The Endgame series covers raiding, emblems, and being the best darn level 80 disc priest you can be.
ONCE UPON A time, you were a level 1 player. Dinosaurs roamed the earth. Van Halen was still together.
But time marches on (just ask David Lee Roth), and your hard work and discipline has paid off. You’re a newly-minted 80, and you’re ready to hit the big time: Raiding.
To even stand a chance in your first real raid, you’ll need to acquire some serious gear. Check out our discussion of New 80 Raiding Gear, then come on back.
Naxxramas is divided into four main quarters: Arachnid, Construct, Plague and Military, plus the final Frostwyrm Lair. The Lair can only be accessed when you clear each of the four main quarters in one session.
Most raiding guilds which are just starting out will focus on one quarter at a time, but be safe and familiarize yourself with the whole raid. If you blow through the Arachnid Quarter and the Guild Leader launches you into the Constructs Quarter without a breath, you’ll be glad you did.
*Standard Disclaimer: This is how I do it as a Disc Priest. You’ll find your own path, young Jedi, but here’s a possible plan of attack until you do. As always, make free use of the comment section to take me to task, suggest alternatives, and dish out the feedback.
Arachnid Quarter
The easiest and therefore (usually) first quarter tackled. You’ll clear trash to get to
Boss 1: Anub’Rekhan
Don’t blow through all your mana on the first trash mob you see keeping everyone topped off and shielded. Your raid leader should know enough to pause for a re-mana before the boss, but a combination of itchy fingers and first-raid nerves may see you way lower on mana than you should be by the first boss without enough time to Kungaloosh it to full. Play it cool, and focus on bubbling your tanks with Power Word: Shield (PW:S). If you’re tank healing, keep one eye open during the trash pulls to see if any non-tank player is taking lots of aggro. This is the player you might have to Renew and PW:S during the bosses. Speaking of which…
Anub’Rekhan causes two types of AoE damage: a line of spikes that causes damage in a straight line from him to his target (and launches you in the air), and a Locust Swarm DoT that stacks… and silences.
Two crypt-keeper adds will also come out during the first few minutes of the fight. Generally the OT takes care of adds while the MT holds Anub’s attention.
If tank healing: Bubble the tanks and slap on a Renew on each a few ticks after you see the adds come out. If you get distracted, you run the risk of getting targeted by the line of spikes; if you find yourself tossed in the air, bubble yourself in air and slap a renew or PoM. Penance the crap out of your tanks if they need a more than a 25% boost; that procs Grace, which gives you a 9% increase to heals. Keep up Prayer of Mending whenever it cools down.
If raid healing: Keep an eye out for targets of the line of spikes. They need a bubble (it cushions their fall even if you don’t hit them before they hit the ground) and a Penance/Renew. If it’s you and another DPS in the air, target him with a Binding Heal to keep you both going.
When the Locust Swarm comes out, it’s your job to move to the center and heal the tanks and melee. Anub slows down just before casting (and an extra add comes out after it’s over). The tank will drag him around the edge of the room: bubble, renew, and penance the snot out of tank/melee as you run to the center of the room. All ranged DPS should be in the center with you. Anyone who’s not is going to start stacking damage, so know who your melees are and bubble/renew them.
Keep an eye out for Agonal Sash, Band of Neglected Pleas, Gloves of Dark Gestures, or Knife of Incision, if you’re a dagger fellow. You’ll be dancing on his grave when the rest of the group runs off through a few mobs, winds through the instance, and ends up in a huge room filled with mobs, a group of nattily dressed mages on a platform, and
Boss 2: Grand Widow Faerlina
Faerlina heads up my favorite fight in Naxx. She’ll hit the three closest players with a Poison Volley, toss out a little Rain of Fire indiscriminately when things get dull, and goes into a Frenzy.
You’ll be killing her four worshippers one after the other to remove her Frenzy effect right after she enters Frenzy. The raid leader will paint each worshipper with a target and call out their kill order (triangle-circle-moon-star is favored in our guild… unless I’m confusing it with a cooties shot again).
Your job is nice and simple: for tank healing, keep the tanks, yourself, and the other healer bubbled, Prayer of Mending on every cooldown and Penance when ready. Toss out Renews if you see your tanks getting poisoned or if it starts raining fire. Flash Heal to make up the difference. For raid heals, keep up as many bubbles as you can, Prayer of Healing the whole party when you see fire raining down, and put out (metaphorical) fires with your Penance. Keep up Prayer of Mending and it should be no problem.
Once you’ve scooped up Watchful Eye or Sash of Mortal Desire, scoot on down the hall, killing more mobs than ever, and don’t get locked out of the caged deathmatch that is
Boss 3: Maexxna
Maexxna means business. As soon as the tank (or a hapless DPS) engages her attention, the room becomes surrounded with webbing and any disc priest silly enough to hang out on the stone entry to her lair will get caught out in the cold. Luckily you can run straight into the lair- hugging the wall furthest from the giant drooling spider, mind- and hang out there without attracting any attention from her majesty.
Maexxna casts an AoE web spray every 40 seconds that hits everyone inescapably, Posion Shocks a 15-yard cone in front of herself every 10 seconds, Necrotic Poisons any melee target that touches her, and spray-webs random people to the wall every 40 seconds. Oh, and she sends out eight spiderlings every 40 seconds which seem magnetically drawn to healers. Did I mention she frenzies at 30% health to become bigger, faster, and meaner?
For tank healing: You can and should remove Necrotic Poison with Abolish Poison. It reduces the effects of your heals, so just hit Abolish if you see any green-ringed portraits. Poison Shock sprays in a cone in front of Big M; you’re looking at a spike down in tank health every 40 seconds or so. Bubble and Renew (my favorites) are less effective here than PoM, Penance, and Abolish Poison. Bubble yourself, and hit Fade when the spiderlings come out, but under no circumstances worry about the people getting laminated to the wall. Until YOU get laminated to the wall, in which case ping the map to tell a DPS where you are and Penance yourself the minute you get out.
When you get close to the 30% Freakout Moment… load your tank up with heal over time spells, bust out your extra mana juice/Shadowfiend/Hymn of Hope, and at the last moment slap your tank with Pain Suppression.
For raid healing: You can’t heal party members while they’re webbed, so don’t waste your time trying until they’re free. If things get very ugly and you’ve got lots of raiders at partial health, Divine Hymn and Prayer of Healing will help. Don’t forget to use Abolish Poison for every green-ringed portrait, and with any luck (and helping the tank heals pop some HoT onto the tank right before Maexxna hits 30%), you’ll come out of it with most party members intact.
Mop up any remains (or let those speedy Pally and Druid jerks do it, since they’re just going to interrupt your Resurrection anyway), and pounce on the Timeworn Silken Band, Embrace of the Spider, and Pendant of Lost Vocations.
PROCEED TO THE CONSTRUCT QUARTER ->
Disciplinary Action 