Bruce is your first Brawler's Guild Rank 1 opponent. The fight against him is very simple, but requires perfect execution and, as is the case with many Brawler's Guild fights, the slightest mistake will cause you to die. Before we delve further into the explanations, we advise you to first watch this very short video, which shows how the fight with Bruce goes.

1. Abilities and Strategy↑top

Bruce has only one ability called Chomp Chomp Chomp. It has a 2-second cast time and targets a conic area in front of him. If you get hit by it, you die.

Bruce also has a melee attack. It is weak enough that a Cloth wearer in blue-quality gear should be able to kill Bruce before Bruce kills them.

The strategy for defeating Bruce is simple.

• Remain at melee range and keep attacking him.
• When Bruce starts casting Chomp Chomp Chomp, move through him to avoid getting hit.

2. Generic Advice↑top

• Do not panic. It does not matter if you mess up your rotation, but you need to stick to the strategy.
• If you are in for a long Brawler's Guild session, you may want to use a flask.
• Prepot! Use a Potion of Brawler's Might, a Potion of Brawler's Cunning, or a Potion of Brawler's Deftness right before Bruce appears, depending on what your main statistic is.
• When the 60-second cooldown on your potion is over, you can use the same potion again or you can use a Brawler's Healing Potion if you need healing.
• Group up with other players so that you benefit from each other's buffs.

3. This Article is a Collaborative Work!↑top

Most of the class-specific tips come from comments on our forums. So, please, if you have something to share or correct, make sure that you post in this thread (no need to register, guest posting is allowed)! The entire Icy Veins community will be grateful to you.

4. Death Knight↑top

Sorry, but we currently have no Death Knight specific information. We will do our best to update this section in a timely manner, but if you have done this fight, we would be delighted to hear about your strategy in the thread dedicated to Bruce in our forum (you can post without having to register first). Thank you!

5. Druid↑top

Some of our readers shared their experience of the fight, as a Druid, in our forums, and we decided to reproduce their contribution(s) here.

Whoflungdung said for Feral Druids: Stand toe to toe using your dps rotation, when he uses Chomp Chomp Chomp, go through him to the back and you may use your Shred. Bleed him. Use all your moves you would do if soloing. PRE-POT if you need that DPS boost and avoid Chomp Chomp Chomp (it will one-shot you).

6. Hunter↑top

Some of our readers shared their experience of the fight, as a Hunter, in our forums, and we decided to reproduce their contribution(s) here.

shadowhawque said: Since they nerfed Aspect of the Fox, just kite and cast. Also, make sure Growl is off (unless you want your pet to aggro and die on the first Chomp Chomp Chomp).

HunterOfRates said:

• kept Growl on but healed pet quite a bit;
• used Stampede and the normal hunter rotation while kiting;
• when he starts to cast Chomp Chomp Chomp, you can interrupt using Silencing Shot (if you have chosen that talent).

7. Mage↑top

To deal with Bruce, we advise you to make use of the following Mage-specific abilities/talents/glyphs.

• If you play Fire, you may want to use Scorch as your Tier 1 talent. You will be able to use it while moving and it can proc Heating Up or transform it into Pyroblast!.
• Use Ice Barrier as your Tier 2 talents and always keep it up. Remember that Ice Barrier has a 1-minute duration, but only a 25-second cooldown. So, try to cast it before being teleported into the arena. This way, the cooldown will be over by the time Ice Barrier drops from the damage you take, and you will be able to recast it immediately.
• Use Frostjaw as your Tier 3 talent. You will be able to use it, in conjunction with Frost Nova (and Freeze from your Water Elemental, if you play Frost), to keep Bruce rooted, allowing you to get away and heal yourself with Evocation.
• Use Cauterize as your Tier 4 talent. This will save your life on many occasions. As soon as it procs, use Ice Block to remove the DoT effect it leaves on you. If you are using Glyph of Ice Block, removing Ice Block will cast an instant free Frost Nova and render you immune to spells for 3 seconds, which can be extremely useful.
• For your Tier 5 talent, prefer Nether Tempest or Living Bomb. Given that you have to move a lot, their instant cast time will be very beneficial. Since you do not need to keep Bruce away from you, the movement-reducing effect of Frost Bomb is not really needed.
• Use Invocation as your Tier 6 talent, in conjunction with Glyph of Evocation. This will enable you to heal yourself for 40% of your life, on a 10-second cooldown.
• In addition to Glyph of Evocation, which is nigh-mandatory, and Glyph of Ice Block, which we have already mentioned, you may find the glyphs listed below useful.
  • If you play Arcane, then Glyph of Arcane Power can be very useful for your initial burn phase (in conjunction with your trinkets procs/uses and your potion).
  • If you play Fire, then Glyph of Combustion can be very useful for your initial burn phase (in conjunction with your trinkets procs/uses and your potion).
  • Glyph of Frost Nova reduces the cooldown of Frost Nova, which can be very beneficial if you often find yourself in need of healing and need to root your opponent to cast Evocation.
  • If you play Fire, Glyph of Frostfire Bolt will enable you to keep Bruce slowed by letting you use Frostfire Bolt instead of Fireball in your rotation.
  • If you play Arcane, then Glyph of Slow will cause the boss to be almost always slowed, giving you previous seconds to cast Evocation or damage your opponent without getting hit.
  • If you play Frost, then Glyph of Water Elemental will be very beneficial because it will allow your Water Elemental to cast while moving.

Bruce serves as an introductory fight for the Brawler's Guild. So, simply doing your rotation (as Arcane, Fire, or Frost), avoiding Chomp Chomp Chomp, and using Frost Nova/ Blink/ Evocation to heal yourself should be more than enough to defeat him.

Do not hesitate to use all your cooldowns at the pull (including Mirror Image and Time Warp).

8. Monk↑top

Sorry, but we currently have no Monk specific information. We will do our best to update this section in a timely manner, but if you have done this fight, we would be delighted to hear about your strategy in the thread dedicated to Bruce in our forum (you can post without having to register first). Thank you!

9. Paladin↑top

Some of our readers shared their experience of the fight, as a Paladin, in our forums, and we decided to reproduce their contribution(s) here.

Tanek said for Retribution Paladins: None of the talents that you choose for this fight are of much importance. This fight is about as easy as your going to get. Just run rotation from in front of boss and move through when he start casting Chomp Chomp Chomp. As is the case with most fights in the brawlers guild you will be attacking the boss from the front a majority of the time which means hit capped and expertise capped up to the hard cap is the best way to improve dps. It's not imperative to reforge to get exp hard capped but don't fret if you're over the 7.5% either.

Tanek further added: I recommend a build of 211223. Most of the talent options can be interchanged but this is my preferred method and makes good use of the burst that Rets have available. Remember that with a 2 minute enrage timer the T14 4 set bonus will not help, so if you have other pieces that have better itemization, use them instead. The 2 set bonus is still beneficial if you have it. To burst I build up three HP and then use the following macro:

• #showtooltip Avenging Wrath
• /cast Inquistion
• /cast Avenging Wrath
• /cast Guardian of Ancient Kings
• /use Potion of Brawlers Might
• /use 10
• /use 14

This macro starts your Inquisition (provided you built up 3 HP), pops your major CDs, uses the Brawlers guild potion of choice, uses your glove enhancement if you are an engineer and uses any on use trinket in the bottom trinket slot.

10. Priest↑top

Sorry, but we currently have no Priest specific information. We will do our best to update this section in a timely manner, but if you have done this fight, we would be delighted to hear about your strategy in the thread dedicated to Bruce in our forum (you can post without having to register first). Thank you!

11. Rogue↑top

To deal with Bruce, we advise you to make use of the following Rogue-specific abilities/talents/glyphs.

• Note that using Vanish will cause the fight to stop and you will be teleported out of the arena.
• Maintaining Slice and Dice and Recuperate up is your priority. Because you will be relying on Recuperate for self-healing, Glyph of Recuperate is advised. When you do not need to refresh these two buffs, you can spend your Combo Points on Eviscerate/ Envenom (depending on your specialisation) or on Kidney Shot (if you feel the boss is killing you too fast).
• Use Combat Readiness as your Tier 2 talent and use this ability to prevent melee attacks from reaching you. Also make extensive use of Evasion (with Glyph of Evasion) and Cloak of Shadows (with Glyph of Cloak of Shadows).
• Leeching Poison should be your Tier 3 talent and you should use it as your Non-Lethal poison (together with Deadly Poison as your Lethal Poison).
• Choose Anticipation as your Tier 6 talent. You will make undoubtedly make mistakes in your rotation, so being able to store Combo Points will come in handy.
• The three major glyphs that we have already mentioned ( Glyph of Cloak of Shadows, Glyph of Evasion, Glyph of Recuperate) should be preferred.

Bruce serves as an introductory fight for the Brawler's Guild. So, simply doing your rotation (as Assassination or Combat), avoiding Chomp Chomp Chomp, and using Cloak of Shadows, Combat Readiness, and Evasion should be more than enough to defeat him.

We do not advise to use Subtlety for the Brawler's Guild, as you will not be able to use Backstab, your main damaging ability.

12. Shaman↑top

To deal with Bruce, we advise you to make use of the following Shaman-specific abilities/talents/glyphs.

• When using your cooldowns (abilities, trinkets, consumables, etc.), you need to make sure that you do not use Bloodlust/ Heroism and Elemental Mastery at the same time. Use Elemental Mastery after Bloodust/Heroism runs out.
• Use Astral Shift as your Tier 1 talent. It will enable you to sometimes reduce the damage you take. Enhancement Shamans can also use Shamanistic Rage for the same purpose.
• If you play Elemental, you should use Frozen Power as your Tier 2 talent. This way, you will be able to more easily keep Bruce at bay.
• Totemic Projection, as your Tier 3 talent, will enable you to easily relocate your totems as you move around.
• Use Elemental Mastery as your Tier 4 talent. Cast it at the beginning of the fight to increase your initial burst damage.
• Use Ancestral Guidance as your Tier 5 talent. Cast it whenever you are in need of healing.
• Use Primal Elementalist as your Tier 6 talent to further increase your initial damage burst.
• If you play Elemental, you may find the glyphs below to be useful.
  • Glyph of Frost Shock will extend the duration of Frost Shock by 2 seconds, giving you an easier time weaving in this spell between your casts of Earth Shock and Flame Shock.
  • Glyph of Unleashed Lightning will allow you to cast Lightning Bolt while running.
• If you play Enhancement, you may find the glyphs below to be useful.
  • Glyph of Feral Spirit increases the healing you get from your Feral Spirit wolves. This makes Feral Spirit a very good healing cooldown.
  • Glyph of Healing Storm increases your healing for each stack of Maelstrom Weapon that you have, which is very beneficial if you want to spend your stacks on Healing Surge.
• Glyph of Capacitor Totem can be useful for stunning Bruce more easily with Capacitor Totem.

As an Elemental Shaman, perform your normal Elemental rotation, but use Frost Shock whenever you need to get away from Bruce. Thanks to Glyph of Unleashed Lightning, you can be almost always on the move. To heal yourself, cast Healing Stream Totem, Ancestral Guidance, or Healing Surge.

As an Enhancement Shaman, perform your Enhancement Shaman rotation. If you want to heal yourself, cast Healing Stream Totem or Ancestral Guidance, spend your stacks of Maelstrom Weapon on Healing Surge or call forth your Feral Spirit wolves.

13. Warlock↑top

To deal with Bruce, we advise you to make use of the following Warlock-specific abilities/talents/glyphs.

• For self-healing and survival purposes, you should use Soul Leech as your Tier 2 talent and Glyph of Siphon Life. Soul Leech will cause your main spells to give you large shields for a fraction of the damage they deal, while Glyph of Siphon Life will cause Corruption (Affliction/Demonology) or Immolate (Destruction) to heal you for a percentage of the damage it deals.
• Use Mortal Coil as your Tier 2 talent. Every 45 seconds, you can use it so heal yourself for 15% of your maximum health and to fear your opponent for 3 seconds.
• Dark Bargain is an extremely useful ability and your best option for your Tier 4 talent. Always try to use it at the end of the fight, if you need a few extra seconds to kill your opponent. Note that when Dark Bargain runs out, you will often die from the damage that it has prevented you from taking.
• You pet will not be very useful as it will most likely die rapidly. As a result, Grimoire of Sacrifice is advised as a Tier 5 talent.
• Kil'jaeden's Cunning will prove invaluable as a Tier 6 talent, as it allows you to use all your spells while moving.
• In addition to Glyph of Siphon Life, which is mandatory, you may find the glyphs listed below useful.
  • Glyph of Healthstone increases the healing from your Healthstone, but this increased healing is done over 10 seconds. You should try to use your improved Healthstone when you have taken about 30% of your health as damage. This will help you make the fight last longer, giving you more time to kill your opponent.

Bruce serves as an introductory fight for the Brawler's Guild. Cast your Dark Soul ability and use your trinkets as the fight starts. Do your regular rotation and use Unending Resolve after taking a bit of damage. Then use your Healthstone and Mortal Coil (Healthstone's healing will tick while the boss is running around). Keep going and if you feel that Bruce is going to win the fight, pop Dark Bargain (this will give you 8 extra seconds to defeat him).

14. Warrior↑top

Some of our readers shared their experience of the fight, as a Warrior, in our forums, and we decided to reproduce their contribution(s) here.

NightShade said: Arms warrior, toe to toe until he starts casting Chomp Chomp Chomp then run through the boss. Also you will want to be in as far as you can on his hitbox before he turns so as to have an extra second to account for errors so you can get out of the way and not get hit. I moved a bit too slowly and got a bit of the chomp on me but was at full health and was able to finish and win but it took me from full health about 379k unbuffed down to about 20% so don't expect to withstand a lengthy stay.

exodia fenris said: What I did on the fight was I started running around him until he cast Chomp Chomp Chomp and as soon as he finished casting, I stopped and wailed on him. Rinse and repeat. I specced for Shockwave and Stormbolt just in case of emergency. Other than that, that's about it; easy for warriors. Also make sure to pop Die by the Sword if you have to.

Wheeler said: This fight is about as easy as you are going to get in the brawler's guild, and is very little about your ability to mitigate damage, or even deal it that much.

The only thing you have to worry about at all in this fight is his ability called Chomp Chomp Chomp - When he begins casting it, move around to behind him, or towards the back but not inside him, as if you're caught even for a second by it, you will most likely die unless your health is phenomenal.