25H Kor’kron Dark Shaman – Metro’s Healing Guide!

Welcome to Metro’s 25 man Heroic Healing guides for the Siege of Orgrimmar! It is important to understand that these guides are first aimed at helping healers understand their role, and then helping them maximize their play. Each will feature a general overview of the mechanics that matter to the healers, and conclude with a class-specific discussion. Let’s begin!

Understanding the encounter –

The Kor’kron Dark Shaman encounter features a variety of mechanics that, on paper, seem quite potent. When looking at this fight coming from normal difficulty, most would imagine a very hectic, hard to control encounter. Unfortunately, for both us and Blizzard, it seems that NOTHING about this encounter played out how they expected!

I’m sure if you are considering this encounter on 25 man Heroic you will be implementing the split strategy, but if you aren’t its likely time to either quit that guild, or stage a coup d’état and get someone in there who cares about the healers. The fight will be completely random and near unhealable at times if you keep the bosses together, but if you separate them, it turns into a very planned and predictable encounter. Obviously, this guide will be describing healing mechanics for the former.

Understanding the Healer’s Role –

The healing role itself is not very complicated, compared to other fights in the raid, but distributing healers accordingly, as well as tanks, may present issues. Let’s make that the first thing we discuss!

In order to properly split your raid, you will have all melee DPS on Haromm on the Ramp side, and all ranged DPS on the Flat side. With this in mind, the next concern is tank and healer distribution. The best option to solo Kardris is a DK tank or Monk Tank, but regardless it’s important to understand that whoever is tanking on the Flat will be taking a massive amount of damage regularly, while the two on Ramp will be taking no damage comparatively. Because of this, the most logical designation for separation of sides would be:
Strong Single-target Healers on Flat, Strong AOE healers on Ramp.
However, while it seems logical to split up three and three, we find it much more realistic to have four on Ramp, and 2 on Flat. This is nearly only because of Toxic Mist, a mechanic which Haromm does to deal massive magic damage to “several” players, which usually translates to 75 percent of the group on Ramp. Another complication that essentially requires four on Ramp, is that if there aren’t three people out of melee range from Haromm, the Iron Tomb will cover melee, making the strategy require a tremendous amount of movement. We do not want this for any reason ever so on the off-chance that one healer does die we will have enough to make sure it does not.

Our Split is as follows, for reference.

Flat – Holy Paladin, Disp Priest
Ramp – Holy Paladin, Holy Priest, Resto Druid, Resto Shaman

Provided we agree on this, the next topic is explaining the start of the fight, as well as the actions taken to ensure to split.

The Pull –

It’s very likely that all four targets latch on to one tank for a few seconds, so keep an eye on this. Regardless, the bleed from the dogs hurts quite badly, so while they are alive, the tanks should be the priority. The rest of the group will be spread out, and should not need healing until the first round of mechanics go out – happening at 95 percent health. This case should be the only time both sets of mechanics are present from the Iron Totem on the entire group, so be sure to be aware of who receives the Iron Prison debuff if you are assigned to the Ramp team.

From this point, load up any targets with hots or shields that have the prison and will be split from you, and prepare to use a speed boost to get to your location ASAP. Once split, the roles will be entirely different, so I will explain them as such.

Ramp and Haromm Healing –

The first challenge to overcome is getting everyone with the Toxic Mist and the Tombs where they need to be as you all arrive at the location chosen. This can be exceptionally dangerous if both are on the same person, as even if they survive the prison comfortably, the tick from the mist will kill them without preparation. It’s your job to monitor this and make sure it’s not a factor, preferably with an external CD if applicable.

Around the time this clears, the real mechanics will begin, so make sure you have all your healers stacked up in a good location for the tomb and AOE like crazy on whichever pile needs it most. It’s easy to forget about yourself in this case, so be conscious of when 3-4 healers get the Mist as you’ll likely not be receiving much healing by default.

Unfortunately, as alluded to at the start of the guide, the Foul Stream mechanic functions pitifully and will pretty much be an issue every time it’s out, even if handled correctly. It’s possible it’s due to being on the ramp and the ground wasn’t tested for the mechanic, but whatever the cause just be aware of it as an issue and don’t be surprised if a few melee get smashed when they shouldn’t have even been hit. Because of this issue, on top of the Toxic Mist, it’s extremely common to use all three Battle Rezes on Melee, and still have some dead for the end of the fight.

Given our DPS pace, once three sets of Tombs go out the first Ashen Wall will be deployed and force the entire group to move. Once again, be prepared for the movement, and move to the pre-designated location. Be sure this location is still far enough away from the hitbox of Haromm, otherwise the tombs will cover melee.

Around 10 seconds after the first wall and movement, you will encounter the first Falling Ash. This is the part of the encounter where healing begins to really ramp up, and it would be optimal to discuss CD usage. You will see upwards of six or seven Falling Ash mechanics, so unfortunately they can’t all be covered, but either way one solid CD is a huge benefit. You do not want to layer CDs, as it is too short a window, so talk amongst your healers present on Ramp side and decide what best route there is for dealing with it.

From this point on, it’s quite repetitive. You’ll still have the Mist, Foul Stream,  and tank damage, but also the Ash, so provided you can keep the tanks alive and none of the healers die because of the Foul Stream or Tombs, it should be smooth sailing!

Flat and Kardris Healing –

Regrettably, I have not completed this sub-role on a kill attempt, so take my offerings with a grain of salt. As always, if you have something to contribute, leave a comment and it will be my pleasure to amend the article with you accredited!

As the flat team, you will have more room to navigate, but less room for error, as the mechanics will move slightly and otherwise take up a lot of space. In terms of healing, it will be mostly single target, as the tank will be constantly pelted with Froststorm Bolt (getting much worse during the Bloodlust) and the few DPS who receive the Prison mechanic.

The Iron Prison itself will likely be the truest form of death for most people, as with 100 percent of the group being ranged DPS, most will be cloth and mitigate nothing of the initial physical damage. Because of this, it’s incredibly important to monitor who gets the debuff each time it goes out, and to have each of the players with it fully healed and prepared with a CD if needed. Many times, a tornado or other source of damage will complicate this, so give your best single target heals to players who need it.

I find the Foul Slimes to be more of a nuisance than a real source of damage if handled correctly, and provided you have a DK or Monk, they should always be exactly where they need to be. However, its pertinent to expect some stragglers, so if you see them creeping towards the stack, expect to heal through the damage.

Once Falling Ash comes out, things really get complicated. Players will continue to get the Prisons, and the tank will continue to be hit hard by the Bolt, so if a few things line up wrong, the two healers down here will have their hands tied. Hopefully, when you assumed the healing role, you realized that sometimes you simply can’t save everyone, and this will be a case of such. If it’s between the tank and a mage… well let’s hope you choose the tank otherwise you had better be prepared to taunt!

With only two healers, the falling ash will be much harder to CD through, so this is one distinct drawback to the method. Hopefully, between the two, you have 2 good reduction CDs, otherwise just keep trucking away. I can’t say it enough – if the tank dies the fight ends; if a caster DPS dies the fight continues. If you play by this rule, you should have success on Kardris.

Class Specific Tips –

Holy Paladin: Great for either role! Make sure you have at least 1 Holy Paladin on Flat, as Devo is mandatory for small healing group. Hand of Sac will save Prison target 100 percent – immunities will not.

Resto Shaman: Decent for Flat, amazing for Ramp. Healing rain on melee especially as Foul Stream comes out. Spiritwalker’s Grace to heal during Tomb Movement. 2 CDs make them great for Falling Ash no matter position.

Resto Druid: Ramp only, unless really needed. Hots are great counter to Toxic Mist. Mushroom explosion to counter one Ash, Tranq for another! OP Ironbark can and will save a person with Iron Prison and Mist.

Holy / Disp Priest: Disp 100 percent must be Flat, Holy must be ramp. Disp bubbles mandatory for tank survivability in Bloodlust with Ash falling. Holy Hots are hard counter to Mist. Lifegrip someone if they are caught in a bad spot – especially behind the ashen wall!

Misty Monk: (Do not currently have a monk healer in our progression.) Not exceptional for either role. How does Fistweaving effect this? Can’t fistweave on ramp, as negating the 4 man stack for the Tombs, especially if one is already dead. Can’t fistweave on Flat, as risk spawning tornadoes on the tank, and would be covered in the Slimes. Does anyone have experience as a monk on this fight? Would honestly love to hear what is best.

TLDR Recap –

Disp Priest, Holy Paladin for Flat. Resto Druid/sham, Holy Priest, for Ramp. Others can flex. Be prepared for Iron Prison, especially if on ramp side, as it can kill you with Toxic Mist easily. Foul Stream is buggy, don’t get frustrated. Tank above all else, especially when bloodlust on Flat. ZZZ pot tough to use on either side, shouldn’t run oom though. CD every opportunity for Falling Ash – call it out in voice coms.

As always, this guide is from the perspective of a Holy Paladin in 25 man heroic raid leadership perspective. Experience is limited when it comes to priest and monk healers, so if you have input feel free to join the conversation! Otherwise, if you have any questions feel free to ask! Enjoy SoO!