Deaths to elevator boss (Blackwing Descent)

The Elevator is is a four-phase fight located in [zone=5094]. Raids must pass through The Elevator to continue through the rest of the instance, and is considered a gear check encounter. It must be fought every time the raid wishes to pass into the rest of the zone. This encounter does not vary from 10-man to 25-man modes, but groups will have to be positioned accordingly.

Phase 1: Up

Phase 1 begins with The Elevator moving in a rapid pace from the ground floor to the top of the ledge. Position your raid near the edge, preferably spread out into two groups to minimize confusion. It only takes a few seconds for the elevator to rise, so have your raid leader call out all movement. It is imperative that you not try to interact with the elevator in this phase at all. Move your Rogues, Priests, and Mages near the front of the group, and keep all other classes to the back. Paladins with good timing may be moved to the front group, but it is ill-advised.

Phase 2: Idle

Phase 2 begins when The Elevator reaches the top of the ledge. Here it will remain for 3 seconds. The forward group must move onto the platform and halt all movement! Do not try to keep moving forward, and do not backpedal backwards.

The Phase 2-3 transition can be one of the tougher challenges of this encounter. Do not move your character at all during this transition.

Phase 3: Down

Phase 3 begins after the 3 second window from Phase 2 ends. By this time, if all forward group members aren't full on The Elevator, the fight is a wipe. If done successfully though, you will begin to descend. Many raiders begin to panic at this time, blowing their cooldowns and adjusting their footing. Refrain from such actions; simply hold your position while The Elevator takes your character in a downwards fashion.

Phase 4: Idle

Phase 4 is arguably the most-challenging phase of the encounter. The Elevator will reach the ground and suddenly halt. Be prepared for this sudden change in downward movement, and run forward off The Elevator and onto solid ground. Backpedaling and strafing are disastrous here, as Phase 4 and Phase 2 share the same cooldown. If the forward group successfully leaves The Elevator, the boss will reset back to Phase 1, allowing for the second group to repeat the same process.

Loot

The Elevator is an unusual encounter in that it drops no loot.

Hard Mode

To activate this encounter's Hard Mode, place a Holy Priest on the edge of the platform. As your tanks pull The Elevator, and the raid runs in behind them, the Priest will cast [spell=73325] on a random target. If you are this target, immediately halt all movement. This will happen twice, one target per group; however, a well-timed Bloodlust and a quick raid can bypass this second cast. If neither of the chosen players are killed during the encounter, you have successfully defeated The Elevator Hard Mode.

[zone=3607] was merely a setback!

The Elevator Boss does, in fact, give epic drops. Just not the type of "drops" you were hoping for.