How to complete this SOLO, in the age of 110's, 840ilvl's, and Artifact weapons
I've tested this on multiple characters at this point. The only time I've had issues is when I've messed up. The good part is that if you do mess up, the fight simply resets and you can try again in about a minute.
Setup:
- Set ICC 25: Heroic - This gives the boss as much HP as possible. You need control over phases, so it matters.
- (Optional) Remove all gear EXCEPT [item=49888] - You obviously need the axe. Removing gear lowers your damage, and gives you control over his HP. There's nothing special about this, so if you need more gear, feel free. I've just found that it helps.
Steps:
- Engage fight. Do not hurt the boss below 80%. Lower him as close as you can (81-83% is good.) You have time to do this.
- Kill oozes if you'd like. Leave one up if you're paranoid. Not required, but won't hurt anything.
- Allow him to place ground poison three times in different spots.
- Once three ground poisons are placed, verify boss's health is above 80%. Go to the middle of the room.
- Wait.
- Once the boss begins to cast an ability (look for a cast bar) - Burst him below 80%. Immediately run to the table and drink. You should transform while he is running. This is very important.
- Run straight into the poison clouds. Mash your 1 ability to drink and restore energy. Use the shadow ability (6) at full energy.
- Once complete, allow the abomination to die, and kill the boss. You can use another weapon, once you've completed the song and dance above.
- Congratulations! On to the next objective.
The issue with the fight is that it resets if the boss looks for a target and can't find one. This is, for the most part, a scan that enemy AI performs at a tight interval. When you transform, you can't technically be targeted for a very short amount of time. If the boss scans during this time, it won't pull a viable target, and the fight will reset.
To get around this, you need to push your short invuln window to a position where the boss isn't scanning. Sometimes you can get lucky, which is why some other methods work, sometimes. The only reliable method is when the boss AI is pacified. This happens when he's running back to the table.
When the boss is casting, he isn't moving. This is why you move him to the middle. By moving him to the middle, he will exit his cast and immediately begin running to the table, and have to cover distance in order to do so. This directly lengthens the pacification window during which the transformation can safely execute.
You hit the table during his cast in the center because the transformation does not happen right away. This gives you the biggest window to aim for with the delay involved.
As a note, I'm not sure exactly how the target acquisition works during his little table science routine. I've had it reset if I transform during this phase, so I'm sure he acquires targets at some points during it. Also, if you do wait for this cast, you run the risk of not surviving long enough in abomination form to completely charge your energy.
Hope this helps!