High Priest Venoxis

This is the 5-man, level 85, heroic mode dungeon boss. See High Priest Venoxis (original) for the old Zul'Gurub raid version.

High Priest Venoxis
Race	Jungle troll (Humanoid)
Level	87 Elite
Health	5,809,580
Mana	93,100
Affiliation	Gurubashi tribe (presumed)
Location	Zul'Gurub
Status	Killable
See
Zul'Gurub
High Priest Venoxis  Bloodlord Mandokir      Edge of Madness event  High Priestess Kilnara  Zanzil  Jin'do the Godbreaker (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) The Cache of Madness  Hazza'rah (summoned)  Renataki (summoned)  Wushoolay (summoned)  Gri'lek (summoned) (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) Loot

High Priest Venoxis' two forms

High Priest Venoxis was the High Priest of the Primal God Hethiss, the Snake.

Strategy

Phase 1: Humanoid

Venoxis will start at his altar, at the top of the stairs. A poison haze hovers over the stairs, so he needs to be pulled down to the floor and tanked there.

As he's pulled, he will cast Venomous Effusion, which causes a poisonous maze to slowly form all over the floor. Ranged characters will need to make sure they don't stand in its path, as Effusion will kill party members in seconds. A safe place for the tank to stand is right in front of the haze on the stairs - there is a small space there where Effusion won't form. Effusion can sometimes be avoided by jumping over the maze, but not very reliably. Don't count on it.

Venoxis will open almost immediately with Whispers of Hethiss, which needs to be interrupted. Unless the party has a shaman on Wind Shear duty, two party members will need to trade off interrupts. Venoxis should cast Whispers three times each humanoid phase.

Shortly after Whispers, he will cast Toxic Link on two party members. Toxic Link has no duration, and must be broken by the affected party members running away from each other. When it does break, however, it will do ~40k damage to each of the linked players. It's very important to run around the maze instead of taking poison damage from running through it. Like Whispers, you should only see Link three times per humanoid phase.

Phase 2: Snake

Venoxis does increased melee damage after casting Blessing of the Snake God, loses the ability to dodge and parry, and swaps all of his previous abilities for new ones.

He will frequently cast Pool of Acrid Tears on random party members. The Pool is a puddle of green, poisonous slime on the ground that inflicts damage over time. Make sure you don't stand in it.

Venoxis will also use Breath of Hethiss three times per Snake phase. It's a channeled, uninterruptable, frontal cone AoE with a short cast time before it starts. The tank will need to run behind Venoxis as soon as they see the cast begin. Ideally, the tank will have his back to the staircase, so that the Breath doesn't risk hitting any of the other players. Once Venoxis finishes casting Breath, the tank should get back in the same position he was in before.

Phase 3: Bloodvenom

Venoxis will flee up to the top of his altar and begin channeling Bloodvenom. Three Bloodvenom Tendrils will spawn, each on top of a random party member, and will then begin to Pursue dance around the room. For a few seconds at a time, they'll pursue a single party member, and then abruptly change targets. Be very careful not to trap yourselves in the maze as you run from the Tendrils, and avoid running at other party members. The last thing you need is for a Tendril to chase you towards your healer... and then change targets to your healer.

After Bloodvenom finishes, Venoxis will suffer from Venom Withdrawal. He'll run down to the foot of the stairs, and collapse for ten seconds, taking double damage and being rendered unable to fight back. This is a good time to pop Heroism or any alternatives. When Venom Withdrawal ends, Venoxis will begin again from Phase 1.

Venoxis is not a simple tank and spank, but even a lightly geared group can down him if you recognize the mechanics. This fight is less about high DPS and more about survival.

Quotes

Aggro the boss:

• You disssssturb the plans of Gurubashi, little one. It'sss too late for you. Too late for all of you! #hissing laughter#

Venoxis kills a player:

• Your sssacrifice pleases him. #hissing chuckle#
• The mortal coil unwindsss...

Casting Bloodvenom:

• Yesss...ssssuccumb to the venom...!!

Transformation into Snake God:

• Let the coils of death unfurl!

Word of Hethiss:

• Hisss word, FILLS me, MY BLOOD IS VENOM, AND YOU WILL BATHE IN THE GLORY OF THE SNAKE GOD!

Venoxis dies:

• My death meansss...nothing... #hissing fading away...#

Loot

Belt of Slithering Serpents Heroic Item Level 353 Disenchants into: [Abyss Crystal]: 1-2 Binds when picked up Leather Waist 913 Armor +220 Agility +360 Stamina Blue Socket Socket Bonus: +10 Expertise Rating Durability 55 / 55 Requires level 85 Equip: Increases your haste rating by 142 (1.11% @ L85). Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 155 (0.86% @ L85). Sell Price: 8 45 9 Serpentine Leggings Heroic Item Level 353 Disenchants into: [Abyss Crystal]: 1-2 Binds when picked up Cloth Legs 1057 Armor +484 Stamina +283 Intellect Red Socket Blue Socket Socket Bonus: +20 Haste Rating Durability 120 / 120 Requires level 85 Equip: Increases your hit rating by 211 (1.76% @ L85). Equip: Increases your haste rating by 176 (1.37% @ L85). Sell Price: 13 57 14 Signet of Venoxis Heroic Item Level 353 Disenchants into: [Abyss Crystal]: 1-2 Binds when picked up Unique-Equipped Finger +270 Stamina +180 Intellect Requires level 85 Equip: Increases your haste rating by 120 (0.94% @ L85). Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 120 (0.67% @ L85). Sell Price: 12 27 72 Breastplate of Serenity Heroic Item Level 353 Disenchants into: [Abyss Crystal]: 1-2 Binds when picked up Mail Chest 2381 Armor +484 Stamina +283 Intellect +198 Spirit Yellow Socket Blue Socket Socket Bonus: +20 Intellect Durability 165 / 165 Requires level 85 Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 191 (1.07% @ L85). Sell Price: 20 50 51 Coils of Hate Heroic Item Level 353 Disenchants into: [Abyss Crystal]: 1-2 Binds when picked up Plate Waist 1894 Armor +220 Strength +360 Stamina Blue Socket Socket Bonus: +10 Expertise Rating Durability 55 / 55 Requires level 85 Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 146 (0.83% @ L85). Equip: Increases your mastery rating by 152 (0.85% @ L85). Sell Price: 12 7 37

Patches and hotfixes

Patch 4.1.0 (26-Apr-2011): Added

External links

• Wowhead
• Thottbot
• WoWDB