by Arphir of Axis [Dark Iron]

Overview

A gargantuan, fish-like monster, the origins of the Lurker Below are unclear. He is rumored to be a corrupted minion of Neptulon the Tidehunter.

The Lurker Below alternates between two phases. During the first, he is present above the water, is tanked and may be damaged. During the second, he submerges under the water, and the raid must kill or crowd control 9 adds before he re-emerges. The Lurker cannot be damaged during the second phase. The encounter cycles between the two phases until the Lurker is dead.

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Abilities

HP: 3,800,000

Melee: Hits for approx. 6,000-7,000 on a tank. The Lurker Below is stationary and can only strike targets in melee range (ranged players cannot pull aggro).

Whirl: Does 3,000-4,000 damage to all players in melee range of Lurker, and knocks them back ~5 yards. Lurker will whirl at random intervals 15-30 seconds apart, and will also Whirl after a Spout or a Geyser. A timer mod like Deadly Boss Mods can help predict when a Whirl will occur.

Geyser: Does 3,500 frost damage to a random player who is not the MT, as well as everyone within 3 yards of the target. All affected players are knocked back 10 yards.

Spout: The Lurker Below shoots a continuous beam of water in a full circle, doing 8,000 damage and causing a 30 yard knockback to anyone who is struck by it . The Spout initially shoots in the direction of the MT, and randomly rotates either clockwise or counter-clockwise around the room until it has returned to its original position. Players who are in the water while the Spout passes over their position will not be affected. Occurs once every 45-60 seconds during Phase 1, and also occurs immediately after Phase 2 when Lurker returns from a Submerge. The Lurker takes a deep breath.

Submerge: Lurker dives into the water and becomes invulnerable while 9 adds spawn and path to the raid (6 ranged, 3 melee). Two ranged adds path to each of the three islands surrounding Lurker’s pool, melee for about 1,000 on a tank, and can multishot for about 2,500. The three melee adds path to different locations on the inner ring surrounding Lurker’s pool, melee for about 4,000 on a tank, Hamstring, and cleave any players who are standing in front of them for 5,000-9,000 damage. All of the adds can be CC’ed (sheep, fear, trap, etc.). Lurker will return to the surface after one minute.

Water bolt: If there is no one in melee range of Lurker, he will begin to water bolt random players for 10,000-11,000 damage.

Preparation

Prior to engaging The Lurker Below, the waters of Serpentshrine must be cleared of Coilfang Frenzy fish. This is accomplished by clearing all of the Lurker Below’s trash. When these trash packs are dead, the waters of SSC will boil, killing all Frenzies, but causing minimal damage (500 every 2-3 seconds) to players who enter it. The waters of SSC stop boiling after Lurker is defeated, and the Frenzies stay dead, permitting players to swim throughout the instance.

Example Raid Composition

1 MT

1 OT

8 Healers

8-9 Ranged DPS (including 2 mages)

6-7 Melee DPS

Positioning

Use the attached diagram to assign positioning.

Raid Leader

Ensure that at least one mage is assigned to Polymorph each of the two Coilfang Guardians which will spawn during phase two (additional backup mages are very valuable). Also ensure that at least one hunter, mage, or warlock is assigned to crowd controlling a Coilfang Ambusher on each island in phase two.

Melee DPS Spread out around the inside edge of the inner ring surrounding the Lurker’s pool.

Healers , Mage Spread out around the outside edge of the inner ring surrounding the Lurker’s pool. Make sure you’re in range of at least one of the outlying islands, so that you can assist with killing the ranged adds in Phase 2.

Ranged DPS All other ranged DPS should be split evenly among the three outlying islands.

Tanks The MT and OT should position themselves as shown in the diagram. If the MT is knocked back by a Whirl or Spout, the OT should run forward, taunt the Lurker, and tank until the MT can return to his position and re-establish aggro.

Assignments

Use the following macros to help assign the roles in your raid:

/rw — INC ASSIGNMENTS –

/raid Lurker MT = [1 Tank]

/raid Lurker OT = [1 Tank] (Stays in Water 100%, 2nd on Threat)

/raid —ISLANDS—

/raid 10PM Island DPS = [3 Ranged DPS]

/raid 2PM Island DPS = [2 Ranged DPS]

/raid 4PM Island DPS = [2 Ranged DPS]

/raid —SUBMERGE—

/raid 10PM Island Guardian = [1 Mage]

/raid 2PM Guardian = [1 Mage]

/raid 4PM Guardian = [Offtank] (Kill this add!)

/rw — HEALING ASSIGNMENTS –

/raid MT: All healers

/raid Melee: [1 Healer, preferably a Shaman]

/raid 10PM Island: [2 Healers]

/raid 2PM Island: [2 Healers]

/raid 4PM Island: [2 Healers]

/raid Leftover Healers on the raid

*Note: Assign backup mages to sheep the Melee adds during submerge phase if available.

On the pull

Lurker must be fished out of the Strange Pool in the center of the area by a fisherman with 300 skill. This can take a while, so everyone with 300 skill should start fishing. When Lurker appears, the MT should taunt him and establish aggro. DPS can begin immediately.

Phase 1

Note
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During this phase, Lurker will use his Whirl, Spout, and Geyser abilities (refer to the ability descriptions above for frequency and ability details). Phase 1 lasts about one minute, at which point Lurker will submerge, adds will spawn and Phase 2 will begin.

Ranged DPS You cannot pull aggro on this boss. Hit him as hard as you can. Try to stay spaced out so that if you are hit by a Geyser, it will not affect other players standing near you.

Melee DPS Damage the boss while being mindful of the MT and OT’s threat. Do not pass the OT in threat, otherwise if the MT gets knocked back, Lurker will attack you! Avoid Whirls whenever possible by backing away from Lurker to the outer edge of the inner ring before they occur. See the ability descriptions above for help on predicting when to back out.

Raid About 45 seconds after Lurker spawns, he will Spout. When the emote appears (“The Lurker takes a deep breath”), IMMEDIATELY step into the water, regardless of your role. Stay there (you can still cast spells) until the Spout has passed over your head, and then return to your original position on land. You will take minimal damage from the boiling water while swimming; this can be healed very easily.

Main Tank Note that the Lurker’s Spout will pass over the MT’s location twice, once at the beginning of its rotation, and once at the end. The MT must remain in the water until the Spout has passed over his location a second time.

Phase 2

Phase 1 will end after about a minute, and Phase 2 will begin. Two Coilfang Ambushers will swim to each of the three islands surrounding Lurker’s pool, and three Coilfang Guardians will swim to the large inner ring. At this point all nine adds will become targetable and must be killed or crowd controlled before Lurker re-emerges and Phase 1 resumes (you have about a minute). After one minute Lurker will re-emerge and Spout regardless of whether all mobs are down or not.

Mage If you were assigned to polymorph one of the Coilfang Guardians, do it immediately. Be aware that this mob will make a beeline for you and kill you in one or two hits if the sheep breaks, potentially wiping the raid if no one can replace you. You should re-sheep the Guardian every few seconds in case of a heartbeat resist, and you must keep doing this until the end of the fight. This is more important than your personal DPS.

Ranged DPS Crowd control (fear, ice trap, etc.) one of the Coilfang Ambushers on your island. Kill the loose Ambusher, then kill the crowd controlled Ambusher. Depending on how much DPS you do, a single reapplication of crowd control may be required before your first Ambusher is dead. You may occasionally take damage from an Ambusher’s Scattershot or melee attack.

Offtank Only two of the three Coilfang Guardians will be sheeped by mages. Anticipate where the third one will arrive on the inner ring (it is always the same place), and move there. As soon as the Guardian becomes active, tank it, facing it away from the raid to minimize the number of players struck by its Cleave. Keep tanking it until it’s dead.

Melee DPS


Kill the Coilfang Guardian that is being tanked by the Offtank once he has established aggro. If you have a lot of time left over, you can move to one of the islands and help the Ranged DPS kill Coilfang Ambushers.

Healers The Offtank will take a substantial amount of damage from the Coilfang Guardian. Ranged DPS will also take damage from Ambushers. Melee DPS may take damage from the Coilfang Guardian’s Cleaves, but only if positioning is bad or a polymorph breaks. Keep everyone topped off.

Main Tank You can attack the unsheeped Coilfang Guardian to build rage. After one minute, make sure you are in position to continue tanking when Lurker re-emerges. Remember that when he appears, he will Spout first, and you need to be in the water!

Repeat the above steps until The Lurker Below is dead. Congratulations!