Fankriss the Unyielding – Temple of Ahn’Qiraj Boss Strategy Guide

This is a World of Warcraft classic guide for Fankriss the Unyielding who is the third non-optional boss in the 40-man raid, The Temple of Ahn’Qiraj (AQ40).

Overview

Fankriss is a sand reaver similar to Kurinnaxx who is his weaker equivalent in the Ruins of Ahn Qiraj (AQ20).

This encounter is a lesson in target switching and dps prioritization. As Fankriss on his own is not that threatening, dealing with the adds that spawn throughout the fight with efficiency is critical.

In order to attempt Fankriss, the raid will need to clear through the Bug Tunnel. In most-cases if the raid wipes then everyone will need to release, run-back and clear through the tunnel again.

The Bug Tunnel

After defeating Battleguard Sartura the raid will have to traverse the Bug Tunnel which is similar to the suppression room in Blackwing Lair in that there are many mobs that have a short respawn timer. The raid will need to sustain constant damage without a break to drink/eat or resurrect the fallen. If more than 2-3 people die during this room, it might be better to call a wipe or run out and reset.

The mobs mostly consist of Vekniss Drones which are low hp mobs that die easy to aoe but respawn extremely fast. These will need to be AOE tanked by 1-2 Warriors.

The other mob type is the Vekniss Soldier, these bugs patrol up and down the length of the tunnel and will need to be picked up by the MT and burned down quickly, they will one-shot cloth users so do not pull aggro. They take longer to respawn than drones.

The raid should move together and stick on the left side of the tunnel. Soldiers should be killed along the way and the drones should be killed with AOE every 50 metres or when the tanks are taking too much damage.
When you reach the end of the tunnel it is important to not enter Fankriss’s room until you are ready to pull as he has a large aggro radius.

A ‘safe-spot’ can be found to the upper left end of the tunnel. This is where the raid will need to stack in order to buff and summon people who died in the bug tunnel.

Abilities/Mobs

Mortal Wound – Reduces healing received by 10%, stackable debuff. Fankriss applies this debuff as a cleave attack which hits people in his frontal arc. Two tanks will need to rotate tanking to allow time for this effect to expire. Face the boss away from the raid.

Vekniss Hatchings – Approximately every minute 4 Vekniss Hatchlings will spawn at three set locations near the entrance to the room. These can be picked up by tanks and positioned behind Fankriss where the raid will be standing.
After 3 sets of Hatchlings the raid lead should call for AOE to clear these mobs as the damage on the tanks can get too intense.

Teleport and Root – At the same time Hatchlings spawn Fankriss will also teleport a player into a bug tunnel and root them in place for a few seconds. The newly spawned hatchlings will initially target these players. It is important that healers pay attention to what is going on around the room to ensure that teleported people are healed or at least get a power word: shield.

Spawns of Fankriss (snakes) – These mobs are the biggest threat in the encounter. Between 1-3 Spawns of Fankriss will spawn near the boss and aggro into the raid at random intervals. These need to be tanked and killed within 10-15 seconds otherwise they will enrage and start one-shotting members in the raid. Stuns should be used on each add when they enrage (or just before) to buy extra time for dps.

Strategy

Assignments

• 2 Tanks for Fankriss
• 1-2 Tanks for Hatchling spawns
• 1-2 Tanks for Spawns of Fankriss (snakes) – Note, the secondary Fankriss tank can assist with tanking snakes until it is time for him to swap with the primary Fankriss tank
• 2 Healers assigned to Fankriss tank
• 2-3 Healers assigned to Hatchling tanks
• 2 Healers assigned to Spawn of Fankriss tanks
• 1 Priest healer assigned to healing teleported players

Fight Overview

The fight is started by the main tank running in and gaining aggro on Fankriss. Fankriss is then moved into the centre of the room and faced away from the raid. The raid will then position on Fankriss’s tail. Some hatchlings will likely aggro at the same time; these will need to be picked up by the Hatchling Tanks.

Shortly after the raid moves into position snakes will begin to spawn. These must be picked up by the snake tanks immediately and then be killed in the order that they spawned. When a snake has been alive for approximately 10 seconds, stuns should be used to prevent the snake hitting anyone once it enrages. Rogues need to be set up in teams of 2 to rotate two stuns onto each snake as required. The snake tank may also consider running away from the snake when it is stunned to create some distance to allow for more time.

After three waves of Hatchlings have been picked up by the hatchling tank the damage may become unsustainable for healers to keep up. At this point the raid leader should call for AoE.

In between killing snakes and aoe’ing hatchlings the raid will find the time to kill Fankriss. Most guilds defeat this encounter within 3-5 minutes.

Notes:

• Tank swaps on Fankriss will need to be communicated over voice-comms to ensure healers switch targets in a timely manner.
• The tanks on the hatchlings will benefit greatly from being grouped with a shaman that has dropped stoneskin totem which will mitigate a significant amount of damage from each hit. Additionally Greater Stoneshield Potions should also be used.
• Stuns on the Spawns of Fankriss should be timed to hit on or just before the mob enrages. A safe bet would be to stun the mob at 30-40% HP every time.
• Fankriss has a HUGE aggro range. Stay within the upper left end of the bug tunnel until ready to engage.
• As there is no way to recover after a wipe, soul-stones should be used on tanks.

Peace

~Sanctus