Youth Group SSC · TK Strategy Hub
The Eye — T5

Tempest Keep

Four encounters in Kael'thas Sunstrider's floating fortress. Three approachable bosses serve as the ramp to a 5-phase final fight that defines the tier.

Encounter Index

  1. Al'ar
  2. Void Reaver
  3. High Astromancer Solarian
  4. Kael'thas Sunstrider

Al'ar Medium

Boss 1 · Two-phase phoenix · Platform-jumping P1, ground P2

Al'ar is a phoenix that flies between four platforms in P1, dies, then resurrects on the ground for P2. P1 is choreographed: hit her on platform A, she flies to B, repeat. P2 is melee phase with flame patches, Flame Buffet stacks, and Ember adds.

Al'ar — Platform Layout (P1) & Ground Phase (P2)
Platform 1 (Havitz) Platform 2 (Gayboi) Platform 3 (Havitz) Platform 4 (Gayboi) P1: Al'ar flies between platforms (~30s each) AL'AR (P2) MT P2: Havitz Bluelazer (Embers → kite to Al'ar) Quill cover Melee P2
Tank Melee Ranged Healer Al'ar (P2)

Phase 1 (100% → 0% on first life)

Phase 2 (resurrects at center of room)

Tank Plan

PhaseTankNotes
P1 Top PlatformsHavitzTank Al'ar on the upper platforms when she lands. Sunder spam for fast threat.
P1 Bottom-Platform / Hatchling TankGayboiStays on the bottom platform to pick up Phoenix Hatchling adds with Avenger's Shield + Consecrate.
P2 MT (initial)HavitzHold Al'ar in center. When Melt Armor stacks high, Bluelazer taunts.
P2 Tank SwapBluelazer (bear)Growl-taunts off Havitz when his Melt Armor stacks need to fall off. Bluelazer takes Al'ar while Havitz's debuff fades.
Ember KiterBluelazer or Gayboi (whoever is free)Pick up Embers and kite them OUT of the raid before they're killed — the explosion wipes stacked groups. Do NOT kite into Al'ar.

Healing Assignments

PhaseHealersNotes
P1 active-platform tankMorgHoly Light spam on the active tank; FoL chains during platform jumps; Holy Shock on CD.
P1 raid healerKali + LittlemoonCoH + Rejuv blanket during Flame Quills.
P2 MT healerMorg + JdPre-shield/Greater Heal before Dive Bombs.
P2 raid healerCrpc + Jerzee + LittlemoonChain Heal Dive Bomb cluster damage.

Dispels

Common wipe: a melee follows the boss off a platform during the platform jump, falls 30 yards, dies. Or the raid eats Flame Quills because they didn't get under cover.

Void Reaver Easy — loot pinata

Boss 2 · Pound interrupt, Arcane Orb spread, no enrage

Loot Reaver. Tank-and-spank with two mechanics: Pounding (raid-wide knockback — just don't stand at the edge) and Arcane Orb (slow-moving orb that targets a random ranged player). Done in 3-4 minutes if execution is clean.

Void Reaver — Spread Positioning
VR Havitz Melee ≥20yd Orb (slow-moving) Stay 20+ yards from neighbours; orb impact silences a 20yd radius
MT Melee Ranged (spread 20yd) Healer Void Reaver

Mechanics

Tank Plan

RoleTankNotes
MTHavitzCentre tank. Knock Away might pull threat — recover with Heroic Strike + Sunder spam.
OTGayboiConsecrate at MT's feet for backup threat. If MT is knocked, Gayboi can't taunt (paladin) — Avenger's Shield + Judgement to hold the boss until Havitz rebuilds.
FlexBluelazerCat DPS. No add tank duty.

Healing Assignments

RolePlayerNotes
MT healerMorg + JdHoly Light spam. Pretty chill.
Raid healerCrpc + Jerzee + LittlemoonChain Heal melee through Pounding ticks.
BackupKaliCoH on Pounding pulses.

Dispels

None. Just don't eat orbs.

Speed kill tip: Bloodlust on pull. Push under 50% before second Pounding cycle and skip the third orb wave.
Classic wipe: a melee dodges a Pounding by walking into an arcane orb, splash-killing 3 nearby.

High Astromancer Solarian Medium

Boss 3 · 3-phase fight · Adds + Wrath of the Astromancer dispel

Solarian is a 3-phase fight. P1 has waves of small adds + a debuff that requires dispels. P2 (around 50%) she vanishes and 3 elite Solarium Priests spawn alongside her copies; one copy is the real Solarian. P3 she returns as a giant void shape and the fight is a burn.

Solarian — Wave Spawns & Dispel Movement
SOLARIAN Havitz Wave spawn (N) Wave spawn (S) Gayboi (waves) Wrath debuff "explode here" Affected raider runs → Kali dispels Ranged spread Healers
MT Add tank Melee Ranged Healer Solarian Wave spawn

Phase 1 (100% → ~20%)

Phase 2 (~50%) — Split Phase

Phase 3 (~20% → 0%) — Burn

Tank Plan

RoleTankNotes
MTHavitzTank Solarian P1 + P3. Voidbolt = Shield Block.
Add TankGayboiPick up wave adds with Avenger's Shield + Consecrate. Tag the priest immediately.
P2 copiesBluelazerBear up to grab the copies during P2 transition.

Interrupt & Dispel Rotation

Healing Assignments

RolePlayerNotes
MT healerMorg + JdP1 single-target, P3 Voidbolt spike.
Add tank healerCrpcEarth Shield on Gayboi + Chain Heal during waves.
Wrath dispelsKaliSOLE responsibility — do not get pulled off.
Raid healerJerzee + LittlemoonChain Heal AoE damage. Rejuv pre-cast on likely Wrath targets.
Common wipe: Wrath not dispelled, explodes in melee, stuns 4 melee for 6s = aggro chaos = MT dies. Kali's only job is dispelling Wrath. Don't pull her off it.

Kael'thas Sunstrider Hard — tier endboss

Boss 4 · 5 phases · ~10 minutes · The most complex fight in T5

The hardest fight in TBC pre-Hyjal. Five distinct phases. P1 is 4 advisor adds. P2 is 7 floating weapons. P3 is the 4 advisors revived. P4 is Kael alone. P5 is gravity lapse, mind controls, and pyroblasts. Plan to spend several raid nights here on first kill.

Kael'thas — Throne Room (Advisor Spawns & Weapon Layout)
THRONE (Kael P4-P5) THAL Kill 1st SANG Kill 4th CAP Kill 3rd TELO Kill 2nd Bluelazer kite Havitz tank Gayboi tank Havitz (after Sang) KAEL P4-P5 center P2: 7 weapons spawn around perimeter — see Mechanics Melee on advisor / Kael
Tank Melee Ranged Healer Kael (P4-P5) Advisor

Phase Overview

P1: Advisors
P2: Weapons
P3: Advisors revived
P4: Kael
P5: Gravity Lapse

Phase 1 — The Four Advisors

P1 Kill Order

Thaladred → Telonicus → Capernian → Sanguinar.

P1 Tank Assignments

AdvisorTankNotes
ThaladredBluelazerBear-kite the gaze; Maul threat between fixates.
SanguinarHavitzPull to far corner; Berserker Rage breaks fear on a 30s rotation.
CapernianGayboiHoly Shield up; she casts Fireball at the tank.
TelonicusHavitz (after Sanguinar)Pick up bombs with cleave; melee burn fast.

Phase 2 — The Weapons

Kael summons 7 enchanted weapons. Each has a unique mechanic during the fight AND can be picked up by the killing player after it dies, granting access to its on-use ability for the rest of the encounter. Pickup assignments matter — the Phaseshift Bulwark on-use is what keeps Havitz alive through Pyroblast in P5.

Weapon Pickup & Use — Per Raider

WeaponTypePicked up byBenefit (on-use)
Phaseshift Bulwark Shield (1H slot) Havitz 100,000 damage absorb shield for 4 seconds. THE Pyroblast mitigation in P4-P5. Pop right before a Pyroblast lands if interrupts whiffed; the shield eats the entire ~50k hit. Also reflects damage back to attackers.
Cosmic Infuser Mace (1H, healer) Morg (or backup Jd) Healing-class on-use that buffs heal targets with Fire and Shadow damage reduction. Use the heal on Havitz or whoever's at-risk; the resulting buff softens Pyroblast and Chaos Blast.
Devastation Axe (2H) Nocharles (or another Fury War with 2H axe spec) High weapon damage + on-use damage burst. Fury warrior with Two-Handed Weapon Specialization gets the most out of it.
Infinity Blade Sword (1H) Grimmy (Ret) or Jays dumbass Stacking magic damage taken debuff on Kael — boosts our 3-warlock + 2-mage DPS in P4/P5. Critical secondary use: melee swings on a Mind-Controlled raider instantly dispel the Mind Control. Whoever picks this up is the dedicated MC-breaker.
Staff of Disintegration Staff (2H, caster) Outis (Boomkin) or Moto (SP) Frostbolt damage on-use. Bonus role: the wielder is the assigned dispeller for Telonicus's Remote Toy stun debuff in P3 — they target affected raiders and dispel.
Warp Slicer Sword (1H) Saexgg or Bushpig (Fury, 1H) Stacking Rend debuff applied via melee swings on whoever has aggro. Boosts physical DPS sustained damage. Any 1H melee can use it.
Netherstrand Longbow Bow (ranged) Bandet or Dolmar Multi-Shot attacks + auto-attacks apply a stacking physical damage taken debuff on Kael. Direct upgrade to physical DPS output. Note: the Longbow has no melee threat table in P2 — it must be tanked at range by a hunter or warlock.
Most important pickup: Phaseshift Bulwark MUST go to Havitz. Its 100k absorb shield is the only reliable insurance against an unkicked Pyroblast in P5 — and Pyroblast hits for ~50k. Without it, a single missed interrupt from the Earth Shock chain ends the run.

Weapon Mechanics During Phase 2 (before pickup)

P2 Tank & DPS Plan

Loot persistence note: these weapon pickups are fight-only. They despawn on wipe, release, or encounter reset. The actual legendary weapon drops at the end of the fight (Cosmic Infuser, Devastation, etc. as a real drop) are separate — those are permanent BiS for the appropriate role.

Phase 3 — Advisors Revived

All 4 advisors back at once. Same abilities, same kill order. Lower HP this time. Hold Bloodlust for P5.

Phase 4 — Kael Alone

P4 Tanking

Havitz tanks Kael. Gayboi picks up Phoenix adds and their eggs. Bluelazer backup & DPS.

P4 Pyroblast Interrupt Rotation

Phase 4 → 5 Transition

When Kael hits ~50% he becomes invulnerable for 1 minute — this is the window to clean up Phoenix adds and eggs that built up during P4. Healers + DPS focus the Phoenixes; Gayboi consolidates them with Consecrate. P4 mechanics (Mind Control, Flamestrike) end here. P5 begins when invuln ends.

Phase 5 — Gravity Lapse

P5 replaces Mind Control + Flamestrike with Gravity Lapse + Nether Beam + Nether Vapor. Roughly 10-15s into P5, the first Gravity Lapse hits — Kael teleports the entire raid to him, then launches everyone into the air. Players can fly (mouse-controlled) but take ~150 damage/second from Nether Vapors. ~30s in flight per cast.

P5 Tank Plan

Kael resets aggro on Gravity Lapse. Havitz opens with Charge + Demoralizing Shout + Devastate spam after fall.

P5 Healing Plan

RoleHealerNotes
MT healerMorgHoly Light spam on Havitz; instant FoL during gravity lapse (only instant cast available mid-air).
Raid heals (gravity lapse)LittlemoonRoll HoTs pre-launch; they tick mid-air.
Raid heals (ground)Kali + JdCoH + PoH on cluster after fall.
Shaman healsCrpc + JerzeeEarth Shield on Havitz + Chain Heal between lapses.
CooldownsMorg Lay on Hands at <15%; Outis Tranquility on overlapNo Pain Suppression in our comp; rely on raw throughput.

Healing Assignments — Full Encounter

PhaseTank healersRaid healers
P1 AdvisorsMorg Havitz, Jd Bluelazer, Kali GayboiCrpc, Jerzee, Littlemoon
P2 WeaponsMorg + JdAll other healers; Chain Heal in cluster.
P3 Advisors revivedSame as P1Same as P1
P4 KaelMorg + JdCrpc, Jerzee, Littlemoon; Kali MC dispels.
P5 Gravity LapseWhoever lands near himHoT-rollers (Littlemoon) most valuable.

Dispel / Decurse Rotation (Kael)

The classic wipe: first Gravity Lapse. Healers panic, ground-channel by reflex, get clipped by a Nether Vapor, die mid-air. Healers MUST swap to instant-only mode before lapse begins.
Soft enrage: ~10 minutes from pull. If you're not in P5 by 7 minutes, DPS is too low — check consumables, world buffs, execution.

Loot Highlights

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