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:''This article is about the in-game raid boss. For character biography see [[Onyxia]].''
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{{About|the in-game boss|character biography|Onyxia|the original encounter at level 60|Onyxia (Classic)}}
  +
{{Npcbox
 
 
<onlyinclude>{{npcbox
 
 
| name = Onyxia
 
| name = Onyxia
| image = OnyxiaMG.JPG
+
| image = Lady Onyxia.jpg
| sex = Female
+
| gender = Female
| race = Dragon
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| race = Black wyrm
 
| creature = Dragonkin
 
| creature = Dragonkin
 
| level = ??
 
| level = ??
| faction = Combat
+
| type = Boss
  +
| faction = Boss
 
| location = [[Onyxia's Lair]], [[Dustwallow Marsh]]
 
| location = [[Onyxia's Lair]], [[Dustwallow Marsh]]
| aggro = {{aggro|-1|-1}}
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| aggro = {{Aggro|-1|-1}}
| health = 1,100,000
+
| status = Killable
  +
}}
| money = {{cost|182|23|68}}
 
}}</onlyinclude>
 
   
  +
'''Onyxia''' is a level ?? [[black dragon]] [[boss]] in [[Onyxia's Lair]].
==Instance information==
 
Information on the instance, including location and timer, can be found at [[Onyxia's Lair]].
 
   
  +
==Abilities==
==Prerequisites and other quests==
 
  +
===Phase One===
Prerequisites:
 
  +
Onyxia melees for about 12,000-15,000 on plate. Onyxia is tauntable.
  +
*{{Abilities|Flame Breath|Inflicts 18,850 to 21,150 (25: 28,275 to 31,725) Fire damage to enemies in a cone in front of the caster.|range=45|id=18435|image=Spell Fire Fire|notes=2 sec cast}}
  +
*{{Abilities|Cleave|Inflicts normal damage to an enemy and its nearest allies, affecting up to 10 targets.|range=Melee|id=68868|image=Ability Warrior Cleave|notes=Next melee. Hits for 120% of normal swings.}}
  +
*{{Abilities|Wing Buffet|Inflicts 21,678 to 24,322 (25: 28,275 to 31,725) damage to enemies in a cone in front of the caster, knocking them back. This effect ignores armor.|id=18500|image=INV Misc MonsterScales 14|notes=0.5 sec cast}}
  +
*{{Abilities|Tail Sweep|Inflicts 8,325 to 9,675 (25: 12,025 to 13,975) damage on enemies in a cone behind the caster, knocking them back.|range=30|id=68867|image=INV Misc MonsterScales 05|notes=Instant. 30 yard knockback.}}
   
  +
===Phase Two===
{{main|Onyxia's Lair Attunement}}
 
  +
[[File:Onyxia deep breath details.jpg|thumb|Deep Breath IS random!]]
In order to enter Onyxia's Lair and get to Onyxia, you must have the [[Drakefire Amulet]] in your inventory or on your neck. To get this, Horde characters must complete a quest chain that starts with {{questlong|Horde|60|Warlord's Command}} from {{NPC|Horde|Warlord Goretooth}} in [[Kargath]] (talk to him until he gives you written orders). Alliance characters must complete a quest chain that starts with {{questlong|Alliance|54|Dragonkin Menace}} from {{NPC|Alliance|Helendis Riverhorn}} in the [[Burning Steppes]]. (For advice about the full quest chain, c.f. [[Onyxia's Lair Attunement]])
 
  +
Onyxia takes off at 65%, has no threat table, cannot be attacked from melee, and uses the following abilities:
  +
*{{Abilities|Fireball|Inflicts 4,713 to 5,287 (25: 7,069 to 7,931) Fire damage to all enemies in a selected area.|id=18392|image=Spell Fire FlameBolt|notes=3 sec cast. 8 yard radius area of effect}}
  +
*{{Abilities|Breath|Onyxia's flaming breath hits all enemies on the ground for 6,375 to 8,625 Fire damage.|id=17086|image=Spell Fire Fire|notes=8 sec cast. 18-yard-wide line area of effect}}
  +
*{{Abilities|Summon Onyxia Whelp|image=trade_engineering|id=17646|notes=2 sec cast. Summons two sets of 20 '''[[Onyxian Whelp]]s''' every 90 seconds at start of phase 2.}}
  +
*{{Abilities|Summon Lair Guard|image=trade_engineering|id=68968|notes=Instant. Summons one (25: two) '''[[Onyxian Lair Guard]]'''. First cast after 15 seconds, repeat casts every 30 seconds thereafter. Abilities:}}
  +
**{{abilities|Blast Nova|image=spell_fire_selfdestruct|id=68958|Inflicts 21875 to 28125 Fire damage to enemies within 15 yards.|notes=5 sec cast|cd=2 sec}}
  +
**{{abilities|Ignite Weapon|image=spell_fire_flameblades|id=68959|Melee attacks cause an additional 17500 Fire damage to all enemies within 5 yards of the target.|notes=2 sec cast|cd=8 sec}}
   
  +
===Phase Three===
Other quests:
 
  +
Onyxia lands at 40% HP. She regains all her phase one abilities and gains some additional abilities.
Killing Onyxia is part of several epic quest chains.
 
  +
*{{Abilities|Bellowing Roar|Releases a bellowing roar, which fears all enemies for 3 sec.|id=18431|image=Spell Fire Fire|notes=2.5 sec cast}}
  +
*{{Abilities|Eruption|Lava errupts from the cracks in the floor, dealing 5,184 to 5,816 (25: 7,069 to 7,931) Fire damage.|id=17731|image=Spell Fire Fire|notes=Instant.}}
  +
* ''Spawn Onyxian Whelps'' - Small numbers of whelps will continue to spawn in phase 3.
   
  +
==Strategy==
*The warrior and paladin epic quest for {{loot|epic|Quel'Serrar}}, which starts from {{loot|epic|Foror's Compendium of Dragon Slaying}}, a rare drop from [[Dire Maul]] bosses.
 
  +
[[File:Onyxia lair.jpg|frame|Map of Onyxia's lair, showing raid positioning for Phases 1 & 3]]This is (still) a very simple encounter overall. For strategy videos of both the 10-man and 25-man encounter, look below the loot table on this page.
*The [[Hunter quests|hunter quest chain]] for {{loot|epic|Rhok'delar, Longbow of the Ancient Keepers}} and {{loot|epic|Lok'delar, Stave of the Ancient Keepers}}. This chain starts from the {{loot|epic|Ancient Petrified Leaf}}, found in the [[Cache of the Firelord]], which appears after the defeat of {{mob|Majordomo Executus}} in [[Molten Core]]. Onyxia drops a {{loot|epic|Mature Black Dragon Sinew}} in about one of every four kills, and it is required to complete the chain.
 
  +
You ideally want 2 tanks, 2 healers, 3 melee DPS, and 3 ranged DPS for 10 man, and 2 tanks, 5 healers, 8 melee DPS, and 10 ranged DPS for 25 man.
*The quest chain to open the [[Gates of Ahn'Qiraj]], which starts with {{questlong|Neutral|60|What Tomorrow Brings}} from {{NPC|Neutral|Baristolth of the Shifting Sands}} in [[Cenarion Hold]]. Onyxia drops {{loot|common|Draconic for Dummies (6)|Draconic for Dummies - Chapter VI}} for this chain.
 
*{{questlong|Alliance|60R|Celebrating Good Times}} and {{questlong|Horde|60R|For All To See}}, which each award one of {{loot|epic|Dragonslayer's Signet}}, {{loot|epic|Onyxia Tooth Pendant}}, or {{loot|epic|Onyxia Blood Talisman}}. The quest chain starts from {{loot|epic|Head of Onyxia}} after you loot it from Onyxia's corpse.
 
   
==Onyxia's abilities==
+
===Phase 1===
  +
The tank should run slightly ahead of the rest of the raid and grab Onyxia, quickly turning her away from the raid and then backing off to the Northern wall, where the tank will position themselves with their back to the wall to minimise the effect of the knockback from Wing Buffet. Only the tank should be in front of Onyxia, to minimize damage from fire breath and cleaving.
Onyxia has many abilities that she uses throughout any fight with her. They vary depending on the phase of the fight that you are in. The abilities are as follows:
 
  +
During phase one, the only damage to the raid should be upon the tank.
  +
Ranged DPS and healers need to stay to either side of her, fairly far back.
  +
Melee DPS need to stay to either side of her, just within range (which is wider than it looks). If melee DPS is too close to her head, they will be killed by Cleave; if they're too close to her tail, they will be tail swiped, possibly into the whelps, usually resulting in a wipe.
   
  +
Phase one ends when Onyxia is reduced to 65% health.
===Overall abilities ===
 
; Taunt Immunity : Onyxia is immune to all abilities which cause a monster to instantly target the caster. So, abilities such as [[Warrior Taunt|Taunt]], [[Challenging Shout]], and [[Mocking Blow]] don't work as usual on her. Other threat-generating abilities such as [[Sunder Armor]] ''do'' work as usual.
 
   
  +
===Phase 2===
; Whelp Eggs : At the East and West sides of Onyxia's Lair are the two entrances to a tunnel full of eggs. When a character gets too close to the eggs, many whelps will hatch and attack.
 
  +
During this phase, Onyxia takes to the air and moves randomly around the room, casting Fireball on raid members. There are three main things to watch out for:
   
  +
* '''Onyxian Whelps.''' At the beginning of this phase, and subsequently about every 90 seconds, 2 packs of whelps will spawn, one from the egg chambers on each side of the room). These whelps should not be underestimated, as they can do considerable damage with all 40 attacking the same target. They should be gathered by the off tank and then killed with AoE attacks.
; Warder Respawn : As soon as Onyxia is engaged, her Onyxian Warders respawn in the tunnel. They despawn as soon as she is defeated. These Warders discourage players from hiding from her in the tunnel.
 
   
  +
* '''Onyxian Lair Guards.''' After about 15 seconds and subsequently about every 30 seconds, an Onyxian Lair Guard will spawn at the entrance to the room. These need to be tanked with a dedicated healer for the tank. Melee DPS should focus their attention on killing these as fast as possible, as having more than one up at a time can overwhelm a tank. If you aren't able to kill one before the next one spawns, some ranged DPS may need to assist. Be aware that the guards hit very hard, and have a periodic AoE (Blast Nova 10 yard range) that can easily kill the melee DPS around it if not careful, leaving not enough DPS to kill the Guards quickly enough, and allowing them to overwhelm the raid. This AoE has a cast time, and is easy to run out of if you don't underestimate its range. Onyxia must be brought down as quickly as possible by ranged DPS, as the Guards will stop coming once phase two ends.
; Teleport : As with many other raid bosses, Onyxia will teleport characters to herself if they are far away or unreachable when she is in combat. This usually happens to characters in the entrance tunnel, but can randomly happen to characters at any position in her lair.
 
   
  +
* '''Deep Breath.''' At random periods during phase two, Onyxia will emote that she is taking a deep breath. When this happens, note her position, direction and get out of her path. A few seconds after the emote, she'll fly straight in the direction she's pointing and leave a trail of massive, fiery damage about 10 yards wide. If in doubt, run all the way to the nearest side of the room or against the wall behind her.
===Phase One abilities ===
 
; [[Flame Breath]] : This is a blast of fire that hits everyone in front of Onyxia, including to a considerable distance to the sides. This damage is fire based and hits for upwards of 4000 damage. At level 70 it is very easy to survive a Flame Breath.
 
   
  +
During this phase of the encounter ranged DPS should be focused on bringing Onyxia down to 40% to start phase 3, although they must interrupt this to AoE the packs of whelps. Melee dps should focus on killing the Onyxian Lair Guards.
; [[Knock Away]] : Damages her main target, knocking it back a distance, and reducing the threat of the target by one quarter (25%).
 
   
  +
For raids looking to complete the [[Many Whelps! Handle It! (10 player)]] / [[Many Whelps! Handle It! (25 player)]] achievements, the instant her feet leave the ground, send one player down each entrance of the egg cave. Each player should look to spawn about 25 eggs, then turn around and exit the cave without doing anything that causes aggro. Note that the 40 whelps she normally spawns ''will still spawn'', so it will take some high-level coordination to AoE down roughly 90 whelps. There is no indication that players have spawned enough whelps until Onyxia dies, so don't be afraid to pop more than 50 eggs.
; [[Wing Buffet]] : Damages and knocks back multiple targets in a cone in front of Onyxia. Unlike the [[Drake]]s in [[Blackwing Lair]], Onyxia does not reduce her threat of targets she hits with this attack.
 
   
  +
===Phase 3===
; [[Cleave]] : Nasty physical damage to multiple targets immediately in front of Onyxia.
 
  +
Onyxia will land on the Southern side of the room and immediately cast Bellowing Roar, causing the raid to run in fear for the next 3 seconds. Finish off whatever adds remain while the tank positions Onyxia. Note that, unlike the level 60 encounter, the tank will have retained aggro on Onyxia from phase 1. It's advisable to ensure that the tank is unaffected by the initial fear, so that Onyxia can be positioned correctly (fear ward, berserker rage, tremor totem).
   
  +
Phase 3 is essentially the same as phase one aside from periodic fears, some raid damage from eruption and occasional whelp spawns which are not too dangerous.
; [[Tail Sweep]] : Onyxia can attack everyone behind her with her mighty tail. This hits for very little damage (about 300) but sends the target flying sideways. This attack can cause a wipe if the victim gets knocked into a whelp cave.
 
   
===Phase Two abilities ===
+
===Differences from level 60===
  +
Onyxia no longer drops threat between phases 1 and 3, and she is no longer immune to fire effects and abilities.Wing buffet no longer lowers aggro. Deep Breath is cast more often, and the cast time has been increased. Onyxian Lair Guards now spawn in phase 2, and melee can no longer hit Onyxia in phase 2. Lava eruptions happen during the Bellowing Roar fear, not just after it.
; Flight : In the second stage of the Onyxia fight, she takes flight. Normal melee auto-attacks cannot reach her. Special melee attacks (rogues ambush, sinister strike, eviscerate...) ''can'' reach her.
 
   
  +
===In a Nutshell===
; [[Engulfing Flames]] (Fireball) : While in flight Onyxia will breathe fireballs down on random players. This hits as a main hit and a splash damage hit. It does up to 3000 damage to the player it hits and can do up to 1500 to anyone nearby. Note: Research in November of 2006 strongly indicates that these fireballs target whoever is highest on Onyxia's threat list, and impose a large (probably complete) threat wipe for the characters targeted.
 
  +
*Do not stand behind or in front of her (except tank);
  +
*tank her facing the wall;
  +
*when whelps spawn, quickly gather and nuke them;
  +
*quickly kill any Lair Guards that spawn;
  +
*dots, dots, dots;
  +
*and for the love of god, when she breathes RUN!!!
   
  +
==Solo strategy==
; Whelp Spawns : Groups of whelps periodically hatch from the eggs and attack, regardless of whether any characters are near them. This includes a large spawn at the start of the phase, and small spawns periodically during the phase.
 
  +
Onyxia is easily soloable in 10-player mode. Just nuke her in phase one (to 65%), dragging her to the northern end of the room. Once she hits 65% health, keep nuking her, as she'll run to the south end of the room to take off. Ideally, get her beneath 40% health so she'll land automatically, which requires taking off 1.2M/5.6M health in 10/25-player mode. If she's not beneath 40% health before she takes off, [[DoT]] her up and use whatever ranged abilities are available.
   
  +
The [[Onyxian Whelp]]s will spawn no matter what, so gather them up and AoE them down. They have 63K/189K health each. If Onyxia is in phase 2 for longer than 15 seconds, she'll summon an [[Onyxian Lair Guard]] with 189K/630K health that will need to be killed as well. Repeat guards are summoned every 30 seconds thereafter, and if she's up for longer than 90 seconds, she'll summon another wave of whelps.
; [[Onyxia's Breath]] (Deep Breath) : Onyxia emotes "Onyxia takes in a deep breath..." and a few seconds later, she flies across her chamber as she breathes a huge gout of fire that rolls straight across the room from her initial position to the opposite wall. Characters in the middle of this attack get hit five or six times and are likely to die. Characters on the sides of the attack get missed entirely or get hit only once.
 
   
  +
Once she lands to start phase 3, clean up any remaining adds, then finish her off.
: Despite being "breaths" they don't actually originate from the front of her — they actually originate from the floor directly beneath her and travel directly to the opposite corner or side of her lair. Melee who attempt to stand under her to DPS should keep this in mind and be prepared to immediately run to a safe spot if a deep breath occurs.
 
   
  +
==Loot==
: There were many theories about deep breaths being caused by clumping, not enough DPS, or the number of debuffs on her, however [[Jeff Kaplan]] stated in a video interview with the developers in June of 2007 that the trigger for the Deep Breath is "totally random" [http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/12155]. The [http://www.bradygames.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0744006996&rl=1 Brady Games World of Warcraft Dungeon Companion] confirms that she has a random chance to perform a Deep Breath attack every time she moves.
 
  +
In addition to the items in the tables below, Onyxia is guaranteed to drop the following each time she is killed:
  +
*[[Enlarged Onyxia Hide Backpack]]
  +
*[[Ashen Sack of Gems]]
  +
*{{Versions/AllianceHorde|Head of Onyxia}}
   
  +
Very rarely, she may also drop the [[Reins of the Onyxian Drake]] in both 10- and 25-player modes.
: It is human nature to find patterns in randomness, so many players insist that they know exactly [[Why does Onyxia cast Deep Breath?|what causes the deep breath attack]]. However, each of these theories has been tested and found to be false. There are only two techniques that have been proven to work against Deep Breath attacks: Damage her more quickly so that she has fewer opportunities to perform the attack, and move out of the way when she does perform it. [[#Dodge Deep Breath Attacks|See below]] to see how to dodge this attack.
 
   
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{| class="darktable zebra"
: Note that well-geared guilds can bring her through Phase Two so quickly that she only moves a couple times, and thus has a good chance of not performing the attack at all. The members of these guilds report that their techniques work because Onyxia hardly ever uses her Deep Breath attacks any more. In fact, the time spent perfecting their techniques was also time spent gathering powerful gear, so Onyxia is simply not in the air long enough to perform the attack. Anyone wishing to promote a theory about what causes the attack should test it by leaving Onyxia up in the air for at least 15 minutes, which will be long enough to collect useful information.
 
  +
|+Weapons
  +
!10-player !! 25-player !! Type || Spec || Namesake
  +
|-
  +
| [[Empowered Deathbringer]] || [[Raging Deathbringer]] || One-Hand axe || || [[Deathbringer]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Sharpened Fang of the Mystics]] || [[Honed Fang of the Mystics]] || Dagger || Healing || [[Fang of the Mystics]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Rusted Gutgore Ripper]] || [[Tarnished Gutgore Ripper]] || Dagger || Physical dps || [[Gutgore Ripper]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Snub-Nose Blastershot Launcher]] || [[Rifled Blastershot Launcher]] || Ranged || Gun || [[Blastershot Launcher]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Antique Cornerstone Grimoire]] || [[Antediluvian Cornerstone Grimoire]] || Off-hand || Spellpower || [[Ancient Cornerstone Grimoire]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Reclaimed Shadowstrike]] || [[Reinforced Shadowstrike]] || Polearm || Attack power || [[Shadowstrike]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Reclaimed Thunderstrike]] || [[Reinforced Thunderstrike]] || Polearm || Attack power || [[Thunderstrike]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Glinting Azuresong Mageblade]] || [[Polished Azuresong Mageblade]] || One-hand sword || Spellpower || [[Azuresong Mageblade]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Singed Vis'kag the Bloodletter]] || [[Tempered Vis'kag the Bloodletter]] || One-hand sword || Physical dps || [[Vis'kag the Bloodletter]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Gleaming Quel'Serrar]] || [[Burnished Quel'Serrar]] || One-hand sword || Tank || [[Quel'Serrar]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Keen Obsidian Edged Blade]] || [[Sharpened Obsidian Edged Blade]] || Two-hand sword || || [[Obsidian Edged Blade]]
  +
|}
   
  +
{| class="darktable zebra"
===Phase Three abilities===
 
  +
|+"Tier 2" helms
; Phase One Abilities : During Phase Three, Onyxia uses all of her Phase One abilities again.
 
  +
!10-player !! 25-player !! Class !! Spec
  +
|-
  +
| [[Frostforged Helmet]] || [[Frostforged Helm]] || Death knight || DPS
  +
|-
  +
| [[Frostforged Ringhelm]] || [[Frostforged Greathelm]] || Death knight || tank
  +
|-
  +
| [[Stormrage Helm]] || [[Stormrage Coverlet]] || Druid || feral
  +
|-
  +
| [[Stormrage Antlers]] || [[Stormrage Crown]] || Druid || balance
  +
|-
  +
| [[Stormrage Hood]] || [[Stormrage Cover]] || Druid || restoration
  +
|-
  +
| [[Dragonstalker's Helmet]] || [[Dragonstalker's Helm]] || Hunter || ranged dps
  +
|-
  +
| [[Netherwind Hood]] || [[Netherwind Crown]] || Mage || caster dps
  +
|-
  +
| [[Judgment Helm]] || [[Judgment Hood]] || Paladin || retribution
  +
|-
  +
| [[Judgment Helmet]] || [[Judgment Heaume]] || Paladin || protection
  +
|-
  +
| [[Judgment Cover]] || [[Judgment Crown]] || Paladin || holy
  +
|-
  +
| [[Coronet of Transcendence]] || [[Aurora of Transcendence]] || Priest || shadow
  +
|-
  +
| [[Circlet of Transcendence]] || [[Halo of Transcendence]] || Priest || healing
  +
|-
  +
| [[Bloodfang Mask]] || [[Bloodfang Hood]] || Rogue || physical dps
  +
|-
  +
| [[Coif of Ten Storms]] || [[Helm of Ten Storms]] || Shaman || elemental
  +
|-
  +
| [[Cowl of Ten Storms]] || [[Crown of Ten Storms]] || Shaman || enhancement
  +
|-
  +
| [[Gaze of Ten Storms]] || [[Helmet of Ten Storms]] || Shaman || restoration
  +
|-
  +
| [[Nemesis Skullcover]] || [[Nemesis Skullcap]] || Warlock || caster
  +
|-
  +
| [[Greathelm of Wrath]] || [[Helmet of Wrath]] || Warrior || dps
  +
|-
  +
| [[Faceguard of Wrath]] || [[Helm of Wrath]] || Warrior || protection
  +
|}
   
  +
{| class="darktable zebra"
; AOE Fear ([[Bellowing Roar]]) / Lava Crack [[Eruption]]s : Onyxia does an AoE fear at random intervals, causing everyone to run around randomly for a few seconds. Sometimes there are 30 seconds between fears and sometimes as little as 10 seconds. Just before she casts the fear, the screen shakes. After the fear is over, the lava cracks spew forth lava for a few seconds. Characters hit with the lava take about 1,500 points of fire damage (unresisted).
 
  +
|+Miscellaneous gear
  +
!10-player !! 25-player !! Spec || Namesake
  +
|-
  +
| [[Fluttering Sapphiron Drape]] || [[Flowing Sapphiron Drape]] || Caster cloak || [[Sapphiron Drape]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Runed Ring of Binding]] || [[Signified Ring of Binding]] || Defense ring || [[Ring of Binding]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Eskhandar's Choker]] || [[Eskhandar's Links]] || Defense neck || [[Eskhandar's Collar]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Purified Shard of the Scale]] || [[Shiny Shard of the Scale]] || Spirit trinket || [[Shard of the Scale]]
  +
|-
  +
| [[Purified Shard of the Flame]] || [[Shiny Shard of the Flame]] || +hp5 trinket || [[Shard of the Flame]]
  +
|}
   
  +
==Related achievements==
; Whelp Spawns : Small groups of whelps occasionally spawn from the eggs and attack, regardless of whether any characters are near them. These spawns are rare, unlike the common spawns in Phase Two. These spawns are comprised of five or so whelps, unlike the huge spawns of 20+ whelps that result when characters are feared or knocked into the eggs. These spawns usually appear early in Phase Three, and may be delayed effects of the normal whelp generation in Phase Two.
 
  +
Two of the new achievements are named after famous sentences taken from the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtvIYRrgZ04 Onyxia Wipe Animation]. "She Deep Breaths More" is a nod to the common forum complaint that, after every patch, bugs or intentional changes result in Onyxia [[Why does Onyxia cast Deep Breath?|deep breathing]] more often.
  +
*[[Onyxia's Lair (10 player)]]
  +
*[[More Dots! (10 player)]]
  +
*[[Many Whelps! Handle It! (10 player)]]
  +
*[[She Deep Breaths More (10 player)]]
  +
*[[Onyxia's Lair (25 player)]]
  +
*[[More Dots! (25 player)]]
  +
*[[Many Whelps! Handle It! (25 player)]]
  +
*[[She Deep Breaths More (25 player)]]
   
==Combat strategy==
+
==Quotes==
  +
;Intro
The Onyxia fight is made up of three separate phases. Phase One starts when any character enters her chamber. Phase Two starts when she is brought down to 65% health. At this point she walks to the south end of the room and take flight. Phase Three starts when she is brought down to 40% health. She lands and continues the fight from the ground.
 
  +
:{{text|yell|How fortuitous. Usually, I must leave my lair in order to feed.}}
   
  +
;Phase 2 (at 65%)
===Preparation===
 
  +
:{{text|yell|This meaningless exertion bores me. I'll incinerate you all from above!}}
[[Image:onyxia.jpg|thumb|right|She looks a bit mad....]]
 
Upon entering Onyxia's Lair, you will fight through a tunnel containing a few Onyxian Warders. These are easy raid monsters. The keys to defeating them are to make sure that only the main tank is close enough to them to get hit by their [[Fire Nova]] attack, and to [[pull]] them carefully, so that you face only one at a time.
 
   
  +
;Phase 3 (at 40%)
When you reach the main chamber at the end of the tunnel, you will see Onyxia resting on the ground. Take this time to [[buff]] everyone and ensure that everyone has full health and mana. If you are using [[Greater Fire Protection Potion]]s, take them now to start the potion cooldown. Select and put on your equipment for an appropriate mix of fire resistance, armor, healing, mana regeneration, and damage output.
 
  +
:{{text|yell|It seems you'll need another lesson, mortals!}}
   
  +
;Killed a player
Set up a healing rotation on the main tank to ensure he stays at full health, and that healers can regenerate mana between rotations.
 
  +
:{{text|yell|Learn your place, mortal!}}
   
  +
;Kite her from her lair
Establish two groups (typically Group 7 and Group 8) as whelp groups. They will kill whelps during Phase Two. These groups must have at least one mage for [[AoE]] and is best to have another form of AoE as well (either a second mage or a warlock). They also require healers and warriors. There should be no whelps in Phase One or Phase Three, but they sometimes happen anyway. These groups should keep an eye out for whelps in those phases but can focus mainly on Onyxia with the rest of the raid.
 
  +
:{{text|yell|You seek to lure me from my clutch? You shall pay for your insolence!}}
   
  +
==Videos==
Establish which groups go where for Phase One and Phase Three. Typically, Groups 1, 3, 5, and 7 go left (west), and Groups 2, 4, 6, and 8 go right (east).
 
  +
<vplayer />
  +
; 10-player version
  +
: {{#vlink:kn5bb6TpkMs|Narrated guide by learn2playwow.com}}
  +
: {{#vlink:IFVDDw2KJrQ|Paladin tank perspective}}
  +
: {{#vlink:fW9I3usa-u0|Tankspot guide}}
  +
: {{#vlink:a6ZNf9EhF48|Tremor}} (text guide)
  +
; 25-player version
  +
: {{#vlink:_kkD7ZzbPQ4|Matrix}} (example fight)
   
  +
==Patch changes==
===Phase One strategies===
 
  +
*{{Patch 3.2.2|note=
Phase One starts as soon as anyone enters Onyxia's main chamber. There are three main goals for Phase One:
 
  +
**After years of lurking in her lair battling the many brave adventurers who travelled from afar to challenge her, Onyxia returns to commemorate World of Warcraft's five-year anniversary.
 
  +
**Onyxia has been scaled to offer new challenges to level 80 players in 10- and 25-player modes.
*Establish positions.
 
  +
**Adjusted for modern raiding, but with the fundamental experience of fighting the Brood Mother still in effect, including the horrors of her Deep Breaths!
*Establish and maintain aggro on the main tank.
 
  +
**Onyxia will now drop level 80 item versions of some classic loot items from the level 60 encounter.
*Slow (auto-attack and non-mana) damage until Onyxia enters Phase Two.
 
  +
**Brood of Onyxia, a very rare 310%-speed mount modeled after Onyxia herself will be available for the luckiest of challengers.}}
 
====Entering and positioning====
 
When everyone is ready, the [[Main Tank]] charges in with everyone else following about two or three seconds behind. The main tank runs straight past Onyxia, pulling her to the far north side of the room so that she faces the wall. The best positioning takes a little practice and is a few steps in front of the wall. This is so that the main tank's back is to the wall to limit the effectiveness of her Knock Away ability and so that the main tank is the only one in front of her when she breathes fire.
 
 
Everyone else ''must'' charge in two or three seconds after the main tank. If they wait longer, there is a danger of attracting attention from a freshly-spawned Onyxian Warder. If they go sooner, they run the risk of getting hit by Onyxia's Flame Breath attack. Don't get ahead of her!
 
 
Everyone but the main tank splits to the sides to the northeast and northwest "corners" of Onyxia's chamber. Each side forms three main groups. Closest to Onyxia is the melee group, roughly at her shoulders. Next is the ranged and healing group, which should be right along the wall. Last, and farthest south, is the whelp group.
 
 
====Establish Main Tank threat and initiate slow damage====
 
Initially, nobody attacks Onyxia except the main tank. The main tank is the only one to be fighting Onyxia for at least a minute, or until she drops to 99% health (whichever comes first).
 
 
At this point, the DPS characters start doing damage while being careful to avoid drawing aggro away from the main tank. This is not a race. Phase One is a slow, steady fight. Do not try to rush. All DPS characters try for about 50-75% of their max [[DPS]] output. Anyone with a way to dump [[aggro]] does so (e.g. Hunters can [[Feign Death]], Rogues can [[Feint]]) as often as they can. Mages and warlocks use wands to save mana and generate minimal threat (having over 90% mana going into Phase Two is helpful).
 
 
Remember that Onyxia's Flame Breath can do up to 4000 damage. Remember this, because if anyone draws aggro away from the main tank, she turns sideways and may breathe. If she does, she can kill all cloth wearers (casters and healers) on that side, very likely causing a wipe. Therefore it is ''very'' important to not overdo the damage.
 
 
Also remember that Onyxia's Knock Away ability reduces her threat on the main tank. The main tank is unable to hold aggro as well as usual, so the DPS classes must hold back on their damage output.
 
 
If, despite this warning, you pull aggro off of the main tank and Onyxia attacks you, attempt to shake her off of you with [[Feign Death]], [[Vanish]], [[Ice Block]], [[Divine Shield]], [[Divine Protection]], [[Fade]], or a [[Flask of Petrification]]. If that doesn't work, run to the tanking spot at the northern end of the chamber and fight her there. You are going to die anyway, and this will keep Onyxia from breathing flame on other characters as she kills you.
 
 
===Phase Two strategies===
 
Phase Two starts when Onyxia reaches 65% health. She walks towards the south end of her lair and takes flight.
 
 
There are four basic goals for Phase Two:
 
*Reduce damage from Deep Breath and fireball attacks.
 
*Keep whelps under control.
 
*Damage Onyxia as quickly as possible.
 
*Prepare for Phase Three.
 
 
====Positioning====
 
In this phase you must ensure that everyone maintains spacing from each other to reduce blast damage from fireballs. Players need to move around to ensure they have range to Onyxia while she is flying. Ideally you want to be to on either side of the line created by her head-tail axis as her breath always flows through it. This will minimize the distance you need to run to avoid a deep breath should it occur. It's also wise to turn on an aggro warning mod to warn you when you're about to be fireballed. There is always a 2&ndash;5 second delay between her targeting someone and actually shooting the fireball. Once targeted, skilled players can distance themselves from teammates to help avoid collateral damage.
 
 
====Whelps====
 
When Onyxia takes off, each whelp pit will spawn a large group of whelps that need to be dealt with quickly. The raid should help the whelp groups clear this initial spawning as fast as possible before moving on to help with Onyxia. Since the first spawn is quite large and can kill clothies quite easly, it is advised to put a tank right at the entrance to the whelps pit, who will cast [[Challenging Shout]] to aggro the whelps to him. Then the mages can kill those easily. After the initial group is dead the whelps spawn in regular intervals in smaller numbers that can be dealt with fairly easily once you are used to them.
 
 
====Dodge deep breath attacks====
 
[[Image:DeepBreath.jpg|thumb|right|The path of Onyxia's Deep Breath ability is dependent on her position.]]
 
 
During Phase Two, Onyxia has six possible positions in her cave and stays in each position long enough to fire five fireballs. After that, she randomly moves clockwise, counterclockwise or across her chamber. If she chooses to move across her chamber, she will perform a Deep Breath attack on the way. She will emote, "Onyxia takes in a deep breath..." There are a slew of AddOns which announce this across a player's screen.
 
 
Upon this announcement, everyone must immediately run to a safe position.
 
 
For each of the six possible positions she moves to there are always two positions in which the raid can stand and be safe from the deep breaths. If she's in a corner position, then the two safe positions are the adjacent corners and if she's in a side position then the two safe positions are the adjacent sides. For example if she's in the top-left corner then the top-right and bottom-left corners are both safe and if she's at the top-center then the two safe positions are the left-center and right-center. Anyone not in a safe position usually dies during a deep breath unless they get lucky with resisting the fire damage.
 
 
It is useful to have hunters use Track Dragonkin, ping her position on the mini-map, and announce each time she changes position so that everyone can then adjust their position. Ideally, everyone remains fairly close to a safe position at all times during Phase Two.
 
 
====Max out damage====
 
Get Onyxia down to about 40% health as fast as you can. Ranged damage is the main thing that can hit her while in flight, so it is important to have everyone doing as much ranged DPS as possible. Rogues and other melee can hit her by using special attacks. Track all debuffs and DoTs on her and ensure they are kept up to move through this phase as quickly as possible. Onyxia's targeting does not follow the usual rules during Phase Two, so there is no reason to hold back on damage. The more quickly Phase Two ends the fewer opportunities Onyxia will have to do a Deep Breath.
 
 
====Prepare for Phase Three====
 
Phase Two ends as Onyxia is brought to 40% health. At the start of Phase Three, she lands at a random point in her chamber and starts her ground attack. She casts a fear spell within seconds of landing, so all players must position themselves away from the whelp caves before she does so. If not, the fear effect may cause some to run into the whelp eggs, spawning a lot of whelps.
 
 
Due to Onyxia's in-flight threat wiping, the main tank will have very little threat as she lands. He must build rage on whelps, then use [[Sunder Armor]] and other threat-generating attacks on Onyxia shortly before she lands. Another technique is for the main tank to bandage himself as she is landing due to the large amount of aggro created by the self-healing. Casters stop attacking somewhere between 41% and 44%. Hunters and rogues keep attacking until she starts to land, at which point they Feign Death or Vanish.
 
 
===Phase Three strategies===
 
Phase Three starts as Onyxia is brought to 40% health. She lands and resumes her attack from the ground. The phase ends when she dies.
 
 
Phase Three tactics are very similar to Phase One, except that fear requires special handling and the raid will take damage from lava spurts. The main goals are as follows:
 
 
*Position to reduce trouble from fear.
 
*Establish and control main tank aggro.
 
*Deal with fear.
 
*Perform slow DPS.
 
 
====Positioning====
 
In Phase Three everyone should move back to their Phase One positioning with some minor changes. Stand in a spot well away from the cracks that erupt lava. While this will not prevent taking damage, it will limit it somewhat. Make sure everyone is spread out and that the main tank is back to the north end of the room.
 
 
There is a considerably better spot for ranged DPS characters. At the exact center of the room is a medium-sized area with fewer lava cracks (prior to [[Patch 1.11]], these did not spew lava at all). Ranged damage-dealers standing here can avoid all damage from Onyxia and the lava, although they may be attacked by whelps. They must stand back far enough to avoid Onyxia's tail. There are two small spikes of rock that make excellent places to stand.
 
 
Healers who are healing the main tank should stand against the wall in their corners, as far back as possible. This gives them the best chance to avoid both Onyxia's Fire Breath and Tail Swipe attacks when feared.
 
 
Melee must stay well forward of her tail! If you are too far back, she may fear you into her tail, which will toss you into a whelp pit, which will spawn 20 whelps, which will wipe the raid. Also, everyone must stay away from the whelp pits to avoid being feared directly into them. If you do end up spawning a bunch of whelps, call it out so that the whelp groups can kill them quickly. AoE damage is required to have any chance of success.
 
 
====Aggro control====
 
At beginning of Phase Three, the main tank may have a difficult time re-establishing aggro. Onyxia may attack and kill a half-dozen members of the raid before the main tank finally gets her attention. Getting her attention is a lot faster if, near the end of Phase Two, the main tank applies Sunder Armor and the casters stop attacking. Usually a full 1% health drop (as in Phase One) will ensure complete aggro control for the rest of the fight if people are careful with their DPS.
 
 
As in Phase One, if you draw aggro from the main tank, either shake it or run to the tanking spot to die. This is very likely to happen at the beginning of Phase Three to all cloth classes, so be ready for it.
 
 
Onyxia's threat at the start of Phase Three is a hot topic of debate. Research in November of 2006 strongly indicates that her Phase Two fireball attack, when it scores a targeted (not AoE) hit, is a complete threat wipe. This would go a long way toward explaining the strange behavior at the start of Phase Three.
 
 
====Dealing with fear====
 
Onyxia's fear spell causes a considerable amount of chaos. Aside from disrupting healing and damage-dealing, it causes all characters to lose their positions and to take damage from running through lava spurts. It sometimes causes the main tank to run sideways. When this happens, Onyxia turns to follow him, and may then breathe flame on members of the raid on that side.
 
 
The cracks spew lava immediately after the fear effect ends. If your character is standing on a crack when the fear effect ends, move him to a safe spot quickly.
 
 
The fear interrupts long-cast spells, and wastes much of the duration of short-term buffs (such as from trinkets). Use these immediately after a fear effect ends, in order to reduce the chance of disruption from the next fear.
 
 
It helps to have a Priest be the main healer on the MT during Phase Three. The Priest ability [[Fear Ward]], when cast on the MT during Phase Three, can prevent the main tank from being feared.
 
 
Shamans can plant two [[Tremor Totem]]s next to the tank, three seconds apart. These will usually cause the tank to come out of fear quickly. They need to be renewed during the fight.
 
 
Both Alliance and Horde tanks can avoid the fear somewhat via the [[Stance Dance]], as with [[Magmadar]]. The shaking screen gives just enough warning to use [[Berserker Rage]]. However, the reduced threat generation and extra damage taken from [[Berserker Stance]] while the healers are feared can be problematic.
 
 
An advanced tactic is to have two tanks, who must both build threat. The [[Off-Tank]] hits Berserker Rage to avoid the fear, and becomes the main tank until the fear is over. This requires more skill by the healers and tanks, and more fire resistance gear. However, if done properly, it ensures that Onyxia will never turn due to fear effects. The off-tank may be positioned with the main tank, to avoid repositioning, or at her shoulder, to avoid damage.
 
 
If you are not the tank, you must ''not'' avoid or break the fear effect. Onyxia will always attack un-feared targets before targets that do have the fear effect. What this means is that if you aren't feared, Onyxia may turn, breathe flame on you and many other players, and wipe the raid. Stay away from tremor totems. Don't use Will of the Forsaken or your PvP trinkets to break fear.
 
 
There is a small chance of resisting the fear. If you resist it, Onyxia will attack you. Run to the tanking spot until the main tank recovers from fear and regains aggro.
 
 
====Perform slow DPS====
 
This part of the fight is similar to Phase One. Keep your DPS under control doing about 50-75% of your max and clearing aggro as often as you can.
 
 
Damage-dealing classes can gradually ramp up their damage output as Phase Three progresses and the main tank builds more threat. Hunters can do this more quickly by using Feign Death and Rogues can do so with Vanish. At 10% health, it is usually possible to apply maximum damage. This is a balancing act, as Onyxia must be brought down before attrition from the lava spurts causes the loss of too many players, yet the damage-dealers must not pull aggro from the main tank.
 
 
===Hints===
 
Onyxia is more about long-term patience than all-out DPS and speed. If you follow the strategies laid out here, have patience and practice a little, you should have an easy time beating her. Phase One is very easy if no one pulls aggro off the main tank. Phase Two becomes easy once you figure out how to deal with the whelps, dodge Deep Breath attacks, and keep up ranged DPS and DoTs. Phase Three requires some luck the first several times you do it and a ton of skill on the main tank's part to keep control while being feared and knocked back.
 
 
The hardest part of the whole fight is the main tank regaining aggro at the end of Phase Two / beginning of Phase Three. Once that part is mastered, the fight goes a lot more smoothly. Once again, the key is for the main tank to apply Sunder Armor to Onyxia while she is still in the air.
 
 
The next-hardest part of the fight is learning to avoid Deep Breath attacks. Once again, the keys here are to keep your character positioned in or near a safe spot at all times during Phase Two and to damage Onyxia so quickly that she has few chances to perform the attack.
 
 
Keep your tanks alive at all costs. Since Onyxia is immune to taunt, your main tank cannot regain aggro if he dies and is resurrected. If your main tank does die, your raid's only hope is to have another tank take over.
 
 
This is a scripted fight that takes some practice. No matter how accurate any strategy guide is, nothing can prepare you more than experience. Expect a few wipes and plan for it. Some guilds take 20&ndash;30 wipes before downing her for the first time, and then continue to have occasional wipes.
 
 
[[Greater Fire Protection Potion]]s are useful during this fight, especially while learning it. They are better than healing potions in dealing with fire damage. Heal with bandages. Healers will be focused on the main tank, so everyone else must be prepared to take care of themselves.
 
 
[[Fire Resistance]] gear is important for the MT and OT, but is subject to discussion for everyone else. It increases survivability, but people should pay attention not to gimp themselves too much.
 
 
Most boss mods provide a large, loud warning before Onyxia performs a Deep Breath attack. They also warn when she enters Phases Two and Three as well as providing general raid usefulness.They are generally recommended for use, as well as usually required by guilds.
 
 
The [http://wow-en.curse-gaming.com/files/details/4204/klhthreatmeter/ KLH Threat Meter] mod provides a fairly accurate estimate of monster threat, although nothing beats being aware of how much threat you are putting up. If everyone uses it, it can help avoid loss of aggro by the main tank.
 
 
==Loot==
 
Onyxia will drop two [[Tier 2]] headpieces, 1 - 2 {{loot|uncommon|Onyxia Hide Backpack}}, the {{loot|epic|Head of Onyxia (Alliance)|Head of Onyxia}}, two other items from her loot table, and a number of rare and uncommon world drop items. A skinner with 315 skill can also skin Onxyia to obtain two to four {{loot|rare|Scale of Onyxia}}.
 
 
{{lootbox|[[Tier 2]] Head|Bloodfang Hood|Dragonstalker's Helm|Halo of Transcendence|Helmet of Ten Storms|Helm of Wrath|Judgement Crown|Nemesis Skullcap|Netherwind Crown|Stormrage Cover}}
 
 
{{lootbox|Onyxia non-set loot|Ancient Cornerstone Grimoire|Deathbringer|Eskhandar's Collar|Mature Black Dragon Sinew|Ring of Binding|Sapphiron Drape|Shard of the Scale|Vis'kag the Bloodletter}}
 
 
{{lootbox|Quest Items/100% Drops|Onyxia Hide Backpack|Scale of Onyxia|Head of Onyxia (Alliance)|Head of Onyxia (Horde)|Draconic for Dummies (6)}}
 
 
{{Lootbox|Rewards from [[Head of Onyxia]]|Dragonslayer's Signet|Onyxia Tooth Pendant|Onyxia Blood Talisman}}
 
 
==First Kills==
 
===40-person===
 
01-29-2005 [http://wangout.net/ruin/forums/ Ruined] according to [http://www.realmhistory.net/guild-ranking/onyxia.html realmhistory.net]
 
===3-person===
 
01-08-2007 Exo/Transcendence (Warrior/Paladin/Hunter)[http://www.warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=34385] pre-BC
 
===2-person===
 
??-??-2007 Soon after the release of [[Burning Crusade]] several groups of two people - often consisting of an Holy Paladin and a Soullink Warlock - managed to kill Onyxia at level 70.
 
===1-person===
 
5/26/08 - Serennia, solo'd Onyxia. He used a hunter to kill the warder that gets aggroed when onyxia is flying at the south end (due to the length of the fight and a bug). The hunter did not attack Onyxia or help kill anything else other then the warder. He was using Black Temple level gear plus Season 3. This was the first legit Solo Onyxia kill and anything else is controversial.
 
 
==Bugs==
 
===Bugged heal===
 
Onyxia heals herself for 45% over ten seconds. This is extremely rare, but only happens during Phase Three. It appears to happen only in very long fights. Even in long fights, though, it does not usually happen.
 
 
The healing is due to a bug, instead of a normal ability. It is not the normal "evade" healing, as Onyxia never evades and can be attacked normally while she heals. It has been reported that she heals when she targets characters on the walls of the cave, but the heal has also been reported when there were no characters on the walls. There may be multiple triggers for this bug.
 
 
In a response to a GM ticket posted on the US Staghelm Realm on October 8th 2006, a GM said that after viewing a fight in which Onyxia bug healed, the heal may have been caused by Onyxia being unable to target players who were on the wall causing her to bug out. The GM also stated that this bug is not being considered for correction at this time.
 
 
[[Image:Onyxias head mounted in SW.jpg|thumb|Onyxia's Head Mounted in Stormwind]]
 
 
===Melee in phase 2===
 
It seems that in phase 2, Onyxia will now sit down and melee attack people. She can then be tanked and melee damaged like if she wasn't flying. As of Patch 2.3, this bug seems to be fixed now which means you can melee her even while in the air, but Onyxia will not sit down and melee attack anymore.
 
 
===Wander off===
 
Sometimes, Onyxia's aggro table disappears and she starts wandering around the room, without attacking any raid member. This seems to happen in either Phase 1 or 3.
 
   
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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+
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{{Elinks-NPC|10184}}
Links that do not conform to the rules will be DELETED.
 
  +
{{Elink|site=Random Ravings|link=http://rrvs.blogspot.com/2009/08/onyxia-is-coming-back.html|desc=Onyxia phase 1-3 guide with tricks.}}
Repeat violations may result in a BAN.
 
  +
{{Elink|site=The Fluid Druid|link=http://thefluiddruid.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/onyxias-lair-at-80-strategy-first-impressions/|desc=Onyxia tactics guide, updated for 3.2.2.}}
Have a nice day. :) -->
 
{{elinks-NPC|10184|tb=480638}}
 
   
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{{Final boss}}
* There is a [http://www.warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=17575 video] showing Onyxia being killed by 8 players.
 
* There is also a [http://www.warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=29376 video] showing Onyxia being killed by 4 players!
 
* There is another [http://www.warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=75359 video] showing Onyxia being attempted by 1 player! However one of the Warders intervenes unintentionally and wipes him at 60%.
 
* See [http://pacifistguild.org/onyxia/ The Onyxia Bible] by the [http://pacifistguild.org/ Pacifist] guild. This includes diagrams of which areas to run to when she deep breaths, depending on her position.
 
* One raid leader's voice chat was recorded and released on the web. See [http://onyserious.ytmnsfw.com/ onyserious]. Contains vulgar language. This was also the source of the meme "Minus 50DKP".
 
   
[[Category:Dragons]]
+
[[Category:Bosses]]
 
[[Category:Onyxia's Lair mobs]]
 
[[Category:Onyxia's Lair mobs]]
[[Category:Bosses]]
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[[Category:Black dragons]]
[[Category:Black Dragonflight]]
 
[[Category:World of Warcraft items by raid]]
 

Latest revision as of 09:11, 7 March 2023

This article is about the in-game boss. For character biography, see Onyxia. For the original encounter at level 60, see Onyxia (Classic).
BossOnyxia
Image of Onyxia
Gender Female
Race Black wyrm (Dragonkin)
Level ?? Boss
Reaction Alliance Horde
Location Onyxia's Lair, Dustwallow Marsh
Status Killable

Onyxia is a level ?? black dragon boss in Onyxia's Lair.

Abilities

Phase One

Onyxia melees for about 12,000-15,000 on plate. Onyxia is tauntable.

  • Spell fire fire Flame Breath 45 yd range — Inflicts 18,850 to 21,150 (25: 28,275 to 31,725) Fire damage to enemies in a cone in front of the caster. 2 sec cast
  • Ability warrior cleave Cleave Melee range — Inflicts normal damage to an enemy and its nearest allies, affecting up to 10 targets. Next melee. Hits for 120% of normal swings.
  • Inv misc monsterscales 14 Wing Buffet — Inflicts 21,678 to 24,322 (25: 28,275 to 31,725) damage to enemies in a cone in front of the caster, knocking them back. This effect ignores armor. 0.5 sec cast
  • Inv misc monsterscales 05 Tail Sweep 30 yd range — Inflicts 8,325 to 9,675 (25: 12,025 to 13,975) damage on enemies in a cone behind the caster, knocking them back. Instant. 30 yard knockback.

Phase Two

Onyxia deep breath details

Deep Breath IS random!

Onyxia takes off at 65%, has no threat table, cannot be attacked from melee, and uses the following abilities:

  • Spell fire flamebolt Fireball — Inflicts 4,713 to 5,287 (25: 7,069 to 7,931) Fire damage to all enemies in a selected area. 3 sec cast. 8 yard radius area of effect
  • Spell fire fire Breath — Onyxia's flaming breath hits all enemies on the ground for 6,375 to 8,625 Fire damage. 8 sec cast. 18-yard-wide line area of effect
  • Trade engineering Summon Onyxia Whelp — 2 sec cast. Summons two sets of 20 Onyxian Whelps every 90 seconds at start of phase 2.
  • Trade engineering Summon Lair Guard — Instant. Summons one (25: two) Onyxian Lair Guard. First cast after 15 seconds, repeat casts every 30 seconds thereafter. Abilities:
    • Spell fire selfdestruct Blast Nova — Inflicts 21875 to 28125 Fire damage to enemies within 15 yards. 5 sec cast (2 sec cooldown)
    • Spell fire flameblades Ignite Weapon — Melee attacks cause an additional 17500 Fire damage to all enemies within 5 yards of the target. 2 sec cast (8 sec cooldown)

Phase Three

Onyxia lands at 40% HP. She regains all her phase one abilities and gains some additional abilities.

  • Spell fire fire Bellowing Roar — Releases a bellowing roar, which fears all enemies for 3 sec. 2.5 sec cast
  • Spell fire fire Eruption — Lava errupts from the cracks in the floor, dealing 5,184 to 5,816 (25: 7,069 to 7,931) Fire damage. Instant.
  • Spawn Onyxian Whelps - Small numbers of whelps will continue to spawn in phase 3.

Strategy

Onyxia lair

Map of Onyxia's lair, showing raid positioning for Phases 1 & 3

This is (still) a very simple encounter overall. For strategy videos of both the 10-man and 25-man encounter, look below the loot table on this page.

You ideally want 2 tanks, 2 healers, 3 melee DPS, and 3 ranged DPS for 10 man, and 2 tanks, 5 healers, 8 melee DPS, and 10 ranged DPS for 25 man.

Phase 1

The tank should run slightly ahead of the rest of the raid and grab Onyxia, quickly turning her away from the raid and then backing off to the Northern wall, where the tank will position themselves with their back to the wall to minimise the effect of the knockback from Wing Buffet. Only the tank should be in front of Onyxia, to minimize damage from fire breath and cleaving. During phase one, the only damage to the raid should be upon the tank. Ranged DPS and healers need to stay to either side of her, fairly far back. Melee DPS need to stay to either side of her, just within range (which is wider than it looks). If melee DPS is too close to her head, they will be killed by Cleave; if they're too close to her tail, they will be tail swiped, possibly into the whelps, usually resulting in a wipe.

Phase one ends when Onyxia is reduced to 65% health.

Phase 2

During this phase, Onyxia takes to the air and moves randomly around the room, casting Fireball on raid members. There are three main things to watch out for:

  • Onyxian Whelps. At the beginning of this phase, and subsequently about every 90 seconds, 2 packs of whelps will spawn, one from the egg chambers on each side of the room). These whelps should not be underestimated, as they can do considerable damage with all 40 attacking the same target. They should be gathered by the off tank and then killed with AoE attacks.
  • Onyxian Lair Guards. After about 15 seconds and subsequently about every 30 seconds, an Onyxian Lair Guard will spawn at the entrance to the room. These need to be tanked with a dedicated healer for the tank. Melee DPS should focus their attention on killing these as fast as possible, as having more than one up at a time can overwhelm a tank. If you aren't able to kill one before the next one spawns, some ranged DPS may need to assist. Be aware that the guards hit very hard, and have a periodic AoE (Blast Nova 10 yard range) that can easily kill the melee DPS around it if not careful, leaving not enough DPS to kill the Guards quickly enough, and allowing them to overwhelm the raid. This AoE has a cast time, and is easy to run out of if you don't underestimate its range. Onyxia must be brought down as quickly as possible by ranged DPS, as the Guards will stop coming once phase two ends.
  • Deep Breath. At random periods during phase two, Onyxia will emote that she is taking a deep breath. When this happens, note her position, direction and get out of her path. A few seconds after the emote, she'll fly straight in the direction she's pointing and leave a trail of massive, fiery damage about 10 yards wide. If in doubt, run all the way to the nearest side of the room or against the wall behind her.

During this phase of the encounter ranged DPS should be focused on bringing Onyxia down to 40% to start phase 3, although they must interrupt this to AoE the packs of whelps. Melee dps should focus on killing the Onyxian Lair Guards.

For raids looking to complete the Inv misc head dragon black [Many Whelps! Handle It! (10 player)] / Inv misc head dragon black [Many Whelps! Handle It! (25 player)] achievements, the instant her feet leave the ground, send one player down each entrance of the egg cave. Each player should look to spawn about 25 eggs, then turn around and exit the cave without doing anything that causes aggro. Note that the 40 whelps she normally spawns will still spawn, so it will take some high-level coordination to AoE down roughly 90 whelps. There is no indication that players have spawned enough whelps until Onyxia dies, so don't be afraid to pop more than 50 eggs.

Phase 3

Onyxia will land on the Southern side of the room and immediately cast Bellowing Roar, causing the raid to run in fear for the next 3 seconds. Finish off whatever adds remain while the tank positions Onyxia. Note that, unlike the level 60 encounter, the tank will have retained aggro on Onyxia from phase 1. It's advisable to ensure that the tank is unaffected by the initial fear, so that Onyxia can be positioned correctly (fear ward, berserker rage, tremor totem).

Phase 3 is essentially the same as phase one aside from periodic fears, some raid damage from eruption and occasional whelp spawns which are not too dangerous.

Differences from level 60

Onyxia no longer drops threat between phases 1 and 3, and she is no longer immune to fire effects and abilities.Wing buffet no longer lowers aggro. Deep Breath is cast more often, and the cast time has been increased. Onyxian Lair Guards now spawn in phase 2, and melee can no longer hit Onyxia in phase 2. Lava eruptions happen during the Bellowing Roar fear, not just after it.

In a Nutshell

  • Do not stand behind or in front of her (except tank);
  • tank her facing the wall;
  • when whelps spawn, quickly gather and nuke them;
  • quickly kill any Lair Guards that spawn;
  • dots, dots, dots;
  • and for the love of god, when she breathes RUN!!!

Solo strategy

Onyxia is easily soloable in 10-player mode. Just nuke her in phase one (to 65%), dragging her to the northern end of the room. Once she hits 65% health, keep nuking her, as she'll run to the south end of the room to take off. Ideally, get her beneath 40% health so she'll land automatically, which requires taking off 1.2M/5.6M health in 10/25-player mode. If she's not beneath 40% health before she takes off, DoT her up and use whatever ranged abilities are available.

The Onyxian Whelps will spawn no matter what, so gather them up and AoE them down. They have 63K/189K health each. If Onyxia is in phase 2 for longer than 15 seconds, she'll summon an Onyxian Lair Guard with 189K/630K health that will need to be killed as well. Repeat guards are summoned every 30 seconds thereafter, and if she's up for longer than 90 seconds, she'll summon another wave of whelps.

Once she lands to start phase 3, clean up any remaining adds, then finish her off.

Loot

In addition to the items in the tables below, Onyxia is guaranteed to drop the following each time she is killed:

Very rarely, she may also drop the Achievement boss onyxia [Reins of the Onyxian Drake] in both 10- and 25-player modes.

Weapons
10-player 25-player Type Spec Namesake
Inv axe 09 [Empowered Deathbringer] Inv axe 09 [Raging Deathbringer] One-Hand axe Inv axe 09 [Deathbringer]
Inv weapon shortblade 06 [Sharpened Fang of the Mystics] Inv weapon shortblade 06 [Honed Fang of the Mystics] Dagger Healing Inv weapon shortblade 06 [Fang of the Mystics]
Inv weapon shortblade 18 [Rusted Gutgore Ripper] Inv weapon shortblade 18 [Tarnished Gutgore Ripper] Dagger Physical dps Inv weapon shortblade 18 [Gutgore Ripper]
Inv weapon rifle 09 [Snub-Nose Blastershot Launcher] Inv weapon rifle 09 [Rifled Blastershot Launcher] Ranged Gun Inv weapon rifle 09 [Blastershot Launcher]
Inv misc book 07 [Antique Cornerstone Grimoire] Inv misc book 07 [Antediluvian Cornerstone Grimoire] Off-hand Spellpower Inv misc book 07 [Ancient Cornerstone Grimoire]
Inv spear 08 [Reclaimed Shadowstrike] Inv spear 08 [Reinforced Shadowstrike] Polearm Attack power Inv spear 08 [Shadowstrike]
Inv spear 08 [Reclaimed Thunderstrike] Inv spear 08 [Reinforced Thunderstrike] Polearm Attack power Inv spear 08 [Thunderstrike]
Inv sword 39 [Glinting Azuresong Mageblade] Inv sword 39 [Polished Azuresong Mageblade] One-hand sword Spellpower Inv sword 39 [Azuresong Mageblade]
Inv sword 18 [Singed Vis'kag the Bloodletter] Inv sword 18 [Tempered Vis'kag the Bloodletter] One-hand sword Physical dps Inv sword 18 [Vis'kag the Bloodletter]
Inv sword 01 [Gleaming Quel'Serrar] Inv sword 01 [Burnished Quel'Serrar] One-hand sword Tank Inv sword 01 [Quel'Serrar]
Inv sword 28 [Keen Obsidian Edged Blade] Inv sword 28 [Sharpened Obsidian Edged Blade] Two-hand sword Inv sword 28 [Obsidian Edged Blade]
"Tier 2" helms
10-player 25-player Class Spec
Inv helmet 146 [Frostforged Helmet] Inv helmet 146 [Frostforged Helm] Death knight DPS
Inv helmet 146 [Frostforged Ringhelm] Inv helmet 146 [Frostforged Greathelm] Death knight tank
Inv helmet 09 [Stormrage Helm] Inv helmet 09 [Stormrage Coverlet] Druid feral
Inv helmet 09 [Stormrage Antlers] Inv helmet 09 [Stormrage Crown] Druid balance
Inv helmet 09 [Stormrage Hood] Inv helmet 09 [Stormrage Cover] Druid restoration
Inv helmet 05 [Dragonstalker's Helmet] Inv helmet 05 [Dragonstalker's Helm] Hunter ranged dps
Inv helmet 70 [Netherwind Hood] Inv helmet 70 [Netherwind Crown] Mage caster dps
Inv helmet 74 [Judgment Helm] Inv helmet 74 [Judgment Hood] Paladin retribution
Inv helmet 74 [Judgment Helmet] Inv helmet 74 [Judgment Heaume] Paladin protection
Inv helmet 74 [Judgment Cover] Inv helmet 74 [Judgment Crown] Paladin holy
Inv helmet 24 [Coronet of Transcendence] Inv helmet 24 [Aurora of Transcendence] Priest shadow
Inv helmet 24 [Circlet of Transcendence] Inv helmet 24 [Halo of Transcendence] Priest healing
Inv helmet 41 [Bloodfang Mask] Inv helmet 41 [Bloodfang Hood] Rogue physical dps
Inv helmet 69 [Coif of Ten Storms] Inv helmet 69 [Helm of Ten Storms] Shaman elemental
Inv helmet 69 [Cowl of Ten Storms] Inv helmet 69 [Crown of Ten Storms] Shaman enhancement
Inv helmet 69 [Gaze of Ten Storms] Inv helmet 69 [Helmet of Ten Storms] Shaman restoration
Inv helmet 08 [Nemesis Skullcover] Inv helmet 08 [Nemesis Skullcap] Warlock caster
Inv helmet 71 [Greathelm of Wrath] Inv helmet 71 [Helmet of Wrath] Warrior dps
Inv helmet 71 [Faceguard of Wrath] Inv helmet 71 [Helm of Wrath] Warrior protection
Miscellaneous gear
10-player 25-player Spec Namesake
Inv misc cape 16 [Fluttering Sapphiron Drape] Inv misc cape 16 [Flowing Sapphiron Drape] Caster cloak Inv misc cape 16 [Sapphiron Drape]
Inv jewelry ring 13 [Runed Ring of Binding] Inv jewelry ring 13 [Signified Ring of Binding] Defense ring Inv jewelry ring 13 [Ring of Binding]
Inv belt 12 [Eskhandar's Choker] Inv belt 12 [Eskhandar's Links] Defense neck Inv belt 12 [Eskhandar's Collar]
Inv misc monsterscales 15 [Purified Shard of the Scale] Inv misc monsterscales 15 [Shiny Shard of the Scale] Spirit trinket Inv misc monsterscales 15 [Shard of the Scale]
Inv misc monsterscales 15 [Purified Shard of the Flame] Inv misc monsterscales 15 [Shiny Shard of the Flame] +hp5 trinket Inv misc orb 05 [Shard of the Flame]

Related achievements

Two of the new achievements are named after famous sentences taken from the Onyxia Wipe Animation. "She Deep Breaths More" is a nod to the common forum complaint that, after every patch, bugs or intentional changes result in Onyxia deep breathing more often.

Quotes

Intro
How fortuitous. Usually, I must leave my lair in order to feed.
Phase 2 (at 65%)
This meaningless exertion bores me. I'll incinerate you all from above!
Phase 3 (at 40%)
It seems you'll need another lesson, mortals!
Killed a player
Learn your place, mortal!
Kite her from her lair
You seek to lure me from my clutch? You shall pay for your insolence!

Videos

10-player version
Narrated guide by learn2playwow.com
Paladin tank perspective
Tankspot guide
Tremor (text guide)
25-player version
Matrix (example fight)

Patch changes

  • Wrath-Logo-Small Patch 3.2.2 (2009-09-22):
    • After years of lurking in her lair battling the many brave adventurers who travelled from afar to challenge her, Onyxia returns to commemorate World of Warcraft's five-year anniversary.
    • Onyxia has been scaled to offer new challenges to level 80 players in 10- and 25-player modes.
    • Adjusted for modern raiding, but with the fundamental experience of fighting the Brood Mother still in effect, including the horrors of her Deep Breaths!
    • Onyxia will now drop level 80 item versions of some classic loot items from the level 60 encounter.
    • Brood of Onyxia, a very rare 310%-speed mount modeled after Onyxia herself will be available for the luckiest of challengers.

External links