Sha of Fear Strategy Guide
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Abilities
Breath of Fear
Inflicts 225,000 Shadow damage to all enemies over 1 sec. Afflicted enemies are also feared for 5 sec. Enemies protected by pure light are unaffected.
Eerie Skull
Throws a skull at an enemy's location, inflicting 37125 to 45375 Shadow damage and reducing the casting speed of enemies within 0 yds of the impact point by 37125 to 45375% for until cancelled.
Reaching Attack
Strikes at a distant target, inflicting 50% of weapon damage as Shadow and increasing Shadow damage taken by 25% for 8 sec. This ability is used when no targets are in melee range.
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Thrash
The Sha will strike 2 times on his next attack.
Ominous cackle
The Sha cackles ominously, transporting a group of players to one of the nearby shrines to battle a corrupted guardian of the terrace.
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Strategy
This is the final encounter of the tier and possibly the most difficult. The fight consists of two areas, a main area and an outer shrine. 2 (possibly 3) tanks are required for the fight. Each area will be explained below.
Main Area
The boss himself is stationary in the middle of the main area. To start the fight, the main tank simply stands on the circle directly in front of him. This gives him/her the buff Champion of Light. This creates the Wall of Light, forming a cone behind the tank. Anyone who stands in this cone takes 10% less damage and deflects the boss' Breath of Fear attack which will be explained later. The diagram below shows where it is safe to stand.
If no one is in the Pure Light, the boss will use Reaching Attack. The boss starts attacking players at a distance dealing 100% melee damage and applies a stacking debuff that increases shadow damage by 20% per stack for 12 seconds. To avoid this, the tank cannot die, and if the tank is no longer in the Pure Light, another tank needs to get in there quickly.
The boss' key mechanic in the main area is Breath of Fear. Over time, the boss gains energy. Once he hits 100 energy, he'll use this breath, which does 150k (225k) shadow damage every 0.5 seconds for 1.5 seconds. Also, anyone hit is feared for 5 seconds. However, any player who stands in the safe zone will not get hit by this ability so players must ensure they get to the safe zone before the breath.
The boss will also amplify his melee attacks with an additional property called Thrash. For every fourth melee attack, the boss will strike two times very quickly. Tanks and healers should be ready for the spike in damage.
He will also cast Eerie Skull at random ranged players. The boss throws a skull at a player's location and deals 75k (100k) shadow damage to everyone within 3 yards. DPS should maintain a light spread.
Finally the boss will spawn Terror Spawns onto the main area. He spawns two at a time, up to 8, where one is on the left side and the other is on the right side. These adds have two mechanics.
Terror Spawns
Penetrating Bolt
Hurls a bolt of Sha energy at a player's location, inflicting 44412 to 49,087 Shadow damage to enemies within 0 yards of the impact point. Affected enemies take 25% increased Shadow damage for 15 sec.
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Deflection
Can only be damaged from behind.
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First, they have a deflect, so they cannot be attacked from the front. The other mechanic is Penetrating Bolt. The add launches bolts onto the raid. Each bolt does 85k (115k) shadow damage. Also, any player hit gets a debuff that increases shadow damage taken by 10% (25%) for 15 sec.
The goal is to get rid of the adds as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the raid will be overwhelmed with Penetrating Bolt. Each DPS will be assigned to either the left or right side. Whenever an add spawns, the assigned DPS must go behind the add and kill it quickly. DPS should also remember to monitor the boss' energy to make sure they're back in time for Breath of Fear.
The goal is to get rid of the adds as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the raid will be overwhelmed with Penetrating Bolt. Each DPS will be assigned to either the left or right side. Whenever an add spawns, the assigned DPS must go behind the add and kill it quickly. DPS should also remember to monitor the boss' energy to make sure they're back in time for Breath of Fear.
Outer Shrine
During the fight the boss will also use Ominous Cackle. Every 90 seconds, the boss will select 5 players from the raid. This consists of 1 tank, 1 healer, and 3 DPS at random. These players are ported to an outer shrine to fight a former guardian. The guardians have several abilities.
Guardian
Shoot
Shoot at the target, inflicting 75% weapon damage as Physical.
Death Blossom
Spin in a circle, unleashing a hail of bolts in all directions for 5 sec. Each bolt that strikes an enemy inflicts 41,800 to 46,200 Physical damage.
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Dread Spray
Unleashes a spray of Dread Bolts in a cone in front of the caster, inflicting 75% of weapon damage as Shadow and afflicting the target for 8 sec. At 2 stacks, the target is feared for 2 sec.
Sha Globe
Globes of Sha energy are knocked out of the possessed mob as he loses health. Touching a globe will consume it, inflicting 16,500 Shadow damage but refilling the player's primary resource over time. If not consumed within 8 sec the globe will return, healing him for 2% of his maximum health.
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First, the guardian has Shoot. This is a basic attack that does 75% weapon damage to one player.
Next is Dread Spray. The guardian will launch an attack in a frontal cone in several directions consecutively. Note that these directions are specific, and it is possible to avoid each one with proper planning. Each hit will cause the player to take 50% (75%) weapon damage as shadow and applies a stacking debuff. If the debuff reaches 2 stacks, the player is feared for 2 seconds. Players will want to avoid getting hit twice as the fear will make it difficult to avoid the dread sprays.
The pattern of the dread spray is shown below for each pattern (Image taken from IcyVeins.com).
The guardian also uses Death Blossom. The guardian spins in a circle for 5 seconds causing 80k (160k) damage every 0.25 seconds to all 5 players. Because of the high damage, defensive cooldowns are mandatory.
Finally, as the guardian takes damage, he'll release a Sha Globe. If a player runs on top of it, the player will take 30k (30k) shadow damage, but it also restores a percentage of the player's resource (i.e., mana, rage, energy, etc.) every second. However, if no one runs over the globe in time, the guardian will absorb it and heal for 5% (8%) of his maximum health. The group must absorb globes to prevent the guardian from healing.
If the group successfully kills the guardian, the group gains the buff Fearless. This allows the group to do 60% more damage and healing, move faster by 60%, and are immune to fear effects for 30 seconds. It is critical to kill the guardian as quickly as possible to gain this buff and clean up adds back on the main platform.
Heroic Strategy
This section will be updated once my guild defeats the boss on Heroic