Sapphiron

[Air]

Sapphiron is the 1st boss within the final wing of Naxxramas, Frostwyrm Lair. This ancient blue dragon was once servant to Malygos and the head of his brood until he was struck down by Arthas. Arthas used what was left of his necromantic powers to resurrect Sapphiron as a frost wyrm. Sapphiron, now an implement of chaos for the scourge, guards the final passage way to the very liar of Kel’Thuzad.

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Sapphiron Abilities

    * 4,250,000 HP
    * Frontal Cleave, 180 degrees
    * Rear Tail swipe, ~45 degrees
    * Phase 1
          o Frost Aura - deals 1200 damage per second to every member of the raid throughout the fight.
          o Life Drain - deals 2200-2800 shadow damage to targeted player and heals Sapphiron for 4400-5600 every 3 seconds. This is a curse, it can be dispelled. Players who get this should immediately call out on vent to be dispelled.
          o Chill aka Blizzard - this blizzard like spell deals 3500-4500 damage every 2 seconds to those standing within it’s AoE. All players need to be aware of the Chill’s position and do what they can do avoid taking any damage from it.
    * Phase 2 - every 45 seconds
          o Ice Bolt - puts 2 players in your raid in a block of ice, dealing 5000-7500 damage to the player and players close by in a small AoE. The raid must stand behind these blocks to survive frost breath (see video below).
          o Frost Breath - anyone not behind the blocks of ice will be 1 shot (over 100,000 damage).

Sapphiron Boss Strategy

The Entry and Healer’s Setup - You’ll want to split your raid into 2 groups. Group 1 should go left and group 2 right. Each group will have 1 dedicated healer who will be solo in charge of healing that group. With mediocre gear it’s still possible to duo heal Sappphiron, but difficult. For players just learning the encounter I would suggest using 3 healers, where there 3rd healer’s primary job is healing the main tank.

Phase 1 - Generally speaking this phase is a standard tank and spank fight. I’ve mentioned the phase 1 abilities above, so you’ll need to be aware of all of these. Simply keep the AoE heals cooking and don’t let anyone get too low, especially as you’re nearing the phase 2 transition. This transition is when most player’s are going to die due to the potential spike in damage due to the ice bolt.

Positioning and Liar Layout

    * Red circle - this is the outer wall of Sapphiron’s lair
    * Green circle - this is the interior green circle on the floor, I use this as a point of reference below regarding phase 2
    * Blue oval - Sapphiron’s body, note that Sapphiron’s head should be facing towards Kel’Thuzad lair



Phase 2 - This phase begins as Sapphiron flies up into the air. He will go up and ice bolt 2 players at random, these players now act like shields for the frost breath. Players nearby should all gather behind these players, doing so will prevent you from being hit by the frost breath.

Note: it’s helpful to gather up during this phase so you aren’t so spread out that you can’t get behind the ice block shields. My guild collapses around the green ring in the center, staying close, but also spreading out in a circular fashion around it’s perimeter. You need to spread out a bit to avoid the AoE frost impact damage on the ice bolt.

As soon as the ice bolt block is up you should immediately get behind it and healers should be topping off the raid.

Note for DPS Players - As a DPS there isn’t much you need to worry about…but there are a few things.

    * Watch out for the frontal cleave, if you get hit by this and aren’t wearing plate you’re probably dead. It’s 180 degree frontal cleave, so make sure you DPS closer to the hind legs.
    * Watch out for the tailswipe, simply stay away from the tail, not very difficult.
    * Be aware of the blizzard’s positioning in the room and do your best to avoid taking any damage from it. There’s no need to put additional pressure on your healers.

Phase 1 / 2 Continuation - At this point you’re essentially in a loop of the above 2 phases of listed. Phases 1 and 2 will continue until you’ve either killed or wiped to Sapphiron. Simply continue the steps I’ve listed above and you’ll be well on your way to your first Saph kill!