This site makes extensive use of JavaScript.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser.
Live
PTR
10.2.7
PTR
10.2.6
Beta
Blood Death Knight Encounter Tips
By Llarold
Last Updated:
2018/06/21
Changelog
Patch: 10.2.6
Rating: 3.7/5
(
5
Votes)
Guide Navigation
Rating: 3.7/5
(
5
Votes)
The World of Warcraft Legion Blood Death Knight Encounter Tips page discusses Blood-specific strategies to help deal with raid boss mechanics. This guide is written by
Llarold
, who
creates videos on Youtube
and
streams on Twitch
. He also authors the
Protection Warrior Guide
.
Mythic+ Tips
First off, here are some general things to keep in mind when tanking dungeon content:
Maintain
Bone Shield
when tanking packs of mobs.
Don't be afraid to use your defensive cooldowns to stay alive. They're of no use once you're dead!
Dancing Rune Weapon
is a great all-purpose offense/defense cooldown when tanking packs of mobs.
Practice makes perfect. Don't be afraid to learn from your mistakes,
that's the path to improvement!
How you approach pulls and cooldown management is determined by the week's affixes. Here are a few affix-specific suggestions:
Bursting
deals Shadow damage, making
Anti-Magic Shell
a huge mitigation tool.
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
make
Sanguine
almost meaningless.
Necrotic
can get pretty nasty once it stacks up high. The slow from
Tightening Grasp
can help you kite to reset stacks, and
Acherus Drapes
make
Anti-Magic Shell
into a near-guaranteed Necrotic reset.
For
Skittish
, try to maximize your damage output at all times, and use
Dark Command
and
Death Grip
aggressively to regain threat on lost targets.
Antorus, the Burning Throne
Talent recommendations are just that, recommendations. You may need to change one or more talents depending on the encounter, your gear, group, and skill level.
Fel Bombardment
serves as the tank swap mechanic. Taunt when the other tank is affected by it, and run away from the boss when you are affected by it. There is a roughly 5-second countdown before Garothi Warbreaker begins firing at you. Use that time to gain some distance! The projectiles have travel time, so the further you are away from the boss, the more time you have to dodge. As long as you're roughly 30 yards away and run in a large circle, you should not be hit.
Anti-Magic Shell
will greatly reduce your damage taken should you choose to help soak
Annihilation
.
Always keep the Hounds more than 40 yards apart!
Anti-Magic Shell
greatly reduces damage taken from
Burning Maw
and
Corrupting Maw
.
Anti-Magic Shell
cannot
prevent the fear from
Weight of Darkness
. You will need raid members to stack on you for it!
Swap back and forth with your co-tank to reset stacks of
Exploit Weakness
. Swap at 2 stacks (3 if needed).
Position the active boss next to
Felshield Emitter
for
Fusillade
casts.
Maintain threat on adds whenever General Erodus is not the active boss, and use
Death Grip
to pull adds back into melee range as you can.
Position the active boss to help melee avoid stepping on
Entropic Mine
.
Move Portal Keeper out of
Collapsing World
. Try to tank her on the opposite side of the platform from active portals so that if the portal group comes down during
Collapsing World
, they are not landing in it!
Reality Tear
is the taunt swap mechanic.
Anti-Magic Shell
can reduce damage from it significantly. Taunt Hasabel when it falls off.
Pick up adds as they spawn from
Transport Portal
, and keep Hasabel near the portal so DPS can AoE easily.
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
are great for maximizing the raid's AoE DPS!
Dodge
Felstorm Barrage
, and position Hasabel so that melee can DPS without being hit by it!
Fel-Infused Destructor
are the tank adds in this fight. Hold threat on them, and interrupt their
Artillery Strike
casts.
Slow adds and do as much damage as you can.
Use
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
to stack up packs of adds in order to help the raid AoE.
Sever
and
Shock Lance
are the tank swap mechanics. Taunt the boss when they fall off.
Make sure you are out of range of players with
Sleep Canister
. Don't get slept!
Avoid being hit by
Charged Blasts
during phase 2.
Avoid triggering traps, and position the boss during phase 2 so that melee can dps without triggering traps as well.
During phase 1, make sure you are not within 5 yards of any other players.
Forging Strike
is the tank swap mechanic. Taunt when your debuff falls off, roughly every 2 stacks.
Help soak
Diabolic Bomb
away from the raid. Use
Anti-Magic Shell
to reduce the damage.
While adds are active, position them so DPS can cleave them and the boss.
Help soak damage from
Demolish
and
Annihilation
when the corresponding adds are active.
Never move more than 8 yards from your co-tank.
Shadow Strike
is the tank swap mechanic. Taunt immediately when it hits your co-tank!
Keep Varimathras stationary throughout the encounter, and do not get hit by any mechanics other than
Shadow Strike
.
Keep the active bosses at least 18 yards apart at all times, or they cannot be damaged due to
Shivan Pact
!
Flashfreeze
and
Fiery Strike
are the taunt swap mechanics. Taunt when your debuff falls off, around 5 stacks.
Anti-Magic Shell
is a great damage reduction cooldown for both of these.
Face Noura away from the group to avoid hitting them with
Fiery Strike
.
Sidestep Asara's
Shadow Blades
casts and dodge
Whirling Saber
.
Position the bosses so they can be damaged by melee during
Storm of Darkness
.
Remain within close range of your co-tank to split damage from
Taeshalach's Reach
.
Taeshalach's Reach
is the tank swap mechanic, taunt when it falls off (around roughly 6-8 stacks).
Taeshalach Technique
is a coordinated Taunt swap mechanic.
Foe Breaker
deals massive damage to everyone hit and debuffs them, making them take 500% more from subsequent hits. This should only hit one tank per cast. Use a defensive cooldown to prevent death!
Flame Rend
splits its damage evenly among everyone hit. This should hit the entire raid.
Anti-Magic Shell
is a perfect defensive cooldown for this ability.
Searing Tempest
is a massive AoE damage spell that forces the raid to run away from Aggramar until it is finished.
When Aggramar performs the
Taeshalach Technique
, he will cast
Foe Breaker
, then
Flame Rend
, then
Foe Breaker
again, then
Flame Rend
again, and end with
Searing Tempest
.
The first tank can take the first
Foe Breaker
and
Flame Rend
, then the second tank can take the second
Foe Breaker
and
Flame Rend
. So long as the
Foe Breaker
casts never hit one tank twice and never hit any non-tank raid members, and
Flame Rend
is split across the raid each time, everything will be fine.
It's a bit complicated to describe, but easy to handle in practice!
During the intermissions, keep
Flame of Taeshalach
at least 15 yards away from each other and the other adds.
Sweeping Scythe
is the tank swap mechanic. Avoid getting cleaved when you are not actively tanking, and never cleave the raid!
If you are marked with a
Sky and Sea
orb, try to position it toward the melee DPS if you are not actively tanking.
During Phase 2, if you have the
Avatar of Aggramar
buff, move to players with
Soulbomb
and soak it so they don't die.
During Phase 3, tank the
Sword of the Cosmos
at least 20 yards away from other adds. The middle of the room is a good place to start.
Tank the
Blades of the Eternal
add near other adds so it can be cleaved down.
Help interrupt
Cosmic Beacon
.
During Phase 4, Release Spirit immediately, and quickly move to the Tree so that you can pick up the boss and DPS can start doing work.
Death is now the tank swap mechanic. Tank the boss until
Sweeping Scythe
kills you, and continue to avoid cleaving the raid.
When you die, pick up as many
Mote of Titanic Power
as you can before rezzing to keep working on the boss.
Tomb of Sargeras
Anti-Magic Shell
is excellent at reducing damage from
Burning Armor
. This is the best spot to use it.
Be sure never to
Confess
at the same time as your co-tank, or the raid will have no tank for Atrigan!
Pulling Atrigan toward Belac can help your DPS cleave both targets, but be sure to pull them apart before Belac casts
Fel Squall
, and keep them apart until Atrigan is finished with
Bone Saw
.
Move out of melee range and do not attack Atrigan while he is casting
Bone Saw
.
When your healers are confessing is a good time to use defensive cooldowns.
Trade threat with your co-tank to reset stacks of
Jagged Abrasion
.
Move Harjatan out of
Drenching Waters
so that your raid has a safe place to stand.
Turn Harjatan toward the raid to split damage from
Unchecked Rage
.
Pick up adds and tank them near Harjatan so that your DPS can cleave them down.
Dodge pools during
Draw In
.
Trade threat with your co-tank when
Burden of Pain
goes out to avoid demolishing your raid. This is also a great time to use
Anti-Magic Shell
.
The
Burden of Pain
tank should pick up Abyss Stalkers, as their hits deal Shadow damage.
Move Sassz'ine out of
Concealing Murk
,
Thundering Shock
, and
Crashing Wave
immediately
.
Do not get near Sarukel, or he will eat you (
Devour Whole
).
Stand behind
Concealing Murk
to avoid
Slicing Tornado
.
Keep the boss near the center of the room during the majority of the fight. Change sides of the room to reset your
Umbra Suffusion
or
Lunar Suffusion
stacks as needed, but try to avoid making the melee run around the room to chase the boss.
Crossing from one side of the room (indicated by the color on the ground) triggers
Astral Purge
, resetting
Umbra Suffusion
or
Lunar Suffusion
.
Dodge the
Twilight Glaive
.
During phase 1, both tanks should split
Moon Glaive
, along with a sturdy melee DPS if needed. Taunt swap after
Moon Glaive
is cast so the first tank can clear the healing debuff without having to run the boss around the room.
During phase 2, tank the Moontalon Owl near Captain Moonstrike.
During phase 3, alternate threat on Priestess Lunaspyre to reset stacks of
Lunar Fire
Whether tanking in Spirit or Corporeal realm, try to maintain threat on all adds in your realm, and keep them stacked up near the front, slightly off-center of the platform.
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
are helpful for gathering adds to maximize DPS. If you are tanking Spirit realm, use
Gorefiend's Grasp
immediately on the pull (it should be your first spellcast!) to help your DPS cleave.
If tanking in Spirit realm, use
Anti-Magic Shell
to reduce damage from
Crush Mind
.
Below 30% health, the Corporeal tank should pick up The Desolate Host initially. The Spirit and Corporeal tanks should tank The Desolate Host back and forth as he alternates casting
Sundering Doom
and
Doomed Sundering
.
Anti-Magic Shell
is good for mitigating that damage.
When affected by
Infusion
, move to the designated side of the room.
Maiden alternates between casting
Hammer of Creation
and
Hammer of Obliteration
(she always starts with
Hammer of Creation
). Taunt as needed, and use
Anti-Magic Shell
and other cooldowns (as needed) to reduce the damage.
Help soak matching
Essence Fragments
during phase 2.
Throughout the fight, swap the boss after 2 stacks of
Desolate
. Use cooldowns to mitigate the hit from the second
Desolate
.
During Phase 1, the tank not actively tanking Fallen Avatar needs to tank Maiden of Valor, and position her to intercept energy beams from the Containment Pylons.
During Phase 1, dodge
Shadowy Blades
, move to avoid damage from
Unbound Chaos
, and run away from Fallen Avatar to reduce damage from
Rupture Realities
.
During Phase 2, use
Wraith Walk
to get away and avoid falling into lava.
Use defensive cooldowns as needed to reduce the damage taken from
Felclaws
. Avoid cleaving the raid!
Taunt swap immediately after reaching 5 stacks of
Felclaws
, as the next melee hit (and all subsequent hits for 25 seconds) will deal 250% extra damage.
Position yourself to avoid being knocked off the platform when
Rupturing Singularity
lands.
Help soak small
Armageddon Blast
as you are able.
You can soak
Armageddon Hail
with defensive cooldowns, but players with immunity effects are generally better suited unless you no longer need your defensive cooldowns to comfortably tank the boss.
The Nighthold
Skorpyron
Anti-Magic Shell
is excellent at reducing damage from
Arcanoslash
. Use it liberally!
Use
Gorefiend's Grasp
to help gather adds for DPS to cleave them down.
Chronomatic Anomaly
Anti-Magic Shell
is excellent at reducing damage from
Chronometric Particles
. Use it liberally, and be sure to taunt swap or kill the boss before reaching 10 stacks.
Trilliax
Anti-Magic Shell
is excellent at reducing damage from
Arcane Slash
. Use when you already have a stack of the debuff, and be sure to swap threat with your co-tank upon reaching two stacks.
Wraith Walk
can help with traveling to pick up
Toxic Slice
.
Spellblade Aluriel
Annihilate
is her most dangerous ability. Save your defensive cooldowns for it, especially once you are already debuffed.
Star Augur Etraeus
Star Augur deals no physical damage, and his add during phase 3 only autoattacks for a modest amount.
Anti-Magic Shell
can be helpful when things get dicey.
Wraith Walk
is helpful for quickly traveling around the room to spread out or stack up (depending on phase).
High Botanist Tel'arn
Tel'arn's
Recursive Strikes
is most dangerous when at high stacks, so use cooldowns to mitigate the damage once your co-tank taunts off of you.
Krosus
Krosus is more dangerous after tank swaps due to
Searing Brand
. Use
Anti-Magic Shell
and cooldowns to mitigate the damage leading up to taunt swaps, and self-healing tools once the swap has occurred.
Wraith Walk
is helpful for quickly getting off the current section of bridge before Krosus breaks it away.
Tichondrius
Most groups have no trouble killing
Feast of Blood
adds while they are tanked near the boss at this point. If you need, you can kite them away to reduce their self-healing.
Elisande
Anti-Magic Shell
is excellent at reducing damage from the many, many sources of spell damage in this encounter. You know what to do!
Whenever possible, tank Elisande and the adds near each other so that your DPS can cleave both targets.
Move Elisande and adds out of Slow bubbles so that your melee do not get debuffed trying to reach them!
Gul'dan
Can
Anti-Magic Shell
reduce damage from
Fel Scythe
? Yes, it can!
Gul'dan will chain-cast
Fel Scythe
like a madman if you stand near an ally, so whenever you have threat you should always keep a bit of distance from everyone else.
Once below 85% health, Gul'dan upgrades to
Empowered Bonds of Fel
, which knock you back. Make sure you won't get knocked off of the platform by tanking him near the middle of the room.
When you are knocked back by
Empowered Bonds of Fel
, use
Anti-Magic Shell
(and other cooldowns if needed) or
Resonant Barrier
to solo-soak, then
Wraith Walk
to get back in range.
During the final phase, tanking Gul'dan just outside the well in the middle of the room allows your melee DPS to soak
Soul Corrosion
to prevent
Black Harvest
from dealing raid-wiping damage. Many tanks pull Gul'dan all the way to the edge to make escaping
Storm of the Destroyer
easier, the range is the same no matter where he is tanked, and tanking him away from the well prevents melee from being able to soak.
Emerald Nightmare
For a list of Wowhead's guides on the Emerald Nightmare, check our
Raid Overview and Rewards
page!
Nythendra
Use
Wraith Walk
to move away from the group for
Volatile Rot
, and use
Anti-Magic Shell
to reduce its damage.
Elerethe Renferal
Try to grab a feather before Elerethe transitions to the next platform so you can quickly get to her. Otherwise, use
Wraith Walk
to get across the bridge as quickly as possible.
Use
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
to help gather spiders.
Ursoc
Anti-Magic Shell
can help reduce damage taken from Miasma on Heroic and Mythic difficulties.
Il'gynoth
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
are tremendous at bringing Nightmarish Ichor to the Eye of Il'gynoth just before they explode.
Anti-Magic Shell
is tremendously effective against the Nightmare Horror's Eye of Fate.
Save
Wraith Walk
to move faster if you need to exit Il'gynoth's inside phase (particularly on Mythic).
Dragons of Nightmare
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
are helpful in bringing adds closer to the Dragons so that melee dps can cleave them down.
Anti-Magic Shell
is strong against the Dragons' breath attacks.
Save
Wraith Walk
to move faster when swapping Dragons with your co-tank.
Cenarius
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
are helpful in bringing adds closer together and towards the melee dps.
Speccing into
Rune Tap
can be helpful for reducing Cenarius' spear damage (and thus pool size) during phase 2.
Xavius
All cooldowns reset before you leave the dream phase, so be sure to use them liberally before exiting.
Trial of Valor
Wowhead has partnered with FatbossTV on their
guides to Trial of Valor!
Odyn
When adds are active, move Hyrja/Hymdall so that your dps can cleave them while attacking adds. Just don't move them too close to one another.
Death Grip
can help get adds to their runes more quickly.
During phase 2, do the same with Odyn, but don't get to close to Hyrja/Hymdall if they are also active.
Anti-Magic Shell
can reduce damage from Odyn's Unerring Blast in phases 1 and 2, and Cleansing Flame/Arcing Storm during phase 3.
Wraith Walk
helps in running away from Odyn when he casts Stormforged Spear. You should probably have your co-tank move him away from you, too, to help with your low mobility.
Guarm
Guarm hits quite hard, so maintain your Bone Shield at all times and make the most of your active mitigation. Be liberal with your defensive cooldowns, as you can die very quickly in this fight. Dying with cooldowns unspent is a cardinal sin!
Always stand together with your co-tank so that your melee dps don't get destroyed by
Multi-Headed
.
Anti-Magic Shell
is good at reducing damage taken from Guardian's Breath.
Helya
Death Grip
and
Gorefiend's Grasp
are both extremely helpful in gathering adds for the dps to cleave down during phase 2.
The Grimelord in phase 2 will increase your damage taken dramatically, so have cooldowns ready or have your offtank swap him with you.
Anti-Magic Shell
is an excellent cooldown for Helya's Breath attacks, particularly during phase 3 when you won't be able to self-heal effectively for 10 seconds after her breath.
Share your comments about this guide in our Death Knight forum!
Get Wowhead
Premium
$2
A Month
Enjoy an ad-free experience, unlock premium features, & support the site!