Magisters' Terrace Walkthrough | World of Warcraft @ Curse.com

This guide is designed to lead you through the Magisters’ Terrace 5-man instance on normal difficulty. Magisters’ Terrace, released in patch 2.4, is in the northeastern corner of the Isle of Quel’Danas. It has become the residence of the Blood Elf Lord Kael’thas Sunstrider since his defeat in The Eye to the forces of Shattrath. His body has become twisted and deformed. He may be finally succumbing to his magical addictions and becoming one of the Wretched or it might be that he was resurrected by the Burning Legion using the power of the Sunwell.

Like the Burning Crusade instances Magisters’ Terrace is relatively short and contains 4 bosses. A competent group without wiping should expect to complete the zone in 30 minutes to an hour. The loot in normal difficulty is equivalent to the top tier TBC instances, iLevel 115 blues across the board with Kael’thas dropping iLevel 110 epics.

Heroic Attunement

To be allowed in the heroic difficulty Magisters’ Terrace you must complete a short quest chain in normal difficulty. You may accept the first quest in the chain, Magisters’ Terrace, from Exarch Larethor in Sun’s Reach at location (48, 30). This step is shareable if you or your party members missed accepting it.

In addition to giving you heroic attunement you will also be rewarded with your choice of an epic quality red gem:

As you enter the zone you’ll find yourself on a raised causeway spanning a courtyard below. There are several groups of 2-4 mixed class Blood Elves on this bridge:

Sunblade Magister

Frostbolt
Arcane Nova -- AE attack.
Spell Haste -- Every time a magister casts a spell they gain a stackable 10% haste buff that can stack up to 40% spell haste. This is a good buff for mages to spellsteal.

Sunblade Blood Knight

Sunblade Warlock

Sunblade Physician

Prayer of Mending
Inject Poison -- Poison DoT

Sunblade Mage Guard

Glaive Throw -- Ranged attack that can jump to 2 additional players, dealing damage to each and stunning for 2 seconds.
Magic Dampening Field -- Casts a Magic Dampening Field on a player. Anything inside the field takes 75% less damage from spells but receives 75% less healing. These can sometimes be worked to your advantage but are usually best to stay away from.

After killing the first pair of door guards and the wandering patrol you will have your choice of two groups of 4 Blood Elves. Pick the left or right set and have your group skirt around that side to save a little trash clearing. There is one final group of 4 at the end of the bridge guarding entry into the Assembly Chamber.

This room contains 3 groups of mixed class Wretched that are feeding their magical addictions on the demonic energy of the Fel Crystals stationed around the room.

Wretched Bruiser

Wretched Strike -- Similar to Mortal Strike but less duration. Reduces healing to target by 50% for 5 seconds.

Wretched Husk

Wretched Fireball -- Basic fire spell.
Wretched Frostbolt -- Basic frost spell that snares for 4 seconds.

Wretched Skulker

Wretched Stab -- Basic physical attack.

Boss: Selin Fireheart

Selin Fireheart was a Blood Elf that has succumbed to the fel energy coursing through him. He has developed several demonic features such as horns and wings and stands in the center of the Assembly Chamber channeling the crystals’ magic into himself. Make sure your entire party is inside the room before engaging as the door will lock behind you.

Selin fights much like Warlord Kalithresh in the Steamvaults of Coilfang Reservoir. He begins the fight with no mana and will periodically run to the closest Fel Crystal and begin siphoning mana from it. When he does this your group should switch DPS to the crystal to deprive him of its power. When either the crystal is destroyed or his mana bar becomes full he will begin chain casting Fel Explosion until he is again out of mana. This AE doesn’t do very much damage and can be easily healed through.

Selin will also cast Drain Life which should be interrupted whenever possible.

Selin Fireheart's Loot Table

Normal Difficulty

Heroic Difficulty

Continue east down the hallway leading from the Assembly Chamber. There are a few Brightscale Wyrms in the hallway but they pose no threat solo.

Brightscale Wyrm -- Very low HP

Energy Infusion -- On death the Brightscale Wyrms will buff your party with a short-duration, stackable damage increase that lasts for 20 seconds.

Quest NPC: Tyrith

As you enter the Halls of Theory you’ll find the fallen Blood Elf Tyrith just to the left of the doorway. He will complete the quest Magisters’ Terrace and offer the follow-up The Scryer’s Scryer.

The Halls of Theory contains 5 groups of 8-10 Brightscale Wyrms. The groups are packed in tight and will often add on each other. It’s not uncommon to accidentally pull 30+ wyrms at once. A strong AE group with a paladin tank holding aggro could clear the entire hall in one pull.

There is one Sunblade Keeper that patrols in and out of the Halls of Theory.

Sunblade Keeper

Boss: Vexallus

Vexallus is a voidwalker that appears to have been consumed by lightning energy. He glows with a hot, white light and deals only arcane damage. All DPS cooldowns should be reserved for the end of the fight.

Vexallus casts Chain Lighning and summons several Pure Energy adds one at a time. The Pure Energy have extremely low HP and fly about the room casting a basic Energy Bolt AE on all players within 20 yards. When each Pure Energy dies they place a stackable Energy Feedback effect on their assailant dealing 300 DPS per stack and increasing their damage dealt. DPS classes should take turns killing the Pure Energy to spread out the damage buff and avoid stacking the DoT too high.

At 10% Vexallus Overloads and deals large amounts of arcane damage to the group every 2-3 seconds until his death. At this point use all DPS cooldowns to burn him down as fast as possible. After Vexallus dies healers will need to continue to heal through the Energy Feedback DoT until it has run its course.

Vexallus' Loot Table

Normal Difficulty

Heroic Difficulty

Exiting the Halls of Theory you land on the Solar Vigil, a viewing platform on the outside of Magisters’ Terrace that offers you a glimpse at the Sunwell Plateau and its demon inhabitants below. There’s nothing to fight on the Solar Vigil but there are a few things to do there.

Scrying Orb

Clicking on the Scryer’s Orb will play a stunning cinematic that leads to the interior of Sunwell Plateau and ends with a preview of the Sunwell itself. Make sure your music is on to get the full effect.

Quest NPC: Kalecgos

After you or a member of your party uses the Scryer’s Orb the blue dragon Kalecgos will fly down from the sky and land on the Solar Vigil. He then transforms into his half-elf, half-human form. Speak with him to turn in The Scryer’s Scryer and accept the last step of the chain, Hard to Kill.

Once done, re-enter the building on the southern side of the Solar Vigil. You’ll be at one end of a long hallway that contains two Sunblade Sentinels that may be pulled separately.

Sunblade Sentinel -- A new type of Arcane Sentry running on Fel energy.

Fel Lightning -- Chain Lightning with a green particle effect. Spread out to reduce its damage.

Rounding the corner at the end of the hallway you will re-enter the courtyard area. There are many mixed groups of enemies in the next two courtyard rooms leading to the third boss. They are a mixture of the Blood Elves seen earlier in the Upper Observation Grounds with a few new kinds thrown in.

Ethereum Smuggler -- These deal high amounts of AE damage if left unchecked. Kill them first or otherwise lock them down.

Blink -- Blinks to a random member of your party.
Arcane Explosion -- Will fire off several of these AE’s after every blink. If your healers and ranged DPS are grouped up this can be devastating. Spread out to reduce the damage taken.

Coilskar Witch -- Basic hunter NPC with a special, ranged, frost attack.

Auto-shot
Frost Arrow
Forked Lightning - Frontal, nature AE similar to Cone of Cold.

Sister of Torment

Lash of Pain -- Basic physical attack.
Deadly Embrace -- Crowd control ability similar to the succubus’ Seduce.

Carefully pull around the wandering patrol and clear a path through the left or right side of the room. Only clearing the NPC’s you need to will save your group valuable time. When the path is clear charge the Sunblade Sentinel ahead of you and kill him in the entryway to the second courtyard, the Observation Grounds.

The Observation Grounds contains the same groups of NPC’s as the first courtyard. In this room you only actually need to clear 1 group to reach the boss but if you are up against fearing bosses (Ellrys Duskhallow or Warlord Salaris) you may want to clear some extra room. Be careful pulling at the beginning of the Grounds because there are additional, hidden groups of NPC’s hiding in the alcoves on the left and right sides.

Boss: Priestess Delrissa

Priestess Delrissa is a six-armed Shivarra demon. She is a priest that can Flash Heal, Renew, Dispel Magic, Power Word: Shield, and Shadow Word: Pain. She is accompanied by a council of four NPC’s that are randomly selected from a pool of 8 potential bosses that each carry their own set of abilities.

The kill order will vary depending on what set you are up against but in general you should take out the Priestess first. Her heals are the strongest of the group so eliminating her will make the others much easier. Warlord Salaris and Ellrys Duskhallow should be high in your kill/crowd control order because of their fears.

The Priestess and her entire council are difficult to tank because they are immune to taunt. They often appear to wipe their threat list and bounce their aggro from player to player. Mage Polymorph and Hunter Freezing Traps are the best crowd control during the fight but the Priestess herself is immune. The entire group is equipped with Healing Potions they may drink during the fight.

Apoko -- Shaman -- Very annoying but not very dangerous.

Lesser Healing Wave
Frost Shock
Purge
Earthbind Totem
Fire Nova Totem
Windfury Totem -- This should be killed immediately as it will buff the entire enemy group.

Ellrys Duskhallow -- Warlock -- If you have not cleared the entire Observation Grounds then kill this NPC first or crowd control it. A fear into a set of adds will often wipe a group.

Shadow Bolt
Immolate
Curse of Agony
Seed of Corruption
Fear
Imp Pet "Fizzle" -- Casts Firebolts that deal ~300 damage. Very low HP.

Eramas Brightblaze -- After many runs through this zone I still have yet to see this NPC due to the random nature of the encounter makeup. Update coming soon!

Garaxxas -- Hunter

Auto-shot
Aimed Shot
Multi-shot
Improved Concussive Shot -- Improved gives a 20% chance to stun for 3 seconds.
Wing Clip
Freezing Trap
Ravager pet "Sliver" -- Deals minor damage but can cause annoying pushback to spellcasting. Low HP.

Kagani Nightstrike -- Rogue

Cheap Shot
Kidney Shot
Gouge
Vanish
Crippling Poison

Warlord Salaris -- Warrior -- Like the warlock kill this NPC first or lock it down. A fear into adds will probably spell doom for your party.

Mortal Strike
Intimidating Shout

Yazzai -- Mage

Frost Bolt
Blizzard
Polymorph
Ice Block

Zelfan -- Engineer -- Uses only engineering items for attacks. All are AE and can hit multiple members of your group.

High Explosive Sheep -- Explodes dealing fire damage to all players around it.
Goblin Dragon Gun -- Deals fire damage in a cone in front of Zelfan for ~10 seconds.
Fel Iron Bomb -- Deals AE fire damage and incapacitates for 3 seconds.
Goblin Rocket Launcher -- Deals AE physical damage and stuns for 3 seconds.
Recombobulator -- Restores a small amount of HP and mana to Zelfan.

After the council is slain you may pass between the final two groups in the room and enter the Grand Magister’s Asylum.

Priestess Delrissa's Loot Table

Normal Difficulty

Heroic Difficulty

There is only one group of trash in the Grand Magister’s Asylum before you can prep for the big fight.

Final Boss: Kael'thas Sunstrider

This version of the Kael’thas Sunstrider encounter bears some resemblance to its 25-man predecessor in The Eye. It is divided into 2 phases and all DPS cooldowns should be reserved for Phase 2.

Phase 1

During Phase 1 Kael’thas mostly casts spells doing only minor physical damage. Fireball will be Kael’s standard attack and should be interrupted whenever possible. He will also occasionally AE with Flame Strike.

During Phase 1 Kael’thas will summon a Phoenix to assist him. All DPS should switch to the Phoenix immediately after it spawns. The Phoenix will choose a randomly selected player to follow and will pause every few seconds to cast Burn, a fire AE that will hit any players within melee range. The Phoenix will sometimes cast Fireball and Fire Blast.

When the Phoenix dies it will release an Ember Blast AE and turn into a Phoenix Egg. You must continue DPS on the egg and kill it or the Phoenix will be reborn. Phase 2 will begin when Kael’thas is at 50% life and you should make sure both the Phoenix and its egg are destroyed before it happens.

Phase 2

When Phase 2 begins at 50% Kael’thas will immediately cast Gravity Lapse. This launches all players into the air and allows you to float freely as if in water. During Gravity Lapse each player will take a steady 400 DPS and three Arcane Spheres move about the room. Touching one of these spheres will deal ~2000 DPS so they must be avoided at all costs.

This phase is about survival and it’s up to each player to stay away from the Arcane Spheres to stay alive. The small DoT during Gravity Lapse is easily manageable by a healer and all ranged DPS should keep the burn on Kael’thas while dodging the spheres.

After 20 or 30 seconds the party falls back to the ground and Kael’thas weakens for a short period allowing you to attack him without retaliation. At 25% he will cast a second Gravity Lapse and at 10% a third. High DPS is key during this phase because if he is under 25% after his first weaken then he will only cast the final Gravity lapse at 10%. Most groups should be able to down him during or shortly after this second Gravity Lapse.

After Kael dies make sure to loot his head to complete “Hard to Kill” and to complete the quest for Heroic Magisters’ Terrace attunement. You may exit the dungeon quickly by clicking on the teleportation orb in the back of the room.

Kael'thas Sunstrider's Loot Table

Normal Difficulty

Heroic Difficulty