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This article is about the in-game raid boss. For character biography and Warcraft III appearances, see Illidan Stormrage.
BossIllidan Stormrage
Image of Illidan Stormrage
Title <The Betrayer>
Gender Male
Race(s) Night elf / Demon
Level ?? Boss
Reaction Alliance Horde
Location Temple Summit, Black Temple
Status Killable

Illidan Stormrage is the final boss of the Black Temple. The fight consists of five phases, and good positioning is the key to success.

Biography[]

Adventure Guide[]

Stub Please add any available information to this section.

Overview[]

Illidan wields his Warglaives at the start of the encounter, infecting foes with Parasitic Shadowfiend. Upon reaching 65% health, Illidan takes flight and throws the Warglaives of Azzinoth to the ground, each of which unleashes a Flame. The two Flames of Azzinoth must be defeated to bring Illidan to the ground. For the remainder of the encounter, Illidan periodically unleashes the power of the demonic force within him, using those dark powers to assault his foes, before returning to his natural form. At 30% health, Maiev arrives to assist in handling the Betrayer's final efforts to overpower his foes.

Dps icon Damage Dealers[]

  • Move away from allies when afflicted with Parasitic Shadowfiend.
  • Quickly defeat the Flames of Azzinoth in Stage Two of the encounter.

Healer icon Healers[]

  • Move away from allies when afflicted with Parasitic Shadowfiend.
  • Quickly defeat the Flames of Azzinoth in Stage Two of the encounter.

Tank icon Tanks[]

  • Use Active Mitigation defensive abilities to survive Shear.
  • Move Illidan Stormrage to avoid damage taken from Flame Crash.
  • In Stage Two, be quick to grab the attention of the Flames of Azzinoth.

Abilities[]

Stage One: You Are Not Prepared[]

  • Spell shadow focusedpower Shear Tank Alert — A deadly attack shears the target, not using active mitigation reduces maximum health by 60% for 7 sec.
  • Spell shadow coneofsilence Draw Soul Tank Alert — Deals 8100 to 9900 Shadow damage to any targets in front of the caster, healing for a portion of the damage dealt.
  • Spell fire bluehellfire Flame Crash — Deals 1665 to 1935 Fire damage to the target and leaves a blaze upon the ground.
  • Spell shadow soulleech 3 Parasitic Shadowfiend Important — A parasitic shadowfiend burrows its way through the target, dealing 5400 Shadow damage every 2 sec for 10 sec. When the shadowfiend is finished, it leaves the target and seeks new prey.

Stage Two: Flames of Azzinoth[]

  • Illidan Stormrage
    • Spell fire blueflamebolt Fireball — Inflicts 4590 to 6210 Fire damage to enemies within 10 yards of the target.
    • Spell shadow painspike Dark Barrage Deadly — A barrage of demonic magic deals 5400 Shadow damage to the target every 1 sec for 10 sec.
  • Flame of Azzinoth
    • Spell fire felfire Blaze — Leaves a blazing fire on the ground that deals 9000 Fire damage to enemies within 6 yards every 3 sec.
    • Spell fire felflamebreath Flame Blast — Deals 12600 to 16200 Fire damage to all enemies in front of the caster.
    • Spell shadow unholyfrenzy Uncaged Wrath Deadly — Separated from the blade, the spirits of Azzinoth enrage, dealing 500% additional damage and increase their movement speed by 200%.

Stage Three: The Demon Within[]

IllidanDemonWoW

Illidan in Demon Form

  • Spell shadow focusedpower Shear Tank Alert — A deadly attack shears the target, not using active mitigation reduces maximum health by 60% for 7 sec.
  • Spell shadow coneofsilence Draw Soul Tank Alert — Deals 8100 to 9900 Shadow damage to any targets in front of the caster, healing for a portion of the damage dealt.
  • Spell fire bluehellfire Flame Crash — Deals 1665 to 1935 Fire damage to the target and leaves a blaze upon the ground.
  • Spell shadow soulleech 3 Parasitic Shadowfiend Important — A parasitic shadowfiend burrows its way through the target, dealing 5400 Shadow damage every 2 sec for 10 sec. When the shadowfiend is finished, it leaves the target and seeks new prey.
  • Spell fire blueimmolation Agonizing Flames — Deals 7200 Fire damage instantly to all enemies within 5 yards of the target and dealing 64800 Fire damage over 1 min.
  • Spell shadow metamorphosis Demon Form Important — Illidan Stormrage casts Metamorphosis and takes the form of the Demon Within. Illidan will stay in this form for 60 seconds. Increases Physical damage dealt by 500%. Inflicts 1800 Shadow damage to all enemies within 15 yards of the caster every 2 sec.
    • Spell shadow soulleech 3 Summon Shadow Demons — Summons a Shadow Demon. The Shadow Demon will stun a target, then pursue it until death.
    • Spell shadow shadowbolt Shadow Blast — Deals 7800 to 8200 Shadow damage to the target and any enemies within 20 yards of the target.
    • Spell fire bluerainoffire Flame Burst — Inflicts 5827 to 6773 Fire damage to enemies within 5 yards.
    • Spell shadow shadowpower Aura of Dread Deadly — Deals 1800 Shadow damage to all enemies within 15 yards of the caster, increasing shadow damage taken by 20% for 6 sec.

Stage Four: The Long Hunt[]

  • Illidan Stormrage
    • Spell shadow focusedpower Shear Tank Alert — A deadly attack shears the target, not using active mitigation reduces maximum health by 60% for 7 sec.
    • Spell shadow coneofsilence Draw Soul Tank Alert — Deals 8100 to 9900 Shadow damage to any targets in front of the caster, healing for a portion of the damage dealt.
    • Spell fire bluehellfire Flame Crash — Deals 1665 to 1935 Fire damage to the target and leaves a blaze upon the ground.
    • Spell fire blueimmolation Agonizing Flames — Deals 7200 Fire damage instantly to all enemies within 5 yards of the target and dealing 64800 Fire damage over 1 min.
    • Spell shadow soulleech 3 Parasitic Shadowfiend Important — A parasitic shadowfiend burrows its way through the target, dealing 5400 Shadow damage every 2 sec for 10 sec. When the shadowfiend is finished, it leaves the target and seeks new prey.
    • Spell shadow metamorphosis Demon Form Important — Illidan Stormrage casts Metamorphosis and takes the form of the Demon Within. Illidan will stay in this form for 60 seconds. Increases Physical damage dealt by 500%. Inflicts 1800 Shadow damage to all enemies within 15 yards of the caster every 2 sec.
      • Spell shadow soulleech 3 Summon Shadow Demons — Summons a Shadow Demon. The Shadow Demon will stun a target, then pursue it until death.
      • Spell shadow shadowbolt Shadow Blast — Deals 7800 to 8200 Shadow damage to the target and any enemies within 20 yards of the target.
      • Spell fire bluerainoffire Flame Burst — Inflicts 5827 to 6773 Fire damage to enemies within 5 yards.
      • Spell shadow shadowpower Aura of Dread Deadly — Deals 1800 Shadow damage to all enemies within 15 yards of the caster, increasing shadow damage taken by 20% for 6 sec.
    • Spell shadow unholyfrenzy Frenzy — Increases damage dealt by 50% and attack speed by 30% for 20 sec.
  • Maiev Shadowsong
    • Spell shadow soulleech 1 Cage Trap — Maiev Shadowsong summons a Shadow Trap that if Illidan is pulled into will Stun him and increase damage taken by 100% for 15 sec.

Strategy[]

Preparation[]

  • 1 Main Tank: Normal gear, should be uncrushable without including miss chance (dodge + parry + block) to nullify Shear
  • 2 Off Tanks: Maximum fire resistance gear, immune to crits
  • 1 Warlock Tank: Maxed shadow resistance gear, no points in Spell shadow netherprotection [Nether Protection]
  • 8-9 healers
  • 12-13 damage dealers, including at least 2 mages

Illidan is not a gear dependent fight, it's possible to beat him even with Tier 5 or badge vendor gear on most of the raid, only the tanks really need good gear.

Phase 1[]

The fight starts after a lengthy dialogue between Akama and Illidan, as the last line Illidan yells "You are not prepared!".

Tanking[]

The main tank picks Illidan up by simply standing closest to him. Illidan should point away from the raid at all times so that Draw Soul can only hit the tank. Periodically, the tank has to move to get out of Flame Crash.

Raid[]

Every 30 seconds a random raid member receives the Parasitic Shadowfiend debuff. The affected player and a mage should move away from the raid. When the Parasitic Shadowfiends spawn, the mage Frost Novas them and nukes them down quickly (usually with help from some other damage dealers). If the main tank receives the parasite debuff, the melee group must move away. Do not use Frost Nova in this case, just nuke the spawns.

Draw Soul is frequently cast right after a Flame Crash. The only player affected should be the tank. Keep the debuffs from Ability warrior savageblow [Mortal Strike], Inv misc herb 16 [Wound Poison] and Inv spear 07 [Aimed Shot] up to reduce the amount of healing Illidan receives.

At 90%, Illidan calls for the help of his minions, but they simply get killed by Akama. At 65%, Illidan takes off into the air, starting Phase 2.

Phase 2[]

Illidan is immune to all attacks while flying. About 10 seconds after taking off, he throws his two Warglaives of Azzinoth to the east and west sides of the grill/circle pattern on the ground, where they remain fixed. Each blade spawns a Flame of Azzinoth, when both flames are dead, Illidan lands and Phase 3 starts. This phase is the most difficult of the whole encounter, therefore all DPS enhancing cooldowns (Ability shaman heroism [Heroism]/Spell nature bloodlust [Bloodlust] etc.) should be used as soon as the tanks have solid aggro on the Flames.

Positioning[]

The two off-tanks each pick up one of the flames. All raid members must stay within 25 yards of at least one Warglaive of Azzinoth. At the same time, the raid must spread out to minimize the damage taken from Illidan's Fireballs. To maximize the effectiveness of Spell nature healingwavegreater [Chain Heal] and Spell holy circleofrenewal [Circle of Healing], it's a good idea to set up in several tightly clustered groups.

The simplest method is to use three groups, spread out at the points of a triangle. Setups with four or even five groups are possible too - in all cases, the raid must take care to set up outside the Eye Beam paths (see below). A setup with five groups results in a cross pattern - one group in the exact center of the circle, and one N, E, S, W, each 6 yards away from the center group. A four group setup leaves away the center group.

Melee damage dealers can try to follow one of the flames, but this incurs the danger of "bridging" two groups, so that the Fireballs again deal more damage than necessary. For this reason, it's safest to assign the melee damage dealers to one group and keep them at their place, only attacking a Flame when it moves close enough. With experience, raids can work out a technique to allow the melee damage dealers some movement.

Tanking[]

Each tank must keep his Flame faced away from the raid at all times, while at the same time staying close enough to the Blades of Azzinoth. This is most easily accomplished by staying in the area between the two circles. Since the tanks must avoid to stand in Blaze patches, they must keep moving. The result is the following 'kite path': Initially both flames are pulled to the northern (or southern) end of the circle, and then moved around the border towards the south, one tank along the eastern semicircle, the other along the west.

Eye Beam has only four possible paths, each intersects one of the Blades and tangentially touches the inner circle (either north or south). The actual AoE is about 2 yards wider than the graphic. Therefore only tanks and melee damage dealers have to take care. One player should constantly keep an eye on Illidan and announce whether he's flying over the east or west side (so that the tank on that side can move away from the two possible Eye Beam traces). Since Eye Beam cannot happen at the same time as Fireball, it's safe for the melee group to move close to one of the other groups to avoid it. If players get separated from the Flame by the residual (blue) fire from Eye Beam, they should wait until they're at full health and then dash through the fire.

Healing[]

The Flame tanks need two healers each, the remaining 4-5 healers heal the raid. About 80 seconds into the phase and every 40 seconds thereafter, Illidan puts a Dark Barrage on a random raid member. There is nothing to do about it than heal through. Since neither Fireballs nor Eye Beams can happen during a Dark Barrage, all raid healers have to immediately start spam healing the Barrage target. Fast reaction is crucial if the target cannot use a damage avoiding ability like Ability rogue feigndeath [Feign Death], Spell frost frost [Ice Block], Spell holy divineshield [Divine Shield] etc.

During Phase 2 no combat or self rez should be used, since upon rezzing players may be susceptible to charge (even though being close enough to a Blade).

Phase 3[]

After both Flames are dead, Illidan lands, starting Phase 3. Any combat rezzes should be performed at this point. Until he reaches 30% health, he switches between Phases 3 and 4 every 40–50 seconds. When below 30%, he switches between Phases 5 and 4. Each phase switch is an aggro reset, therefore Ability hunter misdirection [Misdirection] should be used on each switch and DPS should be careful for the first few seconds. His abilities in Phase 3 are the same as in Phase 1, with the addition of Agonizing Flames. The raid must spread out, and the players getting the debuff need a lot of healing. Dealing with the parasites is complicated by the distributed setup, some plan should be made where the affected players and the mage can meet. This can be done by setting up one mage to each side of the raid, and have parasited raid members run away towards the sides.

Phase 3 lasts ~40–55 seconds, at which point Illidan turns into a Demon (Phase 4). If he reaches 30% health, Phase 5 starts. The transition to phase 5 should always happen during a Phase 3, because the raid is positioned correctly.

Phase 4[]

Illidan kneels down and casts The Demon Within, turning him into a Demon. A warlock with maxed shadow resistance should tank him. After 60 seconds (three Flame Bursts), he kneels down again and turns back into a Night elf, starting another Phase 3. Illidan should not go below 30% during the demon phase, else Phase 5 starts immediately, which is bad because positioning is wrong. Therefore slow DPS when he gets close to 30% in phase 4.

Positioning[]

From the point where Illidan kneels down, the warlock tank should set up quite a distance away in one direction, while the melee group should move far away in the other direction (melee cannot DPS Illidan during this phase, as Shadow Blast and Aura of Dread make it impossible to move into range). Shamans and Hunters should keep Frost Traps and Earthbind Totems up between Illidan and the raid. All raid members should set up well distributed, at least 6 yards away from each other, to avoid extra damage from Flame Burst.

Shadow Demons[]

The shadow demons spawn is always followed closely by a Flame Burst, so players must wait for the burst before they move out of position to kill them. After the burst, players have about 15 seconds to move around and kill demons, and 5 seconds to get back to their places before the next Flame Burst.

It's a good idea to place all AoE capable damage dealers within AoE range of Illidan, so that they can AoE the demons right when they spawn, while they're still snared. Mages should use Spell frost icestorm [Blizzard], and warlocks can use Spell shadow seedofdestruction [Seed of Corruption] on Illidan 15 seconds before the spawn. If the AoE is performed well, it's possible to kill all the Demons within a few seconds after they spawn, this has the additional advantage that nobody needs to move out of position.

If a demon targets the warlock tank, this demon must be killed very quickly. A rogue can use Ability rogue sprint [Sprint] and burn all cooldowns to increase damage done when reaching the demon.

Phase 5[]

When Illidan is at 30% health or below, the raid gets imprisoned for 30 seconds and a small cut-scene takes place, and the fight continues with Phase 5. Illidan still switches to Phase 4 every 60 seconds, but from now on, Phase 5 replaces Phase 3. Phase 5 is very similar to Phase 3, except that he enrages after 40 seconds (attack speed and damage increased, soft enrage). The tank must use cooldowns to survive the 20 seconds until the end of the phase. One plan is to use Ability warrior shieldwall [Shield Wall] on the first enrage, and Spell holy ashestoashes [Last Stand] plus trinkets on the second.

Additionally, Maiev Shadowsong enters the battle. Two times per Phase 5 cycle she semi-randomly places a special demon trap on the ground that can be used against Illidan. The tank needs to drag Illidan towards the trap, click to activate it, and position Illidan on top of it. While trapped, Illidans damage taken is increased by 100% and he loses his enrage buff. When the trap expires, a transition to Phase 4 starts immediately.

Using the demon trap is dangerous, because it may severely disturb positioning, and incur other complications like raid members taking extra damage from Agonizing Flames, loose Parasites, or the tank turning his back to Illidan and taking Shear. Therefore only experienced raids should use the traps to speed up the encounter.

First kills (prior to patch 3.0.2) by raids with about 4 members having the full Tier 6 bonus and most of the others wearing at about two pieces of Tier 6, typically experienced the following phase sequence: 1,2,3,4,3,4,3,5,4,5,4,5, the whole fight taking about 16 minutes.

Soloing[]

Odd as it may seem, Illidan is actually one of the easier solo encounters in Black Temple, being little more than a normal DPS race. The only mechanic to watch for is the flame enrage in phase 2. Other than that, Illidan is easily dispatched.

Loot[]

Tier 6 chest tokens
The Twin Blades of Azzinoth
Other drops

Related Achievements[]

Quotes[]

Talking to Akama

The time has come to face Illidan, <name>. Are you ready?

Gossip I'm ready, Akama.

Akama runs up the ramp to the door leading to the Temple Summit.
Akama says: This door is all that stands between us and the Betrayer. Stand aside, friends.
Akama channels into the crystal lock for a few moments, but it fails.
Akama says: I cannot do this alone...
The Spirit of Udalo and Spirit of Olum appear at the left and right flank of Akama.
Spirit of Udalo says: You are not alone, Akama.
Spirit of Olum says: Your people will always be with you!
The three channel together for a few moments and the lock shatters, opening the door.
Akama says: I thank you for your aid, brothers. Our people will be redeemed!
Reach the Top of Black Temple
As the spirits fade, Akama runs up the stairs to the Temple Summit.
Talk to him once more

Be wary, friends. The Betrayer meditates on the court just beyond.

Gossip We're ready to face Illidan.

Intro
Illidan Stormrage, the Betrayer, keels while looking in to the empty visage of the Skull of Gul'dan, clutched in his clawed hand. Akama runs out in to the open. Illidan looks to the left at him, stands and drops the skull to the floor, where it despawns as Illidan turns fully to face Akama.
Illidan Stormrage yells: Akama. Your duplicity is hardly surprising. I should have slaughtered you and your malformed brethren long ago.
Akama yells: We've come to end your reign, Illidan. My people, and all of Outland, shall be free!
Illidan Stormrage yells: Boldly said. But I remain... unconvinced.
Akama yells: The time has come! The moment is at hand!
Aggro
You are not prepared!
At 90%
Illidan Stormrage yells: Come, my minions. Deal with this traitor as he deserves!
Akama yells: I will deal with these mongrels! Strike now, friends! Strike at the Betrayer!
Akama runs over to an entrance barrier, teleports to the other side and runs down the stairs to deal with the approaching Illidari Elites.
Phase 2
I will not be touched by rabble such as you!
Behold the flames of Azzinoth!
Dark Barrage
Stare into the eyes of the Betrayer!
Metamorphosis
Behold the power... of the demon within!
Aura of Dread
Feel the hatred of ten thousand years!
Phase 5
Illidan stuns the entire raid.
Illidan Stormrage yells: Is this it, mortals? Is this all the fury you can muster?
Maiev Shadowsong appears and Illidan turns to face her.
Maiev Shadowsong yells: Their fury pales before mine, Illidan. We have some unsettled business between us.
Illidan Stormrage yells: Maiev... How is it even possible?
Maiev Shadowsong yells: My long hunt is finally over. Today, Justice will be done!
Cage Trap
  • Maiev Shadowsong yells: That is for Naisha!
  • Maiev Shadowsong yells: Bleed as I have bled!
  • Maiev Shadowsong yells: There shall be no prison for you this time!
Enrage
You've wasted too much time mortals, now you shall fall!
Killing a player
  • Such arrogance!
  • Who shall be next to taste my blades?!
  • This is too easy!
Death
Illidan falls to one knee, holding himself up on his fists, with the Warglaives of Azzinoth still clenched in them.
Maiev Shadowsong yells: It is finished. You are beaten.
Illidan Stormrage yells: You have won... Maiev. But the huntress... is nothing without the hunt. You... are nothing... without me.
Illidan collapses and dies.
Maiev Shadowsong yells: He's right. I feel nothing... I am... nothing.
Akama runs back from the stairs to where Illidan fell.
Maiev Shadowsong yells: Farewell, champions.
Maiev teleports. To where, no one knows.
Akama yells: The Light will bless these dismal halls once again.... I swear it.
Akama despawns.
Unused quotes
  • Akama: Beware his gaze! Do not look into his eyes!
  • Illidan Stormrage: I can feel your hatred...
  • Illidan Stormrage: Give in to your fear!
  • Illidan Stormrage: You know nothing of power!

Patch changes[]

Videos[]

External links[]

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