The Throne of the Tides in the Abyssal Maw is one of the shortest dungeons, and you can even skip one of the bosses which makes for a quick run through.
As you enter, you’ll have to get through a hallway with groups of Naz’jar Spiritmenders and Naz’jar Invaders. Not only do the Spiritmenders heal but they can also Hex, so you’ll want to keep them CCed while taking out the Invaders first. Watch out for the Invader’s Bubble Shield though.
At the end of the hallway you’ll find the sides blocked by giant tentacles. No choice but to continue forward, although you’ll need to deal with a Naz’jar Sentinel waiting for you. These guys have the annoying ability to drop green pools of poison all over, but you’ll be fine as long as you don’t stand in it. And for the sake of melee DPS, make sure the Invader isn’t standing in or right next to a green pool either.
Continue on and ride the giant jellyfish elevator up to the top. There’s another hallway here, but don’t rush forward, more Naz’jar will drop down from the sides when you head inside.
This is a gauntlet type hall. You’ll need to fight through 2 Invaders, then an Invader and a Spiritmender, then 2 Spiritmenders, all the while Lazy Naz’jar will be sending packs of Deep Murlocs at you. You don’t have to rush through it, as the Murlocs aren’t too much trouble as long as they don’t eat the healer. Just focus on killing the Naz’jar and keeping the Spiritmenders interrupted. Once you reach the end of the hallway, Lady Naz’jar will retreat.
The next room will have you up against a group of 5 Naz’jar, with a mix of 2-3 Invaders, 1-2 Spiritmenders, and 1-2 Tempest Witches. CC the Spiritmenders first of course, and the Witches if you have anything left. Since they can cast Chain Lightning and Lightning Surge, it’s important to kill them first or keep them interrupted if you can’t CC them.
Once the first group is down, get rid of the wandering Deep Murloc pack and then wait for the Naz’jar Invader to make his way into the room. Kill him, then take care of the second 5-pack Naz’jar.
Lady Naz’jar waits for you in the next room. She has a number of deadly abilities: Shock Blast which has to be interrupted and Summon Geyser that needs to be moved out of quickly. Everyone should be spread out slightly so her Fungal Spores doesn’t hit more than one person at a time. When she runs to the middle and casts Waterspout, a Naz’jar Honor Guard and two Naz’jar Tempest Witch will arrive. CC the Witches if possible while you kill the Guard, and avoid the water tornadoes swirling out from the boss.
Once Lady Naz’jar is dead, head back the way you came and activate the mechanism. The gate will open, but…
Commander Ulthok comes crashing down, blocking your way. His main ability is Dark Fissure. You’ll want to pull him back to the edge of the room, and move him along the perimeter each time he drops a Fissure. With ranged/healer standing in the center of the room, you should be able to kill him before the whole place fills up. Make sure to leave enough room between him and the previous fissures for any melee DPS to not have to attack from the front. He’ll also peridocally reach out to Squeeze random players, but there’s nothing you can do about that.
Once he’s down, just hop in the teleporter on your left just past the doorway to the hall. It’ll takes you back to the entrance. Head back up the hallway again. If you want to head straight to the end, go left. If you want to go for the extra boss, head right.
The right hallway holds groups of Giblin Aquamages and Giblin Hunters. CC can be unreliable here because the Giblins are packed so tightly, so it’s basically a case of killing them before they kill you. The initial volley of Water Bolts and Poisoned Spears can be brutal if you’re not prepared though, so be prepared to use Cooldowns if needed. The Aquamages cast Tsunami, so they’ll be the priority target. 4.1 Edit: Gilgoblin Hunters’ Poisoned Spear direct and periodic damage has been reduced. Gilgoblin Aquamages’ Tsunami damage has been reduced.
There’s also some Faceless Watchers in the way. They’ll toss you in their air with Void Rip and follow it up by Ground Pound. Just run out of it immediately.
Erunak Stonespeaker is waiting in the next room, sporting a stylish new head accessory. Face him away from the party so the Magma Splash doesn’t hit anyone else, move away from the Earth Shards, and interrupt the Lava Bolts. Once you’ve weakened him down to 50% Mindbender Ghur’sha will jump off and float around. Move out of the Mind Fog and make sure any casters stop casting when Absorb Magic is up. He/It will also find one of you to Enslave, just bring them down to 50% to free your party member.
Once that’s over with, only the left hallway remains. It’s filled with constantly respawning Unstable Corruptions and patrolled by Tainted Sentries. You’ll have to move through quickly, but not too quickly or Wave of Corruption will keep stacking without dropping off. The Sentries have the Swell ability which should be dispelled as quickly as possible (If you have a mage with you, Spellstealing Swell makes this hallway a cakewalk).
Neptulon the Tidehunter waits in the next room and he’s having a problem with Ozumat. Once you talk to him and start the encounter, kill the Deep Murlocs that drop in, as well as the three Vicious Mindlashers and Unyielding Behemoth. They shouldn’t be much of a problem, but make sure to face the Behemoth away so its Blight Spray doesn’t hit anyone else and run away when it starts to smash the ground.
When the three Mindlashers are dead, the next phase starts with three Faceless Sappers hopping in. DPS will kill those while you focus on grabbing and kiting the periodic Blight Beasts that drop in. Avoid the black pools and kite the Beasts away from others to minimize the damage done by their shadow aura. After the Sappers are dead and you get the Tidal Surge buff from Neptulon, turn around and take out the Beasts, then burn down Ozumat before Blight of Ozumat overwhelms you.
Unfortunately, Ozumat will snatch Neptulon and swim off before you can finish it off, but at least they left some loot behind for you!
