Mana Tombs Strategy Guide
In this article, we'll go over how to overcome this ethereal hideout with a few tips and tricks along the way!
Group Composition for The Mana-Tombs
Mana-Tombs has a variety of trash mobs, requiring certain utility to make this Heroic more achievable. There's a healthy amount of casters here with very powerful abilities, and groups will want at least two interrupting classes, as you will not want any casts to go off. On top of that, you'll also want a Shaman or Priest for Tremor Totem or Fear Ward. The Elemental or Enhancement Shaman will shine bright for providing solid damage, having fear protection, while also having an interrupt with Earth Shock, only being on a 6-second cooldown! On top of that, having a Shaman for Bloodlust/Heroism is always a strong bonus.
Whether a DPS or healer, having a Priest to Dispel Magic will be very beneficial, as the Nexus Terrors will cast AoE silences to those within melee range. If lacking on interrupts, having CC's such as Polymorph can alleviate some interrupt responsibilities. Later on in the dungeon, players will encounter mobs that will stun their tank with a Gouge, so having a Hunter or Mage for their slows can greatly assist in preventing any deaths during this stun, as mobs will be directed to whoever is second on threat during. The latter will also be beneficial for de-cursing their party.
Any tank can perform well here. The Protection Paladin will only find an issue with Nexus Terrors if there is no other class that can dispel magic debuffs. The Blood Elf Paladin will shine bright here as well due to their racial AoE silence, Arcane Torrent. Warrior and Druid tanks will do fine here as well, especially the former, having both a stun and a kick with Concussion Blow and Shield Bash, and not having mana to be affected by the Mana Burn from the Ethereal Darkcaster, should one go off.
All tanks will want (need) a Shadow Resistance Set, as the first boss deals incredibly high Shadow Damage that cannot be blocked or mitigated by anything else. A Paladin's Shadow Resistance Aura will greatly help. For Healers, the Priest and Paladin will be particularly beneficial here for their dispel magic abilities. Both can also provide Shadow Resistance with Shadow Protection and Shadow Resistance Aura (note that these do not stack). Additionally, having Shaman for their tremor Totem and Bloodlust/Heroism will always be beneficial.
The challenge of this Heroic comes primarily from the preparation beforehand. This is a Heroic that has hard requirements that will hard stop players who come ill-prepared. Tanks that come in with little to no Shadow Resistance for the first boss, or lack the DPS and healing to make up for it, will not be able to progress after. Lower overall DPS groups who cannot coordinate kicks will not be able to progress through the trash.
Trash Tips for The Mana-Tombs
There is a large variety of trash mobs in this dungeon. From physically hard-hitting mobs with Mortal Strike, Healers, Mana-burns, silences, stuns, and fears, players will want to coordinate primary targets versus mass AoE here. At the beginning, players will encounter Ethereal Crypt Raiders and Ethereal Scavengers. Paired together, these will deal heavy physical damage to your tank, and quickly. The former will open with Charge should they be in range to, and will also hit their tanks with Soul Strike. The latter will hit their targets with Singe, dealing noticeable damage over time. Stuns and slows should be used here, and players should prioritize Ethereal Crypt Raiders first.
Be careful, as there are two patrolling mobs at the start, along with the two you see when first zoning in, you should pull the initial two back to avoid pulling the patrols along with mid-combat. When pulling Crypt Raiders, it is recommended that DPS give time for tanks to build threat, as they will be hit with the charge, preventing them from casting anything during the short stun. There are some caster mobs in this first area before the first boss, but they should always be last in kill priority versus the two melee mobs mentioned earlier.
Once players clear through the first boss, they'll start to see Ethereal Priests. These have very powerful healing abilities, with their Holy Nova being an instant AoE heal, and their casted Heal healing targets up to full. These should either be taken out first or CC'd to prevent healing the rest of their group.
The Ethereal Darkcasters are the most dangerous mobs here, as their Mana Burn not only drains a significant portion of players' mana, but also their health! Do not allow these casts to go off. Trash packs will have both Ethereal Darkcasters and Ethereal Priests together. If you do not have multiple interrupts, high damage, or CC's to temporarily take out these mobs, you may be overwhelmed with their casts and not be able to progress. Tanks should also LoS these packs using nearby walls and corners, as trash packs are very close-knit and there are patrols that you can accidentally pull.
Once you defeat the second boss, you'll start to encounter Nexus Stalkers. These are the mobs that can and will Gouge tanks, and more than once as well! Having Frost Traps or a Blizzard will help prevent mobs from reaching DPS/healers while the tank is incapacitated.
Throughout the dungeon, there are Nexus Terror solo mobs. They fear, so having the aforementioned fear immunity is greatly beneficial, as you don't want to get feared into another trash pack. They also cast Death Coil, which is not protected by fear immunity. They will also cast both a curse and a magic debuff, with Curse of Impotence and Shadows Embrace, both very brutal for a Paladin tank. Having a decurse and dispel will be crucial for this mob. They are not immune to stuns, however, so coordinating "chain stuns" for these mobs will make them go down very fast, or having a Rogue to do it on their own.
The final trash mobs to worry about are the packs of Mana Leeches. They have their own mana-burn, and will also cast Faerie Fire. The latter isn't too significant, so don't worry too much about that one. They also explode on death, dealing around 1400 arcane damage. We recommend using slows, stuns, and kiting these mobs down to death. The longer they live, the deadlier it gets fighting these, especially for your casters and healers.
Boss Tips for The Mana-Tombs
As if the trash wasn't annoying enough, Blizzard also made sure these bosses would be a bit of a pain as well! On top of that, Blizzard also decided that the Enhancement Shaman's Best-in-Slot totem should also drop off the first boss, Pandemonius, who is a hard stop for players who came ill-prepared!
Pandemonius requires a high amount of Shadow Resistance for your tank to alleviate the damage going out. Armor does nothing here as all damage is magic, and block-based tanks, being Warriors and Paladins, will have zero use for their respective "Shield" abilities, as you cannot block magic damage either. High HP, high Shadow Resistance, and high Avoidance are the only ways to mitigate the damage here. Everyone should stop attacking during Dark Shell to avoid the powerful damage reflect, except Hunters, as ranged physical attacks from guns and bows are the only type of damage that doesn't reflect.
Certain classes can avoid damage from Void Blast: Warriors can use Spell Reflection, Shamans can Grounding Totem a blast, immunities like Ice Block or Divine Shield will also prevent damage, as well. As long as your tank is geared correctly and the healer is not being overwhelmed, this boss will fall over, and it gets easier from here on out.
The next boss, Tavarok, is also a hard-hitting boss on your tank, but luckily, this is physical damage this time, so Armor and Blocking will mitigate damage here. This boss favors ranged-heavy groups, as ranged can outrange the 35-yard Earthquake ability. Heal whoever gets hit by Crystal Prison, and don't be in front of the boss unless you're the tank!
The final required boss, Nexus-Prince Shaffar, can be a little chaotic if not handled correctly. Always focus down Ethereal Beacons, if you don't, they'll turn into Ethereal Apprentices. They don't have a lot of HP, and there really is no reason not to focus these down first, so if you see an add, take them down! Outside of that, he doesn't hit tanks hard with his auto attacks, but does cast some powerful Fireballs and Frostbolts, making this a really fun fight for Warrior tanks to use their Spell Reflection here. Finally, make sure whoever can dispel is doing so when he casts Frost Nova, as this will greatly slow down killing the boss if your group's melee heavy, and can allow threat to move off the tank if the tank cannot hit the boss.
The bonus boss, Yor, can only be summoned on Heroic mode and only if someone is Exalted with The Consortium to pick up the quest, The Eye of Haramad, or has obtained a Shaffar's Stasis Chamber Key through one of the Stasis Chambers at Bash'ir's Landing, which you can do at Revered. Outside of the grind to summon this boss, it is a simple tank and spank, and face the boss away from the rest of the party, and collect a juicy epic ring!
