Introduction
Hey everyone, and welcome to the Theater of Pain 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/NXQCJD9KO
Video Guide
An Affront of Challengers Trash
Unyielding Contender
- Use a soothe effect to remove the Death Wish enrage if you have one, otherwise tanks be ready to use defensives
- These mobs will use Charge on the tank if they move too far away, so be aware if you’re trying to move this mob
Battlefield Ritualist
- Interrupt the random target Unholy Fervor cast, or use a Magic dispel to remove the debuff it applies
- Use spare interrupts on the random target Necrotic Bolt cast
Raging Bloodhorn
- This mob is immune to CC
- Raging Tantrum enrages the mob causing heavy group damage for 4s, if you have a soothe be ready to remove this effect, otherwise use defensives and healing CDs
An Affront of Challengers Boss Fight
For this encounter you’ll be fighting 3 bosses simultaneously, with the goal of cleaving them down relatively evenly as the remaining bosses gain a stack of Final Will upon one dying. Also beware that the combatants that surround the arena will hit players that get too close, knocking them back slightly in the process, so steer clear of them.
Starting with Sathel, you’ll want to keep an interrupt rotation on the Necromantic Bolt cast to help reduce the damage your tank is taking. There’s also Magic debuffs that get thrown out in Withering Touch, which targets 2 players at a time. Healers will want to make sure they dispel one quickly, then the second once it’s back off CD, or use other forms of Magic debuff removal if you have them. At full energy Sathel will debuff all players with Searing Death, dealing shadow damage that splashes to others within 3yds, so make sure you are loosely spread and use a defensive if you are taking other damage at the same time.
Moving on to Paceran, you’ll want to watch out for his random target Decaying Breath frontal, as this will deal lethal damage to anyone it hits. His full energy ability is Noxious Spores, which spawns puddles under every player 3 times over 6s, so you’ll want to do your best to cluster these in one part of the arena to ensure you don’t run out of space. I recommend initially pulling the bosses towards the entrance of the arena and then rotating as a group when the part you’re in fills with puddles.
Finally we have Dessia, who has the tank hit in Mortal Strike, also leaving behind a nasty healing reduction for 5s. Tanks make sure you have a defensive running for this, especially if Sathel gets any bolts off around the same time. Other than that Dessia will use Mighty Smash at max energy, dealing a hit of nature damage to all players and slowing them for 10s, so once again you’ll want to use a defensive if you are taking any other damage at the same time, such as if you’re debuffed with Withering Touch.
Xav the Unfallen Trash
Shambling Arbalest
- Jagged Quarrel targets a random player, use a defensive or bleed cleanse if you have one
- Beware of the additional random target damage done by Shoot
Ancient Captain
- This mob is immune to CC
- Commanding Presence buffs allies nearby and reduces the strength of AoE damage, so while this mob is alive you’ll want to prioritize taking it down first
- Make sure to interrupt every cast of Demoralizing Shout
- Shield Bash target the tank, however this is not very dangerous
Also throughout this area are 3 sets of dueling mini bosses, where the victor is randomly chosen as your approach them, meaning you will only have to fight 3 of them in a run and different runs can have different combinations of mini bosses. The duels are Dokigg vs Nekthara, Heavin vs Harugia, and Rek vs Advent, so you can never have 2 mini bosses from the same duel in a given run.
Dokigg the Brutalizer
- This mob is immune to CC
- Avoid the Whirlwind AoE around the mob
- Beware the party hit in Earthcrusher and avoid the circles it creates
- Tanks use a defensive for the Savage Flurry channel
Nekthara the Mangler
- This mob is immune to CC
- Avoid the Whirlwind AoE around the mob
- Make sure you stop casting when Interrupting Roar goes off
- Whirling Blades target 3 random players, avoid these while they are active
Heavin the Breaker
- This mob is immune to CC
- Make sure you stop casting when Interrupting Roar goes off
- Be ready to move out of the random target Ground Smash frontal
- Colossus Smash targets the tank, use a defensive for the hit and damage amp debuff
Harugia the Bloodthirsty
- This mob is immune to CC
- Ricocheting Blade is thrown at a random player, avoid cleaving your allies and use a defensive or line of sight the attack
- Avoid the Bloodthirsty Charge circle targeted at a random player
Rek the Hardened
- This mob is immune to CC
- Avoid the Whirlwind AoE around the mob
- While buffed with Swift Strikes 2 random players take extra damage on successful melees, be ready with defensives and healing cooldowns as needed
- Tanks beware of Unbalancing Blow and use defensives as needed
Advent Nevermore
- This mob is immune to CC
- Ricocheting Blade is thrown at a random player, avoid cleaving your allies and use a defensive or line of sight the attack
- Seismic Stomp hits all players and happens quite frequently, so healers do your best to keep players topped and use defensives if you start to fall behind
Xav the Unfallen Boss Fight
Throughout this encounter Xav will spawn Oppressive Banners, which stack up a 15% slow on all players while they persist. After they spawn you’ll want to drag the boss over to them and cleave them down, as this slow can be quite dangerous if it's still active during the Might of Maldraxxus combo. When this ability happens the boss jumps to the centre of the arena, damaging all players and beginning a random combination of 3 abilities. Deafening Crash does a 12yd AoE around the boss and interrupts casters, Massive Cleave is a random target frontal that cleaves half the room, and Crushing Slam is a random target line attack, so make sure you’re ready to avoid all of these abilities.
When the boss reaches 100 energy he will use Blood and Glory, throwing 2 random DPS players into the pit below to duel each other. Upon completion of the duel the players return to the boss arena, with the winner gaining the Glorified buff and the loser instead getting Bloodied. If one of the dueling players has cooldowns available soon you can have the other player sit down or turn their back for some slight damage optimization, however the main goal here is to end the duel as fast as possible.
Outside of this, tanks will be taking damage from the Brutal Combo channel, so make sure you are ready with a defensive when this happens.
Kul’tharok Trash
In this wing you’ll need to traverse several different platforms using shadowy gates, however in some cases you have to use an orb dropped by Portal Guardians to choose whether you go left or right. I recommend when given this choice to always select the right platform, which is done by having a player interact with the fallen orb and depositing it on the right side of the gate.
Shackled Soul
- Bind Soul channels into a random player, use interrupts or CCs to stop the cast
Portal Guardian
- This mob is immune to CC
- Soulstorm channels for heavy party damage, use healing or defensive CDs as needed
- Shadow Vulnerability will debuff random players, use a Curse dispel to remove it and if you are still debuffed during Soulstorm use a defensive
- On death these mobs will drop an orb that can be used to select your gates path
Bone Magus
- These mobs start with a Bone Shield absorb, use purges to remove them
- Make sure to interrupt all casts of Bone Spear
Maniacal Soulbinder
- Necrotic Bolt Volley hits all players, keep this spell interrupted
- Necrotic Bolt targets random players, use spare interrupts on this
Soulforged Bonereaver
- This mob is immune to CC
- Avoid the circles created by Bone Spikes
- Stay away from the mob during the Bone Storm whirlwind attack
Nefarious Darkspeaker
- This mob is immune to CC
- Death Winds shoots in a line towards a random player, avoid this attack so you aren’t knocked off the platform
- Curse of Desolation targets a random player, use a Curse dispel or avoid the circles it creates if you don’t have one
- Spirit Frost targets the tank, use spare interrupts on this cast
Kul’tharok Boss Fight
While engaging this boss he will remain stationary in the centre of the room, but you’ll want to be careful not to step too far inside the bosses hitbox as there is a puddle underneath him that deals heavy damage to any players that stand in it.
In general you’ll want to be loosely spread out for this fight, as throughout the encounter 2 players will be randomly debuffed with the Well of Darkness DoT, which also splashes to other players within 4yds. This is the main source of damage on this fight, so targeted players can use a defensive to help smooth out the damage intake.
To force a bit of movement the boss has the Death Spiral ability, which spawns several orbs that rotate around the arena and deal heavy damage to players they touch. For ranged it’s easier to stand near the edge of the platform as those orbs take longer to go around the room compared to the ones closer to the centre.
At full energy the boss uses Draw Soul, dealing ticking damage to all players for 8s then spawning a Lost Soul at their location. If these adds ever reach the boss they will explode for heavy shadow damage, so when this cast starts you’ll want to group up near the edge of the boss platform, then use CCs to lockdown the adds while you cleave them.
Other than that, you’ll want to keep an interrupt order on the random target Necrotic Bolt cast to reduce the overall group damage, and tanks will want to use a defensive and make sure they point the line from the Necrotic Eruption frontal away from the rest of your party.
Gorechop Trash
Blighted Sludge-Spewer
- Make sure every cast of Withering Discharge is interrupted, if missed use Disease dispels to remove the debuff it applies
- Use any spare kicks on the Decaying Filth cast, or use a Disease dispel to remove the debuff it applies
- Have your group loosely spread to avoid cleaving the random target Leaping Thrash
Diseased Horror
- Meat Shield builds up an absorb shield on the mob, use an interrupt or CC to stop the channel
- Decaying Strike targets the tank, use a defensive and if possible dispel the Disease it applies
Putrid Butcher
- Devour Flesh targets the tank, using a defensive will reduce the amount it heals the mob for
Disgusting Refuse
- Have your group loosely spread to avoid cleaving the random target Leaping Thrash
- Avoid the Disgusting Burst circles these mobs create on death, if hit use a Disease dispel to remove the debuff
Rancid Gasbag
- This mob is immune to CC
- Healers beware that this mob constantly pulses for AoE damage so make sure you are prepared
- Vile Eruption shoots a frontal towards a random player as well as directly behind the boss, make sure to avoid these or use a Disease dispel on players that are hit
- Avoid the Rancid Bile puddles that intermittently spawn under 2 random players
Gorechop Boss Fight
The main mechanic of this boss fight are the Meat Hooks that the boss calls to sweep across the arena. These hooks can appear on either side of the room, and always move in 2 distinct waves, with the first having 2 small safe openings and the second with the rest of the arena being safe. These hooks will apply Jagged Gash and drag any players hit across the room, so you’ll want to make sure you dodge through the safe spaces in the waves of hooks to avoid the extra damage.
On top of the hooks, every time they appear the boss also summons two Oozing Leftovers mobs. These abominations slowly lose health over time, and have the same Leaping Thrash ability you saw in the trash before, so make sure you are loosely spread to prevent that from cleaving. On top of this, they leave behind a large puddle of Coagulating Ooze on death, so if possible try and cleave these mobs down together to conserve space, which will make avoiding the hooks a bit easier.
There’s also some forced movement from Tenderizing Smash, which grips all players in and does a lethal AoE around the boss after a few seconds, so be ready to use mobility spells to move away before that happens.
For tanks there’s the Hateful Strike ability, which is a large physical hit that you’ll just want to make sure you have a defensive for.
Mordretha, the Endless Empress Boss Fight
After defeating all the bosses indoors you can head back out to the first boss room where you’ll now be able to take on Mordretha. Just like during the initial boss fight, combatants will surround the arena and knock back players who touch them, so make sure to avoid getting too close, as getting pushed at the wrong time can easily result in you dying.
In terms of things to avoid there are a couple that you should be aware of. First is Dark Devastation, which is a random target frontal attack that then rotates slightly as the boss channels it, so make sure you give this ability a lot of space. The other is the Grasping Rift, which spawns randomly somewhere in the room and pulls players towards it for 6s, debuffing anyone who gets too close with the Death Grasp Curse, so use movement abilities here as needed to avoid this from happening.
For tanks there’s a very dangerous hit in Reaping Scythe, which deals a mix of shadow and physical damage. This is the most dangerous tank buster in the dungeon, so you’ll want to make sure you have a good defensive rotation to cover every cast.
When it comes to group damage, most of that comes from Manifest Death, which applies a 6s DoT to all players that splashes to anyone within 6yds, then after exploding spawns a Deathwalker add under each player. These adds just spam cast Death Bolt at random players, which you’ll want to keep interrupted. I recommend loosely spreading around the boss to avoid cleaving your group, then once the add spawns have everyone interrupt the one they spawned to quickly group them all up under the boss, where you can then use things like AoE CCs to prevent them from casting while you cleave them down.
After pushing the boss to 50% health she will begin to cast Echoes of Carnage, which deals a large hit of shadow damage after completing, followed by a small pulse of shadow damage every 2s for the remainder of the encounter. This is the largest individual hit of the fight, so make sure you have a defensive running for that initial group AoE at 50%. On top of dealing group damage, this will also cause Ghostly combatants to spawn throughout the arena for the rest of the encounter, which you’ll have to deal with on top of all the other mechanics we just discussed. These combatants have 2 abilities, Echo of Battle which are 8yd AoEs and happen all around the arena, and Ghostly Charge which are line attacks from 4 mounted combatants that charge straight across the arena. Keep an eye out for these and make sure you avoid them.