Deep Breath was the one ability Gabryell couldn't afford to overlook.
It was a raid-wiping nightmare, and no matter how carefully they planned the fight, there was always a chance Onyxia would use it.
"During Phase 2, Onyxia has an extremely dangerous ability called Deep Breath."
He looked over the raid.
"Anyone remember how we wiped last time?"
"I do," Smooch answered. "We got roasted by a giant wall of fire."
"Yeah, that shit was terrifying. I was dead in two or three seconds."
"I remember the damage kept ticking. The first hit took a third of my health, and the second finished me off."
Coldhands chimed in.
"I watched the whole thing from inside my Ice Block. The entire middle of the room went up in flames. Everyone down there died except me."
He had sounded perfectly serious at first.
Then his usual urge to show off got the better of him.
"Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of that. Unlike Seven, who couldn't even react fast enough to hit Ice Block."
To be fair, he had earned the right to brag.
Of all the Mages, Coldhands had been the only one to Ice Block in time. His reaction speed was clearly a cut above the rest.
"So that wall of fire was Deep Breath?" ServerHeals asked.
"Exactly. During Phase 2, Onyxia's two main attacks are Fireball and Deep Breath. She can choose between them while she's flying."
Gabryell decided to explain Fireball first.
"Fireball usually goes after players with high threat. It deals damage and knocks a huge chunk off their aggro at the same time."
"Carlos will probably take one early in the phase since he'll be sitting on so much threat from Phase 1. The rest of you should expect to take one eventually too."
That was what made the transition into Phase 3 so dangerous.
Onyxia was immune to Taunt.
Once she landed, she would attack whoever had the highest threat. If Carlos had lost most of his lead during Phase 2, getting her back under control could become a nightmare.
DeathScum raised a question.
"Then why can't we just use our threat-reset abilities? Isn't losing aggro the whole point?"
"Because of how I think her ability selection works," Gabryell explained. "Fireball seems to be much more common than Deep Breath."
"If she's about to cast Fireball at you and you suddenly drop your threat, she might switch targets or choose another ability instead. That could give her another chance to pick Deep Breath."
DeathScum thought about it.
"Oh, I get it. It's a probability thing. The more times she has to choose, the more chances she gets to pick the dangerous one."
"Exactly!"
Gabryell nodded approvingly.
"Seven, you following?"
"Uh... I think so?"
"Good enough."
There was only so much he could expect from someone who hadn't even finished elementary school.
After all, OldSeven hadn't scored above twenty on a math test since first grade.
"There's another thing," Gabryell continued. "Fireball has a limited range. If you're too far away, Onyxia can't cast it on you."
"And if she can't use Fireball, I don't want to give her another reason to choose something else."
It was the same principle behind the positioning strategy he'd explained earlier.
"Stay with the main group. Don't wander off chasing her around the room."
Gabryell changed his raid marker from Circle to Star.
"I'll be Star during Phase 2. Wherever I move, you follow."
He made sure everyone was paying attention.
"And I mean it. You have to follow me."
"Deep Breath comes straight out of Onyxia's mouth and sweeps across the room. The safe spots depend on which way she's facing, so we need to move toward her sides and get out of that path."
He pointed toward the walls.
"I'll watch her head. If she starts taking a deep breath, I'll call it. Follow Star and get out of the way."
Gabryell knew he couldn't expect everyone to monitor the dragon's position while also watching their cooldowns, DPS, and health bars.
They simply weren't experienced enough yet.
For now, he would have to do that part himself.
Once the others learned to recognize the warning and react properly, he could start expecting them to handle it without constant instructions.
"Everybody understand? Click ready."
He sent out a ready check.
One by one, the raid members confirmed.
Once everyone was ready, Gabryell continued.
"During Phase 2, we'll get two main waves of whelps. Same assignments as before."
"David takes the left egg cave. Night takes the right. Mages, wait until they gather the whelps before you AoE."
He marked David with Circle and Nightlord with Moon.
"That should make them easy to find."
"Once the whelps are under control, go all-out on DPS. We need to bring Onyxia down as fast as possible."
"When she reaches around forty percent HP, she'll land and Phase 3 begins."
The biggest problem in Phase 3 was getting a tank back on top of the threat list.
If nobody managed to pick Onyxia up when she landed, she would start tearing through the raid.
One player after another.
And the longer it took to regain control, the more people would die.
Even if Carlos finally managed to get her attention, what good would it do if the rest of the raid was already dead?
"Once she lands, everyone who can drop threat should do it immediately," Gabryell instructed.
"Deep Breath isn't a problem anymore in Phase 3, so there's no reason to hold those abilities back."
"Everyone else, stop DPS completely. Give the tanks time to build aggro."
He continued.
"Until one of our tanks gets her, whoever has aggro needs to run straight to twelve o'clock."
"If you're going to die, at least make sure the dragon's head is pointing toward twelve."
"That way, the tanks have a better chance of picking her up without getting the entire raid roasted."
Susie raised her hand.
"Can't we just Taunt her?"
She hadn't tanked Onyxia before.
"Nope. Taunt doesn't work on her."
Gabryell explained patiently.
"She only cares about whoever has the highest threat. That's why getting a tank back on top is so important."
"We've got four tanks. I don't care which one gets aggro. As long as one of you manages to take her, we're good."
Having four tanks was an advantage.
If Carlos couldn't regain his threat quickly enough, Susie, David, or Nightlord might still manage to get ahead.
With four of them working to pick up the boss, the raid had a better chance of surviving the transition.
Aside from the threat problem, Gabryell wasn't particularly worried about Phase 3.
They had Dwarf Priests.
As long as Fear Ward was handled properly, Onyxia's AoE Fear wouldn't be nearly as devastating.
"When she lands, I'm not assigning one specific tank to pick her up," he continued.
"All four of you build threat. Whoever gets her first takes her to twelve o'clock and tanks her against the wall, just like Phase 1."
He paused to emphasize the next point.
"And everybody else, listen carefully."
"If Onyxia targets you during Phase 3, run toward twelve o'clock too."
"Don't drag her head across the raid and get everyone killed."
"Losing one person is better than losing forty."
Gabryell hadn't forgotten about Fear either.
"Snowy, Heals, BigHeals. Get Fear Ward on the tanks who need it, then make sure you've got it on yourselves too."
The three Dwarf Priests could prepare their buffs ahead of time.
There was no reason to wait until the fight turned chaotic.
"Onyxia uses an AoE Fear during Phase 3. The important thing is keeping Fear Ward on the tank who's holding her and on the Priests responsible for refreshing it."
"As long as the tank stays alive and keeps her facing the wall, we can win."
Then came another warning.
"When Onyxia uses Fear, fire can erupt from the cracks in the floor. Those eruptions hit for around fifteen hundred damage."
"Stay off the cracks. Keep close to the walls whenever possible."
"And once Fear wears off, get back into position immediately."
He didn't want the healers wasting mana because someone had decided to stand in fire.
"If you're low, bandage or use a Healing Potion. Don't make the healers do everything for you."
There was still one particularly nasty possibility to cover.
"Sometimes, when Onyxia fears everyone, somebody ends up running straight toward her tail."
"If she tail-swipes you into the egg caves, don't panic and start running around."
Gabryell's voice became serious.
"Just stay where you are. Even if you die, don't run across more eggs trying to get out."
"If whelps spawn, DPS on both sides switch immediately and kill them."
Getting feared into Onyxia's tail and launched into the egg area was mostly bad luck.
But bad luck was exactly why they needed a plan.
If everyone knew how to react, one unfortunate player wouldn't necessarily cause a full raid wipe.
With all three phases explained, Gabryell sent out another ready check.
"One last confirmation. Carlos pulls. Main group splits to the left and right."
"Don't run past the dragon's head, and don't fall so far behind that you end up near her tail."
This time, everyone clicked ready much faster.
Gabryell gave the order.
"Carlos, go! Pull her and turn her around as fast as you can."
"Got it."
Carlos charged in first.
Gabryell followed behind, leading the main group. He was assigned to Group 3.
"Everybody move! Keep up!"
The raid split into its left and right groups instead of having all thirty-nine players follow Carlos in a single cluster.
If Onyxia suddenly turned her head and breathed fire into a tightly packed raid, the result would be disastrous.
Carlos engaged the Black Dragon Princess, immediately turned her around, and began backing toward the twelve o'clock position.
Gabryell led everyone forward, making sure nobody moved ahead of the dragon's head.
Once Carlos had Onyxia positioned against the wall, he gave the next set of calls.
"Healers, keep Carlos topped off. If he's not taking heavy damage, don't spam your biggest heals. Save mana."
"Snowy, shield Carlos when he gets knocked back."
Without a shield, there was always the possibility of a nasty combination.
Knockback.
Flame Breath.
Claw.
Three hits in quick succession could kill Carlos before the healers had a chance to recover.
And the shield would probably break almost immediately anyway, so Gabryell wasn't particularly worried about it interfering with his Rage generation.
"DPS, hold. Give him a little longer."
His eyes swept across the raid.
"RunForrest, move! You're too close to her hind legs."
"You're gonna get tail-swiped. Move a little left and hit her from beside the belly."
RunForrest hurriedly adjusted his position.
Gabryell waited until Onyxia knocked Carlos back for the first time before finally allowing the raid to start dealing damage.
"Casters, wands only for now. Warlocks, no DoTs. We don't need the extra damage yet."
Then he spotted another problem.
"Seven, what the hell are you doing? She's immune to Fire!"
"Stop wasting mana on Fire Blast!"
OldSeven had apparently decided that the best way to fight a fire-immune dragon was to throw fire at it.
Wonderful.
"Melee, auto-attacks only. Rogues, use Sinister Strike when you need to keep Slice and Dice up, and keep Feint on cooldown."
Most of the casters were using Stormrager or Bonecreeper Stylus, so at least nobody had to worry about accidentally dealing Fire damage with their wands.
Their wand skills, however, were another matter.
A surprising number of players had neglected them completely.
Their skill levels were so low that half their shots seemed to miss.
Onyxia was actually a pretty good target for catching up on neglected weapon skills.
Gabryell wanted to give everyone a chance to improve theirs.
If they didn't train those skills now, they'd only keep missing attacks in future encounters.
After Onyxia knocked Carlos back a second time, he recovered and rebuilt his threat lead.
Gabryell decided it was finally safe to increase the damage a little.
"Mages, you can throw in a Frostbolt now and then. Don't spam it, though. Save your mana for Phase 2."
The second phase would demand plenty of AoE, and AoE spells burned through mana quickly.
If the Mages emptied their mana bars during Phase 1, they'd be forced to use Mana Gems or Evocation almost as soon as Phase 2 began.
"Warlocks, stick to wands."
"Hunters, you can start using Aimed Shot. If your threat gets too high, Feign Death."
"Rogues, you can use a few more abilities too. Just keep using Feint. Warriors, stay on auto-attacks."
Gabryell checked the healer assignments.
"BigHeals, you're burning through mana too fast."
"Use your wand for a bit and let your mana recover."
Then he called to the Paladins.
"One of you, get Judgement of Wisdom up on the boss."
This time, Phase 1 went surprisingly smoothly.
Everyone followed the calls, kept their damage under control, and slowly chipped away at Onyxia's health.
Her HP dropped steadily.
Seventy percent.
Sixty-eight.
Sixty-six.
Then, finally...
Sixty-five percent.
Phase 2 began.
Onyxia abandoned Carlos and started moving toward the entrance.
"Everybody follow her! Full DPS!"
Gabryell immediately switched his attention to the whelp groups.
"David, Night, get to the egg cave entrances!"
"David takes left. Night takes right. Grab the whelps and bring them together so the Mages can AoE."
"Mages, don't start until the tanks have them!"
He turned back toward the main group.
"Melee, use your abilities! Stay under the dragon's belly and hit her whenever you're in range."
"Build enough threat to take a Fireball!"
Then came the healing assignments.
"Healers, watch David and Night. Keep an eye on whoever gets hit by Fireball too."
"If you're low on threat, don't stand right next to the person she's targeting. Those Fireballs splash."
"If too many people get caught in the blast, you'll burn through your mana trying to heal everyone."
Without an addon to handle the warnings, Gabryell had to make every call himself.
"Carlos is sitting on a ton of threat from Phase 1. He'll probably take one of the first Fireballs."
"Anyone with low threat, stay clear of him!"
Gabryell was doing several jobs at once.
Leading the raid.
Watching Onyxia's head.
Tracking the whelp groups.
Checking everyone's position.
Whenever he spotted someone wandering too far away, he immediately called them back.
"Stay close! Don't drift off!"
According to the strategy he remembered, staying within Fireball range was important.
He didn't want Onyxia running out of valid targets and potentially choosing another ability instead.
Even if the theory wasn't perfect, he wasn't about to abandon it in the middle of the fight.
Please don't use Deep Breath this time.
Gabryell kept watching her.
Sometimes luck mattered just as much as skill.
If Onyxia went through the entire second phase without using Deep Breath, the fight would become dramatically easier.
They could focus on the whelps, control the Fireball damage, and burn her down to forty percent.
That was the outcome Gabryell wanted.
Unfortunately, sometimes the one thing you desperately wanted to avoid was exactly what happened.
While watching Onyxia's movements, he suddenly noticed her drawing in a deep breath.
His expression changed.
For a split second, his mind went blank.
Then he shouted into voice chat.
"DEEP BREATH! EVERYBODY MOVE!"
"GET AWAY FROM HER HEAD! GET OUT OF HER PATH!"
"FOLLOW STAR! TO HER SIDE! HUG THE WALL!"
He was practically shouting at the top of his lungs.
"IF YOU CAN'T GET CLEAR, ICE BLOCK! DIVINE SHIELD! ANYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"
"POP A HEALING POTION IF YOU HAVE TO!"
At their current level of experience, expecting every player to notice the warning, identify Onyxia's direction, and find the safe zone on their own was unrealistic.
Gabryell could only lead them toward safety and hope as many as possible made it.
First, they needed to develop the instinct to react to Deep Breath.
Once they could survive it consistently, he could start expecting them to handle the mechanic without his constant guidance.
But that was a lesson for another day.
Right now, the nightmare was happening again.
The Black Dragon Princess was preparing her most terrifying attack.
Deep Breath was back!