Looking for the best strategy to beat Illidan Stormrage in World of Warcraft?
Illidan Stormrage, or The Betrayer, is the first demon hunter and the former self-proclaimed Lord of Outland. He is also a previous ruler of the Black Temple and the original ruler of Illidari in World of Warcraft.
He’s also the twin brother of Malfurion Stormrage and was in love with Tyrande Whisperwind like his sibling.
Originally, Illidan was a powerful night elf sorcerer before he betrayed his people by defecting to the Burning Legion during the War of the Ancients. Nonetheless, his reasons were noble as he secretly aimed to repel the Legion’s invasion.
After a while, Illidan Stormrage returned to the side of his fellow night elves, but his creation of the second Well of Eternity caused his people to name him “Betrayer,” imprisoning him in the Barrow Deeps.
Illidan Stormrage is also the final boss of the Black Temple encounter.
Today, we will show you the best strategy to beat Illidan Stormrage in World of Warcraft.
Let’s get started!
Encounter Overview
Illidan wields his Warglaives at the start of the encounter, infecting your team with Parasitic Shadowfiend. Once you get his health down to 65%, Illidan will take flight and throw the Warglaives of Azzinoth to the ground.
This unleashes two Flames of Azzinoth that must be defeated to bring Illidan to the ground.
For the rest of the fight, Illidan will periodically unleash the power of the demonic force, using dark powers to assault his enemies, before returning to his normal form.
At 30% HP, Maiev will arrive to assist in handling Illidan’s final efforts to take you down.
Illidan Stormrage Strategy
Phase One:
This encounter will start after a dialogue between Akama and Illidan.
Tanking
The main tanks should pick up Illidan and stand close to him to soak the damage. It would be best to point Illidan Stormrage away from the raid so that Draw Soul won’t hit other raid members.
Occasionally, tanks should move to another location to get out of Flame Crash.
Rest of the Raid
After every 30 seconds, a random player will receive the Parasitic Shadowfiend debuff. The afflicted player must be accompanied by a mage and move away from the raid. When the Parasitic Shadowfiends spawn, the mage must use Frost Novas to nuke them.
If your main tank receives the debuff, the melee group should move away and nuke the spawns (No need to use Frost Nova).
Draw Souls are also frequently cast after Flame Crash. The only players that should get affected are the tanks. Keep debuffs from Moral Strike, Wound Poison, and Aimed Shot up to reduce Illidan’s healing.
At 90%, Illidan calls his minions for help, but Akama quickly kills them.
Phase Two:
When Illidan Stormrage’s HP goes down to 65%, he’ll take off into the air, and the second phase will start.
During phase two, Illidan is immune to all attacks while flying. Around ten seconds after taking off, he’ll throw his Warglaives of Azzinoth to the ground. Each blade spawns a Flame of Azzinoth.
When both flames are dead, Illidan Stormrage lands, and the third phase starts.
Positioning
The main tanks should pick up the Flames of Azzinoth. All raid members should also stay within 25 yards of at least one Warglaive of Azzinoth. At the same time, players must spread out to minimize the damage from Illidan’s Fireballs.
You can set up a few tightly clustered groups to maximize the effectiveness of Chain Heal and Circle of Healing.
The simplest method to tackle this is to use three groups spread out at the triangle points. You can also set up four or more groups if you prefer it that way. The main point to remember is to set up outside the Eye Beam paths.
Tanking
Main tanks should keep Flames of Azzinoth away from the raid at all times while still staying close to the Blades of Azzinoth. This can be accomplished by staying in the area between the two circles.
Since Tanks must avoid standing in Blaze patches, they should also keep moving.
Eye Beam has only four possible paths, intersecting one of the Blades and touching the inner circle either north or south. The AoE will be about 2 yards wider than the animation, which means tanks and melee roles are the only players who have to deal with this.
A designated player should also watch Illidan and report if he’s flying over the east or west side.
Phase Three:
After killing the Flames, Illidan will land, and the third phase will start. Any combat rezzes should be performed during this time. Until Illidan’s health reaches 30%, he’ll switch between phases three and four every 40-50 seconds.
When he is below 30%, Illidan transitions to phase four and five.
Each phase switch is an aggro reset. Therefore Misdirection should be used on every switch. DPS should also be careful during the first few seconds. Illidan Stormrage’s abilities are similar to phase one during the 3rd phase, with the addition of Agonizing Flames.
Phase Four:
In phase four, Illidan kneels and casts The Demon Within, transforming him into a Demon. A warlock with maxed shadow resistance should tank Illidan. After 60 seconds, he kneels again and turns back to his original form, starting another phase three.
Don’t bring Illidan’s HP down to 30% during the demon phase, or the final phase will start immediately, which can affect your positioning.
Phase Five:
The final phase of this encounter will start once Illidan’s health reaches 30% or below. The entire raid gets imprisoned for 30 seconds, and a short cut-scene takes place.
Illidan will still switch between phases every 60 seconds, but the final phase replaces the third phase of the encounter.
Both phases are similar, except Illidan enrages after 40 seconds during the last phase. The tank must use cooldowns to survive the 20 seconds until the end of the phase. They can use the Shield Wall on the first enrage and the Last Stand with Trinkets on the second one.
Illidan Stormrage Loots
Completing this encounter will reward you with the following:
- Chestguard of the Forgotten Conqueror
- Chestguard of the Forgotten Protector
- Black Bow of the Betrayer
- Warglaive of Azzinoth
- Bulwark of Azzinoth
- Chestguard of the Forgotten Vanquisher
- Cowl of the Illidari High Lord
- Crystal Spire of Karabor
- Cursed Vision of Sargeras
- Faceplate of the Impenetrable
- Shard of Azzinoth
That ends our guide for the best strategy to beat Illidan Stormrage in World of Warcraft. If you have questions, please let us know in the comment section, and we’ll be glad to help.
