This page covers a healer-focused strategy for Za'qul, Harbinger of Ny'alotha in The Eternal Palace. 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, logs information, and Dungeon Journal information. I'll continue to update it as-needed.

General Mechanics and Abilities

Normal and Heroic

During this encounter players will be fighting Za'qul as they descent further into insanity.

• Avoid venturing into the Dark Beyond that surrounds the area.
• Players will be gaining stacks of Hysteria throughout the fight (more details below).

Stage One - The Harbinger

This stage begins the fight and ends when Za'qul reaches 85% health.

• This area of the encounter is considered Reality, and is referenced later in the guide.
• The tanks will be dealing with Mind Tether, reflecting a portion of damage taken from the current tank to the off-tank (or nearest player).
  • If no players are within 300-yards, the current tank is stunned by Snapped.
• Avoid the impact locations of Portal of Madness.
  • Each portal spawns a Horrific Summoner.
    • These channel Dark Tear for 2-minutes, continually spawning Horrific Visions.
      • If the channel is allowed to finish, Void Eruption deals fatal damage to all players.
• Avoid the impact line of Crushing Grasp which originates from a large portal that spawns on the edge of the area.
• Dispel Dread (magic).

Stage Two - Grip of Fear

This stages begins when Za'qul reaches 85% health and ends when Za'qul reaches 70% health.

• All players are pulled into the Fear Realm.
  • Players in this Realm gain a stack of Hysteria every 15-seconds.
• Mind Tether, Crushing Grasp, and Dread (dispel, magic) continue during this stage.
• When affected by Manifest Nightmares, move away from other players to drop the resulting Nightmare Pools.
  • When the effect expires, a Horrific Vision spawns.
• Avoid the location of Maddening Eruption.
  • The boss should be moved to the location to apply Punctured Darkness and reduce the damage radius to only 10-yards.
  • If the boss is not brought to the location before detonation, all players will take moderate damage instead.

Stage Three - Delirium's Descent

This stage begins when Za'qul reaches 70% health and ends when Za'qul reaches 50% health.

• Mind Tether, Crushing Grasp, and Dread (dispel, magic) continue during this stage.
• During Delirium's Descent, one player must stand in each of the three orange patches in front of the boss to be transported to the Delirium Realm.
  • Inside the Delirium Realm, all players are hostile to each other, gain 30% haste, and are transported out of the realm upon death.
    • Dispel Shattered Psyche (magic) from players that exit the realm.
• On Heroic, avoid the impact location of Tentacle Slam.

Stage Four - All Pathways Open

This stage begins when Za'qul reaches 50% health and ends when Za'qul is killed.

• Players are teleported back to Reality and have access to Reality Portals in each insanity realm.
  • To use the Portal, stand near it and use the Extra Action Button.
• Mind Tether, Crushing Grasp, Manifest Nightmares, and Maddening Eruption continue during this stage.
  • The visual effects for Crushing Grasp, Manifest Nightmares, and Maddening Eruption are only visible to players in the Fear Realm, however, players in all realms can be affected by their damaging aspects if they're not positioned properly.
• Dark Passage opens a portal to the Fear Realm and releases a Horrific Summoner.
  • To use the Portal, stand near it and use the Extra Action Button. 
  • Horrific Summoner
    • Immune to damage from players not in the Fear Realm due to Shroud of Fear.
    • Channels Fear's Gate for 2-minutes, continually spawning Horrific Visions into Reality.
      • If the channel is allowed to finish, Void Eruption deals heavy damage to all players.
• Dispel Manic Dread (magic).
  • Be prepared to avoid the impact location where players were dispelled and the resulting Caustic Delirium pool.
    • Standing in the pools grants stacks of Caustic Delirium. At 5-stacks, affected players are sent to the Delirium Realm.
  • Damage from dispelling this effect hits all players in all realms.
• The Dark Pulse absorb shield must be destroyed before the channel finishes to avoid all players taking critical to fatal damage.
  • Destroying the absorb shield in time applies Mind Fracture to the boss.

All Stages

• On Heroic, Horrific Visions start with 30-stacks of Gathering Nightmare and lose a stack every 2-seconds.
  • Each missing stack increases damage dealt and reduces movement speed.
  • When all stacks are lost, transforms into an Unleashed Nightmare.
    • Quivering Claws applies stacks of Hysteria to players hit.

Mythic Differences

Stage Four - All Pathways Open

• Reality Portals are no longer available.
• Za'qul splits himself into Echoes across the Fear Realm and Delirium Realm.
  • While Echoes are alive, Za'qul is immune to damage and interrupts due to Dark Shield.
  • Echo of Fear
    • Interrupt Dread Scream to prevent the Fear.
  • Echo of Delirium
    • Avoid the Void Slam cone when the Echo turns to cast.
  • When both Echoes are killed, Mind Fracture stuns and interrupts Za'qul.

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
  • after Dread / Manic Dread
• Use Minor Cooldowns
  • as-needed, especially during stage four
• Pre-heal Before (mainly for heal over time classes)
  • Dread / Manic Dread
• Potion of Replenishment use
  • at the beginning of stage four
• Other things to watch for
  • If the Dark Pulse shield isn't destroyed in time, be prepared for players across all realms to take a burst of damage.
  • Stage Four can get very hectic with players changing realms, try to be aware of where players are so you can move through realms as-needed.

Debuffs to Track

Major

• Several spells should be dispelled immediately in most cases:
  • Dread (magic)
  • Manic Dread
    • This can be delayed to allow the Feared players to get closer to the edge of the room.
  • Shattered Psyche (magic)

 DBM Settings

Below are the DBM settings I'll be using for Za'qul. 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 Za'qul

---