Algeth'ar Academy Dungeon Guide

Algeth’ar Academy is one of the completely new WoW Dragonflight dungeons featured in the expansion’s first Mythic Plus season. Opinions about its difficulty have been divided. While most of the dungeon’s encounters are comparatively easy, it also features some of the hardest boss fights to date, and even some weaker opponents can present some unpleasant surprises. Read this guide to learn how to navigate all the dangers of this instance on Mythic Plus difficulties.

Dungeon Overview and Route

Algeth’ar Academy is found in the Thaldraszus zone, a short way to the northeast from Valdrakken. It can be reached quickly after flying to the Algeth’era station. The dungeon features four bosses: Vexamus, Overgrown Ancient, Crawth, and Echo of Doragosa. Adventurers must defeat the first three of those enemies to access the fourth and final foe. Several packs of lesser creatures are spread between those main encounters. There are three maps: the main area, the Pitch (a collection of flying islands connected to the main area by air passages), and the Headteacher’s Enclave (the final boss arena with an entrance tucked away in the main area’s corner).

Players first arrive in the southwestern corner of the main area. Friendly NPCs there allow adventurers to choose between five minor stat buffs, increasing Haste, Mastery, Healing received, Versatility, or Critical Strike. That point is also the only place in the dungeon where the visitors would respawn after dying. Having received their buffs, players can decide to go northwest to fight Vexamus or northeast to face Overgrown Ancient. Both paths eventually lead to the air passage to the Pitch and Crawth. As a result, the three initial bosses can be fought in clockwise or counterclockwise order. For the purposes of this guide, we assume that your party will go northeast into The Botanica first.

Mobs in The Botanica

Overgrown Ancient will show up in this area once all of its basic mobs (Lashers and Skitterflies) have been defeated. Hungry Lashers can inflict poison with their attacks, whereas Vile Lashers hurl seeds that explode shortly after landing. So long as the adventurers avoid those seeds and remove poison quickly, they should have no trouble dealing with them. By contrast, Skitterflies are arguably the most dangerous non-boss enemies in the instance. They patrol the area in two groups, buff their damage once alerted, and charge random adventurers to inflict considerable damage. Fortunately, the buffs can be soothed away, but even without them the attacks are very dangerous.

Killing Skitterflies as quickly as possible is crucial, but players must take care not to face both groups at once. Pulling in more Lashers, on the other hand, should not make the fight much harder. As a result, the local mobs can be defeated in two pulls for maximum speed, each with one group of Skitterflies and the nearest Lashers. All cooldowns should be used to take down the Skitterflies fast. Heroes who are targetted by them should activate defensive abilities immediately. Area-of-effect attacks should allow the party to mop up the Lashers quickly. After defeating the boss, the adventurers should head north to enter The Pitch.

Overgrown Ancient Boss Fight Tips

In addition to devastating Barkbreaker direct attacks that make targets take more physical damage later, the Overgrown Ancient can tear off its own branch and throw it at adventurers. In Mythic Plus, using this ability also automatically inflicting bleed effects to all heroes. Ancient Branch deals damage to anyone still standing on the spot upon impact, and then turns into a monster that joins the fight. Upon dying, this monster heals all creatures around it. Additionally, the boss spreads Lasher seeds around its enemies using Germinate. A few seconds later, the seeds harm and knock back foes. Once the Overgrown Ancient’s energy bar reaches its cap and Burst Forth is set off, all remaining seeds sprout into Hungry Lashers, who join the fight.

Defeating this formidable foe is a matter of outlasting its attacks while prioritizing damage:

• When Germinate is active, stick together near the boss, moving around it to avoid seed detonations. That way, the Lashers will be in compact locations, making it easy to put them down with area-of-effect powers, even before they are awakened;
• The Ancient Branch should be the priority target when it is active. The Healing Touch it receives from the boss must be removed. However, its destruction needs to be timed carefully. Ideally, any Lashers near it should be already dead or dying, while heroes should gather nearby to benefit from healing;
• Tanks must be prepared for damage from all opponents, including poison from the Lashers, which should be removed whenever possible. They need to be sure they have the Ancient Branch’s attention, and activate defensive powers whenever it or the main tree is about to strike;
• Healers will need to heal their allies regularly, especially when Burst Forth is about to happen. Damage from different sources can add up very quickly.

Mobs in The Pitch

No matter which route the party takes, it will arrive at a smaller floating island in The Pitch. It offers passage to the two ends of the half-circle in the main area, as well as deeper in towards the Crawth. First, though, heroes must shut down the Guardian Sentry, a tough mini-boss that spawns alone on the little island. It has a strong Nature attack plus two telegraphed area-of-effect abilities, Deadly Winds and Expel Intruders. The former spawns damaging and stunning hurricanes, while the latter knocks back enemies for high damage. Both should be avoided with careful positioning. Expel Intruders can be line of sight blocked using the walls on the island.

After moving to Crawth’s platform, adventurers will be immediately attacked by three waves of Eagles. The Alpha Eagle who appears in the second and third waves will grant rage to other Eagles, which should be countered without delays. The Alpha also has avoidable knockback attacks, while regular Eagles can cause bleed, which they focus on tanks. On the whole, though, those birds should not pose much difficulty as long as everyone does their job. Once they are dealt with, heroes can proceed to fight Crawth and then take the passage to the unvisited part of the main dungeon map.

Crawth Boss Fight Tips

There are two goals on the island, one related to fire and the other to wind. To summon the boss, heroes must throw three balls into either goal. When the boss reaches 75% or 45% health, they must repeat this performance, activating mechanics related to each goal. Fire adds damaging Firestorm motes that the adventurers must evade, but also stuns the boss and increases damage done to her. Wind unleashes moving Gale Force cyclones that push and damage adventurers, but also lets them pick up special motes that grant speed bonuses and temporary cyclone immunity. In Mythic Plus, both effects last until the fight’s end once activated.

Crawth has physical attacks, knockbacks, and a sonic effect that grows stronger with each stack it inflicts. Throwing balls clears the stacks. Victory over the monster is a matter of using the ball mechanics to best advantage:

• Activate the fire goal first. It will make chipping down the foe’s health go quicker, while keeping the party from needing to deal with the much more dangerous and tricky cyclones for the first half of the fight. The alternative sequence is not as viable for most groups;
• Balls clear all stacks at once, so they should be held back until after the screech if possible;
• Keep moving to avoid the elemental effects and the Frontal Gust knockback attack, as well as to pick up the wind motes;
• Crawth’s Savage Peck can be dodged or parried, so the appropriate defensive abilities should be activated in advance;
• Make sure everyone is healthy when Crawth’s energy bar is full, unleashing the Deafening Screech. Also ensure that spells are cast before it or held back to avoid being interrupted.

Mobs Around Vexamus

Following the counterclockwise route, the party will return to the northern section of the main map from the Pitch and immediately face the Spellbound Battleaxe and two Corrupted Manafiends. The former has a powerful slash that induces bleeding, while the latter can inflict Mana Void - a debuff that causes Arcane damage over time followed by a one-time damage burst and mana drain. Further down the path there is another Battleaxe, a Spellbound Scepter, an Arcane Ravager and Arcane Foragers. While Foragers just attack random targets, the Ravager can lunge at the most distant hero and inflict gradual Arcane damage on those who fail to get out of the way. The Scepter has some potent Arcane area-of-effect attacks that can swiftly decimate a party.

Most parties will want to deal with the initial ambush separately, but skilled players who are not afraid to juggle many threats can take on the monsters further along the road in the same fight. Destroying any Scepters should be the highest priority once they are engaged. Apart from that, the heroes will need to concentrate on countering the Manafiends’ spells and keeping the tanks from getting overwhelmed by Battleaxe damage. The Foragers off to the sides are probably not worth wasting time on either way. Once the northern island is cleared, the party would push south along the bridge, facing additional Battleaxes and Manafiends.

The bridge will bring the party to the western island. Another Ravager with a set of Foragers waits on the edge. Further in, there are three groups consisting of Battleaxes, Scepters, and Unruly Textbooks. The latter can put heroes to sleep. Fortunately, this effect can be dispelled, so Scepters should still be the highest priority for interference and destruction. Two groups closer to the edge can be pulled at once by players who are confident in their ability to juggle so many threats. Once all three groups are out of the way, players will face Vexamus. If the heroes die in this section, it would be easier for them to go north from the starting point rather than retracing their steps.

Vexamus Boss Fight Tips

Vexamus is a relatively straightforward boss. Five Arcane Orbs will occasionally appear in the circle around him and head towards him. If intercepted, they cause damage and disappear, but if they reach him, Vexamus fills one-fifth of his energy bar and does immediate damage to all players. Soaking the orbs in Mythic Plus adds a twenty-second debuff that will make the next absorbed orb hit harder. Once the bar is full, the boss will unleash Arcane Fissures, which damage heroes, push them back, and leave local arcane effects that will repeatedly flare up and damage those nearby. His Arcane Expulsion inflicts Arcane damage in a cone. He can also infuse random players with Mana Bombs that damage everyone around them and leave harmful, slowing Corrupted Mana on the ground.

Defeating this boss will require coordination and planning:

• Always try to intercept the orbs. The damage done otherwise is greater. With the debuff in play, it is ideal for each character to absorb one orb after activating a defensive ability. Alternatively, this task can be left to tanks, but if so keeping them healthy will be a true challenge;
• Maneuver carefully to minimize damage from Mana Bombs and sidestep the various hazards. Maintain distance from each other at all times;
• Tanks in particular should be careful to point the boss away from squishier party members when the Arcane Expulsion is about to activate;
• Make sure healers are ready to patch up teammates once the fissures are activated.

Mobs near the Headteacher’s Enclave

Once the three bosses are down, heroes can push on to the southeastern corner of the main map. Several types of hostile Dragonkin NPCs stand in the way, but they do not pose a major threat, instead offering an excellent opportunity to rack up kills. Enforcers and Security both cause Arcane area damage with their abilities, and the latter also disrupt spellcasting (however, their ability requires line of sight). Educators place Astral Bombs that harm all nearby creatures with Arcane explosions, which players can exploit by standing next to mobs when they go off. Nurses shield allies, and it is easier to purge this protection than to stop the spell.

Echo of Doragosa Boss Fight Tips

Echo of Doragosa is fought inside the Headteacher’s Enclave. The final boss fills up her energy bar over time and unleashes it in the form of Astral Breath, a conical spellfrost attack. All arcane attacks deployed by the boss give players the Overwhelming Power effect, which buffs the heroes’ damage. More stacks increase the buff. However, upon reaching four stacks, the effect is removed, and an Arcane Rift is spawned. The rift damages adventurers within it and launches Uncontrolled Energy at nearby characters, which also spreads Overwhelming Power. Echo of Doragosa’s arsenal also includes single-target Arcane Missiles, area-of-effect Energy Bombs, and the Power Vacuum, which pools heroes close and then strikes them all.

The ultimate enemy’s powers require careful management:

• Overwhelming Power will inevitably accumulate thanks to the Echo’s numerous and varied powers. Heroes should make use of the bonus while it lasts. However, they should not seek it out on purpose. It is dangerous to get greedy and spawn a rift early. Players should keep track of their current stacks and maneuver accordingly;
• Characters with an Energy Bomb should be given a wide berth. They should also immediately activate defensive abilities;
• Careful movements will be needed to avoid Energy Bombs, Arcane Rifts, and especially the Astral Breath cone. Tracking the positioning of those effects is essential for survival. Tanks in particular must be mindful of where they are fighting the boss, since nearby hazards can quickly cause additional rifts to everyone’s detriment;
• If dragged towards the Echo of Doragosa by the Power Vacuum, move away as fast as possible to avoid the follow-up attack;
• Healers must always stand ready to heal allies from random attacks such as Arcane Missiles. When the Energy Bomb is in play, topping up the health of the character who received it becomes a priority.