Harjatan Strategy/Tactics for Normal/Heroic

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Contents
  • 2. Lore
  • 3. Outline
  • 4. TL;DR
    • 4.1. Tanks
    • 4.2. Healers
    • 4.3. DPS
    • 4.4. Everyone
  • 5. Positioning
  • 6. Tank Concerns
  • 7. Bloodlust/Heroism/Time Warp
  • 8. Changelog
• +Abilities
  • 1. Overview
  • 2. Abilities
    • 2.1. Murloc Allies
  • 3. Changelog
• ×Normal/Heroic Strategy/Tactics
  • 1. Positioning
  • 2. Tank Concerns
  • 3. Healing Concerns
  • 4. DPS Concerns
  • 5. Bloodlust/Heroism/Time Warp
  • 6. Changelog
• +Mythic Strategy
  • 1. Mythic Mode Abilities
    • 1.1. Eggs and Tadpoles
  • 2. Strategy
  • 3. Changelog

General Information

On this page, you will find a working strategy to defeat Harjatan in Tomb of Sargeras for both Normal and Heroic modes, which usually only differ by the tuning of the boss.

Here, we assume that you have read our descriptions of the abilities for this encounter.

The other pages of our Harjatan guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

Harjatan can be tanked where he stands, facing away from the raid group. The ranged and melee should stack behind the boss initially. The tanks should perform a taunt swap every 5+ stacks of Jagged Abrasion, which has a chance to be applied with each of Harjatan's melee swings. Right as Harjatan is about to reach 100 Energy, he should be spun 180 degrees so that the entire raid group splits his Unchecked Rage.

The murlocs should be picked up as soon as they spawn, ideally by the currently inactive tank. Highest priority by the DPS should be on the Razorjaw Wavemenders, who cast Watery Splash and Aqueous Burst. Watery Splash can and should be interrupted with each cast, which helps group them faster and prevents additional Drenched stacks and damage from occuring. Aqueous Burst will leave behind a puddle of Drenching Waters, and therefore it is imperative that any players with this debuff immediately move as far away from Harjatan and the raid group as possible (ideally in a place where the Drenching Waters do not form a line intersecting with the raid group and Harjatan himself). Try to keep the center of the room clear, instead keeping the Drenching Waters towards the edges of the arena.

The Darkscale Taskmaster should be kept separate from the rest of the raid, and can be picked up by whichever tank is not currently tanking Harjatan. DPS with efficient cleave, such as multi DoT classes, should bring it down while keeping damage on Harjatan. Groups with very high damage and healing can alternatively keep all the murlocs and Taskmasters stacked on the boss and use cooldowns to burn through all of them at once, although this is not recommended for less experienced groups.

A very safe strategy for dealing with the Darkscale Taskmasters is to bring a third tank to the fight. The Taskmasters do not deal high damage to their current target, so even an offspec DPS is fine. This allows the main two tanks to focus on Harjatan and the other murlocs, while the third tank's responsibility is merely to keep the Darkscale Taskmasters away from the raid. You can opt to kill them over time, or simply leave them alive and heal through the damage.

The Razorjaw Gladiators have a Splashy Cleave that applies Drenched, which they also apply with each melee swing via their Dripping Blades. They should simply be grouped and burned down with AoE. They will also fixate with Driven Assault and, if necessary, can be kited in a tight circle without dragging them out of the stack.

Overall, the most important aspect to this fight is quickly grouping the murloc allies and eliminating them with high damage and cooldowns. If this is accomplished successfully, the rest of the fight's mechanics are trivial by comparison.

When Harjatan casts Draw In, the ranged and healers should detach from the melee stack (unless Unchecked Rage is imminent). All players should be careful to avoid the Drenching Waters as they are absorbed by the boss (very similar to Nythendra's Heart of the Swarm).

Immediately following the conclusion of Draw In is Frigid Blows. The ranged and healers should remain spread around the edges of the room, ensuring that as many of the Drenching Waters are spawned away from the boss as possible and gives the melee some room to breathe, keeping the area near the boss mostly clear. When all the stacks of Frigid Blows are gone, Frosty Discharge is cast, which will deal very high raid damage depending on the amount of Drenched stacks on the raid. Healing cooldowns will be necessary to keep the raid healthy, and acute usage of personal cooldowns will be required for any individuals with abnormally high stacks of Drenched.

The main responsibility of the tanks is to round up the adds spawning around the arena. Quickly grouping and eliminating the murlocs is of paramount importance to success, though the Darkscale Taskmaster must be separated unless your team is very confident in their damage and healing. If no third tank is being used, the tanks should trade aggro between the Darkscale Taskmaster and the boss when taunt swaps are necessitated (5+ stacks of Jagged Abrasion). Stunning the Taskmaster before taunting can ease this process and ensure Harjatan does not become Focused.

The simplest but most important part of the tanks' job is turning Harjatan to face the raid for every Unchecked Rage. Failure to do so will result in anyone in front of the boss, including tanks, taking instant lethal damage and likely resulting in a failed attempt.

Healing through this fight is largely a matter of numbers alone, as the raid will be taking constant ticking damage from Drenched stacks. At least one cooldown should be assigned for every Frosty Discharge, with mitigating cooldowns such as Spirit Link Totem making the best candidates. Throughput cooldowns are fine if nothing else is available, and can be great for stabilizing the raid quickly.

DPS should save their cooldowns for burning down the adds whenever possible. They are the greatest threat to your raid's success and should be dealt with posthaste. Good placement of Drenching Slough and Aqueous Burst will also greatly increase your chances for victory. The Razorjaw Wavemender's Watery Splash should always be interrupted to reduce Drenched stacks and help group them as quickly as possible.

We advise you to use Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp on the pull. The add summons are not threatening enough to warrant a delay of cooldowns and using Bloodlust on the pull guarantees maximum damage due to cooldown synergy and the least mechanical interference.

• 19 May 2017: Guide added.