Akil'zon gauntlet

The following is a guide on handling the Gauntlet event leading up to Akil'zon, the Eagle Avatar boss in Zul'aman.

During the event players will encounter:

• Amani'shi Wind Walkers
• Amani'shi Protectors
• Amani'shi Warriors
• Amani Eagles
• Amani'shi Tempest

There are four sets of Wind Walker/Protector pairs set along the path. During the event eagles will be sent down in groups of 5 or 6, and Warriors will spawn behind the group in pairs.

Group composition: Two tanks, 2-3 healers, 2 AoE (warlocks/mages are best), and 3-4 single-target DPS for the elites.

Approaching Akil'zon, the raid encounters an. Upon aggroing the Lookout, he will run up the hill toward Akil'zon, starting a Shattered Halls gauntlet-like trash event. The raid should have two tanks ready to tank the elite trolls and non-elite eagles.

There are four pairs total each containing an (shaman) and an (warrior). These mobs cannot be crowd controlled. It is best if one tank always takes the left and one always the right, to avoid confusion on who is tanking what. Both will need to be aware of the coming up from behind. Kill the Wind-Walker first (as he heals), then the Protector.

While the raid heads up the gauntlet Akil'zon occasionally sends down non-elite eagles in groups of 5-6 which must be picked up by the tanks (Thunder Clap and Demoralizing Shout/Roar or Consecration). With sufficient AoE and attentive healers, you can just AoE the eagles. Meanwhile, pairs of will spawn behind the raid and head up the ramp. They have less health than and need to be picked up by the tanks and killed. The charge and stun the first raid member they encounter so it may be more optimal to have someone besides the person tanking them to take the charge.

Because of the constant spawns of Eagles and Warriors, the raid will want to move as quickly as they can. When the is engaged, eagle and Amani'shi Warrior spawns will be stopped, but any already en route will need to be killed. Once the has been killed you will be ready to engage Akil'zon.

If a member of the raid dies, they should release and run back, being careful to move up the ramp after the Amani'shi Warrior pair has moved toward the raid. If a returning member is intercepted by the Amani'shi Warrior pair, not only can this kill the member again, but it can result in a reset of the event.

The respawn time for Akil'zon's trash is short, only 30 minutes. You have only a few attempts on Akil'zon before the trash gauntlet respawns and you must repeat the event. If the respawn happens before you engage the boss and you are still on the boss' platform (after some unsuccessful tries for example) the waves of eagles and warriors will start coming again. Killing the on the boss' platform again will stop the waves from coming but all pairs of elites will come together with the first two non-elite warriors.

• Note: the Adds that Akil'zon spawns come in two different waves. The first wave consists of 5-6 non-elite birds and two, the next group that spawns are only 5-6 non-elite birds. The adds alternate between these until you engage the.

A smooth run of this gauntlet will have a rhythm to it. While the raid and rear tank mop up the warriors adding to the rear, the main tank engages the next static pair and builds aggro on them and any adding birds. This means a new static pair should be pulled every other bird wave. Generally an inability to keep up with this pace will result in a wipe before the is pulled due to the healers going OOM or the raid being overwhelmed with adds.

Alternate Strategy

It can also work well to divide the raid. Use one tank to control the Wind Walker and the Protector, meanwhile the other tank stands at the back with one of your single target dpsers to intercept the Warriors. Make sure you designate one of your healers to keep an eye on your rear tank, although he probably won't need very heavy healing. The rest of the raid focuses on killing the Wind Walker first and then the Protector, while AoEing the birds when they get out of hand.

Alternate Strategy2 - easy to follow

Have a stealth user ( Druidcat/Rogue ) move to where the is,then mark up all the he can see. These will be tanked by a warrior preferably ( interruption and silencing from Improved Shield Bash ) while the Offtank handles the. Once the Wind Walker is dead the Main Tank can stay in the group watching from the front and back, AOE aggroing any birds that are incoming and picking up warriors from the back. By the time both the shaman and protector are down there should be 1 or 2 bird mobs that are being AOE'd down while the warriors are focus dpsed. Once its clear the whole raid can move forward to the next row and repeat the process. Keep this up until the last Shaman is dead and have the MT start engaging the to avoid any more spawns from coming. Clean up and its done. If any raid member dies during this gauntlet they must run back and get back to the raid as soon as possible. Key here is to be in a bundle to avoid having birds or incoming warriors attack any nontank raid member.