#WEARECOL

Heroic Sylvanas Windrunner Boss Guide

BY Andrew Miesner / July 9, 2021

Written and produced by Crzypck

Special thanks to our consultant: Tagzz

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Sylvanas Windrunner

This is a multi-stage encounter. Think the Jaina encounter, but on steroids. You’ll start at the top of Torghast, then running along giant chains, then in Oribos. There’s a whole hell of a lot going on in this fight.

Phase 1 Abilities

  • Windrunner
    • Ability description written by a Sylvanas simp
    • Sylvanas basically bounces all over the platform, shooting the raid with several abilities
      • Melee, don’t fret! Her hit box stays wherever she started, regardless of where on the platform she appears
    • Withering Fire
      • Shoots a volley of arrows, hits several random people for 6k Shadow damage
      • Leaves a permanent DoT on the affected players, deals 3k Physical every 3 seconds
      • Bleed effect, can be removed by anything that removes Bleeds
    • Desecrating Shot
      • Puts down large lines of small swirlies
        • It’s an absolute shitton of swirlies to dodge
      • Anyone in a swirlie when it explodes takes 25k Shadow damage
    • Shadow Dagger
      • Throws blades in a random direction, applying a DoT to anyone hit
        • Deals 5k Shadow per second for 9 seconds

  • Domination Chains
    • Puts down a bunch of purple swirlies
    • Standing in a swirlie when it explodes deals 31k Shadow damage
    • Several swirlies leave behind giant Domination Arrows in the ground
      • Each of these targets a random player, and attaches a chain to them
      • Chain pulls them towards the arrow, and deals 2k Shadow damage per second
      • Pull increases in strength by 30% per second
      • If you get pulled within 4 yards of the arrow, it explodes and deals lethal damage to you
      • These have a health pool, and need to be killed before the affected players are pulled to their deaths
      • The one benefit, though, is that being chained removes all stacks of Barbed Arrow

  • Veil of Darkness
    • Puts a big fog puddle on the ground, deals 18k shadow damage when it explodes
      • Also absorbs 29k healing every half second
      • Has 5 “stacks” it’ll try to apply to players
      • Just run out of this

  • Wailing Arrow
    • Launches arrow at the current tank, deals 20k Shadow damage
    • Also deals 58k shadow damage to anyone within the purple swirl, and dropoff damage to everyone else
    • Puts animation on the targeted player before she actually starts to cast it, giving you time to get out and get away from the group
  • Ranger’s Heartseeker
    • Gains 1 stack every 5 seconds
    • At 3 stacks, she shoots a Ranger Shot at the tank instead of a normal shot
    • This is 3 arrows fired rapidly
    • Deals 25k Physical AND 12k Shadow per arrow
    • Also applies Banshee’s Mark debuff
      • Deals 2k Shadow per second for 18s per stack
      • You’ll obviously get 3 stacks of this, since it’s 3 shots in succession
    • Blow a tank CD when this happens
  • At 84% HP, the boss starts an intermission

Intermission

  • Puts a Domination Arrow on every player
    • All these need to be killed
  • Rive
    • Shoots massive lines of bad
    • Being hit by the line deals lethal damage
    • Also throws debris along the line of bad, leaves swirlies
    • Don’t get bit by swirlies
    • Cast 8 times, then she casts Banshee Wail
    • Dodge all the lines & swirlies

  • Banshee Wail
    • Small circles around the entire raid
    • Deals damage to anyone within the circle, based on the health of that circle’s target person
    • The higher health the targets had, the less damage being hit by this does
    • Also interrupts & silences for 6 seconds to anyone hit

Stage 2

  • Sylvanas dips, and this is a gauntlet phase. You’ll be chasing after Sylvanas from platform to platform. After you complete a platform, a bridge will be made by either Jaina or Thrall to get to the next platform
    • Each platform has several adds, in addition to Sylvanas herself
    • You start on Platform 1, nothing happens here, then you follow a bridge to Platform 2
    • Here you chase Sylvanas, till she jumps to platform 3.
    • New bridge to platform 3, and here you can DPS Sylvanas
    • She ports away after a while, goes to platform 4
    • Platform 4 is your first set of adds.
    • Platform 5 is more adds
    • Platform 6 is even more adds
    • Platform 7 you DPS Sylvanas again, till she runs away. You take a portal to follow her, and go to Oribos
  • There’s a bunch of abilities this phase. Let’s start with Sylvanas
    • Ruin
      • Casted ability from Sylvanas, 10s cast
      • If this completes, it wipes the raid
      • Must be interrupted
      • She casts this after porting to a new platform. You have to run across the bridge & reach her to interrupt it
    • Haunting Wave
      • Cast from Sylvanas throughout the stage, shoots small semicircles of death at you from her, radiating out in every direction
      • 2 waves per cast
      • Being touched by a semicircle of death pushes you back, and applies a 2k per half-second DoT for 10s
        • Yes, that’s 40k damage over 10s. Freaking hurts.

    • Veil of Darkness
      • Same as during stage 1, but 3 small circles, need to move out of little circles of bad

    • Banshee Wail
      • Same as during the intermission, need to spread out
    • Banshee Form
      • Sylvanas periodically turns into a banshee and flies around. Takes 99% reduced damage while flying
  • Forces of the Maw
    • Several types of adds spawn on several of the platforms.
      • 2 categories of adds, Mawsworn and Mawforged
      • Killing the Mawforged allows you to proceed
    • Mawsworn Adds
      • Vanguard
        • Stacking aura buff called Accursed Might, increases damage done by 50%, movement speed by 10%, and health by 30%
        • Unstoppable Force
          • Smacks the ground, dealing 12k Physical to anyone within 5 yards
      • Hopebreaker
        • Enflame
          • Increases it’s own movement speed by 100%, and causes melee swings to deal an extra 10k Fire to the tank and 3k splash to the raid
        • Destabilize
          • Channeled ability that targets several people
          • Deals mild damage per second, reduces movement speed by 5% per stack, and absorbs 10% of the target’s HP in healing
          • Stacks per tick of the channel
    • Mawforged
      • Souljudge
        • Lashing Strike
          • Charges at tank, dealing 33k Physical + applying DoT
        • Crushing Dread
          • Debuffs several players, puts a circle around them and an arrow over their head
          • These players tick for 10k Shadow every 2s to anyone within the circle
          • Increases in power by 10% per tick
          • If dispelled, gets swapped onto another random player
          • Keeps doing this until the Souljudge is killed
      • Summoner
        • Creates 4 Decrepit Orbs
          • Every 6s these increase their damage dealt by 50%
          • Explode when they die, or when their cast completes, dealing 4k Shadow to the entire raid
            • This is increased by their stacks that they gain every 6s

      • Curse of Lethargy
        • Puts a curse on several people, deals 12k Shadow instantly plus 2k Shadow per second
          • Also reduces movement speed by 30%, stacking every 3 seconds
        • Each cast by the player increases the duration of this curse by 1 second
      • Goliath
        • Fury
          • Stacking buff, gains 1 stack each consecutive attack against the same target
          • Each stack increases damage by 6% and attack speed by 5%
    • You get 2 Mawforged per platform, and 3-4 Mawsworn
    • Platform 4 = Souljudge + Goliath
    • Platform 5 = Summoner + Goliath
    • Platform 6 = Summoner + Souljudge

Stage 3

  • Stage 3 occurs in the middle of Oribos, where the covenant leaders meet
  • There’s 4 platforms around the room you’ll be using, jumping from platform to platform as necessary
    • Invigorating Field – bounces you to the next platform over. Doing so also increases your movement speed by 30% for 5 seconds
  • Banshee’s Bane
    • Puddles that get placed on the floor from several abilities
    • Running over a puddle makes you pick it up, giving you a DoT that deal 1k Shadow damage per second
    • Dispelling the DoT drops the puddle back on the ground
  • Bane Arrows
    • Puts swirlies on the ground, shoots arrows at the swirlies, Banshee’s Bane puddles get left where the swirlies were
    • Don’t get hit by the swirlies, they deal mild damage

  • Banshee’s Heartseeker
    • Similar to Ranger’s Heartseeker in Stage 1
    • Boss gets a stack every 7 seconds
    • At 3 stacks, shoots 3 arrows at the tank. Each deals 33k Physical and 10k Shadow damage. Each also applies a stack of Banshee’s Bane
  • Banshee’s Fury
    • Boss does an AoE explosion, dealing 7k shadow per second for 4s to the raid
    • After 4s, all Banshee’s Bane DoTs on players explode, dealing an additional 11k Shadow to anyone who still has a DoT, per stack
  • Wailing Arrow, Veil of Darkness, and Banshee Scream are all carry-overs from Stage 1
    • Wailing Arrow now targets 2-3 people back to back
    • Veil of Darkness is small circles on 2 people
    • Banshee Scream puts circles on everyone
  • Shadow Dagger
    • Puts thin lines on the floor, with Sylvanas as the center, then she throws the daggers down the lines. Don’t stand on lines

  • Withering Fire
    • Deals 6k Shadow to everyone. Just extra damage to heal through
  • Raze
    • Shoots a giant arrow at the center of the platform, dealing 25k Shadow to everyone on the platform, plus covers the area in goop
    • Goop deals 8k Shadow damage every 0.5 seconds
    • This also destroys the Invigorating Field on that platform, meaning you can no longer jump off it
    • Basically, anyone actually hit by this, dies

Strategy

Stage 1

  • So let’s preface a bit – there’s a shitload of abilities listed above. The actual fight is NOT as complicated as that makes it seem
  • Tank the boss in the middle of the room
    • Raid should be loosely spread around the room. Don’t be clumped up
  • Tanks will need to swap when the boss targets the active tank with Wailing Arrow
    • If you’re the Wailing target, run the hell away. Get to an edge of the room so you don’t blow up the raid
  • When the boss casts Windrunner, dodge the swirlies. They come out in several shapes and formations, just don’t stand in the bad
    • Withering Fire just needs to be healed through
    • Shadow Dagger is a conal ability, so being loosely spread should help lessen the amount of people actually hit by this
    • You may want to use a healing CD to keep everyone stable throughout the Windrunner cast
  • When the boss casts Domination Chains, dodge the swirlies
    • Anyone that gets chained to an arrow needs to run away from said arrow
    • All DPS should swap and blow up the arrows, so you don’t have people get killed as the pull gets stronger
    • Use a Stampeding Roar here if you have one, to help people keep away from their arrow (make sure to save 1 of these for the intermission)
  • For Veil of Darkness, just run out of the giant circle. Don’t get hit by this, it’s bad news
  • When she casts Ranger’s Heartseeker at the tank, POP A COOLDOWN. This freaking hurts and can easily blast a tank down, especially prot pallies
  • At 83%, she goes immune and starts the intermission, which stays on the same platform

Intermission

  • Once the intermission starts, she immediately casts Domination Arrow on every single player
    • Since this is on everyone, it’s super damn dangerous
    • Stack up near the middle of the room, so the arrows are close to each other for AoE
    • As soon as the swirlies go out, run the heck away
    • Your raid should do everything they can to blow up the arrows as quickly as possible
    • Use any movement abilities here you can
  • While you’re working on the Arrows, the boss will just cast Rive back to back
    • Do not get hit by the line
    • As soon as she shoots down the line, swirlies will spawn next to the line
    • Don’t get hit by the swirlies
  • After casting Rive 8 times, she’ll port to the middle and cast Banshee Wail
    • Everyone just needs to spread here, don’t overlap circles
  • When that ends, you’ll go into a 30 second cutscene. Even if you skip the cutscene, you’re still stunned for 30s. Once that ends, you’ll enter Stage 2

Stage 2

  • Stage 2 is fairly straightforward – it’s a gauntlet. You’re going from platform to platform, completing each step
  • Platforms 1 & 2 you just run through. The bridge to Platform #2, and that platform itself, will have the Haunting Wave semicircles of death. Dodge those.
  • On Platform 3, you just run up to the boss and start DPSing. You have 40 seconds of burn time here before she runs away to the next step
    • Interrupt Ruin before it completes
    • DPS her right where she is – the front of the platform
    • About 20 seconds into this burn, she’ll cast Veil of Darkness. These are smaller circles during this point of the fight, so you’ll need to spread out on the platform and make sure you aren’t standing in a circle
    • Right before she runs away, she’ll cast Banshee Wail. Make sure you’re spread for this, don’t stand in other people’s circles
  • As you cross the bridge towards Platform #4, you’ll have to dodge more Haunting Wave semicircles
    • Once you reach Platform #4, you’ll be greeted by adds. A Goliath, a Souljudge, and several small ones
    • Just blow these up. There isn’t much counterplay to the Souljudges or Goliaths than killing them
    • Once these all die, proceed down the bridge to the next platform
  • On Platform #5, you’ll get a Summoner and a Goliath
    • Blow up the Summoner orbs ASAP, to minimize the explosion damage
      • You may want to stagger these slightly, to make it a bit easier to heal through
    • As soon as orbs die, turn and destroy the rest of the adds
    • Then, move to Platform #6
  • On platform #6, you’ll fight a Summoner and a Souljudge
    • Again, blow up the orbs
    • You’ll want to use some healer CDs here. The damage is kinda nutty between the Crushing Dread DoTs plus the orbs exploding, so use CDs to stabilize
    • Once you finish up the adds, move on to the last platform
  • Platform #7 is Sylvanas again, this time you get about 45 seconds of DPS time on her
    • Interrupt Ruin again here, before it completes
    • She’ll cast Haunting Wave at the beginning of this, so dodge the semicircles of death
    • Don’t get hit by Veil of Darkness, spread for Banshee Wail
    • Once your time is up, she’ll fly away again
    • Shortly after she flies away, you’ll get ported into Oribos, and enter Stage 3

Stage 3

  • This is a hectic stage with a lot of things going on, but it points down to two things – handle the puddles, and swap platforms when Raze happens
  • When the boss casts Banshee’s Fury, pop a healer CD to keep the raid stable, especially if there’s still people with stands of Banshee’s Bane
  • When she casts Bane Arrows, it’ll spawn the puddles on your platform, and every other platform
    • Have your tank run over all the puddles and soak um up, then run to a far corner on the platform
    • If Banshee’s Heartbreaker is about to happen, the tank picking up puddles should also be the one to take the Heartbreaker. Pop a CD
    • Then, the tank should call for, and get, dispelled. This’ll drop all the puddles neatly in the corner where you don’t hafta worry about them
  • When Veil of Darkness is cast, spread out around the platform you’re on. Don’t be standing on anyone else
  • Targets of Wailing Arrow have to help mitigate the raid’s damage as much as possible
    • Since the platforms are small, you don’t have much to work with
    • Fortunately, you can jump to a different platform. We always went counterclockwise, but clockwise works just as well
    • The 3 Wailing Arrows will actually have Sylvanas shoot them a few seconds apart from each other. Because of this, you can send the first target to jump to a different platform, they get shot with the Wailing Arrow, then they jump back
    • As they’re jumping back, person #2 jumps across to the other platform, and repeat this again if you have a third Wailing Arrow target

  • Your active tank will ALWAYS be one of the people selected for Wailing Arrow
    • While the tank is on the opposite platform, they should run over all Banshee’s Bane puddles over there, get all the debuffs, and bring them back to the platform the raid is fighting on
    • Then, move to a corner and call for a dispel
  • When Shadow Daggers go out, don’t stand on the lines
  • Then finally, when there’s about 5 seconds left on your boss timers before Raze, dispel anyone that has a Banshee’s Bane debuff to drop the puddles
    • As soon as she starts the cast, everyone should jump across to whatever platform the Wailing Arrow players had been going to
    • Since your tank had already been there and cleared puddles, it should be a totally clear platform to use
    • Absolutely do not be late jumping off the platform, or you’re just dead
  • You’re going to keep repeating this until either you die, or the boss dies.
    • Raze happens every 1:12 during Stage 3. The fourth and final Raze cast completing is essentially the raid wipe, so you have about 4:48 plus/minus maybe 3 seconds, to complete this phase