Kargath Bladefist (tactics)

Kargath Bladefist is the first boss of Highmaul in.

Adventure Guide
''Kargath Bladefist, Warlord of the Shattered Hand, honed his brutal skills as a slave in the ogres' gladiatorial games. He slaughtered countless opponents for the promise of freedom, but after winning, was locked away with the other retired "champions." Fueled by rage, Kargath tore off his own hand to escape and led a revolt that soaked Draenor in ogre blood. Now, he returns to the arena to teach you the true meaning of savagery.''

Overview
Kargath's Berserker Rush cannot be stopped until he either kills his target, or finds something else to take his anger out on.

As the fight progresses, Iron Bombers and Drunken Bileslingers rain destruction from the arena stands. Players can dispatch these creatures after being tossed into the crowd by Kargath's Chain Hurl.

In Mythic difficulty, the raid must perform well to gain favor that is tracked by Roar of the Crowd. If the raid gains enough favor from Roar of the Crowd, the raid is granted increased damage dealing.

[[file:Dps_icon.png]] Damage Dealers

 * Iron Bombers and Drunken Bileslingers will continue to harass the raid from the stands until they are killed.

[[file:Healer_icon.png]] Healers

 * Kargath inflicts massive damage to the tank with his Impale ability.
 * Iron Bombers inflict raidwide damage until they are killed.

[[file:Tank_icon.png]] Tanks

 * Kargath's Impale leaves Open Wounds on his target that increases the damage of consecutive Impales.

Kargath Bladefist

 * In Mythic difficulty, the raid gains favor for Roar of the Crowd the longer Kargath stays in Berserker Rush. However, if Kargath's fixate target dies, the raid loses a big chunk of favor.
 * In Looking for Raid difficulty, Kargath automatically tosses the tank with the highest amount of Open Wound stacks, one random healer, and three random DPS into the crowd.
 * In Mythic difficulty, the raid gains favor for Roar of the Crowd the longer Kargath stays in Berserker Rush. However, if Kargath's fixate target dies, the raid loses a big chunk of favor.
 * In Looking for Raid difficulty, Kargath automatically tosses the tank with the highest amount of Open Wound stacks, one random healer, and three random DPS into the crowd.
 * In Looking for Raid difficulty, Kargath automatically tosses the tank with the highest amount of Open Wound stacks, one random healer, and three random DPS into the crowd.
 * In Looking for Raid difficulty, Kargath automatically tosses the tank with the highest amount of Open Wound stacks, one random healer, and three random DPS into the crowd.

Drunken Bileslinger
Drunken Bileslingers appear in the stands and throw Mauling Brew into the arena.

Iron Bomber
Iron Bombers appear in the arena and hurl Iron Bombs into the raid.

Iron Grunt
A seemingly endless throng of rowdy orcs.
 * In Mythic difficulty, killing Iron Grunts grants favor for Roar of the Crowd.

Fire Pillar
A pillar of screaming skulls that belch a continuous stream of flames.

Ravenous Bloodmaw (Normal, Heroic and Mythic)
Ravenous Bloodmaws prowl hungrily within their pits, waiting to maul anyone unfortunate enough to fall in.
 * In Mythic Difficulty, the Ravenous Bloodmaws are released from their pits. Setting these beasts on fire will gain favor for Roar of the Crowd.

Strategy
Kargath Bladefist is a single-phase add fight where controlling adds that spawn in the stands is essential while progressively chipping away at his health and managing a handful of mechanics in the arena.

LFR
Ranged & heals spread. Tank boss mid-way to top-left wall from center. Random group of 5 will be thrown to stands on Chain Hurl (tank with highest stack of Open Wounds from Impale).

Move away from Flame Jet from skulls. If target of Beserker Rush kite Kargath into Flame Jet.

Preparation
Prior to the pull, the raid leader should assign a group that will go up into the stands when Kargath uses Chain Hurl. The raid leader should assign three DPS with good mobility and AoE capability and one healer, preferably one with strong ability to heal on the move. The stands group also requires a tank, and there are two strategies for how to assign the tank and the strategy you select depends on how your tanks will manage Impale.

The first approach is to simply assign a tank to the stands group, which will cause the same tank to go up to the stands every time and the tanks will swap on one stack of Impale. If your raid uses this strategy, the tank that is not going up to the stands should be the one who pulls the boss and receives the first Impale. Alternatively, your tanks can swap on two stacks of Impale, and whichever tank has two stacks will go up with the group, which will lead to an alternating tank in the stands but the rest of the stands group will remain the same each time. If using the swap-on-two strategy, it is especially important that healers focus their heals on the tank during the second Impale and the tank use a moderate cooldown while taking the damage as the damage from the second Impale is quite high.

The Arena
There are several different strategies for where to tank Kargath, all of which are acceptable. Some raid leaders will request Kargath be tanked in the center of the pit, while others will have him tanked in a particular corner or in his initial position.

Ranged DPS and healers should spread out at least 8 yards apart to minimize splash damage from Blade Dance. As they may be fixated by Berserker Rush, they should also stand next to or behind an active Fire Pillar whenever possible to ensure that if they are targeted they can break the fixate quickly and safely. Ranged DPS and healers need also to be careful not to fall into the tiger pits, as doing so will result in instant death.

Melee DPS should be, as usual, attacking the boss from behind. When Kargath uses Berserker Rush, melee DPS and the tank need to be sure they are not in the fixate's path as if they are they will probably die. It is important to note also that anyone in melee will be knocked back a considerable distance when Kargath uses Chain Hurl, and melee DPS and tanks should ensure that they will not be knocked back into a tiger pit or into an active Fire Pillar.

When Kargath uses Chain Hurl, the assigned stands group must run to Kargath and stand in melee range of him until he throws them into the stands. All other players should stay at range until the stands group is picked up by the ability, at which point they may move back into melee range if needed. While at range, any melee DPS that are not assigned to the stands group should use whatever ranged abilities they have at their disposal without allowing themselves to get too close to the boss that they risk being thrown up.

Finally, throughout the fight the unkilled Drunken Bileslingers will throw Mauling Brew down into the arena which will create small green void zones on the ground that all raiders should avoid standing in.

The Stands
When in the stands, the tank should quickly pull as many adds as they can pull safely, paying particular attention to the Drunken Bileslingers and Iron Bombers. The Iron Grunts do not do anything to the group in the arena and can be mostly ignored. All members of the stands group should avoid standing in the bombs dropped when the Irom Bombers die and the tank should focus on facing the Drunken Bileslingers away from the DPS and healer as their Vile Breath will do significant damage and also stun them.

After about 45 seconds in the stands, a pair of unkillable ogres will sweep through the stands, knocking the stands group back into the arena.

Mythic
The Mythic mode of the encounter is quite similar to its Normal/Heroic version, but adds a new core mechanic called Roar of the Crowd. Roar of the Crowd represents the raid's favor with the spectators of the arena and is displayed by an extra energy bar that will appear on the screen after the fight begins. At higher levels of Roar of the Crowd, the raid will do more damage to Kargath, which is essential to manage effectively in order to meet the Mythic mode's significantly higher DPS requirement.

The primary way to gain Roar of the Crowd is through effective control of Berserker Rush. The raid will gain Roar of the Crowd for every second of the fixate that Kargath is unable to kill the character he has targeted. It is especially helpful to employ strong damage reduction cooldowns when possible as well as immunities such as Hand of Protection to maximize the length of the fixate while still ensuring that the player does not die. It is important to do this carefully, as if the fixated player dies all Roar of the Crowd gains from that fixate will be forfeited in addition to the player dying.

The other important Mythic change is that the Ravenous Bloodmaws are periodically released from their cages and will fixate on a random player. If they reach that player the player will die, making it necessary to kite them until they are killed. The Ravenous Bloodmaws can be stunned by kiting them into an active Fire Pillar, but it is important to do so sparingly, as the Fire Pillars will likely still be needed to interrupt Berserker Rush when immunities and cooldowns aren't available. When a Bloodmaw is released, ranged DPS should switch to it and help the fixated player kill it quickly.

A small amount of Roar of the Crowd is also gained while killing Iron Grunts and a small amount of Roar of the Crowd is lost when Drunken Bileslingers and Iron Bombers use their abilities, but this does not affect strategy or execution in any way.

Loot
LFR (640)
 * Cloth: Spectator's Sandals of Carnage
 * Leather: Firewalker's Treads
 * Mail: Bracer of Amputation
 * Plate: Iron Bomb Spaulders
 * Cloak: Flamescarred Drape
 * Ring: Grunt's Rusty Ring
 * Trinket: Bloodmaw's Tooth
 * Weapon: Blade Dancer's Claws

Normal, Heroic, Mythic (655, 670, 685)
 * Cloth: Vilebreath Mask
 * Leather: Chestguard of the Roaring Crowd, Throat-Ripper Gauntlets
 * Mail: Treads of Sand and Blood, Grips of Vicious Mauling
 * Plate: Casque of the Iron Bomber
 * Neck: Champion's Medallion
 * Cloak: Fireproof Greatcloak
 * Ring: Kargath's Last Link, Grunt's Solid Signet
 * Weapon: The Bladefist, Bileslinger's Censer

Related Achievements

 * The Walled City
 * Highmaul Guild Run
 * Mythic: Kargath Bladefist
 * Flame On!

Quotes

 * Gauntlet
 * The raid enters the arena through the elevator; multiple ogres and orcs line the stands, roaring with anticipation for the bloodshed. Kargath Bladefist stands further up, alongside Grommash Hellscream, observing the events.
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell


 * Combat with Vul'gor
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell


 * Gauntlet complete
 * yell
 * yell
 * Kargath leaps down from the stands into the arena.
 * yell
 * Imperator Mar'gok teleports into his throne above the arena while the crowd chants Kargath's name.
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell


 * Aggro
 * yell


 * Impale
 * yell


 * Chain Hurl
 * yell


 * Berserker Rush
 * yell


 * Interrupted by Flame Pillar
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell


 * 10%
 * yell


 * Berserk
 * yell


 * Killing a player
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell


 * Death
 * say
 * Cho'gall enters the arena through a demonic portal.
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * Several Gorian guards leap from the stands and charge Cho'gall, who wipes them out with a blast of shadow magic. The city is suddenly overcast by dark clouds as Pale Orcs leap from above and begin attacking the orcs and ogres in the stands.
 * yell
 * yell
 * Mar'gok teleports from the arena while Cho'gall departs through another demonic portal.


 * Unused quotes
 * Grommash Hellscream: I've seen enough! Fight your own battles, O great and powerful king!
 * Jhorn the Mad: If you been hit like that, all you'll have left are pebbles! HAHAHAHA!
 * Jhorn the Mad: HAHAHAHA!
 * Jhorn the Mad: The crowd is getting what it wants: Blood and Mayhem!
 * Jhorn the Mad: Hey, these punies not bad.
 * Jhorn the Mad: These words know how to crack skulls. I almost be sad to see them butchered.
 * Kargath Bladefist: CARNAGE!!
 * Thoktar Ironskull: Ouch! Even I felt that hit in my boulders.
 * Thoktar Ironskull: HAHAHAHA! Wha...?
 * Thoktar Ironskull: Kargath be one scary orc. When he starts chopping, not even his own limbs are safe. HAHAHAHA!