Lore

Nerub-ar Palace is the first raid within The War Within expansion. With eight bosses to beat, I hope you like spiders!

Queen Ansurek has tightened her grip on her Sureki followers but her paranoia grows of outsiders and anyone that may usurp her thrown, this means that we are likely to see a few members of the Severed Threads as they attempt to remove her from power.

As a child, the Queen witnessed her mother Neferess refuse to bow to the demands of the Black Empire – along with the denial of the Nerbians to serve the Old Gods. But many years later when Azj-Kahet faced destruction and starvation, Ansurek wondered if her mother had made the correct choice in the end. Teaming up Xal’atath, she offered the Nerubians a one-time offer to save their lands and make their people powerful again. This was through the use of the black blood of the now-deceased Old Gods. Can Old Gods die? This is a question for another day.

Xal’atath then disguised herself as Drenden and infiltrated the Council of Six, encouraging them to move Dalaran to Khaz Algar. With the city moved away from any defences, Queen Ansurek and her Nerubian army struck the city and captured many of their citizens.

Within the Nerub-ar Palace raid, you’ll see many different bosses and it is advised that you watch your back…

Bosses such as Ulgrax the Devourer is one of the many guardians of the throne of the Queen, but effectively – he looks like something that has grown out of a slime puddle. If you’ve played this game many years, you’ll understand that anything that looks like this boss is not to be trusted. He even has a damage dealing move called ‘Syrupy Drool’. Now, to me this sounds tasty but he will root you to the ground and that’s not good for anyone.

We’re also seeing the resurgence of the Old Gods after not seeing them for a hot minute and here in Nerub-ar, we encounter the black blood in foul pools, something that we have not seen in game since Battle for Azeroth. We were told to stay away then and it is probably best that we continue to heed this warning. One such boss is The Bloodbound Horror, which is classed as an ooze and lives in the Congealing Pool. Are you scared to go back in the pool and face this nightmare?

Captain of the Sureki, Sikran was born into a noble family. He is a vicious fighter who has dispatched many an enemy to procure the position he has at the top of the Sureki. Having such abilities as Rain of Arrows and Bladework means that this boss is capable of taking out those that challenge him in any way he feels fit.

Queen Ansurek became interested in experiments on those that she captured and killed and Rasha’nan is no exception to this rule. Transformed from a once-proud Nerubian into a monstrous, winged horror – Rasha’nan’s memories that are trapped within this unwanted form create a bubbling rage inside of her. Being part spider and part something else, this boss enjoys pelting with some kind of acid bombing – so watch out for that!

Broodtwister Ovi’nax is an aberration and twisted form of a nerubian, possibly another of the Queen’s experiments. Ovi’nax enjoys their own experiments but this time with the Black Blood of the Old Gods, which drips inky sludge onto hatchlings to see what it might do to them. We have seen this Black Blood have vile consequences in the past, who only knows what these experiments may lead to. Such moves as Black Blood Burst causes all nearby eggs to hatch – and we all know what hatched eggs lead to – some fierce dps!

Nexus-Princess Ky’veza is one of the only ethereal bosses within Nerub-ar, quickly gaining favour with Queen Ansurek but there are whisperings that this ethereal may not be everything that she seems. If this dark secret is revealed, the Nexus-Princess will show no signs of mercy and viciously kill any witness or those that know too much…

Scarab Lord Anub-arash and Skeinspinner Takazj are the members of the Silken Court – trusted advisors to Queen Ansurek. They show no courtesy to each other though and will happily take each other out should the moment arise. Their loyalty to the Queen does not overshadow their hatred towards each other as they attempt to try and kill the other.

Even after destroying all these bosses, you are not safe as Queen Ansurek has now decided that you are fodder and that she shall destroy you herself. Watch out for her dark powers as the sense of paranoia tries to overwhelm her and she may just use her followers to become her next meal… After all, at the end of the day – she is a Nerubian and the Queen could easily capture you in her web.

Guide by Zippy@Starship🌈

Lore credit: Talvi@Starship🌈

Art credit: Honestly@Starship🌈

Special thanks to Ulerith and Enua🌈

Last updated: 08/09/2024

Route Map

    • An alternating single phase plus intermission encounter.

    • Some light avoidance/dodge mechanics. Plus a soak and pull in mechanic that will one shot you.

    • The boss shoots out swirlies that leave webs on the ground. Avoid them, as standing in them causes a root.

    • Players get green circles around them - Don’t stand on each other with these, but do try to hit the aforementioned webs as they get removed.

    • Eventually the boss will target a player with a big soak circle which follows up with a pull, but it will pull you less based on how many players soaked. Soak it a bit away from the boss and resist pull-in as you die if you reach the boss.

    • Avoid the boss charging across the platform. The indicator is pretty vague so give it more space than you expect for safety.

    • Kill adds, then run over Chunky Viscera that they drop in order to pick it up and bring it to the boss, then press the extra action button. When enough have been thrown at the boss, repeat from Phase 1.

    • Getting pulled in by the Phase 1 soak if not enough players soaked or if you do not resist the pull.

    • Charges in the intermission.

    • Not soaking with your team in Phase 1, as each soaking player reduces the pull intensity.

    • Tanks get a healing reduction after the tank swap (Brutal Crush) and may need to be topped up or receive some mitigation before the hit.

    • Ramping raidwide damage in Intermission.

    • On pull while everyone is alive to Maximise damage.

🏆 Heroic Changes

  • Everything just hits harder and Ulgrax has more HP.

Ulgrax the Devourer Simplified

  • Don’t stand on webs.

  • Hit webs with green circles.

  • Place the soak away from boss.

  • Resist pull-in.

  • Kill adds, pick up viscera, click extra action button at boss.

    • Single phase fight with adds to handle. The raid is split to deal with the add mechanic.

    • Split the raid in two halves in order for half the raid to deal with adds at a time.

    • Void-y pillars spawn on parts of the platform and the first add-group should move to those pillars with their tank in order to be hit by a frontal that allows them to see the adds. This is similar to the cone ability during Anduin in Sepulcher of the First Ones.

    • Priority is to kill the adds if you are in the group that is dealing with them.

    • While dealing with the adds, ensure that any Lost Watchers are interrupted, as they apply a large absorb shield to the boss for every second they are allowed to cast.

    • Next time those void pillars appear, the other half of the raid will need to deal with it.

    • If you get an arrow over your head, you will be chased by void puddles that deal damage a few seconds after dropping. You can resolve this by just moving a little bit after each puddle appears. It takes 3 seconds from the puddle appearing until it explodes, so you can cast a spell between each one.

    • Once both halves of the raid have been on add-duty, the boss casts a huge circle-aoe near him that you have to run away from. It’s big enough that you will have to get off the melee-range platforms. Ensure you get out of the water and onto another platform as it deals damage over time.

    • Dealing with the adds twice in a row, as the tank frontal deals 500% increased damage the second time.

    • Standing in the water surrounding the arena.

    • (Heroic) Getting hit by the rotating void lazer.

    • Panicking with your chasing void tentacles. You want to move just out of your puddle and stay there until a new puddle spawns. This makes you much easier to avoid.

    • Crimson Rain cast applies a raidwide heal absorb. There’s no penalty for not dealing with this but it will make triage much harder.

    • On pull while everyone is alive to Maximise damage.

🏆 Heroic Changes

  • While one group is dealing with adds, the boss will shoot out a one-shotting void laser on each side that rotates counter-clockwise. It’s dependent on the way the boss is facing so tanks should ensure the boss’s sides are angled in a way where it won’t go through the adds-group.

  • The tank trick here is to ensure that the left side of the boss, from your perspective, is closer to you than the group dealing with adds.

  • If you are in the adds-group, try to remain close to your group as this will make the laser a lot easier to angle.

Bloodbound Horror Simplified

  • Note your group and follow your tank.

  • If you can see adds, kill them as priority.

  • If you get an arrow over your head then move slowly out of puddles.

  • Run away from boss when he does huge void AoE.

    • Single Phase Fight

    • Spec into single target damage.

    • Boss does more damage the closer you are too him. Try to be at max range when not dealing with mechanics.

    • Players will get targeted with a RED 🔻arrow over their head. They should run to the edge of the arena, in the same area, and prepare for the boss to charge them. Everyone else should angle themselves away from that area to avoid the boss charging at those players.

    • The marked players will leave a shadow copy of themselves in the spot they were hit, which deal raidwide damage per second.

    • Players marked with a BLUE 🔹 arrow over their head will be hit by a beam that needs to hit the clones left by the previous players, in order to destroy them.

    • The clones leave puddles on the ground when destroyed, so it’s important to ensure they are not too spread or placed near the middle of the arena.

    • The boss also periodically casts a proximity-damage AoE. Just run away from him when he glows void-y.

    • Getting hit by the boss charging at RED🔻arrow players. It also applies a healing reduction so your healers will look at you even more disappointed than usual.

    • Not standing with the other RED🔻arrow players, if you have one yourself.

    • Standing with the raid while you have a BLUE 🔹arrow.

    • Players hit by the charge take quite a lot of damage.

    • When clones are destroyed, they deal raidwide damage.

    • On pull while everyone is alive to Maximise damage.

🏆 Heroic Changes

  • EVERY player hit by the charge now leaves a clone, making it vital to dodge the charge if you are not targeted.

  • Destroyed clones now leave a permanent puddle on the ground. We suggest deciding a rotation around the arena before the pull; This will make it easier to control the puddles and more predictable to dodge the charges.

Sikran Simplified

  • RED🔻arrows stand near each other away from the boss.

  • BLUE🔹arrows stand in line with clones.

  • Run away from boss when he starts glowing void-y.

    • Alternating single phase and intermission triggered by an energy bar.

    • Starts at 60% HP due to us already damaging her in the Dawnbreaker dungeon (It's an RP thing)

    • Simple fight with punishment if a mechanic isn't done well.

    • Boss starts at 60% health so Hunter’s Mark is useless but execute effects are eating good!

    • Ideally you want everyone grouped up near the boss to make the mechanics much easier.

    • If you get targeted by a large grey circle and a grey arrow, spread away from the raid group as they will leave webs on the ground, and you will get tethered to the center of the circle after it explodes.

    • If you get a yellow-y green arrow over your head, group near the boss as you will spawn adds shortly after. Having these near the boss means they will be easy to cleave quickly.

    • If you get a green line with a green arrow over your head, note which side of your line has green fog coming out of it and run in that same direction away from the raid. This line shoots out waves of poison in the direction of the fog after it disappears. Any webs hit by this poison will leave a puddle.

    • The boss will fly to another spot on the arena and drop a bunch of swirlies on the ground; Follow her and dodge.

    • Interrupt Acidic Eruption, then you’re back to Phase 1!

    • Being hit by the big poison waves hits you very hard and leaves a DoT. While it is the responsibility of the targeted player to move away, you can help them out by standing next to your friends.

    • Running in the wrong direction with your big poison line; Run in the same direction as the fog comes out and make sure nobody is on the wrong side of it.

    • Nothing seems especially threatening if mechanics are resolved correctly. Will update if this changes.

    • On pull while everyone is alive to maximise damage.

🏆 Heroic Changes

  • Anyone hit by the grey web circles in Phase 1 will get tethered to the center of the circle. When you break your tether, it deals raidwide damage so more tethers is more unnecessary damage.

  • The yellow-y green arrows are now small circles that will damage anyone standing in them when they explode. Group up like on Normal but ensure you don't overlap with each other.

  • In the intermission, after the Acidic Eruption is interrupted, a big soak circle will appear in front of the boss. Stand in this, as it deals split damage and will pull players towards the edge of the arena, reduced by the number of players stood in the soak.

Rasha’nan Simplified

  • Stand near boss by default.

  • Run grey circles away. run yellow-green circles in to cleave spawned adds.

  • Run green lines away from raid in direction of the green fog.


    • One phase. No Intermission.

    • This is an add-heavy fight, bring AoE!

    • You will deal with different kinds of eggs that spawn in different adds.


  • There are three blood containers at the edge of the room. The boss will periodically move towards the closest blood container to her and break it, which spawns a growing void puddle.

    If this puddle hits any eggs in the arena, they explode with a big DoT that lasts 30 seconds.

    In order to break the eggs, players marked with a small purple circle have to stand next to them as the circle explodes. 

    Ideally you will want each circle breaking an egg each, and the eggs closest to the void puddle take priority.

    This spawns adds depending on the type of egg;

    • Single big and wide egg: Spawns a spider that should be tanked.

    • Single slim egg: Spawns a worm that should be interrupted.

    • Cluster of eggs: Spawns several small adds that fixate and explode when touched, spawning even more of them - CC and kill them from range.

    Each section has more of one type of egg. This likely won’t matter, but if your group struggles mechanically yet has great damage output then it may be helpful to do the Single Slim Egg section last, as you may be able to skip one section with enough damage.

    Finally, the boss occasionally shoots out lots of swirlies on the ground. Just dodge as you might expect.

    • Worms not being interrupted deals big raidwide damage. Make sure they don’t get too many casts off.

    • If you are fixated by a small add, create some distance as they will DoT you and spawn more small adds.

    • Nothing in particular. Interrupt worms when you can to do your part.

    • The tank mechanic will deal raidwide damage when the DoT expires based on the tank’s missing health. Try to keep them topped up when it’s about to run out.

    • Whenever the boss breaks open a blood container, it applies a significant raidwide healing absorb. Additionally, a smaller healing absorb is applied every 7.5 seconds.

    • (Heroic) Players with big grey circles will need to be dispelled. Once it is dispelled, anyone inside the circle takes damage and is rooted.

    • On pull while everyone is alive to maximise damage.

🏆 Heroic Changes

  • If you get a big grey circle on you, try to stand away from the raid and get dispelled by your healer. It will deal damage and root anyone who is in the circle when dispelled.

Broodtwister Simplified

  • Purple circles stand next to eggs nearest the void goop.

  • Interrupt worms.

  • Ranged-dps small adds.

    • An alternating single phase plus intermission encounter.

    • Interesting magnetic pull mechanic.

  • Players marked by purple circles will need to split up away from the raid as they spawn clones which transform into portals and pull in players and one-shot on contact. Since all portals are pulling players, you will get pulled harder towards any side that has more portals, so they should be spread at different angles.

    The boss arena has a nice hexagonal pattern on it that you can use to guide you. Dropping the portals on the corners of the hexagon should provide enough safety.

    The boss will also spawn a portal in her own location, so she should be pulled to one of the corners at the start of the fight.

    After the portals are done pulling, they transform back into clones and will each charge at a random player. If you are targeted by this, your beam will be red. Run out and angle it away from the raid.

    The clones will later transform into portals and pull again, so it’s important to have these spread at the end. If you can make it, running right next to your clone and facing it outside the arena is the cleanest solution.

    The boss and clones will also shoot out some lines from themselves in a triple spread pattern. Just dodge these as you see them.

    When her energy bar gets to 100% She will initiate intermission.

  • The boss jumps into the middle and pulses raidwide damage.

    Random players will also have blue lines at random angles which explode for damage. Try not to move with these too much if you can help it, as it’s pretty easy for others to dodge you, but much harder if you’re moving unpredictably.

    (If you played Heroic Fyrakk last expansion, you will be intimately familiar with these lines)

    Back to Phase 1!

    • Getting pulled into any of the void portals means instant death. Try to be near the middle of the arena, assuming the portals have been dropped on the arena’s hexagonal corners.

    • At the start of the fight, if you have a purple circle and place it near the center of the arena or near another circled player, it will make the fight much harder.

    • If you see a red beam coming from any of the boss clones, this means you are targeted by a charge. Make sure this charge ends in a spot where you would be happy to place a pulling portal, or you may get someone killed by a strong pull-in.

    • The boss will try to execute anyone under 10% health. Consider everyone to be lower health than they actually are.

    • On pull while everyone is alive to maximise damage.

🏆 Heroic Changes

  • In the intermission, the boss starts cleaving a third of the arena - covering two sections of the arena’s hexagon at a time.

  • Because the arena’s shape informs you where these sections will be, and it seems to rotate predictably counter-clockwise, you can stand near the left edge of any given section and then just move slightly left whenever the boss targets your section. This will let you move very little in order to resolve the mechanic.

  • Any player hit by the clones' charge mechanic will shoot out orbs in three directions that deal significant damage. You can see their angle ahead of time in order to pre-position.

Ky’veza Simplified

  • Leave puddles on corners of the arena's hexagon.

  • Stay in the middle while they pull you.

  • Move close to your red beam if you have one, and point it out of the raid.

  • Dodge void things.

  • Magnets? How do they work?

    • Multi-phase encounter.

    • This is a council fight with a shared health pool. One is melee and one ranged.

  • Two bosses that share health and can be pulled together. One melee boss that looks like Anub’arak’s cousin and one caster boss that looks more thin and spindly. We will refer to them as Melee Boss and Caster Boss.

    Only the Melee boss can be moved at will, while the Caster Boss will jump around the arena in a set pattern.

  • They will spawn some adds early on which fixate players. If you are being fixated, try to move towards the Melee Boss as that is likely where the raid will be and the adds will be easier to cleave.

    They will also spawn some webs on the ground which you will use to resolve a charge mechanic from the Melee Boss. Two people will have to stand in the web puddle when the boss prepares to charge across the arena, and one of the two will have to run into a cocoon in the middle of the web in order to tether themselves to the other player.

    If only one player touches the cocoon in the web without anyone else being in the web, the web goes away.

    When the two players are tethered to each other, they must run to stand on either side of the boss’s charge, as this will stop the boss in its tracks and increase its damage taken by 100%. You only need 1 of these tethers on Normal.

    In order to break your tether, you just run far from each other.

    There will also be green circles on some players periodically; just don’t stand on each other with them.

  • The Caster boss will move into the middle of the arena and gain a shield that must be broken in order to end the phase.

    Web cones will shoot out from the middle in a pattern and explode shortly after. Pay attention to where the first web cone spawns as it will also explode first, and they don’t start exploding until the whole arena is covered. In order to resolve, you can just stand next to the first web cone and move into safety after it explodes.

  • The Caster Boss will hop back to the edge of the arena and pull everyone towards itself. It will also start casting a circle AoE around itself so everyone has to run away from the boss. This will tether you to another player so run away from each other, as well as the boss, to break the tether.

    Eventually the Caster Boss will jump into the middle and target 3 players with a dispellable debuff that jumps to the nearest target when dispelled. This can (and should) go on the Caster Boss when dispelled. These look like a white/grey bubble around the players.

    In order to ensure these dispels end up on the boss, the targeted players can spread around the Caster Boss in a triangle formation or something similar. There are many ways to solve this mechanic so pick a strategy that works for the team, just make sure the rest of the team is focused on the Melee Boss a bit away from the Caster.

    Once the debuffs are on the boss, it will get disoriented, take 100% increased damage, and stop casting a raidwide spell that would otherwise wipe the raid.

    During this phase, the bosses will also shoot some cone attacks, just dodge them.

    Eventually, the Caster Boss will hop back into the middle, pull everyone with itself and do the circle AoE from earlier, but will also mark 3 players with the dispellable debuff. Everyone run out, then those three people run back in and get dispelled.

  • The Melee Boss will hop into the middle and gain a shield like the last intermission. Several circle-AoEs and Donut AoEs will appear on the arena periodically, just dodge them while bursting the boss down.

  • This is Phase 1 and Phase 2 combined. The Caster Boss will periodically pull you in, tether you to a player, and cast its circle AoE. Run out of the AoE and break most tethers, but you will want to keep some tethers unbroken as the Melee Boss repeats its charge mechanic from Phase 1.

    They will also shoot out cones and circle/donut AoEs during this phase.

    • All cone AoEs and circle/donut AoEs deal significant damage. Try to remain near the bosses in order to avoid cones easier.

    • Whenever you get pulled to the spider boss, run out of the purple circle around it, as it will explode for a ton of damage.

    • Not a lot! Standing on others while you have a green circle will hurt but shouldn’t kill.

    • Almost every mechanic has a DoT associated with it, so if someone gets taken low they may die soon after if not triaged.

    • Each intermission pumps out raidwide damage.

    • The dispels in phase 2 and 3 will have to be timed correctly, as the player must be closer to the boss than to any other player. Additionally, dispelling deals some raidwide damage, so make sure everyone is topped up if you decide to mass-dispel.

    • On pull while everyone is alive to maximise damage.

🏆 Heroic Changes

  • You now need 2 tethers to stop the Melee Boss’s charge in Phase 1 and 3.

Silken Court Simplified

  • Primarily attack Melee Boss, as tanks will move it around where it needs to be.

  • Don’t stand on friends with green circles.

  • When pulled by Caster Boss, run out of her circle AoE and break your tether by running apart.

  • If you get a white bubble on you, stand near the caster boss to get dispelled. Your raid lead likely has specific plan for placement.

    • NOTE: This boss has not been tested, this is conjecture from the dungeon journal

    • This boss has 3 phases, each on different platforms.

  • Players marked with green circles should move behind the raid as they will drop a bomb/puddle on the ground that will be used soon after.

    When the boss starts casting an expanding circle-AoE around her, all players will have to go near the aforementioned bombs and one player will have to touch it directly at the correct time in order to launch the whole raid into the air which dodges the boss mechanic.

    The player that touches the bomb will receive a circle around them that explodes for huge damage, so those players should run back to the boss at an angle while everyone else runs straight. Due to this, assigning ranged players to this job will be beneficial.

    Resolving this mechanic leaves a pool of acid on the ground, so you may want to discuss a rotation around the boss ahead of time.

    Players will be marked with a small circle that spawns a web which roots the player until it is killed. This will be easier to resolve if players stack up (without overlapping) near the boss. Much like Tindral if you played Amirdrassil, you can most likely use root-breaks to resolve your mechanic instantly.

    The tankbuster will shoot out swirlies towards players and also leave a pool of acid under the boss, so she will need to be moved around.

    It sounds like she will also have a cone attack, but it’s fairly vague in the journal.

  • The boss will gain a huge shield that needs to be broken in order for the intermission to end.

    She will tether all players and occasionally pull them towards her; If you get too close, you die.

    During the phase, she will also apply a stacking slow which makes it more difficult to resist. She also shoots out swirlies which deal damage and apply another stack of the slow.

  • The boss will jump away to the Phase 3 platform and spawn a ton of adds on platforms that lead up to her.

    Split the raid in half while ascending the platforms up to her, killing the adds on the way.

    We don’t know much about this, except what the adds do. Most important are the voidspeakers. All important adds share health between the two halves of the raid, so it’s possible to coordinate target priority for the whole raid at the same time.

    • Voidspeakers: Explode and knocks everyone back on death. Presumably this is how we move between platforms, so kill these last and position them near the edge of the platform with the raid group between this add and the next platform. They also cast an interruptible spell that isn’t lethal but does hit quite hard. They share health with other voidspeakers, so you will have to kill them when both halves of the raid are ready.

    • Guardians: Handled by the tanks and knock them back sometimes, so be careful around the edge.

    • Expellers: Teleport around and shoot beams at players. Anyone hit by the beam gets knocked back.

    • Worshippers: Most likely on the last platform before the boss, as they have a big absorb shield and make the boss immune. They act as an enrage timer as they have a long cast that wipes the raid if it finishes. Also places a dispellable debuff on players at random.

    • Skitterers: Little spiders that can be grouped and cleaved down.

    Lastly, the boss will periodically pull everyone in her direction throughout the phase, so you will need to resist it in order to avoid falling off the platform.

  • Players will be marked by a circle that drops a portal. One portal should be dropped close to the boss and one further away, as it has to be used by the whole raid to dodge a shrinking circle cast. Think Phase 1 but it’s shrinking this time instead of expanding, and you’re using a teleport to go through it instead of a knock-up.

    She will also spawn an add on the platform that has to be killed before the raid teleports or it will wipe the raid.

    While casting the shrinking circle, she will also pull all players towards her, making it more difficult to reach the portal in time if you haven’t pre-positioned.

    The portals leave a puddle on the floor after this mechanic, so you may have to rotate around the arena.

    Eventually she will mark some players with a mechanic that deals proximity damage, so these players have to run away from the raid and also ideally each other.

    After one of the tankbusters, the tank will explode so they have to run away. This also spawns adds that have to be CC’d and nuked before they reach the boss.

    After the second tankbuster, they will spew out swirlies that bait on players and leave puddles on the ground. It may be beneficial to have the raid stand near pre-existing puddles in order to save room on the arena.

    • TBD

    • TBD

    • Feast tankbuster in Phase 1 will apply a massive healing absorb, so they’ll need to be taken care of, as they will still need to be the active tank.

    • Gloom Touch in Phase 2 will need to be dispelled. (Heroic)Avoid dispelling them all at once.

    • Whenever the boss pulls players, it will deal increasing damage.

    • Historically final bosses lust Phase 3.

🏆 Heroic Changes

  • Updates to come once we know this fight more accurately.

Queen Ansurek Simplified

  • Updates to come once we know this fight more accurately.