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Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj
Deep in
the deserts of Silithus lies an ancient and powerful race of beings known as
the Qiraji. One thousand years ago the Night Elves and Bronze dragonflight
combined their considerable powers to seal the Qiraji behind the Scarab Wall,
with the help of the children of some of the Aspects. This is remembered as
the War of Shifting Sands.
Recently,
it was discovered that some of the Qiraji were finding ways past the wall.
Anachronos, the bronze dragon, helped the adventurers of Azeroth open the
Scarab Wall to prevent more incursions. The mortal races have now banded
together to confront the evil Qiraji in their own land. A champion has opened
the gate and the Horde and Alliance have driven the armies of the
Qiraji back into ruins in retreat. It now falls to you and your comrades to
delve into the lair of the Qiraji and put an end to their masters once and
for all.
Dungeon Information
The Ruins
of Ahn’Qiraj are located in Silithus, a contested territory. It was created
as a 20-man raid for level 60’s. This is also the location of the Temple of Ahn’Qiraj which was created as a 40-man
raid, also for level 60’s. It used to take approximately 3-6 hours to
complete.
Getting to the Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj
Made your
way to Cenarion Hold, in the center of Silithus and begin taking the road
west out of town. The path quickly veers south and continues to do so for
quite a distance. Eventually you reach a massive wall with a large open
portal leading into Ahn’Qiraj.
At this
point you have a choice of where to go. Should you go right, you will climb
the great stairs to the Temple of Ahn’Qiraj (40-man instance), but should you
go straight ahead you will find yourself standing before the portal to the
Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj.
Map
Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj
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Legend
- Entrance
- Kurinnaxx
- General Rajaxx
- Moam
- Buru the Gorger
- Ayamiss the Hunter
- Ossirian the Unscarred
1’. Empty Room
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Quests
The few
quests that are available for the Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj can be found in Cenarion
Hold around the inn. Each NPC offers a set of quests available to each class
that requires bringing fairly common drops from the instance.
The Perfect Poison
The Fall of Ossirian
Qiraji Common Drop Table
These are
drops that can be found on any of the six bosses in the ruins. For
boss-specific drops, check out the sections detailing their battles.
Foes You Will Encounter
The Ruins
of Ahn’Qiraj are full of every manner of insect, pest, and alien thing known
to the world of Azeroth. You will square off with mighty beasts and swarms of
lesser pests that will test your party’s resolve and cunning in a way you
have never experienced.
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ANUBISATH GUARDIAN – 60 ELITE
These
gargantuan statues are the worst enemy you encounter in the zone. They each
come with two random abilities that must be handled correctly or it spells
doom for your raid.
Meteor: Everyone in a large area takes a
total around 12,000 damage. If this flaming rock hits one person, they take
the entire damage. However, if everyone is in a nice tight group the damage
will be spread out over all players, minimizing death.
Plague: The infected person takes
nature damage and causes nature damage to anyone near them. Should you get
this ailment, simply run away from the raid until the timer expires, while
receiving heals the entire duration. The MT will
likely be the first target of the Plague, so the whole raid must avoid him
or her.
Reflect: The Anubisath Guardian reflects
two types of spell damage. To discover which he will reflect, simply use
the Detect Magic skill.
Thunderclap: Area nature damage. Only the MT
should be hit by this. Everyone else can back off and defeat the Guardian
with ranged attacks.
Summon Guards: The Anubisath often spawns
Anubisath Warriors or Swarmguards to attack the raid. The Warriors can be
feared until they disappear, but the Swarmguards should be taken down
immediately by Warriors and Rogues so that their cleave
does not cause havoc in the raid.
Explode: At 10% the Anubisath’s hands
burn with fire. If he is not defeated within five seconds, anyone near him
takes fatal damage.
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CANAL FRENZY – 60 ELITE
This is
your basic school of ravenous fish. You only have to engage them if you
jump into the water. Handle them as you would any normal enemy.
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FLESH HUNTER – 60 ELITE
Although
the monstrous blobs known as Flesh Hunters spit acidic bolts if not engaged
in melee range, they’re best taken down from range. If anyone is in melee
range, they’ll consume that player and very rapidly regain health. Stay
outside of melee range, prepare to back off if the Flesh Hunter approaches,
and take them down.
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HIVE’ZARA SOLDIER – 60 ELITE
This
insect starts out like any other battle, but as it comes closer to death it
begins to retaliate against all melee attacks. When you see the emote
stating this, have everyone except the tank back off and finish it with
ranged attacks.
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HIVE’ZARA SANDSTALKER – 60 ELITE
This
bright yellow bug periodically burrows under the ground and appears within
the raid group, usually attacking a caster. A quick intercept and taunt by
a tank is all you need to counter it.
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HIVE’ZARA BUG PACKS – 60 ELITE
You
will meet these packs between Buru the Gorger and Ayamiss the Hunter. It’s
recommended that you double back and skip these completely, but should you
wish to cut your way through, you’ll be facing a terrible battle indeed.
Allow
the Warriors to gain solid aggro prior to doing anything else. If you start
to use AoE spells too quickly, the Drones may rush those casters and throw
the raid into chaos.
Each
pack consists of two Hive’Zara Collectors, two Hive’Zara Drones, and two
Hive’Zara Tail Lashers.
Collectors: These have the abilities Web
Spray (immobilizes enemies in a frontal cone for 10 sec.), Poison (219-281
Nature damage ever 2 sec.) and Deafening Screech (Silences nearby targets
for 8 sec.). These are the most dangerous members of the pack and should
always be targeted and killed first. Keep them away from casters to prevent
Silence and face them away from the raid to avoid the Poison and Web Spray.
Drones: They frequently wipe hate and
switch targets, so keep them away from casters if possible.
Tail Lashers: Their two abilities are the same
Poison DoT as the Collectors (219 – 281 Nature Damage every 2 sec.) and
Tail Lash (AoE melee attacks).
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HIVE’ZARA WASP PACKS – 60 ELITE
Not a
very challenging encounter. Eliminate the white Wasps first, and then move
onto the Stingers. The Stingers frequently put a debuff called Itch which
causes the Stinger to charge them periodically. The tank can chase it down
and taunt it back before it can do any real damage.
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QIRAJI GLADIATOR – 60 ELITE
These
massive Qiraji come in pairs of two, so have two able tanks ready to
separate them and hold the agro. Keep in mind they often use a moderate
damaging attack called Uppercut, causing knock back. Stuns and massive
single target damage make short work of these.
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QIRAJI SWARMGUARD – 60 ELITE
They
absolutely must be stunned as much as possible and tanked away from the
casters. They use Sundering Cleave, and it will tear through cloth wearers
if left in camp too long. They also have the Triple Attack ability which
adds two instant attacks the next time they attack. Once they are safely
out of the camp, use ranged damage to destroy them quickly.
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SCARAB PACKS – 60 ELITE
These
large squads of insects litter the area surrounding Moam. Massive area
damage spells will win this fight quickly and without much trouble. It is
more important to heal the casters than the tanks here because they will be
taking the brunt of all attacks. Periodically, some of the scarabs charge
players knocking them back a long distance. This is more a nuisance than a
threat.
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Bosses:
The Ruins
of Ahn’Qiraj are home to six bosses spread out across the entire zone. Each
one takes more cunning and strategy than brute force to defeat, so be ready
to change tactics from your typical raid encounter.
Kurinnaxx
is the first boss you battle in the zone, followed up immediately by General
Rajaxx. After Rajaxx falls, you can choose to do any of the remaining four in
any order you wish, Buru the Gorger being the easiest, and Ossirian the Unscarred
the most difficult.
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KURINNAXX
Kurinnaxx
is a simple encounter, but it is also a very mobile encounter. You need two
or three tanks, all ready to be the MT at anytime. Everyone else should
spread out in a circle around Kurinnaxx with ample spacing.
Very
often, a bubble pulses up from the sand and explodes. The raid must be
ready to react to this before it bursts. Should you be near it when it
explodes, not only will you take heavy damage, but your chance to hit will
be significantly reduced, and you will be silenced. This debuff lasts an
extremely long time, so it is incredibly important that everyone is paying
attention and ready to shift positions. The MT must continually move around
to prevent being hit by Kurinnaxx’s Sand Trap in addition to all movement
by the raid.
The
second ability one must be aware of is the debuff that is placed upon the
MT. For ever stack of Kurinnaxx’s Mortal Wound, the player will receive 10%
less healing. Should this stack greater than four times, the MT will be in
serious trouble. During this time, the other tanks should be building some
stable aggro until the MT declares that he or she has four stacks of this
debuff. Once it is declared, another tank should taunt Kurinnaxx off the MT
and take over as the new MT until they have four stacks of the debuff, at
which point, the insect should be taunted off to a new MT and so on.
Kurinnaxx
has a Wide Slash ability that acts like a Warrior’s Cleave, but in a
frontal arc. It adds 500 physical damage on top of his normal melee attack
and hits everyone in his frontal cone. At 30% health, Kurinnaxx will
Enrage, increasing both his attack speed and damage dramatically. Kurinnaxx
does not have much health, so if done correctly, this is a quick battle.
Drops:
Belt of the Inquisition
Belt of the Sand Reaver
Qiraji Regal Drape
Qiraji Sacrificial Dagger
Sand Reaver Wristguards
Toughened Silithid Hide Gloves
Vestments of the Shifting Sands
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GENERAL RAJAXX
This is
the battle that tests your raid’s resolve – and endurance. General Rajaxx
is an encounter of not only stamina, but technique. After slaying
Kurinnaxx, five NPC’s join and they’re ready for battle. When you’re ready
to fight, speak with Lieutenant General Andohov and follow him and his
subordinates to the battle field.
General
Rajaxx hurls insults and sends wave after wave of his Warriors and
Swarmguards into your camp. The first three waves are lead by his captains,
the following two have majors at their heads, and the final wave comes to
battle behind Rajaxx’s colonel. Andohov and his four Kaldorei Elites aid
you in battle, but it’s still going to be a brutal encounter.
Lieutenant
General Andohov has Aura of Command (heals nearby allies for 200 health
ever 3 sec. and increases their attack and casting speed by 10%), Bash, and
Strike to aid you and his troops. His Kaldorei Elite all have Cleave and
Mortal Strike to wear down the enemies.
In
addition to leading a wave of Warriors and Swarmguards, all the named mobs
have Sunder Armor and Cleave, but each officer also has an
ability unique to them as well.
Captain Queez has Intimidating Shout.
Captain Tuubid has the ability to direct all
his minions to focus on a single target. Watch for this carefully and make
sure to keep that unfortunate player protected. Raids should use Blessing
of Protection if necessary.
Captain Drenn casts Lightning Cloud. It deals
653-857 initial Nature damage and the same amount ever 3 sec. for 15 sec.
if players remain in the affected area.
Major Yeggeth utilizes the Shield of Rajaxx
ability, which temporarily makes him immune to all spells for a 5 sec.
duration.
Major Pakkon has Sweeping Slam that deals
1750-2250 damage to targets in his frontal cone and knocks those affected
targets back.
Colonel Zerran can cast Enlarge, increasing the
physical damage of the target by 438-562 for 1 min. This can be Dispelled.
Protect
your new allies once the battle’s begun in earnest. Assign a healer or two
to watch Andohov and his Elites and keep them alive. They take a good
portion of the aggro with their massive damage output. Slowly, but surely,
take down the Swarmguards first and immediately move on to the Warriors.
Tanks should try to pick them up as best as they can, but it can be a very
chaotic fight. Have the healers keep an eye on everyone unless they’re
specifically assigned to the tanks or the NPC allies.
Once
the guards are down, turn your attention to the officer be it Captain,
Major, or Colonel. Take note of their special abilities and adjust the raid
appropriately. As mentioned, protect the single target during Tuubid’s
wave. Be ready to move during Drenn’s wave and call of spells during Yeggeth’s.
Keep Pakkon faced away from the raid and Zerran tanked at all times and
Dispel his massive growth.
After
the waves of slaughter, General Rajaxx enters the fray. Hopefully, Andohov
and his Elites are still alive and well; it makes taking out Rajaxx much
easier. If your Warriors have the gear to become immune to disarm, have
them don it before the battle begins. Although General Andohov will likely
have aggro during most of the fight, so keep him healed. However, Rajaxx
frequently disarms Andohov.
Casters
should take note to keep their distance from the Qiraji General. Rajaxx’s
Thundercrash is an absolutely deadly ability. It’s a wider AoE Thunderclap
that deals just over 50% of the target’s total health to all creatures in
the AoE. Since this is based on a percentage (plus a small number), it’s
only important to keep the tanks at full health; everyone else should be
fine with approximately 1000 hit points or so. However, this ability also
causes knockback that resets the threat on all affected targets. Tanks must
be ready to rotate Taunts when they can to keep Rajaxx from heading to the
main body of the raid.
Drops:
Amber Idol
Boots of the Qiraji General
Boots of the Vanguard
Bracers of Qiraji Command
Jasper Idol
Legplates of the Qiraji Command
Manslayer of the Qiraji
Onyx Idol
Qiraji Regal Drape
Southwind's Grasp
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BURU THE GORGER
This is
one of those battles that requires you to think outside of the box.
Immediately upon approaching Buru you should notice the eggs surrounding his pool. The
battle begins the instant an egg is struck.
Buru’s outer shell is far too hard to damage with spells and swords to
be effective, so you must use his own eggs against him. When an egg is
destroyed it deals minor damage to any nearby players and an elite silithid
will emerge to immediately attack whoever’s close. However, if Buru is very close to that egg when
it’s destroyed two things happen: 1) Buru takes major damage and 2) his
speed is reset (to an extremely slow default).
Assign
a few people to “bug duty” and have them pick up the silithid that spawn from
the eggs. Have the rest of the raid reduce the eggs to low health during
the first part of the battle and kill them off whenever Buru gets to be too fast. Use Detect
Magic to monitor his movement rate and kill an egg near Buru when he’s become a handful.
This frees up a few DPS players to attack Buru during this first phase while
using the eggs to inflict big damage. This shortens the initial phase
considerably.
Buru often “sets his eye” upon a particular player, then proceeds to
chase this target down. When this happens, the unfortunate player must lead
Buru to one of the weakened eggs.
When Buru’s in range of the egg, finish
it off. One option is to destroy the eggs in a clockwise fashion around the
pools so that each player knows which egg will be next to be destroyed. Again, weakening all the eggs increases
both the complexity of the battle and your options when someone’s Buru’s target, but it speeds up the
initial phase by letting the DPS hit Buru as well.
Buru will be hurting badly after a few exploding eggs. Once he reaches
the 20% health mark, the real battle begins. Flying into a wild rage, Buru blows his top, exposing his
brain to your raid. He then begins to emit a pulse of Nature damage that
affects everyone in the raid. This damage increases the longer he stays
alive. At this point, your DPS should unload every bit of firepower at
their disposal, Priests should be chain casting Prayer of Healing, and
everyone else should attack Buru. Warriors, including the MT, should use Recklessness
and use Execute every chance they get.
Drops:
Buru's Skull Fragment
Fetish of Chitinous Spikes
Gloves of the Swarm
Quicksand Waders
Qiraji Ornate Hilt
Qiraji Spiked Hilt
Scaled Bracers of the Gorger
Slime Kickers
Slimy Scaled Gauntlets
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MOAM
Moam
can either be an incredibly simple fight, or a near impossible one. Raid
structure is key here, as abilities and spells
that drain mana are the keys to victory.
Moam
begins the battle with 0 mana. However, this changes as the battle
progresses. When he reaches 100% mana, he casts Arcane Eruption and
inflicts massive Arcane damage on anyone within range. It has just over 40
yards in range. If it looks like he’s going to reach 100%,
have everyone except the MT retreat to the 45-50
yard mark. Cast PW: Shield or Divine Shield on the MT and apply HoT’s
before retreating. Arcane Eruption also shoots anyone affected (the MT is
always unlucky) into the air to incur falling damage. Make sure the MT gets
healing both during their “flight” and upon landing.
Priest,
Warlocks and Hunters should be draining mana full time. Focus on this.
Druids, Paladins, and Shaman should act as the healers since Moam’s melee
damage is pitiful at best.
If Moam
has less than 75% mana, a 90-sec. timer begins counting down towards his
“stone form”; otherwise known as Energize. Moam deals no damage in this
state, but regenerates 500 mana and health per second during this phase.
Continue to burn Moam’s health down after he assumes his Energize form.
After a short time, Moam will summon three Mana Fiends (approx. 14k health
each). They can cast a high-damage Arcane Explosion (800-1000 damage) that
can quickly end your raid. Luckily, they’re elementals and can be banished
by Warlocks. If you have three or more Warlocks, this is simple; Banish the
Mana Fiends and stay focused on Moam. Keep him below 100% mana!
Moam
does not have much health. Keep pecking away at him while you drain his
mana pool and he will soon fall. The key to winning the battle is to keep
him under 100% mana and, if possible, Banish the elementals. If you’re
without the requisite number of Warlocks, Focus Fire on the elementals
while you keep the other(s) Banished.
Theoretically,
since Moam’s timer toward his Energize form is only active if he’s below
75% mana and he only casts Arcane Eruption at 100% mana, stabilizing him
between 76% and 99% mana is an option that will prevent him from: a)
Summoning the Mana Fiends, b) regenerating health/mana at 500 per sec., and
c) casting his Arcane Eruption.
Drops:
Chitinous Shoulderguards
Cloak of the Savior
Dustwind Turban
Eye of Moam
Gauntlets of the Immovable
Gauntlets of Southwind
Legplates of the Destroyer
Mantle of Maz'Nadir
Obsidian Scaled Leggings
Plans: Black Grasp of the Destroyer
Qiraji Ornate Hilt
Qiraji Spiked Hilt
Ring of Fury
Southwind Helm
Talon of Furious Concentration
Thick Silithid Chestguard
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AYAMISS THE HUNTER
What
could be worse than the endless Wasp pulls you encounter in the Ruins of
Ahn’Qiraj? How about a giant Wasp?
The
first thing to do is assign a Mage and Warlock to watch the skies for
Swarmers. They come in huge droves, swarming their target to death. Their
weakness, however, is that they have next to no health. One or two AoEs
drops them.
Ayamiss
has the ability to sacrifice any person in your raid on her unholy Qiraji
altar. This happens approximately every 30 seconds and it’s her most
dangerous skill. When someone’s placed on the altar, a larva rushes forward
to the sacrificed person from the base of the altar. There are two spawn
points to monitor, so assign a Rogue and Warrior to each.
This
larva can’t be slowed, snared, or stopped in any way. It must simply be
killed before it reaches the top. It’s imperative that every single player
assigned to watch for the larvae pay attention and move to destroy them
immediately. Should the larva reach its target, the player will die
instantly, replaced with an elite wasp. If this happens more than once or
twice, it will likely spell doom for your party, as the wasps take far too
long to defeat to possibly deal with them, the Swarmers, the larvae, and
Ayamiss.
Ayamiss
begins the encounter by taking to the air, assaulting whoever has aggro
with a stackable poison. When she begins to stack poison on players, that
person should cease attacks immediately until the poison wears off, giving
someone else a chance to draw her aggro. She lands when she reaches 70%
health.
At this
point, have everyone not give a previous assignment (Mage/Warlock Swarmer
scouts and the Rogue/Warrior Larvae scouts) turn on Ayamiss. When she
lands, she clears her hate list, so let the MT get aggro before dumping on
the DPS. She gains the Stinger Spray ability when she lands; it deals
approximately 800-1000 Nature damage to nearby targets. Ayamiss also has
Lash, which knocks her target down for 2 sec. and has a chance to disarm.
Unleash
the DPS once the MT has cemented aggro. Should you successfully stop ever single
larva from reaching their target, the rest of the fight should fall into
place.
Drops:
Boots of the Desert Protector
Boots of the Fiery Sands
Bow of Taut Sinew
Gauntlets of the Immovable
Helm of Regrowth
Qiraji Ornate Hilt
Qiraji Spiked Hilt
Ring of the Desert Winds
Scaled Silithid Gauntlets
Stinger of
Ayamiss
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OSSIRIAN THE UNSCARRED
While
the order you take on the last four bosses is optional, Ossirian the
Unscarred is considered to be the final boss of the Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj, and
rightfully so. He tests your raid fiercely. This can be a very difficult
battle, but once mastered, it is one of the most fun encounters in the
game. This is an extremely mobile
battle.
Ossirian
is a mighty foe. So mighty, in fact, that one swipe from his hands kills
almost any player. To counter this, he must be weakened in some way. To
begin this battle, everyone should be on his or her mounts, ready to outrun
him as best they can. The only way to weaken him is to use one of the
crystals when he is within 30 yards of it. The crystal hits him; he
will be debuffed for 1 minute, moving at a normal speed, dealing less
damage, and vulnerable to a certain school of magic. Do not engage him with your MT until he has been debuffed.
Of
course, Ossirian takes longer than 1 minute to defeat, so one crystal
debuff won’t do. Choose a Druid, using Travel Form, to be your scout during
this chaotic battle, looking for the closest crystal to Ossirian. Once the
crystal is located, this Druid must ping the map over and over, letting
everyone know where the next destination is.
Using
two tanks, begin to drag the battle towards the ping on the map before the
minute expires. If Ossirian is not dragged to the next crystal in time he
will destroy your MT in one or two hits and make even shorter work of the
rest of the raid. Using two tanks is necessary since he often uses a spell
called Enveloping Winds on the MT, removing him or her from combat for 10
seconds or until they take damage. Once the Enveloping Winds die down on
the MT, Ossirian will likely return to the first target.
Ossirian
also pounds the ground, War Stomps, dealing moderate physical damage,
sending anyone near him flying backwards a great distance. If the MT
dragging him has his back towards the next crystal target this knock back
actually works to your advantage, advancing the MT even closer to the
crystal. Because of this, the MT’s back must always be to the next crystal pinged on the map. It is wise for
any healers to try and stay a few steps ahead of the MT, anticipating this
knock back, ensuring they stay in range at all times.
Ossirian’s
final ability is called Curse of Tongues. He randomly casts this on raid
members throughout the battle increasing the casting time of spells by 75%
for 15 seconds. Should this be cast on a healer, that player’s spells take
far longer to cast than normal, ultimately causing the death of your tanks.
This must be decursed immediately
by anyone that can do so.
One
other threat lurks in the sands while you battle Ossirian, and it will
cause deaths if not paid attention to closely. A few tornadoes whirl about
the area randomly, turning and shifting courses, looking to cause your raid
to divide. These tornadoes must be avoided at all times. Should you see a
tornado heading towards the raid, be sure to let every one know with time
to react. If someone becomes caught in this whirlwind, that player
immediately takes massive damage, likely causing his or her death.
Keep
the DPS on Ossirian at all times, whittling away at his health while you
drag him from crystal to crystal. Casters should take note of his current
debuff and use that school of magic to damage him, since he will be taking
increased damage from whatever school it happens to be for that 30 seconds.
It is a long battle, and it forces everyone to give his or her full and
undivided attention the entire time. Once it is mastered, it can be a very
enjoyable and challenging experience.
Fell
Ossirian and bring him to justice!
Drops:
Bracers of Brutality
Crossbow of Imminent Doom
Gauntlets of New Life
Gloves of Dark Wisdom
Head of Ossirian the Unscarred
Helm of Domination
Leggings of the Black Blizzard
Mantle of the Horusath
Ossirian's Binding
Qiraji Ornate Hilt
Qiraji Spiked Hilt
Runic Stone Shoulders
Sand Polished Hammer
Sandstorm Cloak
Shackles of the Unscarred
Staff of the Ruins
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