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First off, let me introduce myself. I'm Shantál, a shadow priest in <Apex> on EU-Al'akir, ranked World #13 for T13-25. I killed both Baleroc and Spine of Deathwing on 25-Heroic before they were nerfed.
Neither of these compares to the DPS race nightmare that is soloing Alysrazor 10-Heroic. While working on my normal mode kill, the main issue was staying alive throughout the fight without having to pay attention to my damage output all that much. The boss had 38.7 million health, and I had three air phases to kill him.
Enter heroic mode. The boss now has 65.7 million health - a 69.8% increase. She also does not drop any Blazing Power rings during her flight back toward her nest after the Ignited phase ends, meaning at least 2 less rings spawn compared to normal mode. I also need to take a different position during the Ignited phase compared to my normal mode kill, thus losing out on another two stacks of Blazing Power. All of these add up to make this encounter the most difficult DPS challenge in this expansion by quite a large margin.
If you read the strategy used for the normal mode kill, here's a quick summary of changes made: (If you did not, read further below for the complete version.)
- I dropped one point from Empowered Healing (going 2/3) and picked up Archangel for added DPS. I use the first Archangel ASAP, and save the second one for when I hit 24 stacks and gain Alysra's Razor.
- I reforged to Haste > Mastery > Crit after capping Hit to maximize scaling with fight mechanics.
- I changed my trinket to Heroic Insignia of the Corrupted Mind (replacing Cunning of the Cruel) for two reasons: Insignia scales better with the fight's mechanics and Cunning's procs can potentially cause Voracious Hatchlings to engage and tear me apart.
- The boss can fly either clockwise or counterclockwise when ascending at the beginning of each air phase. The optimal sequence is clockwise-counterclockwise-counterclockwise (due to the path taken during the Ignited phase).
- The boss can fly either clockwise or counterclockwise after casting Firestorm. You will have to take a bet here and hope you guessed correctly in order to maximize Blazing Power stacks.
- To maximize DPS, I only use Dispersion for the last 1-2 ticks of the first Firestorm. Vampiric Embrace heals just enough with the increased stacks to barely survive the second Firestorm without dispersing at all.
- To further maximize DPS, I had to take more extreme risks during Harsh Winds. I refreshed DoTs with as much as four stacks if possible.
- I can no longer survive a melee hit from Alysrazor. Thus, I had to change the path used during the Ignited phase in order to further delay Alysrazor.
Complete strategy:
As mentioned above, Alysrazor has 65.7 million health on 10-heroic. She also remains grounded after the third air phase. Due to the immense damage requirement this imposes, the goal of this strategy is to maximize damage done without dying. For my kill, I used the cookie cutter Shadow spec, putting the two leftover points into Empowered Healing in order to survive the Harsh Winds phase. I reforged my gear to Haste > Mastery > Crit after capping Hit and replaced Heroic Cunning of the Cruel with Heroic Insignia of the Corrupted Mind. This is because Haste scaling is superior to the other secondary stats in regard to Blazing Power and Alysra's Razor.
You engage the boss normally by moving onto the platform. Alysrazor will Blazing Claw her way to the center of the platform dropping Molten Feathers, then ascend and circle above the platform either clockwise or counterclockwise. Make sure you pick up the feathers ASAP and follow her as she will start spawning Blazing Power rings. You will want to know the spawn locations of these rings in advance and move to them before the actual ring spawns - this will cause you to gain two stacks of Blazing Power from each ring and is an utter necessity for meeting the DPS requirement. After every third of the air phase, Alysrazor will cast Firestorm, dealing 100k damage per second to you. By the first time this happens, you will want to have at least 22 stacks - 23 is better. If you don't, go back to practicing your ring timings, as you won't be able to do enough damage. To survive the Firestorm, use Dispersion at 1-2 seconds left and cancel it as soon as the last tick has hit you to resume DPS. Save your second Archangel use until after you hit 24 stacks (and gain the Alysra's Raor buff). You also want to move as much as possible after reaching 25 stacks of Blazing Power to maximize the number of Shadowy Apparations procced (they will instantly explode due to Alysrazor's enormous hit box). Proceed with doing as much damage as possible until Alysrazor begins to cast Fiery Vortex and enters the Harsh Winds phase.
During the transistion, it is important to note that your Wings of Flame buff will not be cancelled until Alysrazor finishes her second lap around the platform. You want to stay near the center of the platform as long as possible dealing damage while at the same time avoiding Harsh Winds stacks, while still flying out before the buff is cancelled. This may take some practice to pull off, but is utterly necessary to meet the DPS requirement. As the boss continues to circle above, renew DoTs on her as late as possible without dying to Harsh Winds - taking 5 stacks is definitely possible. Spam Greater Heal on yourself afterwards to survive. 5-6 seconds before you lose the stack, pop Dispersion. The boss will now be at the center of the platform in her exhausted state.
While the boss is exhausted, run halfway up the hill. Stop there, since you need a straight walkable line between you and Alysrazor as soon as she reignites to prevent her from evading and resetting. Once she hits 50 Molten Power and starts moving, run up the hill (see the video for reference) to force a longer path and prevent melee hits.
Once Alysrazor hits 100 Molten Power, she does a knockback AoE, drops Molten Feathers and ascends again. From this point, it's a repeat of the first cycle with shorter air phases due to the boss having to fly back before returning to her circular path.
If you read through all of that, thanks! If you did not, but watched the video, still thanks for watching. If you did neither, thanks for clicking the thread, I guess.
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