This raid was the bane of my former guild’s existence (we imploded shortly after killing Gara’jal), so it’s gratifying to be able to stomp the first few bosses solo.
10H: If you can handle 10N, this should be no problem. It’s the same fight, really. Yes, there is a crystal/floor tile mechanic on Heroic, but you can completely ignore it.
Phase 1: Earth. Sidestep Lightning Fists, lest you get stunned and punched into oblivion. Use the Nullification Barrier on alternating Epicenter to avoid damage and reset your stacks of Lightning Lash. On the non-Nullified quakes, Heroic Leap away and pop minor defensive CDs to minimize the pain. Feng will transition to Phase 2 at 65% health.
Phase 2: Fire. You’ll spend this phase kiting Feng in circles to avoid all the Wildfire Spark that will spawn under your feet. Use the handy Nullification Barrier for every other Draw Flame, positioning yourself so that the bubble intercepts as many incoming Sparks as possible and resets your Flaming Spear stacks. This phase seems to have the highest damage output, so plan accordingly.
Phase 3: Arcane. This phase is the easiest, in my humble opinion. You can keep Feng in one spot until one of you is dead (preferably him). Use that Nullification Barrier for every other Arcane Velocity, rotate your big defensive CDs, and hope for the best. Your Arcane Shock stacks don’t immediately drop if you win, so don’t be like me and forget to do something about them and drop dead two seconds after the fight is over!
Ultimately, this is a hefty gear check for the intrepid warrior soloer: I finally got the kill with an average item level of 648, which “felt” pretty weak. Enjoy!
Qiang the Merciless: this boss hits HARD. Your best bet is to pop all cooldowns and burn him down before he kills you. Stay out of his Annihilate to make things easier.
Subetai the Swift: he can easily end the fight if you’re not prepared. The issue is his attack, Rain of Arrows. This ability will perma-stun you unless you can drop an AoE (such as Ravager) BEFORE you get hit, or you have a PvP trinket that can break the stun. If not, you’ll just sit there helpless until you die. I found that the easiest strategy is to place a Ravager under yourself immediately after Subetai finishes his first Volley (which you DO NOT want to get hit by), then NUKE him so that he doesn’t get a chance to launch a second Rain of Arrows. Other than that, move out of Pillage and avoid Flanking Orders and you’re set.
Zian of the Endless Shadow: Meh. Kill the purple orb that he summons, stay out of the void zone it creates, and that’s about it.
Meng the Demented: Meh, again. Just kill him.
Emperor’s Strength: Enormous add with an annoying stun attack (Energizing Smash). Stay out of the gray circles and kill it ASAP.
Emperor’s Courage: Has full immunity from frontal damage, and will eventually root (via Impeding Thrust) you until you kill it. Thunderclap and Dragon Roar WILL hurt it, but not much else.
Emperor’s Rage: Small adds that spawn in pairs, they are easily killed with cleave damage. Don’t worry about them unless they start to pile up.
After ninety seconds, the bosses themselves will jump into the arena and join the festivities. Jan-xi and Qin-xi have identical sets of abilities and share a health pool, so it doesn’t matter which one you attack. Their melee attacks do considerable damage, but the real danger is from their combinedDevastating Arc/Stomp combos. If the pair were kept apart (like they should be in a real raid scenario), you could “dance” around the attacks and potentially gain the use of Opportunistic Strike to deal massive damage. Since you’re crazy enough to attempt this fight solo, they can’t be separated and your chances of successfully dodging 10 overlapping Arcs and Stomps are pretty slim. Combine this with the periodic Titan Gas phases, and you’re in for a world of hurt. My “winning” strategy, such as it is, is as follows:
Good luck!