Amani door, which is the southwestern door of the room;
- have the tanks perform a tank swap on Horridon.
Phase Four: The Amani
During Phase Four, you will fight Horridon and the Amani Trolls, who come from the southwestern door of the arena.
Amani Trolls and Their Abilities
5 seconds after the Amani door opens, 1 Amani'shi Protector and 1 Amani'shi Flame Caster will come out of it. Every 20 seconds after that, a new wave of the same composition will come out of the door.
1 Amani Warbear will jump down into the arena 20 seconds after the Amani door opens, and 2 more will follow 20 seconds later.
Amani'shi Protectors keep performing melee attacks on their target.
Amani'shi Flame Casters keep casting Fireball, which deals a large amount of damage to a random player and can be interrupted.
Amani Warbears deal a large amount of damage in front of them through Swipe.
When an Amani Warbear dies, the Amani'shi Beast Shaman who was mounting it becomes active and uses the following abilities.
- Chain Lightning deals a large amount of initial damage to a random player and then jumps to up to 3 players. Jumping occurs if there is a player within 5 yards of the target. After each jump, the damage increases by 50%.
- Hex of Confusion is a curse that targets random players, giving them a 50% chance to injure themselves when using spells and abilities.
- Lightning Nova Totems are stationary and unkillable totems that the Amani'shi Beast Shamans often summon. These totems cast Lightning Nova to players within 8 yards of them, dealing a large amount of damage every 3 seconds.
Strategy
As soon as the Trolls start appearing, the off-tank should get aggro on them and make sure that they are always in the same place, to make it easy to AoE them down.
Main Concerns
In addition to avoiding Double Swipe/ Charge and interrupting Dino-Mending when the Zandalari Dinomancer appears, there are 4 main concerns during this phase.
- Fireball should be interrupted.
- Players need to spread out 5 yards to prevent Chain Lightning from jumping.
- Hex of Confusion should be removed from players.
- If possible, try to avoid having 2 Amani'shi Beast Shamans up at the same time, as this runs the risk of them summoning two Lightning Nova Totems at the same location, greatly endangering players at that location (especially if the totems block their path to get out of Double Swipe).
DPS Priority
- Zandalari Dinomancer
- Amani'shi Beast Shamans
- Amani Warbears
- Amani'shi Protectors and Amani'shi Flame Casters
- Horridon (unless he is nearing 30% health)
Transitioning to Phase Five
After Horridon destroys the Amani door, you have 40 seconds before War-God Jalak jumps down into the arena. During this time you should:
- clear any remaining Amani Trolls;
- slowly move Horridon to the center of the arena (this way, the various traps laid by the Trolls while fighting them will not hinder you);
- have the tanks perform a tank swap on Horridon.
Obviously, you should also deal as much damage as possible on Horridon, but it is important to keep your cooldowns for when Jalak appears. Also, if Horridon is about to reach 30% health and there is still time before Jalak jumps, you should wait before pushing Horridon below 30%. This will allow your healers to regenerate mana and ensure that your DPS players have all their cooldowns available.
Phase Five: War-God Jalak
During Phase Five, you will fight Horridon and War-God Jalak, preferably in the center of the arena.
War-God Jalak's Abilities
1 minute after destroying the Amani door, War-God Jalak will jump into the arena. He melees his tank and keeps using Bestial Cry, which deals heavy Physical damage to all raid members. It also applies a stacking debuff that increases the damage of subsequent casts of Bestial Cry by 25%.
When Jalak dies, Horridon enrages. He then attacks 50% faster and deals 100% increased damage.
Strategy
The strategy for this phase is very simple: kill Jalak (who is to be tanked by the off-tank), then kill Horridon.
Horridon still casts Double Swipe and Charge, which must be handled in the same way as in previous phases. He also still applies Triple Puncture on his tank.
The raid needs to use all available cooldowns to burn Jalak down. Healers will need to use cooldowns to keep the raid alive during this time, so stacking is advised (players targeted by Charge need to move in such a way that the raid does not need to move to avoid the Double Swipe that follows).
Jalak has very little health compared to Horridon, so he should die very quickly. Once Jalak is dead, you can burn down Horridon, who is now enraged. Tank damage will be extremely high, so single-target healing cooldowns should be used at that time.
After Jalak dies, it may be a good idea to perform a tank swap, if the stacks of Triple Puncture have dropped off Jalak's tank.
Tip: Disarming Jalak
Jalak can be disarmed, so your raid can set up a disarm rotation on him. This will reduce the damage from Bestial Cry, allowing your raid to survive longer. It is even possible to survive long enough to kill Horridon first.
Also, some classes like Mistweaver Monks get a boost to their abilities from disarming, so your raid should definitely try and keep Jalak disarmed.
When to Use Heroism/Bloodlust/Time Warp
We recommend using Heroism/ Bloodlust/ Time Warp to burn down War-God Jalak. During this time, there should be no reason for the raid to move, so DPS will be optimal.
Learning the Fight
The fight against Horridon leaves very little room for practice. From the start, you have to dodge abilities and kill adds, so the only way to learn the fight is to keep practicing and make sure that everyone knows what they have to do (see our Main Concerns sections for the different phases).
Heroic Mode
The Heroic version of the Horridon encounter is one of the most accessible Heroic modes in the Throne of Thunder (alongside Jin'rokh and Ji-Kun). The fight is very similar to its Normal mode counterpart.
Differences From Normal Mode
Both bosses, as well as all of the adds have increased health, and deal increased damage as compared to Normal mode. In addition to this, there is one new, Heroic-only mechanic.
Roughly every 60 seconds, Horridon will cast Dire Call. This deals a moderate amount of raid-wide Physical damage, and it also has two secondary effects.
- It buffs all of Horridon's allies that are alive at the time (so, any adds that are alive, as well as War God Jalak, should he be active), granting them 50% increased attack speed.
- It summons a Direhorn Spirit add. These adds represent the greatest difficulty of the Heroic mode, and we detail them in the paragraphs that follow.
On spawning, each Direhorn Spirit will fixate on a random raid member, and remain fixated on them for the remainder of the fight. No player can have more than one Direhorn Spirit on them, and only the player on whom a Direhorn Spirit is fixated can see that Spirit and interact with it. As you can probably guess, this means that more and more raid members will be fixated upon as the fight progresses, until finally every has a Direhorn Spirit on them.
The Direhorn Spirits can be attacked and damaged, although due to their very high health, and the fact that each Spirit is only attackable by the person on whom it is fixated, killing them is not an option. The Direhorn Spirits do not have any abilities, and they merely walk slowly towards the player on whom they are fixated. If they reach their target, they deal extremely high melee damage to them, effectively killing them. Fortunately, Direhorn Spirits are knocked back each time they take damage. This allows players to keep the Direhorn Spirits away from them, and, as we will see, everyone will have to do this for the duration of the encounter.
Direhorn Spirits will first fixate on healers and ranged DPS players, and once there are no more valid targets from among these, they will fixate on melee DPS players. All the Direhorn Spirits spawn inside Horridon's (rather large) hitbox.
Strategy
By and large, the strategy for the encounter remains unchanged from Normal mode. Obviously, the increased damage and health of the mobs will cause problems along the way, but this should not change things.
The only real difference is the way in which your raid members will handle their Direhorn Spirits. Each raid member should always be aware of the location of their Direhorn Spirit, and they should regularly knock them back to keep them at a safe distance. We recommend creating a macro to allow for one of your ranged abilities to be cast at the Direhorn Spirit. The following is an example of such a macro (simply replace Fel Flame with an easy to use ranged ability).
- #showtooltip Fel Flame
- /tar Direhorn Spirit
- /cast Fel Flame
- /targetlasttarget
Given the fact that the Direhorn Spirits spawn from Horridon's hitbox, players should make sure to be a reasonable distance from Horridon when Dire Call is being cast, to ensure that they have enough time to react to an add fixating on them.
Regarding the raid damage of Dire Call, your healers will need to be prepared for it and either have the raid's health stable, or use some defensive cooldowns.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that, given the increased damage of the adds (and the buff that they gain from Horridon's Dire Call), the top priority targets from each tribe are the following:
- Farraki Wastewalkers;
- Gurubashi Venom Priests;
- Drakkari Frozen Warlords;
- Amani'shi Beast Shamans.
Concluding Remarks
This concludes our raid guide for Horridon. We hope you have found it helpful. Please do not hesitate to post any feedback you may have on our forums.
Changelog
- 06 May 2013: Added Heroic mode.
- 12 Apr. 2013: Updated health values for some adds in 10-man Normal difficulty, following a series of hotfixes.
- 29 Mar. 2013: Added a tip regarding disarming Jalak.
- 13 Mar. 2013: Replaced our PTR preview with our video guide.
- 13 Mar. 2013: Added link to forum threads that contain class-specific advice for the encounter.
- 12 Mar. 2013: Removed the mention of where the Dinomancer should be killed, as you can freely move around while channeling the Orb of Control.
- 10 Mar. 2013: When channeling the Orb of Control, it is possible to move around to avoid traps and void zones. A mention has been added in the guide to reflect that.
- 08 Mar. 2013: Stressed out that interrupting and dispelling Venom Bolt Volley is a crucial part of the fight.
- 08 Mar. 2013: Added a mention regarding where to kill the Dinomancer (the Orb should not drop in a danger zone).
- 08 Mar. 2013: Stone Gaze can and should be dispelled. The guide now mentions this.
- 08 Mar. 2013: Fixed an inconsistency regarding the locations of the Troll doors.
- 07 Mar. 2013: Fixed an inconsistency regarding how much time there is between closing a door and the opening of the next one. We were saying 1 minute in some places in the guide, when the proper value is 40 seconds.
- 06 Mar. 2013: Several updates following the release of patch 5.2.
- Updated health values.
- Added enrage timer.
- Added DPS requirements.
- Modified spawn patterns for adds (adds coming from the door have more health and spawn in smaller numbers, compared to the PTR).
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