Shadow Priests and Naxx 25 (Part 2)

The long awaited (or maybe not) second part to my ongoing series of raid strategies for Shadow Priests. Continuing now with the Arachnid wing of Naxxramas.

Anub'Rekhan (or, aaaah! beeeeeeees!)
This guy is a big crustacean-looking vampire-ish thing (he can't wait to drink your blood). I'm not even going to go into the strategy really, because all you do is deal damage. First you damage the boss, then you damage the Crypt Guards he summons, then you damage the boss again. You do all of this from the center of the room; a nice convenient circle where everyone (except melee and tanks) stands. Things to remember:

• Occasionally, you will be launched into the air. Just ignore this and resume casting as soon as you are back on the ground.
• People will probably be saying things in vent about swarms, healing tanks, and kiting, but really you can just turn your little bod in one spot and dps most of the time. If you have the mind flay glyph you may not even have to move back and forth in the circle.
• He drops between 3 and 5 things you might want, so pay attention to the loot.

Grand Widow Faerlina (or, just say NO to religious fanaticism)
I just love the story behind this creepy lady. She's the only humanoid boss in the wing, and she appears to be leading an induction ceremony of some sort when you first come into the room. There are two ways to do this fight as a shadow priest, and which you do depends largely upon your group's gear level. If you're stepping into the room with mostly Ulduar-ready people, you will just kill the followers and Faerlina straight out. DPS fight all the way. You don't have to care about her abilities or anything. If, however, you are going with a less-geared group, you'll want to follow this strategy:

1. At the beginning of the fight, you need to go stand close to the Worshippers, at least in Mind Control range.
   
2. When Faerlina goes into a Frenzy after 50 seconds (you can do some DPS if you are close enough), Mind Control one of the Naxxramas Worshippers. NOTE: Do not try to Mind Control the Followers, as they are dumb and useless. Faerlina enrages, and the Worshippers calm her down by giving her a hug and telling her she is a pretty princess pants.
3. If fire starts raining from the sky, move your cutie patootie.
   
4. Calling things by pet names is a good way to both alleviate stress and annoy your guildies.
   

There are 4 worshippers, so you will potentially have to MC 4 times. If you have to MC 4 times, you are probably going to wipe anyway. After doing this strat with your guild a few times, you should just be able to burn down Faerlina and not even bother with the MC.

Maexxna (or, Oh what a Tangled Web we Weave)
The final boss in the spider wing of Naxxramas is a giant spider named Maexxna. This fight will test your attention span. It's very simple from the priest's perspective, but you do have to pay attention.

Basically all you have to do is DPS mister spider and watch for Web Wrap. Basically, Maexxna sends a couple of people flying to the back wall and wraps them in...you guessed it...a web cocoon. Your job (if your raid leader assigns you) is to destroy the web wrap before it kills your raid buddy. I find that 2 Mind Flays and a SW:D take care of it nicely. There will be up to 3 of these all the time. Other ranged should be helping, but kill as fast as you can.

That's about it for this week's installment on Shadow Priesting in Naxx25. I do hope you've gotten something out of it. Now, wish me luck as I try to tackle the real world problem of fixing the computer that feeds my WoW habit. Toodles!

Two Drakes, One Onyxia Clone.

Having never seen the original "two girls, one cup" nonsense, I don't mind bringing up the disgusting image for you all.

Last night, the mighty 25 downed Sartharion with two drakes. I feel a little bad. Sarthypoo was just doing his job, protecting his brood's eggs, and we had to come in and get all up in his ugly face. "What? You wanna go? We'll go right now, beeyatch!" Right! So he didn't drop ANYTHING I cared about, which was sad, because the more I see the pieces I want, the less competition I'll eventually have for them!

The good news is that it was the first 25-man I'd run since the 3.0.8 patch, and I'd like to report that I popped in at number 2 in the overall WWS, and number 5 on the final kill (neither WWS counted time in the Twilight Portals killing Vesperon's minions). I finally broke the 3k dps barrier (on the kill, at least)! Next up: breaknig 4k. Just a few more gear upgrades and I'm good. Still need a better ring, and still need new bracers. Could use the valor token shoulders and gloves, too. (I won the gloves, but accidentally got the healing set piece...ticket's still open.) I wonder just a little bit if my increased dps has anything to do with blizzard fixing Mind Flay. "Mind Flay: Fixed a bug with targeting where you would not deal damage if not facing the target while channeling. Also corrected an issue where the damage from this ability was slightly delayed." Any theorynerds (looove youuu!) want to weigh in on that?

I also learned a little something about what I call "running dps," or doing damage while getting into/changing position for a boss fight. I've posted previously about spell rotation and what I use, but in light of the new patch, I've updated it slightly. Luckily, the updated initial cast sequence allows for changes during running dps fights. This is what I used last night:

DP > SW:P > SW:D > VT > MF(1tick) > MB

For "run in and stand still" fights, it's:

VT > DP > SW:P > SW:D > MF(1tick) > MB

Based on the latest theorycrafting threads I've seen, you benefit more from MB with 5 stacks of weaving than you do from SW:P with 5 stacks of weaving. I'll get to all that when I finish my series on Shadow Priest Spells. As for what to do when you finish the initial rotation, well, just do what you normally do, except you might need to use SW:D a little more frequently while you're running to and from portals and lava walls.

Stay tuned next time for the next Shadow Priest spell!

I Am Perplexed...

Last night, our guild cleared Naxx25 in 4 hours. Recount told me I kicked ass and took names.

Recount is apparently a liar, because the WWS for the evening placed the other shadow priest MUCH higher, and placed me at just barely out-damaging the tanks. I just don't understand. The only stats she has that are higher than mine are Hit (she's way over the cap) and Mana Regen. Her gear is good, but so is mine now. I just have to hope that the new pieces of gear I picked up this week will help.

• Cincture of Polarity - Great +hit belt. Added a belt buckle and +16 spellpower gem
• Heigan's Putrid Vestments - More +hit. Need to enchant. I love the name of this though. Puuuutriiiid
• Leggings of Atrophy - Another great name. More +hit. STILL NOT FREAKING CAPPED. Waiting on a tailor to make my pantschant.
• Gothik's Cowl - Got this piece on Monday. Best hat I can probably get for now, and I got it for cheaps.
• Mantle of the Corrupted - Still more +hit, still not capped. Reeeally tryin here. There are a few better shoulder pieces, but I need the +hit.

Otherwise, I have NO idea what I'm doing wrong, and there's really no one to tell me in my guild. The other two shadow priests are... how do you say... unhelpful. I've turned to the theorycraft geniuses at shadowpriest.com, as I'm not very good at it. But seriously. By all accounts, hit for spriests is pretty broken right now, and some report seeing no misses on bosses after 157 hit or so. I just... ugh! I dunno what else to try. My life as a shadow priest is very much a roller coaster with the extremes of frustration and happiness.

Shadow Priests and Naxx 25 (Part 1)

Last night, I was pulled in randomly to a Naxx25 raid already in progress the SECOND I logged on. I was still technically holy specced after my aforementioned heroics on Saturday, so I had to speed over to IF and unlearn all my talents! Thank goodness they don't make you spend the gold to re-train every level of a spell anymore. Here's the Shadow Priest Boss Strategy I came up with from my limited encounters last night. Correct me if I'm wrong. Always. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Instructor Razuvious (or, MC duty for dummies)
This is incredibly easy for a Shadow Priest. It's all about timing of cooldowns, and if it's one thing we know a heck of a lot about, it's cooldowns. Typically you and one other priest will be chosen to Mind Control a Death Knight Understudy. If you are not chosen for this task, remind your raid leader of your affinity for watching cooldown timers, and the fact that, as a shadow priest, you have PLENTY of +hit to ensure your MC does not miss on the level 82 mob. You have to be absolutely on top of your game or this could be disastrous. Here are the steps for supaa victoly:

1. Mind soothe your intended victim. Scoot down the ramp a bit until Mind Control is no longer out of range. Stay off to the Left or Right side of the ramp, depending on your intended target.
   
2. When the raid leader says GO, you hit the Mind Control buttan. Make sure ze buttan is easy to see, as you'll be needing it again fairly soon. From here on out, timing is everything.
   
3. If you're not the first one to tank Razuvious, wait until your Priestly Partner calls out for you before you start on step 4. If you're the first to tank, go to step 4 immediately after you MC the understudy.
4. There are 3 ability buttons (buttans) on your new minion. Unless you have screwed with your bar addons like I have, they will correspond to hotkeys. Press them in the following order:
• Press 6 on the keyboard - Bone Barrier will reduce your mob's damage taken by 75% for 20 seconds. If you do not do this FIRST, your mob will die, you will die, and your raid will run away screaming.
• Press 5 on the keyboard - Taunt, like the warrior ability of the same name, will cause your mob to tell Razuvious a "yo momma" joke, and thus pull aggro. Do this VERY FAST, as Razuvious will start attacking the raid otherwise. There is a 20 second cooldown. REMEMBER THIS NUMBER.
• Press 4 on the keyboard - Blood Strike. Instant melee attack that your minion uses on Razuvious. Mash this when the 4 second cooldown is up. You'll use this approximately 4 to 6 times before you must taunt again.
5. Once you have finished the initial 6, 5, 44444, 6, 5, 44444 rotation, your Mind Control will need to be refreshed. You can watch the cooldown if you like, but the absolute rule to follow is use Taunt twice, then redo Mind Control. Quickly right click MC on your Buffs area (I use CTMods for buff tracking) or just hit the MC button on your button bar to let go of the mob, then immediately (IMMEDIATELY!!) pick it up again.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until Razuvious dies. Whoever is closest to losing MC should then release his or her understudy and let the raid kill it. Then release yours if you have not already, and help your friends kill it.
   
7. Profit.

If, for some reason, you're not tasked with MC duty, Just kill Razuvious and the non-MC'd understudies as hard as you can, and maybe throw up VE to help with healing top-offs, as healers will be stretched thin if your raid decided to use two healers to do MCs. If your raid insists on using healing priests, you might want to make sure your +hit is high enough.

Gothik the Harvester (or, DoTs? We don't need no stinkin' DoTs!)
When you enter the room, you'll see Gothik standing up on a platform on the opposite wall, and a gate next to the entrance with prison bars dividing the room. You will be assigned to either the left or the right side. The left side is the Living side; the right side is Undead. When the encounter begins, the gate will close. It is a dps race after that.

There really aren't many steps to this one. You are a DPS monkey. Not pulling aggro from the tanks is the tricky part in phase one. There are 3 types of mobs. They spawn first on the left. Once killed, their spirits go to the right side, where the other group has to kill them. It goes back and forth for awhile.

1. Unrelenting/Spectral Trainees - These are nonelites. Just target and mindsear on the first wave. After that, just use Mind Flay when you see one. You will kill 24 in all.
   
2. Unrelenting/Spectral Death Knights - Elites that cannot be CCd. VT + DP + MF is all I really had time to do. They go down fast with focused DPS. You CAN use Mind sear, but be very careful, as it's easy to pull aggro.
3. Unrelenting/Spectral Riders - Super tough elites. On the living side, you must only kill one at a time. Do NOT pull aggro, or you will die. I recommend just tossing some DoTs and concentrating on the other mobs.

Throughout phase 1, it is a dps and healing race to keep everyone alive. There are many mobs at once, and you have to be careful on the Living side that you don't overwhelm the Dead side with too many elites at once. There are usually only 2 tanks per side. Phase 2 is easy peasy. Gothik will come down to the living side. You will hit him with DoTs, and MB/MF until he teleports to the other side. Eventually, for phase 3, the gate is opened and it's just Tank n Spank to the end. Just do your normal routine in this phase.

Four Horsemen (or, Just let me hit play on Yakity Sax)
This fight is very simple, and doesn't really require bullets or list points, but since I like indented text, here you go.

1. Four tanks will drag each of the four horsemen to a different corner. You, the Shadow Priest, will stack (for the love of god, please stack) with the other casters and pull out all the stops on your assigned Miniboss (generally Kor'Thazz or Rivendare first). Our group generally sticks casters on Thane Kor'Thazz's side.
2. Do some damage. Make these wussies cry.
   
3. Every 3 marks (see the WoWWiki article to find out specifics), the tanks on Kor'Thazz and Rivendare will need to taunt the bosses off each other. There are two strategies you may follow, but generally your half of the DPS will either run with the tank, or wait for a meteor and stay put. Many times, this part is chaotic. Just keep damaging, trust your tank, and stay in a stack, and you will be fine.
4. Once the first two are down, you'll go do DPS on the last two. Blaumeux does a void zone thing. Stay out of those. While on Zeliek, just stay spread out. You will need to pay attention and switch sides every 3 marks until the bosses are dead, just like on the first two.
   
5. Profit.
   

Edit: Added Four Horsemen strategy. Toodles!

Training Dummy Tested, Malygos Approved

So last night our guild did its first official Malygos Heroic run. Talk about the worst DPS benchmark ever. Fortunately, it is a very good test of a Shadow Priest's mettle as a raider. It's also a great chance to show your guild that you're ready for anything, especially if they pull you in as an "oh I GUESS we can take you since our warlock had to leave" substitute. *cough*notbitter*cough*

Phase 1 is simple enough, but you'll have to be on the ball. I started the fight mostly the same, except I popped IF - trinkets -MB immediately after I got 5 stacks of Shadow Weaving (SW). Since phase 1 involves parts where you can only cast instant spells, I tried to stretch out my DoT timers so that they would be just fading by the time I got launched into the air. I also cast VE, PW:S and Dispersion (when possible) to soften the damage from the vortex and help the healers out.

Phase 2 is tricky, because you have to do a lot of running around. We had 4 melee dps on the discs first (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go here), and after that it was a free for all. I snagged one and managed to hit number 5 on my recount for that fight. Normally I hovered around 7 or 8. TIP: Get on a flying disc as soon as you are permitted, IF you are permitted.

Phase 3...boy, you don't even know. Neither do I. I'm pretty sure your stats won't matter at ALL. We only survived this part for about 30 seconds, so I have no tips at all.

One of the officers posted a WWS sheet for the attempts, but for some reason I'm number 10 overall on his list. Clearly I don't have it down quite yet, but by golly, I was better than the mages, and that makes me smile. See you after the holidays.