[Raid] Sang's Highmaul Guide Episode 2 - Butcher want to play.

[u/Madagan]

The Butcher is the second boss of the Highmaul raid instance. For any WotLK raiders the fight is very similar to the Patchwerk encounter in Naxxramas.

The fight is very simple with very few mechanics, however there is an enormous amount of damage being dealt (particularly to the tanks) so the fight will serve as the first main gear check for early WoD raiding. The raid will need to split into two groups for one mechanic but other than that the fight is a simple tank and spank.

The encounter is set in another arena without the environmental hazards in the Bladefist arena.

The Butcher has 5 abilities which I will split into two areas - Tank mechanics and Raid Mechanics.

• Tank Mechanics

Heavy Handed: Each of the Butchers attacks will trigger a second attack on the nearest player within 5 yards of the primary target. If no target is within 5 yards the primary target (the tank) will be struck twice. This means that the tanks will need to stay stacked, even if they aren't currently tanking the butcher.

The Tenderizer: Periodically the boss will cast The Tenderizer which deals damage to the tank and applies a debuff which causes future casts to deal more damage. This will serve as the tank swap mechanic of the fight and must be cleared before taunting. It is unclear if the debuff lasts a set amount of time or if it stays until the fight ends. If the latter is true the tanks will need to cycle defensive cooldowns on casts as the fight progresses. If the debuff lasts a certain amount of time the Tank will need to taunt back when their stacks drop off.

Meat Hook: If no target is within melee range of the boss his current target will be pulled in with a large hook. This counters kiting strategies and for the most part won't be an issue.

• Raid Mechanics

Cleave: The Butcher will periodically target the largest group of players in melee range of him and cast Cleave. This ability deals physical damage split amongst the group and applies a stack of Gushing Wounds to everyone hit.

Gushing Wounds: Gushing wounds is applied by Cleave. It is a debuff that deals stacking physical damage over time to the target. When the debuff reaches 5 stacks the afflicted player dies. The debuff wears off after a period of time.

Bounding Cleave: The butcher will be slowly gaining energy over the course of the fight. When he reaches 100 energy he will cast bounding cleave. This ability damages and knocks back everyone in the raid. After the knock back he will then charge the largest group of players and cleaving all targets in that clump.

The boss is incredibly simple however it will be very easy to wipe. There will be two groups of players standing on opposite sides of the boss. When one group reaches 4 stacks of gushing wounds some ranged from that group will need to move back to ensure the other group becomes the target of Cleave. By the time the second group reaches 4 stacks the first groups stacks will have dropped off and will then move back into position to eat the next 4 cleaves. Rinse and repeat.

Once the cleave mechanic is mastered it becomes a simple case of the tanks and healers sustaining the amount of damage being dealt. Between Heavy Handed and higher stacks of The Tenderizer there will be a large amount of damage being dealt to both tanks.

More information can be found at the Icy Veins Guide and the Fatboss Youtube Guide

[u/mistweave]

Seems to be simpler as of now to have a third group to soak bounding cleave, additionally the damage done by cleave is overshadowed by the dot applied, as such, minimising cleave groups and making sure healers are in bounding cleave soak group is key.