Do you have what it takes to dance with the Godfather of Souls?
The Forge of Souls is the first instance in the group of three that make up the Frozen Halls in Icecrown Citadel. It was added in the 3.3 patch that added all of the Icecrown Citadel content to the game. Until it has been completed you will not be able to enter the other instances that make up the Frozen Halls. This is so that you can see and follow the storyline involved in the three instances as it evolves.
The Forge of Souls
The Forge of Souls is a relatively straight forward instance that has a single path through it and two bosses. The bosses are anything but simple for a five man instance though, as Blizzard puts you through some challenge to make your way through, especially on Heroic Mode.
When you enter the instance Jaina Proudmoore (Alliance) or Sylvanas Windrunner (Horde) will meet you and direct you through the instance. If it is your first time in the instance she will give you the quest “Echoes of Tortured Souls”. The objective of the quest is to simply kill both bosses located in the instance.
Your first objective is to reach Bronjahm, found in the center of the instance across a set of walkways.
Bronjahm, the Godfather of Souls
The first boss that you come to is Bronjahm, the Godfather of Souls. The fight is a two phase fight, a first phase that involves kiting specific adds and a second phase that starts once he has been dropped to 30% health.
Abilities
Corrupt Soul – (Phase 1 only) This spell targets a random player and places a 4 second debuff on them. Once the debuff expires it pulls a Corrupted Soul Fragment out of the player. The Corrupted Soul Fragment does not have much health and should be killed quickly. If it reaches Bronjahm then he will be healed for a significant amount of health.
Magic’s Bane – (Phase 1) This attack hits players in his front arc for both physical and magical damage. The more mana you have the more magic damage it does to you. Therefore, mana-based classes should be careful to not be too close to his front.
Shadow Bolt – Anytime the tank is not in melee range of Bronjahm he will hurl Shadow Bolts at whoever has the most threat.
Teleport – (Phase 2) At 30% health left Bronjahm teleports to the middle of the room and casts Soul Storm.
Soul Storm – (Phase 2) This is a magical storm that fills the outside of the room. Anyone caught in it takes significant damage and is slowed by 50%.
Fear – (Phase 2) Throughout phase two Bronjahm will fear players out of the center and through the Soul Storm.
Strategy
In the first phase of the fight the tank should hold Bronjahm away from the ranged and healers. DPS focuses on Bronjahm as much as they can. Anytime DPS or a healer is hit by Corrupt Soul they should run away from the boss and the group. Then all DPS switches to the Corrupted Soul Fragments as they appear. By getting them to spawn far away from Bronjahm it gives plenty of time to kill them before they reach him and heal him.
Once you have dropped Bronjahm to 30% health he will cast Soul Storm. There is a warning that this is coming up as it starts to form. As soon as it does everyone needs to get to the center of the room near the boss. Anyone that is feared needs to get back into the center of the room to avoid taking too much damage from Soul Storm. DPS continues on him until he is dead.
Once you have defeated Bronjahm you have to work your way to the end of the instance towards the Devourer of Souls.
The Devourer of Souls
The Devourer of Souls is a very cool looking three faced floating head. The fight requires some serious coordination between group members or you can wipe very quickly.
Abilities
Well of Souls – The boss jumps at a random player and lands on them. He then creates a Well of Souls on that spot. It is a void zone area that inflicts significant Shadow damage and stays on the ground for roughly 15 seconds.
Unleashed Souls – The boss summons a large number of souls to attack the players. They do not hit very hard, and can not be targeted so it is best to just ignore them. If a large number attack one player the damage can add up though. Avoid them as much as possible.
Phantom Blast – This blast can hit players up to 15 yards away and inflicts a large amount of shadow damage.
Wailing Souls – This is a shriek that hits everything in its path for a large amount of shadow damage. It starts in a single direction and sweeps through a 90 degree arc over about 10 seconds.
Mirrored Soul – This is the Devourer’s most dangerous ability. He selects a single random enemy and links souls. While under this effect any damage done to the Devourer is also done to the player whose soul is linked. All DPS must stop as soon as Mirrored Soul is cast.
Strategy
This fight requires that everyone watch what is going on and be ready. The fight starts with the tank establishing threat against the Devourer of Souls and then DPS starting on him. Players should spread out so that any time Wailing Soul is cast or Well of Souls is cast it will only hit a single player at worst. Each time he jumps to a player to cast Well of Souls the tank moves him back away from the well so DPS has a clear area around him.
You then just need to watch for his special abilities. When he casts Unleashed Souls players should group up and healers can AOE heal to affect everyone and just wait them out while focusing on the boss.
When he casts Wailing Souls you will see the breath effect and he will slowly sweep through a 90 degree arc. This is very similar to the Mimiron fight in Ulduar. Just avoid it and get behind him.
The worst of his abilities is Mirrored Soul which is cast quite often, or at least it seems like it. As soon as you see it then all DPS must stop and wait until it expires. A well geared group will kill the affected player in no time flat if they keep DPSing, and no matter how good the healer is they will not have a chance to keep the player alive. Once the effect ends start back in on the boss.
Keep adjusting to his abilities until you manage to kill him. The fight has a few more effects than most heroic bosses, and feels more like a raid fight. If you are not used to raid fights just give it a chance and keep trying even if you wipe a few times. Once you down him and understand the mechanics it is a very fun fight.
Once you have defeated the Devourer of Souls, Jaina or Sylvanas will speak to you again and ask you to meet her in the next instance, The Pit of Saron. There is an instance portal at the end of the room that will take you to the Pit so that you do not have to run all the way back to the beginning to get out.