The Last boss, Viq’Goth, of Siege of Boralus desperately needs a rework of his ability Putrid Waters.
Problem:
Putrid Waters has no cast time, target, or visual indication of the 2 intended targets, making it impossible to anticipate what members will be hit with it.
The ability has a heavy initial tick. On +12 my 628 Evoker is hit for 4.56M, or roughly 70% of my hp, and then continues to tick for 2.25M or 35% per 2 seconds.
As there is no indication of what target the ability will hit, it is impossible to know when to use defensive CDs to mitigate the initial tick. Contrary to what one might think of the actual “DOT” mechanic the initial hit is the deadly factor.
The ability can hit players using the Siege Weapon, meaning that you can be stuck in a machine and unable to use your abilities while the initial tick + first dot kills you
Proposed Solutions:
A DOT mechanic should not have such a heavy initial tick, especially not if there are no indicators to show it being cast. I propose you remove the initial tick of Putrid Waters, and instead spread the damage over the duration of the DOT.
Another solution would be to add a cast timer + visual indication of the dots targets, as to allow players to preemptively anticipate the damage and use defensive cooldown.
Players within the Siege vehicle should not be prioritized as targets for the Putrid Waters.
While I agree on this mechanic needing a rework, here’s a list of things I do with my group to work around it.
We always wait before going to the next tentacles until after the puddle mechanic went out. Don’t go into the cannon just before the mechanic goes out
I’m the cannon user, so I’m always getting dispelled before going into the cannon
The tank is lowest on the priority list for dispels, meaning 1 player gets an instant dispel, the other can pop a defensive, heal, or 1 of the 2 healing potions. There’s no other damage other than the tentacle slam you have to prepare for.
Visually there’s a water bolt going out to the players before it hits, that’s how you can see if it’s going on you
You can see them flying through the air, towards the two targets. You can most def anticipate. People just don’t pay attention to it, and that’s another story. It’s basically a cast time, really.
And this covers the other three points as well.
But I agree on the initial tick being quite heavy.
They often get it tossed at them before they hop in. Just be very wary of it when that mechanic is about to happen or just happened?
Lets be honest, the fight revolves around this DoT - its about all people should be thinking about. Especially when hopping into the cannon or running 500 yards ahead because they’ve just killed a tentacle.
They should nerf the initial tick and/or prevent overlaps with the tentacle slam. Maybe also increase the interval in which the ability is used by the boss so it congruentes better with players def CD’s.
Doing SoB yesterday, the biggest issue is that this fight lasts like 6+ minutes on a 13.
On the topic of initial hits, the WA pack twwdungeons lets me know if it’s on me, while also showing that it’s about to pop. Not ideal that this is necessary, but certainly makes the mechanic much easier.
First run of this as my Shaman as healer, AND after 13+ years of not healing. This was a nightmare, as I had no idea about this debuff, so of course it hits me first while the aoe is going on from the boss so I have ot dodge that, while trying to heal wondering why the hell my health isnt coming back after I got hit like a truck!
People in the party telling me to dispel, when it has a cooldown so I cant spam it as well. Obviously I worked it out on the fly and we didnt wipe, but the group was obviously annoyed at me. What annoyed me more though was I cant dispel people in the cannon and that massive initial damage tick. Ridiculous.
This weak aura marks 1 of the 2 targets before he is hit.
You can also look at the flying water things yourself. You only really need to know 1 thing: Is one of them going on the tank or not ?
When there are overlaps with the slam. Its when its most critical.
This is the only complaint I have. Because the initial hit is so large… 1st target gets insta dispelled. 1 GCD.
The 2nd target, if you cannot produce a ST heal that can cast on the 2nd person within 1s he dies.
And I think its a bit clutch because on top you have to move from the swirlies. I would prefer a smaller initial hit but a larger/faster tick. That way if you have to move you wont condem someone to death.