Ready Check is a column focusing on successful raiding for the serious raider. Hardcore or casual, Vault of Archavon or Ulduar, everyone can get in on the action and down some bosses.

If you remember, back when Emalon the Storm Watcher hit the ground, our own Zach Yonzon warned you that Emalon was no loot pinata. While Archavon required only a bare minimum of basic skills, and was really just a DPS race even when he first came out, Emalon to this day requires your group to vaguely pay attention and kill the big, growing add first.

With the beginning of the new Arena season, Koralon the FIre Watcher has taken up residence with Emalon and Archavon. He lives to the left of the hall, opposite to where Emalon hangs out. In terms of skill, he's only slightly more difficult than Archavon. In fact, I'd say he's probably easier, if your group's gear can support your ability to kill him. Check out the strategy behind the cut.


We'll go through his four abilities first, because that's what we do.

Koralon the Flame Watcher

• Burning Breath - Inflicts Fire damage to all targets every 1 second for 3 seconds.
• Meteor Fists - Attacks inflict damage split evenly to targets within 10 yards of the primary target.
• Blazing Embers - Inflicts Fire damage every 1 second for as long as the target remains in the flame. Don't stand in the fire and you won't take damage.
  
• Burning Fury - Increases all damage by 5%. This ability stacks about once every twenty seconds, and is responsible for the "DPS race" aspect of Koralon.

Strategy

Okay, check this out. I mean it this time. The big secret to Koralon the Flame Watcher is do not stand in fire. That's the short version. Here's the slightly longer version.

You're going to want two tanks, a few healers, and a bunch of DPS. We get by with two or three healers, but you may need more depending on your tanks' gear levels.

When you enter the room to fight Koralon, you may notice it's kind of round, similar to the rooms for Emalon and Archavon. In the center is another circle. You can think of that as your tanks' race track. When your main tank pulls Koralon, tug him to the perimeter of that race track circle. Tank him in place.

Your off-tank needs to be standing immediately next to your main tank. This is because from time to time, Koralon picks up the ability called Meteor Fists. When Meteor Fists happen, he will punch your main tank in the face, and split that damage with anyone else who is standing nearby. Having two tanks stand there mean they split the damage evenly. You could go with a third, but then you're robbing yourself of some DPS.

The next thing to keep in mind is that Koralon will occasionally put patches of fire on the ground. Don't stand in them. Whenever your tanks and melee DPS find they can no longer do their job due to too much fire on the ground, have your tank slowly move backward around that racetrack. You don't have to constantly kite him. Just kind of nudge him back each time someone says "There's nowhere to stand!" If you have trouble actually seeing the fire (which is a fairly valid thing to say), it will appear as a debuff. If you have the debuff, you should move, because that means you're standing in fire.

Koralon will occasionally do some light AE raid damage, which most healers will be able to handle without much trouble. However, this is mostly gear dependent. If you're coming in to Koralon with a bunch of fresh 80s, you might want to have a little extra healing just in case.

Except for those few things, this is a DPS race. Burning Fury will continually stack until Koralon hits the ground. If you're doing it right, and not too many DPS are standing in fire, then that will be before Burning Fury stacks sufficiently to make your tank unhealable.

Summary

So, that's the fight in a nutshell. Try not to stand in fire. Shoot hard, shoot fast. If the tank has too much fire around for anyone to stand there, circle Koralon around the racetrack.

I'm not quite sure why Koralon is so much easier compared to Emalon. I personally think that it's to help supply gear that will get folks caught up and ready for the Icecrown raid. Or, maybe it's an apology for Emalon. I don't know. I like to think that's it's to help get people up to par. It's just a loot lottery that you have to put some work into. It's not like epics are being flung across Northrend, so that's my favorite explanation.

My advice for anyong PUGging this fight, however, would be to fight Koralon first. That way, if your PUG isn't quite up to it, you can still try and find another. While the fight isn't hard, it does require some gear and coordination. And to be fair, if folks aren't used to a don't-stand-in-fire raiding still, this could be somewhat new.

Good luck, and good hunting!

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Tags: archavon, emalon, guide, guide-to-raid-leading, koralon, koralon-the-fire-watcher, koralon-the-flame-watcher, leadership, raid-guide, raid-leader, raid-leader-guide, raiding-guide, raids, the-flame-watcher, vault-of-archavon, wow-guide, wow-guide-to-raid-leading, wow-raid-leader, wow-raiding, wow-raids

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Ready Check (Raiding)