This guide is intended to provide a comprehensive description of theencounter with Jin'rokh the Breaker in Throne of Thunder. It is targeted at anyonewho desires to understand the fight mechanics.
This guide is updated for World of Warcraft MoP 5.4.
Jin'rokh the Breaker is the first boss in the Throne of Thunder. Thefight has few mechanics, by comparison with subsequent encounters in theraid, but it is nonetheless quite challenging.
The fight is a DPS race, and it also tests the individual awareness ofyour raid members.
We do not know what the hard enrage timer of this fight is, currently. Thefight has a soft enrage timer, consisting of the entirety of the room beingcovered in damaging void zones, which you should reach after about 7minutes.
The encounter against Jin'rokh the Breaker is a single-phase,single-target fight. The main mechanic of the fight revolves around largevoid zones called Conductive Water. Over the course of the fight,Jin'rokh will summon 4 of these void zones, one at a time, at regularintervals. Each void zone will eventually cover one quarter of the room, sothat when the fourth void zone is cast, the entire room will be filled. A fewsmall parts of the room do seem to remain unaffected, however.
Each Conductive Water void zone is initially beneficial to raid memberswho stand in it, increasing damage done and healing received (but also causingthese raid members to take large damage in the event that certain fightmechanics are not avoided). About 1 minute after a void zone is created,Jin'rokh will compromise it (turning it into Electrified Waters), causingit to no longer provide benefits, and instead deal constant damage to anyonestanding it.
Since the room will eventually be filled with these void zones, thisconstitutes a soft enrage mechanic for the fight.
In addition to this, the boss casts several other abilities that your raidmust deal with.
We have released a video guide for the fight against Jin'rokh. Westrongly recommend watching the video in order to get a better visual idea ofthe fight.
On our forums, we are maintaining threads with class-specific advice for each of thefights of Throne of Thunder. So, make sure to check them out, and if you have things toshare, do not hesitate to contribute!
Thundering Throw is an ability that Jin'rokh casts at his currenttarget 30 seconds after the start of the fight, and every one and a halfminutes after that. Jin'rokh will cast this ability 4 times during thefight. This knocks the target back at one of the four mogustatues located around the room, resetting their threat on Jin'rokh. Webelieve that Jin'rokh throws the player at the statue located in front ofhimself, but some users on our forums have put forth the possibility thatJin'rokh throws the tank at the statue farthest from him. This breaks thestatue and deals a moderate amount of Physical damage to that player. Theplayer then falls to the ground, where they inflict a moderate amount ofNature damage to any allies within 14 yards, and stun them for 6 seconds. AConductive Water void zone appears at this location.
Conductive Water void zones are created each time that Jin'rokhcasts Thundering Throw, so there will be a maximum of 4 void zones inthe fight. Each void zone starts out with a small size, and unavoidablygrows over time until it covers one quarter of the room. Players standinginside the Conductive Water are affected by Fluidity, a buff thatincreases damage done and healing received by 40%, but also increases Naturedamage taken by 80%. Moreover, one of Jin'rokh's abilities (we discuss itbelow) will damage everyone standing in the Conductive Water, if the target ofthis ability is also in the Conductive Water. In this sense, the waters arequite literally conductive of the electricity (Nature damage) of Jin'rokh'sspell.
Focused Lightning is a spell that Jin'rokh casts every 15 seconds orso. Each time, he creates an orb of lightning which fixates on a random raidmember and moves towards them at relatively high speed (such that it cannot bekited indefinitely). The orb is not an attackable NPC, so it cannot be slowed orkilled. The Focused Lightning orb has several properties.
While active, the orb deals Nature damage every half a second to allplayers within 5 yards.
When reaching the player on whom it is fixated, the orb detonates and dealsa pretty high amount of Nature damage to all players within 8 yards. If thisexplosion happens in one of the Conductive Water void zones, then everyonestanding in it takes a high amount of Nature damage (which is further increasedby the damage-taken-increasing component of Fluidity).
After a Focused Lightning orb detonates, it leaves behind aLightning Fissure, a small lightning on the ground which persists for avery long time (possibly until the end of the fight), and deals Nature damageevery second to players within 5 yards. The Lightning Fissure is removed if itcomes into contact with a Conductive Water void zone (due to the void zoneexpanding to reach the Fissure), dealing a moderate amount of Nature damage toall players inside the Conductive Water.
If a Focused Lightning comes into contact with a Lightning Fissure, thenImplosion occurs. The Focused Lightning is detonated, dealing a largeamount of Nature damage to all raid members, and increasing damage taken fromsubsequent Implosions by 10%.
If a Focused Lightning explodes (by reaching its target) inside acompromised Conductive Water void zone (called Electrified Waters), theneveryone within 8 yards will effectively be killed by taking an enormousamount of Nature damage.
Static Burst is an attack that Jin'rokh regularly casts. It causeseveryone in the raid to take a moderate amount of Nature damage, and it alsoapplies 10 stacks of Static Wound to the current tank. Static Woundcauses the tank to take Nature damage per stack whenever they receive meleeattacks from the boss, and a third of the damage from Static Wound is alsodealt to raid members. This ability prompts an immediate tank switch.
Lightning Storm is a spell that Jin'rokh casts every 90seconds. This effectively marks the end of a Conductive Water being useful,since shortly after casting Lighting Storm Jin'rokh turns the mostrecently-spawned Conductive Water into Electrified Waters, whereby the voidzone now permanently deals damage to all players who stand in it everysecond, and no longer grants Fluidity. Lighting Storm itself is achanneled spell that lasts 15 seconds, during which time the entire raid takesa moderate amount of Nature damage every second.
The strategy for the fight can be summarised as follows.
Have your two tanks alternate tanking Jin'rokh so that whoever is affectedby Static Wound is not currently taking melee hits from the boss.
Have all DPS players and healers stand inside the Conductive Watervoid zone that is uncompromised (so, the most recently-created one) untilJin'rokh begins casting Lightning Storm.
Make sure that ranged DPS and healers stand near to the outer edges of theConductive Water, and that they are prepared at any time to run out in casethey are targeted by Focused Lightning. Players targeted by FocusedLightning should try to kite the orb to a designated location of the room, outof the way of any Conductive Water void zones.
Stack in the center of the room (outside of any Conductive Water voidzones, compromised or not) whenever Jin'rokh is casting Lightning Storm,and use raid cooldowns to survive.
For ease of understanding and execution, the fight can be divided intofour "Lightning Storm" cycles. Each cycle begins with theThundering Throw that creates a Conductive Water void zone. This voidzone lasts for 90 seconds, during which time your raid must make use of theincreased damage and healing that it offers. After this, the cycle ends withJin'rokh casting Lightning Storm, after which a new Thundering Throw happens,and so on.
Before we look at the specifics of how to execute the strategy, we shouldmention that the fight should be over by the time the fourth LightningStorm is cast. This is because almost the entire room will be filled withcompromised Conductive Water void zones, and the rest will likely have to beused for kiting Focused Lightning and placing Lightning Fissure. Ifthis does not act as a soft enrage timer that will wipe your raid, we imaginethat a hard enrage timer will also be found around this time.
7.1. Focused Lightning
As the fight begins, the first thing your raid will notice is that the bossis casting Focused Lightning at random raid members. This is somethingyou will need to deal with throughout the entire fight, so it is importantthat everyone learns how to do it well.
Only ranged DPS players and healers who can be targeted by this ability.Your raid leader should designate one or more locations where the FocusedLightnings should be detonated, ideally out of the way of the areas whereConductive Water will be later on. Basically, you want to drop these close tothe outer walls of the room. Alternatively, it is possible to drop them on thelocation of Conductive Water that have not yet been created (basically infront of the mogu statues located around the room).
If you are placing the Lightning Fissures near to the walls on theoutside of the room, the idea is to keep them out of the way of your raid forthe entire fight, so that they do not inconvenience you or deal any damageto you. If you are placing them where a Conductive Water void zone willspawn, then the idea is to have them detonated and despawned by this void zonejust as it spawns. Note that in the latter case, anyone inside the ConductiveWater will take a considerable amount of Nature damage, so it is best to placethem right where the void zone will appear (remember that it starts out smalland expands) so that it will immediately detonate them, during which time yourraid can wait outside the void zone to avoid the damage.
As the player fixated upon by the Focused Lightning orb, make sure thatit does not:
reach you when you are inside a Conductive Water void zone (be itcompromised or viable);
come into contact with a Lightning Fissure.
7.2. Conductive Water
While there is not much management of Conductive Water that is in the handsof your raid, there are several things you need to keep in mind here.
First of all, be prompt in moving to the newly-created Conductive Watervoid zone. They are quite small when they first appear, and they can be easyto miss, but it is a great DPS loss not to benefit from them from the verystart.
Second of all, always be mindful of the fact that you risk being targeted bya Focused Lightning (unless you are a tank or melee DPS player). To giveyourself the best chance to move out of the Conductive Water before theorb reaches you, make sure that you are near to the edge of void zone. Keep inmind also that the void zone expands over time, so you'll need to re-adjustyour position accordingly.
Thirdly, melee DPS players can rest assured that Jin'rokh's massive hitboxenables them to attack him from very far away, so standing in the void zoneand attacking the boss at the same time should not be an issue (althoughtanks should make an effort to keep the boss relatively close to the voidzone).
7.3. Thundering Throw and Tank Concerns
Tanks will need to taunt off of one another regularly due toStatic Wound. More specifically, as soon as Static Wound is applied toa tank, the other tank should taunt Jin'rokh. The stacks of Static Wounddecrease over time, so that when they are about to expire, they will be verylow. This means that the off-tank can taunt Jin'rokh even if their stackshave not fully worn off, since tanking Jin'rokh with 1 or 2 stacks is notdeadly.
Thundering Throw will toss the tank at a mogu statue, dealing damageto them and any other players at the location of the statue. As a tank, youneed to keep in mind that it appears Jin'rokh will toss you at the statuethat is located behind you. The location where you are thrown at is also wherethe Conductive Water void zone appears, so if your raid leader has advised aparticular order for the spawning of these void zones, you must be careful toposition yourself correctly.
When a tank is thrown by Jin'rokh, their threat on him is reset. This meansthat the off-tank has to taunt Jin'rokh immediately, or the boss will startattacking and killing other players.
The need to taunt Jin'rokh for both Static Wound and Thundering Throw canpose some problems. To make sure that you do not end up in a situation wherethe off-tank has many stacks of Static Wound, you have to be very careful. Werecommend having the tank affected by Static Wound taunt Jin'rokh about 3seconds before Thundering Throw is cast (boss mod timers are quite accuratehere). This causes Jin'rokh to throw the tank that is affected by Static Wound,allowing the off-tank to take the boss back afterwards. Even in the event thatJin'rokh gets a melee attack on the tank who has Static Wound, this should notwipe your raid.
Finally, as a helpful user pointed out on our forums, Death Knights'Anti-Magic Shell can be used to prevent the application ofStatic Wound.
7.4. Lightning Storm
For Lightning Storm, everyone should stack in the very centerof the room, at the location of the boss. Healing and defensive cooldownsshould be used to get through this phase.
Everyone must make sure to leave the Conductive Water void zone as soon asLightning Storm starts, because the increased Nature damage taken fromFluidity will make you unhealable otherwise.
Finally, you must remember that shortly after a Lighting Storm starts,the most recently-spawned Conductive Water void zone will become compromised,and standing in it from this moment on is extremely detrimental.
7.5. Optimising Raid DPS
Since standing in Conductive Water grants a sizeable DPS increase, it isimportant to save your DPS cooldowns for these times. Therefore, it is notadvised to use any cooldowns at the pull, and to make sure from then on toalways save them so that they are up during your time inside a ConductiveWater void zone. Doing this properly will result in a great DPS increase whichmay prove to be necessary to defeat the boss.
We recommend using Heroism/Bloodlust/Time Warp about 20seconds after the first Conductive Water void zone is created. This allowsraid members to re-use 1-minute DPS cooldowns, as well as DPS potions.
The first thing that your raid members will need to learn is how to handleFocused Lightning properly. Failing to do so will probably be the biggestsource of wipes while learning the encounter. In the interest of mastering thisquickly, ranged DPS players and healers should focus primarily on reacting verypromptly to being the target of a Focused Lightning, and making sure that itis detonated in a safe location. Once everyone understands precisely what theyneed to do and how important it is that they do it right, then they canbegin focusing more intently on their actual role.
Aside from this, the second biggest contributing factor to a speedy kill ismaking sure that the DPS players are taking advantage of the increased damagegranted by Fluidity insofar as their cooldowns are concerned.
The rest of the tasks your raid members will be required to perform shouldnot pose too many problems, and your raid members should get accustomed to themwhile they are mastering the two important issues we listed above.
The Heroic mode of the Jin'rokh the Breaker encounter presents only twochanges from Normal mode, so the fight will feel very similar overall.
10.1. Differences from Normal Mode
In addition to Jin'rokh dealing increased damage and having increasedhealth, there are two important new mechanics in the fight.
Ionization is a debuff that Jin'rokh applies on all raid members,except tanks, one minute after the fight starts, and every 90 seconds afterthat. The debuff lasts 24 seconds, and it can be dispelled. While active,the debuff does not do anything, but when it wears off or is dispelled, itcauses the affected player anyone within 8 yards of them to take a very highamount of Nature damage. If the debuff wears off while that player is in aConductive Water void zone, every other player in the Conductive Water willtake a very high amount of Nature damage.
Lightning Strike is cast at the start of eachLightning Storm, and lasts for the same duration as the LightningStorm. Several beams of lightning hit the ground, and from each of thesebeams, 4 small sparks of lightning move out in 4 directions, traveling alongthe floor. Coming in contact with the beams, at their point of impact, or withany of the resulting sparks, deals a high amount of Nature damage.
10.2. Video
To familiarise yourself with the heroic-mode changes, we advise you to watchthis kill video from Inner Sanctum:
10.3. Strategy
The strategy for the Heroic mode is very similar to the one from Normalmode. There are only two small modifications.
10.3.1. Dealing with Ionization
Whenever Ionization is cast, every single one of the affectedraid members must make sure that the removal of the debuff occurs in safeconditions. That means that they must not have any other players within8 yards of them, and that they must not be in the Conductive Water voidzone. Moreover, they must make sure that they have enough health to survivethe damage (which will hit for around 300,000 damage or more).
Players should spread out a few seconds before the Ionization goes out,and any players who are safe (away from other raid members and topped off)should be dispelled. Then, healers can dispel players progressively over thenext 24 seconds, and players who have had their debuff dispelled can move backinto Conductive Water.
Immunities such as Cloak of Shadows, Ice Block, andDivine Shield work to remove the debuff without harming the affectedplayer, but the proximity damage will still be dealt. However, if theseimmunities are up at the time when Ionization is applied, the debuff is notapplied at all to these players. As such, players with available immunitiesshould use them right before Ionization is cast. Furthermore, players who arecapable of dispelling themselves while making sure to survive the damage(such as through the use of powerful defensive cooldowns) should do so.
10.3.2. Dealing with Lightning Strike
The implication of Lightning Strike is simply that stackingduring Lightning Storm is no longer possible, as everyone willhave to move around (or dance) to avoid the sparks from LightningStrike.
There is really no tip or secret that we can share regarding this task,and everyone's own awareness and ability to move will come into play.
This concludes our raid guide for Jin'rokh the Breaker. We hope you havefound it helpful. Please do not hesitate to post any feedback you may have onour forums.
26 Mar. 2013: Corrected the mention of how many players are affectedby Ionization in 25-man (it used to state that 11-19 players areaffected, whereas in fact all players except the tanks are affected). Alsoadded mention that having damage immunities active when Ionization is castprevents the application of the debuff.
19 Mar. 2013: Added Heroic mode strategy.
13 Mar. 2013: Added link to forum threads that containclass-specific advice for the encounter.
11 Mar. 2013: Replaced our PTR preview with our video guide.
07 Mar. 2013: Added mention that Thundering Throw resets thetank's threat; added mention that Anti-Magic Shell prevents the applicationof Static Wound; clarified the wording of several aspects.
06 Mar. 2013: Adjusted health values in 10 and 25-man, based onlive server findings.
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