The Crystal Vale, Prince Thunderaan, Raid Guide – Season of Discovery (SoD) & Classic Era

Phase 5 of Season of Discovery brings forth many exciting changes, among which is the release of the Blackwing Lair which finally allows players to progress the Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker quest line, while also revamping Prince Thunderaan and giving him his very own raid, The Crystal Vale!

As one of the most hated foes of Ragnaros finally unlocks his realm, Prince Thunderaan brings many surprises to players in Phase 5 of Season of Discovery, ranging from new unique tactics and abilities to new valuable loot that players can earn if they manage to slay the Lord of Air!

For the players who wish to gain his legendary blade and refresh their memory about the process, we recommend you read our full in-depth Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker Guide.

Changes in Season of Discovery

The obvious and yet most important change in Phase 5 of Season of Discovery is that Prince Thunderaan is no longer the last boss of a long chain quest for a legendary weapon, but a properly instanced World Raid Boss just like Azuregos and Lord Kazzak! With this change, players will now be able to not only complete the last part of the quest chain for Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Seeker in a much safer manner without any possible outside intervention by the opposing faction, but also grant valuable items to the allies of the player who seeks to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, all players will now be able to enter the instance and attempt to slay Prince Thunderaan, with the boss encounter no longer being tied only to the legendary chain quest.

Compared to the old version of Prince Thunderaan from Classic, the current version of him in Season of Discovery is represented by an almost entirely overhauled encounter, with players now having to face several new abilities and mechanics that the encounter now possesses. Among the valuable items mentioned earlier, Phase 5 of Season of Discovery also comes with a unique version of Thunderfury made for casters: Stormwrath, Sanctified Shortblade of the Galefinder.

The Crystal Vale (Prince Thunderaan) Location

The Crystal Vale raid is located in the same place that the old Classic Prince Thunderaan encounter was, in the deep north-western parts of Silithus, specifically in the Ravaged Twilight Camp part of The Crystal Vale. However, instead of summoning Prince Thunderaan by progressing through the legendary quest chain and by talking with Highlord Demitrian, players will now be able to enter an instanced location of the Ravaged Twilight Camp where both the Prince and Demitrian await.

Abilities

• Cyclonic Winds – An ability that places a DoT Debuff on any player that is nearby Prince Thunderaan, dealing moderate Nature Damage every second for a total of 6 seconds.
• Chain Lightning – An ability that deals massive Nature Damage to a player and then jumps on another player, increasing its damage with each jump.
• Tendrils of Air – An ability that damages players in a cone in front of Prince Thunderaan, knocking them back, and applying a DoT which deals Nature Damage and a Healing Reduction Debuff effect.
• Lightning Cloud – An ability that summons a Storm Cloud which lasts 1 minute, dealing Nature Damage upon appearing to all players caught in its radius and additional Nature Damage every 3 seconds in a specific area.
• Squall – An ability that inflicts heavy Nature Damage to all players whenever there is no target present in Prince Thunderaan‘s Melee Range (Estimatively 5-12 Yards).

Strategies

Unlike the original version of Prince Thunderaan, the new encounter in The Crystal Vale features several new mechanics. The first thing to keep in mind is that Thunderaan will be surrounded by four specific adds targeting him with a beam of lightning before the encounter is started. Those adds, called Storm Menders, need to be dealt with quickly. After the adds are killed, they will periodically spawn during the encounter, depending on the encounter’s length. It is currently unknown whether Prince Thunderaan works just like Azuregos in regards to a possible Enrage Timer, considering that most of the kills happen in 3-6 minutes after the encounter begins.

Once the adds are killed, there are three mechanics that players have to instantly consider, being required to position themselves properly to avoid a fast wipe. If the tactics are properly respected and performed, the fight can easily be resumed to a classic “Tank & Spank” encounter!

The first mechanic, Chain Lightning, requires players to be as spread as possible to mitigate the damage received by each Lightning Jump, with Casters and Healers being required to spread in a circle around Thunderaan, always attempting to maintain maximum range, while Melee classes have to stack in groups of two or three while staying at their maximum possible range from Thunderaan.

The second mechanic, Tendrils of Air, forces players to avoid standing in front of Thunderaan! This applies to both Melee and Casters, with the Tanks being the only players that should face the boss. This mechanic will heavily dampen any target caught into its effect, meaning that a Tank Swap is heavily recommended when Tendrils of Air occurs, as failing to do so will heavily dampen the Healers’ Mana Pool.

Lastly, the third mechanic to always keep in mind is Squall! This mechanic can be entirely nullified by having a Tank or Melee close to Prince Thunderaan. If no player is close to Prince Thunderaan, specifically in his Melee Range, he will continuously cast Squall, resulting in a fast wipe.

Besides those 3 specific mechanics, the fight can be considered quite easy. Players will have to watch out for the random adds which spawn, while also making sure to avoid standing in areas where Lightning Cloud spawns. Additionally, healers should always attempt to maintain the raid as healthy as possible, since Prince Thunderaan will occasionally debuff players in his vicinity with Cyclonic Winds. The debuff can’t be dispelled and can quickly drain the Health Pools of many players at once, meaning that caution is advised.

With all those 5 mechanics being considered and properly executed, Prince Thunderaan can be considered quite an easy boss fight, especially for players who managed to attain considerably powerful equipment from other raids!

Prince Thunderaan Raid Loot