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re: Gruul the Dragonkiller
 by Ravyn45 on 10-10-2008 0:55
Gruul the Dragonkiller
is the second boss encounter in Gruul's Lair, the entry-level 25-man dungeon in The Burning Crusade. No key or attunement is necessary to enter the lair. A minimum level of 65 is required to enter, but due to the difficulty of the encounter, level 70 is highly recommended. Killing Gruul is part of the attunement quest to Serpentshrine Cavern, the 25 man raid zone in Coilfang Reservoir. This quest can be picked up from Skar'this the Heretic in the "heroic mode" Slave Pens of Coilfang Reservoir.
Overview & Preparation
Gruul is essentially a burndown fight, where the objective is to kill him before he kills the raid. Like other burndown fights the encounter gets progressively more difficult, and "outlasting" it is not an option. Raid DPS is therefore key, and this should be reflected in the group composition, choice of gear, and use of consumables. As players get more experienced and geared the consumable requirement will go down, but for first kills expect to go "all out" using Flasks of Supreme Power / Relentless Assault, sharpening stones, mana and wizard oils, Fire, Shadow, Frost and Greater Arcane Power Elixirs. No consumables make as much of an impact as the ones used by your MT (Main Tank) and OT (Off Tank). Flasks of Fortification and Ironshield Potions are the most important ones, but Elixirs of Greater Defense, Major Agility and Mastery will also help. The trash pulls between High King Maulgar and Gruul respawn within 1 hour, so speedy attempts will maximize consumable use. Also, use consumables after the trash has just been cleared, not when trash is due to respawn within 15 minutes or less.
Group Composition
Gruul is a 2-tank encounter.
Apart from the two tanks, the damage taken by the rest of the raid is sporadic and requires only minimal healing. 7 healers are a good number, especially for progress since it allows the raid to live longer and get used to the various abilities. This number can be reduced to 6 for kill attempts where DPS is more important. Too much melee DPS increases the difficulty of the encounter (as explained below). For an ideal group setup, use no more than 3 or 4 melee class members in addition to the two tanks.
Abilities
Gruul has 2 melee attacks that do physical damage:
* normal attack that hits the primary aggro target (the MT) and a secondary attack, called Hurtful Strike, that will always hit the second highest aggro target within his melee range. It is therefore essential that any melee DPS classes maintain their aggro level not only below that of the MT, but also below that of the OT. The base damage on Hurtful Strike is 12350-13650 (this of course is reduced by armor, Defensive Stance, etc.). A Hurtful Strike is performed on average every 20 seconds.
"Growth"
Gruul has a self-buff called "Growth". The buff is first applied 30 seconds into the encounter, and increases his damage by 15%. The buff stacks, and a new stack is applied every 30 seconds. The buff will stack up to 30 times, but anything more than 20 stacks of the buff is unhealable with the tank itemization available to a guild at this stage of progress. Guilds should aim for killing him around the 16th or 17th application of Growth. The damage buff from Growth applies to both his melee swing and his Hurtful Strike, as well his "Cave In" ability.
"Cave In"
Cave In is a targeted area of effect attack. Anyone in the raid can be targeted with it. It does a base damage of 2700 every 3 seconds for 15 seconds, in a radius of 8 yards around the targeted player. While insignificant in terms of damage early in the encounter, its damage is amplified by Growth, making it a potential killer later on. Cave In damage can be reduced significantly by proper positioning. If all players space out leaving more than 8 yards between each other, a Cave In can only hit 1 player.
"Ground Slam / Gronn Lord's Grasp / Stoned / Shatter"
Apart from the "Growth" mechanic, the main difficulty of the Gruul fight is based around his Ground Slam ability. Ground Slam throws every player in the lair in a random direction, for a random distance. Upon landing, players are afflicted by the "Gronn Lord's Grasp" debuff which slows down their movement speed by 20% every second. With the final tick of Gronn Lord's Grasp reducing movement speed to 0%, the debuff is replaced by a debuff called "Stoned". Gruul then "Shatters" all the players. A player's Shatter effect does area of effect damage to all other players in a 15 yard radius. The maximum amount of damage that can be inflicted is around 9000 (when two players are in the same spot), and the damage goes down as the distance between players increases. At 15 yards, Shatter damage is reduced to 70-100 damage. Unlike Hurtful Strike or Cave In, Shatter can critically hit another player, but is not booster by Growth.
"Reverberation"
Reverberation is an area of effect "silence" that prevents spell casting for 4 seconds. It can be resisted, and is affected by Focused Mind, Unbreakable Will, as well as items with a % chance to resist silence effects. Other than random resists, the only counters to Reverberation are always keeping the tanks close to full HP, as well as instant heals / shields as the silence effect fades.
Strategy
Buffs
Because all of Gruul's abilities do physical damage, using Amplify Magic on every player is recommended. This increases healing effects on every player and amplifies damage taken from spells, of which there are none in this encounter. Improved Fortitude / Mark of the Wild / Imp and Devotion Aura should be used on the tanks, while melee groups will probably benefit the most from a shaman with Windfury Totem.
The Pull
All players must move beyond the gate as it closes upon engaging Gruul. The MT will drag Gruul to the middle of the lair while the raid moves into position as described below. During the pull, the OT plays a key role and must build more threat than any other classes in melee range, but obviously, less than the MT. With the MT repositioning Gruul, the OT must not fall behind, and always keep within melee range of Gruul. Falling behind or not building enough aggro will result in somebody from another class, usually a melee DPS, being selected as the target for Hurtful Strike, which results in instant death. The time it takes for the raid to position should give the MT enough time to build threat, so DPS can start as soon as they are in position. Having a hunter use "Misdirect" on the MT will give him extra threat and peace of mind.
Positioning
Together with high raid DPS, positioning and player movement is the most important part of the strategy to defeat Gruul. The only difference between a pure DPS burn-down encounter (such as Patchwerk or Loatheb) and Gruul, is the randomness of the Ground Slam / Shatter mechanic. Proper positioning and planning will greatly reduce the randomness of the encounter. The 5 groups should be positioned in a circle, with Gruul in the middle. Melee classes should stand in melee range, healers should stand at medium range, and ranged DPS classes at their maximum range. Although initially Gruul's Lair appears to be an open space with no terrain features, there is a series of "sticks and stones" on the perimeter of the lair. These can be used creatively by the ranged DPS, particularly hunters and mages with ranged talents that can shoot Gruul from 41 yards in order to minimize the effects of "Ground Slam".
Fight Progression
With Gruul tanked in the middle of the room and the players in their assigned positions, the main challenge becomes dealing with the Ground Slam / Shatter mechanic. After being punted in a random direction, players must move away from each other as soon as possible, and as fast as possible. A cluster of 3 or more players during a Shatter will usually result in multiple deaths, so this should be avoided at all costs. Using the enemy cast bar, players can see "Ground Slam" being cast, and can quickly move behind a stone or a pillar. This will ensure that in most cases they will be punted either into the wall or the obstacle they are hiding behind. Up to 6 players can hide behind the different obstacles in the lair during a Shatter. It is important to assign these spots to players before the encounter begins, and it is also important that other players are aware of their position. Players behind them will be hidden from view, but not protected from Shatter damage. Surviving the first two Shatters is crucial and will ensure the raid has enough DPS to down Gruul before his damage, amplified by "Growth", becomes un-healable. Pets can be Stoned as well, and are frozen for 30 seconds, but they deal no Shatter damage, so it is possible to use them. Phase-shifted imps are not affected. With trash respawning in 1 hour, it is not worthwhile pursuing attempts where 3 or more DPS class members die on the first Shatter. Wiping and restarting makes better use of your time, as well as your flask timers.
Tanks
After a Ground Slam, the MT must reposition Gruul to the center of the room. It is also crucial that the OT runs back into melee range before any other melee classes. Failure to do so results in other melee classes becoming potential targets for Hurtful Strike. Having tanks use Intercept usually ensures they will be the first to go back into Gruul's Melee range. In the early minutes of the encounter, damage taken is manageable, so consumable use such as Ironshield Potions is not necessary. Only start using them in the second half of the encounter. In the later stages where Hurtful Strike starts hitting the OT for most of his total HP, pre-emptive use of Shield Wall or Last Stand can extend the encounter by as much as 40 seconds. If the off-tank knows that the next Hurtful Strike will hit for more than his maximum HP, using Last Stand and Shield Wall will enable him to survive 2 extra hits.
Healers
As a healer, try keeping the two tanks as close to full HP as possible. This is particularly relevant for the OT in late stages of the encounter. There are two moments during the encounter when the two tanks are at their most vulnerable: immediately after a "Reverberation", as described above, and after a Shatter. After a Shatter, tanks may have taken damage from other players, while many healers could be out of position, or out of range of the tanks. If you are in range of the tanks after a Shatter, heal them, even if they are not in your group. In the late stages of the encounter, prioritize the tanks at all costs. A Renew or Regrowth is enough for a DPS class to get back to full HP before the next Shatter or Cave In.
Melee DPS
It is important for melee DPS to spread out to avoid multiple players being hit by the same Cave In. Gruul has a very large hitbox that allows for 5 melee classes to spread out around him when standing at maximum melee range. Raid groups with more melee are still viable, but Cave Ins in melee range become more frequent, and require readjusting as well as more healing. Remember that, as a melee class, your aggro should not exceed that of the OT, and you should never run ahead of the off-tank either during the initial pull, or after a Shatter.
Rogues can use Cloak of Shadows to remove the effect of Gronn Lord's Grasp and move freely, but the Shatter will still hit them normally.
Ranged DPS
As a ranged DPS class your aggro can exceed that of the OT, as Hurtful Strike will only target a class in melee range. Especially for players with talents that allow them to stand at 41 yards from the target, picking an obstacle to stand behind during the Ground Slam, and announcing it at the beginning of the raid, is very important.
Things you really shouldn't forgetReally. You shouldn't.
** Healers should be careful after a Reverberation or a ground slam/shatter, this is when tanks have the highest chances to die.
** MOVE ! Do not wait for other people to do it for you. If you wipe because you were expecting the guy next to you to move, you're officialy an idiot.
** Melee dps and tanks should really spread out to avoid being in the same Cave In, once you reach a decent amount of Growth buff on Gruul it can be deadly
Unstable Flasks are flask elixirs that can only be used in Blade's Edge Mountains and Gruul's Lair, and are as such designed to help groups defeating Gruul - especially on their first visits to the Lair, as the flask effects persists through Death.
There are 6 Unstable Flasks available:
[Unstable Flask of the Beast]
+20 Agility +20 Strength +30 Stamina Fel Crystalforge at Forge Camp: Terror 10
[Unstable Flask of the Bandit]
+20 Agility +40 Attack Power +30 Stamina Aether-tech Assistant 10
[Unstable Flask of the Elder]
+20 Intellect +8 Mana per 5 seconds +30 Stamina Aether-tech Assistant 10
[Unstable Flask of the Physician]
+20 Intellect +44 Healing +30 Stamina Aether-tech Assistant 10
[Unstable Flask of the Soldier]
+20 critical rating +20 Strength +30 Stamina Aether-tech Assistant 10
[Unstable Flask of the Sorcerer]
+20 Intellect +23 Spell damage +30 Stamina Bash'ir Crystalforge at Bash'ir Landing 10
Some movies to watch the encounter :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vawLMUobdis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi5dUwGPaoU
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