Blackwing Lair is the 40-player raid after Molten Core. It is a step up in coordination, and the first two bosses fail pugs more than any gear check does. Know this before raid night.
Attunement
You need the quest “Blackhand’s Command” to enter. You pick it up from an orb at the top of Upper Blackrock Spire, so anyone going to BWL runs UBRS first and clicks the orb. Get attuned before raid night, the same as for the Molten Core orb.
What to bring
- Fire Resistance still matters on a couple of fights, less than in Molten Core. Tanks first, then a few others.
- Greater Fire Protection and Nature Protection potions, healthstones, and your own flasks and food.
- An Onyxia Scale Cloak for the Nefarian fight, made by leatherworkers from Onyxia’s hide. Several of you want one before you reach him.
Boss notes
- Razorgore the Untamed: one player controls Razorgore through an orb and uses him to destroy the eggs in the room while the raid defends against waves of adds. Then you kill Razorgore directly. This fight is about add control and protecting the controller, and it has its own thread.
- Vaelastrasz: a hard enrage race. Vael gives the raid a damage buff and a debuff that makes a random player explode, so you burn him down fast and play around Burning Adrenaline. Also its own thread.
- Broodlord Lashlayer: a tank-swap fight with a knockback. Clear the suppression-device room first so you are not fighting under a debuff.
- Firemaw, Ebonroc, Flamegor: three drakes with a shared shadowflame mechanic and threat wipes. Swap tanks and drop the shadowflame stacks before they get too high.
- Chromaggus: a two-headed dragon with rotating breath types and a mutating debuff. Assign resistances to the breath of the week and dispel the debuff before it builds.
- Nefarian: the end fight. He calls out a class each phase and forces that class into a useless or dangerous state, so the whole raid has to react to the call. Phase two with the adds is where most first tries end. Its own thread.
First-clear advice
After Razorgore and Vael, the later wipes are usually easier to read and fix. Sort loot rules and Onyxia Scale Cloaks before you pull, and expect to spend a couple of nights on the first two bosses alone.