What this page is
The Wowutils plan for Sszorak: Guide for how to approach Cooldown Planning, and the jobs covered in the assignment planner. It is assumed that you already know the basics of the fight. For full boss guides, see the links in Full mechanics.
It covers
- CD Planning and Personal Defensives
- The Wowutils Assignments
- Raid-night quick reference
It skips
- Basic boss strategy
- Tank/Dps stuff
- The stuff other guides already cover
Sszorak is a single phase on a 2:07 loop: two tank waves, each followed by a Virulence window, then the Howling Maelstrom intermission. The arena's caustic mist and the Mutilate soak DOTs tick under everything, so the raid is never topped for free. Raid cooldowns and damage reduction go to the Virulence windows; the intermission wants movement cooldowns and healing that works on the move.
- 1Tank wave (0:08): Sszorak chains five attacks in random order: two Mutilates, each soaked by half the raid, two Ravages on the tank and a Tempest. Both halves leave the wave carrying the soak DOT.
- 2Virulence window (0:27): The raid stacks on the Serpent's Fury mark, the charge puts Virulence out and everyone spreads. The heaviest damage of each wave, while the soak DOTs are still ticking.
- 3Second wave (0:55): The same tank wave and Virulence window again, about 50 seconds later.
- 4Intermission (1:40): Howling Maelstrom: 25 seconds of gales pushing the raid across the arena while the orbs are popped to hold position.
- 5Repeat (2:07) repeats: The loop restarts every 2:07, so 2 minute cooldowns come back a few seconds before the same moment next loop. A kill lands in the third loop, after five or six Virulence windows and two intermissions.
The arena's caustic mist ticks on everyone from pull to kill, and every Mutilate leaves a heavy DOT on the half of the raid that soaked it. Together they are about half the damage the raid takes, so steady throughput carries this fight before any cooldown does.
The Virulence window after every tank wave is the heaviest stretch, and it is where raid cooldowns and damage reduction go. The orb pops through each intermission are the other heavy stretch, spread over 25 seconds of forced movement.
Serpent's Fury pulls the raid together right before Virulence forces a spread, and the intermission gales push everyone across the arena. Cooldowns spent there need to work while moving.
Personal defensives
Ability timeline
Your Cooldown Plan
Sszorak marks a player with Serpent's Fury and the raid stacks on them. Once enough players are close he charges the mark and puts Virulence on most of the raid: a heavy DOT for 5 seconds that bursts on removal and spreads to anyone nearby, so everyone spreads right after the charge. Venomous Surge detonates and the Raging Crosswinds bursts land on top, so the whole window runs about 20 seconds. Twice per loop, after each tank wave.
It lands while both halves still carry the Mutilate DOTs from the wave, so the raid goes in below full. Damage reduction and healing cooldowns both fit best as the raid stacks, just before the charge.
The detonation and the wind bursts arrive 15 to 20 seconds later, after most of that cover has run out, and that tail is where the window kills people. Plan a second healing cooldown for it.
The raid moves twice in a few seconds, in for the stack and out for the spread, so favor coverage that works while moving. Movement cooldowns the intermission does not need fit here.
Windows come in pairs about 50 seconds apart, then close to 80 seconds across the intermission, so 2 minute cooldowns fit every other window. 3 minute cooldowns get one window in the first loop and come back for the last loop. Expect five or six windows on a kill.
The Howling Maelstrom intermission. Sszorak digs in for 25 seconds and takes extra damage while a succession of gales pushes the raid across the arena. The orbs left by Venomous Surge are popped four times to knock the raid back against the gales, and every pop hits the whole raid and leaves a short stacking DOT.
The pops come about 8 seconds apart, all under hard forced movement, which makes this awkward to heal. Channelled or stand still cooldowns are a bad fit.
Movement speed as it starts is what lets the raid hold position against the first gales.
Only the mist is ticking when it starts, with no soak DOTs underneath, so the big stand still healing cooldowns and the damage reduction earn more on the Virulence windows.
Two Mutilates per tank wave, mixed in random order with the Ravages and Tempest, so you cannot predict which slot they take. Each one is a frontal soaked by half the raid that splits the hit and leaves a heavy DOT on everyone who soaked it. Too few soakers and it is deadly.
The soakers are standing together in the frontal, which suits group based cooldowns. The DOTs are still running when the Virulence window opens, so topping each half after its soak pays off there.
Late in the fight every death thins a soak half and raises the split hit on everyone left in it. A thin half wants a group cooldown or personals.
Other boss mechanics
Venomous Surge공격대 디버프, 산개Venom on several players for about 10 seconds, then it detonates on the whole raid, weaker the farther you stand, and leaves an orb where it lands. Those orbs are what the raid pops in the intermission, so place them where your strat wants them. The detonation is the second spike of the Virulence window and is covered by its plan. Carriers take the venom and the full detonation, so they want a defensive.
Tempest이동, 공격대 디버프Once per tank wave Sszorak sends poison tornadoes spiralling around the arena, and they keep roaming well after the wave. A hit stacks a poison DOT and a slow, and one cutting through a stacked group can catch half the raid. Dispel hit players right away: tornado hits are the most common way to die on this fight.
Raging Crosswinds넉백, 공격대 도트Wind debuffs on about half the raid: a DOT for 8 seconds, then a burst on everyone close to you and a knock in the indicated direction. Spread from other debuffed players so each burst only hits its owner, and cancel the knock with your own movement ability. Anyone who cannot needs a healer to pull them back. Closes out the Virulence window.
The jobs we settle on for Sszorak, and the reasoning behind each. Slot players on the planner; this page is the why.
Split the raid 50/50 into two soak groups. Each group soaks the Mutilate tank frontals on their side.
The rows are labeled Left and Right. If you want to explain the position of each group differently, edit the on-screen reminder text in each row's reminder settings.
We deliberately don't re-teach the pull here. For first-timers, exact add pathing, and the complete ability list, these cover it better than we would.
A mechanics video for this boss is coming soon.
Hand-picked sources for this boss are coming soon.