Obsidian Sanctum 25man Instance Guide
Obsidian Sanctum is home of members of the Black Dragonflight. This is one of the first raid instances in WoTLK and also the first raid instances players can choose which difficulty they want to do it on. Obsidian Sanctum can be done on easy, medium or hard depending on how much of a challenge you want.
Players can choose to leave 1 to 3 drakes alive, which will improve the loot they get from Sartharion. Leaving all 3 drakes alive will give you a nifty title as well as a mount. This makes it so even geared players still come back from time to time. Depending on what you want to do will determine which drakes you should kill first. Regardless, I've listed all 3 of the drakes first in this guide.
Shadron
During the fight Shadron will open up portals to the Twilight. DPS and Healers will need to enter the portal and kill the adds inside of it. While inside of the portal you will suffer 1,000 Shadow Damage a second. After all of the adds are dead the boss will become unimmune and you can continue the fight. Since being inside the portal does Shadow Damage it is wise to use a Shadow Resistance Aura or to have priests use Shadow Resistance Buffs.
If Shadron is left alive he will apply an aura that increases fire damage taken by 100%.
Tenebron
During the fight Tenebron will open up a portal as well. This portal, much unlike the one Shadron does should be left alone. Inside the portal whelps will spawn. Usually while you're fighting Tenebron at least one wave of whelps will escape the portal before he is killed. Have the offtank pick them up and AoE them down.
If Tenebron is left alive he will apply an aura that increases shadow damage taken by 100%.
Vesperon
Vesperon is the final drake of Obsidian Sanctum. Much like Tenebron and Shadron before him, he will open up a portal during the fight. This portal should be completly ignored much like Tenebron. Burn him down to kill him.
If Vesperon is left alive he will apply an aura that decreases everyones health by 25%.
Sartharion
Sartharion has 3 noteable abilities. Cleave, Tail Lash and Fire Breath. The raid will need to stay to one side of Sartharion at all times. If the raid gets behind him they will be Tail Lashed and if they get too close to his front they will be cleaved and breath'd. During the fight Sartharion will summon Lava Walls. Everyone should dodge these walls that come at the players. They will come from etheir the left or the right. The wall will be visable before it starts to move towards the player and it will also give a warning.
Also during the fight Sartharion will summon Lava Elementals. Usually he will summon them in packs of 2-4. They will need to be picked up by the offtank and burned down so they don't get out of control. It's also important to not let them get hit by the lava wall, since it will enrage them causing them to do a lot more damage.
This whole fight is mainly about positioning. Many tanks like to position him sideways, with his back facing east, where Shadron is or was. This will allow the tank to easily dodge both Lava Walls. I like to position Sartharion with my back to the instance portal. As the tank I will always get hit by one of the two Firewalls.
However, as the Tank being hit by the Firewall, to me at least, Isn't much of a big deal. Both the firewalls are EASILY dodged by the whole raid where I tank him, making it so the retards you have to worry about, don't even have to move.
The Three Drakes
To get better loot off of Sartharion and achievements you can leave certain drakes up to make the fight harder. In order to keep the drakes up and still kill Sartharion you will need a massive amount of DPS as well as hella good coordination. The easiest drakes to do this with are Tenebron then Shadron and then all 3.
Each of the 3 drakes will come into the battle at different times, also each of the drakes will also apply an aura that will effect the raid. Tenebron will increase shadow damage taken by 100%. He will land 30 seconds into the encounter if left alive. Shadron will increase fire damage taken by 100%. He will land 75 seconds into the encounter if left alive. Vesperon will decrease maximum health by 25% and land 120 seconds into the encounter if left alive.
In order to successfully do this you will need to kill Tenebron before Shadron lands, or right as he is landing and do the same for Vesperon. You will need a shit ton of Coordination and DPS in order to do this, I do not recommend doing it with a pug.
Also, in addition to better loot. If you leave all 3 drakes alive a mount will also drop from Sartharion.
Loot Table:
Chestplate of the Great Aspects
Concealment Shoulderpads
Council Chamber Epaulets
Dragon Brood Legguards
Dragon Hide Bag
Fury of the Five Flights
Gauntlets of the Lost Conqueror
Gauntlets of the Lost Protector
Gauntlets of the Lost Vanquisher
Hyaline Helm of the Sniper
Illustration of the Dragon Soul
Large Satchel of Spoils
Staff of Restraint
Wyrmrest Band
- 1 Drake -
Bountiful Gauntlets
Dragonstorm Breastplate
The Sanctum's Flowing Vestments
Upstanding Spaulders
- 2 Drake -
Headpiece of Reconciliation
Leggings of the Honored
Obsidian Greathelm
Pennant Cloak
Unsullied Cuffs
- 3 Drake -
A piece of loot from 1 drake
A piece of loot from 2 drakes
Title: Twilight Vanquisher
Reins of the Twilight Drake