| Kieryn | #5756 Thursday June 2, 2005 at 00:47 | |
Venezuelan Beaver Cheese |
An invaluable reference work describing the overall layout of Molten Core, as well as the trash mobs found therein, and including writeups of the first 3 bosses, is "the original" Molten Core writeup/guide, published by the guild Conquest, on the (PvE) sever Kilrogg. Their guide can be found here. The above guide is an excellent resource to familiarize yourself with in preparation for venturing into the Molten Core, by introducing concepts such as the random secondary targeting system and the like. Another useful, though brief, summary of the "trash" mobs in Molten Core and the first 8 of 10 bosses there is located at the Molten Core page of the WoWWiki (World of Warcraft Wikipedia). Instance Molten Core Location There are two entrances to Molten Core, but due to the way that instance player caps work, when raiding with the Leftovers you will always be entering Molten Core from one and not the other. The first entrance you will encounter is located within the Blackrock Depths instance, just beyond the Summoners' Tomb (Tomb of the Seven). As you leave the Tomb on your way to the Lyceum, the green raid instance portal will be visible to your right. The second entrance, and the one you will be using while raiding with the Leftovers, is special. It is only available once you have completed the appropriate quest, and only while you are already in a raid group. This entrance is located within Blackrock Mountain, just outside the entrance to the Quarry and Blackrock Depths. As you head on your way to the Quarry, you will notice a blood elf NPC named Lothos Riftwalker standing in the alcove on the left, just outside the turn you make into the Quarry. On the left side of his alcove is an open window which overlooks the molten lava at the base of the Molten Span. If you have completed the necessary quest, and are currently in a raid group, then you may jump (or walk, if you're so inclined) though this window and portal directoy into the Molten Core. If you ever zone out of the Core, you will reappear in this alcove, next to Lothos Riftwalker. Because a maximum of 10 people from a single raid group can zone into the Blackrock Depths instance at any one time, the first entrance to Molten Core will not be a reasonable way to enter when you are raiding with the Leftovers. Not to mention the additional time and effort wasted by clearing the intervening portions of Blackrock Depths to get to the portal. Instead, the alternate, "attuned" portal will be used exclusively. How to Gain Entry To be able to raid with the Leftovers in Molten Core, you need to have finished the quest Attunement to the Core, which when completed will allow you to use the alternate "attuned" portal mentioned above. What You'll Find There Heat. It's hot. Damn hot. Apart from the heat, you will be encountering a number of mobs, most of them fire-related or fire-friendly...or just made of fire. There are about 10 types of "trash" mobs in Molten Core, and a total of 10 bosses. --
"Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment." - Anonymous |
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| Kieryn | #5757 Monday June 6, 2005 at 17:26 | |
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Venezuelan Beaver Cheese |
The Trash Mobs This post will discuss the various trash mobs you will encounter in the Molten Core instance, in the approximate order you will encounter them as you clear through the 10 bosses of Molten Core, in the order in which you are expected to clear them. Molten Giants Molten Giants are level 62+ "raid elite" giants, and are always found in pairs (or in a mixed pair with a Molten Destroyer - see below). As such, whenever dealing with Molten Giants the raid will employ two MTs. MT1 will tank the marked Giant, and MT2 will tank the unmarked Giant. Molten Giants have the following attacks:
2) A moderate sized physical AoE stomp effect that can affect the MT and other melee attackers.
2) Once the MTs have firm aggro control, the entire raid will open fire on the marked Molten Giant with ranged attacks. Melee DPSers can move in to attack the marked target as well, so long as they are extremely careful to back off and bandage themselves when their health is low, as the healers will be primarily focused on keeping the MTs alive. 3) The entire raid should focus on doing sustained DPS without overnuking or drawing aggro, to bring the marked giant down safely. Once the marked giant is dead, the remaining giant is killed in the same way. Molten Giants respawn only once the entire raid group has zoned out...or possibly just a really really long time (say, 12 hours), though we've never verified this directly (or care to). Firelords Firelords are level 61+ or 62+ "raid elite" fire elementals, and are spread throughout the zone leading up to and including Garr's chamber. Each spawn point where a Firelord can be found may also spawn a Lava Annihilator instead, randomly. Most Firelords can be single pulled, but occasionally linked pairs will be encountered, including two Firelords or a Firelord and Lava Annihilator. Firelords are immune to banishment. Firelords have the following attacks and special abilities:
2) Incinerate - a single target debuff that increases the amount of fire damage taken by the target by a predetermined amount, which can be stacked upon itself multiple times to increase the amount of additional damage taken as a result. This debuff lasts 60 seconds from the last time it is applied, and cannot be dispelled, cleansed, or otherwise removed. 3) A single target magic debuff applied to a random target on the Firelord's aggro list, which causes 4000 damage over 32 seconds (250 damage per 2-second tick). As this is a magic effect, it can be cleansed or dispelled (by paladins or priests, respectively). 4) Lava Spawns - periodically, the Firelord will summon a Lava Spawn minion, a level 60+ "raid elite" fire elemental with a ranged fireball attack doing moderate damage to a single target on its aggro list. Any Lava Spawn which itself survives a sufficient amount of time will split into an additional Lava Spawn, and this process will result in a geometric progression of the number of Lava Spawns (1, 2, 4, 8, etc.) unless they are quickly killed. This is fondly known of as a "raid wiper" ability.
2) Once the MTs have firm aggro control, the entire raid begins to attack. Rogues, hunters, mages, and warlocks all initially focus on the Firelord. 3) Each time the Firelord summons a Lava Spawn, all rogues and hunters should immediately switch targets to the Lava Spawn to bring it down as quickly as possible, to prevent additional Spawns from being summoned. Other ranged DPS players will continue to attack the Firelord, and once each Spawn is dead rogues and hunters switch back to the Firelord until the next Lava Spawn is summoned. Whenever a series of Firelords will be single pulled in quick succession, the active MT on each subsequent pull will be switched back and forth from MT1 to MT2, to ensure that the raid does not need to wait the full amount of time for the Incinerate debuff lingering on the MT from the previous pull to run out, before pulling the next Firelord. NOTE: As mentioned above, Firelords will occasionally be found in linked pairs, either with a Lava Annihilator or with another Firelord. In a mixed Firelord/Annihilator pull, the Annihilator should be banished by a warlock (see below) while the Firelord is killed first, and the Annihilator killed once the Firelord has been dispatched. However, a dual Firelord pull can be tricky, and must be handled with additional care. When dual Firelords are pulled, MT1 and MT2 must tank the individual Firelords as near to one another as possible. This allows mages (and possibly warlocks as well) to utilize ranged AoE effects against both the Firelords and their Lava Spawns, for greatest possible effect against all the mobs. It is of paramount importance that the rogues and hunters be on the ball when taking down Lava Spawns in this case, as otherwise additional spawns can quickly get out of control. Firelords respawn after 2 hours. Lava Annihilators Lava Annihilators are level 61+ or 62+ "raid elite" stone elementals, and are spread throughout the zone leading up to and including Garr's chamber. Each spawn point where a Lava Annihilator can be found may also spawn a Firelord instead, randomly. Most Lava Annihilators can be single pulled, but occasionally linked pairs will be encountered, including two Lava Annihilators or a Lava Annihilator and Firelord. Lava Annihilators are susceptible to banishment. Lava Annihilators have only a single type of direct physical melee attack, which they will employ on the MT, or frankly just about anybody in the raid they want to. The reason for this is simple: the Lava Annihilators seem to have a very "shallow" aggro list, which clears or otherwise "forgets" periodically and often. As a result, it is very hard for the MT to maintain aggro control on an Annihilator, and the Annihilators tend to run around almost at random, attacking different targets every few seconds. Because their physical melee attack is not particularly powerful, however, this turns out to be not as worrisome as you might think. The MTs can attempt to maintain aggro control on an Annihilator, but they are not too difficult to defeat through straightforward DPS output. In the case where a Lava Annihilator must be pulled as part of a linked pair, one Lava Annihilator should be banished while the other one is destroyed. If a Lava Annihilator and Firelord are pulled as a pair, the Lava Annihilator should be banished while the Firelord is destroyed first. Lava Annihilators respawn after 2 hours. Lava Surgers Lava Surgers are level 61+ or 62+ "raid elite" stone elementals, and patrol rapidly along set courses throughout the area leading up to and beyond Garr's chamber. Lava Surgers are susceptible to banishment. Lava Surgers have the following attacks / special abilities:
2) Surge - Periodically the Lava Surger will charge away from the MT directly towards a randomly targeted player on its aggro list, inflicting ~1000pts of damage to the target and those in a direct line along the path of the surge, as well as knocking all those who take damage back and away from the surge. Once the surge is complete, the Lava Surger will return immediately to the MT. This ability is very similar to the random charge/knockdown ability used by Crimson Guards in the Scarlet side of Stratholme, and some of the orcs near the Hall of Rend in UBRS. Lava Surgers respawn after 28 minutes. Once Garr is killed, Lava Surgers will no longer respawn for the remainder of the instance. Ancient Core Hounds Ancient Core Hounds are level 62+ "raid elite" beasts, and patrol along set courses throughout Molten Core. They have, by far, the largest aggro radii of any of the trash mobs in Molten Core, and additionally have very good stealth perception. Ancient Core Hounds have the following attacks / special abilities:
2) A frontal cone AoE fire attack, which has a large radius (30ish yards). 3) A randomly determined AoE which affects all people within approximately 40 yards. The effect of this AoE varies from one Ancient Core Hound to the next, but includes stun and confusion, as well as a fire resist debuff, stamina reduction, and slowing effects. Most of these effects will not be overly worrisome, but the fire resist debuff should be removed from the MT.
2) Once the MT has good control over the Ancient Core Hound's aggro, the rest of the raid is given an attack order. Melee DPS classes can attack the mob's hindquarters, while ranged DPS classes should maintain maximum range to avoid the Hound's randomly determined AoE debuff attack. Ancient Core Hounds respawn after 18 minutes. Once Magmadar is killed, Ancient Core Hounds will no longer respawn for the remainder of the instance. Fire Imps Fire Imps are level 60+ "raid elite" elementals, which come in groups of approximately 8-10 mobs. They are only found in 3 or 4 groups within the chambers leading into Magmadar Cavern. Fire Imps have the following attacks / special abilities:
2) A small radius fire-based AoE attack, that while not individually powerful can stack up and become devastating.
2) Once aggro is being held by the warriors and paladins of the raid, the remainder of the raid group is given an attack order and attacks the Fire Imps. Casters will employ ranged AoE attacks on the entire group of Fire Imps, if possible. Single-target DPS classes should attempt to bring down the Fire Imps as quickly as possible. Because of the proximity of one of the Fire Imp spawn points to the entrance to Magmadar Cavern, the entire raid group should take extra care when fighting Lucifron to keep a significant distance between this entrance and themselves. If even one raid member is Mind Controlled by one of Lucifron's guards, and aggro's a group of Fire Imps and/or a Lava Surger, this will almost certainly wipe the raid. Fire Imps respawn after ~8 minutes. Core Hound Packs Core Hound Packs are groups of 5 level 60+ "raid elite" beasts, similar to but smaller than the Ancient Core Hounds. They are found within Magmadar Cavern, the spawn area shared by Lucifron and Magmadar. The Core Hounds that make up a Core Hound pack only the following attacks / special abilities:
2) A high-damage physical DoT that they will place on their current melee target, which cannot be removed before it expires naturally. 3) Ignite - If any Core Hound is brought to zero health, it will emote "Core Hound collapses and begins to smolder." It will smolder for the next 10 seconds, and if any other Core Hound from the pack is alive and within a certain range when that 10 second window expires, the dead Core Hound will re-ignite, resurrecting back to full health. To avoid this, all 5 Core Hounds within a single Pack MUST be killed within the same 10-second window of one another.
2) The Pack is aggro'd by one of the MTs, and all 5 MTs attack and gain aggro on their corresponding Core Hound. The MTs position the Core Hounds together with one another, "stacked up". 3) The remainder of the raid is given an attack order. Single-target DPS classes should focus on doing their damage to whichever Core Hound currently has the highest health, to ensure that all 5 Core Hounds are killed within the desired 10-second window of one another. To speed up the process, casters should use their ranged AoE attacks on the Core Hound Pack that has been stacked up by the MTs, doing damage evenly across all the Hounds in the Pack. 4) If any Core Hound ever escapes aggro control from its corresponding MT and begins attacking other members of the raid or otherwise leaves the Pack, whomever gains aggro from the loose Hound must immediately run the Hound back to the remainder of the Pack, dying in the process if need be to ensure that the Hounds are stacked up when they are killed. If a Hound ever re-ignites, all AoE attacks must immediately be stopped and all members of the raid group except the MTs and MT healers must focus their single-target DPS on the resurrected Core Hound, to bring its health down quickly and re-synchronixe the health levels across all members of the Pack. Core Hound Packs respawn after 1 hour. Once Magmadar is killed, Core Hound Packs will no longer respawn for the remainder of the instance. Molten Destroyers Molten Destroyers are level 63+ "raid elite" giants. As you travel deeper into Molten Core, Molten Destroyers will begin to take the place of Molten Giants singly or in pairs. The two pairs inside Garr's chamber are always both Molten Destroyers. Molten Destroyers are identical to Molten Giants, except that they have increased health and toughness, put out increased DPS, and have a much larger physical AoE stomp attack that affects all raid members within a moderate distance. They are handled in the same way as Molten Giants, but it is more important that the MTs position Molten Destroyers both apart from the raid group and apart from one another while they are being tanked, to ensure that only the individual MTs are affected by the Molten Destroyers' stomp attacks. As with Molten Giants, Molten Destroyers only respawn once the entire raid group has zoned out, or possibly after some very very long time. Lava Packs (2 varieties) Lava Packs come in 2 varieties, and each variety contains a selection of 4 unique mob types. Lava Packs make up the great majority of the trash mobs encountered deeper into Molten Core, beyond Garr's chamber. The mob types are as follows:
2) A designated paladin will move forward to aggro the Lava Pack, bubbling up and consecrating to maintain aggro. At this point, all hunters should send their pets to attack the Firewalker and warlocks should move forward as needed to apply curse of shadows and banish the 2 Lava Elementals. The hunter pets will be the amongst the first things on the Firewalker's aggro list, and will likely die rapidly in a fast succession of 3000+ dmg fireballs. 3) MT1 moves forward to gain aggro on the Firewalker, dragging the Firewalker into position so that it is facing away from the main body of the raid group if possible. MT2 moves forward to gain aggro on the Flameguard, similarly tanking the Flameguard so that it is facing away from the main body of the raid group. The warlocks send their voidwalkers to taunt the banished Lava Elementals in case one escapes banishment and/or resists being rebanished later on. 4) Once both MTs have aggro on their targets, the attack order is given and the entire raid attacks the Firewalker, bringing it down first. Once the Firewalker has been killed, the Flameguard is next. 5) Finally, the warlocks release the first banished Lava Elemental. The MT1 gains aggro on it, and subsequently the entire raid group kills it when the attack order is given. This is repeated for the second banished Lava Elemental. Lava Packs respawn after 2 hours. --
"Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment." - Anonymous |
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