Author: lettara
Date: June 27, 2023
Updated: June 27, 2023
Expansion: WotLK Classic

Beasts of Northrend

ToC Achievement Guide

Faction Champions

Champions of the Alliance and Horde must prove their mettle against the savage beasts of Northrend. Face off against the brutal magnataur, Gormok the Impaler, and his gang of vicious snobolds. Overcome the twin jormungar, Acidmaw and Dreadscale, armed with acid that could melt through the heartiest of warriors. Gather your strength and out-maneuver the ancient beast, Icehowl, before he crushes whatever hope you have left of succeeding in this grand tournament.

Gormok The Impaler

Stay spread out to avoid hitting multiple people with Fire Bomb.
When a Snobold Vassal is thrown at you, run into melee range so it can be cleaved down.

Dreadscale & Acidmaw

If you are targeted with Paralytic Toxin, run close to a player with Burning Bile to cancel the effect.
Avoid standing in the front of the mobile worm to avoid a frontal breath.
Avoid standing behind the immobile worm to avoid his knockback.

Icehowl

Stay spread out so Arctic Breath effects as few people as possible.
Avoid Icehowl‘s charge by strafing out of the way. Be ready to use DPS cooldowns once he hits the wall and becomes stunned, as he takes increased damage.

Gormok The Impaler

Attack Snobold Vassals.
If a Snobold Vassal is thrown on you, you will be unable to cast spells. Run into melee range so melee and your fellow ranged DPS can free you. If you feel as though you urgently need to cast, call for a Hand of Protection, which will allow you to cast for the duration.
Move out of Fire Bomb quickly.

Dreadscale & Acidmaw

Stay greater than 10 yards away from other players.
Do not get close to melee range unless you have a Snobold Vassal to avoid Staggering Stomp.
Refresh any damage over time spells on both worms before they submerge. Dots will continue to tick while they are underground.

Icehowl

Be sure to use all offensive cooldowns when Icehowl is stunned.

Gormok The Impaler

Attack Snobold Vassals.

Dreadscale & Acidmaw

Avoid standing in front of whichever worm is mobile. Avoid standing behind whichever worm is stationary.
Refresh any damage over time spells on both worms before they submerge. Dots will continue to tick while they are underground.

Icehowl

Be sure to use all offensive cooldowns when Icehowl is stunned.
Try to stay at maximum melee range so you will not be effected by Icehowl‘s Whirl.

Gormok The Impaler

Watch the tanks stacks of Impale and use output cooldowns when they approach 3 or more stacks.
If a Snobold Vassal is thrown at you, call for a Hand of Protection so you can continue healing.

Dreadscale & Acidmaw

Choose a central position while still being sure to stay greater than 10yards away from other players. Ensure that both tanks and the majority of the raid are in range of your heals.
Be ready to use output cooldowns when multiple people are effected by Paralytic Toxin or Burning Bile.

Icehowl

Be ready to use output cooldowns when the tank is stunned by Ferocious Butt.
When Icehowl is stunned, try and do as much damage as possible. No damage will be going out while he is stunned.

Gormok The Impaler

When the opposite tank has three stacks of Impale taunt the boss off of him.
Rotate defensive cooldowns when at high stacks of Impale.
Call for a Hand of Protection to clear your stacks of Impale during the Phase 2 transition.

Dreadscale & Acidmaw

The mobile worm will always have a frontal breath, so be sure that he is facing away from the raid at all times.
When mobile, Dreadscale & Acidmaw will drop Slime Pools, similar to Grobbulus. Slowly drag the boss away from the Slime Pool so melee can safely attack.
While mobile, the Dreadscale will always apply Burning Bile to the tank. Similarly, when mobile, Acidmaw will always apply Paralytic Toxin to the tank.
If you are the Dreadscale tank that has Burning Bile, it is your responsibility to free allies from Paralytic Toxin. If they were unable to reach you before becoming paralyzed, be ready to free them while the worms are submerged.

Icehowl

You can use a Free Action Potion to avoid Ferocious Butt. If Free Action Potion has fallen off, call for a defensive cooldown when stunned from Ferocious Butt.
Stand with your back to a wall so you are effected by Whirl.

Gormok The Impaler

Announce when a ranged target is effected by a Snobold Vassal. If a healer has Snobold Vassal, call for a “high priority” kill so that he can be quickly freed.
Watch the tanks stacks of Impale and call for tank cooldowns as necessary.

Dreadscale & Acidmaw

Remind players to check their /range 10, particularly when a Burning Bile or Paralytic Toxin is being cast soon.

Icehowl

Announce when Whirl is coming off cooldown so melee can ensure that they are max melee range to avoid it.
Call for a Divine Sacrifice or Frost Resistance Aura + Aura Mastery when Icehowl casts Arctic Breath.
You can call for your best DPS players to receive a Hand of Protection just before Massive Crash so they avoid the stun.

Abilities

Gormok the Impaler

Deals moderate damage and interrupts spellcasting in a 15 yard radius around Gormok. Melee should eat this ability while ranged should be sure to always be greater than 15 yards away from the boss.

A stacking bleed applied to the main tank. After 3-4 stacks this will become unhealable, so have tanks swap when they reach high stacks.

Fire Bomb is thrown by the Snobold Vassals. The more Snobold Vassals alive, the more Fire Bombs will be thrown. In the Heroic version the fire also applies a stacking DoT, so be sure to move out even faster.

Acidmaw

Only used while mobile
Applies Paralytic Toxin to the tank.

Only used while mobile
A frontal cone that deals massive damage. Ensure that Acidmaw is facing away from the raid when mobile.

Only used while mobile
A poison cloud similar to Grobbulus. Slowly drag the boss away from the Slime Pool so melee can safely attack.

Only used when stationary
Sprays acid at a random raid member, giving him and any player within 10 yards Paralytic Toxin.

Only used when stationary
Acidmaw will spam Acid Spit on his primary threat target.

Only used when stationary
Knocks all enemies back in a 15 yard range around Acidmaw. Is not rangeable like Icehowl‘s Whirl.

Dreadscale

Only used while mobile
Applies Burning Bile to the tank.

Only used while mobile
A frontal cone that deals massive damage. Ensure that Dreadscale is facing away from the raid when mobile.

Only used while mobile
A poison cloud similar to Grobbulus. Slowly drag the boss away from the Slime Pool so melee can safely attack.

Only used when stationary
Sprays acid at a random raid member, giving him and any player within 10 yards Burning Bile.

Only used when stationary
Acidmaw will spam Fire Spit on his primary threat target.

Only used when stationary
Knocks all enemies back in a 15 yard range around Dreadscale. Is not rangeable like Icehowl‘s Whirl.

Icehowl

Targets a random raid member and casts a conal AoE freeze in their direction. Stay spread to minimize the amount of players effected by Arctic Breath. Use raid cooldowns such as Divine Sacrifice or Frost Resistance Aura + Aura Mastery.

Deals significant damage and stuns the tank for 3 seconds. A Free Action Potion and Every Man for Himself can be used to escape this. If neither of these are available, use an external defensive cooldown like Pain Suppression or Hand of Sacrifice.

Knocks back all players within 15 yards of Icehowl. This mechanic can be negated by tanking him against a wall and having all melee players stand at max melee range.

Icehowl leaps back to the center of the arena, stunning the entire raid and knocking them back. He then fixates a random player and charges in their direction. If all players dodge Icehowl‘s charge, he will hit the wall and become stunned. During this period Icehowl takes increased damage, so be sure to use offensive cooldowns here.

If Icehowl makes contact with a player during his Massive Crash he will gain Frothing Rage. He turns big, red & scary and proceeds to 1-shot anyone he attacks.

Frothing Rage can be dispelled with a Tranq Shot so all Hunters should be ready to do so immediately.

Raid Composition & Preparation

It is recommended to bring 3-5 healers for this encounter. At least one Holy Paladin is ideal to counteract the significant tank damage in all three phases.

Restoration Shaman are extremely effective on this encounter. Chain Heal is very powerful during Phase 1 when both tanks are taking massive damage from their stacks of Impale. It is also the most effective heal in the game for combatting Paralytic Toxin mishaps, when it spreads to 3+ players. Lastly, Ancestral Healing is particularly powerful when Icehowl stuns the tank with Ferocious Butt.

Like just about every fight in Wrath of the Lich King, you’ll want to bring a Discipline Priest.

You are going to want to bring a balanced DPS composition for this encounter, but there are some stand out DPS classes that excel in different phases of the fight.

Affliction Warlocks are very powerful versus Dreadscale & Acidmaw because of their multi-dotting ability. A well placed Demonic Circle: Teleport also makes them ideal candidates to receive Paralytic Toxin.

Classes with strong burst cooldowns such as Unholy Death Knight and Feral Druid are best versus Icehowl, as they will best be able to take advantage of Icehowl‘s increased damage taken after a Massive Crash.

You will want two tanks for this encounter. Any class of tank will work, but Protection Paladin’s are the best. Their ability to bubble off debuffs such as Impale, Paralytic Toxin and Ferocious Butt has unparalleled value.

Heroic Mode

Like all bosses in Trial of The Crusader, The Beasts of Northrend’s health has been increased by 30% in the Heroic version. All three phases of the encounter also deal significantly more damage with every ability.

Bosses will come out on a set timer, so if you fail to end a phase fast enough you may be forced to fight two bosses simultaneously.

Snobold Vassal completely lock down any caster, so it is essential to kill them quickly.

Stacks of Impale deal increased damage, so taunting at 2-3 stacks is recommended.

Icehowl will not grant players a speed boost after Massive Crash ends. Players must react quickly in order to dodge his Massive Crash in the Heroic version.

Phase 1: Gormok the Impaler

Phase 1 Positioning

Phase 1 Strategy

When a Snobold Vassals is thrown onto ranged player, that player should run into melee to facilitate cleave. This allows melee to attack the Snobold Vassals without moving, and ensures that each Snobold Vassal is in range of all casters.

Note that not all Snobold Vassals deserve equal attention. A Snobold Vassal on a melee player will have only a minor impact on their DPS. However, a Snobold Vassal on a healer or ranged DPS will render them almost entirely useless for the duration. Be sure to know whether you’re dealing with a low-priority or high-priority Snobold Vassal so you can gauge how much damage to pump into it.

Phase 2: Dreadscale & Acidmaw

Phase 2 Positioning

Phase 2 Strategy

In this phase you will encounter two separate bosses: Dreadscale & Acidmaw.

Dreadscale will start the fight being mobile, and will need to be picked up by a tank. Acidmaw will start the fight rooted in place, and can be tanked by any ranged DPS class or a tank. After 45 seconds of combat, the worms will submerge for a few seconds and return flipped, with Acidmaw being mobile and Dreadscale being stationary. Their abilities change based on which worm is mobile and stationary.

Contrary to many guides online, we recommend that you kill Dreadscale first. Killing Dreadscale before they submerge ensures that you will never have to deal with multiple players getting the Burning Bile debuff, which can take out all of your melee or multiple ranged players in one fell swoop.

You can consider killing Acidmaw first if your raid team is unable to kill Dreadscale before they submerge, but be aware of Burning Bile timing and know that messing up your /range 10 spread can instantly wipe the raid.

Mechanics Checklist:

Ranged and healers need to stay 10 yards apart from players at all times. It is okay if you are in range of one other player, but any more than that and you are putting your raid at risk.
If you receive Paralytic Toxin, run close to a player with Burning Bile to cancel the effect. Be wary that more often than not Burning Bile will be on Dreadscale‘s tank, so be sure to avoid standing in front of Dreadscale while clearing your Paralytic Toxin debuff.
If you receive Burning Bile immediately spread out from all nearby players, even if you are melee. Burning Bile deals massive AoE damage around you that will quickly kill nearby players.
Avoid standing in Slime Pools dropped from the mobile worm.

Phase 3: Icehowl

Phase 3 Positioning

Phase 3 Strategy

Phase three is very straightforward. Ranged and melee should be spread in a half circle behind the boss to mitigate his Arctic Breath. Healers should be far from one another to ensure that as few healers are frozen as possible during Arctic Breath.

Melee should pay attention to their melee range. If melee position themselves at maximum range from the boss while still being able to melee, they will not be knocked back by Whirl.

Icehowl will occasionally fly up into the air, stun the raid and knock everyone against the wall with his Massive Crash ability. He will fixate a player and charge in their direction. If all players move out of the way of his charge, he will become stunned and take massively increased damage for the duration.

If he makes contact with a player during his charge, he will become enraged and gain Frothing Rage. If this happens a Hunter will need to immediately use Tranq Shot or your raid will surely wipe.