Lady Deathwhisper

Lady Deathwhisper
Title	Supreme Overseer of the Cult of the Damned
Gender	Female
Race	Lich (Undead)
Level	?? Boss
Affiliation(s)	Scourge, Cult of the Damned
Location	Oratory of the Damned, Icecrown Citadel
Status	Killable
Icecrown Citadel Lord Marrowgar Lady Deathwhisper Icecrown Gunship Battle Deathbringer Saurfang Festergut Rotface Professor Putricide Blood Prince Council Blood-Queen Lana'thel Valithria Dreamwalker Sindragosa The Lich King (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) Other Icecrown Citadel instances The Forge of Souls (5) Pit of Saron (5) Halls of Reflection (5)

The lich Lady Deathwhisper is the Supreme Overseer of the Cult of the Damned and the second boss of the Icecrown Citadel raid.

Strategy

This encounter bears some similarity to M'uru in Sunwell Plateau. It hinges on quickly picking up the spawns and proper balance between DPS-ing Deathwhisper and killing the add-waves, especially on 25-player or heroic mode. Ranged DPS in particular need to switch their target frequently, and be highly aware of the general situation. Her enrage timer is 10 minutes.

Phase One

Lady Deathwhisper is protected by her [Mana Shield], which converts damage taken to mana lost. Phase 2 starts as soon as she has taken enough damage to bring her mana to zero. If Phase 1 takes longer than 7 minutes, there may not be enough time remaining to kill her in Phase 2 before she enrages.

During Phase 1 she cannot be tanked and spams Shadow Bolt, Death and Decay and Dominate Mind on random raid members (Dominate Mind is only cast in 25-player mode, it affects one raid member in normal mode, and mutltiple targets in hard mode). The mind controlled raid members need to be Crowd Controlled.

After 5 seconds of combat and every 60 seconds thereafter seven adds (three in 10 man, alternating left, then right) spawn. The three gates on the left side of the room always spawn two fanatics and one adherent, the right side gates one fanatic and two adherents. A seventh add of a random type spawns on the stairs. All types of adds can be CC'd.

Living adds can explode (dark martyrdom) at random times, which deals AoE damage and turns them into their reanimated versions. Reanimated Fanatics (melee) are immune to physical damage, Reanimated Adherents are immune to magical damage. Also at random, Lady Deathwhisper buffs living adds. Buffed Adherents become "Empowered Adherents", adding an uninterruptible AOE spell to their abilities, buffed Fanatics are "Deformed Fanatics" and double their melee damage output. These four special add types are the most dangerous, and must be killed as priority targets.

Adherents are caster mobs who spam deathchill bolt, put a cooldown increasing curse on random players, and sometimes shield themselves with a spell reflect shield. The shield (Shroud of the Occult) takes 50,000 damage to remove, or can be Mass Dispelled. While the shield is on them, typical silencing effects like  [Shield Bash] do not work.

Fanatics have a high melee DPS output and a vicious cleave (melee DPS must take care to stand behind them). When buffed (as Deformed Fanatics), they double their damage output, and may also gain Vampiric Might, which is another 25% damage increase, plus a self heal for 3x the damage they cause. Deformed Fanatics should be kited, which is quite easy because their movement speed is halved.

Basic Tactic

A basic method is to assign three tanks to the spawn locations. The left and right sides also get a fixed set of melee damage dealers (more to the right side, fewer to the left). When adds spawn, all ranged DPS switch and kill the adds right where they spawn. After all adds are dead, all damage dealers switch back to the Boss, a few seconds prior to the next wave, melee run back to the spawn locations.

This method feels rather natural and it leads to a rather distributed setup, which helps minimizing the effect of Death and Decay. The drawbacks are rather low DPS (particularly by melee), and frequent target switching.

With some practice, melee can concentrate on the caster adds, and ranged help on the melee adds, if overall DPS is high enough, ranged need to switch only if one of the special adds comes up. Adherents can be gathered by Line of sight pulling, using the nearby walls.

Alternate Tactic

A different approach is to group all ranged and healers behind the boss (opposite to the stairs), and set up the tanks and melee group on the stairs side of the boss (on the edge of her hitbox). The whole raid hits the boss until adds spawn. At that time, the DPS casters set up an AoE kill zone (including some snares) right on the melee group. Adds normally aggro healers. Melee adds try to move to them and usually die while passing through the kill zone. Caster adds frequently stop outside the kill zone (and their shields protect them from the AoE). As in the normal method, tanks and melee must move to the caster adds, but the casters stand much closer to the melee group, and thus melee don't have to run far.The special add types still need extra care.

The advantage of this tactic is that damage output is substantially higher, and AoE healing is more effective. The drawback is that the raid stands quite concentrated on one spot, this makes Death and Decay much more dangerous.

Phase Two

After her shield is down, Lady Deathwhisper switches to a new set of abilities, she gets an aggro table (in effect her threat is reset) and also starts to melee and cast Frostbolt volley. No more Adherents or Fanatics spawn, instead Vengeful Spirits randomly spawn near players.

Her Frostbolt spell should be interrupted. Dominate Mind and Death and Decay continue as before. She stacks an ability called Touch of Insignificance on her tank. This reduces threat generation by 20% per stack (stacks to 5). On normal difficulty, she can be taunted.

Vengeful Spirits pick a random target and follow it for 10 seconds, they explode for 25,000 shadowfrost AoE damage when they catch up. In normal difficulty it's possible to heal through this, in hard mode probably not. Players targeted by a Vengeful Spirit need to kite it until it goes away.

Hard Mode

On the Public Test Realm Heroic difficulty had limited testing. Other than every ability simply hitting harder the main difference in the encounter that may encourage groups to alter their strategy is a shortened enrage timer and doubled hit points (but not mana) on Lady Deathwhisper herself thus greatly extending phase two.

If the heroic encounter is similar to the M'uru encounter on which it seems to be modelled on it is highly unlikely you will be able to focus all of your DPS on the add waves as they come, you will simply lose too much DPS on Deathwhisper herself. It seems likely that you will need to CC at least some of the adds through the entirety of phase 2 in order to beat the enrage timer, at least until the encounter is outgeared.

Abilities

25-player mode

Lady Deathwhisper

Both Phases

•  Death and Decay (Heroic mode) — 4500 Shadow damage inflicted every 1 sec to all targets in the affected area for 10 seconds. Instant. 8 yd radius. 6000 on Heroic

Note: Lady Deathwhisper's D&D uses the same animation as a death knight's but her is a distinct green color, making it easy to distinguish from a friendly player's D&D.

•  Dominate Mind 50,000 yd range — Subdues the will of target enemy, causing them to become charmed for 20 sec, with their damage dealt increased by 200% and healing done increased by 500% during that time. Instant. Targets three players on 25-man heroic difficulty.

Phase one only

•  Animate Dead — Reanimates a Cult Adherent or a Cult Fanatic.
•  Dark Empowerment 200 yd range — Empowers the Cult Adherent's spells, causing them to deal area damage and making them uninterruptable. 2 sec cast.
•  Dark Transformation 200 yd range — Transforms one random Cult Fanatic into an undead behemoth, increasing damage dealt by 100%. 2.5 second cast.
•  Mana Barrier — Envelops the caster in a powerful barrier that continually replenishes any lost health, at the expense of the caster's mana.
•  Shadow Bolt — Sends a shadowy bolt at the enemy, causing 11813 to 13187 Shadow damage. 100 yard range. 2 seconds cast.

Phase two only

•  Frostbolt 40 yd range — Inflicts 50,700 to 53,300 Frost damage to an enemy and reduces its movement speed by 50% for 4 sec. 2 sec cast. Interruptable but unresistable on heroic difficulty. 58,000 to 61,000 on Heroic.
•  Frostbolt Volley — Inflicts 14400 to 17600 Frost damage to nearby enemies, reducing their movement speed for 4 sec.. Instant.
•  Summon Vengeful Shade — Calls an unattackable Vengeful Shade that chases a player for a short time, casting Vengeful Blast upon catching them.
•  Touch of Insignificance 50,000 yd range — Reduces the target's threat generation by 20%. Instant. Stacks to five. Lasts 30 seconds.

Cult Adherent/Empowered Adherent/Reanimated Adherent

•  Adherent's Determination — Nearly impervious to magical damage. 99% reduction. Reanimated Adherent only.
•  Curse of Torpor 100 yd range — Afflicts an enemy target with a curse that increases ability cooldowns by 15 seconds. 1 sec cast. Curse
•  Deathchill Bolt (Heroic mode) 45 yd range — Deals 8788 to 10212 Shadowfrost damage to an enemy target. 2 sec cast. 11563-13437 on Heroic
•  Frost Fever 50,000 yd range — A disease dealing Frost damage every 3 seconds and reducing the target's melee and ranged attack speed by 14% for 15 seconds. Instant
•  Shroud of the Occult — Envelops the caster in a powerful barrier that reflects all harmful magic, prevents cast interruption, and absorbs up to 100,000 damage before breaking. Instant. Used randomly.
•  Deathchill Blast (Heroic mode) 45 yd range — Deals 11563 to 13437 Shadowfrost damage to all enemies within 10 yards of the target. 2 sec cast. Only cast while empowered. 11563-13437 on Heroic
•  Dark Martyrdom — The caster surrenders to dark energies, exploding to deal 12000 Shadowstorm damage to all enemies within 15 yards, and leaving only skeletal remains behind, thus becoming reanimated after a few seconds of death. 4 sec cast. Cast randomly

Cult Fanatic/Deformed Fanatic/Reanimated Fanatic

•  Fanatic's Determination — Nearly impervious to physical damage. 99% reduction. Reanimated Fanatic only.
•  Necrotic Strike (Heroic mode) Melee range — Strikes an enemy with a cursed blade, dealing 70% of weapon damage to the target and inflicting a lasting malady that negates the next 14000 healing received. Instant. 20 sec duration. 20000 healing on Heroic
•  Vampiric Might — Empowers the caster with dark might, increasing all damage dealt by 25% and heals the caster for 300% of his damage dealt. Instant. Magic. 15 sec duration. Used randomly.
•  Shadow Cleave (Heroic mode) Melee range — Inflicts 15913 to 17587 Shadow damage to enemies in front of the attacker. Next melee. 8 yard radius. 19000-21000 on Heroic (6 sec cooldown)
•  Dark Martyrdom — The caster surrenders to dark energies, exploding to deal 12000 Shadowstorm damage to all enemies within 15 yards, and leaving only skeletal remains behind, thus becoming reanimated after a few seconds of death. 4 sec cast. Cast randomly.

Vengeful Shade

•  Vengeful Blast Melee range — Inflicts 23160 to 24840 Shadowfrost damage to all enemies within 20 yards of the target.

10-player mode

Lady Deathwhisper

Both Phases

•  Death and Decay (Heroic mode) — 4500 Shadow damage inflicted every 1 sec to all targets in the affected area for 10 seconds. Instant. 8 yd radius. 6000 on Heroic

Phase one only

•  Animate Dead — Reanimates a Cult Adherent or a Cult Fanatic.
•  Dark Empowerment 200 yd range — Empowers the recipient's spells, causing them to deal area damage and making them uninterruptable. 2 sec cast.
•  Dark Transformation 200 yd range — Transforms one random Cult Fanatic into an undead behemoth, increasing damage dealt by 100%. 2.5 second cast.
•  Mana Barrier — Envelops the caster in a powerful barrier that continually replenishes any lost health, at the expense of the caster's mana.
•  Shadow Bolt — Inflicts 9,188 to 11,812 Shadow damage to an enemy. 100 yard range. 2 seconds cast.

Phase two only

•  Frostbolt 40 yd range — Inflicts 37,000 Frost damage to an enemy and reduces its movement speed by 50% for 4 seconds. 2 sec cast. Interruptable but unresistable on heroic difficulty. 44,850 to 47,150 on Heroic.
•  Frostbolt Volley — Inflicts 10800 to 13200 Frost damage to nearby enemies, reducing their movement speed for 4 sec. Instant.
•  Summon Vengeful Shade — Calls an unattackable Vengeful Shade that chases a player for a short time, casting Vengeful Blast upon catching them.
•  Touch of Insignificance 50,000 yd range — Reduces the target's threat generation by 20%. Instant. Stacks to five. Lasts 30 seconds.

Cult Adherent/Empowered Adherent/Reanimated Adherent

•  Adherent's Determination — Nearly impervious to magical damage. 99% reduction. Reanimated Adherent only
•  Curse of Torpor 100 yd range — Afflicts an enemy target with a curse that increases ability cooldowns by 15 seconds. 1 sec cast. Curse
•  Deathchill Bolt (Heroic mode) 45 yd range — Deals 6938 to 8062 Shadowfrost damage to an enemy target. 2 sec cast. 8788-10212 on Heroic
•  Frost Fever 50,000 yd range — A disease dealing Frost damage every 3 seconds and reducing the target's melee and ranged attack speed by 14% for 15 seconds. Instant
•  Shroud of the Occult — Envelops the caster in a powerful barrier that reflects all harmful magic, prevents cast interruption, and absorbs up to 50,000 damage before breaking. Instant. Used randomly.
•  Deathchill Blast (Heroic mode) 45 yd range — Deals 9250 to 10750 Shadowfrost damage to all enemies within 10 yards of the target. 2 sec cast. Only cast while empowered. 11563-13437 on Heroic
•  Dark Martyrdom — The caster surrenders to dark energies, exploding to deal 12000 Shadowstorm damage to all enemies within 15 yards, and leaving only skeletal remains behind, thus becoming reanimated after a few seconds of death. 4 sec cast. Cast randomly.

Cult Fanatic/Deformed Fanatic/Reanimated Fanatic

•  Fanatic's Determination — Nearly impervious to physical damage. 99% reduction. Reanimated Fanatic only
•  Necrotic Strike (Heroic mode) Melee range — Strikes an enemy with a cursed blade, dealing 70% of weapon damage to the target and inflicting a lasting malady that negates the next 9000 healing received. Instant. 20 sec duration. 14000 healing on Heroic
•  Vampiric Might — Empowers the caster with dark might, increasing all damage dealt by 25% and heals the caster for 300% of his damage dealt. Instant. Magic. 15 sec duration. Used randomly.
•  Shadow Cleave (Heroic mode) Melee range — Inflicts 14250 to 15750 Shadow damage to enemies in front of the attacker. Next melee. 8 yard radius. 19000-21000 on Heroic (6 sec cooldown)
•  Dark Martyrdom — The caster surrenders to dark energies, exploding to deal 12000 Shadowstorm damage to all enemies within 15 yards, and leaving only skeletal remains behind, thus becoming reanimated after a few seconds of death. 4 sec cast. Cast randomly.

Vengeful Shade

•  Vengeful Blast Melee range — Inflicts 17370 to 18630 Shadowfrost damage to all enemies within 15 yards of the target.

Quotes

Intro

Fix your eyes upon your crude hands! The sinew, the soft meat, the dark blood coursing within! It is a weakness! A crippling flaw! A joke played by the creators upon their own creations! The sooner you come to accept your condition as a defect, the sooner you will find yourselves in a position to transcend it!

Through our master all things are possible! His power is without limit, and his will unbending! Those who oppose him will be destroyed utterly! And those who serve, who serve wholly, unquestioningly, with utter devotion of mind and soul? Elevated! To heights beyond your ken!

You have found your way here, because you are among the few gifted with true vision in a world cursed with blindness! You can see through the fog that hangs over this world like a shroud and grasp where true power lies!

Aggro

• What is this disturbance?! You dare trespass upon this hallowed ground? This shall be your final resting place.

Phase Two

• Enough! I see I must take matters into my own hands!

Dominate Mind

• You are weak, powerless to resist my will!

Dark Empowerment

• Take this blessing and show these intruders a taste of our master's power.

Dark Transformation

• I release you from the curse of flesh!

Animate Dead

• Arise and exalt in your pure form!

Killing a player

• Do you yet grasp of the futility of your actions?
• Embrace the darkness... Darkness eternal!

Berserk

• This charade has gone on long enough.

Death

• All part of the masters plan! Your end is... inevitable!

Loot

Normal mode

10 man	Type	Description	Slot	25 man	Type	Description	Slot
Njordnar Bone Bow	Bow	Melee	Ranged	[Zod's Repeating Longbow]	Bow	Melee	Ranged
[Scourgelord's Baton]	Off hand	Caster +hit	Off hand	[Heartpierce]	One hand	Melee	Dagger
[Deathspeaker Zealot's Helm]	Plate	Melee	Head	[Nibelung]	Two hand	Caster	Staff
[Ghoul Commander's Cuirass]	Plate	Tank	Chest	[Blood-Soaked Saronite Stompers]	Plate	Melee	Feet
[Handgrips of Frost and Sleet]	Mail	Melee	Hands	[Fallen Lord's Handguards]	Plate	Healer	Hands
[Deathspeaker Disciple's Belt]	Mail	Healer	Waist	[Broken Ram Skull Helm]	Plate	Tank	Head
[Chestguard of the Frigid Noose]	Leather	Melee	Chest	[Leggings of Northern Lights]	Mail	Melee	Legs
[Soulthief's Braided Belt]	Leather	Melee	Waist	[Necrophotic Greaves]	Mail	Healer	Feet
[Boots of the Frozen Seed]	Leather	Caster	Feet	[Cultist's Bloodsoaked Spaulders]	Leather	Melee	Shoulders
[Sister's Handshrouds]	Cloth	Caster +hit	Hands	Deathwhisper Chestpiece	Leather	Caster	Chest
[Bracers of Dark Blessings]	Cloth	Caster	Wrist	[Shoulders of Mercy Killing]	Cloth	Caster +hit	Shoulders
[Whispering Fanged Skull]	Trinket	Melee	Trinket	[The Lady's Brittle Bracers]	Cloth	Caster +hit	Wrist
[Emblem of Frost] x2		Currency		[Ring of Maddening Whispers]	Finger	Caster	Ring
				[Juggernaut Band]	Finger	Tank	Ring
				[Ahn'kahar Onyx Neckguard]	Necklace	Melee	Neck
				[Emblem of Frost] x2		Currency
				[Primordial Saronite]		Ingredient
				[Shadowfrost Shard]		Quest Item

Heroic mode

10 man	Type	Description	Slot	25 man	Type	Description	Slot
Njordnar Bone Bow (heroic)	Bow	Melee	Ranged	Zod's Repeating Longbow (heroic)	Bow	Melee	Ranged
Scourgelord's Baton (heroic)	Off hand	Caster +hit	Off hand	Heartpierce (heroic)	One hand	Melee	Dagger
Deathspeaker Zealot's Helm (heroic)	Plate	Melee	Head	Nibelung (heroic)	Two hand	Caster	Staff
Ghoul Commander's Cuirass (heroic)	Plate	Tank	Chest	Blood-Soaked Saronite Stompers (heroic)	Plate	Melee	Feet
Handgrips of Frost and Sleet (heroic)	Mail	Melee	Hands	Fallen Lord's Handguards (heroic)	Plate	Healer	Hands
Deathspeaker Disciple's Belt (heroic)	Mail	Healer	Waist	Broken Ram Skull Helm (heroic)	Plate	Tank	Head
Chestguard of the Frigid Noose (heroic)	Leather	Melee	Chest	Leggings of Northern Lights (heroic)	Mail	Melee	Legs
Soulthief's Braided Belt (heroic)	Leather	Melee	Waist	Necrophotic Greaves (heroic)	Mail	Healer	Feet
Boots of the Frozen Seed (heroic)	Leather	Caster	Feet	Cultist's Bloodsoaked Spaulders (heroic)	Leather	Melee	Shoulders
Sister's Handshrouds (heroic)	Cloth	Caster +hit	Hands	Deathwhisper Chestpiece (heroic)	Leather	Caster	Chest
Bracers of Dark Blessings (heroic)	Cloth	Caster	Wrist	Shoulders of Mercy Killing (heroic)	Cloth	Caster +hit	Shoulders
Whispering Fanged Skull (heroic)	Trinket	Melee	Trinket	The Lady's Brittle Bracers (heroic)	Cloth	Caster +hit	Wrist
[Emblem of Frost] x2		Currency		Ring of Maddening Whispers (heroic)	Finger	Caster	Ring
[Primordial Saronite]		Ingredient		Juggernaut Band (heroic)	Finger	Tank	Ring
				Ahn'kahar Onyx Neckguard (heroic)	Necklace	Melee	Neck
				[Emblem of Frost] x2		Currency
				[Primordial Saronite]		Ingredient
				[Shadowfrost Shard]		Quest Item

Related Achievements

•  [Full House (10 player)]
•  [Full House (25 player)]
•  [Storming the Citadel (10 player)]
•  [Storming the Citadel (25 player)]
•  [Heroic: Storming the Citadel (10 player)]
•  [Heroic: Storming the Citadel (25 player)]

Patch changes

• Template:Patched
• Patch 3.3.0 (2009-12-08): Added.
  

Trivia

• Lady Deathwhisper is the only lich in the game known to be female.
• Her model's name is called the "Minister of Death".

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB

Bosskillers Full strategy guide with diagrams

Todowow Guia en Español

WoWJuju Stats, abilities and strategy for Lady Deathwhisper.