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Onyxia rising above adventurers on a cavern ledge

Onyxia's Lair Guide — Raid guide · WoW Forever

Level
60
Group
40 players
Bosses
1
Difficulty
Raid
Location
Dustwallow Marsh
Key
Drakefire Amulet

How the run goes

A single boss at the bottom of a short tunnel: Onyxia in her lair. Clear the Onyxian Warders and whelplings on the way down, then fight her through three phases: on the ground, in the air and on the ground again.

Group: Forty players in Classic: two or three tanks, ten or so healers and damage dealers. Bring fire resistance for the main tank, fear protection for the last phase, and a plan for the whelps.

Route

The game has no interior map of Onyxia's Lair we can draw on, so the route is written out below.

  1. 1.The lair

    Down the tunnel past the Onyxian Warders and their whelplings into the round lair. The egg caves along the sides hatch whelps if anyone walks into them.

    1. 1Onyxia

Boss by boss

The lair

On the way: Onyxian Warders in pairs in the tunnel. Stay out of the egg caves at all times.

  1. 1

    Onyxia

    Loot and drops →
    Level
    63 · Boss
    Health
    1,099,000
    Armor
    7,800

    Classic Era's values, not yet confirmed in Forever.

    • Breath
    • Heated Ground
    • FireballInflicts 1700 to 2300 Fire damage to all enemies in a selected area.
    • Bellowing Roar
    • Flame BreathInflicts 3063 to 3937 Fire damage to enemies in a cone in front of the caster.
    • CleaveInflicts normal damage plus 50 to an enemy and its nearest allies, affecting up to 10 targets.
    • Tail SweepInflicts 600 to 1000 damage on enemies in a cone behind the caster, knocking them back.
    • Wing BuffetInflicts 563 to 937 damage to enemies in a cone in front of the caster, knocking them back.

    Three phases. On the ground she breathes fire ahead and sweeps her tail behind; in the air she flies over the room, throws fireballs and breathes across it; when she lands again she fears the raid and the floor erupts.

    1. Ground (until about two thirds of her health): tank her with her head away from the raid; nobody stands in front of her or behind her tail.
    2. Air: she circles, fireballs random players and sometimes breathes in a line across the room. Whelps pour from the side caves.
    3. Ground again (below about 40%): she fears the whole raid every so often, and lava erupts from cracks in the floor.
    Tanks
    Pull her to the back of the room and turn her so her breath and tail miss the raid. When she lifts off, wait under her landing spot; pick her up the moment she lands. In the last phase stay fear-immune where you can (Fear Ward, Berserker Rage, a Tremor Totem) so she never turns.
    Healers
    Keep the tank topped up through her breath on the ground. In the air phase stand spread out to the sides so one fireball hits one player, and heal through the fireballs. Expect the raid to scatter in the fears of the last phase: heal whoever lands in the eruptions.
    Damage dealers
    Let the tank build threat before you start. In the air phase, ranged damage keeps hitting her while melee and area damage clear the whelps. Watch where she faces in the air: when she inhales, run out of the line she will breathe along. In the last phase, burn her.

Before you go

  • Stand along Onyxia's flanks: her head and tail both punish careless positioning.
  • Assign whelp pickup and avoid the egg caves, especially during fear.
  • Save threat control and tank recovery tools for the landing transition.
  • Each player needs the Drakefire Amulet in their bags (it doesn't need to be equipped), earned through their faction's attunement chain.

Drakefire Amulet attunement

More about Onyxia's Lair