Lord Marrowgar: Blaaade... I mean, Boooonestorm!23.7 Million HP 4 to 5 minute fight 2 Tanks, 5-7 Healers 1. Quickly target and DPS bone spikes. 2. Don't get in his face and eat a [Saber Lash] (unless you're a tank). 3. Don't stand in (blue) fire.
This fight is one of the more straight forward fights in ICC, as you would expect from the first boss. The fight consists of two repeating phases, each one you will likely see 2-3 times before he is killed.
Marrowgar Phase 1 Abilities
- [Saber Lash] - This is a hard hitting attack that splits its damage between the tank and up to 2 other targets near the tank.
- [Bone Spike Graveyard] - This will impale 3 raid members, locking them out of the fight until they are freed by killing the spike.
- [Coldflame] - This is a line of blue fire that extends from Marrowgar towards a targeted player, it is easily dodged.
Marrowgar Phase 2 Abilities
- [Bonestorm] - Marrowgar begins spinning and randomly bouncing around the raid. There is a raid-wide damage aura, as well as extra damage on those near him.
- [Coldflame] - The same as in Phase 1, but instead he casts 4 at a time
How We Handle This
The first thing you will notice about Marrowgar’s room upon entering it, is that it is huge. Don’t be fooled in to thinking that you need to use all that space. While it is important to stay spread out enough that [Coldflame] does not hit the entire raid at once, you also want to stay close enough that if you get [Bone Spike] others can free you quickly. Six yards is plenty of spread here, and that is really just a general guideline.
When Marrowgar is engaged, he will immediately start [Saber Lash]. This means two things:
- Tanks will immediately be taking a lot of damage, especially if one is not in range of the first few lashes.
- DPS needs to be careful about engaging Marrowgar before he is positioned. If you charge in too soon, you are at risk of eating a lash (which will almost certainly kill you).
Once Marrowgar is positioned and the fight is underway, phase 1 pretty much consists of dodging [Coldflame], and killing spikes. The faster you free the spiked people, the more DPS gets poured in to Marrowgar and the faster he will die.
Eventually Marrowgar will shout “Bonestorm,” which signals the onset of phase 2. He will begin spinning (very much like a warrior Bladestorming) and will pick random raid members to attack. During this phase, the raid pretty much does what little DPS it can while dodging all the [Coldflame], and trying to stay away from Marrowgar. Try not to get too far from everyone, because if you outrange your healers, you are on your own.
The most dangerous part of phase 2 is when it is ending. As soon as it is over, Marrowgar does a complete Aggro reset, and the tanks need to pick him up again. It is very important to know that he is taunt immune, so [Misdirection] and [Tricks of the Trade] can be helpful here. The most important thing to do is just stay out of his way. The tanks will be repositioning him to the center of the room, and just like the start of the fight, if you are in the way you risk getting [Saber Lash].
Once you have gotten through phase 2, the rest of the fight is just rinse and repeat.
DPS Specific Tips for Marrowgar
- Don’t attack before Marrowgar is positioned (especially Melee!).
- A target macro for the Bone Spikes can be very helpful (/tar bone).
- Don’t stand in fire.
Healer Specific Tips for Marrowgar
- Watch out for initial spike damage on the tanks (both starting the fight and coming out of phase 2).
- Spiked players will take a fair amount of damage and can’t move, so keep your eyes peeled for someone who gets spiked in [Coldflame] - they will die quick.
- Try to stay evenly spread around the room so that we have full coverage during phase 2.
Tank Specific Tips for Marrowgar
- Stick together at all times - you do not want to eat too many [Saber Lash] on your own.
- When starting the fight or coming out of Phase 2, be ready to pop a CD if you notice you are the only one taking the Lash, or if your healers are out of range for some reason.
- As phase 2 is coming to an end, you want to be right in Marrowgar’s face to be able to pick him up quickly. With your massive health pools, it is fine to eat the little bit of extra damage from [Bonestorm].
Miscellaneous Notes
The Coldflames in this fight do Frostfire damage. This means they take the lowest resist of either frost or fire, and use that to calculate damage done. For this reason we want both Frost and Fire resists out (either auras or totems).
We sometimes use an alternate strategy for phase 1, where everyone stands inside Marrowgar’s hit box. This allows for very fast freeing of spiked people, and also causes Marrowgar to only cast [Coldflame] on the tanks (who can safely eat the damage). This is the strat for getting the achievement [Boned]. During this strat, phase 2 remains unchanged.
Additional Resources:
StratFu's Marrowgar Strategy
Tankspot's Marrowgar Thread
Questions or comments on this strategy? Discuss them at our Class and Strategy forum!
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