Garrosh Hellscream (tactics)

Garrosh Hellscream is the final boss encounter of Siege of Orgrimmar. Garrosh, now wielding Xal'atoh, will incapacitate Thrall before turning his attention to the players and fight with the powers of the Heart of Y'Shaarj. This is the last major battle in Mists of Pandaria.

Adventure Guide
''Garrosh, son of Grommash Hellscream, first learned of his father's heroism when Thrall encountered the young orc in Outland. The seeds of pride were planted. Garrosh spearheaded Horde victories in Northrend and, as Warchief, consolidated Horde power amidst the chaos of the Cataclysm. But his visions of orc supremacy by any means have brought the armies of the world crashing down upon Orgrimmar. . . a final reckoning that Garrosh himself awaits with brutal relish.''

Encounter Design
''Even though you fight him in his throne room beneath the city of Orgrimmar, far away from the verdant shores of Pandaria, Garrosh is still the ultimate villain of the Pandaria expansion, and we felt that it was important to forge a strong connection to the Pandaria story arc within the encounter itself. As Garrosh wields the power of Y’Shaarj—origin of all the sha—players must battle through some of the most memorable locations where the sha manifested in Pandaria. At the end, when his back is up against a wall and he is cornered in his own lair, Garrosh ends up facing the same sort of choice that once doomed his father.''

Overview
Garrosh calls in Kor'kron soldiers, while Siege Engineers try to activate Iron Stars that crush players and orcs in their path. When Garrosh reaches 10% health, he draws upon the Heart to heal himself. Garrosh periodically pulls all players into the Realm of Y'Shaarj, where they must interrupt his efforts to draw power from the Heart. When reaching 10% health a second time, Garrosh fully drains the heart, empowering all his abilities until his defeat.

[[file:Dps_icon.png]] Damage Dealers

 * During the initial phase, interrupt Far Seers' casts and kill at least one Siege Engineer per wave.
 * In the realm of Y'Shaarj, defeat all Sha manifestations to prevent Garrosh from gaining energy.
 * Damage afflicted players to break the Touch of Y'Shaarj, and interrupt them to prevent the affliction from spreading.
 * Once Garrosh reaches 25 energy, Empowered Whirling Corruption spawns Minions of Y'Shaarj that gain great power if killed near each other.

[[file:Healer_icon.png]] Healers

 * During the initial phase, Exploding Iron Stars deal heavy raidwide damage that decreases with distance from the impact point.
 * Once Garrosh's shield in the Realm of Y'Shaarj is broken, his Annihilate will deal heavy raidwide damage.
 * Whirling Corruption deals heavy raidwide damage that decreases the farther a target is from Garrosh.

[[file:Tank_icon.png]] Tanks

 * During the initial phase, Garrosh will use Hellscream's Warsong to significantly increase the damage output of his Kor'kron minions.
 * After leaving the Realm of Y'Shaarj, Garrosh's attacks will inflict Gripping Despair, which increases in damage with each application.
 * Once Empowered, Whirling Corruption spawns Minions of Y'Shaarj that gain great power if killed near each other.

Stage One: The True Horde
Garrosh, wielding his new weapon with his True Horde and siege machines at his disposal will destroy any intruders. The True Horde join the battle more frequently as the fight progresses. This phase will continue until Garrosh reaches 10% health remaining.

Intermission: Realm of Y'Shaarj
Periodically the call of Y'shaarj will transport Garrosh and the players into the Realm of Y'shaarj for 60 sec. Garrosh will Absorb Energy from the Heart of Y'shaarj until players have defeated all Minions of Y'shaarj inside the realm and interrupt Garrosh.

Stage Two: Corruption of Y'shaarj
After absorbing the Power of Y'shaarj, Garrosh will heal to full health as Y'shaarj bestows Garrosh with new powers.

Stage Three: MY WORLD
At 10% health Garrosh will absorb the remaining power of Y'shaarj, gaining full energy, empowering all of his abilities.

Strategy
This final boss of Mists of Pandaria is a lengthy, three phase battle for survival with many adds. In the first phase, the raid will handle waves of Kor'kron soldiers and massive, deadly Iron Star constructs. At 10% health, Garrosh will heal to full and begin absorbing corruption from the Heart of Y'shaarj; players will alternate between journeys to a dream realm to defeat sha minions and slow his corruption, and dealing with his increasing damaging, mind control, and sha-spawning abilities in the real world. Once brought low again, Garrosh will unleash the full power of his abilities in a final burn phase. Heroic mode adds an additional phase after that.

Stage One: The True Horde
The tank who is on Garrosh should stand on the metal plate on the "top" of the giant Horde crest in the middle of the room, with Garrosh between the tank and the throne. The other tank should stack the adds on Garrosh so they will be hit by AoE attacks, cleaves, legendary cloak procs, etc. No tank swaps are required in this phase. The melee should stack on Garrosh and attack him. The raid leader should place raid markers flanking each side of the main entrance opposite the throne, one on the left, one on the right, within range of each other and Garrosh - all the ranged players should stack together on one of these markers.

When the adds appear, damage them to roughly 50% health, so that the Iron Stars will finish them off. Farseer Wolf Riders are high priority targets, as they will attempt to heal Garrosh and the adds. Keep them interrupted and burn them down if an Iron Star is not handy to kill them.

Whenever the Iron Stars start charging up, an assigned ranged damage dealer should run to the left and kill the Siege Engineer to prevent the star on the raid's side of the room from activating. This player must return to the raid as quickly as possible, so ideally a class with high mobility is selected for this task, and Demonic Gateway should be used if a warlock is present. The other Iron Star will roll across the throne side of the room and deal massive damage to anything that it runs over. When it starts rolling, players should use knockbacks, such as a warrior's Dragon Roar or elemental shaman's Thunderstorm, to push the adds into the Iron Star's path - while making sure to get out of its path themselves.

Garrosh will periodically throw a Desecrated Weapon at one of the ranged players, creating a large void zone. Whenever this happens, the ranged group should move to their other marker, and destroy the Desecrated Weapon to remove the void zone. It is very important that melee players stay within melee range of Garrosh, otherwise he may throw a Desecrated Weapon at the melee player, which would disrupt the raid's positioning.

Once Garrosh reaches 10% health, he will regain all his health and speak some dialogue before beginning the intermission. Take advantage of this time to take out any adds, especially any Farseer Wolf Riders, since any adds remaining will still be present after the intermission ends.

Many raids may find that their fights last long enough that a bloodlust effect can be used at the start of this phase, or when the first wave of adds arrives, and be usable again in phase 3. This depends on the raid's damage output - a raid that will reach phase 3 in under 10 minutes will want to save it for later.

Intermission: Realm of Y'shaarj
Intermissions occur periodically during phase 2; the first one marks the transition out of phase 1. Each time, the raid is sent to a random one of three "dream" locations, filled with sha mobs. Each location is organized in a roughly linear or forked layout, with Garrosh at the end of each. Raids should kill all mobs as quickly as possible to halt his corruption energy gain, aiming to limit it to 24 per intermission, since he gains new powers every 25. Players should also run through the yellow orbs that appear when adds die to gain damage reduction for the rest of the intermission, though not at the expense of quick progress.

The raid's groups should be assigned "left" or "right" beforehand, since two of the locations require splitting the raid:
 * At the Temple of the Red Crane, the stairs down split into right and left forks, each with a large add at the bottom. A tank should be sure to make the first attack, since it's likely to one-shot any other player.
 * At the Temple of the Jade Serpent, two groups of mobs are set fairly far apart in the initial room, so the raid should split to kill each group quickly. The raid then reunites to kill a group in a central hallway, then splits again to kill the two groups in the final room.
 * At the Terrace of Endless Spring, no split is required. The tanks should pick up all adds and race to the end along with the entire raid, where the adds can be AoE'd down all at once.

Once all the adds are down, Garrosh will become attackable and begin chain casting Annihilate. All players must avoid this purple cone one-shot, while healers handle the heavy AoE component of the attack and everyone else assaults Garrosh. Each intermission lasts 60 seconds total, so the sooner adds are killed, the more time is available to damage the boss.

Stage Two: Corruption of Y'shaarj
Garrosh will no longer summon the Kor'kron adds or Iron Stars that he summoned in phase 1. If there are any left, finish them off. Instead, he will start to use abilities he gained from Y'shaarj. Periodically, Garrosh will trigger another intermission, which heals him for 10% health each time and allows him to gain more corruption. Intermissions do not provide escape from overwhelming situations in the throne room; all conditions and enemies are still present upon return from each one.

Tanks must begin swapping in this phase to allow their Gripping Despair stacking DoTs to drop off. When Garrosh uses Whirling Corruption, all healers and DPS, melee included, should stack at maximum range from the boss to reduce incoming damage and maximize AoE healing.

Garrosh will continue to throw Desecrated Weapons. The raid may choose to kill these just as in phase 1, at the cost of damage that could be on the boss and other threats. Alternatively, because the danger of Iron Stars no longer restricts the raid's movement, the raid may simply move out of the void zone each time and let the Weapon remain, at the cost of slowly diminishing safe space in the room. In this case, ranged players should try to remain in positions where a new zone restricts movement as little as possible, such as next to walls, adjacent to the last zone's location. Weapons dropped in problematic locations can still be destroyed if necessary.

Most importantly, after Garrosh uses Touch of Y'Shaarj, all damage dealers must immediately identify mind controlled players and burn them down to break the spell. During this time the victims will attempt to cast Touch of Y'Shaarj on new targets, and therefore must be interrupted or crowd controlled to prevent the condition from spreading exponentially. The usual mind control rules of avoiding large DoTs or delayed damage effects apply, to avoid killing allies after they are free.

Every 25 energy Garrosh gains during intermissions, an ability become empowered, adding additional mechanics. Ideally, the first intermission will yield no empowered abilities and each subsequent one will grant him only one, allowing more time to focus on the boss without as many distractions and hazards. The expectation is to reach phase 3 before 100 corruption.

After 25 corruption, Whirling Corruption will still require distance from the boss and close proximity to healers, but players will need to dodge purple swirls indicating missile strikes, which may make it difficult to remain stacked. Afterward, the resulting adds must be separated and killed individually to avoid healing and empowering adjacent ones. Tanks should remain on Garrosh, allowing damage dealers to pull adds away from each other without threat problems.

Past 50 corruption, mind controlled players become immune to crowd control, including stuns, but not interrupts. Players must make sure to have interrupts coordinated to prevent any victims from completing a cast of Touch of Y'Shaarj - a good idea even before empowerment, but now essential. At 75 energy, it will no longer be possible to completely kill Desecrated Weapons, so the raid will need to shift to the mobile strategy described above if it is not already in effect.

100 energy should not be reached much earlier than phase 3. At that point, healers must be sure to top off any tank whose Gripping Despair stacks are about to fall off, in preparation for the extra damage from Explosive Despair. Tanks may want to have defensive cooldowns ready as the Explosive Despair damage increases with each subsequent tank swap. This mechanic acts as a soft enrage timer, since either the DoT or the Explosive Despair will eventually one-shot the tanks.

Phase 2 ends when Garrosh reaches 10% health.

Stage Three: MY WORLD
Garrosh will say some more dialogue and heal 20% of his health. While he is speaking, the raid should use a bloodlust effect, potions, and offensive cooldowns to burn Garrosh as hard as possible. After he finishes his speech, his corruption will jump to maximum, and all his abilities will become empowered.

The abilities are the same as if Garrosh had reached 100 corruption energy during phase 2, so the same strategies apply. Only the tanking is likely to be affected by the transition, with the arrival of Explosive Despair. Depending on tanking and healing, in this phase it's also an option for one or both tanks to pick up Minion of Y'Shaarj adds without killing them, taking more damage but allowing damage dealers to focus on the boss. Tanks will want to decide ahead of time how they want to handle the adds and swap mechanics in this phase.

This phase will continue until Garrosh is defeated, resulting in victory or, in mythic mode, phase 4.

Stage Four: Mythic Only
On mythic mode, when stage 3 ends, Garrosh will do some RP before teleporting the raid to the Vision of Ruined Stormwind, at which point he will heal to 60% health. Be advised that the fight does not stop during the RP, and any lingering mechanics from stage 3 (Adds, MC's, etc.) will still need to be dealt with until the teleport happens.

Related Achievements

 * Downfall
 * Mythic: Garrosh Hellscream
 * Strike!
 * Siege of Orgrimmar Guild Run
 * Ahead of the Curve: Garrosh Hellscream (10 player)
 * Ahead of the Curve: Garrosh Hellscream (25 player)
 * Conqueror of Orgrimmar
 * Liberator of Orgrimmar
 * Cutting Edge: Garrosh Hellscream (10 player)
 * Cutting Edge: Garrosh Hellscream (25 player)
 * Heroic: Garrosh Hellscream Guild Run
 * Realm First! Garrosh Hellscream (10 player)
 * Realm First! Garrosh Hellscream (25 player)

Quotes

 * Intro
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell

Thrall calls the elements to his side, but is surrounded by a dark void.
 * yell

Thrall casts thunderstorm to get out of the void.
 * yell
 * yell

''Thrall charges at Garrosh and gets cleaved. Thrall falls to the floor injured.''


 * Aggro
 * yell


 * Power Iron Star
 * yell
 * yell


 * Hellscream's Warsong
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell


 * Farseer Wolf riders
 * yell


 * Intermission
 * yell
 * yell


 * Realm of Y'shaarj
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * whisper
 * whisper
 * whisper
 * whisper
 * whisper
 * whisper
 * whisper
 * whisper
 * whisper


 * Whirling Corruption
 * yell


 * Empowered Whirling Corruption
 * yell


 * Phase 3
 * yell


 * Phase 4 (Mythic Only)
 * yell
 * yell


 * Call Bombardment
 * yell


 * Manifest Rage
 * yell


 * Berserk
 * yell


 * Killing a Player
 * yell
 * yell


 * Wipe
 * yell


 * Defeated (Normal)
 * yell


 * Defeated (Mythic)
 * yell


 * Unused quotes
 * My people should have taken this world long ago during the First War, but they fell to corruption. In their weakness, they allowed the pitiful races of Azeroth to join the Horde. I will succeed where they have failed, and no power in this world can stop me!
 * Warbringers, bloody your blades. Lok'tar Ogar!

Before the cinematic

 * King Varian Wrynn
 * At last, the time for justice is at hand. This monster will answer for each and every Alliance life that we have lost in this war.


 * Thrall
 * Thank you for helping me end the great mistake I made long ago, that led our people into this dark place. I could not do it alone. Let me regain my honor, and end Garrosh's reign of terror once and for all.

Cinematic (beginning)

 * Garrosh lies on the ground, defeated. Thrall approaches him, a look of disgust on his face.
 * Thrall: bossemote
 * Garrosh tries to rise and looks upward at Thrall, the Tusks of Mannoroth slipping from his shoulders.
 * Thrall: bossemote
 * Thrall hefts, then raises the Doomhammer with both hands to deliver the final blow, but his swing is blocked by Shalamayne.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * Thrall: bossemote
 * Taran Zhu: bossemote
 * Thrall and Varian look over at Taran Zhu as he approaches, his abdomen wrapped in bandages, while Lorewalker Cho watches.
 * Taran Zhu: bossemote
 * As Taran next speaks, Garrosh raises his head only enough to look at Taran with one eye, then lowers it with a sag of defeat.
 * Taran Zhu: bossemote
 * Taran looks to Thrall, then Varian in turn as he speaks.
 * Taran Zhu: bossemote
 * Varian looks back to Thrall and nods. They lower their weapons and step back. Taran Zhu binds Garrosh's wrists in chains and leads him away.

Alliance side

 * Varian approaches the other Alliance leaders: Jaina Proudmoore, Anduin Wrynn, Moira Thaurissan, Gelbin Mekkatorque and Tyrande Whisperwind. Genn Greymane and Velen are absent from these events. He turns and stands once again beside Jaina.
 * Jaina Proudmoore: bossemote
 * As she speaks, they witness Thrall looking over his shoulder and fully turning to address Vol'jin. Jaina steps over to Varian's side.
 * Jaina Proudmoore: bossemote
 * Jaina leans towards him, firmly urging him.
 * Jaina Proudmoore: bossemote
 * Varian thinks for a brief moment, then the determination of his decision becomes clear on his face.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * The soldiers raise their swords and shields as one. Jaina regards this with a look of satisfaction.  As the soldiers begin marching forward in Varian's wake, Anduin looks on in confusion.
 * Anduin Wrynn: bossemote
 * Varian pauses just long enough to answer over his shoulder.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote

Horde side

 * Thrall slightly walks past the leaders of the Horde as he rejoins them: Vol'jin, Baine Bloodhoof, Lor'themar Theron, Jastor Gallywix and Sylvanas Windrunner.
 * Vol'jin looks to his surrogate brother, addressing his back.
 * Vol'jin: bossemote
 * Thrall looks back over his shoulder.
 * Thrall: bossemote
 * Thrall turns around fully to speak to Vol'jin.
 * Thrall: bossemote
 * Thrall: bossemote
 * To Vol'jin's stunned surprise, Thrall takes to one knee before him with his head bowed and the Doomhammer set on the floor at his side.
 * Vol'jin: bossemote
 * Vol'jin sounds unsure, but when he looks to the others, Lor'themar and Baine bow to him. Jastor removes his hat and bows, while Sylvanas simply nods. With this show of support, Vol'jin's acceptance grows firm.
 * Vol'jin: bossemote
 * Vol'jin: bossemote
 * Vol'jin bows to his companions, becoming the first non-orc Warchief of the Horde.

Cinematic (end)

 * Varian approaches the Horde contingent; all he can see at the moment are the backs of the gathered orc soldiers.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * The orc soldiers step aside to reveal Vol'jin in the center, with Thrall off and behind his surrogate brother's left shoulder. His face is in Varian's direction, but the front of his body is angled squarely, in deference, to face Vol'jin.  Varian looks surprised.
 * Vol'jin: bossemote
 * Varian's eyes look over at Thrall's face for a moment, who merely looks back at him: silent affirmation. Varian returns his attention to Vol'jin.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * As Varian next speaks, the camera shows Anduin, with the rest of the Alliance contingent a few feet behind him. He in turn is standing a few feet behind his father and at an angle where he can see everything.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * Varian glances down at the ground, then thrusts Shalamayne into the wooden center of the room's floor that he is standing on and approaches the new Warchief, who rises from his natural crouch so Varian can look him in the eye.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * Varian turns and begins to walk back to his weapon.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote
 * Varian pulls Shalamayne out of the floor and turns back to Vol'jin, his tone a fair warning.
 * Varian Wrynn: bossemote

Alliance

 * King Varian Wrynn
 * Thank you, hero. You and your companions here were the tip of the Alliance spear: Your work exploring Pandaria, securing the Vale, and ultimately assaulting Garrosh's stronghold is what made this victory possible.
 * Our triumph here will put a stop to the fighting in Kalimdor, but even in peace, there's much to be done - here, back home, and elsewhere.


 * We are unified like never before. We've bought our people security in Kalimdor, an end to the blockade, and an end to the total war that's spilt so much blood on either side of the great sea.
 * Now, to the work of winning the peace. I would like to station a garrison near Theramore. We need to investigate cleansing the plague from Gilnean lands so they can rebuild. We must contain Sylvanas.
 * From here on forward, the Alliance will be proactive. Never again can there be another the likes of Hellscream.


 * I understand your desire to inflict more suffering on the Horde. But when do we stop? How many more will number among the dead if we invaded Thunder Bluff, Azshara, and the Echo Isles? And how would we govern the conquered people?
 * The pandaren always question why we fight. Today, we've won justice, and have given the Horde an opportunity to atone by supporting their rebellion. Further bloodshed would be for vengeance alone - and it would reap vengeance in return.


 * Lady Jaina Proudmoore
 * King Wrynn will rue the day he allowed the Horde to name another Warchief.
 * We should've kept fighting. Who's to say this new Warchief won't get any ideas in his troll head a few years from now?


 * Moira Thaurissan
 * There's nothing like a common enemy to bring people together. The dwarven clans have never been so united. If the peace holds, our three kingdoms will be stronger than ever before...


 * Tyrande Whisperwind
 * Varian and I spoke at length about the price of peace before his decision here today. I am willing to allow the Horde the use of Azshara's lumber if they abandon Ashenvale for good. Knowing the way goblins chew through resources, we will see how long that will sustain them.
 * I support this peace, but I do not share the High King's confidence. If the Horde breaks treaty to engage us again... my people will be ready.


 * High Tinker Mekkatorque
 * Victory for the Alliance! Before we clear out of here, my people will grab as much of this crazy technology as we can get our hands on.


 * Vol'jin
 * Dat's de end of Hellscream.
 * 
 * What's next, ?


 * Thrall, Trade Prince Gallywix, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Baine Bloodhoof, Lor'themar Theron
 * I have nothing to say to you,.

Horde

 * Thrall
 * I thought Garrosh was ready. I thought the mantle of Warchief would give him perspective. Of the many problems facing our people, he saw only one solution - his vision of the Horde brought us to the brink.
 * It is time for a new direction. Vol'jin will take us there. In many ways he did not want this responsibility... but I think that will make him a better leader.


 * Vol'jin
 * Stand tall, . Today ya saved de soul of de Horde.


 * Lor'themar Theron
 * I find politics exhausting. I am confident Vol'jin will take us where we need to go.
 * 
 * Assuming he can hold this Horde together.


 * Baine Bloodhoof
 * We are all in this together,.


 * Lady Sylvanas Windrunner
 * "Warchief Vol'jin." Does it sound absurd to you, ? I, for one, certainly won't be taking orders from a troll.
 * But, he put this little coalition together, and won the day. He's also proven to be impossible to kill - I admire that.
 * Time to test what he's made of...


 * Trade Prince Gallywix
 * Vol'jin's one tough nut. Stabbed in the neck, still he comes back to collect what's due. I like this guy!
 * My people need security and profit. Under Hellscream, we got a whole lot of neither.


 * King Varian Wrynn
 * I have nothing to say to you, . Your people have a lot to answer for. But maybe this is a new beginning.


 * Lady Jaina Proudmoore, Moira Thaurissan, Tyrande Whisperwind, High Tinker Mekkatorque
 * I have nothing to say to you,.

Neutral

 * Anduin Wrynn
 * I think my father did the right thing. If we tried to occupy Orgrimmar, the fighting would never stop. And what about the rest of the Horde? Would we resort to internment camps? We've been down that road before - it doesn't work!
 * We deposed of a warmonger and replaced him with a leader we can work with. It's our only chance for peace in the future.

Trivia

 * World First heroic kill on 10-man achieved on 29.9.2013 by 天 啟 (Tiānqǐ) of 格瑞姆巴托 CN.
 * World First heroic kill on 25-man achieved on 30.9.2013 by Method of Twisting Nether EU.
 * In heroic 25-player mode, the damage players are required to deal to Garrosh across all phases - his effective total health - is greater than the largest number the game can store with the 32-bit integers it uses, about 2.1 billion. His multiple self-heals allow this limit to be effectively exceeded without any re-coding of the game engine. The undesirable conditions this software limitation imposes on encounter design are a significant technical reason for the stat squish taking effect with the Warlords of Draenor expansion.
 * After being defeated, Garrosh's HP count value is actually "Unconscious" instead of "Dead" like for other mobs.

25-man Normal

 * - Mage, Game Sounds, Boss voices, Vent, Cinematic

25-man Heroic

 * - Mage, Game Sounds, Boss voices, Vent