Razorscale DPS and Parse Guide

Author: lettara
Date: June 1, 2023
Updated: June 16, 2023
Expansion: WotLK Classic

To maximize DPS on Razorscale, you must minimize the effects of his knockback ability, Wing Buffet.

Avoiding the Knockback

To avoid Razorscale‘s knockback, all ranged DPS will want to find the “sweet spot” in which you will range the knockback, while staying in range to cast your spells on the boss. Meanwhile, you’ll want your Paladin’s to cast Hand of Protection on your melee DPS juuuuuust before his Wing Buffet cast finishes. Simultaneously, your melee DPS receiving Hand of Protection should be spamming a macro to remove it.

Additionally, you should ask your raid leader for permission to not attack the last few waves of adds in Phase 1. Since Phase 1 damage does not count, the best way to maximize your parse is to hold all of your trinket/cloak procs for Phase 2. Note that this is detrimental to the overall execution of the fight, and if enough people decide to not attack the adds, you may encounter issues.

/cancelaura Hand of Protection

Class Specific Strategies

Glyphs:
Heroic Strike
Whirlwind
Rend

In the center of the boss arena stands a square that is slightly elevated, as pictured below. You should aim to position yourself on the bottom right corner of this before the boss is pulled down as this will put you within melee range of the boss immediately.

When Razorscale finishes casting Wing Buffet and launches you into the air, immediately Intercept back to the boss to lose the least amount of uptime as possible.

It is worthwhile to intentionally stand in the fire placed on the ground by Razorscale to gain more rage from damage taken as long as your healers are prepared for it.

Opener: Unstable Affliction > Haunt > Corruption > Curse of Agony

Pre-Pot: N/A

Glove Usage: On Execute

2min Trinket Usage: On Execute

Talents: Default 55/0/16

Glyphs:
Quick Decay
Life Tap
Glyph of Haunt

Before Razorscale is even brought down I would highly recommend setting her as focus so that targeting her as she lands is easy and efficient.

Inferna is a LARGE DPS increase because of the short duration of the encounter. Cast Infernal as soon as Razorscale lands and be sure to do so before Bloodlust is cast.

There is a specific location in which you can pre-place a Demonic Circle: Summon to the left of the grey circle around where Razorscale lands. Standing on this spot allows you to free cast and NOT be knocked back upon activation of her down phase.

Once your raid is about to pull down Razorscale, begin dotting all the dwarves to proc Eradication and ICDs as Razorscale is landing. This will lead to a much higher burst window with everything rolling during lust as well as having spell power procs with Infernal active.

Opener: Shadow Bolt > Metamorphosis/Immolation Aura > Curse of Doom (if kill time more than 1 minute) > Immolate > Corruption.

Pre-Pot/Second Pot: Wild Magic or if you want more personal dps at the expense of the raid then Potion of Speed.

Metamorphosis Usage: Immediately with Bloodlust.

Glove Usage: Shortly after your Metamorphosis snapshotted dots and ideally when your trinkets are procced.

During the waves of adds that do not count for your parse you can seed the first few waves and trinkets will be back up for when Razorscale comes down. Waiting around and not seeding the adds will have a negative effect on your raid, but will increase your potential for a better parse due to saving your trinket ICD’s for the actual boss encounter. Pre-place a Demonic Circle: Summon near the middle of the arena, or have a paladin cast Hand of Protection on you right before wing buffet.

Stand in the middle of the arena prior to the bosses landing to be in melee range of Razorscale for Immolation Aura.

When Razorscale is about to land, attempt to “snipe” a dwarf with less than 35% health with a quick Rank 1 Shadow Bolt to activate Decimation and have it carry over onto Razorscale.

See referenced opening rotation above and fit in as many Soul Fire’s as you can with your early Decimation. Consider saving a Molten Core proc around 45-50% hp on Razorscale to have it for execution Soul Fire’s. Lastly, pray for a ton of crits!

Ideal Duration: 60s

Ideal boss positioning is to maintain her in the center of the circle for fire nova range on fire elemental totem

The pre-pull:

Drop totems in the center of the circle prior to the boss landing, timing it so that you have uptime on magma totem in the few moments before you properly snapshot and summon your fire elemental totem.

Opener and rotation:

Perform a standard single-target opener. Snapshot fire elemental totem when spell power is at a maximum, usually about 8 seconds into the fight. For this fight since you cannot pre-pot, use a wild magic potion immediately prior to snapshotting fire elemental totem.

Perform a standard single-target rotation. Adds do not count towards parse, so a physical setup is usually ideal.

Encounter specific notes:

A physical damage equipment set is best on this boss as there is no cleave as part of the parsing criteria.
Save your Sapper for when Razorscale is finally shot down.
Save boots for when knockback occurs, you can usually get a shock and fire nova off during the knockback, and then boot while still in the air and immediately return to the boss.

Cooldown Usage:

Spirit wolves when boss lands
Bloodlust immediately after using Spirit wolves
Use gloves on pull
Use any on-use trinkets, and if they’re attack power buffs use them to snapshot fire elemental totem. Do not wait more than a few seconds to drop fire elemental totem as the fight length is under 2 minutes
Use gloves on cooldown
Use shamanistic rage between spell cooldowns and maelstrom procs if mana is needed

Get fully buffed, enter stealth, and have a Paladin use Divine Intervention on you before the pull. This allows you to retain your Overkill buff for Phase 2. You will be useless throughout all of Phase 1, but will do significantly more damage in Phase 2, where it counts.

You will want to be positioned near the center of the ring underneath Razorscale, as to be behind the boss when she lands. Click off Divine Intervention as she is descending and do your rotation as you normally would, except for Vanish.

Use Vanish for Wing Buffet to prevent the knockback effect. Cast vanish at .2-.3 seconds left of the cast. If you miss it, sprint or boot back to Razorscale.

Glyphs:
Glyph of Shadow
Glyph of Mind Flay
Glyph of Shadow Word: Death

Pre-pot: N/A

Potion: Potion of Speed

Opener: Standard

Phase 1: Adds

Add damage does not count for Razorscale parses. Assist the raid in killing the adds, but take care not to trigger your trinkets and proc effects 45 seconds before Razorscale is attackable. If you do not have any ICD procs, then you can use the adds to pre-stack Shadow Weaving, Illustration, or Eye of the Broodmother.

Phase 2: Razorscale

Once Razorscale is attackable, the optimal opening rotation is highly dependent on Bloodlust timing. The optimal sequence of events would look something like this:

If Bloodlust timing is inconsistent, then perform the standard opener and refresh Vampiric Touch + Devouring Plague when Bloodlust is cast.

You can out-range Razorscale‘s Wing Buffet, so position accordingly to avoid getting knocked back.

Seal: Seal of Vengeance

Glyphs:
Glyph of Judgement
Glyph of Seal of Vengeance
Glyph of Reckoning

Use Glyph of Avenging Wrath if your guild has a kill time higher than 120 seconds and you don’t need the expertise from Glyph of Seal of Vengeance.

Encounter:

Time your gloves/potions with your burst windows (greatness procs/execute phase)

As for Razorscale’s knocback, you have two options:

Bubble yourself to avoid the knock back, then quickly cancel it once Razorscale is done casting Wing Buffet.
Move in front of the boss just before the knockback happens. You will still be knocked back, but your walk back to the boss will be significantly shorter than if you were behind the boss.

Which options you choose depends on your raids damage. If your team is pushing Razorscale within 30 seconds, you may be forced to pre-cast Avenging Wrath in order to be able to bubble in time for Wing Buffet.

Coming Soon!

Knockup can be avoided by outranging outside the circle, or near the harpoon launchers.

The pre-pull:

● No pre-pot is necessary, Razorscale doesn’t show up immediately.

Opener and rotation:

● Perform a standard single-target opener when Razorscale lands, or participate in clearing out adds prior to the boss phase.

Encounter specific notes:

● Only your damage done to Razorscale counts as damage towards your parse.

● blink can be used if you do get knocked up to bring yourself back to the ground quickly and efficiently.

● Fire Ward can help negate the random fire damage throughout the encounter.

● Save your ICDs (cloak, trinkets, etc.) 45 seconds prior to boss landing if assisting with adds

● Wait to use potion until Razorscale has landed.

Cooldown Usage (assuming 60s P2 duration):

● Pre-target Razorscale

● Use gloves on engage.

● Use any on-use trinkets

● Use Combustion and Apply Living Bomb

● Avoid frontal breath and unnecessary movement, while using instant cast Pyroblasts or Living Bomb when moving is required. Boots and blink if for whatever reason you are required to move long distances.

Encounter Tips:

Use Explosive Trap in the center of the room when the final turret is ~24 seconds away from being active. Alert your tanks to your traps position, and ask them to make sure that no adds reach it.
Once Razorscale lands, position yourself to the bosses right, outside of the circle on the ground. If you position yourself correctly, you should not be effected by his Wing Buffet knockback.
Once your pre-trap triggers, use Black Arrow. You gain a 6% damage increase to your Explosive Trap for a massive DPS increase.
Proceed with your standard single target rotation. If your tank is keeping the boss still, boot in for the final Explosive Trap.

Glyphs:
Glyph of Insect Swarm
Glyph of Starfall
Glyph of Starfire

Potion: Potion of Speed

Phase 2: Razorscale
Once Razorscale is attackable, apply Faerie Fire if you’re the only Druid. Then summon Force of Nature, cast Starfall, apply Insect Swarm and Moonfire, and proceed with your normal rotation until the boss is dead.

You can out-range Razorscale’s Wing Buffet, so position accordingly to avoid getting knocked back.

Recommended Talents & Glyphs

60s Ideal Duration

Overview

Razorscale is a swift and violent encounter. You need to respect a few mechanics, one positioning requirement, and one timing.

Mechanics Briefing

Flame Breath – Only happens in front of the boss, don’t be there.
Wing Buffet – Counteract this by using Feral Charge – Cat.
Devouring Flame – Use defensive and mobility cooldowns on these.
Dark Rune Mobs – Swipe these to begin, but pay attention to the timer of the final harpoon to ensure your trinkets are available for the boss.

Pre-Pull Checklist

If possible without triggering trinkets, obtain a Savage Roar.
Use Innervate on someone and Cast Gift of the Wild for Clearcasting.
Observe the final harpoon being shot up toward Razorscale.
Enter Cat Form immediately and begin pooling to max energy.
Take note of Razorscale’s position and be directly underneath.
Use a Potion of Speed as soon as the boss is attackable.

The Encounter
Do a single-target Berserking opener on the boss. Afterwards, do a single-target rotation. Maintain maximum behind boss melee range uptime and use all defensive and mobility cooldowns to do it.

Conclusion
Parsing on Razorscale is a combination of opener and rotation cleanliness, boss kill time, and lining up your trinkets before she lands. Prioritize non-Feral Druids if Innervate or Rebirth is needed. Don’t leave Cat Form, don’t drop your target, stay behind and within range of the boss.

Glyphs:
Glyph of the Ghoul
Glyph of Death and Decay
Glyph of Dark Death

Encounter notes:

Hold your ICDs for when Razorscale drops down
Pre-generate full runic power as you wait
Secure a Hand of Protection from a paladin in raid to avoid the Wing Buffet (use a cancelaura macro to remove the bop immediately)
Utilize the fire on the ground to get free runic power with Anti-Magic Shell then spam Death Coil.