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This article is about the strategy for defeating Deathbringer Saurfang in Icecrown Citadel. For his character biography, see Dranosh Saurfang.

Deathbringer Saurfang is the fourth boss in the Icecrown Citadel raid. He is described as being the Lich King's most powerful death knight.[1] It's mainly a DPS race with an interesting twist (Blood Power).

After falling to Frostmourne at the Battle of Angrathar the Wrathgate, Dranosh Saurfang was raised in undeath by the Lich King and brought to Icecrown Citadel. Imbued with the power of the Scourge, the Deathbringer bars the way of any attackers trying to enter the Upper Spire.

25-Player Abilities[]

  • Spell deathknight bloodtap  [Blood Link]ω ϖ—Saurfang gains Blood Power from damage he inflicts with abilities and summoned creatures. Also increases his Energy by 1 each time Blood Link triggers.
    • Spell deathknight bloodpresence  [Blood Power]ω ϖ—Saurfang grows 1% larger and deals 1% more damage for each point of Blood Power he has.
  • Spell deathknight bloodboil  [Blood Nova]ω ϖ—Blood explodes outward from a random enemy target, inflicting 10,000 Physical damage to nearby enemies.
  • Spell deathknight bloodboil  [Boiling Blood]ω ϖ—Boils the blood of an enemy, inflicting 9,500 Physical damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds.
  • Spell shadow rune  [Call Blood Beast]ω ϖ—Saurfang calls forth 5 blood beasts every 40 seconds.
  • Spell shadow deathpact  [Frenzy]ω ϖ—Saurfang goes into a frenzy, increasing his attack speed by 30%.
  • Spell deathknight bladedarmor  [Mark of the Fallen Champion]ω ϖ—Causes Deathbringer Saurfang's melee attacks to splash to this target, inflicting 5,700 to 6,300 additional Physical damage. If the target dies while under this effect Saurfang is healed for 5% of his total health. Cannot be dispelled or removed by any means, including death.
  • Spell deathknight deathstrike  [Rune of Blood]ω ϖ—Saurfang leeches health when he performs melee attacks on targets marked with Rune of Blood. Leeches 5,100 to 6,900 health from an enemy target and heals Saurfang for 10 times that amount. Lasts for 20 seconds.

Blood Beast[]

  • Inv misc leatherscrap 11  [Resistant Skin]ω ϖ—The skin of this creature is highly resistant. Damage from area of effect attacks is reduced by 95% and damage from Diseases is reduced by 70%.

Heroic Mode[]

  • Spell shadow felmending  [Scent of Blood]ω ϖ—Saurfang's Blood Beasts catch the scent of blood, reducing all nearby enemies movement speed by 80% and increasing their damage by 300% for 10 seconds.

10-Player Abilities[]

  • Spell deathknight bloodtap  [Blood Link]ω ϖ—Saurfang gains Blood Power from damage he inflicts with abilities and summoned creatures. Also increases his Energy by 1 each time Blood Link triggers.
    • Spell deathknight bloodpresence  [Blood Power]ω ϖ—Saurfang grows 1% larger and deals 1% more damage for each point of Blood Power he has.
  • Spell deathknight bloodboil  [Blood Nova]ω ϖ—Blood explodes outward from a random enemy target, inflicting 10,000 Physical damage to nearby enemies.
  • Spell deathknight bloodboil  [Boiling Blood]ω ϖ—Boils the blood of an enemy, inflicting 9,500 Physical damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds.
  • Spell shadow rune  [Call Blood Beast]ω ϖ—Saurfang calls forth 2 blood beasts every 40 seconds.
  • Spell shadow deathpact  [Frenzy]ω ϖ—Saurfang goes into a frenzy, increasing his attack speed by 30%.
  • Spell deathknight bladedarmor  [Mark of the Fallen Champion]ω ϖ—Causes Deathbringer Saurfang's melee attacks to splash to this target, inflicting 5,700 to 6,300 additional Physical damage. If the target dies while under this effect Saurfang is healed for 5% of his total health. Cannot be dispelled or removed by any means, including death.
  • Spell deathknight deathstrike  [Rune of Blood]ω ϖ—Saurfang leeches health when he performs melee attacks on targets marked with Rune of Blood. Leeches 5,100 to 6,900 health from an enemy target and heals Saurfang for 10 times that amount. Lasts for 20 seconds.

Blood Beast[]

  • Inv misc leatherscrap 11  [Resistant Skin]ω ϖ—The skin of this creature is highly resistant. Damage from area of effect attacks is reduced by 95% and damage from Diseases is reduced by 70%.

Reset[]

This fight can be reset by running back on the gunship while it's still there - it despawns after some time.

Strategy[]

The fight has only one phase. Saurfang does hard enrage after 8 minutes. At 30% there's a soft enrage (Frenzy), DPS cooldowns are normally saved for that point (although some raids have success using them early, and thus delaying the first Mark as long as possible).

Mages can use Amplify Magic during this fight, as all of the damage is Physical.

Blood Power[]

Saurfang starts with 0 Blood Power. He can accumulate up to 100 in his Energy bar (akin to death knights). He gains Blood Power whenever one of his special attacks hits or ticks. When Blood Power reaches 100, he casts Mark of the Fallen Champion on a random raid member, resetting his Blood Power to 0.

Each active Mark increases the rate at which he gains Blood Power. For this reason, it's imperative to limit the amount of Blood Power he gains. Saurfang should be at 60% or lower before he casts the first Mark.

Tanking[]

Saurfang should be tanked right where he spawns, his melee damage is not high. Tanks must pay attention though that Saurfang doesn't gain Blood Power from [Rune of Blood]— . If a tank gets it, another tank must quickly taunt and take over. The debuff lasts 20 seconds.

Positioning[]

The melee should stand right on Saurfang. Ranged damage dealers can stand closer to the boss, while healers should be furthest away. Healers need to be well spread out, so that all raid members are in range of several healers.

All non-melee raid members must stay at least 12 yards away from each other to avoid activating [Blood Nova]— , else Saurfang receives extra Blood Power.

Blood Beasts[]

Saurfang summons Blood Beasts every 35 seconds. In:

  • 10-player – two are summoned: one left, one right.
  • 25-player – five are summoned: one in front of him, two at his sides, and two behind (pentagon shape).

Saurfang gains Blood Power whenever a Blood Beast deals melee damage, thus they must be slowed and kited, and killed by ranged DPS. Since Blood Beasts are resistant to AoE it's pointless to use such abilities. Melee in particular should avoid using any multi-target abilities (such as Heart Strike, Seal of Command, Improved Revenge, Hammer of the Righteous, or Divine Storm) in order to avoid drawing aggro. The Blood Beasts must leave the platform ASAP (in hard mode they're also likely to one-shot melee).

Blood Beasts are immune to crowd-control. They are susceptible to root, snare, slow and stun. Be careful not to root them within melee range of anybody. Classes with a root, snare, or stun ability should use this macro whenever the Blood Beasts spawn:

#showtooltip
/tar Blood
/cast (Name of ability)
/tar Death

This immediately uses the ability on the closest Blood Beast and then targets Saurfang.

The Beasts normally aggro healers after some time, therefore healers should stand away from the boss. Alternately, healers can stand on the platform among the melee. Initially the Beasts can be pulled away by the DPS pretty easily, later on they move back towards the platform when they aggro a healer. At this point, it helps a lot if the healer can temporarily reduce aggro, such as a priest using Fade.

Ranged DPS should target the beast furthest away, and as soon as the beast gains aggro, switch away to another one. Ping-ponged between different ranged DPS prevents anyone from being hit in melee. Melee players (or the tank) can help by taunting Beasts that are far away from them. If a Beast gets close to its target, that target must run away and start kiting — do not let them hit anyone.

If the raid is too melee-heavy, it is possible to stunlock one Beast and kill it with melee, while the other beasts are kited by ranged.

Class-specific tactics[]

These abilities are particularly helpful for slowing down Blood Beasts:

Boiling Blood[]

Saurfang casts [Boiling Blood]— on random raid members. This can easily be healed through. Every tick grants Blood Power. [Blessing of Protection] removes it, though that should only be needed in Hard Mode on a player afflicted with [Mark of the Fallen Champion]— .

Mark of the Fallen Champion[]

Whenever Saurfang gains 100 Blood Power, he casts [Mark of the Fallen Champion]— on a random raid member. This debuff inflicts heavy damage (about 6,000 per second in 25 player) and yields a lot of Blood Power to the boss. When a player with a Mark dies, this heals Saurfang about 5%. The Mark persists through death—do not combat rez a player that dies from it.

A good healer can handle about two active Marks if focusing exclusively on the Mark targets. Two active Marks in 10 player usually lead to a wipe, in 25 players the limit is about 8 Marks.

It may be a viable tactic to let the Mark of the Fallen Champion victims die. It's much easier to deal an extra 5% damage to Saurfang than to heal the Mark victim and deal with the increased frequency of future Marks. There are diminishing returns however, as living DPS are required to take down the Blood Beasts.

Heroic Mode[]

The primary differences of Heroic mode are a shorter enrage timer (6 minutes), Blood Beasts catching [Scent of Blood]— 5 seconds after spawning, reducing the movement speed of the entire raid by 80% for 10 seconds, and Saurfang healing for 20% HP upon a mark of the fallen champion death. His blood power gain is also much faster compared to normal. Blood Beasts also hit hard enough to one shot any non tank.

On a first kill, prepare for at least two marks on 10-man and six marks on 25-man. Assign one dedicated healer per mark. If healers are struggling towards the end of the fight, they can stop healing one of the tanks because of the mechanics of [Rune of Blood]— .

Drops[]

Normal mode[]

10-Player Type Description Slot 25-Player Type Description Slot
Inv axe 115 [Ramaladni's Blade of Culling] Two hand Melee Axe Inv sword 154 [Bloodvenom Blade] One hand Melee Sword
Inv staff 107 [Mag'hari Chieftain's Staff] Two hand Caster Staff Inv belt 83 [Belt of the Blood Nova] Mail Healer Waist
Inv chest plate 25 [Blade-Scored Carapace] Plate Melee Chest Inv bracer 41 [Toskk's Maximized Wristguards] Leather Melee Wrist
Inv pants plate 32 [Deathforged Legplates] Plate Tank Legs Item icecrowncape [Greatcloak of the Turned Champion] Cloak Caster Back
Inv bracer 42 [Gargoyle Spit Bracers] Plate Tank Wrist Inv jewelry trinket 04 [Deathbringer's Will] Trinket Melee Trinket
Inv chest mail 07 [Hauberk of a Thousand Cuts] Mail Melee Chest Inv misc frostemblem 01 [Emblem of Frost] x2 Currency
Inv gauntlets 79 [Scourge Stranglers] Leather Melee Hands Ability paladin shieldofthetemplar [Conqueror's Mark of Sanctification] Token Paladin, Priest, Warlock
Inv pants leather 35 [Leggings of Unrelenting Blood] Leather Caster Legs Ability paladin shieldofthetemplar [Protector's Mark of Sanctification] Token Warrior, Hunter, Shaman
Inv boots cloth 25purple [Icecrown Spire Sandals] Cloth Caster +hit Feet Ability paladin shieldofthetemplar [Vanquisher's Mark of Sanctification] Token Rogue, DK, Mage, Druid
Inv helmet 156 [Thaumaturge's Crackling Cowl] Cloth Caster Head Spell fire felflamebreath [Primordial Saronite] Ingredient
Inv jewelry ring 81 [Saurfang's Cold-Forged Band] Ring Melee Ring Inv enchant shardshadowfrostlarge [Shadowfrost Shard] Quest Item
Item icecrownnecklacea [Soulcleave Pendant] Necklace Caster Neck
Inv misc frostemblem 01 [Emblem of Frost] x2 Currency

Heroic mode[]

10-Player Type Description Slot 25-Player Type Description Slot
Inv axe 115 [Ramaladni's Blade of Culling] Two hand Melee Axe Inv sword 154 [Bloodvenom Blade] One hand Melee Sword
Inv staff 107 [Mag'hari Chieftain's Staff] Two hand Caster Staff Inv belt 83 [Belt of the Blood Nova] Mail Healer Waist
Inv chest plate 26 [Blade-Scored Carapace] Plate Melee Chest Inv bracer 41 [Toskk's Maximized Wristguards] Leather Melee Wrist
Inv pants plate 31 [Deathforged Legplates] Plate Tank Legs Item icecrowncape [Greatcloak of the Turned Champion] Cloak Caster Back
Inv bracer 43 [Gargoyle Spit Bracers] Plate Tank Wrist Inv jewelry trinket 04 [Deathbringer's Will] Trinket Melee Trinket
Inv chest mail 07 [Hauberk of a Thousand Cuts] Mail Melee Chest Inv misc frostemblem 01 [Emblem of Frost] x2 Currency
Inv gauntlets 79 [Scourge Stranglers] Leather Melee Hands Ability paladin judgementsofthejust [Conqueror's Mark of Sanctification] Token Paladin, Priest, Warlock
Inv pants leather 35 [Leggings of Unrelenting Blood] Leather Caster Legs Ability paladin judgementsofthejust [Protector's Mark of Sanctification] Token Warrior, Hunter, Shaman
Inv boots cloth 24 [Icecrown Spire Sandals] Cloth Caster +hit Feet Ability paladin judgementsofthejust [Vanquisher's Mark of Sanctification] Token Rogue, DK, Mage, Druid
Inv helmet 156 [Thaumaturge's Crackling Cowl] Cloth Cloth Head Spell fire felflamebreath [Primordial Saronite] Ingredient
Inv jewelry ring 81 [Saurfang's Cold-Forged Band] Ring Melee Ring Inv enchant shardshadowfrostlarge [Shadowfrost Shard] Quest Item
Item icecrownnecklacea [Soulcleave Pendant] Necklace Caster Neck
Ability paladin shieldofthetemplar [Conqueror's Mark of Sanctification] Token Paladin, Priest, Warlock
Ability paladin shieldofthetemplar [Protector's Mark of Sanctification] Token Warrior, Hunter, Shaman
Ability paladin shieldofthetemplar [Vanquisher's Mark of Sanctification] Token Rogue, DK, Mage, Druid
Inv misc frostemblem 01 [Emblem of Frost] x2 Currency
Spell fire felflamebreath [Primordial Saronite] Ingredient


Quotes[]

Intro as Alliance
Muradin Bronzebeard yells: Let's get a move on then! Move ou...
Deathbringer Saurfang yells: For every Horde soldier that you killed -- for every Alliance dog that fell, the Lich King's armies grew. Even now the val'kyr work to raise your fallen as Scourge.
Deathbringer Saurfang yells: Things are about to get much worse. Come, taste the power that the Lich King has bestowed upon me!
Muradin Bronzebeard yells: A lone orc against the might of the Alliance???
Muradin Bronzebeard yells: Charge!!!
Deathbringer Saurfang yells: Dwarves...
Deathbringer Saurfang immobilises Muradin and his guards.
Intro as Horde
High Overlord Saurfang yells: Kor'kron, move out! Champions, watch your backs. The Scourge have been...
Deathbringer Saurfang yells: Join me, father. Join me and we will crush this world in the name of the Scourge -- for the glory of the Lich King!
High Overlord Saurfang says: My boy died at the Wrath Gate. I am here only to collect his body.
Deathbringer Saurfang yells: Stubborn and old. What chance do you have? I am stronger, and more powerful than you ever were.
High Overlord Saurfang says: We named him Dranosh. It means "Heart of Draenor" in orcish. I would not let the warlocks take him. My boy would be safe, hidden away by the elders of Garadar.
High Overlord Saurfang says: I made a promise to his mother before she died; that I would cross the Dark Portal alone - whether I lived or died, my son would be safe. Untainted...
High Overlord Saurfang says: Today, I fulfill that promise.
High Overlord Saurfang charges!
Deathbringer Saurfang yells: Pathetic old orc. Come then heroes. Come and face the might of the Scourge!
Aggro
  • BY THE MIGHT OF THE LICH KING!
Casting Mark of the Fallen Champion
  • The ground runs red with your blood!
Summoning Blood Beasts
  • Feast, my minions!
Killing a player
  • You are nothing!
  • Your soul will find no redemption here!
Berserk
  • I have become...DEATH!
Death
  • I... Am... Released.
Outro as Alliance
Muradin Bronzebeard gasps for air.
Muradin Bronzebeard says: That was Saurfang's boy - the Horde commander at the Wrath Gate. Such a tragic end...
Muradin Bronzebeard says: What in the... There, in the distance!
A Horde Zeppelin flies up to the rise
Muradin Bronzebeard yells: Soldiers, fall in! Looks like the Horde are comin' to take another shot!
The Zeppelin docks, and High Overlord Saurfang hops out, confronting the Alliance soldiers and Muradin
Muradin Bronzebeard says: Don't force me hand, orc. We can't let ye pass.
High Overlord Saurfang says: Behind you lies the body of my only son. Nothing will keep me from him.
Muradin Bronzebeard says: I... I can't do it. Get back on yer ship and we'll spare yer life.
A mage portal from Stormwind appears between the two and Varian Wrynn and Jaina Proudmoore emerge
King Varian Wrynn says: Stand down, Muradin. Let a grieving father pass.
High Overlord Saurfang walks over to his son and kneels before his son's body.
High Overlord Saurfang says: [Orcish] No'ku kil zil'nok ha tar.
Higher Overlord Saurfang picks up the body of his son and walks over towards Varian
High Overlord Saurfang says: I will not forget this... kindness. I thank you, Highness
King Varian Wrynn says: I... I was not at the Wrath Gate, but the soldiers who survived told me much of what happened. Your son fought with honor. He died a hero's death. He deserves a hero's burial.
Lady Jaina Proudmoore cries.
King Varian Wrynn says: Jaina? Why are you crying?
Lady Jaina Proudmoore says: It was nothing, your majesty. Just... I'm proud of my king.
King Varian Wrynn says: Bah! Muradin, secure the deck and prepare our soldiers for an assault on the upper citadel. I'll send out another regiment from Stormwind.
Muradin Bronzebeard says: Right away, yer majesty!
Outro as Horde
High Overlord Saurfang coughs.
High Overlord Saurfang weeps over the corpse of his son.
High Overlord Saurfang says: You will have a proper ceremony in Nagrand next to the pyres of your mother and ancestors.
High Overlord Saurfang says: Honor, young heroes... no matter how dire the battle... Never forsake it!

Videos[]

Solo Normal encounter[]

How_to_Solo_Deathbringer_Saurfang_10_man

How to Solo Deathbringer Saurfang 10 man

10-player Normal encounter[]

  • Lost Society, text-in-video guide.
  • Tremor's Strategy, narrated video guide.
 	Lost_Society_vs_Deathbringer_Saurfang_(10_man)_Shattered_Halls_EU 	 			  
 	Tremor's_Strategy_vs._Deathbringer_Saurfang_10-man 	 			  

10-player Heroic encounter[]

  • Lost Society, text-in-video guide.
 	Lost_Society_vs_Heroic_Deathbringer_Saurfang_(10_man)_Shattered_Halls_EU 	 			  

25-player Normal encounter[]

  • Tankspot, narrated guide.
  • Tofu Council, text-in-video guide.
 	TankSpot's_Guide_to_Icecrown_Deathbringer_Saurfang_(25-man) 	 			  
 	ICC_25m_-_Deathbringer_Saurfang 	 			  

25-player Heroic encounter[]

  • Lost Society (Shattered Halls-Eu) 25-player heroic, text-in-video guide with audible vent
  • Learn2playwow, narrated guide.
 	Lost_Society_vs_Heroic_Deathbringer_Saurfang_(25_man)_Shattered_Halls_Eu 	 			  
 	How_to_Saurfang_Heroic_Guide_-_love2playwow.com 	 			  

Additional videos[]

10-Player[]

25-Player[]

25-Player Heroic[]

Trivia[]

  • The Horde Intro is reminiscent of the famous Star Wars dialogue between Luke and Darth Vader, except that the roles of the evil father and the good son are reversed.
  • His berserk quote is reminiscent of the infamous "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." This passage from the Bhagavad Gita (Hindu scriptures), was most famously quoted by Robert Oppenheimer, designer of the nuclear bomb, when the bomb was detonated in its first successful test.

Related achievements[]

10-player mode 25-player mode Objective
Achievement boss saurfang [I've Gone and Made a Mess] Achievement boss saurfang [I've Gone and Made a Mess] Defeat the Deathbringer before Mark of the Fallen Champion is cast three/five times
Achievement dungeon icecrown icecrownentrance [Storming the Citadel] (Money achievement Heroic) Achievement dungeon icecrown icecrownentrance [Storming the Citadel] (Money achievement Heroic) Defeat the first four bosses in Icecrown Citadel

Gallery[]

Patch changes[]

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Hotfix (2010-03-04): "In the Deathbringer Saurfang encounters, the boss is now less likely to cast Blood Nova on targets affected by Mark of the Fallen Champion."
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Hotfix (2010-02-05): "Deathbringer Saurfang should gain blood power less rapidly in normal 10 and normal 25 player modes and players can also no longer zone in while this encounter is active."
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Patch 3.3.2 (2010-01-02): Deathbringer Saurfang will no longer gain blood power from Mark of the Fallen Champion. In addition, mitigation abilities such as Power Word: Shield will no longer prevent blood power generation.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Hotfix (2009-12-16): "Deathbringer Saurfang's Rune of Blood has been modified to heal 10 times the amount of damage dealt instead of 5 times the damage. This will make the encounter more difficult if you try to tank Saurfang with just one character. The tooltip does not reflect this change, but it will in a future patch."
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Patch 3.3.0 (08-Dec-2009): Added.

References[]

External links[]

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