The Throne of Thunder is a raid instance introduced in World of WarcraftPatch 5.2. The encounters can be performed in 10-man and 25-manformats, as well as in LFR format. The 10 and 25-man formats also have anunlockable heroic mode setting, as well as a heroic-only boss (which is notavailable in normal mode). This raid represents Tier 15, in terms ofprogression, and it is intended to be the second raiding tier of theMists of Pandaria expansion.
The entrance to the Throne of Thunder is located in the north-western partof the Isle of the Thunder King, and it can currently be accessed via a portallocated near to the Shado-Pan Garrison in Townlong Steppes. Entry into theraid instance is currently done through a side entrance, located on the leftof the main path that leads up the instance.
The raid instance houses 12 boss encounters (13 if you count the heroic-onlyboss we mentioned above).
Shortly before the raid is released, we will be making our written guidesfor the bosses available. Until then, we have created video previews for thebosses, that will give you an idea of what the fight is like (and most often,they will actually provide you with ample details of the mechanics).
Jin'rokh the Breaker is the first boss of the instance. This is asingle-phase fight of relatively low complexity. It is mostly about properpositioning and movement, and about proper timing of DPS cooldowns.
After your raid defeats Jin'rokh, you must fight and defeatHorridon, as well as his master, War-God Jalak. This fight hasseveral phases, and your raid will have to handle a plethora of differentadds.
The next encounter is against the Council of Elders. You will fight 4Troll bosses simultaneously. Your raid will need to deal with a largevariety of mechanics. Also, at certain times, each of the bosses becomesempowered for a while, which alters their abilities somewhat.
The fourth boss of the instance is a giant turtle called Tortos.This is another relatively simple fight (like Jin'rokh the Breaker), duringwhich your raid needs to defeat the boss and a large number of adds. Thefight presents an interesting new mechanic, and it should prove to be agenerally enjoyable fight.
Once Tortos has been killed, your raid can move forward and faceMegaera, the 5th boss of the instance. This is a multi-headed hydra(technically a corrupted Cloud Serpent), and the encounter is extremelychallenging. The difficulty of the fight ramps up continually, making for avery climactic last few minutes.
Ji-Kun is the 6th boss of the instance. This fight is heavilyreminiscent of Alysrazor in Firelands. The fight is not complicated in termsof mechanics, but it should still prove to be a lot of fun.
The 7th boss of the instance is Durumu the Forgotten. The boss isessentially a giant eye, and the fight presents an extremely creative mechanicthat, as far as we can remember, has not yet been used in any previousencounters in the World of Warcraft. It is a rather strenuous fight, and yourraid members will need to all perform very well to defeat the boss.
Once Durumu has been killed, your raid can access the next boss,Primordius. This powerful Saurok is one of Lei Shen's failedexperiments. On the face of it, the fight appears extremely complex, but it isactually quite easy to understand. It is a rather pressing DPS race, and yourraid will get to enjoy having many of their stats buffed, provided that thestrategy is correctly executed.
The 9th boss of the instance is a very strange encounter againstthe Dark Animus, a mechanical construct. Before you can engage the bosshimself, you will have to defeat a number of smaller adds. The fight isquite chaotic.
Iron Qon is the 10th boss of the instance. This powerful mogu rideshis three Quilen Champions into battle, one after the other, and then fightsyou on his own after his Quilens have been killed. This is another intense, butextremely enjoyable fight.
The penultimate encounter of the instance is against the Twin Consorts,Lu'lin and Suen. The encounter bears many similarities to theprevious twins fights, but also adds several new and innovativeelements.
Finally, your raid will get to fight Emperor Lei Shen himself. Thefight against him is long, complex, and quite difficult, just as you wouldexpect of a fight against the final boss of a raiding tier.
Once you have defeated Lei Shen on Heroic difficulty, you will be able toaccess a 13th boss, called Ra-den. Not much is currently known about thisboss, other than the fact that he is a Titan keeper, and that he isobviously hostile towards your raid.
Killing bosses in the Throne of Thunder will grant you reputation withthe Shado-Pan Assault. Increasing your reputation with this factionwill allow you to buy gear from Ao Pye at the Temple of Niuzao. Every bossyou kill in the Throne of Thunder rewards you with 300 reputation (Ra-dengives 500 reputation). The weeklyChampions of the Thunder King quest gives you an additional 300 reputationa week.
