Gurtogg Bloodboil

[Shadowwolf]

Links:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Gurtogg_Bloodboil
http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=22948


Video:
[youtube=500,425]laNLQdpCRm0[/youtube]

Abilities:

• Health: 5,600,000 HP
• Melee - 6k on plate (9k crushing, up to 20k on cloth)
• [spell=40595]Fel Acid Breath[/spell] - A resistible frontal cone nature attack that inflicts 2850-3150 Nature damage and an additional 2750 damage every 1 second for 5 seconds.
• [spell=40599]Arcing Smash[/spell] - A frontal cleave attack. It hits for around 5000 damage in phase 1. It also applies a debuff that reduces healing effects by 50% for 4 seconds. Used every 10 seconds. Also applies or refreshes the [spell=40481]Acidic Wound[/spell] debuff on all targets hit
• Berserk - After 10 minutes Gurtoggs' damage increases by 500% and attack speed by 150%

Phase 1 Only

• [spell=42005]Bloodboil[/spell] - A 5-stackable debuff that he casts every 10 seconds to the 5 raid members furthest away from him. Deals 600 physical damage to the players every 1 second for 24 seconds.
• [spell=40481]Acidic Wound[/spell] - Applies a 60-stackable debuff to the main tank every 2 seconds. Reduces the armor of the tank by 500 and ticks for 300 damage every 3 seconds for one application. Cannot be removed except for [spell=10278]Blessing of Protection[/spell].
• Knockback - Knocks the main tank back and reduces his threat every 15 seconds.
• Bewildering Strike - Randomly disorients the main tank for 5 seconds. Attacks the player second on the aggro list.

Phase 2 Only

• [spell=40595]Fel-Acid Breath[/spell] - A resistable frontal cone nature attack that inflicts 2850-3150 Nature damage and an additional 2750 damage every 1 second.
• [spell=40599]Arcing Smash[/spell] damage is increased to 12k. It also applies a debuff that reduces healing effects by 50% for 4 seconds. Used every 10 seconds. Also applies or refreshes the [spell=40481]Acidic Wound[/spell] debuff on all targets hit
• Fel Rage - A 30 second debuff placed randomly every 90 seconds on a player and Gurtogg himself with the following random effects:
  [spell=40604]Fel Rage[/spell]
  
  
  
  • Increases armor by 15,000
  • Increases health by 30,000
  • Increases size by 175%
  
  [spell=40616]Fel Rage 2[/spell]
  
  
  
  • Increases healing done by 100%
  • Increases damage done by 300%
  • Decreases cost of spells and abilities by 50%
  Gurtogg will also gain Fel Rage at this point, increasing his damage done. During this, he will only attack the player with Fel Rage and will do so until they are dead or the Rage has worn off.
  
• [spell=38739]Acid Geyser[/spell] - Targetting the Fel Raged player, the geyser deals 2188-2812 nature damage as well as any players within a 6 yard radius.

Suggested Strategy:

The fight has two alternating phases in a 90 seconds cycle. During the 60 seconds of Phase 1 the bloodboil debuff is dealt out and the tanks take a stacking debuff. Right after the fifth set of bloodboil debuffs, Gurtogg and one random raid member receive Fel Rage, which starts Phase 2. After 30 seconds Fel Rage wears off and Phase 1 starts again.

The encounter can be reset by running up the ramp, through the next room and up the stairs on the back of that room.

Buffs and gear

The fight is extremely healing intensive, even more so than High Warlord Naj'entus - healers should wear their best endurance gear. The whole raid should be buffed with [spell=33946]Amplify Magic[/spell] - even though the acid damage is magic, the advantage gained from increased healing outweighs that. Each raid member should have a Healthstone or two, all raid members should have a few health or rejuvenation potions. No special resistance gear is required.

Positioning

[attachimg=1]

See the image below for a visual marker for Bloodboil during the fight. Ranged DPS and healers need to be aware of this line as proper positioning revolves around it.

[attachimg=2]

Phase 1

Every time Gurtogg deals [spell=42005]Bloodboil[/spell], the five [spell=42005]Bloodboil[/spell] soakers who just got it must move forward over the line, and the next group of five must move back to the wall, in order to take the next BB. The three groups need to keep up this rotation until five sets of [spell=42005]Bloodboil[/spell]'s have been dealt. For new raids it's a good idea to practice this rotation prior to the pull. No raid member should ever take a double [spell=42005]Bloodboil[/spell], because that's very hard to heal through.

One method to organize the rotation is to designate three groups, and give one member of each group a raid mark. After each [spell=42005]Bloodboil[/spell], the raid leader calls out the icon which is due next. Two of the groups have to take two sets of [spell=42005]Bloodboil[/spell] each, one group takes only one. Raid members with low total health, usually Mages or Priests, should be in that third group.

Healing

Three healers should concentrate on healing through the [spell=42005]Bloodboil[/spell] damage. 1-2 healers should be on the off-tanks, and the rest on the current MT. As usual in situations with lots of distributed damage, Chain Heal and Circle of Healing are the spells of choice.

Tanking

The [spell=40481]Acidic Wound[/spell] stack can grow to dangerous levels, at 20 debuffs for example, the tank takes 5k damage per tick and has 10k less armor. If it gets too much, the tank must drop aggro (Misdirection to one of the OTs is helpful here) and move to Gurtoggs back, avoiding [spell=40599]Arcing Smash[/spell] for 60 seconds until the debuff stack wears off. During that time, the tank must continue building as much hate as possible. Paladins can bubble out of the debuff stack (which temporarily removes him from the threat list).

All three tanks must be clearly aware of each others threat levels and current [spell=40481]Acidic Wound[/spell] stack. In the ideal case, the three tanks are closely together on the hate list and can easily take aggro from each other. In order to build rage the OTs can take an [spell=40599]Arcing Smash[/spell] now and then on purpose. A small stack of [spell=40481]Acidic Wound[/spell] helps rage generation.

The third tank is needed for Disorient. If one tank is on [spell=40481]Acidic Wound[/spell] cooldown and the current MT gets Disoriented, the third tank must take over.

Stacking avoidance gear can be feasible, because all of Gurtogg's abilities can be avoided. The problem in that case is that the aggro-reducing abilities are avoided too, this can lead to the MT running far ahead on the hate list. The MT may have to stop his attacks entirely, or Blessing of Protection can be used.

Fel Rage / Phase 2

As soon as Gurtogg casts [spell=38739]Acid Geyser[/spell], phase 2 has begun. [spell=38739]Acid Geyser[/spell] will target a random person in the raid, and that person will be affected by Fel Rage.

If the raid has spread out effectively then the effects of [spell=38739]Acid Geyser[/spell] will be minimal, but it is extremely important that all healers know who it is that has Fel Rage, as that person will be the focus of Gurtogg's attacks for 30 seconds, or until they die.

Gurtogg moves quite fast; about the speed of an epic land mount. As he lumbers off to attack the Fel Raged person, there are several things that need noting:

• There are still Bloodboil debuffs ticking on 2 groups.
• The tanks are still taking damage from his Acidic Wound ability.
• The Fel Raged person will be taking many of his close range abilities: Arcing Smash, Fel Acid, and his normal attacks.

The main focus should be the Fel Raged person. No matter which class is targeted by this, they will require massive amounts of healing. All healers should switch to the Fel Raged person immediately, and heal them as much as possible.

The healers assigned to Bloodboil need to make sure they keep their groups up however, and it is necessary to heal the tanks through their debuff as well. Do not underestimate how hard Gurtogg will hit the Fel Raged person though (up to 20k crits can happen).

It is most important that the Fel Raged person does everything in their power to keep themselves alive. Healing effects are increased by 100%, and this also includes Healthstones and Potions. Any way that classes can absorb damage, slow Gurtogg's attacks, or heal themselves should be used. Detailed class instructions for Fel Rage can be found at the end of the guide.

If the Fel Raged person should die then Gurtogg will return to the highest on his aggro list (one of the tanks). If this should happen the tank in question will probably need to Shield Wall in order to survive his attacks, as his damage is increased by 100% by the Fel Rage buff. It is in the raid's best interest not to let the Fel Raged person die, as with their 30k extra HP, they are far better suited to take Gurtogg's attacks than the tanks are.

Gurtogg will also return to the highest on his aggro list if the Fel Raged person uses an immunity effect like Iceblock or Divine Shield.

A final note regarding Fel Rage: move away from the affected target. People standing too close can be hit by Arcing Smash and Fel Acid. This is another benefit of spreading out at the end of Phase 1.

During Phase 2 DPS should be maximized. The whole raid will have the Insignificance debuff, which causes your abilities to have no threat. Because of this, DPS should go full out and burn him down as much as possible. Use all cooldowns and trinkets in order to do as much burst damage as possible.

Do note however that Insignificance is resistible, so check you've got it before going all out on Gurtogg.

After 30 seconds, phase 2 and Fel Rage will end, and Gurtogg returns to Phase 1. If he has moved during Phase 2, it is advisable to get out of the way of him as he returns to the tanks, as he can Arcing Smash on his way back.

Class Instructions For Fel Rage

Druid
If you are restoration specced and targeted with Fel Rage your best bet is to hit Barkskin and heal yourself. Keep all HoTs up, and be ready to use Swiftmend/Nature's Swiftness

If you are Feral, go Bear form immediately. Frenzied Regeneration will heal for double the amount, use it wisely. Keep Demoralizing Roar up, and damage him as much as you can.

Hunter
Hit Aspect of the Monkey as soon as possible. Damage him with your melee attacks.

Mage
Put Ice armor on as soon as possible. Slowing his attacks by 25% may well save your life. Use Ice barrier constantly if you have it, use Mana Shield if your health dips dangerously low. Use instant attacks such as Fire Blast or Ice Lance on him, if you have the mana to spare. Do not use Iceblock.

Paladin
Keep casting as many heals on yourself as possible. Do not use Divine Shield.

Priest
Use Power Word: Shield every time it becomes available. Keep Renew up and chain cast Flash Heal on yourself. Be ready with Desperate Prayer if you have it.

Rogue
Hit Evasion and burn your cooldowns to damage him as much as possible. Hit Cloak of Shadows if he uses Fel Acid on you. Do not Vanish.

Shaman
If you are restoration, put Earth Shield on as soon as possible and heal yourself constantly.

If you are enchancement/elemental it may well still be advisable to heal yourself as much as your mana will allow. If the other healers are comfortable however, you might be able to do some damage.

Warlock
Chain cast Drain Life. Keep casting and recasting it even though it will be interupted. Keep up Siphon Life if you have it, use Deathcoil if it's off cooldown.

Warrior
Equip a shield immediately and get into Defensive stance. Keep Commanding Shout up at all times. Damage him as best you can. Do not use Death Wish.