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Comment by Shalf

First boss of Azjol'Nerub

Comment by ChrisChaud

Krik'thir the Gatewatcher

Health: 151,600 HP

Abilities:

* Mind Flay - Inflicts Shadow damage to an enemy and reduces its movement speed for 3 sec.
* Kirk'thir will cast Curse of Fatigue on 2-3 targets periodically.
* Summons waves of small bug mobs which should be killed with AOE.
* Enrages at 10% health.

Confirmed Loot:

* Aura Focused Gauntlets
* Cobweb Machete
* Exquisite Spider-Silk Footwraps

Thanks to WotLKWiki.info

Comment by asktgm

No one seems to have mentioned the event that precedes the boss here, after you pull one of the three groups in front of him, you start an event.

After you finish off each group, another will come until you've defeated the three groups, after there's no groups left, you get a moment and then the boss comes.

On each group it's probably smart to kill the named guys first as they have some nasty abilities.

Comment by 50617

For the pulls before, I would suggest killing the named mob first, then the skirmisher (as it has a threat drop and a charge that hits for a pretty high number) then the caster. The boss itself is rather weak, and you can keep the last pre-pull add CC'd (as long as it wasn't CC'd before it was hit) if anyone needs to run back. Make sure you run ALL the way in the room before you actually fight him, otherwise he might despawn on you.

Comment by BrantX

To his minions:

* "Keep an eye on the tunnel. We must not let anyone through!"
* "I hear footsteps. Be on your guard."
* "I sense the living. Be ready."

Upon being aggroed:

* "This kingdom belongs to the Scourge! Only the dead may enter."

When sending in reinforcements:

* "We are besieged. Strike out and bring back their corpses!"
* "We must hold the gate. Attack! Tear them limb from limb!"
* "The gate must be protected at all costs. Rip them to shreds!"

When unleashing the swarm:

* "They hunger."
* "Dinner time, my pets."

Upon killing a player:

* "You were foolish to come."
* "As Anub'Arak commands!"

Upon death:

* "I should be grateful. But I long ago lost the capacity."

Credits to WoWWiki for this.

Comment by 128712

There are three sets of adds in front of Krik'thir. The order in which you pull them doesn't matter. Make sure to either crowd control the Skirmishers or kill them first as they can Backstab for some pretty nasty damage. Your party will drop combat after each set of adds so there is some time to drink and heal up. Krik'thir will either run at your party by himself or he can be pulled depending on whether your group is ready or not. Pull him to the center of the room and try to keep the group close together. Krik'thir will summon Skittering Swarmers that will come out of the walls towards your group. They have very low health and can be killed easily. He will also cast Curse of Fatigue on a party member from time to time as well as Mind Flay. This slows down movement, attack, and casting speed and also deals shadow damage. It can be removed like any normal curse. At 20%, Krik'thir will Frenzy, increasing his attack speed. Continue to dps him down and kill all the Swarmers that come out.

Taken from MMO-Champion.

Comment by Russta

On Heroic, after his add zerg, he will do an Acid Splash in a small area that adds the dot for every extra person that's around. Be sure that you spread out before the last add dies or it will do massive damage to the group.

Actually, after doing it a few more times, it appears that, on heroic, it's the larger sized beetles within the zerg that do Acid Splash upon dying. It can also be Spell Reflected.

Comment by 46861

On the gauntlet-like lead up to this fight keep an eye on the Anub'ar Skirmisher's. They will randomly charge 1 member of the party and focus on them for 10s. Our healer wasn't paying attention and they tore through my elemental shaman with ~9k armor in a few quick hits.

Burn them down quick and it shouldn't be a problem. If they attack a self-healer they should be able to keep themselves alive if they're aware (I wasn't the first time, 2nd time i was fine with a few healing waves) - otherwise the healer should make sure to throw a few extra heals at the target.

Comment by 13735

Skirmisher adds on the three packs prior to this boss do not charge randomly -- the charge-and-fixate effect is performed on the target furthest away from the skirmisher, yet in range of the charge.

If your group is crowd-controlling the skirmishers on the pull, make sure that when the CC breaks, a non-squishy party member is furthest away from the mob. Normally, healers tend to stay in the back, which in this case would sentence them to a painful few seconds while the skirmishers fixate on them.

It seems that Blizzard likes to reuse the Lava Surger charge mechanic when they have the chance.

Comment by RobLan

I don't know is this is just a bug or what. Did this on Heroic today and we could not get back the 3 pre-boss packs. After killing the first pack the second wave would be both remaining packs. Everywhere I have read says that they still come 1 at a time. For us this was not true. Anyone experience this and know what is happening?

Comment by 274774

Did this instans in heroic before and a Priest is really all u need to take care of the trash on first boss makes it ahole lot easier mark up the 3 skirmish so he fast can shackle them then just kill of the other mobbs

Comment by Immortares

I have tanked and cleared all 5-man dungeons in the game, but somehow the "Watcher Encounter" prior to this Boss on Heroic mode seems to be hardest I've seen. The boss itself is easier than an average heroic Boss, but the three Watcher packs in front of it too often kill the Healer or Tank and wipe the party (which means a full reset of the encounter).

So in order to understand the best tactic for the packs, first the facts:

Pack Left:
Watcher Silthik (130k hp)

Anub'ar Skirmisher (65k hp)

Anub'ar Shadowcaster (52k hp)

Pack Right:
Watcher Narjil (130k hp)

Anub'ar Warrior (63k hp)

Anub'ar Shadowcaster (52k hp)

Pack 3 Middle:
Watcher Gashra (130k hp)

Anub'ar Warrior (63k hp)

Anub'ar Skirmisher (65k hp)

Boss:
Krik'thir the Gatewatcher (345k hp)

Some important additional findings:

Anub'ar Skirmishers do a Fixate triggered by their Charge on their furthest (in range) target for 10 seconds (regardless the amount of threat)
The Fixate makes them immune for taunt and most CC (except stun)
This Fixate is an Enrage effect and can be dispelled by Anesthetic Poison II and Tranquilizing Shot
Anub'ar Skirmishers do 4 times normal damage when they hit someones back by using their Backstab

One strategy to handle the Watcher Encounter:

Use CC on the Anub'ar Shadowcaster or the Anub'ar Warrior (at the last pack)
They are considered undead, so use Repentance, Shackle Undead or Freezing Arrow
Tank the Watcher and the Anub'ar Skirmisher
Kill the Anub'ar Skirmisher (in about 15 seconds)
Then kill the Watcher (in about 30 seconds)
The CC should come lose now, so kill that one too
About 5 seconds later the next pack will come automatically and you will get in combat again

During the fight:

Make sure that your ranged members are further away from the Anub'ar Skirmisher than your Healer to prevent your Healer getting the Charge and the Fixate
Never turn your back to the Anub'ar Skirmisher
Try to keep the Anub'ar Skirmisher stunned
If the Anub'ar Skirmisher uses the Fixate, try to stun it or use Anesthetic Poison II and Tranquilizing Shot
Let the tank stun the Watcher when it starts using Web Wrap (3 seconds cast)
If the Tank or Healer gets wrapped, attack the Web Wrap
Cure the Infected Bite and Poison Spray debuffs if possible

For me this worked pretty well! If you don't have any CC, you have to AoE tank the whole pack, but try to keep the same killing order. If you do have any CC, then unlike any other encounter on Heroic difficulty, this is the place to you use it! One may prefer using CC on the Skirmisher, but if it breaks, the Skirmisher can and probably will kill the Healer! One of the known strategies for the Watch Him Die achievement is very similar as the one above, except that you keep the Watchers alive, while killing everything else as fast as possible. This achievement is pretty tough and requires good (raiding) gear, coordination and the right class balance. Feel free to add findings, corrections or suggestions here.

Good luck! :D

Regards,

Immortares
(EU - Twisting Nether - Alliance - Aeternitas)

Comment by briare

To the Turn Evil question-
definately yes, they are undead.

To the enrage focus question-
from what I've heard, yes. If you use iceblock/divine shield/hand of protection/ect. the skirmisher will still be focused on that player until it runs out.

Comment by 261758

"This kingdom belongs to the Scourge! Only the dead may enter."

Possible reference to Lord of the Rings 3? :)

Comment by 223121

This is, in my opinion, the best voiceacting I've encountered so far in the expansion.

Comment by 101003

HEROIC:

I would like to add a comment here about the first boss and the chain pull. This pull is difficult if one of these conditions applies: You have low dps, or a healer without good regen or low mana pool. I found that if the fights take too long, then you are burning much more mana on heals and easily go oom this way. For example, if you groups dps averages around 1-1.2 k this will be brutal on your healer.

Second, as a holy pally, I find that its the 5 poison cleanses which kill me. I figure a shaman's poison cleansing totem would make this a LOT easier. If the group gets all 5 poisoned, thats around 6-8 seconds of cleansing GCDs. Thats a long time to not be healing, and I usually triage myself, the tank, and the top DPSr. You have to get those poisoners down, or at least keep them at range so the whole party doesnt get poisoned. On reflection this just seems like a good idea. With the healing Nerf on Divine Plea I have been finding this the hardest part of the instance with around 1700 sp and 16k unbuffed mana. Also, if your tank is around 20k health this could be rough, as of course you cant come off him for long. The web in the face isnt too bad, the coccoons can be one shot off the wrapped player, its the poisoning or charging that will be the hard part.

If you have 3 dpsrs around or above 1800-2k + dps, this goes a lot easier, as the fights are just that much shorter. Actually, at that DPS average, this fight isnt hard at all if the tank is on his toes for treat management. Even though this instance is like number three in the non heroic mode, that is , UK, Nexus, then this- in heroic this first pull is pretty rough. I typically have found that for the fist pull dps makes or break these fights. Fast fights give you a time to rest and top off between the pulls.

The second boss is pretty easy if you dont stand in poison clouds and wait for the adds to stop coming, and the final boss is really easy, especially for a pally because there are breaks to pop divine plea when the boss is submerged and the adds are going down. For the final fight, this is one good tip-----MELEE GET OUT OF POUND! If you do that, move out of the floor spikes, this last boss is cake. Oh ya, just make sure you are in the ring when the fight starts or you get locked out, lol.

Comment by Titan

That's a big bug. I think im gonna need a giant can of Raid.

Comment by Ketho

Anub'ar Skirmisher - Backstab, # Fixate

Link Fixate to ur party, if they blame the tank for "not tanking the skirmisher".

/script SendChatMessage(" \124cff71d5ff\124Hspell:52540\124h\124h\124r \124cff71d5ff\124Hspell:52537\124h\124h\124r(Enrage)", "Party");

Comment by 236163

The voice of Krik'thir the Gatewatcher was done by Joe T. Thomas.

He also voiced Loken and the Death Knight's ghoul pet.

Comment by 258919

This kingdom belongs to the Scourge! Only the dead may enter!

Yes, definitely a quote from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

In addition, the Curse of Fatigue can and should be dispelled from your healers, and other classes if you can afford the break from healing/casting.

I (mage) used the following simple macro.

/cast Remove Curse

As long as they are in range and in your LoS, you will heal the healer without even detargetting the Gatewatcher.

So just put in whatever dispel spell you have in the space of Remove Curse and you've got a macro.

Comment by 251259

Bug: If you are on a DK and send your rune weapon in to aggro the boss after killing the three packs, he will despawn and you have to start this all over again.

Comment by 413579

He is probably inspired by Cerberus, the hound that stood guard at the Entrance to Hades, the Ancient Greek underworld. He doesn't have 3 heads like Cerberus, but he commands 3 Watchers, who inform him, just like being his heads.

Comment by 495643

Thanks, I looked this up just now because I was listening to Pandora and a song from the death metal band "Arch Enemy" came on and it sounded just like this guy.

Comment by zharshoul

" I sense the living"

REALLY

could it be...

maybe

just maybe

because we are in your sight range

View in 3D Links

Krik'thir the Gatewatcher

This NPC can be found in Azjol-Nerub .

Krik'thir the GatewatcherHadronoxAnub'arakKrik'thir the GatewatcherWatch Him DieOverview

Three add waves and one miniboss in each will subsequently attack the party before Krik'thir can be reached.

Pull each wave back to prevent aggroing other adds. Pulling too many likely will result in death.

Free wrapped players by attacking Web Wraps.

Krik'thir will attack after the waves have been killed; he is easy, only frenzying at 10% health.

AbilitiesKrik'thir the Gatewatcher

Curse of Fatigue: Inflicts 2,828 to 3,172 Shadow damage to players within 5 yards, decreasing movement, attack and casting speed by 30% for 10 seconds.

Mind Flay: Inflicts 1,885 to 2,115 Shadow damage to a target every second for 3 seconds.

Frenzy: Increases attack speed by 50% and Physical damage by 100%.

MinibossesWatcher Gashra

Enrage: Increases attack speed by 300% but decreases Physical damage by 50% for 8 seconds.

Infected Bite: Inflicts 1,885 to 2,115 Nature damage and applies a DoT dealing 1,000 Nature damage every 3 seconds for 9 seconds. Also increases Physical damage taken by 20%.

Web Wrap: Encases a player in a web, stunning him for 10 seconds.

Watcher Narjil

Blinding Webs: Disorients nearby players for up to 4 seconds.

Infected Bite: Inflicts 1,885 to 2,115 Nature damage and applies a DoT dealing 1,000 Nature damage every 3 seconds for 9 seconds. Also increases Physical damage taken by 20%.

Web Wrap: Encases a player in a web, stunning him for 10 seconds.

Watcher Silthik

Poison Spray: Inflicts 875 to 1,125 Nature damage to a target and applies a DoT dealing 619 to 881 Nature damage every 3 seconds for 10 seconds.

Infected Bite: Inflicts 1,885 to 2,115 Nature damage and applies a DoT dealing 1,000 Nature damage every 3 seconds for 9 seconds. Also increases Physical damage taken by 20%.

Web Wrap: Encases a player in a web, stunning him for 10 seconds.

Krik'thir the Gatewatcher

Curse of Fatigue: Inflicts 5,655 to 6,345 Shadow damage to players within 5 yards, decreasing movement, attack and casting speed by 30% for 10 seconds.

Mind Flay: Inflicts 4,713 to 5,287 Shadow damage to a target every second for 3 seconds.

Frenzy: Increases attack speed by 50% and Physical damage by 100%.

MinibossesWatcher Gashra

Enrage: Increases attack speed by 300% but decreases Physical damage by 50% for 8 seconds.

Infected Bite: Inflicts 4,713 to 5,287 Nature damage and applies a DoT dealing 2,000 Nature damage every 3 seconds for 9 seconds. Also increases Physical damage taken by 30%.

Web Wrap: Encases a player in a web, stunning him for 10 seconds.

Watcher Narjil

Blinding Webs: Disorients nearby players for up to 4 seconds.

Infected Bite: Inflicts 4,713 to 5,287 Nature damage and applies a DoT dealing 2,000 Nature damage every 3 seconds for 9 seconds. Also increases Physical damage taken by 30%.

Web Wrap: Encases a player in a web, stunning him for 10 seconds.

Watcher Silthik

Poison Spray: Inflicts 3,063 to 3,937 Nature damage to a target and applies a DoT dealing 1,238 to 1,762 Nature damage every 3 seconds for 10 seconds.

Infected Bite: Inflicts 4,713 to 5,287 Nature damage and applies a DoT dealing 2,000 Nature damage every 3 seconds for 9 seconds. Also increases Physical damage taken by 30%.

Web Wrap: Encases a player in a web, stunning him for 10 seconds.

Missing valuable info? Incorrect details? Please report it to us!

Encounter Journal

Heroic		Mythic
Deadly		Important
Tank		DPS
Healer		Interruptible
Magic		Curse
Poison		Disease
Enrage

Krik'thir's Watchers – Krik'thir the Gatewatcher calls one of his remaining watchers to attack players whenever one of his watchers dies. When all of the watchers have fallen, Krik'thir attacks players himself.
- Watcher Silthik
  - Poison Spray – Watcher Silthik sprays poison on all players, inflicting Nature damage and additional Nature damage every 3 sec. for 10 sec.
  - Web Wrap – Watcher Silthik channels a beam of webbing at a player, rendering them unable to move for 3 sec. When the effect ends, the player is encased in webs, stunning them for 10 sec or until the Web Wrap is destroyed.
  - Infected Bite – Watcher Silthik bites a player, inflicting Nature damage and additional Nature damage every 3 sec. for 9 sec. Players affected by Infected Bite will also take 20% additional Physical damage.
- Watcher Gashra
  - Enrage – Watcher Gashra enrages, increasing his attack speed by 300% but decreasing his Physical damage dealt by 50% for 8 sec.
  - Web Wrap – Watcher Gashra channels a beam of webbing at a player, rendering them unable to move for 3 sec. When the effect ends, the player is encased in webs, stunning them for 10 sec or until the Web Wrap is destroyed.
  - Infected Bite – Watcher Gashra bites a player, inflicting Nature damage and additional Nature damage every 3 sec. for 9 sec. Players affected by Infected Bite will also take 20% additional Physical damage.
- Watcher Narjil
  - Blinding Web – Watcher Narjil fires webbing into the eyes of all players within 30 yards, blinding them and disorieting them for 4 sec.
  - Web Wrap – Watcher Narjil channels a beam of webbing at a player, rendering them unable to move for 3 sec. When the effect ends, the player is encased in webs, stunning them for 10 sec or until the Web Wrap is destroyed.
  - Infected Bite – Watcher Narjil bites a player, inflicting Nature damage and additional Nature damage every 3 sec. for 9 sec. Players affected by Infected Bite will also take 20% additional Physical damage.
Mind Flay – Krik'thir the Gatewatcher flays a player's mind, inflicting Shadow damage every second and reduces their movement speed for 3 sec.
Curse of Fatigue – Krik'thir the Gatewatcher curses all players within 5 yards, inflicting Shadow damage and slowing
The Skittering Swarm – Krik'thir the Gatewatcher periodically summons a wave of Skittering Swarmers and Skittering Infectors to attack players.

Krik'thir the Gatewatcher

Encounter Journal

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