Introduction
Hey everyone, and welcome to the Operation: Floodgate dungeon guide for season 2 of The War Within! In this guide I’ll be going over the abilities of all the trash mobs and bosses throughout the dungeon, as well as how I recommend you handle them. I’ll be focusing on the mythic and M+ versions of the dungeon, but most of this article will apply to both normal and heroic difficulties as well. I’ll also be including my recommended, PUG friendly route via the Mythic Dungeon Tools addon for anyone interested.
Some background on myself, my name is Tactyks and I am an avid M+ player, achieving the 0.1% M+ title in every season it has existed, as well as competing in The Great Push in season 4 of Shadowlands. I also create M+, Raid, and tank guide content on my YouTube and Twitch channels, so be sure to stop by and say hi!
Socials:
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Tactyks
- Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/tactyks
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tactyks
If you are using the Mythic Dungeon Tools addon, you can import my recommended route using the following link: https://wago.io/o8-pPxZAh
Weapon Stockpiles, Goblin Gliders and the Zeppelin Patrol
Spread throughout the Waterworks area you start in are 5 Weapon Stockpiles that you can interact with to pilfer. Once you’ve dealt with all of them it allows you to spawn and engage the 3rd boss, Swampface, so you’ll need to make sure your route paths by these stockpiles so you can progress the dungeon. The stockpiles have static locations and are marked in the MDT string linked in this article, so just make sure you have someone click on any piles you pass!
One of these stockpiles is up on the dam, conveniently located next to a pile of goblin gliders. Players can interact with this pile to jump off the dam and glide, allowing you to quickly maneuver elsewhere in the dungeon, so make sure you have a plan on where your group is going and let the tank go first in case you glide into some mobs!
On top of this, a dangerous Zeppelin patrols the swamp area in the middle of the Waterworks, shooting missiles at any players who are spotted by the moving circle indicators. After defeating the Demolition Duo encounter, the boss drops a rocket on the ground which players can interact with in order to shoot down the Zepplin, making it much safer to traverse the water towards Swampface.
Video Guide
Waterworks Trash
Shreddinator 3000
- This mob is immune to CC
- Move out of the sawblades spawned under every player by Shreddation
- Tanks point the Flamethrower frontal away from your group and make sure all players watch the direction it rotates in so they can avoid it
Mechadrone Sniper
- Trickshot targets a random player, make sure to interrupt this cast
- Snipe deals extra damage to random players, use a defensive if multiple of these casts target you at once
Loaderbot
- Wind Up causes the bot to fixate a random player, avoid being in melee with them and use CCs to stop this channel
Venture Co. Surveyor
- Surveying beam channels into a random player, avoid the puddles if targeted and use an interrupt or CC to end the cast
- Beware of the extra random target fire damage from EZ-Thro Dynamite III
Darkfuse Soldier
- Beware of the stacking Magic DoT applied to tanks from Blood-Infused Strikes and dispel it or use defensives as needed
Darkfuse Hyena
- Be careful if pulling multiple of these mobs as they buff each other with Pack Tactics
- Make sure to interrupts Bloodthirsty Cackle or use soothes to remove the enrage
Venture Co. Architect
- This mob is immune to CC
- While on scaffolding the mob is protected by High Ground, so make sure you destroy it to remove this buff
- Be aware of the bleed and root effect applied by Nailgun, especially when combined with ground effects from other mobs
Venture Co. Diver
- Avoid the bombs spawned by Plant Seaforium Charge
- Use interrupts on Harpoon to prevent the random target damage and pull it does
Bombshell Crab
- Tanks beware of the physical hit and stacking slow from Pinch
- Try not to kill too many of these mobs at once as they will use Crabsplosion on death
Darkfuse Demolitionist
- Avoid the explosions caused by R.P.G.G and use CCs to prevent the mob from reloading
Darkfuse Bloodwarper
- This mob is immune to CC
- Use interrupts to prevent the Blood Bolt cast from hitting your tank and be ready to use defensives if casts go through
- Healers be prepared for the heavy group damage and healing absorb applied by Warp Blood
Darkfuse Inspector
- Watch out for the random target teleport and frontal from Surprise Inspection and use CCs to stop the cast if needed
Disturbed Kelp
- Be prepared to use defensives and heal through the damage from Jettison Kelp and use CCs to end the channel
- Use interrupts and purges to prevent the healing from Restorative Algae
There’s also a couple trash mobs in the swamp area you won’t be pulling.
Waterworks Crocolisk
- Tanks keep an eye on your stacks of Vicious Chomp and kite if needed to remove the healing reduction it applies
Undercrawler
- Lethargic Venom targets a random player, interrupt the cast or use a Poison dispel if it goes off
Big M.O.M.M.A. Boss Fight
This boss fight alternates between 2 phases, one where you fight the boss along with 4 Mechadrone adds, and another which is a simple burn phase.
Starting with the Mechadrone adds, make sure to interrupt their Maximum Distortion cast and get out of their Doom Storm circles which are targeted at a random player. They also Shoot random players for some extra physical damage.
In terms of the boss itself, it will occasionally target a random player with Sonic Boom, which shoots out a wave at them after a few seconds, silencing players hit as it pushes them backwards before exploding in a 7yd AoE when it contacts terrain. Make sure the player targeted points this away from your group and dodges the wave itself, likely requiring them to use a movespeed effect and create some distance between them and the boss.
Tanks be prepared to defensive the Electrocrush attack, which deals nature damage and applies a 10s DoT to you.
If the boss ever reaches full energy it will cast Kill-o-Block Barrier, applying an 80% damage reduction to itself and dealing AoE damage to your group every 2.5s. To prevent this from happening you need to kill all 4 Mechadrone adds, which causes the boss to cast Jumpstart, beginning the burn phase.
In this burn phase the party takes heavy nature damage every 1.5s for 12s, but at the same time the boss takes 200% additional damage, so make sure to use big damage cooldowns when this starts. After Jumpstart completes, the boss resets to 0 energy, spawns 4 more Mechadrones, and leaves behind a growing puddle of electricity underneath it. From here the fight just repeats but you now have less total space, so try to pull the boss to one side of the platform before pushing the burn phase in order to conserve your safe area.
Demolition Duo Boss Fight
For this encounter the 2 bosses do not share health, so make sure you damage them as evenly as possible to prevent the Divided Duo buff from getting out of hand!
Tanks you’ll want to pick up Bront and try to keep him as close to Keeza as possible to maximize cleave. Use a defensive on the large physical hit in Wallop, and make sure you are standing away from your melee as it also does a 5yd AoE hit around you.
The main mechanic here is Big Bada Boom, which spawns 6 bombs throughout the arena that will detonate after 30s, applying a stacking 10s DoT to your group. To avoid this you need to hit them with one of two possible boss mechanics. The first is Kinetic Explosive Gel, which is a Magic DoT that goes on a random player and explodes in a 5yd AoE when dispelled, removing any bombs hit from the arena. The other ability is Barreling Charge, where Bront does a series of 3 charges, 2 at random players and the last at the tank, stunning any players hit and also removing any bombs in the path. Have the targeted players aim the charge line through bombs and then move out of the path themselves to avoid taking extra damage. Also note that when a bomb is removed from the arena it spawns several circles you need to avoid.
Outside of this, Keeza spawns several lines to avoid with B.B.B.F.G, plus she deals damage to random players with Quick Shot, which can be especially dangerous if it targets the player debuffed with Kinetic Explosive Gel, so be aware and use defensives as needed.
Swampface Boss Fight
Throughout this fight the boss will debuff 4 players with Razorchoke Vines, dealing DoT damage for 24s and binding them to another player for the duration. If you ever move more than 14yds away from your partner these vines will pull you back together, so you need to make sure you are on the same page when dodging some of the other boss mechanics! This ability prefers to target non-tank players, but if someone is dead it will assign the tank a partner.
For other abilities, Mudslide is a large line attack that targets a random player, so make sure everyone avoids this. Awaken the Swamp is the other ability to be aware of, which spawns 5 circles on the ground that are then detonated one at a time over a 4s channel, dealing damage to your entire group and shooting out waves to dodge.
Outside of this, tanks be aware of the Sludge Claws ability, which deals mixed physical and nature damage and also applies a healing absorb you’ll need to sustain through.
Geezle Gigazap Trash
Bubbles
- This mob is immune to CC
- Group up for Bubble Burp and quickly move out of the bubbles it spawns on all players as they deal lethal damage when touched
- Avoid the random target frontal from Splish Splash
- Healers be aware of the high party damage from the stacking DoT applied by Backwash
Venture Co. Electrician
- Use interrupts to stop as many casts of the random target Lightning Bolt as possible
- Healers be ready to dispel the Overcharge Magic DoT as quickly as you can
Darkfuse Jumpstarter
- This mob is immune to CC
- While in combat beware of circle spawns and constant ticking damage from Battery Discharge
- Tanks use defensives as needed on the Sparkslam cast
Geezle Gigazap Boss Fight
At the start of the encounter and then again every time the boss reaches 0 energy, he will jump to the controls at the front of the room and begin channeling Turbo Charge for 10s. This deals ticking damage to the group each second and shoots out lines at random players every 2s for the duration, all while refilling the bosses energy bar. The damage intake here is quite high on all players, so make sure you have healing prepared for it.
After each cast of Turbo Charge several circles of Dam Rubble will fall around the room, turning into Dam Water puddles shortly after. These puddles are important as they are the only way to deal with the Leaping Sparks mechanic. When this happens 5 sparks spawn and fixate each party member, slowly bouncing towards them and stunning on contact. These sparks will also dissipate if they contact one of the Dam Water puddles, so you’ll want to kite them through the puddles if possible. Be aware that when a spark touches a puddle it turns it into Shock Water, making it dangerous to touch and preventing it from absorbing additional sparks, so each player will need to find their own water puddle to use.
Several other abilities will also turn Dam Water into Shock Water, limiting the amount of useable puddles for your group. The first is Gigazap, which does a 4yd AoE around 2 random players and applies a DoT to anyone hit. Make sure these players spread out and avoid cleaving both other players and water puddles.
There’s also the tank buster in Thunder Punch, which deals physical damage and applies a 4s nature DoT while also knocking you back. Make sure you aren’t knocked through any water puddles as this turns them into Shock Water, or off the edge of the platform which will kill you. I recommend putting your back to the console at the front of the room if you are unable to cancel the knockback effect, as this will safely stop your momentum.