LATEST NEWS

[79-80] Halls of Lightning

img
Jun
05

[[toc]]

== Introduction ==
The purpose of this guide is to provide a short, easy-to-use overview of Halls of Lightning (HoL). It is not intended to cover every aspect of the instance (at least in this first phase). It is intended to be something you can use while in the instance and quickly and easily share with your fellows who are not familiar with it. Thus I have tried to make short, specific statements that do not require a lot of explanation. My thought is these could be easily copied into a chat message or easily explained using vent.

This is my first guide. I also want to let you know I am not an experienced WOW player. I am an occasional player. Most of the information in this guide came from researching what others said about HoL. It seems that nobody likes to do HoL. I felt making this guide and consolidating some of the information I found in my research would make it a lot easier for others. Hopefully you will find this valuable. I will add pictures later but intend to get it in place as quickly as possible.

== About HoL ==
HoL is designed for a level 79-80 group in normal mode. It can be done with 1 or 2 players at a lower level if they are reasonably well geared. My lowest level group had a 76, 77, 79 and 2 80’s. The 80s were a weak tank with no Epics (me as a DK not defense maxed) and the decent Druid Healer but he was a fairly new 80 (only a few Epics). It is possible to enter the instance at level 75 but most of the mobs are level 79 so I would say the minimum level to contribute to the party is level 76.

=== Quests ===

”’Both”’

I have not confirmed or completed all of these quests. These fist two are part of a very long quest chain starting with [http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=12843 They Took Our Men] . It will provide a lot of reputaion with Sons Of Hodir and if you are below level 80 it provides a lot of XP and some nice pre-naxx gear.

* [http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=13108 Whatever it Takes!]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=13109 Diametrically Opposed]

”’Walkthrough”’

=== Group Composition Normal ===
# Tank – 500 (close as you can to cap) Def 20k Health
# Healer – Druid is probably best for HoT but that may be more opinion then fact.
# Off Tank/DPS – Plate wearer and 20k health
# DPS or DPS/CC (Total DPS for group in the 4k range)
# DPS

I suspect this group might be considered a little controversial. Here is my reasoning for the Off Tank/DPS. Things tend to get a little crazy with these fights. When you fight General Bjarngrim he moves a lot and there is knock back, the same is true of several of the fights. In some of the other fights there are occasionally straggelers that get away. The Off Tank/DPS (I am thinking a DK, Pally or DPS Warrior) can take any straggelers or if the Main Tank gets wiped and you are close to finishing the boss you might be able to still kill him if there is an off tank. In additon, with there being a lot of movement in this your healer needs to be able to have instant heals or HoT’s. Otherwise they will be getting interrupted too often. I suggest a Druid for that but, even more so make certain you have a good healer. They need to know their craft well to keep you alive.

=== Group Composition Heroic ===
# Tank – 535 Def 22k Health(can substitute resilience if you know what you are doing and can be non-critable with sufficient perry/dodge/block values)
# Healer
# Off Tank/DPS
# DPS or DPS/CC
# DPS

The Heroic group is pretty standard. The CC helps in this instance and the off tank can help also, but I believe that helps in many instances.

== Where ==
Halls of Lightning is part of the Ulduar dungeon hub in Storm Peaks. The meeting stone is at 43.7, 26.2. There is a flight point and repair area right there. The graveyard is also close by but I am certain you will not need that:-).

== Halls of Lightning ==
The first set of mobs are positioned around a circle. You can choose to go either left or right it does not matter. Do watch where [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28586 General Bjarngrim] is walking to and from. He walks over about 1/2 the circle. You need to start thinking about where you want to take him down. Unless you are looking for the achievement [http://www.wowhead.com/?achievement=1834 Lightning Struck] on Heroic Mode you want to take him when he is not buffed.

These first groups of mobs are pretty easy. Typical Tank and spank. You should be able to pull some of the walkers solo and the groups are no more than 3 or 4. Easy for a typical group(if they are not easy for you, perhaps you should reconsider your run).

===[http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28586 General Bjarngrim]===

At 2 points in the circle he gets an electrical buff called [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52098 Charge Up] that adds 30% to his damage output. If you are not on heroic mode you need to wait for the debuff of this. In heroic mode you can get the achievement [http://www.wowhead.com/?achievement=1834 Lightning Struck] if you kill him while he is buffed.

Normal Mode:

* Level – 80
* Health – 221,561

Heroic Mode

* Level – 82
* Health – 323,544

His 2 adds can be cc’d

[http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28586 General Bjarngrim] is a warrior with 3 stances and he switches these a few times during the fight:

* [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=71 Defensive Stance ]- [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52022 ironform] (bleed, poison, disease, immunity and 20% armor for 8 second) [http://www.wowhead.com/?search=Spell+Reflection Spell reflection], [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=58769 intercept] and [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=12555 pummel]. Aura decreases damage by 25%
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=53792 Berserker Stance] – Melee Attacks and [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=15284 cleave] (hits three targets in front of General with and AoE attack for about 2k damage each). Aura increases damage by 25%
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=53792 Battle Stance] – [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=16856 Mortal Strike] (6k to 9k each) and [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52028 Whirlwind] (2k per hit but it hits a lot)attack speed increased by 25% (Melee DPS need to get out of there when Whirlwind is going on)

”’The Fight against [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28586 General Bjarngrim]”’

Kill or CC the [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=29240 Stormforged Lieutenants] first they heal him and throw a debuff on you that only takes affect if you move. If you get the debuff from the Lieutenants do not move. They do about 1,500 in damage if you move.

The General also throws a knock back on occasion. I believe you can not be knocked off the platform but would not bet my group getting wiped on it. With that in mind the tank needs to either stay towards center of platform or fight the General with his back against the wall. Melee DPS needs to stand behind General other than that it is a traditional Tank and Spank.

””’Drops””’

””’ Normal Mode ””’
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43228 Stone Keeper’s Shard (x3)]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36980 Hewn Sparring Quarterstaff]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36981 Hardened Vrykul Throwing Axe]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36982 Mantle of Electrical Charges]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36979 Bjarngrim Family Signet]

””’ Heroic ””’
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40752 Emblem of Heroism]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43228 Stone Keeper’s Shard (x3 to 4)]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37825 Traditional Dyed Handguards]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37826 The General’s Steel Girdle ](very nice pre-naxx DPS gear for DK)
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37814 Iron Dwarf Smith Pauldrons]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37818 Patroller’s War-Kilt]

===”’The Iron Crucible”’===

The next room is filled with [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28585 Slags]. This was actually pretty fun. The best way to do this is have the tank lead the way and run to the other side of the room by the stairs. Have the party get on the stairs and then kill what you have collected. The reason is these guys respawn very fast and do not stop spawning until you kill [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28587#abilities Volkhan].

There are some things you can apparently destroy in the room to get them to stop spawning but I have never done this. The Slags have a debuff of[http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=61509 Melt Armor ]and do a [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=22424 Blast Wave] for about 2500 damage to nearby enemies.

There are some additional trash mobs to fight on the way up to [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28587 Volkhan]. The only ones that can be a little tough are the [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28584 Unbound Firestorm’s]. They have [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52624 Afterburn] which increases their Critical Hit Chance to 50%. So your tanks can get a nasty critical hit if you are not careful. Just pull carefully and you will be fine.

===[http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28587#abilities Volkhan]===

[http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28587#abilities Volkhan] is a typical Tank and Spank except for one item. Every 20% of his health he will go to his anvil and cast [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52238 Temper]. This will create several [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28695 Molten Golem’s]. The [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28695 Molten Golems] do not hit that hard but if you try to kill them they will instead become frozen. Then when [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28587#abilities Volkhan] casts [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52237 Shattering Stomp] they will explode for about 5,000 damage. Because of this you should tank [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28587#abilities Volkhan] at the bottom of the steps and let all the casters stay at top of steps.

Normal Mode

* Level – 80
* Health – 269,783

Heroic Mode

* Level – 82
* Health – 388,253

”’The Fight against [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28587 Volkhan]”’

I suggest simply ignoring the adds in this fight, telling casters not do do their AoE attacks, and brunign him down as fast as you can. However if you prefer you can have your off tank take the golems into a corner and keep them all there (they do not hit very hard unless they explode). The last option is to have your tank move [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28587 Volkhan] up and down the stairs and around the room. The golems are slow and will struggle to keep up.

””’Quests ””’

* [http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=13109 Diametrically Opposed] – If you have this quest it is completed when you kill Volkhan

””’Achievements ””’

* [http://www.wowhead.com/?achievement=2042 Shatter Resistant] – Defeat Volkhan before he shatters more than 4 golems.

””’Drops””’

””’ Normal Mode ””’
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43228 Stone Keeper’s Shard (x3)]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36985 Volkhan’s Hood]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36984 Eternally Folded Blade]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36986 Kilt of Molten Golems]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36983 Cape of Seething Steam]

””’ Heroic ””’
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40752 Emblem of Heroism]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43228 Stone Keeper’s Shard (x3 to 4)]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37843 Giant-Hair Woven Gloves]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37841 Slag Footguards]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37840 Shroud of Reverberation]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37842 Belt of Vivacity]

===”’Hall of Watchers”’===

After you defeat Volkhan go through the door into the Hall of Watchers. You will see Vrykul against the walls. They are like statues and will only awake after you have passed each section. I suggest sending a caster or healer to lead this and have the tank stay with the main group. Typically only 3 – 4 spawn and they are not that tough to get through. The only issues here with the [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28965 Titanium Thunderer’s] and [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28961 Siegebreakers] is that they have an AoE fear attack but even with that it has never caused us many issues.

===[http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28546 Ionar]===

Ionar is definitely going to be a fight for most groups. About every 25% of his health he casts [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52770 Disperse]. Ionar also has his normal attack [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52780 Ball Lightning] (which you can avoid if you stay out of the way) and a debuff called Static Overload. [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52658 Static Overload] does about 1,300 damage over 10 seconds but once it completes it does about 2,500 damage to all surrounding enemies (i.e. your party members). So if you have this debuff when you run stay away from the rest of your party. It has an 8 yard range so you just need to be a little ways away. [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52658 Static Overload ]does stack so be careful.

Normal Mode

* Level – 80
* Health – 325,852

Heroic Mode

* Level – 82
* Health – 431,392

”’The Fight against [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28546 Ionar]”’

In general the group needs to stay spread out with the Tank keeping Ionar farily high up the stairs. The debuff [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52658 Static Overload] can push a lot of damage when it finishes and it is best to get good spacing in the group.

When fighting [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28546 Ionar] he will disperse into sparks of energy about every 25% of his health that hit hard and can’t be attacked (don’t even try to attack them, it does not good.). When this happens the entire party needs to run. You will run down the stairs and past the two large pillars up against the wall. You need to get that far away as they will follow you about 50 yards. Anyone who has the debuff [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52658 Static Overload] needs to remember to stay away from the others (the Tank will almost certainly have it and the healer is likely to have it).

Once the sparks disappear the tank needs to pull [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28546 Ionar] back up the stairs again so that the group has room to run away from the sparks. The casters need to try and avoid the [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52780 ball’s of lightning ]and any melee DPS needs to attack from behind when possible to avoid these also. They hit for over 2k each so they are bearable but it will put a lot of stress on your healer that is not necessary.

””’ Normal Mode ””’
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43228 Stone Keeper’s Shard (x3)]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=39536 Thundercload Grasps]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=39535 Ionar’s Girdle]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=39534 Pauldrons of the Lightning Revenant]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=39657 Tornado Cuffs]

””’ Heroic ””’
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40752 Emblem of Heroism]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43228 Stone Keeper’s Shard (x3 to 4)]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37845 Cord of Swirling Winds]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37844 Winged Talisman]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37847 Skywall Striders]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37846 Charged-Bolt Grips]

===”’Thundering Overlook”’===

After killing Ionar you can go west through the room and clear the way to Loken. You only need to kill enough to get to him. Pull carefully and you will have no issues. If you can interrupt the electro Shock from the Stormfury revenant’s that would be ideal.

You now enter the last room prior to fighting Loken there are several types of mobs here but nothing too difficult if you pull carefully. The Stormforged Giants doa Thunderstorm attack that can hit for 3K plus in damage. Interrupt that if you can.

===[http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28923 Loken]===

Loken is why most people hate HoL. With [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52921 Arc Lightning] at 3.5k, [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=59835 Lighting Nova] at 12k plus, [http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=52942 Pulsing Shockwave] that does more damage the further you are away from him and 8k critical hits he is a tough fight.

First of all the entire party will be taking damage from [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28923 Loken] during the entire fight. This is from his aura. The closer you are to him the less damage you will take so… stack close to Loken. If you get hit with Arc Lightning it can do a lot of damage to the other party members (about 8k). So step a away from the party (but not Loken if you can) if you get that debuff.

Normal Mode

* Level – 80
* Health – 390,990

Heroic Mode

* Level – 82
* Health – 512,278

”’The Fight against Loken”’

The tank needs to pull [http://www.wowhead.com/?npc=28923 Loken] to the white circle. I like to just run him up and down the white line. There are 3 keys to this fight:

# When you see him about to cast Lightning Nova RUN – He will lean to the side and a ball of lightning will start to appear in his hands you have about 4 seconds from the start of the cast. Get out of there it hurts a lot (to the tune of 12K plus in damage).
# Stay near Loken. – The further away you are the more his Aura hurts. When you are close it can do as little as 400 damage a tick. When you get far away it can do 2k a tick or more.
# If you get the Arc Lightning debuff try to step away from the rest of the group but stay near enough to Loken to not increase your damage from his aura too much.

Tankspot suggests the following (but I found it easier to run him up and down the white line).

# Tank pulls him to the circle of light in front of this throne (everyone stacks). DPS him.
# He starts to cast the nova. Everyone heads south. Run until you’re near the top of the first set of stairs.
# Everyone restacks. Loken will run to the tank. DPS him until he starts to cast the nova again.
# Run to the edge of the circular platform under the floating planet.
# Everyone restacks. Loken will run to the tank. DPS him until he starts to cast the nova again.
# This time, run around the edge of the circle until you feel you are far enough.
# Everyone restacks. Loken will run to the tank. DPS him until he starts to cast the nova again.
# If he still isn’t dead, continue this cycle around the planet.

”’Revised for 3.3, The Fight against Loken”’
With the changes in gear from 3.0 to 3.3 this is the way to do the fight. It used to require a great healer now it just requires a decent group healer. Here is the fight. Everyone stacks on the tank and stays put no matter what. The healer needs to be well geared and pretty good. I have done this with every healing class and every tanking class except a Pally healer, so I know it can be done. If you can do this it makes the fight very easy and you are likely to get [http://www.wowhead.com/?achievement=1867 Timely Death] as you will burn him down in no time or you will wipe.

Some adds that can really help in this fight.

* Nature Resist
* Group heals
* DK anti-magic shell

””’ Drops ””’

””’ Normal Mode ””’
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43228 Stone Keeper’s Shard (x3)]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43151 Loken’s Tongue]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36992 Leather-Braced Chain Leggings]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36988 Chaotic Spiral Amulet]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36995 Fists of Loken]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36991 Raiments of the Titans]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36989 Ancient Measuring Rod]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36994 Projectile Activator]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36993 Seal of the Pantheon]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=36996 Hood of the Furtive Assassin]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41799 Design: Eternal Earthsiege Diamond]

””’ Heroic ””’
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=40752 Emblem of Heroism]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43228 Stone Keeper’s Shard (x3 to 4)]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43102 Frozen Orb]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43724 Celestial Ruby Ring]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37855 Mail Girdle of the Audient Earth]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37850 Flowing Sash of Order]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37851 Ornate Woolen Stola]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37849 Planetary Helm]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37848 Lightning Giant Staff]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37853 Advanced Tooled-Leather Bands]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37854 Woven Bracae Leggings]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=37852 Colossal Skull-Clad Cleaver]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=41799 Design: Eternal Earthsiege Diamond]
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?item=43151 Loken’s Tongue]

””’Quests ””’

* [http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=13253 Proof of Demise: Loken] – Loot Celestial Ruby Ring if you have this quest
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=13108 Whatever it Takes!] – Take the tongue if you have this quest
* [http://www.wowhead.com/?quest=13244 Timear Foresees Titanium Vanguards in your Future!] – Kill 7 Titanium Vanguards (should have done this already if not go back and kill some more)

””’Achievements ””’

* [http://www.wowhead.com/?achievement=1867 Timely Death] – Kill Loken in Heroic Mode in under 2 minutes

Thanks to Tankspot, worldofstrats.com and a couple of youtube.com videos I watched.

  • img
    Jun 15, 2009 @ 23:55 pm

    540 is raid def cap. 535 is540 is raid def cap. 535 is heroic. I know these well, just geared up my first ever tank, a pally, she can now tank Naxx 10! 🙂

  • img
    mmover
    Jun 15, 2009 @ 1:37 am

    TankYou are right that seems low on the health. I would like to keep the tank as is for the non-heroic, as I firmly believe this can be tanked in non-heroic mode by a tank who is not def capped. Health needs to be 20k, not certain what I was thinking. I will make the changes.

  • img
    Jun 14, 2009 @ 19:24 pm

    You are right. 11k healthYou are right. 11k health and 490 defence were the required BC stats for tanks.
    I think it’s 540 defence and 20k+ health in WoTLK. Not sure though.

  • img
    Jun 13, 2009 @ 14:13 pm

    Nice guide, I havent gotNice guide, I havent got time at the moment for an in depth look, but it looks detailed and the formatting is OK.

    One thing I noticed was that in the group composition you have the tank needing 490 defence, I thought they needed 535 to be defence capped for heroics. You also say 11k health, thats a bit low for Wrath is it not, even 20k would be making it tricky for the healer in HoL.

  • img
    mmover
    Jun 12, 2009 @ 17:33 pm

    Here it isI know I need some pictures in this. I did not want to take them from anywhere (like wowhead) and have just not gotten around to getting my own. If anyone has some please feel free to share.

    Thsi is my first guide, I hope it meets the minimum expectation. I did a lot of research on the run, but would not consider myself an expert on this particular (or any for that matter) instance. So if you have advice on a better way to run this please let me know. I have been able to get several groups that I woudl consider a little under powered through it by using these techniques, but I am ALWAYS open to advice.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Categories

Archives