Sszorak is a wind-control single-target fight: room indicators predict which way the intermission gales will blow, and the raid deliberately places knockback Cysts in those lanes so the Howling Maelstrom bounces everyone back onto the platform instead of off it. Between intermissions the tanks solve a five-step Apex Predator combo while the raid baits puddles and manages Cyst drops.
Tornado indicators on the walls show where each intermission gale will come from, in order. The raid's whole Cyst plan is built off that read, so call it in the first seconds of the pull.
Apex Predator strings five attacks in any order: the tank solo-soaks each White Frontal (Ravage, which stacks increased Ravage damage taken), the raid group splits each Green Frontal (Mutilate, split damage plus the Mutilated Gash bleed) aimed at its assigned group, and everyone dodges the Tempest tornadoes that bounce around the room.
Venomous Surge players run their expiring DoT to the edge across from the wind markers and drop the Viscous Cyst there. Touching a Cyst knocks every player away and stacks a slow, so nobody clips one by accident.
Bait Caustic Claws swirlies at the edge after the tank combo, then rotate the raid off the Caustic Residue pools. Raging Crosswinds knocks arrowed players away, and on expiry it hits everyone within 6 yards - so spread before it lands. Anyone left aloft on Turbulent Gusts clears it by touching another lifted player.
The intermission lands at 1:51 on a fixed clock, and again 138 seconds later at 4:09. Move to the center. Three gales blow in the order the indicators showed - each time, get pushed into the planned Cyst so its knockback bounces you back toward the middle instead of off the platform.
Dig In lands with the intermission, so the 30 percent increased damage window and the three gales are the same 25 seconds. Damage the boss while you ride the pushes rather than waiting for calm ground: sampled kills did 1.5 to 1.8 times their Phase 1 damage rate inside this window. Run into the last unused Cyst to prevent its explosion as the window closes, then reset positions and repeat at 4:09.
The hardest clock in the raid to argue with. The intermission landed at 1:51 and the return at 2:16 in every kill measured, from 3:43 to 4:38, to the second and with zero drift. A health gate would have pushed the second Maelstrom to about 4:37 in a 4:38 kill; it landed at 4:09, exactly where the fast kills put it.
Then every 52 seconds, with the cycle pausing across the intermission: 1:24, 2:50, 3:43. Each one is a Cyst that has to land in a planned wind lane.
The intermission. Dig In is cast in the same second, so the 25 second damage window is the back half of this event rather than a separate later cast.
138 seconds after the first. Two of the five sampled kills ended before reaching it; the other three rode it and finished shortly after.
Five top-50 Heroic kills of Warcraft Logs encounter 3420, sampled across the ranking spread, cross-checked against three 4:38 kills from deeper in the rankings. Measured 2026-09-16, cross-check 2026-09-20.
Five-step combo in any order: solo-soak each White Frontal, aim each Green Frontal at its assigned group to split Mutilate, dodge the Tempest tornadoes.
Failure: A shared White Frontal or an unsplit Mutilate applies amplified damage the tank cannot survive twice.
Carry the DoT to the assigned edge spot and drop the Cyst across from the wind markers - Cysts are the intermission's survival tools, placed on purpose.
Failure: A Cyst dropped in the raid knocks everyone away and stacks slows; a missing Cyst in a wind lane means players get blown off the platform.
Read your arrow and take the knock somewhere safe. If the gusts hold you aloft, touch another lifted player to clear them.
Failure: An unresolved arrow launches its player across the arena mid-mechanic.
Bait the swirlies at the edge, then rotate off the Caustic Residue pools - standing in one raises your damage taken by 30 percent.
Failure: Puddles through the middle shrink the space the wind plan depends on.
Three gales in the indicated order try to blow the raid off the platform - ride each push into the planned Cyst and bounce back to the middle.
Failure: Missing a Cyst is a death by falling; this is the fight's defining wipe check.
Melee attacks stack 3 percent increased physical damage taken for 25 seconds - watch the stack through the combo.
Failure: Combo steps landing on high Corroding stacks convert a routine hit into a tank death.
The named boss spells, their individual sub-abilities, and the response for each. Ability names with known spell IDs open their own WoW-God spell pages.
A five-attack combination directed at the active tank that can change targets during the cast and arrive in any order.
Raid response: Two pre-assigned groups and both tanks resolve each step as it is announced rather than memorizing one sequence.
A frontal cone that raises the damage you take from the next Ravage, stacking.
Raid response: The active tank solo-soaks it away from everyone; never take two in a row.
A frontal cone that splits damage among everyone hit and applies the Mutilated Gash bleed. Too thin a split is lethal.
Raid response: Aim it through the assigned group so at least six bodies share it.
The bleed Mutilate leaves behind, split among everyone it struck, for 22 seconds.
Raid response: Another reason the split group has to be full - a thin split doubles the bleed too.
Dodgeable tornadoes spawn around the boss and shoot outward, slowing and stacking a poison DoT on anyone hit.
Raid response: Dodge the spawn ring, and healers dispel the poison off anyone clipped.
A DoT that drops a Viscous Cyst where it expires, exploding for damage based on distance from the raid.
Raid response: Walk it to the planned edge spot so the Cyst lands exactly where the winds will need it.
A toxic glob that knocks all touching players away and stacks a 5 second slow.
Raid response: Avoid it all phase - then aim yourself at it deliberately during each gale.
Sszorak flings toxin from his claws, leaving a pool of Caustic Residue.
Raid response: Bait at the edge, rotate the raid, keep the center clean for the intermission.
The pool a Caustic Claws impact leaves. It ticks and raises your damage taken by 30 percent.
Raid response: Never fight in one, and never leave one where the gales will push people.
The Altar marks players with an arrow, then knocks each one the way it points.
Raid response: Read your arrow early and take the push somewhere that costs nothing.
Winds hold you aloft and slow your fall. Touching another lifted player clears it for both.
Raid response: Find someone else in the air and bonk into them.
Melee attacks increase physical damage taken by 3 percent for 25 seconds, stacking.
Raid response: Tanks trade the boss so combo steps never land on a high stack.
Three wind gales, each from a different indicated direction, try to push the raid off the platform.
Raid response: Center up, ride each gale into its planned Cyst, and bounce back to safety three times.
Sszorak takes 30 percent increased damage for 25 seconds, cast in the same second the intermission starts and expiring as it ends.
Raid response: This is the fight's damage window and it overlaps the gales exactly. Line up cooldowns and lust for 1:51, not for the calm afterwards.
Own the combo: solo every White Frontal, point every Green Frontal at its assigned group, and swap so Corroding Venom and Ravage amplification never stack on one of you.
Dispel Tempest's poison promptly, top the raid before each gale, and hold personals for players who misjudge a Cyst bounce.
Deliver your Viscous Cyst to the exact planned spot, take your Crosswind push somewhere safe, and bank cooldowns for the 25 second Dig In window.
The wind indicators are the strategy. Know the gale order, know which Cyst is yours for each push, and never touch a Cyst before the intermission needs it.
Review available video breakdowns alongside the written assignments.
Compare current parses, talent choices, and gear for this encounter.
