The Zaqali Elders are the World Bosses of Dragonflight Season 2

Along with the opening of Aberrus the Shadowed Crucible in Season 2 of Dragonflight, a new World Boss called the Zaqali Elders will spawn in Zaralek Cavern each week. As suggested by the name, this is a complicated two-boss fight where all players will need to pay attention to the mechanics to ensure a successful encounter and a chance at ilvl 415 loot.

Vakan and Gholna are two of the fabled djardin elders that were referenced during the events of patch 10.0. Gholna is a master of lava while Vakan wields shadowflame, and the arrival of the players is a chance for them to continue their rivalry by seeing whose power reigns supreme. As expected, each tank takes a boss but there is no switching — bringing the bosses together will both buff and protect them so it’s to be avoided. While there is a stacking debuff on the tanks from their opponent it can and should be dispelled by healers.

The same debuff will be applied at random to other players, and that’s where the fun in the encounter begins. Both bosses place effects on the ground: Vakan summons Blistering Cyclones, and Gholna calls up lava geysers that spawn Molten Pools. While everyone will want to stay out of the bad as normal, the debuffs can be taken advantage of to remove those effects and also provide a haste boost to the player removing them. Those with Burning Shadows should remove Molten Pools, while those with Searing Touch should run through Blistering Cyclones. Because these debuffs are necessary during the fight, healers should only remove them from a player if they get a second stack or are taking too much other damage.

The other main mechanic of the fight is a large AOE effect all over the battlefield, unleashed when an Elder reaches maximum energy. At the same time, they’ll be shielded so damage is significantly reduced — players should worry more about making sure not to get hit by the AOE than continuing DPS. This is another reason to make sure players are helping to clean up Blistering Cyclones and Molten Pools, as too many of those will severely restrict safe spaces for players to run to. Fortunately, the Elders are sporting types and they take turns building up energy so you’ll not have to deal with both ultimates at once.

Finally, the raid will want to make sure the bosses die at close to the same time. Not only will the surviving Elder gain a buff that reduces spell cast time and increases energy gain to celebrate their victory, but also players will no longer be able to clean up the damaging effects once the corresponding debuff becomes unavailable.

Try not to get shot down on the way to the loot

The Zaqali Elders are located in the western section of the Zaralak Cavern known as the Zaqali Caldera. While Dragonriding is available through the zone, there’s a catch: like Dragonbane Keep in the Waking Shores, the Caldera is defended by djardin ballistae so when you fly into it you’ll get a stacking debuff — reach 10 stacks and you’ll be dismounted. Unlike in Dragonbane Keep landing doesn’t immediately remove all stacks, but instead they slowly degrade down to zero. With the Zaqali Elders stationed at the northwestern corner of the Caldera you’ll likely need to pause your flight at least once to get there without being knocked off your dragon.

Two pieces of loot drop for each armor type, one from a tier slot and one from a non-tier slot. These pieces can be converted to tier appearance when the patch 10.1 Revival Catalyst becomes available. The i415 armor that can drop are:

• Cloth: Leggings and Boots
• Leather: Chest and Bracers
• Mail: Helm and Boots
• Plate: Shoulders and Waist

As always we should expect the World Boss to also have an associated World Quest and should also reward Flightstones upon defeat.

Initially published April 24, 2023. Updated May 9, 2023.