The Near Future

It's Friday.  Work is slow.  I'm just about the only one here.  So in response to Anon's comment about tips on SWP healing and tankage, I give you my thoughts on Kalecgos.

 

This isn't going to be one of those moment by moment strat guide things.  I totally know that you read Bosskillers and the like.  Instead, these are my observations on what helped us ultimately go from wipe to win.

 

First, there's only 2 kinds of healers for Kalecgos: group and direct.  Your group healers are shamans and CoH priests.  Your direct healers are imp spi priests, paladins, and druids.  The only flip-flops you can make is between the types is priests but that's only if you're in a jam, or if you have extra of one flavor over another.

 

We run with 4 group healers and 5 direct healers, creating 4 pairs (group/direct) and a loner.  You want to mix up the pairs based on skill and class.  I'll put a solid group healer with a good direct healer and visa versa.  I don't put two priests together, and instead try to spread them out.  The goal is to use the random group calls to your advantage by ending up with a good mix of classes in any phase.

 

The direct healers are to heal themselves and the MT of whatever phase they're in.  That's it and all they'll have the mana for.  This is not a fight you can cross-heal on.  Group healers are responsible for their group and anyone else in the phase.  This is so important that I check the who healed whom on WWS.

 

That extra direct healer?  The entire purpose of that healer is to cover the first dragon tank between when the last group ports to the demon and the first group ports back in.  Ideally you'll use a paladin since they'll can bubble off the dragon debuff around 10 and not affect their mana pot usage later by drinking an arcane pot.  If you use another class, they're going to experience the pain of about 13-15 debuffs stacked on them.  This extra healer and the first dragon tank form a 5th portal group of their own.

 

The trick for that extra healer, though, if if they get ported before the last group goes, they need to be prepared to have a group go with them.  So they have to be aware of who hasn't gone at any given point and stand near them if possible.

 

All tanks (we use 3) should chug Ironshield Pots like there's no tomorrow (i.e. every 2 min).  Bring about 40-50 each to every progression night.  Learn to love them because you'll be doing the same thing on Brutallus later.  We've been selling extra raid mats to fund this rather expensive addiction.

 

Healers should be fully buffed out, including 2 elixirs, food, and weapon oil.  All direct healers need to understand that there will be a number of times during phase transitions of other groups where they'll be solo healing the MT.  Also, the tank damage is severe, with even worse spikes.  Paladins need to spam a heavy mix of Lights, to the point they should pick mp5 items over crit/haste.  Druids don't get to just slap some LB's around and call it a day.  They're going to have to cast big heals like everyone else.  Scary, I know.

 

Our equilibrium point is 15% for dragon vs demon life.  If one hits 15% we stop damage until the other gets there.  Then we try to down them at nearly the same time.  When it gets to this point in the fight, the most important thing is for people to keep taking their portals.  Yelling "burn them down" on Vent actually hurt us more than helped because people would do just that, stand and dps the dragon.  Meanwhile the demon phase would be empty.  Once the demon is dead THEN call for no more portals.

 

You have to turn on the proximity detector in DBM.  It doesn't come on by itself.  Go to the DBM window and click Kalecgos.  Then select the Additional Options button at the bottom.  Somewhere in there you'll be able to check range detector.  This really helped in dragon phase for the portals because 10yds is a little farther than you'd expect.  It also reduced the nub factor by eliminating any excuses.

 

Speaking of spreading out, we pair up the melee dps so 2 stand on top of each other.  This frees up a ton of space for the ranged and is a healable alternative to blowing up almost a whole section.  Just be sure the group healers know to watch for it, should a melee get ported.

 

This is another zero deaths fight like Archimonde.  It's really difficult to recover with battle rez's because your debuffs no longer match anyone elses.  Be sure everyone understands that drinking health pots, using HS, and the like is important.

 

The dragon's breath is better than Tail Whip, if you have to pick between them.  Being the extra direct healer, I've had to stand behind the MT for a bit until some room opened up.  It's not the end of the world and completely self-healable.  And sorta funny.

 

Thus completes what we figured out the hard way on Kalecgos.  Is there something else that you'd like to know about?  I have excellent tips on how to wipe on Felmyst.  ;)