Patented 13 Step Phoenix-Hawk Hatchling Strategy

With about 7 weeks left before Tempest Keep is reduced to being a distant memory, I will now bring to you, my readers, the strategy that has allowed my raid to successfully handle the Hatchlings leading up to Al'ar's room. Granted, we've only been through this hallway roughly 6 times, but nevermind that, pretend I'm an expert. How's that for building credibility?

I share this with you because on three separate occasions, someone has remarked after the pull that I should patent the strategy. A different someone each time, and not people who were in the raid the first time the first guy said it, thusly, three independent rave reviews. So there, incontrovertible evidence of a solid strategy. :-P

The trash pull involves a narrow hallway, that has little archway divider things that break the hallway into two sections. At the end of the hallway is a giant room containing, among other things, two patrolling packs of trash. Each pack consists of two Tempest Falconers and 5-7 Phoenix-Hawk Hatchlings. All players get thrown back often during the fight, and need to keep their backs to a wall.

The line of sight and general visibility between these vestibules (the two hallway sections) is pretty crappy. The packs of Hatchlings are very compact and make it difficult to discern discrete targets.

So, 'nuff background.

Strategy goes thusly:

1) Designate a Main Assist. The targeting will get very chaotic in here. These trash pulls were the final straw that convinced me to implement the use of a Main Assist + assist macros in our raids.

2) All the hunters line up like little soldiers in the front vestibule, the one closest to Al'ar's room. Leave enough space such that your traps won't be on top of eachother.

3) If your raid is low on hunters, have any mages be ready just after the traps. My raids typically have 4 or 5 hunters, so we only needed to use the mages one time.

4) All other raid members stand far back in the back vestibule (the one closest to the entrance of the dungeon). Keep your back against a wall. Yes, I mean all of you. Including you, Mr. I-Like-To-Stand-In-The-Open-Even-Though-My-Raid-Leader-Is-Telling-Me-To-Back-Up-To-A-Wall-And-All-My-Teammates-Are-Backing-Up-To-A-Wall.

5) Lucky hunter in front gets to watch the patrolling mobs, and when ready, call for all hunters to drop their traps. Once traps dropped, all hunters except the first one can run back to the rear vestibule and get ready to fight. No real need to play the chain trapping / trap cooldown game, because you'll only be trapping once, just to buy your raid enough time to take a few down.

6) Lucky hunter misdirects onto tank, fires a multishot at the patrol, then trots on back into position in rear vestibule.

7) As the mobs pass the front vestibule, the first few will walk into the traps. Since the packs were so compact, there is no reliable way to choose targets for trapping, so its first-come-first-served basis for frozen turkeys. That's why we spaced the hunters out, to avoid any single mob from consuming more than one trap.

7.5) If short on hunters, you can have your mages pick up the first mobs that make it past the traps. This is why its good to have all the other players stand far back.

8) Everybody hold fire during this process. Discipline, people.

9) When the main tank has allowed all turkeys to be frozen, all lambs to be sheeped, he then chooses his first target. Once he's got solid lock on his chosen target, he calls out on voice.

10) Everybody still hold fire during this process. Discipline, its not just a priest talent tree.

11) Once the Main Tank calls out a solid lock, then the Main Assist picks up the target, and calls out on voice. "Loose"

12) Everybody open fire.

13) Keep your backs to the wall, and during the chaos that will follow, keep choosing your targets by assisting the Main Assist. By the time the traps break, you'll have enough killed for the tanks to pick the turkeys up.


And there you have it. 13 easy steps to kill the Phoenix-Hawk Hatchlings.

The first time we did this, it took a while for me to explain it. Now that we've done it a few times, I only have to remind PuG members to stay in back vestibule, keep their backs to the wall, and follow the Main Assist. No fuss, works like a charm.

For what its worth, I actually based this strategy off of one I like to use in Heroic Ramparts (or regular ramparts, but I only thought of it after I was long past regular mode, and had wiped countless times on that forsaken bridge) for the patrol and first pack of trash that stand right at the end of the bridge near the opening of the dungeon.

Sometimes you just cant predict who will be trapped, so a little communication and a lot of discipline make a smooth working team.


Now, with only 7 weeks to LK, the real strategy I'm thinking of is when I return here at level 80 to farm a second piece of T5 huntery goodness. With a Gorilla pet, or maybe a Paladin (pet). And throw all strategy out the door because we'll be so OP its not even funny.