
The Arcatraz, Healer Guide
Updated 11 months, 2 weeks ago for patch 2.5.2 by Preston. View the change log.
This page covers healer-focused strategies for The Arcatraz dungeon in The Burning Crusade. While it's tailored for healers, other roles may also find the information useful. If you have any suggestions or feedback, you can leave a comment below or tweet @PrestonDvorak.
This guide has been updated and maintained based on my own experiences as well as Dungeon Journal and combat log information. I'll continue to update it as-needed.
The overall goal of this dungeon is to prevent the enemies and bosses from destroying Medivh's shield. Medivh is located near the back of the dungeon by the Dark Portal. All enemies and bosses will attempt to attack him until damaged by a player.
Bosses
Below are guides for the bosses in The Arcatraz, including their abilities, healer notes, and addon settings.
Zereketh the Unbound
- Dispel
Seed of Corruption (magic) to prevent the moderate damage dealt when it detonates.
- If no magic dispel is available, stay at least 10-yards away from other players when affected.
- Avoid the locations of
Void Zones.
- Deals heavy damage to all players and knocks them back a long distance with
Shadow Nova.
Healing Notes
- Depending on positioning, players can regularly end up out of range due to
Shadow Nova.
Debuffs to Track
- Major:
Seed of Corruption (dispel, magic)
Addons
Dalliah the Doomsayer
- Avoid healing the tank as much as possible while they're affected by
Gift of the Doomsayer.
- Stay at least 8-yards away to avoid
Whirlwind.
- Interrupt
Heal to prevent the healing.
- On Heroic, deals moderate damage to random players with
Shadow Wave, increasing shadow damage taken.
Healing Notes
- Keep the tank near full health so you can avoid healing them as much as possible while they're affected by
Gift of the Doomsayer.
Debuffs to Track
- Major:
Gift of the Doomsayer,
Shadow Wave
Addons
Wrath-Scryer Soccothrates
- The tank will be dealing with the knock back from
Knock Away.
- Stay at least 15-yards away to avoid
Fel Immolation.
- Avoid the line of
Felfire when he charges towards a random player.
- Targets random players with
Felfire Shock, dealing moderate damage and then light damage over time.
Healing Notes
- Keep players near full health so they can survive the initial damage from
Felfire Shock.
Debuffs to Track
- Minor:
Felfire Shock
Addons
Harbinger Skyriss
- This fight begins with a gauntlet of three mini-bosses, selected from the bosses below.
- Akkiris Lightning-Waker
- Teleports to a random location and resets threat with
Lightning Jump.
- Dispel
Lightning Waker's Curse (curse) to remove the increased magic damage taken effect.
- Purge
Deaden Magic to remove the reduced magic damage taken effect.
- Interrupts random player's spell casts with
Spell Shock.
- Deals light damage to all players with
Lightning Discharge
- Teleports to a random location and resets threat with
- Blackwing Drakonaar
- The tank will be dealing with
Mortal Strike, reducing healing received.
- Don't stand in front to avoid
Brood Power: Black.
- Stay at least 30-yards away to avoid
Blast Wave.
- The tank will be dealing with
- Blazing Trickster
- Interrupt
Firebolt to prevent the moderate damage dealt.
- Purge
Fire Shield to remove the increased fire resistance effect and damage dealt to melee attackers.
- Interrupt
- Phase-Hunter
- The tank may take extra damage from
Back Attack if hit from behind.
- Gains increased attack and movement speed while
Phase Burst is active.
- Teleports behind random players with
Warp.
- The tank may take extra damage from
- Sulfuron Magma-Thrower
- Interrupt
Shadow Bolt to prevent the moderate damage dealt.
- Dispel
Magma-Thrower's Curse (curse) to remove the reduced healing received effect.
- Avoid the location of
Rain of Fire.
- Interrupt
- Twilight Drakonaar
- Don't stand in front when the boss turns to cast several abilities.
Brood Power: Green (dispel, magic), stuns players hit.
Brood Power: Black
Brood Power: Blue (dispel, magic), reduces attack speed of players hit.
Brood Power: Bronze (dispel, magic), reduces cast speed of players hit.
Brood Power: Red, deals light damage over time.
- Don't stand in front when the boss turns to cast several abilities.
- Akkiris Lightning-Waker
- Harbinger Skyriss
- Interrupt or dispel
Fear (magic) to prevent the fear effect.
- Interrupt
Mana Burn to prevent the mana drain effect.
- Stuns random players with
Mind Rend, dealing heavy damage over time.
- Mind-controls random players with
Domination.
- At 66% and 33% health, creates an Illusion of Skyriss.
- Illusion of Skyriss
- Stuns random players with
Mind Rend, dealing light damage over time.
- Stuns random players with
- Illusion of Skyriss
- Interrupt or dispel
Healing Notes
- Akkiris Lightning-Wake: If no curse dispel is available, be prepared for the increased healing required on all players while
Lightning Waker's Curse (dispel, curse) is active.
- Sulfuron Magma-Thrower: If no curse dispel is available, be prepared for the reduced healing on players affected by
Magma-Thrower's Curse (dispel, curse).
- Harbinger Skyriss: Keeps all players near full health in case you're targeted by
Mind Rend or
Domination.
Debuffs to Track
- Major:
- Magic Dispel:
Brood Power: Green (dispel, magic),
Brood Power: Blue (dispel, magic),
Brood Power: Bronze (dispel, magic),
Fear (dispel, magic)
- Curse Dispel:
Lightning Waker's Curse (dispel, curse),
Magma-Thrower's Curse (dispel, curse)
- Damaging:
Mortal Strike,
Brood Power: Red,
Mind Rend
- Magic Dispel:
- Minor:
Brood Power: Red
- Buffs to Purge:
Deaden Magic
Addons
Trash Mobs
Below are notes for the trash mobs in The Arcatraz. The Arcatraz is a relatively linear dungeon. The trash below is ordered as if you're completing the bosses in the order they're listed above.
Entrance thru Zereketh the Unbound
- Both sets of two Arcatraz Warders should be killed to stop the constant spawning of Proteon Horrors in the areas ahead.
- Arcatraz Warder
- Stay at least 5-yards away to avoid
Improved Wing Clip.
- Targets random players with
Charged Arcane Shot.
- Stay at least 5-yards away to avoid
- Arcatraz Defender
- The tank will be dealing with
Infected Blood (disease), dealing moderate damage over time.
- Dispel
Immolate (magic) to prevent the light damage over time.
- The tank will be dealing with
- Protean Nightmare
- The tank will be dealing with
Gaping Maw, dealing light damage over time.
- Targets random players with
Infectious Poison, dealing light damage.
- Targets random players with
Incubation, eventually stunning them with Protean Spawns.
- The tank will be dealing with
- Protean Spawn
- The tank will be dealing with
Acidic Bite, reducing armor.
- The tank will be dealing with
- Soul Devourer
- Don't stand in front to avoid
Fel Breath.
- Soothe
Frenzy to remove the increased attack speed effect.
- Summons Sightless Eyes.
- Sightless Eye
- Interrupt
Sightless Touch to prevent the light damage dealt and the reduced casting, attack, and movement speed effect.
- Interrupt
- Sightless Eye
- Don't stand in front to avoid
- Death Watcher
- Don't stand in front to avoid
Tentacle Cleave.
- Interrupt or dispel
Drain Life to prevent the healing.
- At ~50% health, applies
Death Count to all players, dealing heavy damage with
Death Blast upon expiring if the Death Watcher is still alive.
- If needed, this can be avoided by breaking line of sight on the Death Watcher.
- Don't stand in front to avoid
- Entropic Eye
- Don't stand in front to avoid
Tentacle Cleave and
Chaos Breath.
- Several effects need to be dispelled, most of which come from being hit by
Chaos Breath.
Hex (dispel, magic) to remove the incapacitating effect.
Necrotic Poison (dispel, poison) to remove the reduced healing effect.
Corrosive Poison (dispel, poison) to remove the reduced armor effect.
Fevered Fatigue (dispel, disease) to remove the reduced strength and intellect effect.
Shrink (dispel, curse) to remove the reduced strength and stamina effect.
Wavering Will (dispel, magic) to remove the reduced attack, casting, and movement speed effect.
Withered Touch (dispel, disease) to remove the mana drain and light damage over time effect.
Piercing Shadow (dispel, curse) to remove the reduced shadow resistance effect.
- Deals moderate damage to random players with
Poison Bolt.
- Don't stand in front to avoid
Zereketh the Unbound thru Dalliah the Doomsayer
- Arcatraz Sentinel
- Deals moderate damage to random players with
Energy Discharge.
- Just before death, stay at least 10-yards away to avoid
Explode.
- Deals moderate damage to random players with
- Negaton Screamer
- Stay at least 8-yards away to avoid
Psychic Scream (dispel, magic).
- Gains a reduced magic damage taken effect based on the school of magic of the first magic ability it's damaged by.
- Deals moderate damage to all players with an ability that matches the type of its reduced magic damage taken effect. Once this volley happens, it will gain a new reduced magic damage taken effect based on the next magic ability it's damaged by.
- Stay at least 8-yards away to avoid
- Negaton Warp-Master
- Must be moved out of the
Summon Negaton Field it places under itself to avoid the healing done.
- Must be moved out of the
- Eredar Soul-Eater
- Dispel
Soul Steal (magic) to remove the reduced stats and physical damage dealt effect.
- If possible, stay at least 35-yards away to avoid the reduced casting, attack, and movement speed effect from
Entropic Aura.
- Stay 20-yards away to avoid
Soul Chill (dispel, magic).
- Purge
Soul Steal to remove the increased stats and physical damage dealt effect.
- Dispel
- Eredar Deathbringer
- The tank will be dealing with stacks of
Diminish Soul, increasing damage taken.
- Don't stand in front to avoid
Forceful Cleave.
- Deals light damage over time to all players with
Unholy Aura.
- The tank will be dealing with stacks of
- Spiteful Temptress
- Stay at least 15-yards away from the tank to avoid chaining damage from
Shadow Bolt.
- Mind-controls random players with
Domination and greatly increases their threat generated with
Spiteful Fury.
- Stay at least 15-yards away from the tank to avoid chaining damage from
- Unbound Devastator
- The tank will be dealing with the knock back from
Devastate.
- Additionally, stay at least 8-yards away to avoid being randomly targeted.
- Silences and disarms all players with
Deafening Roar.
- The tank will be dealing with the knock back from
- Skulking Witch
- Are invisible to begin with due to
Greater Invisibility.
- Stay at least 8-yards away to avoid
Gouge.
- This may lead to a temporary threat drop if the tank is affected.
- Are invisible to begin with due to
Wrath-Scryer Soccothrates thru Harbinger Skyriss
- This area includes Arcatraz Sentinels, detailed above.
- Ethereum Life-Binder
- Stay at least 15-yards away to avoid
Bind (dispel, magic).
- Interrupt
Shadow Mend to prevent the healing.
- Dispel
Shadow Word: Pain (magic) to prevent the light damage over time.
- Stay at least 15-yards away to avoid
- Ethereum Slayer
- Gains increased dodge chance while
Evasion is active, possibly leading to threat generation issues.
- Dispel
Impairing Poison (poison) to remove the reduced casting, attack, and movement speed effect.
- Gains increased dodge chance while
- Ethereum Wave-Caster
- Dispel
Polymorph (magic) to remove the incapacitating effect.
- Purge
Arcane Haste to remove the increased cast speed effect.
- Interrupts random player's spell casts with
Sonic Boom.
- Dispel
- Sargeron Archer
- Stay at least 15-yards away to avoid
Scatter Shot.
- This may lead to a temporary threat drop if the tank is affected.
- Stay at least 3-yards away from other players to avoid chaining the
Immolation damage from
Immolation Arrow.
- Dispel
Serpent Sting (poison) to prevent the light damage dealt.
- Purge
Rapid Fire to remove the increased ranged attack speed effect.
- Targets random players with
Hooked Net, dealing light damage and rooting them in place.
- Stay at least 15-yards away to avoid
- Sargeron Hellcaller
- Avoid the location of
Hell Rain.
- Dispel
Curse of the Elements (curse) to remove the increased fire and shadow damage taken effect.
- Avoid the location of
- Gargantuan Abyssal
- Stay within 10-yards of as many other players as possible to split the damage dealt by
Meteor.
- Deals light damage to all players within 20-yards with
Fire Shield.
- Stay within 10-yards of as many other players as possible to split the damage dealt by
- Unchained Doombringer
- The tank will be dealing with
Agonizing Armor, reducing armor.
- Stay at least 15-yards away to avoid
War Stomp.
- Targets random players with
Berserker Charge, dealing light damage and knocking back.
- The tank will be dealing with
Trash Debuffs to Track
- Major:
- Magic Dispel:
Hex (dispel, magic),
Wavering Will (dispel, magic),
Psychic Scream (dispel, magic),
Soul Steal (magic),
Polymorph (dispel, magic)
- Curse Dispel:
Piercing Shadow (dispel, curse),
Shrink (dispel, curse),
Curse of the Elements (dispel, curse)
- Poison Dispel:
Corrosive Poison (dispel, poison),
Impairing Poison (dispel, poison)
- Disease Dispel:
Infected Blood (dispel, disease),
Fevered Fatigue (dispel, disease),
Withered Touch (dispel, disease)
- Damaging:
Gaping Maw,
Acidic Bite,
Diminish Soul,
Agonizing Armor
- Incapacitating:
Gouge,
Scatter Shot,
War Stomp
- Magic Dispel:
- Minor:
- Magic Dispel:
Immolate (dispel, magic),
Soul Chill (dispel, magic),
Shadow Word: Pain (magic),
Bind (dispel, magic)
- Poison Dispel:
Serpent Sting (dispel, poison)
- Damaging:
Fireball Volley,
Immolation
- Incapacitating:
Hooked Net
- Magic Dispel:
- Enrages to Soothe:
Frenzy
- Buffs to Purge:
Soul Steal,
Arcane Haste
Trash Addons
- There are currently no notable addons for this dungeon's trash.
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