General Overview: SSC is releasing in its post-nerf state for TBC Anniversary — bosses hit less hard and health pools are reduced. Resistance gear is less critical than original TBC, but elemental resist sets (nature/frost) are still strongly recommended for Hydross and Leotheras. Bring consumables and ensure healers are topped between pulls.
Trash Packs
🌊 Pre-Hydross Trash
Undead & Water Elemental packs on the approach to Hydross
Undead
Elemental
Naga
The path to Hydross is lined with groups of Underbog Colossus (water elementals) and Underbog Lurkers. These packs patrol, so watch timing carefully before pulling. Some mobs can enrage or empower nearby elementals — kill priority matters.
- Pick up all elementals immediately — they will target random players if not taunted
- Position packs away from the main path to avoid chaining patrols
- Use defensive cooldowns on Colossi enrages
- Keep tanks topped — water elemental hits can spike unexpectedly
- Watch for Poison Cloud ticks on melee; be ready to dispel
- Conserve mana between packs; some clusters pull quickly
- Follow kill order called by the raid leader
- Do not break CC on patrols before the main pack is dead
- Ranged should spread to avoid overlapping AoE from elementals
🌊 Pre-Lurker Trash
Bog Giants and Naga packs before The Lurker Below
Naga
Beast
Elemental
To reach The Lurker Below your raid must fish him up from the Shattered Halls pool — first clear the surrounding Bog Striders and Serpentshrine Lurkers patrolling the fishing platform. Bog Striders can stun and Naga mobs have ranged magical abilities. To summon Lurker, a player simply fishes from the pool in the center of the platform.
- Tank Bog Striders near the water edge — fear them back if they flee low
- Grab Naga casters quickly as they deal heavy AoE damage
- Position packs so ranged can freely use the platform without fall risk
- Dispel Grievous Wound / poison from Bog Striders promptly
- Be careful not to stand too close to the water edge — knockbacks can dunk healers
- Top raiders before the fishing pull; Lurker spawns fast once summoned
- Burn Naga casters fast — they deal significant damage to nearby players
- After clearing, designate one person to fish up Lurker so it's deliberate
- Spread around the platform before the fishing cast so positioning is set
🌊 Pre-Leotheras Trash
Naga Warriors, Oracles, and Enchantresses leading to Leotheras
Naga
Humanoid
This section features Naga Enchantresses that can MC (mind control) a raid member, Naga Oracles with powerful heals that must be interrupted, and Coilfang Warriors as sturdy frontline tanks. Priority: Oracles → Enchantresses → Warriors. Interrupt Oracle heals and dispel MC immediately.
- Keep Warriors faced away from the raid (they cleave)
- If a raid member gets MCed, do not taunt the mob — wait for the dispel
- Establish aggro on Enchantresses quickly so they don't flee into other packs
- Dispel MC from mind-controlled raiders as top priority
- Interrupt or outrange Oracle heals — a full heal can reset the fight
- Watch your own threat; Enchantresses will target mana-users
- Assign reliable interrupters for Oracle heals before each pull
- Kill Enchantresses fast — MCed DPS is dangerous to the raid
- Do not AoE until Enchantresses are dead to avoid breaking CC
🌊 Pre-Fathomlord Trash
Short corridor with Naga and murloc adds
Naga
Beast
The corridor leading to Fathomlord Karathress is relatively brief. It features several Naga packs and some murloc-type adds. These packs aren't particularly dangerous but be mindful of patrol timing.
- Round up loose adds quickly — they can scatter and pull extras
- Position packs on the edge of the corridor to give ranged room
- Standard healing — nothing exotic; maintain mana for the boss
- Keep an eye on tanks catching multiple mobs at once
- Cleave and AoE freely once tanks have solid aggro
- Keep the pace up — this is the shortest trash section in SSC
🌊 Pre-Morogrim Trash
Tidal Surgers and Water Elementals before Morogrim Tidewalker
Elemental
Naga
The final trash section before Morogrim features Tidal Surger elementals that cast Tidal Surge (a knockback) and can chain-pull if not carefully managed. Pull small groups and let tanks establish threat before DPS engages.
- Face surgers toward the wall to prevent knockback-into-other-packs accidents
- Use intervene/spell reflect to soak Tidal Surge if available
- Knockback-displaced raiders can briefly be out of range — pre-position centrally
- Top tanks quickly after the knockback window; damage spikes post-surge
- Hold for 3–4 seconds after tank engages before going full DPS
- Brace for knockback — position near the center of the room to avoid flying into walls or other packs
Boss Encounters
Phase-shifting water/poison elemental — Requires Nature & Frost Resistance
Frost Form
Nature Form
Water Tomb
Vile Sludge
Phase Transition Adds
Hydross alternates between a Frost phase and a Nature (poison) phase as he is walked across a magical boundary in the middle of the room. Each phase change summons 4 elemental adds that must be immediately picked up. The tank walking Hydross across the line must have the appropriate resistance set for each phase.
Two tanks are required — one with Frost Resist for the Frost phase, one with Nature Resist for the Poison phase. Walk him slowly across the line; don't cross too fast or the transition resets threat.
- Two dedicated resistance tanks — swap when Hydross crosses the boundary line
- The "off" tank pre-positions on the correct side and immediately taunts on transition
- 2–4 add tanks must be ready to grab the elemental spawns instantly on every phase change
- Keep Hydross centered on his side; don't let him drift back to the boundary prematurely
- Heal both the main tank AND the add tanks — adds die slowly and can kill a tank
- Water Tomb targets random players and encases them in ice; the raid must burst it free
- Vile Sludge reduces healing received — prioritize dispel on the debuffed tank
- Be ready for burst AoE right after each phase transition
- On phase transitions, immediately switch to killing the 4 elemental adds — do not ignore them
- Help burst Water Tomb off encased players quickly
- Do not attack Hydross until the transitioning tank has re-established threat
- Nature resistance gear recommended for the poison phase; frost for the water phase
Colossal sea beast summoned by fishing — Fight on platforms over water
Spout (360° beam)
Whirl
Geyser
Submerge + Adds
The Lurker Below lives in a central pool and the raid fights from floating platforms and the water itself. Every ~60 seconds Lurker submerges and spawns Naga adds on the outer platforms that must be killed before Lurker re-emerges. His most dangerous ability is Spout — a slow-rotating 360° knockback beam that one-shots into the water (jump in voluntarily or go behind him).
Assign platform positions before the pull. Ranged stand on the raised outer platforms; melee stand in the water around Lurker. Everyone must know how to handle Spout — dive underwater before the beam hits you.
- Main tank stands in the water, directly in front of Lurker to hold threat
- During submerge phase, tanks on each platform pick up the Naga adds quickly
- Watch Spout direction — face Lurker so the beam doesn't sweep toward the main tank unexpectedly
- Assign healers to each platform group for the submerge phase
- Geyser launches a player into the air for fall damage — pre-heal or absorb
- After Whirl AoE, quickly raid heal — melee can all take hits simultaneously
- Mana management is key; fight is longer than it looks due to the submerge cycles
- Jump into the water voluntarily when Spout rotates toward you — do NOT get knocked in
- Ranged: stay on your assigned outer platform at all times
- During submerge, drop everything and burn the Naga adds — kill them before Lurker re-emerges
- Melee can swim back to Lurker fast if they survive the dive
Demon hunter who alternates between Human and Demon forms
Whirlwind (Human)
Chaos Blast (Demon)
Shadow Bolt Whirl
Inner Demon
Demonic Form
Leotheras alternates between Human Form (melee tank) and Demon Form (warlock/shadow tank). In Human Form he Whirlwinds unpredictably; in Demon Form only a warlock (or shadow priest) can tank him — physical attacks generate no threat. Every phase he fires Inner Demon at several players, spawning demon copies they must personally kill or they die instantly when Leotheras finishes the fight.
Assign a warlock as the dedicated Demon Form tank. The warlock should use Siphon Life and keep DoTs rolling for consistent threat. All Inner Demon targets MUST kill their own demon before the fight ends.
- Main tank holds Human Form — keep Leotheras out of melee range during Whirlwind
- Step back when Whirlwind begins; re-engage immediately after
- When Demon Form begins, immediately disengage — the warlock tank takes over
- Help interrupt/taunt any loose Inner Demon adds that players are struggling with
- Heal the warlock tank during Demon Form — they take heavy Chaos Blast damage
- Players targeted by Inner Demon need to disengage from healing duties briefly
- Dispel Insidious Whisper debuffs quickly (confusion/misdirection)
- Be mobile — Leotheras moves with Whirlwind and healers must track
- Do NOT use physical attacks in Demon Form — zero threat generated, wastes time
- Warlocks should be DoT-stacking through both phases for smooth Demon Form handoff
- If you get an Inner Demon — stop all other actions and kill your demon immediately
- Range during Whirlwind; Shadow Bolt Whirl fires in a spiral so strafe sideways to avoid
Council-style fight — 4 bosses, kill advisors first
Empowerment (absorbs advisor abilities)
Cataclysmic Bolt
Poison Cleave
Lust for Blood
Fathomlord Karathress is a council fight with three advisors — Sharkkis the Seahorse (pet-wielding beast master), Tidalvess the Frosthunter (frost shaman), and Caribdis the Tidewatcher (AoE healer). Kill the advisors first in a specific order. When each advisor dies, Karathress absorbs their abilities, making the longer you take on Karathress himself progressively harder.
Recommended kill order: Tidalvess → Caribdis → Sharkkis → Karathress. Never let Caribdis heal the other bosses unchecked — interrupt Tidal Surge heals constantly.
- Requires 4 tanks — one per boss (3 advisors + Karathress himself)
- Tank all 4 bosses spread apart so AoE abilities don't chain to the whole raid
- When an advisor dies, its tank grabs the next add or assists with Karathress
- Watch for Lust for Blood on Karathress — he gains stacking Attack Speed
- Assign 1–2 healers per tank group due to the spread nature of the fight
- Interrupt Caribdis's Tidal Surge heals — she will outheal your DPS otherwise
- Cataclysmic Bolt from Karathress hits the whole raid for ~5k; have raid CDs ready
- After Caribdis dies, Karathress gains her heal — be ready to spike-heal the MT
- Follow kill order strictly — killing out of order makes Karathress lethal
- Assign dedicated interrupters to Caribdis's heals for the entire encounter
- Sharkkis's pet Hunter's Mark debuff should be dispelled quickly off the main tank
- Burn Karathress fast once all 3 advisors are dead — his abilities stack dangerously
Giant water elemental — murloc waves and earthen grasp
Tidal Wave
Murloc Swarm
Earthquake
Watery Grave
Morogrim is a race against escalating murloc swarms. Periodically he submerges players in Watery Grave (4 players are pulled underground and bombarded by 8 murlocs each) and calls Murloc Waves to flood the room. The murlocs must be AoE'd down quickly before they overwhelm the raid. At lower health Morogrim's murloc waves become more frequent and intense.
Holy paladin AoE is extremely powerful here — consecration and holy wrath shred murlocs. Assign 1–2 paladins specifically to handle murloc waves via AoE. Earthen Grasp can root a random player in place; healers must keep roots topped off.
- Single tank fight — hold Morogrim in the center of the room
- Face him away from the raid to prevent Tidal Wave cleave from hitting everyone
- Be ready to taunt back immediately after Watery Grave cycles (threat table can reset briefly)
- Extra tanks can help round up murlocs that escape AoE control
- Assign dedicated healers to Watery Grave targets — they take heavy damage from the 8 murlocs
- Tidal Wave hits the entire raid for ~3k nature damage; pre-HoT the raid before the wave
- Earthen Grasp-rooted players need sustained healing; don't let them die to murloc cleave
- Mana potions and Innervate rotations are essential — this fight is a healer marathon
- Split DPS: designate an AoE team (paladins, mages, warlocks) for murloc waves
- Single-target DPS stays on Morogrim at all times — burn him before waves overwhelm
- If assigned to murloc duty, do not delay — every second they live adds healer strain
- Watery Grave targets: you survive by being topped; trust your healers and stay still
Three-phase encounter — SSC's final boss and Tier 5 gating fight
Phase 2: Shield Generators
Static Charge
Shock Blast
Coilfang Striders
Toxic Spores (Sporebats)
Enchanted Weapons
Phase 1 — Tank and spank. Vashj melee-fights the raid from her platform. DPS her to 70%. She periodically fires Multi-Shot at range targets and Shock Blast hits anyone in melee who is not the active tank.
Phase 2 — Vashj becomes immune and activates 4 Shield Generators around the room. 5 types of adds spawn: Coilfang Striders (stop them from reaching Vashj), Coilfang Elites (tank near generators), Tainted Elementals (carry the Tainted Core), Enchanted Weapons (kill ASAP — they silence casters), and Toxic Sporebats (kite or CC). Tainted Elementals drop a Tainted Core which must be thrown player-to-player (carrying it stacks a damage-over-time) toward a generator to deactivate it. All 4 generators must go down to end Phase 2.
Phase 3 — Vashj re-enters the fight with greatly reduced health. She adds Entangle to her rotation. Burn her down to 0. This phase is a DPS race.
Phase 2 is the most coordination-intensive mechanic in all of T5. Pre-assign your Tainted Core carrier chain before the pull. Communicate generator assignments clearly — each group of 4–5 players should own a specific generator quadrant.
- P1: One tank on Vashj — face her away, avoid Shock Blast
- P2: Assign tanks to each generator's Elite group; Striders must be intercepted before they reach Vashj — if they reach her she heals
- Coilfang Striders: assign a dedicated kiter or tank at the outer ring; do not let them reach the platform
- P3: Main tank re-picks up Vashj; second tank stays ready for threat drops after Entangle roots
- P1: Standard tank healing; watch for random Static Charge targets — they pulse AoE on nearby players
- P2: Spread around the room with the generator groups; mobile healers (druids, shamans) shine here
- Tainted Core carriers take ticking DoT damage — top them up between throws
- Toxic Spores from Sporebats spread to nearby players; keep infected players topped and have them move away from the group
- P3: Burn CDs — Vashj hits hard; coordinate heroism/bloodlust with raid leader
- P1: Steady DPS on Vashj to 70%; do not overshoot — transition too fast causes a messy P2 setup
- P2 Core carriers: Pre-assign a chain of 4–5 players per side; the moment a Tainted Elemental dies and drops the Core, the nearest player picks it up and immediately throws to the next person
- Enchanted Weapons silence casters — melee kill these first; ranged must interrupt or kite them
- Striders: hunters, rogues, or dedicated ranged slow/snare them; they must not reach Vashj
- Sporebats: CC them or assign a hunter to kite; their spores spread and overwhelm healers fast
- P3: Hero/Lust, trinkets, and everything — pure DPS race to end the fight