General M+ Tips and Tricks, by Herux and Ezekielyo

[ezekielyo]

Updated: 26th August 2017

This guide is a combined effort of both M+ guide writers, Herux and myself containing all the ways mages can deal with the various mechanics in m+ dungeons. If there is anything you would like to add, feel free to let us know!


Links
Black Rook Hold
Cathedral of Eternal Night
Court of Stars
Darkheart Thicket
Eye of Azshara
Halls of Valor
Maw of Souls
Neltharion's Lair
Return to Karazhan: Lower
Return to Karazhan: Upper
The Arcway
Vault of the Wardens



Black Rook Hold

Spellsteals
http://www.wowhead.com/npc=100486/risen-arcanist : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=197797/arcane-blitz This mob also appears in the fight with the 2nd boss, http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98696/illysa ... ies:mode=m.


Blinks
http://www.wowhead.com/npc=101839/risen-companion : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=225962/bloodthirsty-leap


Ice Blocks


Amalgam of Souls
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=196587/soul-burst A common strategy is to ignore the adds and have the whole group use immunities to survive the soul burst.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=194966/soul-echoes Removes the fear puddles instantly.


Illysanna Ravencrest
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=197546/brutal-glaive Removes the 30sec dot relieving an insane amount of pressure on your healer.


Smashspite the Hateful
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198079/hateful-gaze It is also possible to to block the path if targeted on an ally, soaking all the damage they would otherwise take.

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98970/latosius#abilities
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=201733/stinging-swarm Drops the swarm instantly which relieves practically all the pressure from your healer in this phase.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=202019/shadow-bolt-volley On high keys this can 1 shot you if you are not using additional shields.


Cathedral of Eternal Night

Spellsteals



Blinks



Ice Blocks


Agronox
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=236524/poisonous-spores : Resetting the stacking debuff is very beneficial for your healer


Trashbite the Scornful
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=237726/scornful-gaze : Not only does it prevent the damage, it also does not break the bookshelf you would typically have to stand behind. This means you do not get the extra book adds which can be an incredible pain to deal with. Also extends the soft enrage timer.


Domatrax
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=234107/chaotic-energy : Immuning this cast is only necessary on very high keys to extend the length the shield from the Aegis is available.


Mephistroth
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=234382/creeping-shadows : Resetting the stacks in the intermission debuff will be greatly appreciated by your healer.


Court of Stars

Spellsteals
http://www.wowhead.com/npc=111563/duskw ... #abilities : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=209033/fortification


Blinks
http://www.wowhead.com/npc=105699/mana-saber : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=209516/mana-fang


Ice Blocks


Captain Gerdo
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=207278/arcane-lockdown : Instantly removes the debuff instead of having to jump 3 times or waste a healer GCD.


Advisor Melandrus
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=209676/slicing-maelstrom : It is typical to immune one of the later times this ability is cast due to the immense amount of healing required from your healer. It is also beneficial to run into a http://www.wowhead.com/spell=224333/enveloping-winds at the same time, to clear up some space in the room.

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=104278/felbo ... ies:mode=m
http://www.wowhead.com/npc=104278/felbo ... ies:mode=m : Removes the very high damage ticking debuff if you fail to LOS (Line Of Site) it.

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=104274/baalgar-the-watchful
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=207980/disintegration-beam : Removing this debuff not only allows you to keep your damage high but also removes the damage you are taking from the channel. Only really beneficial if you have been targetted twice or more times in a row so the stacks are at 6+.
SUPER SECRET: If you LOS as the cast finishes, he will re-target the channelled beam onto another member of the group. Great for avoiding the dps loss.


Darkheart Thicket


Archdruid Glaidalis
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=196376/grievous-tear : Removes the debuff and therefore the requirement to be healed to above 90% hp.


Shade of Xavius
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200238/feed-on-the-weak : Inflicts damage every 1 second of the 5 second channel. Your healer should be able to keep on top of these but they may call for you to block depending on other mechanics they are dealing with.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200185/nightmare-bolt : Removes the annoying silence circle. Can also be blocked while it is travelling and therefore ignoring the damage portion of the spell.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200050/apo ... -nightmare : Only immuned if you are either not at full HP when this is casting or if the key is so high that it will 1 shot you at full HP.


Eye of Azshara

Spellsteals


Blinks


Ice Blocks


Warlord Parjesh
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=192131/throw-spear : A random, extremely deadly dot.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=192094/impaling-spear : It is possible to soak this spear exactly like the adds would if for some reason you do not have adds alive at this point.


Lady Hatecoil
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=193597/static-nova : Saves a platform from being destroyed which can be an issue in very high keys since you come close to running out.


Serpentrix
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=191855/toxic-wound : Removing this debuff means you do not have to move for the entire duration and inevitably tanking your dps.


Wrath of Azshara
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=197365/crushing-depths : Soloing this ability vastly reduces the damage the group takes overall. The healing requirement ramps up during the entire fight so it is incredibly OP being able to solo them.


Halls of Valor

Spellsteals

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=96574/stormforged-sentinel : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198745/protective-light

Blinks


Fenryr
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=196497/ravenous-leap can also be avoided with blink but it is important to not blink into another player who is also targetted.


God-King Skovald
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=193659/felblaze-rush can be avoided completely with a well timed blink.


Ice Blocks


Hyrja
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=191976/arcing-bolt : If you are targeted with this ability, make sure to blink away from the group and then block. This ability chains to nearby players even if the first target is immune.


Fenryr
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=196838/scent-of-blood : If targeted, sit in the entire Ice Block close to the boss so that melee can retain their dps uptime.

Invisibility


Fenryr
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=197556/ravenous-leap : Fenryr will always jump the to target the farthest away. If you cast http://www.wowhead.com/spell=66/invisibility as soon as the animation is finished, you will disable the leap entirely.

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=95842/valarjar-thundercaller
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198595/thunderous-bolt and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=215429/thunderstrike can both be immuned as they do insane amounts of damage on high keys. Typically, you can survive either of them so it is wise to save block for those rare times both are cast on you at the same time which will 100% end in a 1 shot.


Maw of Souls

Spellsteals
http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98919/seacursed-swiftblade : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=194615/sea-legs Has a high chance to deflect spells (even spellsteal) so successfully purging is very rng. Worth the effort though.

Blinks


Ice Blocks


Harbaron
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=198551/fragment can be immuned to avoid spawning any adds on you. However, you must stay inside the http://www.wowhead.com/spell=45438/ice-block until the cast is completely over or he will retarget/cast it again on you.


Helya
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227233/corrupted-bellow : If you are too slow at moving (or your blink doesn't send you anywhere), you must immune this damage as it is VERY high even on low keys.

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=97043/seacursed-slaver
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=194674/barbed-spear : Is an incredibly annoying ability. If you healer is too busy to dispel, make sure to remove the debuff as being pulled into the group can very easily result in death from another mobs abilities.


Neltharion's Lair

Spellsteals

Blinks

Ice Blocks


Naraxas
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=210150/toxic-retch : A very hard hitting dot. Helps your healer out a lot to remove especially if you have just dropped a http://www.wowhead.com/spell=205549/rancid-maw.


Dargrul
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200404/magma-wave : If you don't want to hide behind http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200551/crystal-spikes for whatever reason.


Return to Karazhan: Lower

Spellsteals

Blinks

Ice Blocks


Maiden of Virtue
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227508/mass-repentance : Removes the need to pick up the http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227789/sacred-ground debuff which ticks for an incredible amount.


Moroes
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227742/garrote : Removes the stacks of the ticking dot which lasts the entire fight, draining your healers mana. Generally save for when you have multiple stacks of the debuff.


Attumen the Huntsman
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=228852/shared-suffering : Still divides the damage equally even if you immune it.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227404/intangible-presence : Remove only if you have the specter on your back (it is quite hard to notice) otherwise you will hit your entire group with aoe.

Additional


Attumen the Huntsman
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227363/mighty-stomp can be out-ranged if you are farther than 30 yards away.


Return to Karazhan: Upper

Spellsteals

Blinks


Shade of Medivh
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227615/inferno-bolt can be avoided if you blink at the end of the cast while the bolt is travelling.

Ice Blocks


Shade of Medivh
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227592/frostbite : If your group has run out of interrupts, you can preemptively Ice Block to prevent both the damage and stun.


Mana Devourer
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=227502/unstable-mana : Collecting as many orbs as possible and then blocking them off is a perfect way to prevent the boss from reaching full mana. If you managed to obtain a rat mount through out the instance, you can remain mobile while in Ice Block allowing you to potentially soak all of the orbs during this phase.




Vizaduum
http://ptr.wowhead.com/spell=229159/chaotic-shadows : Removing this debuff causes http://ptr.wowhead.com/spell=229161/explosive-shadows to spread out around your character which do a lot of damage. Make sure to drop these far away from other players to avoid killing them.


The Arcway

Spellsteals


Advisor Vandros
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=203176/accelerating-blast

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98733/wither ... #abilities : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=210662/unstable-flux
http://www.wowhead.com/npc=105617/eredar-chaosbringer : http://www.wowhead.com/spell=211632/brand-of-the-legion and http://www.wowhead.com/spell=226285/demonic-ascension


Blinks


Ivanyr
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=196804/nether-link : Blink next to other players at the end of the cast to reduce the size of the puddle


Naltira
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200227/tangled-web : You can blink the chain while you are being pulled across the room, breaking the tether instantly.

Ice Blocks


General Xakal
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=197810/wicked-slam : A very hard hitting AoE damaging ability.

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=98770/wrathguard-felblade
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=211756/searing-wound : A very hard hitting dot which can be applied more than once.

Additional


Ivanyr and Vandros
http://www.wowhead.com/item=132452/sephuzs-secret is very good on these fights due to them always casting an ability.

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=105651/dread ... #abilities
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=211771/prophecies-of-doom can be out-ranged if you are farther than 30 yards away.

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=103130/timeless-wraith can be instantly interrupted if you aggro them with http://www.wowhead.com/spell=54793/frag-belt.


Vault of the Wardens

Spellsteals


Inquisitor Tormentorum
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=26043/batt ... sed-by-npc used by the adds in the North-West corner.

Blinks

http://www.wowhead.com/npc=109017/cordana-felsong
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=197422/creeping-doom : You can blink over the spirit wall instead of having to find the gap like the rest of the pleb classes.

Ice Blocks


Ash'Golm
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=192519/lava can be cleared by walking over multiple patches and blocking the debuff off.

Additional


Inquisitor Tormentorum
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=190356/blizzard ticks removes http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200904/sapped-soul instantly if precast.
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=130/slow-fall is a great ability to use when getting rid of http://www.wowhead.com/spell=200904/sapped-soul

[Fingerlights]

For the Mana Devourer in Uppr kara, if you obtain the rat-mount from earlier in the instance, you can run around on it, while blocked, making it easier to soak more of the mana.

[ezekielyo]

For the Mana Devourer in Uppr kara, if you obtain the rat-mount from earlier in the instance, you can run around on it, while blocked, making it easier to soak more of the mana.

Added!

[skeletonpoop]

very useful! thank you both for putting this together! +1

[Katsumi]

We could add insights regarding routes and positioning.

For example, after clearing the left side in CoS you can transfer to the right side behind the boss, run up the ramp and jump down from the top. That way you can clear the right side safely starting from the rear end and avoid the dangerous imp pull while the other pats are still up. It's not much, but it does reliably get rid of a near guaranteed wipe in a PUG.

[Makz]

We could add insights regarding routes and positioning.

For example, after clearing the left side in CoS you can transfer to the right side behind the boss, run up the ramp and jump down from the top. That way you can clear the right side safely starting from the rear end and avoid the dangerous imp pull while the other pats are still up. It's not much, but it does reliably get rid of a near guaranteed wipe in a PUG.

That seems more of info that tanks would need rather than a mage since the tank leads the parade, usually. For routes there was recently a new website published - https://questionablyepic.com/mythic-plus/

On topic just to add:

Neltharions Lair
Trash: You can outrange pelters throw rock.

Upper Kara
Vizaduum: A lot of groups tend to cleave down the boss with the adds, if you keep blizzard up you can easily have 2 orbs for the last 30%.

Halls of Valor
Hymdall: Right after the 1st drakes spawn lightning tornados, you can jump in the cloud - the animation lasts longer than the actual spell and puts you in a safe zone.
Fenryr: tip already posted works on the little puppies before him too. They tend to 1shot on some affixes.

Eye of Azshara
Serpentix: Always tell your tank to clear the crabs behind Serpentix area - you WILL pull them with Ice lance/ignite.

Darkheart Thicket
Trash: On Fortified week make use of the adds the bears spawn to get your Orb ready quickly.
Treeboss(forgot name): When he grabs the tanks and wants to throw it at you, you can blink out before the tank lands on you.
Dresderon(dragon): If the boss is in the middle during pushback and you are right under it, you can start casting in the last 3 seconds of the pushback. This way you get extra dmg on it and will be pushed away from the group so if the void zone spawns under you, it will be easy to dodge for everyone. This assumes you make sure to leave enough space behind you.

Cathedral of Eternal Night
Trash: When the plants start pulling you to them you can blink away. On certain affixes the pull can do up to 2 million per tick and quickly kill you.
Mephistroth: You can soak purple balls with Block.

Blackrook Hold
Trash: As I learned from personal experience last week, Quaking can target you while you are using Invibility - if you want to do the skip on Quaking weeks, make sure to bring an invis pot.

[Katsumi]

...

That seems more of info that tanks would need rather than a mage since the tank leads the parade, usually. For routes there was recently a new website published - https://questionablyepic.com/mythic-plus/

On topic just to add:

- snip - (lots of good stuff)

Thanks for the link, wasn't aware of that. Mandatory literature for anyone doing M+.

[Merlinuz]

EoA:
You can solo all the pirates and crabs in a row as fire, but need to coordinate with your teammate to let them clear Serpentix path for you. Pretty useful when you want to save couple minutes for clear mobs. Btw you can still ignite those seagull even though you want to skip Lady Hatecoil so do have your team to clear them before engaging.
You can aggro Giants in front of King Beard and told your teammates to go in his lair. A well timed invis can also let you going in and skip those big guys in fortified affixes.

BRH
You can LoS as raging affix archer can one-shot you and interrupt those mobs of channeling abilities, especially if you can interrupt (not CS but like DB/RoF) the commander then he will delay his commander shout so you can clearing mobs easily.

Lower Kara:
Do carefully use AExplosion the floor is not safe and there is bug you will aggro some mobs you might not wanted to.

CoS:
Baalgar the Watchful dont agree with the super secret - 3 sec stop dpsing and still lower your mates damage is not productive to do it. Okay you can troll if you wanted to.

Votw
Inquisitor Tormentorum
Sapped soul you can manage other abilities except slow fall like runes (which your combustion/Arcane power in CD) phoenix flames or ability not often use .