Tazavesh Guide to Mythic Difficulty Bosses

World of Warcraft Shadowlands is finally getting its first major patch, 218 days after 9.0 landed. As 9.1 lands, we access a whole heap of content, including the new raid, PvP and M+ season, the new Maw expansion, and Korthia – which is accompanied by the new dungeon, Tazavesh, the Veiled Market. For those looking to take on the new dungeon housed in Korthia, we have a Tazavesh guide to get you through the instance and grabbing some new gear.

If you’ve been playing any of Blizzard’s mid-expansion patches, unlocking Tazavesh works similarly to BFA’s Mechagon and Legion’s Karazhan revamp. All you need to do is start a quest chain before being able to access the dungeon. To do so, head over to The Idyllia,  found in Oribos, where one of the candle-headed denizens will send you to Korthia. The quest chain is a basic questline explaining the narrative of Korthia’s appearance in the Maw, along with the Veiled Market and what the Broker people are up to there.

Once, when it is completed, you’ll be able to enter the dungeon at will. Although, if you’re reading this post-9.2, chances are the dungeon is available in the Dungeon Finder for Normal and Heroic difficulties. Blizzard typically splits dungeons into two sections for future seasons of Mythic+. It still means doing the questline to get to the dungeon entrance for Mythic and M+, unless, of course, you get summoned there. Overall, we recommend doing the questline for this Tazavesh guide as it will become more awkward the longer you leave it. 

Lastly, when the two different Keystones launch (more than likely in 9.2), we will update this Tazavesh Guide to reflect the two different instances, making it easier to track what you need.

Dive into the Maw and explore Korthia, the City of Secrets! #Shadowlands pic.twitter.com/TMNces0Vnc

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) June 28, 2021

Zo’phex Tactics

Zo’phex is the first boss you’ll encounter in the Tazavesh Guide. There is nothing particularly special about the boss, although there are a few dangerous mechanics to learn. Firstly, you’ll need to fight your way through Customs, taking on the security trash mobs and beating Portalmancer Zo’dahh before Zo’phex shows up.

• Armed Security – The boss leaves behind blades that spin around. The Tank player needs to move the boss away as it will cause unnecessary damage to themselves and the Melee DPS in the group.
• Rotary Body – Absorbs all attacks from the front, so both the Melee and Ranged DPS should angle to attack the rear of it. Ideally, the Tank should face it away from the party at all times.
• Impound Contraband – Disarms and silences one player at random until they find their weapon somewhere near the boss. Also, the player gains 25% haste for six seconds after re-acquiring their weapon.
• Fully Armed – Zophex buffs himself with a 25% damage buff, so the Tank needs to use a defensive, or a Healer uses a CD to heal through it. Depending on the difficulty and/or the Tank’s gear, it may mean having to kite the boss instead.
• Interrogation – Zophex fixates on a player at random, meaning they’ll need to move as far away as possible. At the end of the fixate (or if the boss catches up), he will imprison the player, meaning the DPS needs to destroy the prison around the player to free them. If the boss catches up to the prison, he will damage all those in front of him, killing the caged player and those next to it very quickly.

The Grand Menagerie Tactics

The Grand Menagerie is a three-part boss that cycles through three different mobs, each with different abilities. The first mob is a Hungerer seen throughout the Shadowlands named Alcuruux.

• Gluttony – Alcruux gives the player nearest to it a debuff that allows them to absorb the blue balls around the room. Absorbing the balls grants a stacking buff to the player, meaning a DPS player should be the one being buffed by standing directly on top of the boss after the Tank pulls it.  The debuff lasts for 21 seconds and then will bounce to the nearest player when it expires. When the debuff is about to expire, another DPS should move to the active player and swipe the buff from them to ensure the Gluttony debuff stays on the DPS. While this is active, it will deal 5k damage to every party member, meaning the Healer needs to keep everyone topped up.
• Grip of Hunger – The boss begins to drag all players to his location and channel a blue aura around him. If a player remains in the circle as it expires, they’ll take huge burst damage, potentially one-shotting players in weaker gear or on higher key levels. For those that have raided Castle Nathria, this mechanic is very similar to that of the Hungering Destroyer, albeit on a much smaller scale.
• Grand Consumption – Alcruux spawns waves of falling blue bombs with their radius’ marked with a blue aura. When the bombs land, they’ll deal large amounts of burst damage. Note they spawn in waves, so try to stand in a position not marked in blue, or keep within the radius of a fresh bomb to avoid overlapping with other waves.

 

At 40%, a Bastion Sentinel named Achilite jumps in to fight you. You can focus on killing Alcruux before moving onto Achilite, as it will prevent ability overlap from both mini-bosses.

• Purification Protocol –  Achillite selects two players at random, debuffing them with Unstable Anima. Those players need to move away from the party – and each other – and be ready for the detonation. Unstable Anima will also do pulsating damage while active, so the Healer should keep the party topped. The Healer can dispel the Unstable Anima, but should focus on a melee player to maintain their DPS uptime. If you have a Priest in your party, they can Mass Dispel it to wipe both debuffs off the party.
• Flagellation Protocol – The boss shields itself and channels a damage beam that deals moderate damage every half-second tick for six seconds. The Tank will need to use a physical damage cooldown to make it easier on the Healer, or use a CD to keep the Tank up. Alternatively, the DPS can burst down the shield and interrupt the channel before it concludes.
• Venting Protocol – Achillite deals an AOE splash around him with a 7-yard range, dealing light damage and knocking players back. Furthermore, blue orbs continue to release around its body as Achillite channels an uninterruptible ability called Venting Protocol. Avoid the balls as they deal a high amount of burst and grant a stacking damage reduction debuff. The player with the Gluttony Debuff should eat the balls up that the boss emits during this phase.

 

Once again, when Achillite hits 40%, a green Pandaren called Venza jumps in for a scrap. Continue killing Achillite before moving onto the next boss.

• Whirling Annihilation – Venza slowly drags players towards her, so keep fighting the slow pull.
• Chains of Domination – A random player is chosen, reducing their movement speed by 10%. The DPS needs to kill the chains to break the movement speed debuff. Someone with a stun can also break the ability.

Mailroom Mayhem Tactics

The P.O.S.T Master is the boss of the Mailroom. Arguably, this is the easiest dungeon in the entirety of the Tazavesh Guide.

• Hazardous Liquids – Potions fall from the sky, which players need to soak around the room. Catching one deals very low damage and applies a DoT that a Healer can dispel. Although, if one isn’t caught, they leave behind an ooze that causes damage and slows anyone caught up in it. The idea is to keep as much floor space open as possible for later in the fight.
• Fan Mail – unavoidable party-wide damage for the Healer to heal through. Use personal defensives here to make it easier on the Healer.
• Money Order – a random player is selected with a golden ring around them. Stack on it to share the damage amongst the party. Immunity classes can solo soak this if they are targeted with it (Divine Shield, Ice Block, Turtle Shell).
• Unstable Goods – Bombs fall from the sky and detonate after some time. Simply pick them up using the extra action button pop and bring them to the incinerators. Avoid throwing them onto the floor as they bomb up if a player isn’t there to catch them.

Myza’s Oasis Tactics

Myza’s Oasis is a boss room that is locked behind a mini-game. Players need to buy an item from an active vendor named Xy’darid, and find another trader around the market who will exchange it for knowledge relating to the Oasis’ password. For example, food and drink go to the food and drink vendor, art to the artist, trade goods to the trade-good vendor, diary to the rare texts, etc. Each item you get needs to be carried via the extra action button and dropped within the vendor’s aura. During this time, non-elite trash will continue to chase you down until you finally get the password.

Once when you are inside Oasis, you’ll be acting like the Elite Tauren Chieftains rocking out on the Oasis’ stage. You’ll need one player on each instrument to hit the notes associated with them. Every instrument gets an extra action button, allowing them to interact with the music notes that will appear around the stage. We’ll be honest, Gaming Verdict had a lot fun on testing out this boss for the Tazavesh Guide!

• Drums – Line the camera up with the notes and press the drum ability to hit them. –  Healer
• Trumpet – Slide for 12 yards, hitting all notes during the slide. – DPS
• Saxophonist – Slide for 12 yards, hitting all notes during the slide. – DPS
• Guitarist – Slide for 12 yards, hitting all notes during the slide. – DPS
• Hornblower – Blow the horn to hit all notes in a four-yard radius. – Tank

 

Every time a player hits a note, they gain a stack of Jazzy, which increases haste by 1% for 40 seconds. Upon reaching 12 stacks of Jazzy, players gain Up Tempo, a buff that increases damage, healing, and haste by 25% for 40 seconds. Hitting a note while Up Tempo is active refreshes its duration.

It is important to note that players can still use their abilities while playing their instruments. However, it does mean the DPS needs the Saxophone, Guitar and Trumpet while moving and doing damage. The Drummer will need to get off their kit to dodge the incoming green balls as they will deal damage if they land.

During the performance, mobs will come on stage and express their distaste for your rock ‘n’ roll, throwing food and drink at you in disgust. They will need to be dealt with as you try to hit the right notes.

As for the Tank, note that an Oasis Security will come over and Security Slam as if you. It is best to use a defensive while these guys are about. Also, DPS can kick the Menacing Shout that the robots do, and it needs kicking; otherwise, it silences the party.

Zo’gron Abilities

At some point in the fight, Zo’gron arrives. He is a mini-boss,  like the Menagerie bosses and copies some abilities other bosses use in the Tazavesh Guide. After killing Zo’gron, the fight ends and you’re one boss down.

• His first major ability is a deflect from the front which operates the same as Zo’phex’s Rotary Body ability.
• Suppression Spark – pulls players towards his location, which will detonate after six seconds. It is essentially the same as the Grip of Hunger Ability from the first mob in the Menagerie. Also, the Drummer can avoid the drag by remaining on the Drum Kit as the channel is active.

So’azmi Tactics

So’azmi is a unique boss in the sense they employ tricky teleporter patterns. Working out how to manage the teleporters does take some getting used to. When this dungeon becomes a Mythic+ key, this boss will likely be the PUG wiper. We recommend returning to this Tazavesh guide when it happens, as this will likely be the bane of players in the dungeon throughout the entire expansion.

• Deploy Relocators – So’azmi deploys several teleporters that each have a different pairing around the room. Above each teleporter is a golden marker, with three pairs, square, circle and triangle. Furthermore, they all travel around the room, so it can be quite hard to track where everything is at once.
• Quickblade – the boss chooses three different players in the party and dashes between them. Every player hit becomes debuffed with a bleed effect. The group should spread out to avoid any unnecessary bleeds on the party. If anyone has ever done Stone Legion Generals in Castle Nathria, they’ll recognise the mechanic here.
• Shuri – an arcane ring spawns somewhere in the room and expands until the entire room is covered. Use a teleporter – or Blink if you are Mage – to dodge the incoming white wave.
• Divide – the room is split into two and then four by a white gold wall. Use the teleporters to jump between the different segments of the room. Note, there is a line of sight between the walls, meaning all players need to be in the same quadrant or half.
• Double Technique – So’azmi throws fiery blades at all players in the party, putting a heavy DoT on all players. The only way to stop it is by the DPS using two interrupts on the boss. Ideally, assign interrupters before the fight, but adapt if one player is caught on the wrong side of the divide.

Hylbrande Tactics

Hylbrande is a Giant Titan mob, with some vague resemblance to characters like Odyn. Players are transported to Stormheim from Legion to pick up clues about a Titan Relic the Brokers were investigating, awakening the Titan Defender in the process. Take note of the boss room map above, as it is an important part of the Tazavesh guide for taking down Hylbrande.

• Shearing Wings – Slashes twice in a cone, hitting all of those in front with moderate damage. The Tank needs to turn the boss away from the raid to mitigate damage, just as the boss is about to land its first slash.
• Titanic Crash – Hylbrande attempts a frontal crash, dealing slightly more damage than one slash of Shearing Wings. Whoever is hit by the crash will be stunned for four seconds. However, there is some build-up to the crash, meaning the Tank can dodge it.
• Purged by Fire – A Titan beam follows a player at random, leaving behind Purging Field. The target player needs to avoid being hit by the golden beam while organizing the Purging Field as neatly as possible. Avoid standing and leaving the pool near the four corners of the room, as well as the detailed circle in the center of the boss room for later mechanics.
• Add spawns throughout the fight that make the boss tankier. The DPS will need to switch to them and kill them, so the boss doesn’t get any extra defensive buffs.
• Sanitizing Cycle – A puzzle starts partway through the boss fight. One party member needs to head to the central panel opposite the entrance to the boss room. That player then needs to read out the position of the runes from in the top-left and top-right, then bottom-left and bottom right. These runes mirror the terminals in each corner of the boss room. The remaining players need to grab the runes from the center of the boss fight and bring them to the associated terminal.

Timcap’n Hooktail Tactics

Continuing with the Broker’s Trends on Azeroth, we revisit Boralus Harbor for another angered baddie now turned into a Pirate Dragon Captain.

• Infinite Breath – Hooktail breathes dragon fire, dealing damage and stunning those caught in her frontal cone. The Tank needs to face the boss away from the group to avoid any accidental stuns.
• Hook Swipe – The dragon swipes her tail, dealing large amounts of physical damage to those caught within her rear cone hitbox. Those hit become Hook’d, which means they get stuck to her tail for three seconds and bleed for a further 10 seconds.
• Corsair Brute – Adds spawns throughout the fight that beat up whoever they want. CC them, kill them, whatever best suits your comp the most.
• Double Time – Hooktail’s crew gets increased attack speed and movement speed during the phase.
• Anchor Shot – Hooktail commands her ship to chain someone on the shore, dragging them close to the water. If you played during BFA, then you’ll know there are sharks in these here waters. You don’t want them one-shotting you like in Siege of Boralus, so stand away from the water’s edge if you are unfortunate enough to be Anchored.

So’leah Tactics

So’leah is the final boss of the Tazavesh Guide. The last boss is all about using forbidden artifacts that can potentially cause the end of the Shadowlands. If you like the lore, then you might like this boss for that reason.

• Summon Assassins – So’leah summons assassins to aid her. The DPS needs to focus them down, while the Healer tries to heal through the DoT they leave on the party via the Shuriken Blitz ability.
• Hyperlight Spark – A damage ability that bounces between players, dealing damage to each one it hits. It’s pretty much the same mechanic from Artificier from Castle Nathria.
• Collapsing Star – a white orb spawns on the battlefield, lingering for 25 seconds with four stacks of a party-wide DoT to dish out. Whenever a player touches it,  it expends one of the said stacks to the party, requiring the Healer to heal the entire party for three seconds. If the star expires, then it unleashes all the remaining charges in one go. Therefore, players need to stagger it every other second when the party is back to full HP before wandering into the Collapsing Star once again.

 

At 40 HP, the boss enters Stage 2, which prevents any more adds from spawning in. Instead, she gains a whole new set of abilities in this phase.

• Relics – A few floating Relics spawn, which channels a sandy looking beam to the boss. Unfortunately, you cannot damage the boss until these protective relics are broken.
• Hyperlight Jolt – A spark of lighting will jolt from all players dealing damage to everyone, and increase damage taken from other jolts. Position each player under separate Relics to cause the beams to turn off. Every player must stand under a unique relic to start damaging the boss again.
• Energy Fragmentation – The relics trigger a burst of energy, causing golden darts to fly across the battlefield. Dodge them as best you can as they knockback and deal moderate burst damage, with a nasty DoT for six seconds.
• Hyperlight Nova – The relics gain an explosive radius that pops after several seconds. Dodge that as they are nasty burst on top of the other damage mechanics going on through this phase.

Congratulations, you have finished our Tazavesh Guide. Hopefully, you get all the juicy loot, conduits and other lucrative items for your characters. Please note we have curated a Tazavesh Hard Mode guide attached with the dungeon for those brave enough to enter.