Lord Valthalak

Orebender Gor'ashan Kyrak‎ Commander Tharbek Ragewing the Untamed Warlord Zaela	(lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore)
Loot

File:Valthalak.jpg

Lord Valthalak

File:Spirit lord valthalak.jpg

The spirit of Lord Valthalak that spawns after killing him.

Lord Valthalak is a Drakonid boss summoned in Upper Blackrock Spire by a Brazier of Beckoning. Strangely, he is categorized as a humanoid, and not as a dragonkin like other drakonids. He is the last boss in the Dungeon Set 2 quest line.

General Information

• Level: Boss
• Location: Upper Blackrock Spire - The Lair of the Beast
• Type: Humanoid (Drakonid)
• Health: 100,000
• Mana: 2620

Attacks and Abilities

Phase 1:

Valthalak has a caster type weak melee attack in phase 1. A slow one that does 400-500 damage to a warrior.

Shadow Wrath

A shadow-based, chain life drain, which obviously translates into healing for himself. Hits for 750 Shadow damage on the first target, and will jump to another target if anyone is close enough. Each time it jumps, it doubles in damage in the manner of Holy Wrath from High Priest Venoxis from Zul'Gurub. At the 4th jump, the damage will be 6k and lethal for most people. Being a life-drain, all damage dealt will heal Valthalak.

• Keep him away from the raid party and don't let anyone get close enough for a bounce to chain to the rest of the group. A distance of 20 to 30 yards is fine.
• Ensure that your party is spread out from each other so if a chain is unavoidable, you at least minimize the bounces. Or alternatively, try the Blackstar Triangle of Doom, described below.

Heal

The chain life drain (noted above) will replenish his health, so it is important that you have a warrior tank the mob alone (until phase 2). Alternately, if you have more people in melee range, you will need to interrupt when he casts the life drain. It will show as a purple beam that chains between friendly targets.

Have one or two people mana drain him (his regen and total mana are quite low). The spell is also interruptible using standard methods( [Shield Bash], [Earth Shock], [Counterspell], etc.). A mod such as EnemyCast or Spell Alert can be helpful. All his spells will sadly not show up on the standard 'EnemyCastBar' you can have displayed below the enemy portrait.

Lord Valthalak apparently has no specific animations when he heals. Warriors with [Mortal Strike] would greatly assist, as well as rogues with wound poisons. It is also possible to just DPS through the heals. The rate that Valthalak heals himself appears to be random.

Spectral Assassins

These spawn two at a time throughout phase 1. They will run towards someone in your raid (can include pets) and eventually cast a mindflay-like Defile ability (a purple vile beam). Defile cannot be dispelled/cleansed and stuns its target for ten seconds. If the spell is allowed to complete, its target dies and is transformed into an additional Spectral Assassin. The assassins have around 1,500 hp with little to no armor and resistances.

• Everyone must kill Spectral Assassins as soon as they appear. Be wary if you use a mouse to target because they can be hard to see and click. You can hit 'v' to bring up the Mob Health panes or use this macro: /target Spec (recommended). If you use a keyboard for targeting, no adjustments are necessary; just do as usual.

• They can be damaged by Area of Effect spells.

• The spectral assassins' Defile cannot be interrupted by normal methods( [Kick], [Shield Bash], etc). Other abilities like [Scatter Shot], [Concussion Blow], [Hammer of Justice],... do work. Use them if you cannot kill the Assassin in time to save a raid member.

• Ranged DPS plays a key role here as Hunters, Mages, Warlocks, and Shaman can kill the assassins without having to frantically cross the room. This can be critical particularly when they spawn at or near Valthalak.

• Stun spells work best to disrupt Defile.

Phase 2: Enrage

At 40% health he will switch weapons and start hitting very hard. He stops spawning Spectral Assassins but still does Shadow Wrath if he has mana.

• [Disarm] him whenever available.
• By this point your tank should have a great deal of threat accumulated so just burn him down.

Phase 3: Shadow Bolt Volley

At 15% health, he will frequently cast an AoE [Shadow Bolt] on the entire raid in addition to the changes in phase 2.

• Maximize your DPS, finish him fast.
• Use a  [Greater Shadow Protection Potion] if necessary to minimize the shadow damage.

General Advice

• If you plan on doing several attempts, have someone logout a character that can resurrect in The Beast's room. If you wipe, you can simply log them in and resurrect a healer in your party to continue.
• Valthalak can be disarmed so do it whenever it's up (particularly in phase 2). He doesn't hit that hard to begin with, but this will help your healers conserve mana, which will be much more needed when his damage picks up in phases 2 and 3.
• If all rogues and other melee dps stay behind Valthalak at max range opposite the tank shadow wrath will not hop to them.
• Have priests cast [Prayer of Shadow Protection] on the group before starting.

Alternative tactic: Blackstar Triangle of Doom

As an alternative tactic, you can try the Blackstar Triangle of Doom, performed with success by Clan Blackstar on 19 December 2006.

Group Composition

Clan Blackstar first tried with two Warriors, two Paladins, two Warlocks, one Hunter, one Priest, one Mage and one feral Druid. After three wipes, it became quite obvious the group was severely lacking in ranged DPS, so a Warlock and the Druid were exchanged for two extra Hunters.

In general, try to limit the number of melee DPS'ers as much as you can.

Fight setup

The main tank fights Lord Valthalak where he is summoned, in the middle of the room. The rest of the raid splits up in two tight groups, one group near the southwest corner of the room, the other near the southeast corner of the room. Hunters in each group should have range on the other group. Each group contains at least one ranged DPS character, preferably two or more.

How it works

• The main tank is the only one near Valthalak at all times. This prevents his heals from becoming a real problem.
• Spectral Assassins always spawn at Lord Valthalak and will either target the main tank or move to one of the two groups to attack a player there. Designate a number of ranged DPS'ers to focus on Spectral Assassins as soon as they appear. At least two well-geared characters are recommended. Melee characters also protect the others in their group from the Spectral Assassins' Defile ability. Don't forget to use stuns, Gouge, Scatter Shot, etc. when a character is almost dying from Defile. You should get Valthalak to 40% without losing anyone to the Spectral Assassins.
• Designate the remaining ranged DPS to take Lord Valthalak down as fast as possible. They should still keep an eye on the Spectral Assassins, in case the other players cannot kill them fast enough alone.
• Once he reaches 40%, the designated roles change. Everyone focuses on Lord Valthalak now, including melee characters, and goes maximum DPS. No more Spectral Assassins will spawn. Use [Disarm] liberally to lower incoming damage and have your healers pay a lot of attention to tanks in particular. He hits very hard now and will cast AoE shadowbolts.
• Mana draining him is not needed in this tactic. Only the tank will be targeted by his Drain Life and the little health he gains in this way can be DPS'ed through. When mana draining him in the first few attempts using this technique, a decrease in Valthalak's healing was not observed.

Overall review

This is a very challenging fight. You may need some practice to get it right. Once you get to Phase 2 (at 40%), the fight becomes a more standard boss fight. The number of ranged DPS'ers in your raid will make or break the attempt. Hunters, Mages, Shadow Priests, Elemental Shaman and Balance Druids are recommended in particular. Warlocks might work, but assign them to Lord Valthalak as they usually lack the burst DPS to kill the Spectral Assassins in time.

Alternative Tactic: Kodo Punch

The White Kodo Clan of server Feathermoon had relatively little success with the advice and strategies given above. Domoniac of the WKC suggested the following strategy. It was successfully done December 20, 2006.

Group Composition

• Main Tank Warrior
• 2 DPS warriors
• 2 Priests
• 1 Elemental Shaman
• 1 Enhancement Shaman
• 1 Mage
• 1 Hunter
• 1 Warlock

There is a large amount of melee DPS in this group, as opposed to other strategies where their numbers are limited.

Fight Setup

Put all of the ranged DPS and healers into the south west one corner of the room. This group stands as close together as possible, so that when the shades come running out, it is clear where they are going to run. The main tank stands in the center of the room, within healing distance of the corner. The melee DPS stands between the casters and the main tank.

As pointed out in a strategy above, melee has issues getting to the shades on time. It has been recommend keeping melee DPS far away from the boss, but WKC couldn't get him below 80% with that technique.

How It Works

During the Phase 1, Valthalak summons his Shades. Most of these Shades will immediately run towards the group of casters, and it is the job of the ranged DPS to remove them as quickly as possible. The job of the melee DPS is to put as much damage on Valthalak as possible after waiting for 3 [Sunder Armor], ignoring the shades for the most part.

Some of the Shades will stop and stand next to Valthalak and cast their spell from that position. When this happens, it is the priority of the melee DPS to kill that shade quickly and then turn back to Valthalak.

With the amount of DPS that is put on the boss, his healing has not been an issue.

During Phase 2, the casters should spread out. Otherwise Phase's 2 and 3 remain the same as the above strategies. It is likely that your melee DPS will die during Phase 3, and they should expect this as priority healing should remain on the Main Tank.

Alternative Tactic: Supreme Ownage

The Supremacy of server Malygos also had relatively little success with the advice and strategies given above. Havuc of the Supremacy suggested the following strategy. It was successfully done January 7, 2007.

Group Composition

• Main Tank Warrior
• 2 Rogues
• 1 Priest
• 1 Druid
• 3 Mages
• 1 Hunter
• 1 Warlock

This group configuration is oriented to maximize DPS output, with minimal healing support, to result in relatively quick encounter.

Warrior should have at least 400 defense, 100 shadow resistance (unbuffed).

Fight Setup

Tank acquires aggro and faces Valthalak towards the entrance into the beast room. This allows Rogues to strike from behind, while allowing both Rogues and the Warrior to remain in healing range.

During Phase 1, Mages are key to making this part easy. As Valthalak begins to summon in his shades, 2 mages run up and one freezes the shades in place as they are spawned, and then both mages Arcane Explosion the Shades to death. Each cast does roughly 25% dmg to the shades. Therefore 2 casts from each mage effectively kill all Shades.

The goal here is to lock them in place as soon as they spawn near Valthalak, so as they are Arcane’d down, the Aoe is also hitting Valthalak himself. Mages must be quick to kill the shades, and equally quick to then race back out of range of his chain attack. Mages are advised not to run directly back towards the healers, instead they should run to the side wall, and then back to the healers to prevent chain jumps in the event they are caught by it.

Rogues should be keeping a steady stream of dps on Valthalak, as should the hunter from ranged distance with pet only attacking shades, as not to pull aggro away from MT. Warlock should stack DOT’s and then proceed to immediately drain all his mana. Priest should be dedicated to healing the MT while the druid spot heals as necessary with backing up priest on MT as well. In the event mages do not take down shades and some get loose, priority to everyone, save the tank, is given to killing the remaining shades ASAP.

Note: With this much DPS, it is very hard for the MT to maintain aggro during stage 1, which can cause Lord Valthalak to run around. All melee DPS classes should focus on pulling him back to his original tanking location, and the MT should take care in Taunting him when he is moving, and not waste the taunt when Lord Valthalak is in the process of casting.

During Phase 2 (40%), Valthalak needs to be disarmed, and the DPS upped dramatically to tear him through this phase as fast as possible, as the MT will be taking an incredible amount of physical damage. If any party members have low shadow resistance, and the fight is proceeding slow through phase 2, have them quaff greater shadow resistance potions around 25-20% depending on how fast the DPS is going. Druid should be ready to Innervate the priest during this phase.

During Phase 3 (15%), the entire party needs to go all out on DPS. Activate any special abilities and most powerful attacks now. Throw the kitchen sink at him and drop him immediately.

How It Works

During the Phase 1, Valthalak will summon his shades, which is a big production and can be seen coming a mile away. Since the mages mow them down upon arrival, it frees the party up to focus on DPS for about 15-20 seconds between Shade summons. Because the shades will be taken out of the equation, his healing is minimal once his mana is drained. So look for him to heal a few times at first, but then once the mana is gone, his life will start dropping rapidly.

With the exception of the 2 Rogues, and the 2 mages that run in to kill shades, the rest of the party should stay a long the back wall. In the event of a spank, being position as such will allow the party to recover for another attempt.

During Phase 2, any class that can stun a boss, should attempt to do so. Reducing Valthalak’s damage on the tank is necessary, and the tank better have a healthstone (like the entire party), and some major healing potions ready to be used here.

During Phase 3, everyone goes all out and healers focus on keeping the MT alive at the expense of the other classes. You have to drop him, and you need to keep the tank up. As noted with previous strategies, most likely your melee dps will die at this point. Expect it.

In summary, this tactic all rides on your group’s ability to output large quantities of DPS so as not to dry out the limited resources of healing. If it is adequate enough in the damage department, shadow resistance during phase 3 isn’t really necessary, as that last 15% really doesn’t last that long. If done correctly and with the right people, this tactic is easily less then 5 minutes for the win.

Alternative Tactic: Safe Zone

The Super PuG raid alliance on server Blackwater Raiders also had little success using the strategies above, and developed this tactic in an effort minimize incoming DPS from the shadowbolt vollies. He was downed using this strategy on 9 January, 2007.

Group Composition

• MT in stamina/shadow resist gear
• 1 Rogues
• 2 Priests
• 1 Shaman (Elemental)
• 2 Mages
• 2 Hunters
• 2 Warlock

As nobody in the group was overgeared for the encounter, this group was designed for ranged DPS and healing endurance, to allow for a long fight.

Fight Setup

You need to clear The Furnace outside the beasts room as the ranged DPS will be running out there during phase 3 to get out of the shadowbolt vollies. Once it is clear, go into the Beast's room and take care of The Beast.

Next, ensure all the ranged DPS has heavy runecloth bandages for phase 3. The hunters should have their pets out, and all warlocks should summon imp pets and turn off [Phase Shift] so they are vulnerable at all times. The idea is for the pets to serve as target dummies for the assassins, lessening the chance they will defile an actual character. Uncontrollable combat pets should NOT be used as they will run up to Lord Valthalak, and this is a no-melee fight.

Also, all the DPS classes should create a macro "/target spec" and place it on their hotbar.

The tank should stand in the center of the room near where Lord Valthalak spawns, the healers at the corner of the entrance to the beasts room, near the fires, and the ranged DPS group and the rogue stand just inside the Beast's room.

At the start of phase 1, the tank grabs Lord Valthalak and tanks him exactly where he spawns. A hunter applies a Viper Sting and the warlocks burn his mana while the warrior applies sunders. All DPS stays off until he is completely mana drained. After he his mana drained, ranged DPS can start on Lord Valthalak.

During phase 1 he will spawn his assassians, it is critical that everyone spam their macro to quickly target them and burn them down before they reach the raid. They can channel defile on the raid from Lord Valthalak your hunters have to be on the ball. Ideally, with all the pets out, they will sponge up a significant portion of the defiles and make killing them much easier. If any assassians reach the raid, the rogue will take them out. Hunters reapply Viper Sting as necessary to keep his mana drained.

Also during phase 1, the healers, standing in the corner, will move into a position such that they have LOS to the tank but NOT to Lord Valthalak. At 50% the healers should use Major Mana Potions to ensure they have mana and the potion cooldown is not active during phase 3 when they will likely need to pot again.

At 40%, phase 2 begins. Assassians stop spawning, Valthalak pulls out melee weapons, and begins hitting much harder. Nothing changes, all melee DPS stays off Lord Valthalak, hunters keep him mana drained.

At 15%, phase 3 begins, and he begins spamming AoE shadowbolt vollies on the raid. As the healers have no LOS to Lord Valthalak, the vollies will not hit the healers and they can simply continue healing the tank. At this point melee DPS and pets go in but will likely not live long enough to make any real difference. Hunters will keep up ranged DPS, and when they get to half health or so, run out of the room, thus breaking LOS and no longer being hit by the shadowbolt vollies. While in the safe zone, they will bandage back to full health and then re-enter the Beast's room and continue DPS on Lord Valthalak.

Summary

This strategy results in an easy, but long fight, usually 7-10 minutes. Your healers need to come prepared for an endurance fight, other than that it makes for an easy run.

Quests

•  [60R] Mea Culpa, Lord Valthalak

Loot

• [Draconian Aegis of the Legion]
• [Handguards of Savagery]
• [Ironweave Cowl]
• [Leggings of Torment]
• [Lord Valthalak's Staff of Command]
• [Pendant of Celerity]
• [Rune Band of Wizardry]
• [Shroud of Domination]

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB

Leader	Ebyssian
Characters	Deathwing Drakkisath Nalice Nefarian Onyxia Sabellian Sintharia Wrathion
Territories	Badlands Blackrock Mountain Blade's Edge Mountains Burning Steppes Deathwing's Lair Lethlor Ravine Maw of Neltharion Obsidian Dragonshrine Obsidian Sanctum Redridge Mountains The Dragonmurk Wyrmbog
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Groups and cults	Blacktalon Obsidian Brood Obsidian Outcasts Blackwing Death Talon Firemane Blackwyrm Cult Blackhowl Twilight's Hammer Wyrmcult Rage Talon Worldbreakers