Kargath Bladefist Strat

[Skye]

Here is a video and info on the first boss in Highmaul. I'll be posting more.



Kargath Bladefist Tips and Strategy
Kargath Bladefist is a fairly straightforward fight that requires moderate coordination. Throughout the encounter, Kargath will use the Chain Hurl ability to pick up the five nearest players and fling them into the stands of the Coliseum where they can engage the enemies in the audience.

Before beginning the encounter, the raid should decide which players are best suited to performing this task - one tank, one healer, and three DPS - and those players must then ensure that they are closer to Kargath than any other players after the knockback that occurs at the start of the Chain Hurl mechanic. Once in the stands, these players should focus on killing the Iron Bombers and Drunken Bileslingers, as these enemies will otherwise throw Iron Bomb and Mauling Brew at players in the Coliseum, causing unpredictable raid damage.

Kite Berserker Rush to Flame PillarsThe most dangerous mechanic in the encounter is Berserker Rush. Kargath will target a random ranged DPS or healer and fixate on them, chasing them for 20 seconds and slashing his weapons wildly in front of him. Players in the path of the Berserker Rush, including the fixate target, will take very heavy damage and are likely to die. Kargath gains both a damage-dealt buff and a movement speed buff every 2 seconds that his Berserker Rush continues. Berserker Rush can only be stopped by the target's death or by kiting Kargath through an active Flame Pillar that is spewing Flame Jet. Although there are four Flame Pillars, their locations marked by skulls on the ground as you enter the Coliseum, only two will be active at any one time.

Ranged DPS and healers must all be aware of the location of the most recently spawned Flame Pillar and have a plan to kite Kargath to it in case they are targeted, and melee must be ready to move out of the path of the Berserker Rush until Kargath's direction is determined. Note that moving Kargath to a Flame Pillar causes it to despawn, whether he is currently using Berserker Rush or not, so it is important for tanks to keep Kargath in the center of his platform far away from the Pillars to avoid despawning them and complicating the Berserker Rush kiting plan. Note that if a player is standing too near a Flame Pillar when it activates, they will be knocked back and take heavy damage, and after the pillar is activated, the Flame Jet will deal heavy damage, so players should stay clear of the active Flame Pillar until it is time to kite.

Players must not use threat-dropping abilities such as Greater Invisibility or Feign Death when targeted by Berserker Rush. Doing so will cause Kargath to re-target, and probably turn around, killing any melee DPS who are chasing after him.

There are also four tiger pits located around the perimeter of the Coliseum, and if players fall into these pits they are instantly killed by Ravenous Bloodmaw tigers. This is likely to occur while kiting Kargath for Berserker Rush, or when players are knocked back at the start of Chain Hurl, or if players are knocked back by a Flame Pillar when it activates. Players should note the location of these tiger pits and position themselves such that knockbacks will not propel them in the direction of a tiger pit.

Tanks must manage a heavily damaging attack, Impale, which occurs every 45 seconds and leaves behind a 75-second debuff, Open Wounds, that increases the damage of subsequent Impale attacks.

Tank Responsibilities

-Hold Kargath in the center of the room to avoid any possibility of accidentally deactivating the Flame Pillars early
-Use a powerful damage-reduction cooldown for Impale, especially if you have existing stacks of Open Wounds
-A simple way to handle the Impale/ Chain Hurl mechanics is to have the tank with the shortest Open Wounds duration enter the Chain Hurl
-After returning from the Chain Hurl/stands, the now un-debuffed tank should taunt Kargath in preparation for the next Impale
-Move out of the path of Berserker Rush

Damage-Dealer Responsibilities

-Avoid Flame Pillars until targeted by Berserker Rush
-Use Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp at the beginning of the encounter
-If you are assigned to the Chain Hurl team, move in close to Kargath after the knockback
-If you are NOT assigned to the Chain Hurl team, stay away from Kargath until Chain Hurl has chosen targets
-Move away from active Flame Pillars to avoid taking unnecessary damage
-If targeted by Berserker Rush, kite Kargath so that he moves through Flame Jet
-Avoid the tiger pits when kiting, and position yourself so a knock-back effect won't drop you into a tiger pit
-Move out of the path of Berserker Rush
-Move away from the Mauling Brew indicator
-Use a personal damage-reduction CD if afflicted by Iron Bomb
-Ranged DPS should stay spread out to avoid splash damage from Blade Dance
-Melee DPS can follow Kargath during Berserker Rush but must take care to stay behind and be alert for sudden changes of direction

Healer Responsibilities

-Don't fall in the tiger pits!
-Tank damage is heavy, particularly if taking a second Impale while affected by Open Wounds; consider using tank CDs at this time
-Raid damage is random and spiky, but a skilled raid will be spread out to avoid splash damage so very few targets are injured at any one time
-Spread healing AoE abilities or strong single-target healing spells are useful
-Players who stand in the path of Kargath's Berserker Rush will take very heavy to fatal damage
-Keep track of which Flame Pillars have recently spawned to ensure that, if you are chosen for Berserker Rush, you will kite Kargath to an active pillar
-Move out of the path of Berserker Rush
-If you are assigned to the Chain Hurl team, move in close to Kargath after the knockback
-If you are NOT assigned to the Chain Hurl team, stay away from Kargath until Chain Hurl has chosen targets
-Move away from the Mauling Brew indicator to avoid taking heavy damage
-Use a personal damage-reduction CD if afflicted by Iron Bomb
-Stay spread out to avoid splash damage from Blade Dance

Chain Hurl Team Responsibilities

The Chain Hurl Team should consist of:

Chain Hurl chooses the five nearest players
One tank, whichever has the lowest remaining duration on Open Wounds
One healer, ideally with a tank CD to use when Bileslingers stun the tank
Three DPS, ideally with strong AoE

To perform this role, players should:

-Be the closest players to Kargath after the knock-back occurs
-Pull as many enemies as the tank/healer can handle
-Use AoE stuns and other AoE CC abilities to prevent as much damage from the enemies as possible
-Focus on killing Drunken Bileslingers and Iron Bombers quickly
-Iron Bombers will explode when they die, dealing Fire Bomb damage to any nearby players; avoid this by moving away
-Drunken Bileslingers will stun players in front of them (typically the tank) with Vile Breath
-Iron Grunts will slow players with Grapple
-Kill as many enemies as possible before the Highmaul Sweeper knocks you out of the stands
-Healers will experience heavy tank damage, and moderate party damage when Iron Bombers die or throw Fire Bomb

When to Use Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp
LFR/Normal/Heroic: Use Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp at the start of the encounter when the least movement is required.
Mythic: Use Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp to capitalize on a high Roar of the Crowd damage buff.