Warlord Zaela (tactics)

Warlord Zaela
Title	<Iron Horde>
Gender	Female
Race	Orc (Humanoid)
Level	37-42 Elite
Reaction	Alliance Horde
Location	Upper Blackrock Spire
Status	Killable
Upper Blackrock Spire
Orebender Gor'ashan; Kyrak‎; Commander Tharbek; Ragewing the Untamed; Warlord Zaela;	(lore); (lore); (lore); (lore); (lore)
	Loot

For character background and biography, see Warlord Zaela.

Warlord Zaela is the final boss of Upper Blackrock Spire.

Adventure Guide

When Garrosh instructed the Ironmarch vanguard as to their mission in Azeroth, he urged them to rendezvous with an old ally whom he knew would be fierce, loyal, and thirsting for revenge: Zaela, Warlord of the Dragonmaw clan. Now, as she readies a doomsday weapon in the heart of Blackrock Mountain, her moment of vengeance draws near.

Overview

Zaela begins by engaging players on foot, but once sufficiently injured will retreat to a flying proto-drake for a time. For the remainder of the fight, the party must deal with Zaela and swooping flame breath attacks from her drakes.

Damage Dealers

When running away from 'Black Iron Cyclone, avoid leading Zaela into your alies.
Spread out from others to avoid chaining Rebounding Blade to other targets.

Healers

Spread out from others to avoid chaining Rebounding Blade to other targets.

Tanks

Position yourself carefully to avoid being knocked off the platform or into fire by Destructive Smite.
When running away from Black Iron Cyclone, avoid leading Zaela into your allies.

Abilities

Destructive Smite — Inflicts 104500 to 115500 Physical damage.
Destructive Smite — Inflicts 137750 to 152250 Physical damage and knocks the enemy back.
Rebounding Blade — Throws an axe, inflicting 23750 to 26250 Physical damage to the target and bouncing to hit up to 2 more nearby enemies.
Black Iron Cyclone — Zaela enters a combat frenzy, fixates on a random target, and starts dealing 45000 Physical damage to all nearby enemies every 1.5 sec.
Emberscale Ironflight — These proto-drakes swoop down to scorch the combat area during later stages of the fight.
- Burning Breath — Breaths a wide line of fire, inflicting 19000 to 21000 Fire Damage.
Black Iron Wyrm Riders — When Zaela reaches 60% health remaining, she retreats to the back of a nearby proto-drake, and Wyrm Riders dismount to attack the party.

Strategy

The encounter begins with a basic phase 1. Zaela's Destructive Smite hits the tank hard. Her Black Iron Cyclone will cause her to fixiate on a random non-tank party member while [Bladestorm]-ing. Simply stay spread out and be ready to move.

Phase 2 begins at half-health and has Zaela temporarily hop on her proto-drake while adds attack the party. During this phase, proto-drakes will begin breathing fire on the platform in straight lines. When Zaela comes back, it will be a challenge to move away from both the drake's fire breath and her Black Iron Cyclone, particularly on heroic when the drakes change locations faster. Speed increasing or transportation effects like [Body and Soul], [Heroic Leap], [Spirit Walk], and [Blink] are highly valuable.