The run backs on this dungeon are very long when when you are towards both the second and third bosses.  Use a Failure Detection Pylon whenever it looks like you may wipe, or place one as a precaution, as the run back alone can cause you to miss a timer.

Skipping First Trash Pack

For high keys, it is better to let the healer invisibility pot past the starting trash while everyone else dies.  If you have a warlock, set up a warlock gate to help the DPS get to the corner you die at faster.  Mass rez and go.

While it costs 4 deaths (20 seconds), you will more than make up the time since DPS will be able to prepot/pot for the next ten minutes.  Make sure you have food to quickly eat for a couple seconds so your healer doesn’t need to heal all 4 fully before pulling boss.

Amalgam of Souls

Using a druid to entangling roots one of the ads will delay soul burst.

Tank the boss closer to an edge, rather than the middle, to give the rest of the group more room to avoid Swirling Scythe and Soul Echoes.  Also prevents people from accidentally being within the Reap Soul if it only covers a small part of the room rather than half of it..

Trash to Second Boss

A tank can run upstairs to grab all the spiders and bring the down to the war room.  Healer should be ready do dispel the tank the moment the tank gets through the door.

After the trash on the stairs and in the hallway, range should head to the left and of the hallway so they can outrange some of the attacks from the trash.  You can also use the area at the top of the stairs, but there can be LOS issues depending on where DPS/healers are standing.

Priests can use Shackle Undead to interrupt Knife Dance, Shoot and the cat’s jump ability.

Soul-Torn Champions & Commander Shemdah’sohn: After he casts Bonebreaking Strike, he will cast Commanding Shout that gives all adds a 50% health boost.  Use stuns and knockbacks to prevent the cast and eliminate the HP buff.  You can also stun the strike

Death Knights can use Control Undead and take the Risen Companion (jumpy cat) as a pet, which eliminates the need to kill him with the rest of the trash pack.  If you take the pet into account as percentage, remember that if the DH dies, the cat will reset to its original position, which could leave you short percent.

Illysanna Ravencrest

Brutal Glaive: Paladins can BOP Brutal Glaive off players.  Mages can Ice Block.

When the adds spawn, you can cc the add while the add is still on the balcony (this is either hotfixed or just buggy).

Dark Rush: While the common strat is to form a line to the side, for high tyrranical keys it is often safer to form a small triangle.  This prevents the person who happens to be in the middle of the line from being dark rushed 3 times depending on the order of the rushes, as well as not ending up with a line across the room from someone who moves too quickly.  Form a small triangle and the players either run forwards or backwards, keeping the rush lines still very close to the edge.

Trash to Smashsprite

For the longer staircase with the boulders, you can have one person go up the stairs to stop the boulders from coming while the rest of the group finishes the last trash pack before the stairs.  Alternatively, if you have people who find the boulders difficult or have latency, leave your healer at the bottom casting mass rez, most deaths happen before the cast finishes and the player has an almost immediate rez pending.

Speed boosts can actually make it harder to dodge the boulders since you have less time to react once you see them.  If you are having problems, don’t use any speed boosts until they stop spawning.

For bats, have your tank grab aggro and pull them all the way up the stairs and into Smashsprite’s room.  Using Skystep or another movement speed potion here really helps.  Watch for fixate and be ready to move as the bats will one shot if they reach you.  Drop a Failure Detection Pylon if things go south so you can avoid wiping.  However, this can cause your group to be short on percent depending on what gets killed before the wipe.

There is a “safer” option to do it in two or three packs of Felguards.  There are safe spots you can go: Halfway up the stairs, pulling mobs to corner furthest from stairs.  Next is at top of stairs where the gate to last boss is.  Finally, into Smashspite’s room.  All of these safe spots will stop bats from endlessly spawning while there.

If you have a DH, you can Imprison the first Felguard on the stairs.  Bats don’t begin to attack until a Felguard is engaged, so you can skip to the second Felguard before dealing with bats.

You can also pull the first two Felguards down the stairs (the ones that had the boulders coming down them) so bats won’t continue spawning.

Wrathguard Bladelords can be enslaved by warlocks.

Smashspite the Hateful

Since the last update, the lines can be buggy, even with graphics turned all the way up.

Many classes can soak or immunity charges, make sure you coordinate beforehand.  Havoc DH can use Blade Dance for each one.

Risen Lancers Trash

Have your tank run and grab all the lancers then bring them to Smashspite’s room.

Death Knights can use Control Undead on a Lancer and the controlled Lancer will AOE stun the rest of the Lancers.

Lord Ravencrest

Immunities and damage reductions are neccessary for surviving shadowbolt volley.

If anyone dies to shadowbolt volley, they are rezzable – you have less than a second to rez that person so they get the friendly buff to survive future bolts.  If you rez too late, that person will die to the next shadowbolt volley (and subsequent ones if you rez that person again).  Make sure your rezzers are aware of this.

On high keys, stinging swarm is very deadly if your DPS cannot burst it down immediately.  If you are range and you see it being cast on you, get into melee for cleave immediately.  Mages can Ice Block to remove it.

CHECK For the initial Dreadlord’s Guile, it will be cast on the tank.  If you move to the edges on the sides of the tank, you should be safe as long as the tank doesn’t do some super maneuver while it is being cast.

CHECK When the first Dreadlord’s Guile spawns, the “safe spot” will be the same safe spot for the first one in P2.  Place a raid marker to help prevent deaths, especially for those playing with latency.

If you get caught in Dreadlord’s Guile, don’t try to run out in the direction it is going.  Instead, turn around and run out so you are behind it instead.  You will take less damage as you get out faster.