Blackwing Lair

Overview

Blackwing Lair is located in BRM. If you've been to UBRS, you may have noticed a corridor with a (green) raid portal down one of the corridors. Like Molten Core, there is an easier way to enter once you've been attuned. The attunement quest is listed here. Basically, you have to kill the Quartermaster outside BRS and loot a note off of him, then kill the General in UBRS and interact with the orb behind him. Once you have done that, the orb behind the Quartermaster will take you to BWL if you're in a raid group.

Bosses & Items

Razorgore the Untamed

• Tier 2 Bracers - Bloodfang, Judgement, Wrath, Nemesis, Netherwind, Transcendence, Stormrage, Ten Storms, Dragonstalkers
• Arcane Infused Gem - Trinket, Hunter - Use: Next Arcane shot fired within 10 sec will detonate and cause 185 - 215 dmg to all enemies near the target.
• Gloves of Rapid Evolution - Cloth, Hands - +12 Sta, +12 Int, +32 Spi
• Mantle of the Blackwing Cabal - Cloth, Shoulder - +12 Sta, +16 Int, Equip: Increase Dmg & Healing up to 34.
• Spineshatter - 1h Mace - +9 Str +16 Sta, Equip: Increased Defense +5
• The Black Book - Trinket, Warlock - Use: 100% pet dmg, 100% pet armor for 30 sec.
• The Untamed Blade - 2h Sword - +22 Agi, +16 Sta, Chance on hit: Increase Str by 300 for 8 sec.

Vaelastrasz the Corrupt

• Tier 2 Belts - Bloodfang, Judgement, Wrath, Nemesis, Netherwind, Transcendence, Stormrage, Ten Storms, Dragonstalkers
• Dragonfang Blade - Dagger - 55.3 DPS, 1.8 speed, +13 Sta +16 Agi
• Helm of Endless Rage - Plate, Helm - +29 Sta, +26 Str, +26 Agi
• Mind Quickening Gem - Trinket, Mage - Use: Increase magic casting speed by 25% for 20 sec.
• Pendant of the Fallen Dragon - Neck - 12 Int, 9 Sta, 9 mana/5 seconds
• Red Dragonscale Protector - Shield - 51 Block, +29 Sta, +26 Str, +26 Agi, Equip: Increase Healing up to 37
• Rune of Metamorphosis - Trinket, Druid - Decrease mp cost of shapeshifting forms by 100% for 20 sec.

Broodlord Lashlayer

This boss reduces his aggro against melee throughout this fight. This leads to aggro issues for ranged classes.

• Tier 2 boots - Bloodfang, Judgement, Wrath, Nemesis, Netherwind, Transcendence, Stormrage, Ten Storms, Dragonstalkers
• Black Brood Pauldrons - Mail, Shoulders - +12 Sta, +15 Int, +17 Agi, Equip: Restores 9 mp every 5 sec
• Bracers of Arcane Accuracy - Cloth, Wrist - +9 Sta, +12 Int, Equip: + 1% hit spells, Increase Dmg & Healling up to 21
• Heartstriker - Bow - 44 DPS, 2.6 Speed, +9 Sta, Equip: +24 Attack Power
• Lifegiving Gem - Trinket, Warrior - Use: Heal yourself for 15% of max hp, increase max hp by 15% for 20 sec.
• Maladath, Runed Blade of the Black Flight - 1h Sword - 56.4 DPS, 2.2 Speed, Equip: Parry + 1%, Increased Swords +4
• Venomous Totem - Trinket, Rogue - Use: 30% chance increase to apply poisons to target for 20 sec.

Firemaw

• Tier 2 Hands - Bloodfang, Judgement, Wrath, Nemesis, Netherwind, Transcendence, Stormrage, Ten Storms, Dragonstalkers
• Black Ash Robe - Cloth, Chest - +21 Sta, +22 Int, +17 Spi, +30 Fire Resist
• Band of Forced Concentration
• Claw of the Black Drake - Fist, 56.3 DPS, 2.6 Speed
• Cloak of Firemaw - Back, 50 AtkPow, 12 Sta
• Drake Talon Cleaver - 2h Axe - +22 Str, +17 Sta, Chance on hit 240 dmg
• Drake Talon Pauldrons - Plate Shoulder - +20 Str, +20 Agi, +17 Sta, Equip: Dodge + 1%
• Firemaw's Clutch - Cloth, Waist - +12 Sta, +12 Int, Equip: Dmg & Healing up to 35, Restore 5 mp every 5 sec
• Natural Alignment Crystal - Trinket, Shaman - Use: 20% spell dmg, 20% heal, 20% increased mana cost for 20 sec.
• Primalist's Linked Legguards - Mail, Legs - + 2% crit chance to spells, + 1% chance to hit
• Ring of Blackrock - Ring - Equip: Dmg & Healing effects up to 19, Restore 9 mp every 5 sec
• Rejuvenating Gem - Trinket - Equip: Healing increase by 66 & restores 6 mp every 5 sec
• Scroll of Blinding Light - Trinket, Paladin - Use: Increase melee attack and spell castin by 25% for 20 sec.
• Taut Dragonhide Belt - Leather Belt - +17 Sta, Equip: +60 Attack Power, Dodge + 1%.

Ebonroc

• Tier 2 Hands - Bloodfang, Judgement, Wrath, Nemesis, Netherwind, Transcendence, Stormrage, Ten Storms, Dragonstalkers
• Aegis of Preservation - Trinket, Priest - Use: Increase armor 500, heal 35 dmg everytime you take melee or ranged dmg for 20 sec.
• Band of Forced Concentration - Ring - +9 Sta, +12 Int, Equip: + 1% hit with spells, Dmg & Healing up to 21.
• Dragonbreath Hand Cannon - Gun - 43.9 DPS, 2.8 Speed, +14 Agi, +7 Sta
• Drake Fang Talsman - Trinket - Equip: +56 Attack Pwr, + 2% to hit, + 1% dodge
• Drake Talon Cleaver - 2h Axe - +22 Str, +17 Sta, Chance on hit-fatal wound 240 dmg
• Drake Talon Pauldrons - Plate Shoulder - +20 Str, +20 Agi, +17 Sta, Equip: dodge + 1%
• Ebony Flame Gloves - Cloth, Gloves - +17 Sta, +12 Int, Equip: Increase shadow spell dmg up to 43
• Malfurion's Blessed Bulwark - +40 Str, +22 Sta
• Rejuvenating Gem - Trinket - Equip: Healing increase by 66 & restores 6 mp every 5 sec
• Ring of Blackrock - Ring - Equip: Dmg & Healing effects up to 19, Restore 9 mp every 5 sec
• Shadow Wing Focus Staff - Staff - +22 Sta, +40 Int, +17 Spi, Equip: Dmg & Healing up to 56
• Taut Dragonhide Belt - Leather Belt - +17 Sta, Equip: +60 Attack Power, Dodge + 1%.

Flamegor

• Tier 2 Hands - Bloodfang, Judgement, Wrath, Nemesis, Netherwind, Transcendence, Stormrage, Ten Storms, Dragonstalkers
• Circle of Applied Force - Ring - +12 Str, +22 Agi, +9 Sta
• Dragon's Touch - Wand - +7 Sta, +12 Int, Equip: Dmg & heal increase by 6
• Drake Talon Cleaver - 2h Axe - +22 Str, +17 Sta, Chance on hit-fatal wound 240 dmg
• Drake Talon Pauldrons - Plate Shoulder - +20 Str, +20 Agi, +17 Sta, Equip: dodge + 1%
• Emberweave Leggings - Mail Legs - +17 Agi, +22 Sta, +12 Int, +35 Fire Resist
• Herald of Woe - Mace - +31 Str, +22 Sta, +20 Int, +17 Spi
• Rejuvenating Gem - Trinket - Equip: Healing increase by 66 & restores 6 mp every 5 sec
• Ring of Blackrock - Ring - Equip: Dmg & Healing effects up to 19, Restore 9 mp every 5 sec
• Shadow Wing Focus Staff - Staff - +22 Sta, +40 Int, +17 Spi, Equip: Dmg & Healing up to 56
• Shroud of Pure Thought - Cloak - +10 Sta, +11 Int, Equip: Healing up to 33, Restore 6 mp every 5 sec.
• Styleen's Impeding Scarab - Trinket - Equip: Chance to block + 5%, Block value of shield + 24, Defense + 13
• Taut Dragonhide Belt - Leather Belt - +17 Sta, Equip: +60 Attack Power, Dodge + 1%.

Chromaggus

• Tier 2 Shoulders - Bloodfang, Judgement, Wrath, Nemesis, Netherwind, Transcendence, Stormrage, Ten Storms, Dragonstalkers
• Angelista's Grasp - Cloth Belt - +17 Sta, +20 Int, +13 Spi, Equip: +2 % chance to hit with spells.
• Ashjre'thul, Crossbow of Smiting - Xbow - +7 Sta, Equip: +36 Ranged Attack Power.
• Chromatic Boots - Plate Boots - +20 Str, +20 Agi, +12 Sta, Equip: + 1% to hit.
• Chromatically Tempered Sword - 1h Sword - +14 Str, +14 Agi, +7 Sta
• Claw of Chromaggus - Dagger - +17 Int, +7 Sta, Equip: Dmg & healing up to 64, Restore 5 mp every 5 sec.
• Elementium Reinforced Bulwark - Shield - +23 Sta, Equip: +19 Block value of shield, Defense +7
• Elementium Threaded Cloak - Cloak - +13 Sta, Equip: Dodge + 2%
• Empowered Leggings - Cloth Legs - +12 Sta, +12 Int, +24 Spi, Equip: Dmg & Healing effects up to 77, + 1% critical strike with spells
• Girdle of the Fallen Crusader - Plate Belt - +20 Str, +10 Agi, +15 Sta, +17 Int, +13 Spi
• Prmalist's Linked Waistguard - Mail Belt - +16 Str, +13 Sta, +16 Int, +15 Spi Equip: Dmg & Heal up to 20
• Shimmering Geta - Cloth Boots - +13 Sta, +17 Int, Equip: Restores 12 Mana every 5 sec
• Taut Dragonhide Gloves - Leather Gloves - +20 Sta, +20 Int, Equip: Crit + 1%, Restores 6 mp every 5 sec.
• Taut Dragonhide Shoulderpads - Leather Shoulder - +30 Sta, Equip: +46 Attack Power

Nefarian

• Tier 2 Chest - Bloodfang, Judgement, Wrath, Nemesis, Netherwind, Transcendence, Stormrage, Ten Storms, Dragonstalkers

Head of Nefarian - Item Turn in Similar to Onyxia Head
      Rewards - Master Dragonslayer's Medallion - Necklace - +14 Agi, +24 Sta, Equip: +7 Defense.
                Master Dragonslayer's Orb - Off Hand - +10 Sta, +14 Int, Equip: Increase Dmg & Healing up to 28.
                Master Dragonslayer's Ring - Ring - +14 Sta, Equip: +44 Attack Power, + 1% to hit.

• Archimtiros' Ring of Reckoning - Ring - +14 Agi, +28 Sta
• Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood - 2h Sword - +33 Sta, Equip: +86 Attack Power
• Boots of the Shadow Flame - Leather Boots - +22 Sta, Equip: +44 Attack Power, + 2% to hit
• Cloak of the Brood Lord - Cloak - +10 Sta, +14 Int Equip: Increase Dmg & Healing by up to 28
• Crul'shorukh, Edge of Chaos - 1h Axe - +13 Sta, Equip: + 36 Attack Power
• Lok'amir il Romathis - 1h Mace - +10 Sta, +18 Int, +8 Spi, Equip: Increase Dmg & Healing effects up to 84
• Mish'udare, Circlet of the Mind - Cloth Helm - +15 Sta, +24 Int, +9 Spi Equip: Dmg & Heal up to 35, + 2% chance spell crit
• Neltharion's Tear - Trinket - Equip: Increase Dmg & Healing effects up to 44, + 2% to crit chance.
• Prestor's Talisman of Connivery - Necklace - +30 Agility, Equip: + 1% to hit
• Pure Elementium Band - Ring - +9 Sta, +10 Int, +10 Spi, Equip: Increase Healing by up to 53
• Staff of the Shadow Flame - Staff - +24 Sta, +29 Int, +18 Spi, Equip: Increase Dmg & Healing by up to 84, + 2% crit chance
• Therazane's Link - Mail Belt - +22 Sta, +12 Int, +12 Spi, Equip: +44 Attack Power, + 1% to crit

Strategies

Vaelastrasz the Corrupt

Kudos to Champain on Tich compiling this guide!

Vaelestrasz the Corrupt

Vael is the second boss in Blackwing Lair and is a really unique fight. He requires a very different play style than any other boss and is a lot of fun. But he is also one of the most difficult fights to master. Due to BA targeting the fight has large luck componenet that can become very frustrating.

TheBuffs

At the beginning of the fight Vael will buff everyone with the Essence of Red buff. This amazing buff adds 500 mana per tick, 20 rage or forty energy and lasts for three minutes. Effectively, this buff gives you unlimited resources for the three minutes it is in effect. If it times out and Vael still isn't dead, you're in big trouble.

Vael also has a pulsing fire damage AOE, dealing 600 fire damage per tick. This one doesn't have a time limit, but each pulse is resistable. Minimising the damage form this aoe is the rason fire resistance gear is required. If the healers lose their essence of the red, they will swiftly run out of mana trying to keep people healed. The pulses also interrupt casting, greatly reducing the effectiveness of any casters with channeled spells, as they will be getting constant interrupts.

Burning adrenaline is the other crazy buff. This makes all spells instant cast and double damage and is cast only on the person on top of his aggro list (the tank hopefully) and random mana users throughout the fight. Sounds good? Yeah. But not for long. Your maximum health is reduced by 5% per tick for 15 seconds, and then you explode in a tribute to Baron Geddon. Just like Geddon's living bomb, you will deal big aoe damage to everyone around you, so as soon as you get the buff move to the empty areas behind Vael's tail or next to the stairwells on either side of the tank position. You get a CTRA warning and your name will be caled in TS. Be ready to move!

Positioning

The positioning on Vael is similar to Onyxia. Vael has a frontal aoe and a tailswipe so the raid has to stay to either side of him. One the east side, there will be all the ranged dps, the rogues and the the healers not in the warrior groups. In the west, the warriors and everyone in warrior groups.

How the Fight Goes

The start

The first tank will engage in the maintank position and immediately begin mashing his sunder armour and heroic strike keys to build crazy aggro fast. All other warriors will hold off for a couple of seconds then begin doing the same. The idea is to keep all the warriors on top of the aggro list to allow the aggro to switch to another warrior when the tank goes down.

Shamen and any spare druids are on tank healing. Turn your CTRA heal cancel off because you have unlimited mana and spam your quickest dirtiest heals on the tank. Most priests and druids will be assigned to healing their party. Priests are particularly good at this as prayer of healing is perfect. Priests should be able to toss heals to the main tank pretty frequently. Priests, remember to shield yourself and the shaman in your group whenever you can to enable uninterupted casting. Druids have it tougher; keep rolling through everyone in your group healing as well as you can. You shouldn't have too much keeping yourself and four others up.

All dps guys should be going as hard as possible without pulling aggro. Keeping the damage going like crazy is key; Vael has to be dead in the three minutes.

Periodically, a mana user will be hit with BA, hopefully not a healer. If you get BA, move to a safe zone and chain cast your spells. Make the most of your crazy dps while it lasts. If BA kills you, you don't have take a durability hit, so rejoice!

The First Transition

45 seconds into the fight, when Vael is at about 22-23% the person on top of the aggro list, the first tank, will get burning adrenaline. This is effectively a 10 second warning that the tank is about to die and that the second tank is about to get aggro. Rogues should immediately vanish to clear their aggro, hunters should feign and priests should fade. Everyone else should ease off for a few seconds to ensure the warriors are next on the list.

The tank's max health will be slowly lowering and lowering. Before long, one tick of the fire dot Vael puts on the tank will do more damage than the tank has life, and the first tank will bite the dust. The second tank will then take aggro and Vael will turn to face that warrior.

This is the tricky part. The shamen need to switch targets to heal the warrior using either a /assist Vael macro or using the Maintank's target's target windows. Either way, the heals will ahve to start landing very fast or the tank is going to get a close up view of the Blackwing mason's workmanship. The new tank will also have to very quickly move into the main tank position. If he is too slow, casters may get tail whipped and the other warriors may be cleaved or flame breathed. Any of these will spell the end of the attempt. The move has to be very very quick.

If you aren't the warrior who gets aggro, take it easy for a few seconds to that aggro doesn't bounce back and forwards between you and the new tank.

The Rest of the Fight

Everyone maxes their dps and keeps burning him down. Every 45 seconds the tanking warrior will be hit with burning adrenaline and another transition needs to happen. This will be identical to the first, minus the vanishes. All rests on the ability of the healers to switch targets and the warriors to take aggro and move into position quickly.

Warriors, remember to bring a fast one hander. Chaining very quick heroic strikes and sunder is the easiest and best way to build some crazy aggro.