Summary

• Introduced: With patch 2.3.0.
• Location: Southeastern Ghostlands.
• Level: 70.
• Number of players: 10.
• Attunement: None.
• Bosses: 4 Loas – Bear lord Nalorakk; Eagle lord Akil’zon; Dragonhawk lord Jan’alai; and Lynx lord Halazzi.
• Pre-end boss: a Witch Doctor – Hex Lord Malacrass.
• Final boss: Leader of the Amani, Warlord Zul’jin.
• Instance Reset Timer: 3 days.

• Timed Event: See Zul’Aman timed event page.
• Flight Path: Hatchet Hills, a new flight path location immediately outside the instance portal; connected to Light’s Hope Chapel, and for the Horde, to Tranquillien and thus Silvermoon City.

History

Once, forest trolls controlled a vast swath of Lordaeron. Their empire was called Zul’Aman, and the current area known as Zul’Aman was their power center. Many centuries ago, high elves and humans allied to defeat the empire and drove the trolls to near extinction. Now, the tiny area in northeastern Lordaeron is all that remains of the trolls’ continent-spanning empire. In the intervening years, the trolls gave up their imperialist mindset, though they protect their small territory zealously. Warbands patrol the forest, slaying all living (and undead) creatures that are not trolls or natural forest beasts. They worship ancient deities, though whether these deities are the mythic old gods or some strange creation of their voodoo witch doctors is unknown.

Though the trolls’ empire was destroyed in antiquity, they have always controlled the sprawling forest now called Zul’Aman. Their dominion once stretched across the continent, and they threatened the nascent human nations and the fledgling kingdom of Quel’Thalas with extinction. Eventually, the high elves traded arcane knowledge to the humans for help in defeating the trolls, and the two races bludgeoned the forest troll empire. Now Zul’Aman is reduced to its present borders. The trolls have never been content with this setback and have never forgiven the humans or elves for their near genocide. With Lordaeron and Quel’Thalas in ruins, the trolls move out to reclaim their kingdom.

Any trolls encountered try to kill on sight. Explorers need to be careful. Explorers are not totally without allies in Zul’Aman. Several bands of high elves, survivors from Quel’Thalas, fled south and now wander throughout the forest. Those who stay one step ahead of the trolls survive; those who do not are dead (and probably eaten by the cannibalistic trolls). Scourge patrols, hunting the elven refugees, also stalk through the land.

The forest troll kingdom of Zul’Aman is a dark, primal woodland. The trolls’ voodoo energies permeate the climate and ancient, stepped ziggurats rise above the canopy. The forest troll empire once stretched across the continent, and with both Lordaeron and Quel’Thalas in ruins the forest trolls send patrols in all directions to expand their territory and recreate their kingdom. Warlord Jin’zakk commands the trolls, and his witch doctors and shamans provide magic support.

Geography

Primitive forest troll settlements are scattered throughout the zone. Weathered ruins hide among the trees, covered with vines and the dust of ages. Trolls guard treasure and captives, and ancient ruins of indeterminate origins dominate forest clearings. Bands of high elf refugees avoid destruction at troll and undead hands.

Timed Event

Harrison Jones starts an event in which you have predetermined time to kill the bosses in order to successfully continue the event and obtain the extra items. After each boss has been defeated in the allocated time frame, prisoners come out from surrounding cages and will open a bin with bonus items inside. The chests do not need to be opened immediately, and should be left for last in order to save time. As well, each boss will drop an additional Badge of Justice. The most common kill order for time efficiency is Akil’zon, Nalorakk, Jan’alai, and lastly Halazzi.

Walkthrough

Timed Event

The first four bosses in the zone each have a hostage NPC. Upon entering the instance, a timer starts. When it runs out, all remaining hostages are killed. When a hostage is rescued before the timer runs out, it opens a chest with extra loot, and adds some bonus time on the timer. The feeling is quite similar to the infamous 45-minute Stratholme runs ( Dead Man’s Plea) in original WoW. Since the first four bosses can be attempted in any order, there’s some leeway for raids to choose a matching boss depending on competence and group make up.

Nalorakk

Nalorakk, the Bear Lord is the easiest fight in Zul’Aman. He’s a fierce creature the size of a Zul’Gurub berserker with the head of a bear. The encounter is still pretty complex: As the raid makes its way up to the boss’s platform, Nalorakk sends waves of trash mobs to attack the party, the last of which consists of trolls mounted on bears accompanied by two trolls. You cannot initiate combat with Nalorakk until these last four trash mobs are dead. During the fight, Narolakk alternates between his troll form and a bear form.

Akil’zon

The eagle-headed Akil’zon in the north-western corner is the second-easiest boss and most raids attempt him next after killing Nalorakk. This boss sends waves of non-elite eagles against the raid as they engage elite trolls on the way up and fend off elite trolls from the flank (Akil’zon gauntlet). The boss fight requires some attention and skillful maneuvering by the entire raid, but after some learning is rather easy to master.

Jan’alai

Next up: Jan’alai, the Dragonhawk hybrid. The path to him is rather uneventful (when compared to the first two bosses), still packs of fierce trolls and patrols calling for reinforcements offer some challenge. The boss fight itself has an interesting twist. On two pillars, two lairs of dragonhawk eggs are located. If the eggs are smashed, adds spawn from them. During the fight, the boss periodically summons hatchers to smash the eggs. Although it’s tempting to kill the hatchers as soon as they spawn, it’s better not to do so and let them crush some eggs, because when the boss’ health reaches 35%, he spawns all remaining eggs. Besides this, the boss regularly throws a lot of bombs, which the raid has to learn to avoid.

Halazzi

The last of the animal bosses,Halazzi the Lynx Lord, is a very hard-hitting melee/shaman based boss. There’s not a lot of fancy tactics, it’s mostly a gear check for the tank and healers. With Kara/Gruul gear alone, this fight is very difficult, and at least some SSC/TK/ZA gear is recommended.

Hex Lord Malacrass

After the four animal bosses are all defeated, the way to the inner sanctum opens up, leading to Hex Lord Malacrass and the big man himself. Malacrass earned his lofty title by weaving the dark magic that enslaved the animal gods, but alas, his in-game representation is as inert as the lynx and eagle lords’. The trash mob groups leading to him require some skill to master, and the boss himself needs very good interrupts. Besides dealing large amounts of AoE damage to the entire raid, he frequently casts heals which must be interrupted by all means.

Zul’jin

The end boss of the instance is Zul’jin. The fight consists of five phases, while the boss shifts through all of the animal aspects encountered before. Each of the phases requires a different tactic, a key to success is survival — all raid members must learn what to do in each phase. To bring him down is the crowning achievement in any Zul’Aman run, the instance is clear!

Quick Facts

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Patch 3.0.2: Since Lady Katrana Prestor is no longer in game, the attunement is lifted for both factions. As such, it is no longer necessary to have the Drakefire Amulet in your inventory to enter.
Patch 3.2.2: Onyxia’s Lair has been retuned for level 80 players because of World of Warcraft’s 5th birthday.

Lore

Onyxia’s lair is in a volcanic cave in Dustwallow Marsh. The floor of the main cavern is just solid enough that Onyxia can sit on it normally without cracking the floor and revealing the lava below. This is intentional; if seriously threatened, she shatters the floor, exposing the lava to further damage her enemies. She has over one hundred eggs in her clutch, but her mate is unknown.^[4]

Loot

The level 80 version of Onyxia drops headpieces with similar names and models as the Tier 2 ones the original level 60 version had. (The actual Tier 2 headpieces now drop off Nefarian in Blackwing Lair). She also drops a new version of Quel’Serrar since the questline for the original version has been removed from the game. All of these items have been upgraded to reflect Onyxia’s new status as a Tier 9-level boss. There is also an extremely fast mount named Brood of Onyxia that drops off her.

Item levels range between 232 (10-player mode) and 245 (25-player mode).

Patches and hotfixes

• Patch 3.2.2 (2009-09-22): Onyxia’s Lair will be retuned as a 10- and 25-man raid dungeon for level 80 players in honor of the World of Warcraft 5-year anniversary. The same loot will be available (including Tier 2), but stats will be updated to match current content. ^[5]

A new 310% flying mount (Brood of Onyxia) will also be added to her loot table. ^[5]

• Patch 3.0.2 – Onyxia’s Lair attunement was removed as of patch 3.0.2, as well as the attunement questline. Prior to Patch 3.0.2, it was necessary to have the [Drakefire Amulet] either equipped or in your inventory in order to enter. See Onyxia’s Lair Attunement for more information.

Strategy

This is (still) a very simple encounter overall. For strategy videos of both the 10-man and 25-man encounter, look below the loot table on this page.

You ideally want 2 tanks, 2 healers, 3 melee DPS, and 3 ranged DPS for 10 man, and 2 tanks, 5 healers, 8 melee DPS, and 10 ranged DPS for 25 man.

Phase One

The tank should run slightly ahead of the rest of the raid and grab Onyxia, quickly turning her away from the raid and then backing off to the Northern wall, where the tank will position themselves with their back to the wall to minimise the effect of the knockback from Wing Buffet. Only the tank should be in front of Onyxia, to minimize damage from fire breath and cleaving. During phase one, the only damage to the raid should be upon the tank. Ranged DPS and healers need to stay to either side of her, fairly far back. Melee DPS need to stay to either side of her, just within range (which is wider than it looks). If melee DPS is too close to her head, they will be killed by Cleave; if they’re too close to her tail, they will be tail swiped, possibly into the whelps, usually resulting in a wipe.

Phase one ends when Onyxia is reduced to 65% health.

Phase Two

During this phase, Onyxia takes to the air and moves randomly around the room, casting Fireball on raid members. There are three main things to watch out for:

• Onyxian Whelps. At the beginning of this phase, and subsequently about every 90 seconds, 2 packs of whelps will spawn, one from the egg chambers on each side of the room). These whelps should not be underestimated, as they can do considerable damage with all 40 attacking the same target. They should be gathered by the off tank and then killed with AoE attacks.

• Onyxian Lair Guards. After about 15 seconds and subsequently about every 30 seconds, an Onyxian Lair Guard will spawn at the entrance to the room. These need to be tanked with a dedicated healer for the tank. Melee DPS should focus their attention on killing these as fast as possible, as having more than one up at a time can overwhelm a tank. If you aren’t able to kill one before the next one spawns, some ranged DPS may need to assist. Be aware that the guards hit very hard, and have a periodic AoE (Blast Nova 10 yard range) that can easily kill the melee DPS around it if not careful, leaving not enough DPS to kill the Guards quickly enough, and allowing them to overwhelm the raid. This AoE has a cast time, and is easy to run out of if you don’t underestimate its range. Onyxia must be brought down as quickly as possible by ranged DPS, as the Guards will stop coming once phase two ends.

• Deep Breath. At random periods during phase two, Onyxia will emote that she is taking a deep breath. When this happens, note her position, direction and get out of her path. A few seconds after the emote, she’ll fly straight in the direction she’s pointing and leave a trail of massive, fiery damage about 10 yards wide. If in doubt, run all the way to the nearest side of the room or against the wall behind her.

During this phase of the encounter ranged DPS should be focused on bringing Onyxia down to 40% to start phase 3, although they must interrupt this to AoE the packs of whelps. Melee dps should focus on killing the Onyxian Lair Guards.

Phase 3

Onyxia will land on the Southern side of the room and immediately cast Bellowing Roar, causing the raid to run in fear for the next 3 seconds. Finish off whatever adds remain while the tank positions Onyxia. Note that, unlike the level 60 encounter, the tank will have retained aggro on Onyxia from phase 1. It’s advisable to ensure that the tank is unaffected by the initial fear, so that Onyxia can be positioned correctly (fear ward, berserker rage, tremor totem).

Phase 3 is essentially the same as phase one aside from periodic fears, some raid damage from eruption and occasional whelp spawns which are not too dangerous.

Differences from level 60

Onyxia no longer drops threat between phases 1 and 3, and she is no longer immune to fire effects and abilities. Deep Breath is cast more often, and the cast time has been increased. Onyxian Lair Guards now spawn in phase 2, and melee can no longer hit Onyxia in phase 2. Lava eruptions happen during the Bellowing Roar fear, not just after it.

In a Nutshell

• Do not stand behind or in front of her (except tank);
• tank her facing the wall;
• when whelps spawn, quickly gather and nuke them;
• quickly kill any Lair Guards that spawn;
• dots, dots, dots;
• and for the love of god, when she breathes RUN!!!

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To become “attuned” to the Pit of Saron, players are required to complete the quest Echoes of Tortured Souls (Alliance) / (Horde) in the Forge of Souls as part of the Frozen Halls story line quest chain.

Lore

The Pit of Saron, accessible only to those who have laid waste to the Forge of Souls’ unholy operations, will bring Horde and Alliance forces deeper into the Lich King’s domain. Players who venture here will immediately be confronted by the lord of this lair, Scourgelord Tyrannus. But defeating him will not be as easy as it seems. Before they can present a threat to Tyrannus, the adventurers, instructed by their leaders, will need to free enslaved allies who have been trapped by the Scourge. Until that happens, Tyrannus will leave all adversaries to his minions, workers of the citadel’s mines. Perhaps the challenges here will lend clues as to the whereabouts of the Lich King’s private chambers outside of the Frozen Throne, deep within the Halls of Reflection.

Dungeon denizens

Bosses

Forgemaster Garfrost

A master of Scourge weaponry, the forgemaster hauls stocks of saronite ore and other precious materials to the cold forges where the mechanisms of death are born. With a host of rime weapons and exotic alloys at his disposal, it could get cold in here.

Krick and Ick

Zombies serve as mindless muscle in the Pit of Saron’s mines, stockpiling metals for Forgemaster Garfrost, and Krick — a devious leper gnome — supervises the operations from atop Ick, Krick’s ghastly means of transportation.

Scourgelord Tyrannus

Tyrannus is a terrible force who will no doubt demonstrate his powers to those brave enough to enter the Pit of Saron. The scourgelord must die if players hope to make their way into the third and final wing of this dungeon.

Quick Facts

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Attunement

To become attuned and unlock the doors to the Halls of Reflection, players are required to complete the quest Deliverance from the Pit (Alliance) / (Horde) in the Pit of Saron as part of the Frozen Halls story line quest chain. Pit of Saron has its own “attunement” prerequisite quest that must be completed in the Forge of Souls.

Additionally, the new group finder has a minimum required gear score that must be satisfied before you can be queued for the instance. This minimum only applies to groups formed through the Dungeon Finder; any level 80 player may enter directly through the portal.

Lore

With Jaina and Sylvanas leading the way, adventurers who make it as far as these frigid halls will quickly recognize the weapon that lies ahead: Frostmourne, the corruptive, legendary device and weapon of the Lich King himself. The Lich King’s private chambers are within reach, although they may be the death of anyone who ventures there.

Strategy

Halls of Reflection is the hardest heroic 5-man in the game. Most groups will find the most challenging part to be the waves of trash before the first two bosses. The mobs hit very, very hard, and several of them are ranged, making them difficult for tanks to corral.

There are two basic approaches. In one, everyone hides in the alcoves near Falric or Marwyn, thus blocking line of sight and forcing the mobs to run into one area, where they, at least in theory, can be easily tanked. This strategy has two drawbacks. First, packing everyone together leaves the group very susceptible to AoE damage. Second, unless the plan is executed flawlessly, it’s very easy for someone to draw aggro. A stray HoT or buff, or someone not quite fully behind the alcove, can easily lead to a wipe.

The other approach fights in the open. Players must dust off long-neglected crowd control abilities. Shackle Undead, Entangling Roots, Repentance, Turn Evil, Frost Trap are all very useful. Silencing casters and using Misdirection or Tricks of the Trade on melee mobs will help the tank hold aggro. Everyone who can interrupt spells should do so. Mindlessly maximizing DPS will lead to wipes – intelligently controlling the mobs will lead to victory.

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Notable Loot

All bosses in Trial of the Crusader drop 3 Emblem of Triumph, to compensate for the low number of bosses (only 5). Bosses in 10-player (Heroic) and 25-player (Normal and Heroic) drop Trophy of the Crusade, which can be used to purchase Tier 9 armor pieces.

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People and culture

This is the Drakkari capital, the only large city in Zul’Drak and the home to the Drakkari Frost King. It is a massive place, with thick walls, tall guard towers and heavy gates. Inside, the buildings are tiered and covered in steps, and wind about one another like a nest of small animals, each fitting into the next. The architecture here is almost identical to that of Zuldazar, in the South Seas. The Drakkari are crude and violent, but there is a modicum of organization in the city. Women and whelps handle most of the cleaning, food preparation and clothing needs. Those unfit for battle do manual labor or simple crafts. Many of the buildings have rough carvings along their walls, and war trophies are interspersed with furs. Chores are handled quickly and efficiently to make time for drinking, eating and combat. Warriors fight frequently, from mere wrestling matches to armed death duels, and brawls occur at every meal. Rather than stop this, the Frost King uses these conflicts to gauge the strength of his warriors, selecting the victors for favored missions. Of course, the Drakkari do not welcome visitors — at least, not as guests. Sometimes, a warrior who has demonstrated his strength may be invited to dine with the Drakkari and his safety is then guaranteed until the end of the meal. After that, however, he may find himself a target of the assembled tribes. Trolls are unpredictable, though, so an adventurer attempting this tactic may find himself part of the meal. The best way to enter Gundrak is by slipping in unnoticed. Sometimes the Drakkari are too busy fighting and drinking to look down.

Inside the Instance

After killing Eck the Ferocious, what most people don’t know is that the body of water that he come from is actually a passage. It requires swimming through the water to go to the next location (the final boss). Also, this path skips the few mobs back at around the outside of the secret entrance.

It is only recommended that you use this pathway if you’re a Druid with Aquatic Form, as the swim will take no time at all and you’ll be there very fast. It’s not a vast maze, its easy to find your way, because there’s only one path: just walk into the water and swim straight.

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The fight against Malygos is comparable to the fight against Onyxia in that he is a solo raid boss housed within his own instance. To summon him with in EoE, you will need at least one member of the raid to have the Key to the Focusing Iris or Heroic Key to the Focusing Iris, which drop from Sapphiron in Naxxramas (on normal and heroic, respectively) at a 100% rate. The Heroic Key can summon Malygos in both the 10-man and 25-man versions of EoE.

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Encounters and loot

The bosses of the Vault of Archavon drop a random assortment of gear in a similar style as classic World of Warcraft before the expansions. Class specific pieces can drop for both the PvE and PvP sets. The loot can be all PvP, PvE, or a mix of the two. The loot is completely random and is not impacted by the raid makeup, so it is advantageous to bring a variety of class/spec makeups to increase the likelihood that someone can actually use the drops.

It should be noted that the PvP gear cannot be disenchanted but the PvE can. It should also be noted that should a group to wipe, depending on how long it takes to get the group reassembled some members may be flagged for PvP while others are not. This is because the watchers are all PvP flagged, having all members manually flag will prevent members from accidentally not having certain buffs when the fights start.

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The World Tree

Players will be able to enter Hyjal by way of Moonglade, to take on a series of high-stakes quests in a historic location alongside some of Azeroth’s most renowned heroes. With a longstanding rivalry among the night elf leadership threatening to undermine the campaign against Deathwing, players will quickly discover the task of defending Nordrassil is more daunting than they had anticipated. In order to succeed, they must seek out the help of extremely powerful allies: the Ancients.

The Ancients

To protect Nordrassil and heal the devastation the invading fire elementals are causing across Mount Hyjal, players must first recapture the shrine of the wolf god Goldrinn. The ogres surrounding the shrine will not leave peacefully, but seizing the shrine will allow players their first opportunity to infiltrate the Firelands and shut down a key Twilight portal, slowing the advance of the nearby Twilight’s Hammer in Hyjal.
With the first portal dismantled, players will soon be sought by the wilderness spirit Aessina to assist in cleansing and healing the nearby forest, ultimately returning the land to its former splendor. This small victory, however, isn’t enough to deter the Twilight Remnants from attempting to scorch the forest once more. As you struggle to keep these foes at bay, you’ll also need to help the Guardians of Hyjal — a new neutral faction of druids and worshippers of the Ancients — repopulate the forest with animal life. It’s even rumored that Malorne has been spotted in the wilderness. Perhaps further investigation is necessary….
Amid the chaos, the Druids of the Talon will need players’ assistance to resurrect the goddess of winged creatures. Players begin the process by helping to slay a group of black dragons and closing a second Firelands portal from within. Just when you think things might be heating up, you’ll need to fight through a burning night elf town to shut down the third and final portal with the assistance of the turtle god Tortollus.

Darkwhisper Gorge

Your successes in Hyjal will ultimately lead you to the assembly of the Ancients, who have set a plan in motion to bring a powerful ally and demigod back into this realm. Before that can happen, however, you will need to infiltrate Darkwhisper Gorge disguised as a follower of the Twilight’s Hammer, acting quickly to sow discord within the entrenched faction, weakening it for the coming struggle. Only time will tell if the Ancients’ plan is a success — but you’ll need to do your part if there’s any hope of saving Mount Hyjal from the twilight dragons, Ragnaros, and his minions of the Elemental Plane.

Firelands

More information on this all-new level-85 raid dungeon is coming soon.



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Serving as the first wing in this expansive dungeon, the Forge of Souls will quickly put players to the test of carving through the Scourge stronghold into deeper, more treacherous locations. Jaina will command Alliance forces, and Sylvanas will direct Horde forces. The goal is to ruin the twisted engines known as soul grinders found in this portion of the citadel, and then players can advance — that is, if the Horde and Alliance forces can overcome the foes who confront them.

Bosses

Bronjahm, the Godfather of Souls
An instrument of reckoning, Bronjahm watches over the engines in the Forge of Souls. He must be killed if the soul grinders are to be destroyed.

The Devourer of Souls
As the chief operator of the engines found in this wing, the Devourer stands guard over the souls stolen by the Lich King.

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