Kel'Thuzad (tactics)

Kel'Thuzad, once a sorcerer of the Kirin Tor of Dalaran, is the chief lieutenant of the powerful Lich King. He rules over the Dragonblight from his citadel of Naxxramas. He was originally voiced by Michael McConnohie but the current voice actor is unknown. He is the final boss of the re-tuned raid dungeon Naxxramas in Wrath of the Lich King.

Background
Formerly a sorcerer of Dalaran, Kel'Thuzad was one of the principal agents of the Lich King, responsible for the spreading of the Plague of undeath across Lordaeron. After being slain by Arthas during the events of the Third War, he was reborn as a lich. He then aided Arthas in summoning Archimonde, a powerful lord of the Burning Legion. However, Kel'Thuzad's true loyalty was to the Lich King, and not the Burning Legion. After the Legion's defeat, Kel'Thuzad supported Arthas in wresting power from the Dreadlords. When Arthas left for Northrend during the events of The Frozen Throne, he left Kel'Thuzad as his agent to command the Scourge in Lordaeron. He now commands Scourge forces in the Dragonblight from his necropolis floating above Wintergarde Keep, Naxxramas.

For much more information, see:
 * Kel'Thuzad for general lore.
 * The Road to Damnation for the official short story.

Phase one
Kel'Thuzad begins the encounter invulnerable, and you need to kill adds which come from the seven alcoves of the room. This includes the entrance.


 * Soldier of the Frozen Wastes - casts Dark Blast when it touches an enemy unit causing 3063 to 3937 Shadow damage to the raid, killing the Soldier itself. Dark Blast is not partially resistible.  Surprisingly, these are shackleable.  Slow move speed.  4,400 hit points.  71 will attack through phase one, though more may be pulled.


 * Unstoppable Abomination - periodically applies Mortal Wound to its target, which also applies a stacking -10% healing-received debuff. It will randomly choose one melee-range target, so multiple tanks work best for this mob.  They spawn progressively faster as phase 2 approaches, so they must be killed as fast as possible to avoid having multiple abominations up when Kel'Thuzad becomes active.  Normal run speed.  208,000 hit points.  Eight will attack through phase one, though more may be pulled accidentally, or on purpose for achievements.  Hits for ~7,000 on plate, ~12,000 mortal wound.


 * Soul Weaver - casts Wail of Souls which inflicts Shadow damage and knocks back. 6375-8625 Shadow damage, knocks back 30 yards, hits 3 players.  It will only do this attack when it is near its primary aggro target.  Slow move speed.  151,000 hit points.  Eight will attack through phase one though more may be pulled.

Phase two
Kel'Thuzad becomes active 3 minutes and 48 seconds after you engage him. Kel'Thuzad has approximately 14,660,000 hit points. He is tauntable.

Frost Bolt single

Two-second cast. Inflicts 29,250 to 30,750 Frost damage and reduces movement speed of primary aggro target for 4 seconds; must be interrupted. Frost Bolt is cast at random intervals and is often chain-cast; having multiple Rogues and Warriors meleeing Kel'Thuzad at all times is ideal. This spell cannot be reflected via Warrior Spell Reflection.

Frost Bolt multiple

An instant cast that inflicts 7200 to 8800 Frost damage and reduces the targets' movement speed for 4 sec. Hits everyone in the room and cannot be interrupted. Used every 20-30 secs. Fully resistible.

Chains of Kel'Thuzad

Kel'Thuzad can mind control 3 people at once. Size increased by 200%. Charmed. Damage increased by 200%. Healing increased by 500%. They will buff and heal Kel'Thuzad, a Deathknight with skilled and glyphed Rune Tap can heal Kel'Thuzad for over 700,000 damage, so be careful. Can be CC'd by any ability that would normally work on humanoids. With the Ulduar patch this ability will no longer reset raid threat. Unlike Kel'Thuzad 40, this will not mind control the main tank. This ability lasts 20 seconds and cannot be removed by any means. This spell has a 90-second cooldown.

Chains of Kel'Thuzad are a specially crafted set of seven magical, spiked chains, given to him by Ner'zhul. The owner must wrap this artifact around his body to activate it, at which point the chains animate and move lazily to and fro in the air when not being commanded.

Mana Detonation

A debuff randomly applied to a mana-using player. The player will explode after 5 seconds, dealing Arcane damage based on maximum mana to all players within 10 yards (not to himself). Mana-based melee will only deal ~10,000 damage, while holy Paladins and Priests can cause ~25,000 damage or more. It will also drain ~2,000 mana from the affected player. This spell has a 30-second cooldown.

Shadow Fissure

Summons a very noticeable red fissure around the targeted player which does 62500-137500 Shadow damage after 5 seconds as Void Blast. Easily avoidable by running out of the fissure.

Frost Blast

Places an Ice Block effect on the targeted player and all players within 10 yards, rendering them unable to perform any action. This effect will continue to chain to anyone within 10 yards of anyone affected, as with C'thun's Eye Beam. It will deal 104% of their maximum HP in damage over 4 seconds. If those affected are not healed within 4 seconds, they will die. Unlike 10-man, this ability can target the main tank. This spell has a 45-second cooldown.

Phase three
At 45% health, phase three will begin as Kel'Thuzad calls for aid and the Lich King sends four Nerubian Crypt Lords known as the Guardians of Icecrown to attack the raid.
 * Guardian of Icecrown - These have as much HP as Kel'Thuzad (each) with the ability: Blood Tap, which is a self buff that does +15% all damage, + 10% size, and can stack up to 99 times. The Guardians will flee when Kel'Thuzad dies.  Immune to CC.  The Guardians stack Blood Tap every ~15 seconds, and it hits their aggro target for ~4,500.  They hit for ~4,000 on plate to start but this increases rapidly over time.

Phase one
Kel'Thuzad is invulnerable, and you need to kill adds which come from the seven alcoves, including the entrance.


 * Soldier of the Frozen Wastes - Casts Dark Blast when it touches an enemy unit causing 3063 to 3937 Shadow damage to the raid and will kill the Soldier itself. Dark Blast is not partially resistible.  Surprisingly, these are able to be shackled.  Slow move speed.  1,600 hit points.  71 will attack through phase one, though more may be pulled accidentally.


 * Unstoppable Abomination - Periodically applies Mortal Wound, a stacking "-10% healing received" debuff to its target. It will randomly choose one melee range target, so multiple tanks work best for this mob.  They spawn progressively faster as phase 2 approaches, they must be killed as fast as possible to avoid having multiple abominations up when Kel'Thuzad becomes active.  ~75,000 hit points.  Normal run speed.  Eight will attack through phase one, though more may be pulled accidentally or intentionally for achievements.  Hits for ~4,000 on plate, mortal wounds for 6,000.


 * Soul Weaver - Wail of Souls Inflicts 6375–8625 Shadow damage and does a 30-yard knock-back that hits 3 players. It will only do this attack when it is near its primary aggro target.  ~55,000 hit points.  Slow movement speed.  Eight will attack through phase one, though more may be pulled.

Phase two
Phase two begins 3 minutes and 48 seconds after you engage Kel'Thuzad. He becomes active, and has approximately 5,660,000 hit points. He is tauntable.


 * Frost Bolt single is a 2-second cast. Inflicts 10063–12937 Frost damage to primary aggro target and reduces its movement speed for 4 sec.  This spell is not reflectable via Warrior Spell Reflection.


 * Frost Bolt multiple inflicts 4500–5500 Frost damage and reduces the targets' movement speed for 4 sec. Hits everyone in the room and cannot be interrupted - it is instant cast.  Used every 20-30 secs.  Fully resistible.


 * Mana Detonation is a debuff randomly applied to a mana-using player. The player will explode after 5 seconds, dealing Arcane damage based on maximum mana to all players within 10 yards (not to himself).  Mana-based melee will only deal ~10,000 damage, while holy Paladins and Priests can cause ~25,000 damage or more.  It will also drain ~2,000 mana from the affected player.  This spell has a 30-second cooldown.


 * Shadow Fissure summons a very noticeable red fissure around the targeted player which does 62500–137500 Shadow damage after 5 seconds as Void Blast. Easily avoidable by running out of the fissure.


 * Frost Blast places an Ice-Block effect on the targeted player, and all players within 10 yards, rendering them unable to perform any action. This effect will continue to chain to anyone within 10 yards of anyone affected as with C'thun's Eye Beam.   It will deal 104% of their maximum HP in damage over 4 seconds.  If those affected are not healed within 4 seconds they will die.  Unlike 25-man this ability cannot target the main tank.  Instant casts, such as the priest's Prayer of Mending or even Power Word: Shield may be more successful than fast heals such as the Priest's Flash Heal, the Paladin's Flash of Light, the Druid's Regrowth, or the Shaman's Lesser Healing Wave, depending on the server lag and individual healer's latency.  Party heals, such as Circle of Healing or Chain Heal may be more successful, as long as they proc on the player within the Ice Block.  For people having trouble keeping melee alive, try to group two melee together and have each group stay 10 yds away from the tank.  This way only two melee will be affected at the same time, and it's much easier (and more healer friendly) to keep them alive, instead of healing through three Frost Blasts.  This spell has a 45-second cooldown.

Phase three
At 45% health, Phase Three will begin as Kel'Thuzad calls for aid and the Lich King sends two Nerubian Crypt Lords known as the Guardians of Icecrown to attack the raid.


 * Guardian of Icecrown - These have as much HP as Kel'Thuzad (combined) with the ability Blood Tap, which is a self buff that does +15% all damage, + 10% size, and can stack up to 99 times. The Guardians will flee when Kel'Thuzad dies.  Immune to CC.  The Guardians stack Blood Tap every ~15 seconds and it hits their aggro target for ~3,000.  They hit for ~2,000 on plate to start but this increases rapidly over time.

25-man strategy
You will need one main tank and two to three Guardian-of-Icecrown offtanks for this encounter. It is worth noting that none of the abilities in this encounter can be removed by PvP trinkets or Ice Block/Divine Shield/Cloak of Shadows.

During phase one, the raid will stack in the centre of Kel'Thuzad's room. Melee will engage and kill Unstoppable Abominations while ranged will kill Soldiers of the Frozen Wastes and Soul Weavers before they reach the raid. 15 seconds after Kel'Thuzad's aggro emote, he will become active; it is essential that the entire raid spread out efficiently around the room before this occurs in order to mitigate the effects of the Mana Detonation and Frost Blast abilities. Mana Detonation will come approximately every 20 to 25 seconds, Shadow Fissure approximately every 15 to 20 seconds, Chains of Kel'Thuzad every 90 to 120 seconds, and Frost Blast every 45 to 60 seconds.

For phase two, the main tank should drag Kel'Thuzad to the center of the room, and melee classes should stack in the three cardinal points around Kel'Thuzad's hitbox not occupied by the main tank (a bit more than 10 yards from each other). It is critical that they be at max range and spread out so that Frost Blast will only hit as few as possible. This is a diamond-shaped formation. If this positioning is not perfected, multiple melee will be frozen by Frost Blast which tends to result in the death of most of them. If it chains to the tank, it usually results in a wipe. An interrupt rotation on Kel'Thuzad's Frost Bolt should be established to reduce damage taken by the tank (30k damage per bolt without resistance). If/when Shadow Fissure is cast on the tank, the melee MUST reposition with the tank. The ranged DPS and healers should spread out in a circle around Kel'Thuzad with a space left for mana-based melee to run to should they be afflicted by Mana Detonation. Melee will need to move for Shadow Fissure but should move back to their original position afterward. The Guardian-of-Icecrown offtanks don't need to do anything until phase 3 begins and can stay in the alcoves where the adds spawned in phase one to avoid spreading Frost Blast.

Usually at least once before phase 3 begins, Kel'Thuzad will cast Chains of Kel'Thuzad. All DPS must stop until the tank has reestablished threat on Kel'Thuzad. Interrupts need to continue. It is important that Mages polymorph and other classes CC the affected players very quickly as they will do extremely high damage (two-shotting raid members) and cast extremely large heals on Kel'Thuzad. It is also possible for Kel'Thuzad to be Bloodlusted and Hand of Protectioned, as well as any other buffs you can think of. When Chains of Kel'Thuzad ends, the affected players should return to their positions.

At 45% HP, the Lich King will send four Guardians of Icecrown to attack the raid. These appear one at a time. The Guardian offtanks will need to pick up the rest and offtank them in the alcoves for the rest of the encounter. All of Kel'Thuzad's phase-2 abilities continue in this phase. Note that it is possible and probable that one of your Guardian offtanks will be mind controlled at some point, so it is advisable that the Guardians are tanked relatively close together so that the other offtanks can taunt the Guardians when they become loose. Guardians hit very hard and their melee hits will increase the longer you take to kill Kel'thuzad.

It is advisable to save DPS cooldowns and Bloodlust for phase 3 as the Guardians will become untankable if you take too long to finish the encounter.

10-man strategy
The 10-man version of Kel'Thuzad is significantly easier than the 25-man and should be manageable if your group can kill Sapphiron. Since the Guardians do not hit very hard on 10-man and Kel'Thuzad cannot target the main tank with Frost Blast, the main tank can pick up both Guardians and tank them along with Kel'Thuzad, eliminating the possibility of the offtank being Frost Blasted while tanking Guardians, which can often result in death.

(Pre-Patch) Kel'Thuzad's abilities in a 10-man consist of single-target Frost Bolts (which can be interrupted), raid-wide Frost Bolts (which must be healed through; the slowing effect can be dispelled), Mana Detonation (positional), and Shadow Fissure (instant death if in the area of effect after 5 seconds).

Healers must keep the raid topped off, and heal the Frost-Bolted target immediately.

Optimally, designate one healer for the tank, healer(s) to watch for Frost Blast, and AoE/chain heals for the raid-wide Frost Bolts. The healer assigned to heal the multiple Frost Bolt should stand near the center of the raid to have access to the entire raid. Healers should also be ready to heal each other in case of Frost Blasts, and to fill in for each other as needed. Once the adds are picked up, this encounter is effectively a DPS race, because the guardians get bigger and bigger, and hit harder, until eventually your tank will die or your healers run out of mana.

While not as big a problem as on 25-man, restrict your melee DPS to three, including the tank. This allows them to form a triangle around Kel'Thuzad, which prevents frost bolts chaining onto the tank. The tank may have difficulty seeing the fissures once the Guardians grow to a certain size. To deal with this, try to move every time they form. This will not be an issue if your group has enough DPS to kill Kel'Thuzad before the Guardians get too big.

Kel'Thuzad's can chain cast his single-target Frost Bolt on a tank for 10-12k each. Any form of melee interruption is greatly helpful here, including a Shield Bash, Rogue Kick, or Death Knight Mind Freeze/Strangulate.

Kel'Thuzad has a 19-minute enrage timer (from the beginning of the fight), at which point his Frost Bolts begin hitting for approximately 30k and he hits for 20k melee on plate.

Quotes
See Kel'Thuzad for quotes from his WCIII script.

Dialogue with the Lich King upon death of Sapphiron (this dialogue has changed since the original inception):
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell

Death of Mr. Bigglesworth:
 * yell

Taunts when the final bosses of the first four wings are killed:
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell

Phase One:
 * yell

Phase Two:
 * yell
 * yell
 * yell

Phase Three:
 * yell
 * yell

Mana Detonation:
 * yell
 * yell

Dispelling
 * yell

Chains of Kel'Thuzad:
 * yell
 * yell

Frost Blast:
 * yell

Killing a player:
 * yell
 * emote

Death:
 * yell

Trivia

 * Kel'thuzad's cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, is a reference to the cat of Dr. Evil in Austin Powers.


 * Kel'thuzad's death emote is strikingly similar to a line in Star Wars, where Obi Wan Kenobi says "If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you could ever imagine." In current lore there has not yet been mention of Kel'Thuzad's phylactery having been destroyed (or indeed located since his transition to Northrend) so this may be foreshadowing of his eventual return yet another time.

10-man encounter
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25-man encounter
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