This page covers a DPS-focused strategy for the Dragons of Nightmare in The Emerald Nightmare. While it's tailored for DPS, other roles may also find the information useful. If you have any suggestions or feedback, you can leave a comment below or tweet @SquidWonder.

This guide will be updated as needed.

Normal and Heroic

The information below pertains to Normal and Heroic difficulty. Mechanics in Normal and Heroic are similar, with Heroic having a few extra abilities to watch out for.

General mechanics to know about

• There are four possible dragons, but only three will be active each week on Normal/Heroic - Ysondre, Emeriss, Taerar, and Lethon
• Ysondre will always be active
• Ysondre will be accompanied by one dragon on the ground at a time, and one in the air
• The dragons share a health pool; when they reach 70% and 40%, the non-Ysondre dragons will switch places
• Each dragon has a stacking debuff, Mark of the Nightmare that they periodically apply to players in a 45 yard range - at 10 stacks, players are stunned by Slumbering Nightmare
• Each dragon will use Corrupted Breath in a frontal cone
• Prioritize adds over bosses
• Move out of group when targeted by Volatile Infection
• In Heroic mode, the airborne dragon will have a passive effect as well

Ysondre

• Active the entire fight
• Will periodically use Nightmare Blast - a projectile attack that knocks back and damages targets within 5 yards
• A Nightmare Bloom forms where Nightmare Blast lands - one player must soak the bloom to prevent Dread Horror adds from spawning.
• In Heroic mode, the Dread Horrors have an aura effect called Wasting Dread, making it even more important to soak the blooms as soon as possible
• Will use Call Defiled Spirit that spawns on random players and roots anyone within 10 yards. Ysondre uses this ability at 100 energy, so spread out in advance. After 6 seconds, the Defiled Spirit will use Defiled Eruption, damaging everyone in 10 yards. The Defiled Spirits cannot be interrupted, but the roots are dispellable. A healer should dispel you right away but if not, use a defensive cooldown or a movement-freeing ability

Emeriss

• Periodically summons two Essence of Corruption adds that will cast Corruption. Interrupt Corruption casts and focus the adds down before DPS'ing the boss
• Periodically casts Volatile Infection on random targets. Targets will deal damage to other players within 8 yards and should move out of the group to avoid this
• In Heroic, Emeriss will have the passive effect Corruption of the Dream while flying. Mushrooms will spawn on the add corpses when they are killed, grow to full size, and use a 3-second cast for Corrupted Burst. Move away from the mushrooms.

Lethon

• Gloom will fall from the sky while Lethon is active - move 10 yards away from the impact points
• At 100 energy, Lethon uses Siphon Spirit on random targets, spawning Spirit Shades at each location. Focus the Spirit Shades down before they reach Lethon, or they will use Dark Offering and heal the bosses. Use stuns and slows if you need to
• In Heroic, Lethon will periodically cast Shadow Burst while flying. He targets random players with a debuff, and when the debuff expires the marked players burst with 3 projectiles that target the 3 closest players, dealing damage and applying a stacking debuff

Taerar

• Periodically spawns Seeping Fog clouds that roam around the field - avoid being caught in one or you will be put to sleep and take DOT damage
• At 100 energy, Taerar summons Shades of Taerer - DPS these down quickly to spare the tank some damage
• In Heroic mode, Taerar uses Bellowing Roar while flying. The entire raid will be feared for 3 seconds and movement speed reduced. There's not a whole lot to counter this, so be aware of health and nearby hazards before the roar goes off

DPS Strategy

• Be mindful of your stacks of each dragon's Mark of the Nightmare, especially when tanks swap their dragons
• Use Heroism/Time Warp/Bloodlust at the start
• Dodge falling projectiles and clouds. Soak Nightmare Bloom where they form
• Kill adds before anything else
• Stay spread out to avoid the numerous sources of splash damage

DBM Settings

• Set a warning for at least 7 stacks of Mark of the Nightmare
• It might be beneficial to set a timer for Taerar's Bellowing Roar in heroic mode, just to top yourself off or get to a safe spot

 

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