Warriors of Azeroth, welcome to our detailed guide to WOTLK Classic Phase 4 Icecrown Citadel. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the different strategies for Normal and Heroic Mode to help you overcome the challenges in this iconic raid.
Icecrown Citadel is a powerful fortress with various bosses. We’ll delve into each encounter and share strategies and advice to ensure your success.
1. Lord Marrowgar
Lord Marrowgar is the first boss you encounter in Icecrown Citadel. To defeat him, you must arrange your team with tanks on one side and ranged DPS on the other while the boss is in the center of the room. This setup helps handle his abilities efficiently.
Lord Marrowgar has Tank Buster's ability, which can hit the main tank and the two closest players. To mitigate damage, use three tanks and stack them on top of each other.
Also, you’ll want to watch out for a line of frost from the boss, Coldflame. It will randomly target players and you just need to avoid it to avoid taking damage.
Lord Marrowgar can also use Bone Spike to pierce and incapacitate players, causing massive damage. You need to make sure it healed players in a timely manner and focus on killing the spikes as quickly as possible.
Therefore, it is very necessary to use WOTLK Classic Gold to get enough Healing Potion in advance. Note that you can also use the code "Lich" to get 3% off.
In Heroic Mode, Lord Marrowgar can target three players with his Bone Spike, requiring quick action to save them. Also, he casts Bone Storm every 30 seconds, dealing group-wide damage. He will randomly charge at players, leaving Coldflame behind, so be alert.
2. Lady Deathwhisper
Lady Deathwhisper presents a two-stage encounter. In the first phase, you need to manage the mob and break her mana shield to transition to the second phase.
Lady Deathwhisper will spawn multiple mobs in Phase 1. So you need to assign tanks to each side and decide whether to spread out the melee or keep them in the death ball to deal with the adds effectively.
There are two types of these mobs, Fanatics and Adherents. Fanatics provide healing absorption and damage buffs that can be stolen or cleared. Adherents inflict diseases and curses, which increase spell cooldowns. Both mob types will gain additional abilities after being empowered.
At this point you need to assign tanks to each side and do AOE damage to eliminate the adds. Also, keep an eye out for changes in Phase 2 to avoid additional adds.
Lady Deathwhisper’s abilities change in Phase 2. She continues to cast spells and abilities, but her threat generation is reduced.
In Heroic Mode, Lady Deathwhisper can use Mind Control to control some players. So you have to Crowd Control or clear their buffs.
In Phase 2, she needs to tank and apply threat-reducing debuffs, so swap tanks accordingly.
3. Gunship Battle
The goal of Gunship Battle is simple: destroy enemy ships with cannons. Therefore, you assign four players to operate the cannon and fire on the enemy ships. Use Cannon Blast to generate heat and Explosive Shot to damage enemies.
Players not in the cannon should focus on killing Rifleman and Axe Throwers on the opposite deck.
In Heroic Mode, surrounding enemies will deal higher damage. Healers should focus on keeping the tank alive. Coordination and speed are critical to success.
4. Deathbringer Saurfang
Deathbringer Saurfang only has one phase, but his damage increases as the battle progresses.
Every attack from Saurfang or a mob will cause stacked damage. At 100 energy, he leaves a permanent debuff on the player, causing them to take melee damage. Therapists need to monitor these players carefully.
In addition, Saurfang will summon five mobs, and players must destroy them quickly. These mobs will cause damage to anyone they come in contact with. Use stun, push, or slow to stop them.
In Heroic Mode, mobs deal triple damage and slow down nearby players. You need to kill them quickly, especially when the boss only has 30% health left, as his damage and attack speed increase.
5. Festergut
The fight against Festergut is a DPS match with a strict 5-minute Enrage timer. During this time he will cause splash damage to players and disorient some players. Please avoid getting hit and stay away from affected players.
In addition, his Gas Spore will target three players and explode, applying continuous damage. We should spread spores throughout the team, including the melee, to allow players to stack points without getting hit.
Festergut can also reduce DOT damage group-wide through Inhale, but it will increase his damage and attack speed by 30%. You can only survive during this phase by using your personal cooldown.
In Heroic Mode, Festergut’s damage is higher, making this encounter more challenging. Healers need to be especially careful, and players should watch their stacks and timers to prevent spawn points.
6. Rotface
Rotface is the second boss you encounter in Plagueworks, and this encounter requires precise tanking and positioning.
Watch out for Rotface’s random frontal attack, Slime Spray. In addition, Rotface will also cast a DOT, Mutated Infection, which reduces the player’s health. Infected players will spawn an uncontrollable mob.
When two players have Mutated Infection, one player should move between the mob and the edge of the room before dispelling it.
In Heroic Mode, remote players will explode due to Rotface’s Vile Gas. You need to stay 10 yards away from melee combatants to avoid getting disoriented. Meanwhile, his Mutated Infection’s healing reduction is stronger and you have to move to dispel it immediately.
7. Professor Putricide
Professor Putricide’s abilities are mainly related to positioning and awareness. Professor Putricide will throw Malleable Goo at random players. Players must stay out of its path to avoid damage.
Meanwhile, like Rotface, he also has a DoT that reduces health, Mutated Infection. We should dispel players when affected. However, when dispelled, they spawn a mob that cannot be taunted but can be Crowd Controlled.
In Heroic Mode, Malleable Goo’s enhanced damage is higher, and players should be more vigilant to avoid using it. In addition, the reduction in healing effect caused by Mutated Infection is more effective and requires players to eliminate it.
8. Blood Prince Council
Blood Prince Council consists of three bosses with the same health and unique abilities. It empowered a boss every 45 seconds. The three bosses take turns gaining empowerment and changing their abilities. You need to adjust your focus accordingly.
- Prince Valanar: He will cast Shock Vortex, causing splash damage to players hit.
- Prince Taldaram: Uses Glittering Sparks, which applies heavy DoT to players hit. He will also cast Conjure Flame on ranged players. Deals less damage over time, but explodes, dealing splash damage to nearby players.
- Prince Keleseth: Uses Shadow Lance, a high-damage skill. He also spawns Dark Nucleus, which applies Shadow resistance debuff to the target.
In Heroic Mode, Shadow Lance’s attack power is stronger and requires multiple layers of debuffs to survive. Players must treat the increased damage with caution.
Shadow Prison, which deals a lot of damage while moving but does nothing while stationary, also affected the entire team. Therefore, correct positioning is crucial.
9. Blood-Queen Lana’thel
Blood-Queen Lana’thel presents a two-stage encounter. In the first phase, you need to deal with her abilities and gradually transition to the second phase.
First, she will drop purple fire under a random player. Make sure they place it against a wall to prevent damage to the team.
Her Twilight Bloodbolt will target ranged players, causing them to deal splash damage. Therefore, make sure ranged players spread out to minimize damage.
Blood-Queen Lana’thel also transforms DPS players into Vampires, increasing their damage by 100%. These players must bite the newcomer within 1 minute or risk being mind controlled.
Lana’thel will fly into the sky at specific intervals, terrorizing everyone. After the scare passes, players must spread out to avoid taking damage from Bloodbolt.
In Heroic Mode, group-wide damage replaces the fear in the air phase. Players must manage incoming damage and ensure the bite goes smoothly.
10. Valithria Dreamwalker
Valithria Dreamwalker is a unique encounter where your primary goal is to heal the boss to win.
Valithria Dreamwalker relies on healing to win battles. Therefore, you need to bring as many healers as possible, including single-target healers. Focus on keeping the boss alive and keeping your healing output high.
During phases 1 and 2, Valithria generates Nightmare Cloud, which provides healing and damage buffs. You’ll want to make sure these buffs did not n’t affect your DPS players, as they can be used to increase your damage. Healers should enter portals to maintain these buffs.
Next, you need to split your DPS and tanks into two groups on either side of the room. This setup allows you to deal with mobs effectively.
Heroic Mode replaces a single portal with a full raid portal. Stack and move slowly to avoid falling debris and stay healed.
11. Sindragosa
Sindragosa has one health-based phase and two intermissions.
In the first phase, you’ll deal with abilities such as Vile Gas, Gas Spores, and Inhale. In addition, Sindragosa will also send Frost Sphere to the team. If it touches the player, Frost Sphere will explode. Ranged DPS should eliminate these Frost Sphere promptly.
At 70% health, Sindragosa enters the intermission phase, and players should move to the edges to avoid AOE damage from the center.
Phase 3 is similar to Phase 1, but Sindragosa now freezes random players in an area of ice, adding to the challenge. Be careful of Shadow Trap and avoid standing in it to prevent damage.
Heroic Mode involves additional challenges, such as group-wide damage during Frost Sphere and increased authorized damage, making the encounter more difficult. In the third phase, Shadow Prison will affect the entire team, dealing massive damage while moving.
12. Lich King
Lich King is the ultimate boss of Icecrown Citadel and is divided into three stages and two intermission periods.
In the first stage, you need to deal with skills such as Infest, Vile Spirits, and Harvest Soul. Players must manage Infest debuff and pass it on to mobs.
The encounter enters its first intermission when Lich King reaches 70% health. Players should move to the edges to avoid AOE damage in the center.
Phase 2 introduces new abilities, including Defile, Soul Reaper, and Val’kyr. Arrange your team correctly to manage Defile, and remember to swap tanks to deal with Val’kyr.
A second pause occurs when health reaches 40%. Players must travel through Frost Sphere and avoid falling ice blocks to reach the center of the platform.
Phase 3 is similar to Phase 1, but Vile Spirits summoned by Lich King can now only be killed by the off-tank. Therefore, correct positioning is crucial.
In Heroic Mode, players face a unique Phase 3 that involves managing raid-wide damage and not refreshing their Shadow Prison stack. Encounters are significantly more difficult due to new mechanics and increased damage output.
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of each boss fight and their respective mechanics. Hope it helps you. Good luck with your future adventures!
