WoW Raid Guide Antorus – Varimathras – Whip without Honey
The encounter with Varimathras is a simple patchwork fight, also known as “tank and spank”. The dreadlord is tanked in the middle of the room, while the raid stands collectively in two camps behind him, trying to snuff out the light before he can press his “I have won” button.
Setup: The raid stands either closed or in two groups behind the boss. Two positions, about 20 meters apart, serve as orientation, and players switch between these when void fields appear. The main tank stands in front of the boss and as close as possible to his hitbox, while the inactive tank stands as close as possible behind him.
It is important for the raid to split like this, as each player must have a different character within 8 meters of themselves at all times. If this is not the case, the “Alone in the Dark” effect is triggered.
- Alone in the Dark: Varimathras deals moderate shadow damage to any player who is not near others. This triggers Misery.
The Fight
Varimathras does not have many abilities otherwise. Among the few he has, however, are some that require special attention. The entire fight revolves around the “Misery” mechanic.
- Misery: Whenever Varimathras deals shadow damage to a target, that target cannot be actively healed for 7 seconds and takes 200% more physical damage. Only direct healing is absorbed. Shields remain at full height, and passive healing like that from the Spirit Link totem still works on affected targets.
The rest of the fight proceeds very linearly. Varimathras has several phases in which he radiates different auras (2 in normal, 4 in heroic mode), and the last phase will wipe the raid in no time.
The Torments of the Shivarra – Phases of the Fight
- Torture of Flames: Varimathras deals fire damage to every player every second.
- Torture of Frost (only heroic): Occurs after 2 minutes into the fight. Varimathras deals frost damage to every player every second and reduces movement speed by 40%.
- Torture of Fel Magic (only heroic): Occurs after 4 minutes into the fight. Varimathras deals fire damage to every player every 5 seconds. This damage increases by 50% with each tick.
- Torture of Shadow: Occurs after 6 minutes into the fight. Varimathras deals shadow damage to every player every second.
The boss should be downed within 6 minutes at the latest, otherwise the shadow damage and associated Misery will finish the fight in his favor in a few moments.
Varimathras’ Abilities
During the phases, the raid must also deal with several abilities:
- Shadow Strike: Upon reaching 100 energy, Varimathras performs a cone attack in front of him, dealing significant shadow damage to all players hit. This attack should definitely only hit the active tank and requires a subsequent tank swap.
- The particular difficulty here is that during the swap, neither tank may stand more than 8 meters away from the other. Otherwise, the active tank will be hit by Alone in the Dark.
- Dark Fissure: A fissure forms under 3 random players. The fissure will cause regular shadow damage shortly afterward. As soon as the first fissure appears, the group must immediately move to the other marked position. Otherwise, every affected player is affected by Misery.
- Marked Prey: A player is marked, upon which 5 seconds later a copy of Varimathras charges at them. This adds moderate shadow damage and knocks the target back. The copy acts like a projectile and can be intercepted.
- The knocked-back target will inevitably be more than 8 meters away from other players, triggering Alone in the Dark. To prevent this from happening, it’s best to assign a mobile melee fighter such as a rogue to intercept the strike. This player can immediately teleport back to the boss using Shadowstep and thus prevent the second attack.
- Necrotic Grasp (only heroic): A random target is afflicted with a spell that deals shadow damage after 6 seconds and spreads to all targets within 10 meters. To avoid blowing up the raid, the affected target must immediately leave the group.
- Since the player must move more than 8 meters away from everyone else, another hit from Alone in the Dark is unavoidable. The player must be brought back to full health beforehand and provided with shields if possible.
Varimathras’ abilities are straightforward, and the fight is bound to be short. After his demise, you can turn to his Tormentors.
