Enrage (mechanic)

Enrage, also known as berserk or frenzy, generally describes a boss ability which increases its damage output. Frequently, bosses have a hard enrage timer to limit the possible length of the encounter, others may have a soft enrage as part of their normal abilities, and some have both. Certain mobs and players also have Enrage effects that Rogues, Druids, and Hunters can dispel.

Hard enrage
Hard enrages are designed to wipe a group if the boss is not defeated in a certain length of time. Without a hard enrage mechanic, killing a boss would just be a question of having enough healers who don't run out of mana. It adds some urgency to the encounter, and prevents undergeared raids from killing the boss.

The time at which the boss enrages depends on the encounter. When the enrage occurs, the boss's damage output will increase greatly and generally the fight will not be survivable unless the boss is very close to death. Not all bosses have a hard enrage timer; the bosses without one usually use a soft enrage mechanic instead.

Examples:
 * Argaloth: After 5 minutes he goes Berserk, increasing his attack speed by 150% and all damage he deals by 900%.
 * Halfus Wyrmbreaker: After 6 minutes he goes Berserk, increasing his attack and movement speed by 150%, increasing all damage he deals by 500%, and granting immunity to taunt effects.
 * Heigan the Unclean: None. Fights lasting over 30 minutes have been reported for this boss.

Soft enrage
Soft enrages are designed to increase the difficulty of a boss encounter and wipe groups who are performing poorly. Soft enrages take many forms. Some are invoked at a fixed point in an encounter (for example, the boss may receive a buff when it reaches a certain HP), and some become apparent only when the group makes mistakes or doesn't control elements of the fight (for example, letting adds or stacking debuffs get out of control).

Examples:
 * Cho'gall: In the final phase he gains Corruption of the Old God, increasing corruption stacks raid-wide and eventually wiping the raid.
 * Chimaeron: In the final phase the raid gains the debuff Mortality, reducing all healing effects by 99%.
 * Ascendant Council: Ice patches continuously form on the ground and will eventually overrun the room, wiping the raid.

Enrage effect
Enrage effects are a type of buff that can be dispelled with a Rogue's Shiv, a Hunter's Tranquilizing Shot or a Druid's Soothe. These are similar to normal boss enrages, but are short duration and can usually be healed through.

Examples:
 * Saviana Ragefire: Enrages every so often, increasing her attack speed by 150% and periodically casting Fire Nova for 10 seconds.
 * Icehowl: If he hits someone during Massive Crash, he goes into a Frothing Rage, increasing physical damage and attack speed by 50% for 15 seconds.
 * Shambling Horror: Enrages every so often, increasing its physical damage by 200% for 5 seconds.
 * Druid: Savage Roar increases autoattack damage by 50%. Duration depends on the number of combo point used.