Bosses in 5 Seconds: Hellfire Citadel LFR – Bastion of Shadows

The third wing of Hellfire Citadel LFR, Bastion of Shadows, opens up today on US realms. It consists of 3 bosses: Shadow-Lord Iskar, Socrethar the Eternal, and Tyrant Velhari. Our bosses in 5 seconds series focuses on the core points you need to know going into these fights.

Keep in mind that you’ll need a minimum item level of 650 to queue for Hellfire Citadel LFR. This can be accomplished quite quickly by adventuring in Tanaan Jungle.

Shadow-Lord Iskar

Don’t stand in the fire, pass the Eye of Anzu with your extra action button to people with debuffs, kill adds when they spawn.

Note: I have only done this fight on Normal and Heroic as of this writing, and I strongly suspect that fully utilizing the Eye of Anzu will not be a requirement in LFR because of the coordination involved. Once I get the chance to queue I will verify this.

More details:

• Iskar alternates between two phases. In phase 1 you deal with Iskar and in phase 2 you deal with adds. It is a relatively simple fight besides the Eye of Anzu mechanic (see my note above).
• The Eye of Anzu is a clickable object on the ground in front of Iskar which someone should pick up at the start of the fight. Only one player can hold the Eye at a time, but it can be passed around the raid to deal with certain mechanics using the extra action button.
• Players who get the Phantasmal Winds debuff need to run against the wind to prevent falling off the edge. Possessing the Eye of Anzu removes this debuff. If you have the Eye, pass it to a player with this debuff.
• Players who get Fel Incineration (green fire) or Fel Chakram should run out of the raid.
• During phase 2, Iskar flies away and summons minions.
  • Stack up to split Focused Blast damage.
  • Prioritize Talonpriests and Wardens and cleave down the rest.

Socrethar the Eternal

Kill the Soulbound Construct; one tank enters the Construct when it dies and uses its special abilities to help the raid. Everyone else kills adds and the Soul of Socrethar (interrupt this one as much as possible). Don’t stand in the green stuff.

More details:

• Phase 1
  • Kill the Soulbound Construct.
  • Don’t stand in green fire or green circles.
  • If you are targeted with Volatile Fel Orb or Felblaze Charge, run away from the raid (preferably towards a wall).
• Phase 2
  • One of the tanks should enter the Soulbound Construct you just killed. This tank should utilize the Construct’s special abilities to help the raid. Most important of all is to use Felblaze Charge to lay down a line of fire between the raid and the blue portal (which spawns in one of the corners of the room). Also, do not go near Haunting Souls with the Construct as it will take damage in proximity.
  • The rest of the raid should prioritize adds, and then focus on the Soul of Socrethar.
  • The Soul of Socrethar repeatedly casts Exert Dominance and this must be interrupted as it damages the Construct. When the Construct dies, you will have to start in phase 1 again.
  • The priority adds are the Sargerei Dominators as they prevent you from being able to interrupt the Soul of Socrethar when they are active.
  • If you get Gift of Man’ari (purple circle), run outside of the raid so no one else is inside the circle.
• The fight ends when the Soul of Socrethar dies. If the Construct dies in phase 2 before this happens, you must repeat phase 1.

Tyrant Velhari

Kill adds when they spawn, minimize movement for the first 30% (moving deals ticking damage here) except to avoid the bad stuff on the ground. Loosely spread for most of it, but stack up for the final 40% burn (move out of the red stuff).

More details:

• Phase 1 (100-70%)
  • Loosely spread, minimize movement (moving deals ticking damage), don’t stand in the fire and avoid the orbs.
  • Stack as many people inside the Edict of Condemnation circle as possible (this appears as a big circle around a player, which rapidly shrinks).
  • Kill the add when it spawns.
• Phase 2 (70-40%):
  • If you get the Font of Corruption debuff, don’t stand near anyone except those who also have the same debuff.
  • Kill the add (you can prioritize the boss until phase 3 though).
• Phase 3 (40-0%):
  • Stack up on the tank and burn the boss. You will deal increased damage in this phase (but also take more damage).
  • Prioritize the add as it will shield the boss!
  • Move as a group and stay stacked when red stuff gets put on the ground. If the raid is too spread out, the entire room will eventually be covered in bad stuff.

If you want more details on these fights, you may also want to check out our class-specific guides:

• Hellfire Citadel 101 for Rogues
• Hellfire Citadel cheat sheet for Hunters
• Paladin tanking tips and strategies for the Bastion of Shadows
• Priest healing the Upper Halls of Hellfire Citadel
• Bastion of Shadows and Destructor’s Rise for Mages
• Holy Paladin tips for Bastion of Shadows, Destructor’s Rise, and Archimonde

Looking for more help through Hellfire Citadel? Check out our Bosses in 5 Seconds guides for Hellbreach, Halls of Blood, Destructor’s Rise, and Archimonde.