Lady Deathwhisper is the second boss of ICC. Here’s how to deal with the fight as a rogue. Be prepared for a very long read (at least by my standards).
The fight has two phases. The first phase involves burning down her mana shield. Once it reaches zero, phase two starts. The key to the fight is controlling the adds in the first phase because it’s easy to get overwhelmed if they’re not handled properly. Recognition of which mobs to DPS is important.
Phase 1
At the start of the fight, ranged DPS has a few seconds to kill the boss. After a while, the first wave of adds appear on the alcoves on the sides of the room. For the 10-man version, they spawn on the left side first then the right. For 25, both sides spawn adds simultaneously.
There are two types: melee mobs named fanatics and caster mobs named adherents. Your role is to DPS the caster mobs. On the left side of the room, the adherent is always in the center alcove. On the right, they’re on the front side (near the boss) and the back area (near the entrance to the room). This means that only one adherent will spawn on the left while two appear on the right.
For the 25-man version, an extra add spawns in the back of the room where the entrance/steps are. This can be either an adherent or a fanatic. Obviously if it’s the former, you have to kill it too.
Adherents do not need to be tanked. When they spawn, DPS them ASAP. They start out as regular adds but if they don’t die fast enough, two things can happen: they either become Empowered Adherents or Reanimated Adherents. The crucial thing to remember when this happens is that the casters won’t be able to help you with them at this point (they can with the regular ones), so it falls to you to take them down. It’s kind of your fault for not killing them quickly enough anyway. It’s very unlikely that you’ll run into this problem with the left side of the room since only one adherent spawns there but, with two adherents, the right side can be a problem.
I can offer no shortcut here. Simply put, the adds have to go down. Some people have trouble recognizing which add to kill. When that happens, it causes a delay in taking them out. You can avoid the confusion by answering the following:
- Can you identify which alcove they spawn from?
- Do they have the word “adherent” in their name?
- Are they casting spells?
- Do they have a mana bar?
- Do they have a staff?
If the answer’s “yes”, you can identify the right mob. Here’s a hint: if they’re hitting you with a big axe, it’s unlikely that they’re casters.
Oh, keep out of the Death and Decay.
Phase 2
When phase 2 hits, it’s mostly a tank and spank. Mostly.
Avoid the blue ghost-like things that approach you because they go boom. They’re actually tough to see in 25-man so keep an eye out for them.
Make sure you interrupt frost bolt whenever you can. I know, it’s KT all over again. For the 10-man version, Kick should be enough to cover it. She’ll cast the spell, you interrupt it. By the time she tries to cast it again, Kick should be available. You’ll see her use frost bolt more often in 25-man. Interrupt when you can.
Use Tricks on the active tank whenever you can. The boss casts a debuff that reduces threat. You can use Tricks to counter it.
Here’s the TL;DR version:
Phase 1
Kill the caster adds. Identify their spawn points and learn to recognize them. They do not need to be tanked so just burn them. Stay out of Death and Decay when it’s cast.
Phase 2
Interrupt frost bolt. Use Tricks on the active tank. Run away from the blue ghosts. DPS the boss.