Il'gynoth Raid Boss Strategy Guide

By Wowhead Updated: 2018/07/05

The Emerald NightmareDarkboughNythendraElerethe RenferalUrsocIl'gynothDragons of NightmareCenariusXaviusLoot and RewardsEarly Legion Gearing Guide

Cloth Armor: Celestially Aligned Hood, Clasp of Cosmic Insignificance

Leather Armor: Dreamsculptor's Gloves, Otherworldy Leather Mantle

Mail Armor: Gauntlets of Malevolent Intent, Singular Chain Leggings

Plate Armor: Pauldrons of Shifting Runes, Waistplate of Nameless Horror

Ring: Dreadful Cyclopean Signet

Trinket: Goblet of Nightmarish Ichor, Spontaneous Appendages, Wriggling Sinew

Blood: Gore-Drenched Fetish

Fire: Sloshing Core of Hatred

Frost: Cube of Malice

Holy: Radiating Metallic Shard

Gear and Artifact Recommendation GuidesDeathglare IrisThe Emerald Nightmare: In NightmaresImproving on History

Ranks 1 and 2 for Vantus Rune: Il'gynoth, The Heart of Corruption drop for Scribes

Claw of N'Zoth has a low chance to drop and unlocks a hidden appearance for Shadow Priests

Facing Our FearsCorrupted Egg FragmentThe Emerald Nightmare: Il'gynothCache of Nightmarish Treasures

Accolade of Achievement: 250 LFR

Accolade of Victory: 400 Normal

Accolade of Heroism: 500 Heroic

Accolade of Myth: 600 Mythic

Quick Tips

Tanks:
Dominator Tentacles' and Nightmare Horrors' deal heavy damage.
Nightmare Horrors create pools of - move them to minimize the damage dealt.
Avoid players targeted by .

Healers:
Dominator Tentacles' and Nightmare Horrors' deal heavy damage to Tanks.
Dispel .
Lure Nightmare Ichors that are fixated on you to the Eye of Il'gynoth when they are low on health.
Move away from the raid when affected by .

Damage Dealers:
Move away from the raid when affected by .
Interrupt Deathglare Tentacles' .
Lure Nightmare Ichors that are fixated on you to the Eye of Il'gynoth when they are low on health, and wait to kill them until they are in range of the Eye.
Avoid players targeted by , and move away from other players when targeted by it.

Notable Trash MobsTrash in the Core of the NightmareNythendraLurking Horror

Lurking Horrors will occasionally cast Torturous Leer

If the cast is successful, the Horror will channel Torturous Leer for 10 seconds, dealing Shadow damage to players in front of the Horror every second

Players can interrupt both the cast and channel portions of the spell, preventing or reducing the damage dealt

Tanks should keep Lurking Horrors faced away from the raid, and melee DPS should be careful to stay behind the Horror

Taintheart BefoulerTaintheart TormenterTaintheart Trickster

Befoulers will frequently cast Terror Barrage, firing Shadow bolts at a randomly-chosen target

The Terror Barrage will strike the targeted player and all other players within 10 yards

Healers should be prepared to use AoE and ground-based healing to top the party up after several Terror Barrage casts

It is not worth trying to spread out to avoid splashing Terror Barrage, since the damage is so light

Befoulment

The target is marked with a red arrow as well as a red circle

Befoulment roots the targeted player in place for 15 seconds, and when it expires, deals massive damage split amongst all players within 10 yards

This damage is enough to kill any single player, so the raid should stack inside the Befoulment area of effect to split the damage amongst as many targets as possible

Immunities do not remove the debuff, but can mitigate the damage it deals as it fades

The initial Befoulment cast cannot be interrupted, but stuns and other disruptive abilities may delay the cast

Tormenters will inflict Horrific Mortal Wounds on their tank

This ability deals moderate damage, and debuffs the tank to reduce incoming healing by 10% until healed to full health

The Horrific Mortal Wounds debuff can stack, making it harder to heal up the tank

Tanks should use self-healing abilities to help clear the debuff

Taintheart Tricksters will attack the tanks with Puncture Wound, dealing light periodic damage

This DoT can also stack, and may be dangerous if the tank is also affected by Horrific Mortal Wounds

Horrific Mortal WoundsEssence of Nightmare

Essences of Nightmare periodically cast Lingering Terror, applying Lingering Terror to all players within 10 yards

Lingering Terror can stack, dealing additional damage and slowing the players' movement speed more severely with each stack

Affected players are likely to reach 7 stacks quickly, and will take moderate damage from the DoT

Healers should use ground-based AoE and CDs to heal through the Lingering Terror damage

Ranged players should stay more than 10 yards away from Essences of Nightmare to avoid the debuff

Use AoE stuns and other CC to reduce melee damage on the tanks

Deathroot Ancient

Deathroot Ancients will attack the raid with Devastating Stomp, dealing moderate physical damage to all players within 15 yards

Devastating Stomp damage also stuns affected players for 2 seconds

Devastating Stomp has a long cast time, allowing players to escape its area of effect if they react quickly

Additionally, Deathroot Ancients will breathe a Rotting Gasp at the tank

This deals one burst of moderate damage to all players in front of the Ancient

Tanks should be sure to keep the Ancients facing away from the raid, and melee DPS should be careful not to be in front of the Ancients

Devastating StompLingering TerrorDevastating StompDrake's FuryDrake's WrathDrake's WrathDragons of NightmareElerethe RenferalIl'gynothUrsocTainted BloodpetalNightmare Spores

Nightmare Spores heals all enemy units near the Bloodpetal

It also deals moderate damage to all players near the Bloodpetal every second

The Bloodpetal burrows into the ground and cannot be moved while channeling Nightmare Spores

Nightmare Spores is immune to conventional interrupts, but can be interrupted by CC effects like stuns or knockbacks

Nightmare SporesFlail of Il'gynothSpew Ichor

The Flail will cast Spew Ichor more frequently when it is not being actively tanked

When at least one player steps into melee range of a Flail of Il'gynoth, it will begin to use Wild Flail

Wild Flail will deal light damage to all players within 15 yards of the tentacle and knock them back a short distance

It is easier to heal the melee through Wild Flail if all the melee DPS are on the same Flail of Il'gynoth target

Focus down one Flail while a single tank holds the other Flail to prevent excess Spew Ichor damage

Bo'lan the Marked

Bo'lan will attack the tank with Crush Armor, causing the tank to take 30% additional Physical damage per stack

He will Charge at a random distant target (this can include melee DPS if they are at range, e.g. attacking a Flail of Il'gynoth), stunning them for 2 seconds

Bo'lan will cast Intimidating Roar every 25 seconds, fearing all players within 20 yards when the cast ends

The Fear effect cannot be dispelled and lasts 3 seconds; players should run out to avoid being feared when possible

Il'gynoth Abilities & StrategyIl'gynothFinal TorporPhase 1: The Ruined GroundEye of Il'gynoth

The Eye of Il'gynoth is buffed by Stuff of Nightmares, and takes 99% reduced damage from players

To kill the Eye of Il'gynoth, players must defeat the adds that spawn gradually around the encounter area

Killing these adds will spawn Nightmare Ichor, small slimes that will Fixate on random targets

If a Nightmare Ichor is killed near the Eye of Il'gynoth, its Nightmare Explosion will deal damage directly to the Eye

20 Nightmare Ichor adds in range of the Eye of Il'gynoth

Players who are Fixated by the Nightmare Ichor should kite the Ichor to the Eye

The raid must not kill a Nightmare Ichor until it is within 15 yards of the Eye of Il'gynoth

Death Knights' Death Grip (or Gorefiend's Grasp) ability is excellent for pulling near-dead Nightmare Ichors into position

When the Ichor melees its target it applies a stack of Touch of Corruption, a moderate DoT effect

Healers can dispel Touch of Corruption, but the raid should also slow Ichors to avoid too many stacks of the debuff

Do not stun an Ichor until it reaches the Eye of Il'gynoth!

Nightmare Explosion deals damage to players, as well as the Eye of Il'gynoth; move out of its area of effect

Nightmare Explosion

Dominator Tentacles spawn 4 Nightmare Ichor upon dying

Deathglare Tentacles spawn 2 Nightmare Ichor upon dying

Nightmare Horror spawns 4 Nightmare Ichor upon dying

Corruptor Tentacles spawn 1 Nightmare Ichor upon dying

Dominator Tentacles must be tanked

They repeatedly cast Rupturing Roar if they are not being struck by melee hits

Dominator Tentacles attack tanks with Nightmarish Fury, dealing very heavy damage

Tanks should use Active Mitigation or cooldowns to survive

Each Dominator also targets a random player for Ground Slam, preferring to target a melee DPS that is attacking it

The target is marked by a red arrow, and has 2 seconds to direct the Ground Slam away from other raid members

Ground Slam deals moderate damage to all players in a narrow cone, and knocks them back

Ground SlamGround SlamGround Slam

Deathglare Tentacles do not need to be tanked, as they do not have melee attacks

These tentacles target random non-tank players with Mind Flay, dealing heavy periodic damage

Mind Flay can be interrupted, and these tentacles can be stunned

The raid should attempt to interrupt every cast

Players targeted by Mind Flay should use defensive cooldowns if they are on low health already

Healers should use HoTs and efficient heals to keep the Mind Flay targets on high health

The Nightmare Horror must be tanked, and deals heavy melee damage

Every 10 seconds, the Nightmare Horror casts Eye of Fate, dealing damage to all players in a narrow straight line in front of the Horror

The tank should drag the Nightmare Horror to the wall near the Eye and face it away from the raid

Eye of Fate places the Eye of Fate debuff on players it strikes, increasing damage taken by subsequent Eye of Fate casts by 50% per stack

Tanks must swap on 3 stacks of Eye of Fate, and must use strong mitigation abilities to survive the 3rd Eye of Fate blast

The Nightmare Horror is Seeping Corruption, creating a pool of Nightmare Corruption under its feet every 5 seconds

Nightmare Corruption silences and pacifies any players standing within it, and deals heavy periodic damage

Tanks must move the Nightmare Horror away from large patches of Nightmare Corruption so that melee DPS do not have to stand in it

Nightmare Corruption

Corruptor Tentacles choose random non-tank targets for Spew Corruption

Spew Corruption deals instant, moderate damage to the target and debuffs them for 10 seconds

While debuffed, the player will take moderate damage every 2 seconds, and create a patch of Nightmare Corruption beneath their feet

The patch slowly grows, so players have time to move out of the Nightmare Corruption before it silences/pacifies them

Players targeted by Spew Corruption should move quickly to the outer edges of the area

Drop the Nightmare Corruption pools so they overlap, and stay in range of healers

Use a damage-reduction cooldown if possible

everSpew CorruptionNightmare Corruption

If you have both Spew Corruption and Fixate, do not kite your Ichor to the Eye until Spew Corruption has faded

It is better to be slow and get extra adds before entering the boss chamber than to drop Nightmare Corruption on the raid and risk a wipe

Nightmare Ichors that are in place to damage the Eye of Il'gynoth

Corruptor Tentacles

Deathglare Tentacles

Dominator Tentacles

Nightmare Horror

Mind FlayNightmare Gaze

The Eye chain-casts this spell, which cannot be interrupted

Nightmare Gaze chooses a random non-tank target and deals moderate damage

Healers should respond to this spiky damage quickly to prevent accidental deaths from Nightmare Gaze plus other mechanics

Quickly kill off any remaining adds before entering Il'gynoth's heart chamber

Any Nightmare Ichor that enters the heart chamber will deal heavy Reabsorption damage to the raid

Tentacles or Horrors killed after the chamber is open will not spawn Nightmare Ichor

Phase 2: The Heart of CorruptionDark Reconstitution

This spell has a 50-second cast time

When the cast completes, any player still within the heart chamber is instantly killed

Dark Reconstitution can kill even through immunity effects such as Divine Shield

Players should begin exiting the heart chamber when there are 5 seconds remaining on the Dark Reconstitution cast bar

Use movement-speed boosting effects to be certain players are past the door before the Dark Reconstitution cast completes

Use Bloodlust/Heroism/Time Warp and major DPS cooldowns

Deal as much damage as possible to Il'gynoth during the first Phase 2

There are no enemies to tank, so tanks should focus on dealing as much damage as they can

Cursed Blood

Il'gynoth debuffs six targets with each Cursed Blood cast

The debuffed players will take moderate periodic damage for 8 seconds

When Cursed Blood fades, it detonates, dealing heavy damage to the target and all other players within 11 yards

Players targeted by Cursed Blood should run out to the edges of the chamber and spread out to avoid hitting other players with the detonation

Targets should use defensive cooldowns to mitigate the detonation damage

Healers should use cooldowns if necessary to top the raid back up after the detonations occur

Cursed BloodFinal TorporBloodlustHeroismTime WarpStrategy SummaryEncounter Schedule(Showing minimum required spawns to defeat boss; all times approximate)

Phase 1 Spawn Times

Wave

Time

Add Type

Notes

0:00

Dominator Tentacle

Dodge Ground Slam

0:20

Deathglare Tentacle

Interrupt Mind Flay

1:05

Nightmare Horror

Must be tankedSwap on 3 Eye of Fate

1:30

Corruptor TentacleDeathglare Tentacle

Drop Spew Corruption at edges

2:30-3:00

Deathglare TentacleCorruptor Tentacle

~25 sec after Horror dies,No earlier than 2:30No later than 3:00

Phase 2: Dark Reconstitution (50 sec)

Second Phase 1 Spawn Times