
Sludgefist, Healer Guide
Updated 1 year, 4 months ago for patch 9.0.5 by Preston. View the change log.
This page covers a healer-focused strategy for Sludgefist in Castle Nathria in Shadowlands. 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 with the encounter, combat log information, and Dungeon Journal information. I'll continue to update it as-needed.
General Mechanics and Abilities
Normal and Heroic
- The tanks will be dealing with
Giant Fists, forcing both tanks to be stacked on each other and taking damage at the same time.
- When affected by
Chain Link, stay within 12-yards of the player you're linked to for the duration of the debuff to avoid the fatal damage from
Shattering Chain.
- On Heroic, stack with the player affected by
Chain Slam to split the damage taken.
- At 100% Rage, a tank will be targeted by
Hateful Gaze and moving so there is a pillar between them and Sludgefist.
- Avoid the path between Sludgefist and the targeted tank to avoid the fatal damage from
Heedless Charge.
- If a pillar is hit, a stack of
Crumbling Foundation is applied to all players, dealing stacking light damage over time for the rest of the encounter.
- If a wall is hit,
Collapsing Foundation deals heavy damage to all players for the rest of the encounter.
- Upon hitting a pillar or wall,
Destructive Impact deals moderate damage to all players and stuns Sludgefist, increasing damage taken for 12-seconds.
- Avoid the path between Sludgefist and the targeted tank to avoid the fatal damage from
- Stay at least 20-yards away to avoid
Destructive Stomp.
- The tanks will be dealing with positioning so this doesn't destroy any pillars.
- Avoid the impact locations of
Falling Rubble and the resulting
Stonequakes.
- Deals moderate damage to all players and knocks them back with
Colossal Roar.
- At 30% health, gains
Gruesome Rage, increasing damage dealt and attack speed.
Mythic Differences
Destructive Impact now triggers
Fractured Boulder.
- The impact location of
Fractured Boulder must be soaked by at least one player, multiple players will split the damage taken.
- Subsequent impact locations of
Fractured Debris must also be soaked.
- Soaking an impact applies
Crushed, making subsequent soaks likely fatal while the debuff is active.
- If any impact isn't soaked,
Fractured Impact deals heavy damage to all players.
- The impact location of
- At least four players must be hit by
Chain Slam to prevent Sludgefist from gaining
Vengeful Rage, greatly increasing damage dealt and attack speed.
- Players hit take light damage over time from
Chain Bleed.
- Players hit take light damage over time from
- During
Seismic Shift, stay at least 4-yards away from other players.
Healing Notes
Quick Notes, All Difficulties
The notes below mostly pertain to progression difficulty, meaning if you out-gear the difficulty you're on or use extra healers they may not apply.
- Use Major Cooldowns on
- Use Minor Cooldowns
- on
Colossal Roar
- as-needed as damage from
Crumbling Foundation increases
- on
- Pre-heal Before (mainly for heal over time classes)
Destructive Impact
Colossal Roar
Chain Slam (especially if you know which players are helping soak)
Potion of Spiritual Clarity use
- likely just after a
Destructive Impact
- likely just after a
- Other things to watch for
- While
Gruesome Rage is active, both tanks will need significant healing and external defensive cooldowns.
- Avoid casting just before
Colossal Roar finishes casting.
- The damage dealt over the encounter will slowly ramp up, conserving mana early on may be necessary.
- While
Debuffs to Track
Major
- (Heroic)
Chain Slam causes players to need additional healing.
Minor
- (Mythic)
Chain Bleed causes players to need additional healing.
Useful Addons
Below are the DBM settings I'll be using for Sludgefist in Castle Nathria. You can set them up however you'd like, but these ones should work well as a starting point. Some settings may be Mythic only.
Healer DBM Settings for Sludgefist
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