The Oculus, Healer Guide
Updated 5 months, 3 weeks ago for patch 3.4.1 by Preston. View the change log.
This page covers healer-focused strategies for The Oculus dungeon in Wrath of the Lich King. 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.
Player Drakes
After Drakos the Interrogator, each player chooses one of three Drakes. Each of the three Drake types fills a traditional dungeon role: Tank, Healer, or DPS. However, players don't necessarily need to choose the Drake that matches their actual role. (For example, the Healer could pick the Ruby Drake).
These Drakes function like Vehicles, and use the Vehicle Action Bar and other Vehicle UI elements, while being controlled with the usual player movement keys. They're primarily used for fighting trash mobs while flying between islands, and are also used to fight Eregos, the final boss of the dungeon.
Shared Abilities
- While not in combat, Soar passively increases flying speed and health regeneration.
- If a player exits their Drake, or if their Drake dies, Parachute automatically slows fall speed and prevents fatal falling damage for 5-seconds.
Ruby Drake
- Generally considered the Tank Drake. Spawned by Ruby Essence obtained from Belgaristrasz.
- Searing Wrath - Deals increasing damage to up to five enemies.
- Evasive Maneuvers - Dodge all incoming attacks for 30-seconds or until all stacks of Evasive Charges are used.
- Evasive Charges stacks are generated passively by Evasive Aura.
- Martyr - Redirects all harmful effects used against other player's Drakes within 60-yards to the Ruby Drake.
Emerald Drake
- Generally considered the Healer Drake, spawned by Emerald Essence obtained from Verdisa.
- Leeching Poison - Applies a stacking health drain effect to enemies, which heals the Emerald Drake.
- Dream Funnel - Transfers health from the Emerald Drake to the targeted friendly Drake.
- Touch the Nightmare - Expend a moderate amount of health to deal heavy damage to an enemy, reducing their damage dealt.
Amber Drake
- Generally considered the DPS Drake. Spawned by Amber Essence obtained from Eternos.
- Shock Lance - Deal damage to an enemy, increased for each stack of Shock Charge on that enemy.
- Temporal Rift - Increases damage taken by the targeted enemy and generates Shock Charges based on the damage dealt while the effect is active.
- Stop Time - Incapacitates all enemies for 10-seconds and generates Shock Charges.
Bosses
Below are guides for the bosses in The Oculus, including their abilities, healer notes, and addon settings.
Drakos the Interrogator
- Unstable Spheres move around the platform throughout the encounter.
- Unstable Sphere
- Periodically deals light damage to players within 12-yards with Sphere Detonation.
- Unstable Sphere
- Pulls all players into melee range with Magic Pull.
- Deals light damage to all players, knocks them back, and reduces movement speed with Thundering Stomp (dispel, magic).
Healing Notes
- Use cooldowns as-needed to keep players near full health to ensure they survive the random damage from Sphere Detonation.
Debuffs to Track
- Minor: Thundering Stomp (dispel, magic)
Addons
Varos Cloudstrider
- During Energize Cores, don't stand in front to avoid the ~1/3 of the platform covered by the lightning effect.
- Dispel Amplify Magic (magic) to remove the increased magic damage taken effect.
- Azure Ring Captains will be called upon to assault players from afar throughout the encounter.
- Azure Ring Captain
- Avoid the Arcane Beam as it travels across the platform towards a random player.
- Azure Ring Captain
Healing Notes
- Amplify Magic (dispel, magic) also increases healing received, so the effect can even out if no magic dispel is available.
Debuffs to Track
- Major: Amplify Magic (dispel, magic)
Addons
Mage-Lord Urom
- Players affected by Time Bomb take heavy damage over time before dealing damage to all other players based on their missing health when the effect expires.
- Avoid the location of Frostbomb and the frost patch left behind.
- During Empowered Arcanes Explosion:
- Urom Teleports to the chasm in the center of the platform and begins casting Empowered Arcanes Explosion.
- Players must break line of sight on Urom using the rocky pillars that line the inner edge of the platform to avoid the fatal damage.
Healing Notes
- Players affected by Time Bomb will need heavy healing over time to keep them near full health.
Debuffs to Track
- Major: Time Bomb
Addons
Ley-Guardian Eregos
During this encounter, players will be using the Drakes they obtained after the first boss. Details on the Drakes are at the beginning of this page.
- The tank will be dealing with Arcane Barrage.
- Deals moderate damage to random players with Arcane Volley.
- Gains greatly increased casting speed and damage dealt while Enraged Assault.
- This should be stunned by an Amber Drake.
- Periodically spawns several Greater Ley-Whelps.
- Greater Ley-Whelp
- The tank will be dealing with Arcane Bolt.
- Greater Ley-Whelp
- On Heroic, during Planar Anomalies:
- Eregos and all Greater Ley-Whelps are incapacitated and immune to magic damage due to Planar Shift
- All players must avoid the orbs that move towards random players until the effect ends after ~20-seconds.
Healing Notes
- Keep your Leeching Poison Drake ability active at all times to ensure your health stays high and you're able to heal the other Drakes.
- As health permits, try to line your Touch the Nightmare Drake ability up with Temporal Rift from the Amber Drakes.
Debuffs to Track
- There are no particular debuffs to track.
Addons
Trash Mobs
Below are notes for the trash mobs in The Oculus. The Oculus has a relatively open layout, but boss locations lend themselves to a relatively set path that players take. Bosses are ordered as if you're completing them in the order they're listed above.
While Flying
- While flying between islands using the Player Drakes, you're likely to encounter a lot of the same enemies.
- Azure Ring Guardian
- The tank will be dealing with Ice Beam.
- Greater Ley-Whelp
- The tank will be dealing with Arcane Bolt.
Entrance thru Drakos the Interrogator
- Azure Ley-Whelp
- Interrupt Arcane Bolt to prevent the light damage dealt to the tank.
- Azure Inquisitor
- Don't stand in front to avoid Arcane Cleave.
- Roots random players in place with Immobilizing Field (dispel, magic).
- Deals light damage to random players with Throw.
- Azure Spellbinder
- Interrupt Power Sap to prevent the reduced damage dealt effect on a random player and the increased damage dealt effect on the Spellbinder.
- When possible, interrupt Arcane Volley to prevent the light damage dealt to all players.
- Dispel Mind Wrap (magic) to remove the increased mana cost of spells effect.
Drakos the Interrogator thru Varos Cloudstrider
- After killing Drakos, players can talk to one of three NPCs to obtain their Drake Essence. This allows the summoning of Player Drakes, detailed at the beginning of this guide.
- Obtain the Ruby Essence (Tank) from Belgaristrasz.
- Obtain the Emerald Essence (Healer) from Verdisa.
- Obtain the Amber Essence (DPS) from Eternos.
- Players must clear the lower-most central platform and the two southern platforms of Centrifuge Constructs to remove the shield on Varos' platform.
- Ring-Lord Sorceress
- Avoid the location of Blizzard and Flamestrike.
- Ring-Lord Conjurer
- Purge Charged Skin to prevent the light damage dealt to all players.
- Centrifuge Construct
- The tank will be dealing with increasing damage from Empowering Blows.
Varos Cloudstrider thru Mage-Lord Urom
- Players must pursue Urom around the middle central platform, fighting waves of enemies.
- Phantasmal Mammoth
- Phantasmal Wolf
- The tank will be dealing with extra damage and light damage over time from Carnivorous Bite.
- Causes all nearby enemies to deal extra damage on their next attack with Furious Howl.
- Phantasmal Cloudscraper
- Stay more than 10-yards away to avoid Thunderclap (dispel, magic).
- Deals light damage to up to three random players with Chain Lightning.
- Phantasmal Murloc
- Dispel Wound Poison (poison) to remove the reduced healing received effect.
- Phantasmal Naga
- Dispel Water Tomb (magic) to remove the moderate damage over time and reduced movement speed effect.
- Roots random players with Hooked Net.
- Phantasmal Ogre
- The tank will be dealing with the extra damage and Stun effect from Mace Smash.
- Purge Bloodlust to remove the increased attack speed effect.
- Phantasmal Water
- Interrupt Water Bolt Volley to prevent the light damage dealt to all players.
- Phantasmal Air
- Purge Lightning Shield to prevent the light damage dealt to attacking players.
- Phantasmal Fire
- Interrupt Blaze to prevent the light damage dealt to the tank.
Mage-Lord Urom thru Ley-Guardian Eregos
- Players will generally only encounter the While Flying trash mobs noted above.
Trash Debuffs to Track
- Major:
- Magic Dispel: Mind Wrap (dispel, magic), Thunderclap (dispel, magic), Water Tomb (dispel, magic)
- Poison Dispel: Wound Poison (poison)
- Incapacitating: Mace Smash
- Minor:
- Magic Dispel: Immobilizing Field (dispel, magic)
- Damaging: Carnivorous Bite
- Enrages to Soothe: None
- Buffs to Purge: Charged Skin, Bloodlust, Lightning Shield
- Root Effects: Immobilizing Field, Hooked Net
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