Mistress Sassz'ine Strategy/Tactics for Normal/Heroic

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Contents
  • 2. Outline
  • 3. TL;DR
    • 3.1. Tanks
    • 3.2. Healers
    • 3.3. DPS
    • 3.4. Everyone
  • 4. Bloodlust/Heroism/Time Warp
  • 5. Changelog
• +Abilities
  • 1. All Phases
    • 1.1. Hydra Shot
    • 1.2. Burden of Pain
    • 1.3. From the Abyss
  • 2. Phase One: Ten Thousand Fangs
    • 2.1. Slicing Tornado
    • 2.2. Consuming Hunger
    • 2.3. Thundering Shock
  • 3. Phase Two: Terrors of the Deep
    • 3.1. Beckon Sarukel
    • 3.2. Summon Ossunet
    • 3.3. Call Vellius
  • 4. Phase Three: Vast Oceans of Wrath
    • 4.1. Summon Ossunet
    • 4.2. Call Vellius
    • 4.3. Consuming Hunger
    • 4.4. Slicing Tornado
  • 5. Changelog
• ×Normal/Heroic Strategy/Tactics
  • 1. Overview
  • 2. Positioning
    • 2.1. Phase One
    • 2.2. Phase Two
    • 2.3. Phase Three
  • 3. Tank Concerns
  • 4. Healing Concerns
  • 5. Bloodlust/Heroism/Time Warp
  • 6. Changelog
• +Mythic Strategy
  • 1. Mythic Mode Abilities
    • 1.1. All Phases
      • 1.1.1. Delicious Bufferfish
    • 1.2. Phase One
      • 1.2.1. Murloc Mash
    • 1.3. Phase Two
      • 1.3.1. Devouring Maw
  • 2. Strategy
  • 3. Changelog

General Information

On this page, you will find a working strategy to defeat Mistress Sassz'ine 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 Mistress Sassz'ine guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

Quick and flexible positioning is required to appropriately deal with Mistress Sassz'ine's abilities. Strong cleave is an advantage for your raid group, as she will frequently summon collaborators to assist her which interact with the rest of the encounter in critical ways. The ability to quickly eliminate these allies is an asset in making the encounter less hectic for your raid group.

Phase One lasts from 100% to 70% health, Phase Two lasts from 70% until 40% health, and Phase Three persists from 40% to the end of the encounter.

Mistress Sassz'ine begins the fight in the center of the arena. The tanks should keep her roughly around this same position in this phase, as it makes dodging the Slicing Tornados considerably easier. The ranged DPS and healers should spread in a tight circle (or semi-circle) around the boss, as you do not want the Abyss Stalkers leaping out to distant targets as they die.

The Abyss Stalkers should be focused and eliminated immediately when they are summoned. Ideally, all 3 will die in and around the melee camp. Upon death, they will drop Concealing Murk, which all raid members should ensure they move out of immediately. When Slicing Tornados spawn, the raid should position themselves so at least one cloud of Concealing Murk is between them and the wall of Slicing Tornados. Upon contact with a Concealing Murk, Slicing Tornadoes will despawn, giving the raid a gap to slip through and avoid the tornado line.

Hydra Shot will occur periodically throughout all phases of the fight. The amount of players necessary to split the damage, without risk, varies with the size of the raid. A 20-man Heroic raid should expect that 1-2 players should be ready to collapse in front of each targeted player to safely split this ability. Personal defensive cooldowns may also be required, especially if they have short cooldowns (such as Unending Resolve). If you have Burden of Pain or 1 stack of Hydra Acid you cannot soak Hydra Shot without severe repercussions.

Tanks must always swap for Burden of Pain, so the tank with Burden is no longer taking any melee swings. Failure to do so will replicate all damage taken to the raid and will lead to fatalities.

Periodically, Mistress Sassz'ine will cast Consuming Hunger and Murlocs will attach themselves to players. In order to detach the murlocs and make them vulnerable to attack, these players will have to deliberately stand in Thundering Shock. When the Murlocs are detached, the raid should blitz them down immediately.

The tanks should continue to keep Mistress Sassz'ine roughly around the center of the room. Summon Ossunet will be cast very early in this phase, creating pools of Befouling Ink around the room. When Beckon Sarukel is cast, the raid should run against the suction to avoid being killed by his Devour Whole. Certain players will have to pick up pools of Befouling Ink by running through them and carry them to Sarukel, where his Devouring Maw will remove them. There are 2 circles around Sarukel to indicate where safe range is; an outer circle, indicating where the Ink can be safely carried in order for it to be removed, and an inner circle where players will be instantly killed. Classes with exceptional mobility, such as Mages, make the best carriers. After consuming 3 Befouling Inks, Sarukel will depart temporarily.

Call Vellius will be cast often throughout the phase. Vellius will charge through the center of the arena on a random axis, dealing heavy damage to anyone hit and knocking them back (veterans, think Icehowl from Trial of the Crusader). There are a few seconds where his path is indicated by a large "splashy" line through the arena; use this time to escape to safety. If Sarukel is active at the same time, move to the side of the room furthest from his deadly Devouring Maw.

Phase Three is a combination of the previous phases. Consuming Hunger is back, as are the Slicing Tornados, but other Phase One mechanics are absent. Ossunet and Vellius return from Phase Two, however, you will no longer need to fear Sarukel. Stategically, this phase very much resembles Phase One, with the added necessity of avoiding the deadly rampages of Vellius. Raid damage in this phase will also increase.

There is no taunt swap mechanic on this fight. Instead, one tank should focus on holding Mistress Sassz'ine, while the other tank will round up any adds joining the fight. The add tank can also assist with soaking abilities such as Hydra Shot, when appropriate.

Raid damage throughout the fight is relatively high, and strong throughput healing will be required in order to succeed. Coordinated use of cooldowns during high pressure moments is key to ensuring your group's victory.

Bloodlust usage for this encounter is extremely flexible, and can be adjusted to suit the raid's needs. Using Bloodlust at the beginning of Phase Three can be helpful for quickly finishing the fight, as this is the longest phase and raid damage is at its highest. Alternatively, it can be used on the opener for maximum damage efficiency, as everyone's cooldowns and trinkets should be available.

• 20 Aug. 2017: Added additional clarification concerning Burden of Pain and threat control.
• 01 Jun. 2017: Guide added.