Cataclysm Beta: Testing Halfus Wyrmbreaker in Bastion of Twilight
by Matt Low 
Oct 18th 2010 at 8:00PM
I don't have much in regards to the lore and stuff, but something about this boss tells me that he controls and restrains drakes (or wyrms).
Unfortunately, I didn't do much in the way of healing. The group I was with already had capable healers. When it comes to DPS, I can either play a retribution paladin or an elemental shaman. I haven't had a whole ton of experience experimenting with paladins and the new holy power mechanics yet, so I played it safe and offered up an elemental shaman instead.
If you're curious about my gear level, I copied over an elemental shaman loaded with heroic level blue items. I reforged, cut and enchanted as much of my gear as I could, once I got my UI to a somewhat playable level before the gates were opened up.
Just another face in the crowd
You guys wanted crowd control back during raids, right? Check out the amount of trash in this area.
All I know is that there is a dude back there who casts Dark Mending (and heals one of these bigger dudes). The trash got a whole lot more interesting. Seems the big dude with the spinning swords around him has a buff whereby damage that does not exceed 10,000 is automatically reduced to 1. I suppose that that is a form of DPS check, in place just to make sure everyone meets the minimum standard in order to get in.
Breaking the Wyrmbreaker
Once we cleared the trash, it was on to the Wyrmbreaker himself!
We squared off against him for several seconds before he popped open that cage behind him and unleashed some whelps. Normally, it wouldn't have been a problem and we'd just shrug them off. But when these whelps were active, damage done by players was reduced by 20 percent. We brought them on top of Halfus and started DPSing them down with multi-target and AoE spells. They went down without a fuss.
Halfus also has an annoying flying wyrm that hovers just out of reach behind the raid and periodically breathes fire on the raid. The healers handled that admirably. I can't remember, but he did shoot fireballs at individuals. It wasn't even noticeable.
Halfus also has an annoying flying wyrm that hovers just out of reach behind the raid and periodically breathes fire on the raid. The healers handled that admirably. I can't remember, but he did shoot fireballs at individuals. It wasn't even noticeable.
Once he reached low health, he started spinning around and Whirlwinding the entire group. The tanks commented that there might have been a threat issue going on. It appears that even though they had full threat, he would randomly go after different players. We wiped on that attempt. On the shot after, the tank placed Vigilance on the off tank and continued to chain taunt during the Whirlwind phase, since it refreshes. That's probably a bug, though. I don't think it is intentional for tanks to be able to continuously chain taunt. It just negated the effects of Whirlwind.
Something new every week
Supposedly, every week there will be a different wyrm (or wyrms) for the off tank to take on. I don't know if that's true or not, but it is an interesting way to add variety to an encounter. Every week, the fundamentals of the boss mechanics will stay the same, but there will be a different wyrm for your off tank to pick up, thereby forcing the raid to react differently. Good way to keep things fresh longer, that's for sure.
Something new every week
Supposedly, every week there will be a different wyrm (or wyrms) for the off tank to take on. I don't know if that's true or not, but it is an interesting way to add variety to an encounter. Every week, the fundamentals of the boss mechanics will stay the same, but there will be a different wyrm for your off tank to pick up, thereby forcing the raid to react differently. Good way to keep things fresh longer, that's for sure.
As for what it was like to raid as an elemental shaman, it is rather a satisfying feeling to drop 40k+ Lava Burst crits. I know I missed a few crucial spells or procs here and there -- but c'mon, let's give ol' Matty some credit. I spent my entire raiding career as a healer and stepped in to dish out damage! Almost enough to make me consider re-rolling for the expansion.
Almost.
Special thanks to Blacksen and his crew from <Imperative> for allowing me the opportunity to see beta test the raiding content with them.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Drakkenfyre Oct 18th 2010 9:06PM
You guys see that pic above? That's our new login screen.
Darky Oct 18th 2010 10:06PM
Do you have any idea if the 1000 damage reduction also applies to dots? ( i have an unholy DK and a spriest that await eagerly for your response :P)
PS:I honestly believe the phrase "that that" proves the english language doesn't work :P
pinteresque Oct 19th 2010 9:03AM
"I suppose that that is a form of DPS check" is slightly unwieldy because it's half-bad grammar, not because the language is broken.
A little clever reordering into "It's a form of DPS check, I suppose..." would be better for your sanity, it seems; even "I suppose it's a form of DPS check" is fine.
Bottom line is, double conjunctions like that are rarely necessary but created out of an effort to capture colloquial speech in print. Ain't no problem with that. ;)
Matticus Oct 19th 2010 11:22AM
Here's the thing. I tend to write like a talk. That happens often. Its usually informal. I know its not always the right thing to do and sometimes the imperfections seep into posts. When you read my stuff, just picture an asian guy explaining whats going on.
Bonus points for superimposing a hardcore asian accent.
quinnm34 Oct 18th 2010 11:29PM
i bet blizz thought to themselves "ok you guys want CC? heres 20 mobs on the first pull-- have fun!! "
Birdog Oct 18th 2010 11:35PM
Can't wait to face Half-ass... er.... Halfus on live
Foxfire Oct 19th 2010 12:21AM
Personally I love a good trash pack that splits people up and makes you actually think about what you are targeting rather than just playing follow the leader.
It'd be cool to see the other side of the shield as well. "Massive Defense" or something that prevents all damage over 10000, while ignoring small damage sources as inconsequential. It's the mice that'll kill you for sure!
Truewanderer Oct 19th 2010 12:29PM
People bemoaning the lack of CC or how AoE-able the Wrath raids were obviously didn't do Ulduar in its early stages. Vesaxx, Freya, Kologarn trash all needed CC. XT and Mimiron trash required unique strats and then Ignis trash was just a massive pain. Of course people whined and it all got nerfed pretty damn quick.
Squelchy Oct 19th 2010 7:07AM
Re: hit cap. For a Draenei, you were fine. They still have Heroic Presence, it's just an individual buff now. So if you're a Draenei shaman, you need 16% hit, not 17%.
Squelchy Oct 19th 2010 7:08AM
And of course, the character screen already reflects that buff. Ignore me and down vote my comment, please. I'm an idiot.
srbb56 Oct 19th 2010 8:41AM
Your dps was good Mr. Low. I was wondering if you were "the matticus" when they said Matticus was coming to the raid after I got accepted to pug the healer spot. Kinda cool to see an article of an encounter I was part of. Nice guide.
Matticus Oct 19th 2010 11:24AM
Heh, yep that was me! I woulda preferred healing though personally. Alas, I can't choose.
I could have done way more DPS though unfortunately. I completely forgot about the whole Earth Shock when you have 9 charges of Lightning Shield thing. Also forgot about that shaman ability that does an instant attack based on the shaman enchant on your weapon.
Oh well, I will be better prepared in the future to not suck.
ajbamford7315 Oct 19th 2010 8:35AM
That 10,000 damage buff the mob has is gonna be pretty bad for DoT based warlocks (afliction) unless the numbers have changed as much as DoT's do more than 10,000 in damage per tick... which would be OP.
andrepertoire Oct 19th 2010 8:44AM
I don't see why everyone is complaining.
If you are a dot class CC/Kill the other adds.
Problem solved.
If your class has ramp up time, you can still ramp up, you will just be doing 1 DPS until you get your rotation going. This is why WOTLK was so easy, everyone whining anytime things didn't cater to them.
You don't always want what you wish for.
pinteresque Oct 19th 2010 11:05AM
After raid tonight, it's going to be "Starcaller." It damn well better be, anyway.
nymrohd Oct 19th 2010 11:15AM
Sounds like the Maulgar whirlwind mechanic.
Timmy Oct 19th 2010 1:14PM
I would assume this is going to get a bit more difficult, since the 25 man version was nearly impossible. All the 10-man groups breezed through it without difficulty, whereas the 25 man groups were either just barely or not making the enrage timer.