wow Patch 7.1: Detailed Karazhan Preview

[Stan 5,020]

A detailed preview of encounters & loot tables.

Find out how exactly the new Karazhan differs from the old one.

Unannounced visitors, preparations must be made. *sips tea*

Karazhan

• Patch 7.1 marks the return of Karazhan as a five-player dungeon (or even "raid").
  • It's available in Mythic only, with difficulty being slightly above regular Mythic dungeons.
• Requires attunement to enter.
  • To get attuned, Khadgar will offer you a new quest in Dalaran. Involves many Mythic dungeons.
• Features a total of 8 (potentially nine) bosses that drop loot of item level 855+ (with the ability of all the gear to be Warforged/Titanforged).
  • It's highly likely that Nightbane is Karazhan's secret 9th boss. More information available here.

Attunement

Watcher

The attunement questline for Karazhan primarily involves Mythic dungeon content.

(Source)

Ion Hazzikostas also confirmed the required 850+ item level followers for attunement to be wrong. It's an investigation mission associated with Karazhan that will award bonus loot. The mission itself requires followers with a minimum item level 850. Upon completion, you'll receive an item to start the quest line in Deadwing Pass.

Bosses

The updated Karazhan encounters are a blend of old and new bosses giving the dungeon the proper "Legion feeling". Now, if you remember the old ones, you're pretty familiar with the abilities.  You can find a total of 8 bosses here:

• Maiden of Virtue
  • She will periodically place patches of Sacred Ground underneath players which will slowly expand and inflict damage to players who enter.
  • Later she will cast Mass Repentance, which places a stun on the entire group that breaks on damage taken. Then, she protects herself with Holy Bulwark, which players must damage her to remove, and cats Holy Wrath, which players should interrupt after removing Holy Bulwark.
• Opera
  • Wikket
    • Avoid Galindre's Magic Magnificient by using vortices left over from Elfyra's Defy Gravity.
    • This is a standard fight with bosses and adds. Healer should expect a spike in healing should their tank stand in Wondrous Radiance. For damage dealers add management should be priority as they should be killed off asap.
  • Westfall Story
    • There's an ability called Thunder Ritual, which requires you to move away from the group when it's about to expire.
    • Tanks should back up when Toe Knee casts Burning Leg Sweep to avoid a stun.
    • Damage dealers should defeat the Gang Ruffians and Shoreline Tidespeakers first to reduce the danger to your party.
  • Beautiful Beast
    • Don't lead Babblet through Burning Blaze to prevent her from gaining Sultry Heart.
    • Use Drenched to clear up Burning Blaze if it gets out of hand.
    • Damage dealers should focus on interrupting Luminore's Heat Wave to help their healers as the ability can be deadly.
    • Tanks should interrupt Cogglestone's Dinner Bell whenever possible and be careful when he's about to use Dent Armor.
• Attumen the Huntsman
  • He fights from the saddle until Midnight is at 50%. Then, they will both fight separately for a short time.
  • Midnight will regain her Health and the fight will commence with the boss attacking from the saddle again.
  • There's an ability called Intangible Presence which requires a dispel.
  • Mighty Stomp will interrupt all casting.
  • The whole group should be stacked at the tank, because of the Shared Suffering ability that would one-shot him otherwise. The damage is shared and evenly distributed to all stacking players.
• Moroes
  • Uses Garotte to spread damage across the party.
  • Tanks should worry about an ability called Coat Check that reduces they armor by 75%. Use your defensive cooldown when this is up.
  • Moroes has lots of dinner guests and at 60% he makes them immune to any CC abilities, which is why damage dealers should focus on downing them before he hits the threshold.
  • Ghost Traps spawn across the room and you should trap dinner guests in there. It makes them incapacitated for 1.7 minutes.
• The Curator
  • A fight revolving around the boss casting spells on everybody, whereas at 10% he becomes vulnerable as he quickly recharges Mana. During this phase, he's damage taken is increased by 100%.
  • He deals heavy damage with Overload.
  • The boss summons bolts of Volatile Energy that deal heavy damage to the group and should be taken down by damage dealers asap.
  • Tanks should be using their damaging area of effects strategically, as the boss has an ability called Power Discharge, which creates pools of lightning that damage anyone who stands in them.
• Shade of Medivh
  • Is the replacement for Shade of Aran
  • Medivh will periodically assault enemies with Piercing Missiles, Inferno Bolt and Frostbite until he reaches full Mana. Then he starts using one of his Focused Power abilities.
    • Damage dealers should interrupt Frostbite whenever possible and kill the 3 Guardian images quickly.
      • These inflict heavy groupwide damage until killed.
    • Piercing Missiles inflict heavy damage to the tank so it's a good time to use a defensive cooldown.
  • Medivh will cast Flamewreath and it's super important for everybody to entirely stop movement for its duration.
• Mana Devourer
  • He attacks foes with various AoE abilities.
  • He will periodically Coalesce Power during combat, expelling all of his Mana, creating Loose Unstable Mana.
    • Players need to collect Loose Mana and clear the stacks in Energy Void before the Mana reaches the Devourer.
    • Failure of this mechanism leads to an entire party wipe.
• Viz’aduum the Watcher
  • Karazhan's last boss is a three-phase fight.
    • During the first stage, the boss will periodically command the nearby legion ships to assault his enemies.
      • Healers and damage dealers should lead the Fel Beam away from the party during the initial phase.
    • During phase two (at 66%), he will retreat to the nearby Fel Beam Command Ship.
      • Avoid taking damage from the ship's Bombardment.
      • While on the boat, make sure to avoid being knocked off by Disintegrate.
    • At 33% the third phase starts and the Viz'aduum retreats to the nearby Bombardment Command Ship and calls in allies from the Rift above.
      • In the final phase, damage dealers and tanks should prevent Stabilize Rift from completing as this will greatly increase the amount of reinforcements.

Loot Tables

Below, you'll find Loot Tables. The last three bosses drop 860+ gear.

Maiden of Virtue

• Begrudging Confessions
• Virtuous Directive
• Drape of Shame
• Vest of Wanton Deeds
• Confiscated Manacles
• Cord of the Penitent
• Treads of the Depraved
• Faith's Crucible

Opera

• Wikket
  • Arcanum of Weightlessness
  • Gloomy Vortex
  • Memory of Betrayal
  • Wikket Witch's Hat
  • Inordinately Wonderous Wristguards
  • Horkin' Stuff-Lobbers
  • Jabber Grookin' Gauntlets
  • Short Jibbet Waistguard
  • Greaves of Miraculous Magnificence
  • Astonishingly Scarlet Slippers
  • Boots of False Promises
• Westfall Story
  • Love's Intermission
  • Mrrmgmrl Grmmlmglrg
  • Ruffian's Poisoned Blade
  • Mantle of Conflicted Loyalties
  • Armguards of Burning Passion
  • Blackfin Wristband
  • Bracelets of the Sorrowful Bride
  • Mrrgria's Favor
  • Toe Knee's Promise
• Beautiful Beast
  • Candle of Flickering Lumens
  • Ghastly Curse
  • Spellbound Rose Petal
  • Visage of Brutish Iron
  • Cloak of Sweltering Flame
  • Cinch of Improbable Desire
  • Legguards of Imprisonment
  • Trousers of Royal Vanity
  • Majordomo's Dinner Bell

Attumen the Huntsman

• Dirge of the Hunted
• Fear of Predation
• Lava-Quenched Hoofplate
• Helm of Phantasmal Scars
• Choker of Barbed Reins
• Mantle of Hideous Trophies
• Calliard's Galoshes
• Wilderness Stalker's Softsoles
• Inescapable Dread

Moroes

• Illusion: Mongoose
• Jagged Emerald
• Perfectly Preserved Apple
• Castellan's Blinders
• Breastplate of Obligation
• Robes of Wicked Modesty
• Willbreaker Legguards
• Seal of Darkshire Nobility
• Bloodstained Handkerchief

The Curator

• Arcing Static Charge
• Fauna Analysis Widget
• Seeping Corruption
• Bite-Marked Wristplates
• Custodian's Soothing Touch
• Gauntlets of Confinement
• Gloves of Arcane Confluence
• Repurposed Golem Grips
• Terestian's Signet Ring
• Deteriorated Construct Core

Shade of Medivh

• Ageless Winter
• Anthology of Horrors
• Illusion: Sunfire
• Amulet of the Last Guardian
• Shoulderpads of Chaotic Thought
• Frozen-Link Chestguard
• Girdle of Ghostly Exclusion
• Spellwarding Waistguard
• Aran's Relaxing Ruby
• Raven Eidolon

Mana Devourer

• Grisly Schism
• Miniature Bonfire
• Suffused Manapearl
• Hood of Uncanny Perspectives
• Pauldrons of Encroaching Limits
• Unending Horizon Spaulders
• Wine-Stained Mantle
• Legguards of Countless Hours
• Fluctuating Energy

Viz'aduum the Watcher

• Rift Stabilization Shard
• Viz'aduum's Mindstone
• Unbound Reality Mask
• Leggings of Countless Worlds
• Tassets of Perpetual Despair
• Doomstride Footguards
• Ring of Collapsing Futures
• Eye of Command

Mounts

Two mounts are currently in Karazhan's loot tables.

• Midnight's Eternal Reins dropping from Attumen the Huntsman.
• Smoldering Ember Wyrm drops from Nightbane.

[Kaaon 0]

Do we have any ETA yet for the patch?

Looks so cool though. THE HYPE IS REAL!

[Stan 5,020]

1 hour ago, Kaaon said:

Do we have any ETA yet for the patch?

Looks so cool though. THE HYPE IS REAL!

There's no ETA. The patch is tested on Public Test Realms. We'll have to wait for an official announcement. My gut tells me it could be late 2016 or early 2017. The patch has a lot of alt-friendly catching up mechanisms for Suramar and the 850+ item drops would make the Emerald Nightmare obsolete, so I don't see why Blizzard would be releasing it sooner. On the other hand, they promised us faster content patches on a more regular basis.

[Darkjester79 47]

Kara was always one of my favorite raids.  I am glad that they are bringing it back and even happier that it is not the same thing.  I am glad for the new experience with a bit of nostilgia thrown in.  Looking forward to the new and old fights!

[Apollo91 0]

correct me if im wrong but isnt there only 8 bosses listed here?

[Stan 5,020]

3 hours ago, Apollo91 said:

correct me if im wrong but isnt there only 8 bosses listed here?

Thank you, indeed it's 8 or even more if we count the Opera bosses separately.

[Scoof 0]

Mmmh interesting... but what's with all the Haste / mastery stats, did they remove all other stats from the game? ^^

[demonardvark 556]

im excited but wasn't it be advertised before as the first 5 man r aid? its really just a long hard dungeon, i mean arcway is kind of like a mini raid in that same idea, and the ilvl loot isn't super high either. it will make it a lot more mangable but I was looking forward to destiny level hardcore small group content, not sure its still going to hit that

[demonardvark 556]

52 minutes ago, Scoof said:

Mmmh interesting... but what's with all the Haste / mastery stats, did they remove all other stats from the game? ^^

we have fewer stats than we used to, simplifies things. 

[Ginger 2]

Looks awesome but kind of a bummer for anyone in any class looking for any crit gear!

[Scoof 0]

Well fire mages go crit all the way... I don't even need anything besides relics in there... I really hope it's just a glitch and that it's not the actual stats... if they wanted to do things simple, they should just put random stats, they know how to do that by now...

[Valks 2,373]

On 10/10/2016 at 2:11 PM, Scoof said:

Well fire mages go crit all the way... I don't even need anything besides relics in there... I really hope it's just a glitch and that it's not the actual stats... if they wanted to do things simple, they should just put random stats, they know how to do that by now...

Knowing my luck, I'd get full Haste/Mastery even with random stats :p

[Davesurfer 1]

The attunement here is wrong

 

http://eu.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/17613702560#post-2

[Stan 5,020]

32 minutes ago, Davesurfer said:

The attunement here is wrong

http://eu.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/17613702560#post-2

Thanks! I've edited the original post to reflect this change. Something like that happens if you're looking for information :).

[Valks 2,373]

Looks like people are already angry at it now being behind Mythic dungeon content. Should be interesting to see how it's received when it's live!

[Maleficara 0]

Why is there so much fear and or anger whenever Mythic is mentioned? I admit I was nervous when I stepped into one, but I did it. A Mythic dungeon is no more difficult than a Heroic is when hitting that content with a group of five only just reaching the required item level. Yes, you do have to pay attention a bit more, interrupt, focus the correct mobs, and stay out of stuff. You know, the very things that any decent player would be doing anyways.

The vast majority of the time when I use LFG for anything there is complete silence. Even if I am trying to hand out personal loot I don't need people refuse to speak or otherwise communicate. So in that regard Mythic is simply not appropriate for the LFG system. While I know the community is full of a great many a**hats it is not so saturated that exploring Mythic content is impossible, unless you make it impossible by not even trying.

Also, one might consider Mythic+ Friends on Twitter as a potential avenue for finding people to form a core, dependable, Mythic group with. Or, if you're willing to use these forums then I have no doubt you are capable of navigating around to find people looking for others to run Mythic content with.

My point in all of this is though that you have nothing to be afraid of nor should you feel Blizzard is punishing you for being a casual player because they try to involve your character in Mythic content. Only you, are stopping you.

[Valks 2,373]

55 minutes ago, JenniferEnglin said:

Only you, are stopping you.

Ah, but unfortunately, entitlement has become a core value in WoW. People feel that, because they pay to play, they should be allowed to receive everything. I'm not sure when the swap happened, to be honest. During Vanilla, I was happy to pay to spend an entire evening doing 2 levels in Dustwallow Marsh. That was awesome for me. 

[Fel 42]

It's worth noting that due to the loot system, over time the base ~850 ilvl requirement will become obsolete. Even casual players will be picking up welfare loot that allows them to easily explore the new content eventually. 

I think people react negatively to the idea of attunements in general, and it's primarily because, as Blainie said, there's an attitude of entitlement to the WoW population now. Although Blizzard has certainly diversified and retuned content to be more accessible to the casual player base, there is still a spectrum of content available and by its nature, some of it will be (if only temporarily) out of the reach of that population. My position is that it's completely fine. I think Blizzard works hard at achieving a balance that keeps everyone happy, and is reasonably successful. There will always be a vocal minority of irrational/self-centred people throwing their toys out of the pram the second something doesn't go according to the script in their minds. To them I say: try to have a little perspective, you'll sleep better.

I think Karazhan looks awesome and while I dont welcome the attunement (low on play time sadly), it does give me fond memories of when the game made you work hard for your achievements. 

[Valks 2,373]

13 hours ago, Fel said:

My position is that it's completely fine.

Agreed. I am totally OK with gladiator mounts, for example, being specific to people that achieve gladiator. If they use a unique model, fine. It gives people something truly worth working towards and rewards those that manage to complete what is a fairly impressive feat.