Firemaw Guide: Strategy, Abilities, Loot (Updated for the Season of Mastery)

• You will want at least 2 tanks.
• Positioning is key. Get in correct positions and do not move. You will want to hold the boss with your back into a corner since he does a knockback ability.
• Your tanks should taunt swap every time the knockback happens. This is not an exact timing, but gives the other tank time to reset their stacks.
• While not required, it is highly recommended that your tanks use Onyxia Scale Cloak. This cloak will protect you from a large portion of the fire damage that Firemaw's Shadow Flame breath does, which can potentially save your life.

• The tanks will get a stacking damage taken debuff, so make sure to keep them topped.
• Make sure to position yourself correctly to be able to LoS when needed. You should also make sure not every healer is LoSing to drop stacks at the same time, rotate who is LoSing.

• Watch your Fire debuff stacks and make sure to LoS to drop them at 5-6 stacks.
• Optimize boss damage otherwise, but remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. There is no reason to take chances with the debuff. A dead DPS does no DPS.
• Stay spread to ensure that the boss' Electrostatic Discharge does not spread unnecessarily.
• Melee DPS need to pay close attention to their health to ensure they do not kill themselves attacking the boss with high stacks of Static Electricity as the boss will be returning Nature damage to all Physical attackers with his own Static Electricity ability.

• Getting the boss positioned correctly is the most important part of the fight. Because of the changes made in the Season of Mastery version of this encounter, more space is needed for raid members to spread to limit the applications of the Static Electricity debuff and the damage dealt by Electrostatic Discharge; consider using the room Firemaw is originally located in with the range spreading throughout the room and using the cove near Firemaw's original location to line of sight the Fire debuffs. The tanks will want to wedge themselves into the corner here, which will negate the knockback ability while also giving the raid plenty of places to LoS to drop their debuff stacks when needed.
• Everyone else in the raid should watch their stacks carefully. Make sure to LoS the boss to drop your fire debuff stacks when you are at 5-6 stacks.

Similar to Broodlord Lashlayer, positioning is everything for Firemaw. Firemaw has one main mechanic, which is the stacking debuff that he puts on everyone in LoS of him called Flame Buffet. If the boss is in a static position with the tanks facing the boss into a corner, facing away from the raid, then 90% of your work is done. The rest of the fight involves just making sure your raid plays it safe and patiently runs out of LoS to drop their stacks at around 5-6. This fight does not need to be fast, but everyone just needs to not die. Make sure your tanks are swapping to give the other tanks chances to reset their stacks, and you should have no problems brining Firemaw down.

• Flame Buffet is a stacking debuff that causes the person afflicted to take more fire damage from subsequent Flame Buffet applications. This only hits people in line of sight of the boss, so when someone is at 5-6 stacks they should run out of LoS around a corner, wait however long is necessary to drop their stacks, and then run back to keep hitting the boss.
• Season of Mastery-only: Static Electricity is a stacking debuff that causes the person afflicted to take more Nature damage from the boss' Static Electricity and Electrostatic Discharge abilities. This debuff does not fade and will persist the entire duration of the fight so spreading is crucial to limit the number of stacks.
• Electrostatic Discharge applies the Static Electricity debuff to players in the raid, causing them to take additional Nature damage. This ability will target a random member of the raid and chain to nearby allies dealing damage and applying the Static Electricity debuff to all who are effected not just the original target.

Item	Slot	Class
Handguards of Transcendence	Hands	Priest
Bloodfang Gloves	Hands	Rogue
Gauntlets of Wrath	Hands	Warrior
Gauntlets of Ten Storms	Hands	Shaman
Dragonstalker's Gauntlets	Hands	Hunter
Judgement Gauntlets	Hands	Paladin
Nemesis Gloves	Hands	Warlock
Netherwind Gloves	Hands	Mage
Stormrage Handguards	Hands	Druid

Item	Slot
Drake Talon Cleaver	Two-Handed Axe
Drake Talon Pauldrons	Shoulder
Rejuvenating Gem	Trinket
Ring of Blackrock	Finger
Taut Dragonhide Belt	Waist
Shadow Wing Focus Staff	Staff

Item	Slot
Black Ash Robe	Chest
Claw of the Black Drake	Fist Weapon
Cloak of Firemaw	Back
Firemaw's Clutch	Waist
Legguards of the Fallen Crusader	Legs
Natural Alignment Crystal	Trinket (Shaman-only)
Primalist's Linked Legguards	Legs
Scrolls of Blinding Light	Trinket (Paladin-only)

If you were looking for a full guide for the Blackwing Lair raid, or would like to know what other loot is available from its bosses, see the links below.