The Nokhud Offensive Dungeon Guide: Location, Boss Strategies, Trash, and Loot
Welcome to our guide to The Nokhud Offensive dungeon in the Dragonflight World of Warcraft expansion. This guide will cover everything you need to know about the dungeon, including how to get to it, its layout, the trash and boss mechanics within, and its loot.
Getting into The Nokhud Offensive
The Nokhud Offensive is a max-level dungeon located on the west coast of the Ohn'ahran Plains zone on the Dragon Isles. The nearest flight point for both Alliance and Horde players is Maruukai, Ohn'hran Plains, just a few feet south from the dungeon.
This guide will focus on an extensive overview of the dungeon, providing vital information to complete it across all difficulties (Normal, Heroic, and Mythic). We will cover all 4 boss fights supported by the most notable trash enemies in the dungeon and their important abilities. If you would like to learn about the other Season 4 dungeons or the upcoming Mythic+ season instead, please see our overviews linked below. Otherwise, without further ado, let us begin!
The Nokhud Offensive Layout
Boss Order in The Nokhud Offensive
This dungeon provides the flexibility to choose whichever boss you want to tackle first, with the only exception being Balakar Khan needing to be the last boss you engage. With that being said, a standard route for The Nokhud Offensive will be going from Granyth to The Raging Tempest, then Teera and Maruuk, before ending with Balakar Khan. However, there are no checkpoints in this dungeon, meaning if you die, you will be sent back to the entrance of the instance.
Dragonriding in The Nokhud Offensive
The Nokhud Offensive is the first dungeon of its kind that allows you to use a Dragonriding mount to travel from boss to boss. You are also able to use tornadoes, located throughout the whole map, to amplify your Dragonriding speed and travel faster. This detail is a part of the instance that will test your Dragonriding skills. The better you are, the faster you will be able to complete the dungeon. Finally, it is important to note that each of those "Tornadoes" has a pre-placed position. Knowing this, you can better plan your route leading to the boss of your choice.
Field of Spears and Granyth
Notable Trash Before Granyth
Once you have entered the dungeon, you can hop on your Dragonriding mount of choice and head toward Granyth. However, you will not be able to engage the boss until you defeat the 3 Nokhud Lancemaster, upon which the boss is able to be attacked. There are also several other non-boss-enemies that you should pay attention to:
- Nokhud Longbow is one of the few static mobs in this dungeon. You should pay attention to it because of its unavoidable damage on random targets coming from Shoot. In addition, side-step the Rain of Arrows ground animation.
- Another important mob from this area is Nokhud Warspear, with their important non-interruptible ability being Pierce. The ability is cast on the highest-threat target (your tank) and applies a stacking Bleed effect. Be mindful of Swift Stab as it will usually charge the furthest member of your party and apply Bleed effect upon contact.
- You can try to use Stun or Disruption effects to stop the Rally the Clan coming from Nokhud Hornsounder, as this will make the surrounding mobs gain 50% increased Physical damage done, making them much harder to deal with.
- Finally, you have the Nokhud Lancemaster; not only does he have the most health, but it will also be important how your tank positions it because of Cleaving Strikes. Never stay in front of your tank. This is followed by War Stomp, which you must run out of melee to avoid being stunned by, and Disruptive Shout, which must be interrupted at all cost or you will end up "locked" out of spellcasting for 6 sec, in addition to taking AoE Physical damage.
Granyth Boss Guide
Upon Granyth reaching maximum Energy (100), it takes around 27 sec to cast Eruption. The only way to stop Eruption is to use Dragonkiller Lance before it wipes your team because of its high AoE damage. Here are also a few important things to know about the Dragonkiller Lance:
- There are 3 different locations for Dragonkiller Lance ballista.
- The boss randomly activates one of the three Dragonkiller Lance ballista a few seconds prior to Eruption cast.
- You cannot shoot the Dragonkiller Lance before the boss activates them, hence why you should always pre-assign a person to be ready to "click" on the lance.
- It is the only way to stop Eruption before it wipes your team.
- It stuns the boss for 5 sec and also removes 5% of its health.
All Roles
- Run away from Tectonic Stomp. Failing to do so will knock you away and deal massive damage.
- Focus on killing the Nokhud Saboteur at all cost to prevent them from casting Dismantle. Stun, disruption, knockback, slow, and immobilize effects work on them.
Tank
- Move Granyth closer to the Nokhud Saboteur, allowing your team to "cleave" both targets and deal with them more quickly.
Healer
- Watch out for Shards of Stone; the unavoidable damage is not to be underestimated.
- If an Eruption cast goes through, it will deal massive damage to the entire party. Be ready with healing cooldowns in case you see a second "tick" of the cast going through!
Ohn'iri Springs and The Raging Tempest
Notable Trash Before The Raging Tempest
Upon defeating Granyth, mount up and fly toward the second boss of the dungeon, The Raging Tempest. The boss will be immune to damage until you break the 4 Stormsurge Totems, located around the boss. Here are the most important non-boss-enemies you need to watch out for in this area:
- Stormcaller Boroo, Stormcaller Arynga, Stormcaller Solongo, and StormcallerZarii are identical mobs with different names, spread across all 4 packs of mobs that must be killed to spawn the boss. Watch out for Totemic Overload; it will do unavoidable AoE damage to everyone around the Stormsurge Totem, hence why they will be a high-priority target to kill.
- Primalist Stormspeaker is the most dangerous caster in this area and there are several abilities to watch out for. Interrupt Stormbolt at all costs. Finally, assign one player to ALWAYS stop Tempest, as it deals massive AoE damage to everyone. However, if the Tempest cast goes through, the damage-over-time effect can be dispelled.
- Primalist Thunderbeast will cast Chain Lightning on a random player. The targeted person must not be within 10 yards of anyone so the spell will not bounce. Make sure you run out of its Thunder Clap ability if you are in melee, to avoid being hit.
- Primal Stormshield is the last trash mob you need to watch out for! Having a Purge effect will have immense value because of its reflective Stormshield absorb.
The Raging Tempest Boss Guide
This boss has an Energy bar initially set to 50, and it takes roughly 30 seconds until entering its Electrical Storm "phase", which will be easier to deal with if you use your personal defensives combined with your healer's cooldowns. Keep in mind, as soon as the phase is over the cycle will repeat, consisting of Recharging Energy, Casting abilities, and finally an Electrical Storm phase again. Here are a few important things to note before entering this phase:
All Roles
- Periodically, every player of your party will get Lightning Strike. It is important to be spread so you do not accidentally "clip' each other, similar to the Quaking affix in Mythic+.
- Collecting the orbs of Uncontrollable Energy on the ground will grant you 5% increased damage and healing for 20 seconds, stacking. Be aware, they will deal damage each time you "consume" one, though a common strategy is to let your DPS have more so you can speed up the fight.
- Do not stay under the boss so you can avoid being hit by the The Raging Tempest ability. Worry not, for The Raging Tempest has a big melee range, so you can stay a few feet away and still auto-attack!
- Remember that Lightning Strike will cause Electrical Overload, destroying any orbs of Uncontrollable Energy that get struck by it. Either collect them or make sure you do not cleave them.
Tank
- If you want to collect the Uncontrollable Energy as a tank, be mindful of Wind Burst; stay in melee range at all times to avoid it!
- Beware of Energy Surge hits, which are a good time to use your mitigation.
Healer
- When the Electrical Storm "phase" is active, make sure to have cooldowns to cover the AoE damage hitting for your party in the next 15 sec.
- Dispel the buff coming from Energy Surge as quick as you can.
Teerakai, Teera, and Maruuk
Notable Trash Before Teera and Maruuk
It is time for the next boss. As always, use Dragonriding and the Tornado spawns to move faster to the Teera and Maruuk boss encounter. Before they activate, you must first defeat the 4 Soulharvesters (Soulharvester Duuren, Soulharvester Galtmaa, Soulharvester Tumen, and Soulharvester Mandakh) located in 4 different packs around the area. They share the same abilities just like the Stormcaller mobs located around The Raging Tempest's area, so understanding how one of them works will give you insight into what you can expect for the remaining Soulharvesters. Apart from them, there are a few more trash mobs you should pay attention to:
- Interrupt a Soulharvester's Death Bolt Volley at all costs, as it does massive Shadow damage to everyone. Beware when they cast Shatter Soul. Though they will only cast it on 3 random players from your party, you will deal 30% less damage until you collect your soul or the duration expires.
- Ukhel Deathspeaker is another high-importance caster mob that will periodically cast Chant of the Dead, it is important to stay at least 10 yards away from the mob to avoid being damaged. When the Deathspeaker is casting the spell, do your best to not have any Undead enemies in combat to prevent him from buffing their offensive and defensive toolkit by 50%. If the cast goes through, you can use an Enrage Dispel to remove the Enrage effect from the nearby mobs.
- Once you engage Ukhel Beastcaller, your tank must pay attention to his Heavy Slash. In addition, the mob will call reinforcements with Desecrating Roar, which cast cannot be interrupted.
- Avoid being hit by the Necrotic Eruption coming from Ukhel Corruptor.
Teera and Maruuk Boss Guide
One very important detail to mention is that the two legendary centaurs share health with Life Link, so the best possible strategy will be to always tank them together so the DPS can effectively "cleave" them. Teera and Maruuk, just like every boss so far, will have Energy, with Teera starting at 50 and Maruuk with 0 at the beginning of the fight. Upon reaching 100 Energy they will cast their signature abilities, with Teera using Gale Arrow and Maruuk using Earthsplitter. Here is a more detailed breakdown of the boss fight:
All Roles
- Run away from Frightful Roar. Any fear-immune or immunity effects work, such as a Warrior's Berserker Rage, Shaman's Tremor Totem, or Rogue's Cloak of Shadows and the like in case you want to have higher uptime here.
- Place Gale Arrow away from the boss' locations, as this will help you have less ground effects to worry about. The ability is cast on 4 members from your party. An alternative strategy is to all stack together.
- Beware of the pushback effect from Guardian Wind. The cast is interruptible, so the faster you stop it, the better!
- Dodge Maruuk's Earthsplitter at all cost. You have 2 seconds to avoid being hit by it; in case you cannot, remember that the damage is Physical , so any immunities will help you survive here.
Tank
- Tank Teera and Maruuk together because of the Life Link passive. This will allow your DPS to "cleave" both targets and speed up the fight significantly.
- The bosses must be no more than 20 yards away from each other to avoid the Ancestral Bond buff, which will increase their damage by 5% every 1 sec they spent further than 20 yards apart.
- When Teera casts Spirit Leap, quickly move to her for better boss stacking to cleave both targets.
- Use your active mitigation upon Brutalize being cast to avoid dropping to a critical health level.
Healer
- Watch out for Teera's Quick Shot; it is unavoidable damage to a random player of your party.
Nokhudon and Balakar Khan
Notable Trash Before Balakar Khan
Regardless of what order you choose to defeat the previous bosses, Balakar Khan will only unlock once you have killed all of them, meaning you cannot go to him immediately. Unlike the previous bosses, where you could freely fly to any pack of your choice, your Dragonriding will be limited, as you must use your regular non-dragonriding mount (or walk) once you get near the Nokhudon area in order to pass through. Failing to do so will cause you to get Stormcaller's Fury, being knocked back and dismounted! There are also several important mob types prior to engaging the last boss. Although you can choose to skip all of them and go straight to Balakar, he will be active, unlike the previous bosses who required an "activation" process:
- Beware of Nokhudon Warspear and its Swift Stab ability; it charges on a random player and leaves a Bleed effect on them, so approach this mob with caution.
- Nokhud Stormcaller is the most dangerous caster in this area because of Storm Shock hitting random targets. This ability will also leave a lingering damage-over-time effect on the targeted player, so use a personal defensive if you get two consecutive ones.
- Beware of NokhudonHoundsman's Shoot, as the unavoidable damage goes on random party members. Do your best to use stun or disruption effects to stop the Command: Seek cast.
Finally, there will be 2 avoidable "mini-bosses" leading up to Balakar Khan: Batak and Balara. If you choose to engage them, do your best to kill them simultaneously to avoid the Raging Kin buff being present. Each of them has unique abilities under their belt; here is more information:
- Avoid Balara's Ravaging Spear at all times; failing to do so might turn lethal.
- Dodge the Broad Stomp frontal cast by Batak, as it has a 20-yard range.
- Beware of the Vehement Charge from Balara; it will deal damage and knock you back.
Balakar Khan Boss Guide
Balakar Khan is a 2-phase boss fight with a fair share of complex mechanics that will test the limits of your party. In addition, you will endure an intermission phase where you will combat several of his trusted minions. Below you can find a detailed breakdown of the fight:
All Roles
- Balakar Khan will cast Iron Spear on a random target from your party, followed up by an immediate charge to "collect" his spear with Iron Stampede. A common strategy is to "bait" the charge near a wall to shorten his "charge." and have higher DPS uptime.
- Dodge the Upheaval and Crackling Upheaval abilities at all cost, as failing to do so will drop you to critical health. In Phase 2, after every Crackling Upheaval, there will be a follow up spell called Quake, creating a lingering AoE pool on the ground that does damage upon contact.
- Interrupt the Storm Bolt cast coming from the Nokhud Stormcaster during the Intermission. This will allow for better stacking on the mobs and enable "cleaving", which will speed up the phase.
- Dodge the Lightning on the ground at all times during the Intermission.
- Balakar Khan will cast Static Spear on a random player from your party; upon impact, it will pull the existing party members to its location. You have a short time to react and get away from it to avoid being hit by the Iron Stampede (same charge as in Phase 1).
Tank
- Pay attention to Rending Strike as it leaves a nasty Bleed effect and it increases the damage from Savage Strike by 500%. It is best to use active mitigation or any sort of defensive at this moment.
- Do your best to stack Nokhud Stormcaster during the intermission to allow your team to effectively cleave.
Healer
- During the intermission phase, your entire team will be taking damage from Stormwinds, which is why you want to kill the Nokhud Stormcaster as quickly as possible to end the phase. Here is a good place to use your healing cooldowns.
- Dispel the effect from Conductive Strike as quick as you can. This is a very important dispel!
The Nokhud Offensive Loot Table
Granyth
Type | Item | Stats |
---|---|---|
Cloth Shoulder | Drake Hunter Shoulderpads | Mastery/Vers |
Plate Legs | Drake Hunter's Greaves | Haste/Mastery |
Trinket | Granyth's Enduring Scale | Agi/Str |
Polearm | Quarryslayer Glaive | Str, Vers/Crit |
Mail Wrist | Shikaar Ranger Bracers | Mastery/Haste |
Leather Head | Stoneroot Headdress | Mastery/Haste |
The Raging Tempest
Type | Item | Stats |
---|---|---|
Trinket | Bottle of Spiraling Winds | Haste |
Staff | Staff of Violent Storms | Vers/Mastery |
1H Sword | Strike Twice | Str, Mastery/Crit |
Plate Wrist | Thrashing Wind Vambraces | Mastery/Vers |
Ring | Thunderous Downburst Ring | Vers/Haste |
Teera and Maruuk
Type | Item | Stats |
---|---|---|
Bow | Bow of the First Khanam | Haste/Crit |
Trinket | Furious Ragefeather | Int |
Trinket | Idol of Trampling Hooves | Str |
Trinket | Miniature Singing Stone | Int |
Leather Chest | Tunic of the Eternal Hunt | Haste/Crit |
Neck | Ukhel Ancestry Beads | Mastery/Haste |
Balakar Khan
Type | Item | Stats |
---|---|---|
Cloth Chest | Blessed Ohn'ir Robes | Haste/Vers |
Dagger | Koroleth's Crackling Dagger | Mastery/Haste |
Leather Legs | Legguards of Adamant Rule | Haste/Crit |
Mail Feet | Lightning-Charged Striders | Mastery/Haste |
Plate Shoulder | Nokhud Traditionalist's Pauldrons | Crit/Vers |
Warglaive | Stormslash | Haste/Vers |
The Nokhud Offensive Achievements
There are 9 total achievements to obtain in The Nokhud Offensive:
Achievement | Criteria |
---|---|
The Nokhud Offensive | Defeat Balakar Khan in The Nokhud Offensive |
Heroic: The Nokhud Offensive | Defeat Balakar Khan in The Nokhud Offensive on Heroic difficulty or higher. |
Mythic: The Nokhud Offensive | Defeat Balakar Khan in The Nokhud Offensive on Mythic or Mythic Keystone difficulty. |
Mythic: The Nokhud Offensive Guild Run | Defeat Balakar Khan in The Nokhud Offensive on Mythic difficulty while in a guild group. |
Keystone Hero: The Nokhud Offensive | Complete the Nokhud Offensive at Mythic Level 20 or higher, within the time limit. |
Nokhud Deed Goes Unnoticed | Defeat Balakar Khan after healing Ohn'ahra to full health in The Nokhud Offensive on Mythic difficulty. |
Ohuna Incubation | Deliver eight warm ohuna eggs to Ohuna Keeper Taruk in a single visit to The Nokhud Offensive on Mythic difficulty. |
Weapons of the Maruukai | Defeat Teera and Maruuk while holding while holding the Spear of Tolui, War Axe of Berke, and Bow of Sartaq in The Nokhud Offensive on Mythic difficulty. |
What Are The Chances... | Defeat The Raging Tempest after striking a single player with 5 Lightning Strikes simultaneously and defeating a Storm Elemental in The Nokhud Offensive on Mythic difficulty. |
Changelog
- 23 Apr. 2024: Guide updated for Season 4.
- 25 Nov. 2022: Guide added.
This guide has been written by Petko, one of the top Mythic players of all time. He has accomplished several Europe- and World #1 Team and Solo Seasonal rankings with multiple specialization and classes. Moreover, he competes in the MDI and streams his runs live on Twitch, and shares his personal opinions on YouTube and Twitter.
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