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Must-Interrupts in Cata Heroics
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Post by
Eldente
Some time has already passed since the majority geared for Heroic dungeons. Bosses have earned reputations as hard or easy ones, their abilities are now mostly known to the public. People begin to feel confident, in many cases drop CCing. The thing is, then you have to be on your toes with interrupts - which is, sadly, commonly neglected.
Wiping because someone was too busy using their mouse to click on Rend instead of Pummel is embarrassing, so I decided to make a list of NPC abilities that need interrupts. I'm not going to include 15-20k shadow bolts and such things, only the more serious stuff. If you find this information useful, please leave feedback - then I will cover all dungeons.
Table of contents
0. Intro: Interrupting skills
1. Throne of the Tides
2. Blackrock Caverns
3. Grim Batol
4. Halls of Origination
5. Lost City of the Tol'Vir
6. The Vortex Pinnacle
7. The Stonecore
8. The Deadmines
9. Shadowfang Keep
10. Zul'Aman
11. Zul'Gurub
Introductory:
List of all true interrupting skills
Off GCD (baseline interrupts):
Death Knight:
Mind Freeze
(10s cd)
Druid:
/
(cat/bear form, 10s (feral) - 60s cd),
Solar Beam
(balance only, 1 min cd) - off GCD! Creds to Hrenyo for the observation.
Hunter:
(marksmanship only, 20s cd) - another off-the-GCD-silence! Thanks to TehTerokkar.
Mage:
Counterspell
(24s cd)
Paladin:
Rebuke
(10s cd)
Rogue:
Kick
(10s cd / 8s cd
glyph
ed, thanks to Magnerz for info)
Shaman:
Wind Shear
(6s cd)
Warrior:
Pummel
(10s cd)
All classes:
Blood Elf Racial
Arcane Torrent
(2 min cd) - doesn't have GCD even despite it's a silence effect. Thanks, pezz!
On GCD (silence effects w/ interrupt):
Death Knight:
Strangulate
(2 min cd)
Paladin:
Avenger's Shield
(protection only, 15s cd, 3 targets)
Priest:
Silence
(shadow only, 45s cd)
Pet abilities:
Death Knight:
pet Ghoul's
Shambling Rush
(30s cd)
Hunter:
pet Nether Ray's
(40s cd), pet Gorilla's
(30s cd),
pet Moth's
(1 min cd)
Warlock:
pet Felhunter's
Spell Lock
(24s cd)
Back to table of contents
Now, as for the dungeons themselves.
Throne of the Tides
__________
Trash:
__________
Naz'jar Oracle
-
(2.0s),
(1.5s)
Priority: very high and medium, respectively
Healing Wave heals (duh), and for a ton. Without interrupting this, you are risking to spend ages on every pack. Hex, if cast on a damage dealer, is a nuisance, but a healer getting crabbed in the wrong moment can result in a mess.
Naz'jar Tempest Witch
-
(2.0s)
Priority: high
Damages the party for quite a bit, and with packs in TotT being quite large, it could strain your healer.
__________
Bosses:
__________
Lady Naz'jar
-
(2.0s)
Priority: very high
If you didn't interrupt this in 4.0.3, you could kiss your tank goodbye. Since 4.0.6, this was nerfed, but you still wouldn't want to see your tank drop to 30% from full, would you?
Naz'jar also summons two
Naz'jar Tempest Witch
ės, which need either CC or interrupts as well (see ^).
Erunak Stonespeaker
-
(2.0s)
Priority: medium-high
This is not a killer, but it delivers a nasty jolt to a party member. Coupled with Erunak's frontal cone AoE, could be potentially dangerous.
Back to table of contents
Blackrock Caverns
__________
Trash:
__________
Evolved Twilight Zealot
-
(2.0s)
Priority: high
This ability isn't a one-shot, but it delivers a massive blow, and is followed by an unavoidable
, leaving the tank at 15-20k HP.
__________
Bosses:
__________
Corla, Herald of Twilight
-
(2.0s)
Priority:
top!
Yes, top priority, yet strangely neglected. This is a standard fear. The spell
may
target someone who doesn't control a beam, but it tends to fear precisely the one who just stepped into a beam to block a mob with high stacks. Interrupt at all costs (if you don't want to deal with
big baddies
during the fight, that is).
Back to table of contents
Grim Batol
__________
Trash:
__________
Azureborne Seer
-
(4.0s)
Priority: top
These mobs buff themselves to increase magic damage by 50%, so if this cast goes off, the tank loses 75% of his total HP, simple as that. Grim Batol is notorious for trash wipes, so be on your toes.
Azureborne Warlord
-
(4.0s, channeled)
Priority: high
Creds to Thraisenth.
Summons up to 5 of
these
. Don't have much HP, but since they have initially 0 tank threat, they can go for the healer, 5 of them destroying him in a matter of seconds. The less of those you have, the better.
Ascended Flameseeker
-
(5.0s, channeled).
Priority: very high
This is a channeled stun w/ damage, and in some cases, 5 seconds is all it takes for a trash pack to annihilate a tank with a stunned healer.
Ascended Waterlasher
-
(4.0s, channeled)
Priority: medium
With a special thanks to shadowboy813. Nasty cone attack, rather high party damage avoidable if interrupted.
Twilight Firecatcher
-
(5.0s, channeled)
Priority: high
Channeled AoE ability, that immobilises the target and deals about 10k damage per second in a 10-yard radius.
Twilight War-Mage
-
(1.5s)
Priority: medium
Although this effect is similar to the previous one, Twilight War-Mages are found in packs which do not pose such serious threat. Interrupting this would still be beneficial.
Twilight Beguiler
-
(5.0s, channeled)
Priority: medium
Creds to Maltrise on this one. Yet another 5.0s stun. None too dangerous, but really annoying.
Faceless Corruptor
-
(4.0s, channeled),
(2.5s)
Priority: medium-high and very high, respectively.
These mobs are only found in
Erudax
's room (2x), and summoned by Erudax himself (in packs of 2x).
Both abilities are nasty heals, the only difference is that you
can
outdamage the first one, and
cannot
the second.
__________
Bosses:
__________
No notable interrupts here.
Back to table of contents
Post by
Eldente
Halls of Origination
_________
Trash:
_________
Lifewarden Nymph
-
Tranquility
(8.0s, channeled)
Priority: high
Found only at the chair of
Ammunae
, one in packs on either side.
For the love of God, if you see this spell, please
do
interrupt it. Looks just like a druid's
Tranquility
, only heals for more.
Temple Shadowlancer
-
Pact of Darkness
(6.0s, channeled)
Priority: medium to very high, depending on the number of melee in your group.
This is an AoE ability, which pulses for 15k damage each second in a 10 yard radius. If your dd group consists of 3 hunters (happened to me twice), the tank can just move out, nothing serious. However, if you have a rogue, dk and a fury warrior, two mobs channeling this can and
will
cause serious issues.
Temple Swiftstalker
-
(3.0s)
Priority: very high
Thanks for the heads-up, Domilera.
This deals up to 50k damage to a random target, splashing to everyone in a small radius. The trash packs in HoO show no mercy and have a lot of AoE damage, so mind this.
Temple Fireshaper
-
(1.5s - 1.0s under
Molten Barrier
)
Priority: medium
Credits to Orranis.
This is a spammable ability, which, during intense pulls, sums up to moderate damage. Interrupting this will ease the strain for several seconds. Fireballs from
Molten Barrier
are not casted though, so interrupts will not help against it. Thanks to Jaydenkor for the correction.
Void Seeker
-
Anti-Magic Prison
(30.0s, channeled)
Priority: top
Only found at the chair of
Setesh
, 2x in the trash pack, and summoned from Setesh's
Chaos Portal
s, if they are not closed quickly enough.
This spell eliminates healing on the tank what so ever. Think of it as a countdown to a wipe.
_________
Bosses:
_________
Temple Guardian Anhuur
-
Reverberating Hymn
(180.0s, channeled)
Priority: top.
Another thanks to Worldflayer.
AoE attack, that ticks for more damage with each 2-second tick, up to 6k. Interrupting this as soon as the two levers downstairs are pulled is essential in order to continue the fight.
Rajh
-
Summon Sun Orb
(3.0s),
Inferno Leap
(1.5s)
Priority: medium-low and top, respectively.
Deadly Boss Mods always screams about Summon Sun Orb needing interruption, but - meh. The orb deals about 20k-ish damage and a knockback, which is none too dangerous. Interrupt it if you want
Sun of a....
.
Inferno Leap, on the other hand, is a killer, since it deals over 120 000 damage, and is
impossible
to avoid if you have the slightest lag.
Back to table of contents
Lost City of the Tol'Vir
This instance has very few interruptibles (it's dispel-heavy to compensate).
_________
Trash:
_________
Neferset Darkcaster
-
Hex
(1.5s)
Priority: medium-high
Packs containing these are not
that
dangerous, but if there's a lot to dispel at the moment, you wouldn't want your healer to be stuck for 6 seconds.
Neferset Theurgist
-
(6.0s, channeled)
Priority: medium-low
Credits to Worldflayer. The difference between this and his melee is approximately 5k dps. Nothing worldbreaking, but interrupts on anything which increases a mob's dps are appreciated.
_________
Bosses:
_________
Siamat
-
Minion of Siamat
add -
(1.5s)
Priority: medium-high
It's white and deals less damage than your average Chain Lightning. But with all the void zones during the encounter and AoE damage going on, interrupts on this are always welcome.
Back to table of contents
The Vortex Pinnacle
_________
Trash:
_________
Minister of Air
-
Lightning Lash
(5.0s, channeled)
Priority: medium-high
This is practically the mob's only damaging ability, and he will chain-cast it. It's good at what it does, dealing about 10k DPS to a random player. Besides, interrupting this is often the only way to force him out of the
Grounding Field
.
Temple Adept
-
(2.5s - 1.13s under
)
Priority: very high
This heal is huge, and the problem with it is that the mob buffs itself with +120% casting speed, making the spell very hard to interrupt. In 4.0.6, the buff duration was reduced greatly, but it is advised that you keep him stunned/silenced as much as possible during the buff.
Turbulent Squall
-
(4.0s)
Priority: top
There are four of these mobs in two packs. Imagine all four casting the spell simultaneously without being interrupted (35k*4 applied to entire party), and on top of all that, people are bound to stand under
in the same time. This is an absolute must-interrupt at any time.
_________
Bosses:
_________
No notable interrupts here.
Back to table of contents
The Stonecore
_________
Trash:
_________
Stonecore Earthshaper
-
Force of Earth
(5.0s)
Priority: high
It will transform the mob into an elemental, granting him a nasty AoE. One of these is no big deal, two elementals can put a serious strain on the healer.
Stonecore Magmalord
-
Magma Eruption
(5.0s, channeled)
Priority: very high
This ability is another one that tends to get totally neglected.
But
it's the main source of party damage during the trash pulls, and one full channel of the spell can reduce the entire party to 25% in a matter of seconds.
Stonecore Rift Conjurer
-
Demon Portal
(5.0s, channeled)
Priority: medium
The imps summoned by this ability throw nasty fireballs, but since they have 7k HP, it's not such a big deal. You're better off interrupting this early though.
_________
Bosses:
_________
High Priestess Azil
-
Force Grip
(1.5s cast, then 5.0s channeled)
Priority:
top!
I cannot overemphasise how often neglecting this spell has resulted in a horrible wipe.
During the 1,5 second cast, the tank can interrupt this as well (was 1 second before 4.0.6). After that, the tank can no longer take any actions for five seconds, and gets slammed into the ground twice (at 2s and 4s channel time), receiving a whopping 75k damage per slam. At 5 seconds, the tank (or what's left of him) gets punted away.
Interrupt this A S A P
.
Back to table of contents
Post by
Eldente
The Deadmines
_________
Trash:
_________
Defias Envoker
-
(5.0s)
Priority: very high
Deals a ton of damage to the tank, leaving a DoT. One cast getting through is "uh, okay, I'm cool". Two casts simultaneously, and they
do
come in the same time, is "okay, guys,
not
cool".
Goblin Overseer
-
(5.0s, channeled)
Priority: high
When two goblins channel this on a single target, the victim's HP bar drops like crazy. Please interrupt!
Defias Squallshaper
-
(3.0s)
Priority:
top
This is a frost-based chain lightning, and it hits like a freaking monster truck on steroids (think 20+40+80k each cast). Two casts going off means someone is dead. Interrupt at all costs.
_________
Bosses:
_________
Once again, no notable interrupts.
Back to table of contents
Shadowfang Keep
_________
Trash:
_________
Stone Sleeper
-
Fear
(1.5s)
Priority: medium
Nothing special, but I witnessed numerous times when the feared target aggroed an extra pack of small ghouls while on the run. Save others the trouble.
Haunted Servitor
-
Drain Life
(5.0s, channeled)
Priority: high
There will be up to 4 of these in a pack, and their casts sum up to about 30k dps, with the added "benefit" of you spending waaay more time on killing trash.
_________
Bosses:
_________
Baron Ashbury
-
(8.0s, channeled),
(8.0s, channeled)
Priority: very high and medium-high, respectively
always comes after
. If you are doing
Pardon Denied
, or want to finish him off as quickly as possible, interrupt it as soon as he begins casting. Otherwise, give your healer a break, and interrupt at 2 or 3 seconds.
is dangerous, because it picks a random target, and everyone except the tank is bound to be low on hp.
But
this effect can be
dispelled
as well as interrupted, and it should be done.
He used to cast
before 4.0.6 hit, but now it's gone.
Commander Springvale
-
Tormented Officer
and
Wailing Guardsman
adds -
Unholy Empowerment
(2.0s)
Priority: very high
You would never believe it, but a 4% heal every now and then
does
make a difference. The entire fight drains the healer's mana pool very quickly, and every extra second of combat puts additional strain. Besides, interrupt all of these, and get yourselves a nifty
achievement
!
Lord Godfrey
-
(1.0s)
Priority: medium-low to very high, depending on party setup.
If your group can dispel curses, it's just a 50k resistible shadow nuke. If your healer is a priest or paladin, and there are no druids/mages in the group - you're a bit screwed, the DoT is very tough to heal through. In the former case, let it go by. In the latter - try to interrupt ASAP. The interrupters must be on their toes though, a one-second cast gives no time to think. (Thanks to Trishi for the insightful tip!)
Back to table of contents
Zul'Aman
_________
Trash:
_________
Amani'shi Flame Caster
-
Fireball Volley
(2.0s)
Priority: very high
Creds to aggixx.
It says it inflicts 23-26k damage, but from what I experienced, it does almost twice that to the entire party. Don't let it wreak havoc!
Zandalari Hierophant
-
(2.5s)
Priority: top
Thanks to Heckler for this one.
It's white, and many times more powerful than your average chain lightning. And a lot less mitigateable, too. The cast takes its time, so interrupt this wiper ASAP.
_________
Bosses:
_________
Hex Lord Malacrass
-
Heal
,
Holy Light
,
Healing Wave
(2.0s)
Priority: top
Priest, paladin and shaman soul drain respectively. Try not to waste interrupts on damaging soul-drained spells, if you are short on interruption possibilities. These heal the boss for about 1 million.
Hex Lord Malacrass
's add
Alyson Antille
-
Flash Heal
(2.5s)
Priority: high
Heals for a moderate (300k-ish) amount, but you're still better off without letting it be cast.
Back to table of contents
Zul'Gurub
_________
Trash:
_________
Zandalari Hierophant
-
(2.5s)
Priority: top
Thanks to Heckler for this one.
Same mob from ZA, but I'll double it, so that people aren't forced to look elsewhere.
It's white, and many times more powerful than your average chain lightning. And a lot less mitigateable, too. The cast takes its time, so interrupt this wiper ASAP.
Gurubashi Blood Drinker
-
(6.0s, channeled)
Priority: top
These mobs (2x) are only found in a pack before
High Priestess Kilnara
. This is an interruptible bladestorm-like attack, that does a motherlode of damage (think 35k every tick) to everyone in a 20-yard radius, healing the mob as well. Watch out, as two simultaneous Leeches will destroy your entire party in no more than 4 seconds.
_________
Bosses:
_________
Venomguard Destroyer
and
High Priest Venoxis
-
(6.0s, channeled)
Priority: high (trash), very high (boss)
Deals one hell of a lot of channeled damage.
High Priestess Kilnara
-
Tears of Blood
(6.0s, channeled)
Priority: very high
Over the course of this cast, it deals sixty-five thousand damage to the tank and, probably, everyone else as well. If there's a panther pack running amok at the time, it can most certainly lead to a player death. Beware and interrupt.
Back to table of contents
So, I guess this just about covers it. Feel free to correct me if I made mistakes, and I wish you a fun, wipe-free day.
Post by
Interest
Nice.
What would also be nice is if you had a list of every interrupt that can be done (spell interrupt abilities, not short duration crowd controls like Scatter Shot).
Post by
Eldente
Nice.
What would also be nice is if you had a list of every interrupt that can be done (spell interrupt abilities, not short duration crowd controls like Scatter Shot).
Good idea, I might as well include this information in the next edit.
Added interrupting skills to first post.
Post by
vincistis
Very nice.
Post by
Pwntiff
First, use the tag, it looks cleaner. Second, I recommend categorizing them by on and off the GCD. Third, looks good.
Post by
Eldente
First, use the tag, it looks cleaner. Second, I recommend categorizing them by on and off the GCD. Third, looks good.
I tried to use the tag, but failed to link it to the text, and got links something along the line of
Mind Freeze
Mind Freeze
...ugh, need some help with the syntax there.
As to GCD, afaik quite a few of them are on the global cooldown, but I sure can highlight those in some way. I'll work on it.
And...thanks, people. :)
P.S. captcha "hext treey" made me giggle.
My horrible (spell #47528) link just metamorphed into what it should have been O_o someone works dangerous magic here!
Post by
Thror
It is rare that i bump into a guide about 5-mens that i can learn something from. You got me surprised there, Eldente. Keep up the good work!
Also, when you use the spell tag, there is no /spell at the end required. You just do the .
Post by
Eldente
Added Halls of Origination, and fixed all links. Shiny!
Thanks for the tip on tags!
Post by
345326
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Eldente
in Hals of Origination
from
Temple Swiftstalker
is interruptable too.
plus, any fury warrior with some brains should have
and go crazy for interrupting everything there is
dunno why it gives me an error, anyway i was talking about
Charged Shot
Added!
Your first link is broken because it's a spell, not a skill.
Post by
Azazel
Sticky!
Post by
496219
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Eldente
This is really great! Just have one thing to add. Under warlock pets you might want to add the Felguard's Axe Toss for demonology locks, which really is only good on most trash mobs but it can be very handy in some situations. The 30 second cool down is a bummer though. Regarding BRC, the ability unfortunately does not work on the evolved twilight zealot's sinister strike. I tried it once when it looked like no one else was going to interrupt, but they are immune.
The spell failed on the Twilight Zealot because it is not a true interrupt - it's a stun, and many mobs and all bosses are immune to it :)
Post by
pezz
As a holy/prot blood elf I am like 99.9% sure AT is actually NOT on the GCD, otherwise I like this a lot.
Post by
Eldente
As a holy/prot blood elf I am like 99.9% sure AT is actually NOT on the GCD, otherwise I like this a lot.
Fixed, thanks!
Added remaining instances and fixed a minor spelling error (at least I think i did it right).
Feel free to post corrections!
Post by
Interest
Defias Squallshaper - Seaswell (3.0s)
Priority: top
This is a frost-based chain lightning, and it hits like a freaking monster truck on steroids (think 20+40+80k each cast). Two casts going off means someone is dead. Interrupt at all costs.
This isn't quite as bad as it sounds as you can trivialize all the pulls using the ship's cannons, negating any need to interrupt at all, assuming the person knows how to aim (the cannonballs have a stun).
Mend Rotten Flesh should be interrupted at all costs, since it is a flat 20% heal, causing a lot of extra pain to the healer.
This got removed in the latest patch.
Besides that, good work.
Post by
Thror
I think you are wasting time by making this guide somehow optimized for both 4.0.3 and 4.0.6, since 4.0.6 is being applied today and tomorrow. Might as well get rid of all the "this will change in 4.0.6", and just go the 4.0.6 way.
Post by
Eldente
This isn't quite as bad as it sounds as you can trivialize all the pulls using the ship's cannons, negating any need to interrupt at all, assuming the person knows how to aim (the cannonballs have a stun).
Mend Rotten Flesh should be interrupted at all costs, since it is a flat 20% heal, causing a lot of extra pain to the healer.
This got removed in the latest patch.
Besides that, good work.
It doesn't matter
how
you interrupt it, the thing is - it should be done. Besides, overzealous DPS often nuked cannons, because they yield reputation. Mend Rotten Flesh had a tag, that it's gone in 4.0.6, and I fixed all of the stuff to reflect 4.0.6 only ;)
I think you are wasting time by making this guide somehow optimized for both 4.0.3 and 4.0.6, since 4.0.6 is being applied today and tomorrow. Might as well get rid of all the "this will change in 4.0.6", and just go the 4.0.6 way.
You got a point there. Fixed everything.
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