The Good News and The Bad News

Halfus Wyrmbreaker
Race	Ettin (Humanoid)
Level	?? Boss
Location	Wyrmbreaker's Rookery, Bastion of Twilight
Status	Killable
Bastion of Twilight Halfus Wyrmbreaker Valiona and Theralion Ascendant Council Cho'gall Sinestra (heroic) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) Loot

Halfus Wyrmbreaker is the first boss of Bastion of Twilight, a raid instance in the Twilight Highlands. He can be found in the Wyrmbreaker's Rookery, overlooking a lava pit and facing his guardian, the Proto-Behemoth. He is considered a fairly easy fight.

Halfus was beaten along with the other bosses in the first week of Cataclysm's release, but the heroic modes proved more difficult. The world first kills came on Wednesday, 15 December 2010.

Imbued with unnatural power and stamina by Cho'gall, the ettin Halfus Wyrmbreaker captures dragons for use as fodder in the Twilight's Hammer's rituals. To this end, he has enslaved a behemoth proto-dragon to aid him in hunting down his winged prey.

Abilities

Halfus

•  Malevolent Strikes — (Ability gained from Slate Dragon) Halfus' attacks wound the target, reducing the effectiveness of any healing on it by 6% (Heroic: 8%). Stacks.
•  Frenzied Assault — (Buff gained from Nether Scion) Increases the caster's attack speed by 100% (Heroic: 120%).
•  Shadow Nova — (Ability gained from Storm Rider) Dark magic is unleashed, causing 28500 to 31500 (Heroic: 47500 to 52500) Shadow damage and knocking back all enemies within 50000 yds.
•  Furious Roar — Halfus roars, inflicting 9500 to 10500 (Heroic: 19000 to 21000) Physical damage and knocking his enemies to the ground. Cast 3 times in succession once Halfus reaches 50% and periodically afterwards.
•  Berserk — After 6 minutes, increases the caster's attack and movement speeds by 150% and all damage it deals by 500% for until cancelled. Also grants immunity to Taunt effects.

Proto-Behemoth

•  Fireball Barrage — (Buff gained from Time Warden) Unleashes a stream of fireballs at random enemy targets. Each Fireball deals 25500 to 34500 (25: 42500 to 57500) Fire damage within 4 yards of impact. On Heroic, deals 34000 to 46000 (25: 51000 to 69000) Fire damage.
•  Scorching Breath — (Buff gained from Orphaned Emerald Whelps) Breathes flame at enemies in front of the caster, inflicting 9000 (Heroic: 12000) Fire damage every second for 8 seconds.
•  Fireball — (Base ability used when Orphaned Emerald Whelps and Time Warden are inactive) Inflicts Fire damage to enemies in a small area.

Drake Debuffs

•  Dragon's Vengeance — Halfus takes 100% increased damage from all sources. Stacks. Applied by drake when it dies.
•  Time Dilation — Warps the flow of time around the target, causing its hostile actions to occur in slow motion. Applied by Time Warden, slows Proto-Behemoth's fireballs
•  Cyclone Winds — Envelops the target in a cyclone, slowing its casting speed by 500%. Applied by Storm Rider on Halfus, slows Shadow Nova
•  Nether Blindness — Nether fog blinds the target, impairing its vision and reducing its chance to hit, its attack speed, and its damage done by 25%. Applied by Nether Scion on Halfus
•  Stone Touch — Afflicts the target, causing them to occasionally become paralyzed for 12 sec. While paralyzed the target cannot move or attack. Applied by Slate Dragon on Halfus
•  Atrophic Poison — Poisons the target, reducing its damage done by 750. Applied by each Orphaned Emerald Whelp on Proto-Behemoth. Stacks to 8.

Overview

Halfus Wyrmbreaker and his proto-drake

Halfus Wyrmbreaker is a tank and spank fight with some interesting debuff mechanics added in. He has one add, the Proto-Behemoth, that will spit fireballs at raid members and do an AoE flame breath. It is best to ignore this drake and concentrate on killing Halfus, as it has a large health pool and its damage can be either dodged or healed through.

Four friendly drakes and a pack of whelps are imprisoned in the area where Wyrmbreaker is engaged, but in normal mode 2 are unavailable each week. When freed, each drake or whelp pack will put a debuff on Halfus or his Proto-Behemoth pet. It will initially attack Halfus and give him its debuff, but after a couple seconds, the boss emotes, "Halfus Wyrmbreaker binds the <drake type> to his will!" The drake or pack then becomes mind controlled and must be tanked (and possibly killed depending on your tactic for the week).

Below 50% he periodically casts an unavoidable AoE ability called Furious Roar which is a raid wide aoe and stun which hits for around 10,000 three times.

Drakes

The drake composition of the fight is selected per week and, like classic Nefarian, getting a difficult combination of adds might mean you have to wait until next week.

A drake being active means that Halfus has a buff that that drake can counter to some degree when it is released. A drake being unavailable (which only happens in Normal mode) means Halfus simply does not have that ability needing to be countered for the week. In heroic mode, Halfus has all abilities active, and you need to choose which abilities you want to counter (which drakes to release, and in which order).

The Nether Scion

Pre-fight, applies a frenzy buff to Halfus Wyrmbreaker (+100% attack speed). When freed, reduces his attack speed, hit chance and damage done.

The Time Warden

Gives Proto-Behemoth Fireball Barrage ability. When freed slows fireballs' flying speed.

The Slate Dragon

Gives Wyrmbreaker his Malevolent Strikes ability, which causes a stacking healing debuff. When freed periodically stuns Halfus for 12 seconds.

The Orphaned Emerald Whelps

Give Proto-Behemoth Scorching Breath ability. When freed, lowers the damage it does.

The Storm Rider

Gives Wyrmbreaker a Shadow Nova ability which deals AoE damage and knocks people back. When freed, reduces his cast speed, so it becomes possible to interrupt.

Strategy

Two tanks are recommended for Halfus Wyrmbreaker, as additional drakes have to be tanked and, if the Slate Dragon is active, his hits apply a debuff that reduces healing received by 4% to a max of 15 (90% of healing negated) and stacks up rather quickly. Halfus Wyrmbreaker is tauntable until his enrage.

Halfus Wyrmbreaker has a 6-minute(?) hard enrage timer.

Strategy will depend on the drake combination of the fight. Usually two drakes will be awaken at the same time and then taken down consecutively. Once they are dead, DPS will switch to the boss. Sometimes, the raid will have to deal with two mechanics:

- If the Slate Dragon is active, the boss will get Malevolent Strikes, a Mortal Strike-like ability. Tanks must switch Halfus every N stacks (usually about 10) of Malevolent Strikes: otherwise, the tank will become unhealable. If the off-tank is busy tanking the drakes, it is handy to use a bubble or Hand of Protection on the main tank on the first 15 stacks; then the tank will retaunt Halfus.

- If the Storm Rider is active, Halfus will cast a Shadow Nova that *must* be interrupted (very hard unless the Storm Rider is released, see below). If it is not interrupted, the raid will take about 30k damage per member and suffer a knockback, making the encounter unhealable. Halfus will almost always Cast shadow nova During the 3rd stun tick of Furious Roar, while it is possible for the raid to eat this nova without too much concern if healers are keeping up it will make your healer more comfortable to interrupt and the best way to do that is to either have a mage blink the last stun and counter spell or it is possible for any other interrupt to be used at the last bit of the cast but is a little more risky.

Choosing which drakes to release can be tricky. The raid should take several considerations into account:

• The Storm Rider should always be released if active. The Shadow Nova will then become interruptable as its cast time rises from 0.25 seconds to 1.5 seconds.
• If the Slate Dragon and the Nether Scion are active, the Nether Scion has to be released. Otherwise, Malevolent Strikes will stack up very quickly.
• If the Time Warden is active, it is usually desirable to free him in order to make the Fireball Barrage slower and easier to dodge, thus avoiding a lot of raid damage.

Drake combinations

Date	US Realms Drakes						EU/KR/TW Realms Drakes
	Slate Dragon	Storm Rider	Whelps	Nether Scion	Time Warden		Slate Dragon	Storm Rider	Whelps	Nether Scion	Time Warden
May 17 - May 23	-	-	-						-	-	-
May 24 - May 30	-			-	-			-	-		-
Jun 1 - Jun 7	-	-			-			-	-	-
Jun 8 - Jun 14		-		-	-		-		-	-
Jun 15 - Jun 21	-	-		-			-	-	-
Jun 22 - Jun 28	-		-		-		-			-	-
Jun 29 - Jul 5			-	-	-		-		-		-
Jul 6 - Jul 12		-	-		-			-		-	-
Jul 13 - Jul 19		-	-	-			-	-		-
Jul 20 - Jul 26	-		-	-			-		-		-
Jul 27 - Aug 2	-	-	-	-	-				-

The Halfus Wyrmbreaker Adds site can also show you which drakes and abilities will be available for the current and upcoming week.

Quotes

Intro

• Cho'gall yells: Halfus! Hear me! (The Master calls, the Master wants) Protect our secrets, Halfus. Destroy the intruders. (Murder for His glory. Murder for His hunger.)

Aggro

• Cho'gall will have your heads! ALL OF THEM!

Killing a player

• The burden of the damned falls upon you!
• The wyrms will eat well tonight!

Death

• Cho'gall yells: Flesh and sinew, weak but proud. Dare they part the Master's shroud? They stumble fumble groping blind, Finding fate and chaos intertwined.

Loot

Normal Mode

Book of Binding Will Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Held In Off-hand +18 Intellect +27 Stamina +12 Critical Strike +12 Haste Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 5 34 34 Bracers of Impossible Strength Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Plate Wrist 1499 Armor +190 Strength +286 Stamina +127 Parry +127 Mastery Durability 55 / 55 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 12 66 17 Bracers of the Bronze Flight Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Cloth Wrist 547 Armor +190 Intellect +286 Stamina +127 Haste +127 Mastery Durability 55 / 55 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 6 63 29 Essence of the Cyclone Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Unique-Equipped Trinket +321 Agility Equip: Your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to grant 1926 critical strike for 10 sec. Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 8 5 7 Helm of the Nether Scion Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Mail Head 37 Armor +20 Agility or Intellect +48 Stamina +7 Haste +23 Versatility   Meta Socket Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +6 Intellect   Durability 100 / 100 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 13 48 98 Legguards of the Emerald Brood Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Plate Legs 70 Armor +24 Strength or Intellect +48 Stamina +13 Haste +21 Versatility   Prismatic Socket Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +4 Haste   Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 17 68 69 Malevolence Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Staff Two-Hand Speed 2.40 2393 – 3591 Damage (1246.7 damage per second) +341 Agility +512 Stamina +228 Critical Strike +228 Mastery Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 41 29 70 Pauldrons of the Great Ettin Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Plate Shoulder 2570 Armor +233 Strength +380 Stamina +169 Critical Strike +149 Mastery   Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +10 Strength   Durability 100 / 100 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 17 11 37 Proto-Handler's Gauntlets Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Mail Hands 1521 Armor +233 Agility +380 Stamina +149 Critical Strike +169 Mastery   Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +10 Mastery   Durability 55 / 55 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 9 83 60 Robes of the Burning Acolyte Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Cloth Chest 20 Armor +24 Intellect +48 Stamina +15 Versatility +19 Mastery   Prismatic Socket Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +4 Mastery   Durability 165 / 165 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 18 8 83 Storm Rider's Boots Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Leather Feet 1148 Armor +233 Agility +380 Stamina +149 Haste +169 Mastery   Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +10 Mastery   Durability 80 / 80 Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 13 10 Wyrmbreaker's Amulet Item Level 359Disenchants into:  [Maelstrom Crystal]: 1 Binds when picked up Neck +18 Intellect +27 Stamina +12 Critical Strike +12 Versatility Requires Level 85 Sell Price: 5 34 34

Heroic Mode

Book of Binding Will (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Bracers of Impossible Strength (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Bracers of the Bronze Flight (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Essence of the Cyclone (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Helm of the Nether Scion (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Legguards of the Emerald Brood (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Malevolence (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Pauldrons of the Great Ettin (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Proto-Handler's Gauntlets (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Robes of the Burning Acolyte (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Storm Rider's Boots (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Wyrmbreaker's Amulet (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Chest of the Forlorn Vanquisher Binds when picked up Classes: Druid, Rogue, Death Knight, Mage Requires Level 32 Sell Price: 5 Chest of the Forlorn Conqueror Binds when picked up Classes: Paladin, Warlock, Priest Requires Level 32 Sell Price: 5 Chest of the Forlorn Protector Binds when picked up Classes: Shaman, Hunter, Warrior Requires Level 32 Sell Price: 5

Related achievements

•  Heroic: Halfus Wyrmbreaker
•  The Only Escape

Videos

10-man Heroic

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25-man Heroic

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10-man Normal

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25-man Normal

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Patch changes

• Patch 4.0.6 (2011-02-08):
  • Shadow Nova is now cast less frequently in 10-player modes to account for fewer available interrupts there.
  • The captured drakes in this encounter now apply Dragon's Vengeance when they are killed instead of when they are freed. To account for this change, the health and damage of the drakes has been reduced, and the damage bonus gained from Dragon's Vengeance has been increased.
    
• Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Added
  

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB

www.Learntoraid.com Halfus Wyrmbreaker Strategy Guide

25man.com Halfus Wyrmbreaker Tactics & Strategy Guide

Icy Veins Comprehensive Halfus Wyrmbreaker guide (includes tank, healer, and DPS perspectives, and Heroic mode)