Training the Withered is an important task in World of Warcraft in Suramar. We will tell you how to proceed effectively.
In Suramar, there is a very special world quest that appears every 3 days: The training of the Withered army. Completing this mission allows access to a scenario in which you can train your Withered – at least that’s the story behind it. In reality, it’s about loot in the form of toys, artifact power, and reputation with the Nightborne. We will tell you how to perform better in the scenario.
What needs to be done during the training?
The “Training the Withered Army” scenario is basically a type of mini-game that Blizzard included in World of Warcraft: Legion. The goal is to guide an army of “zombies” (which are essentially what the Withered are) through a large ruin. Enemies must be defeated and treasures collected, which then await as rewards at the end of the scenario.
The main task of the player is to keep their Withered (and themselves) alive and push as far into the tunnels as possible. Every defeated enemy earns points that can significantly increase the reward at the end.
The number of Withered
Before starting the scenario, you decide how many Withered you want to take with you. There is basically only one thing to consider here: more is better. You gain access to the scenario by spending “Ancient Mana“. Spending 400 Mana will provide you with the base set of 8 Withered. If you dig deeper into your Mana pockets and exchange 2000 units, you can start with 20 Withered.
| Number of Withered | Cost in “Ancient Mana” |
| 8 | 400 |
| 10 | 650 |
| 12 | 900 |
| 15 | 1300 |
| 20 | 2000 |
The more Withered you have, the more damage you can deal, and the more treasures can be recovered. Therefore, it is always worthwhile to farm a bit of Ancient Mana first (this can be done in the vineyards within 10 minutes) before starting the scenario.
The right approach
In this scenario, planning and strategy are the most important. Therefore, we have some points for you to consider.
The Withered have 2 different attack modes. They can either follow you and focus on your target (default) or activate a frenzy mode. While this causes them to deal 75% more damage, they also attract threat from all enemies in a large radius – plus, they no longer follow you. It’s best to keep the Withered in “Follow” mode for better success.
Interrupt enemies whenever possible. Especially the “Unstable Spirits” deal massive area damage. Below 30% of their health, they will begin to self-destruct. Interrupting is no longer possible then, but stunning them is! Save a stun for the crucial moment and kill the spirit before it explodes.
Thalyssra will often give you important hints. When she shouts “One of your Withered is running away!” immediately check which Withered she means. This one will then have a “Fear” symbol above its head. You need to click on the Withered in time, or it will disappear – and your army will shrink.
The same applies if you are moving too fast for your Withered – you will receive a warning then too. Make sure they can keep up so that you do not lose them.
Chests and supplies
As you fight your way through the ruins, besides enemies, you will also find chests repeatedly. You can safely open small chests, as they usually contain a bit of gold, Ancient Mana, some artifact power, and other useful items. You should initially ignore normal and large chests – but remember where they were. Why? The larger chests cannot be opened directly but need to be transported to the entrance of the scenario. For this, you will need to sacrifice a certain amount of your Withered. A normal chest costs 5 Withered, a large one even 10. Since you are thus reducing your own strength, you should only collect the chests at the very end (or when your Withered’s health points are low).
In addition to the chests, you will frequently find “Withered Exiles” on your way. These friendly Withered can be clicked on and added to your army. Always keep your eyes open, as there are up to 40 of these additional Withered in the ruins, making your progress much easier!
The Leywalker Dro
It should be noted separately about Leywalker Dro, who can appear anywhere in the scenario. Contrary to rumors, he does not spawn when players are too slow, but completely randomly. With his 20 million HP, he is quite strong and quickly takes down both you and the Withered. The first Arcanist will warn you (“Look out!”) when he spawns. Kill him as quickly as possible and use all defensive cooldowns! Cloth-wearers can take hits of up to 300,000 damage from him.
Use all stuns and slowing effects. Druids can wait out the problem with “Entangling Roots,” while the Withered take care of the rest. All other classes must act quickly and cleverly. Occasionally, Dro will appear at the beginning of the scenario – then victory is hardly possible or only with a lot of luck (or skill). As a reward for victory, you will receive a key that opens another door in the ruins.
General tips
For the conclusion, we have some general tips for you to consider to make the scenario a bit easier.
- There is no time limit. I cannot emphasize this enough. You can take all the time in the world to wait for cooldowns to refresh after each fight.
- The scenario ends if you die (falling to 1 health points is enough in this case) or if all your Withered have died, been exhausted, or fled.
- Strong bosses are often behind locked doors. Some doors have access requirements, such as especially upgraded Withered. It’s best to tackle the bosses in the second or third run when you have already looted a large part of the chests and have a fresh, strong army.
- Your Withered’s attacks are area attacks with a very small radius. Slow down enemies so that your Withered can deal damage.
- When you collect chests, they often contain items that upgrade your Withered in your next visit. Just use these items, their effect is permanent and takes effect as soon as you enter the scenario again (at the earliest in 3 days).
- More than 400 points do not help. After that, the reward in the final chest (reputation) will not increase anymore.
- The lower the health points of your Withered, the more likely they are to run away. Keep their health points high at all costs!
Do you have any further tips on how to get through the scenario well? Let us know in the comments!
We have more tips and tricks in our guide article on Legion.
