Shadowmoon Burial Grounds Dungeon Guide

Shadowmoon Burial Grounds were introduced as a dungeon during the Warlords of Draenor. This instance has been updated for the Mythic Plus roster of WoW Dragonflight’s first season. It is quite simple and straightforward compared to the other dungeons in this mode, to the point where some expect it to be buffed. Even without that, though, there are many potential pitfalls that can derail a run if the participants fail to account for them. Read this guide to learn how to overcome all of those dangers and clear this instance quickly!

Dungeon Overview

Shadowmoon Burial Grounds can be found inside Anguish Fortress in the Shadowmoon Valley of alternate universe Draenor. Members of both factions can reach the instance quickly by flying to Akeeta’s Hovel and heading east. The dungeon consists of two maps, not including the final boss arena. Four boss encounters must be resolved to win. Progress through the instance is mostly linear, although there are several open areas with many avoidable encounters against lesser mobs. In contrast to many other instances featured in this season, there are no dungeonwide special mechanics for players to worry about.

Mobs before Sadana Bloodfury

The first boss stands on a platform surrounded by water in the middle of a wide open chamber. Several kinds of enemies can be found around the pool. The most dangerous among them are the thankfully rare Void Spawn. They can blast every adventurer in 50 yards with their Void Pulse. On Mythic and higher, those elementals cannot be stunned, so the only realistic ways to prevent this attack are to block their line of sight or kill them outright. They can also channel Void Eruptions, making dark energy lash out at nearby heroes from the floor and knock them back. Fortunately, the latter effect can be sidestepped.

Shadowmoon Bone-Menders are another high-priority foe. They have a potent healing spell that must be interrupted, in addition to pretty serious ranged attacks and a debuff that causes damage over several seconds and halves the target’s maximum health. Other enemies are relatively weak, though they can still get overwhelming if too many attack at once. Reanimated Ritual Bones have both normal and ranged Shadow attacks that pose a serious threat to tanks. Heroes should watch out for Defiled Spirits, who teleport behind them and inflict harm and pacification in an area. Shadowmoon Loyalists occasionally receive movement and attack speed buffs that must be purged. Corpse Skitterlings are very weak, but present in large numbers.

Heroes arrive in the tunnel west of this chamber. It would be relatively easy to simply sneak past the first few mobs using invisibility and engage the boss without fighting anyone else. However, players seeking to satisfy Mythic Plus objectives would find it both safer and more efficient to clear the mobs on the western side of the area first. There is a group of three in the room just before the chamber. After killing their Bone-Mender, the party can lure the survivors towards the Void Spawn to cleave down all three at once. Next, there are four packs of four humanoid or undead enemies, divided by the pool. Any three of those groups should be slaughtered along with the Skitterlings behind them to fulfill the Enemy Forces requirement before engaging the boss.

Sadana Bloodfury Boss Fight Tips

This boss wields a multitude of damaging abilities, beginning with Daggerfall, which drops a dagger on a randomly-selected hero. This blade keeps harming everyone in its vicinity after embedding itself in the floor. Whispers of the Dark Star let Sadana burn all heroes over several seconds while it is being cast. She can also attack the tank in melee, with a chance of getting the Deathspike buff that lets her strike three times in rapid succession. Dark Communion summons a spirit that will try to reach the boss, giving her healing and a damage buff on meeting.

One last but crucial mechanic concerns the runes found all over the arena. Purple runes cause damage to adventurers and should be avoided at all times. Dark Eclipse occurs when Sadana teleports to the middle of the platform. She begins to channel a spell that makes more runes purple, but causes others to flare up with a bluish-light color. When the spell is cast, all heroes will take heavy damage, unless they within one of the glowing blue runes that reduces the harm done through this spell to 20%.

 The fight may be easier than it looks, so long as the players stay on top of these mechanics:

• Watch the daggers as they appear and get out of their way promptly;
• Do not allow the summoned spirit to reach the boss. As soon as it appears, the whole party should hit it with every available crowd control or offensive ability;
• Pay attention to the runes. Avoid purple runes at all times. When the Dark Eclipse phase begins, wait for the nearest rune to flare up before taking shelter there;
• Mass heals should be kept ready to counter the partywide attacks;
• The tank should prepare to mitigate damage whenever Deathspike is in play;
• Consider using Bloodlust to overpower the boss and her summon if it seems like she might get the upper hand otherwise.

Mobs before and around Nhallish

Most remaining foes around Sadana’s platform can be safely ignored. The heroes should simply push east through the tunnels towards the next boss and the exit from this map. Several tricky threats lie in wait. Shadowmoon Dominators appear as part of several packs. Their Domination ability buffs victims and makes them attack the party. Note that they start out by casting it on nearby Subjugated Souls. The latter are fairly weak even with the buff. Accordingly, the party should avoid interrupting the initial cast, since it would only free up the Dominators to do something more dangerous, like dominate the heroes or inflict damage over time upon random party members. After the initial cast, disrupting and killing Dominators should be a priority objective.

The other noteworthy threat comes from Exhumed Spirits. They can enter battle in two ways. Firstly, if someone steps on their tombstones scattered throughout the eastern half of this map. Secondly, if called forth from all tombs in a 45-yard radius by Shadowmoon Exhumers. The spirits are only somewhat strong individually, but with enough support they can cause some serious pain. Exhumers have some pretty damaging attacks as well. On their way to the boss area, heroes will encounter two Exhumers, each of which can summon two spirits at a time. While confident players can take on both at once, a less experienced group might prefer to fight one Exhumer at a time when possible.

Nhallish Boss Fight Tips

This enemy’s primary attack is the Void Blast, which is aimed at the tank, but takes the form of a frontal cone dealing damage over time to everyone who is caught inside it. Planar Shift lets Nhallish teleport towards a random adventurer, following up by casting Void Vortex. The latter ability drags heroes within 55 yards towards the caster and then hits them with a 20-yard-radius explosion. Void Devastation fires shadowy projectiles in several directions, burning whatever they hit and creating hazards that continue to harm adventurers who stand in the stricken areas.

Nhallish also repeatedly uses Soul Steal to briefly teleport all heroes into separate pocket dimensions, where they must fight their own escaping soul. There is a gradual damage effect active during this recurring phase as well. If a hero defeats this soul spawn and clicks on it before the effect ends, they receive a 20-second offensive and healing power buff in the main encounter. Despite this trick, Nhallish is another relatively simple fight as long as the players are mindful of battlefield conditions:

• The tank must direct the boss away from the party to prevent the Void Blast from hitting flimsier allies behind them;
• After Planar Shift begins, everyone should move away from the boss’ chosen destination. A lot of pain can be avoided if they can outrun the subsequent pull;
• Heroes must take care to dodge void particles and hazards, both when they appear and later in the fight, especially during the pull which might drag them into the dangerous zones;
• While it is possible to attack the boss during Soul Steal phases, focusing fully on defeating the soul is much more beneficial;
• Healers must make sure to top up everyone immediately after Soul Steal. Apart from that, they should prioritize anyone who is at risk of being pulled in by Void Vortex;
• Try fighting the boss by the closer side of the pool in the eastern half of the chamber. This will set off one tombstone, which will allow the party to dispose of the spirit there during the fight without losing momentum. Otherwise, it would almost inevitably appear when they try to move on from the boss;
• Steer clear of other tombstones in the boss arena to avoid unnecessary complications caused by additional spirits.

Mobs before Bonemaw

After defeating Nhallish and the last pack of Dominators and Exhumers, the heroes can proceed to the second map. Mobs in the area leading up to the next encounter include the already familiar Skitterlings. Among new arrivals, the most dangerous might be the Monstrous Corpse Spiders, who have a poisonous bite and a partywide disease attack that saps health and hampers healing. Plague Bats, meanwhile, possess a poisonous spit that slows down its victims. Finally, there are a couple of big Carrion Worms lying in wait along the bridge that leads to the boss’ platform. They withdraw if reduced to one-fifth of their health. Until then, heroes attempting to reach the boss this way would have to contend with spit attacks and conical lunges that may knock them off the bridge and into spell-blocking water.

It may be wiser to avoid the bridge altogether, since the Bats and the Worms there are not worth the effort it would take to defeat them. Instead, the party should begin by clearing out the packs west of the bridge. Skitterlings can be fought alongside Bats and bigger Spiders, with interruptions directed towards the larger creatures while area-of-effect attacks mop up the small ones. Adventurers would do well to fight the last two Spiders separately to minimize the risks of disease. With that done, they should swim along the northwestern coast of the water, giving the monsters on the bridge a wide berth before heading towards the platform. Waterspouts found near its edge will let them climb on easily and engage the boss.

Bonemaw Boss Fight Tips

Bonemaw is basically a larger, more powerful version of a Carrion Worm. It has access to their moveset, namely Fetid Spit and Body Slam. The former is an uninterruptible attack, while the latter is a frontal cone that crushes and knocks everyone back, potentially throwing targets off the platform. Additionally, the boss can spawn a Necrotic Pitch on a random adventurer’s location, causing continuous harm and slowing down movement. It can also Inhale, pulling heroes towards itself. Those who get dragged into the worm’s maw suffer heavy damage and are then spat out into the water. Lastly, Bonemaw hurts everyone over several seconds with its Corpse Breath and summons basic Carrion Worms to join the fight.

This is likely the most complicated fight in the instance:

• Any personal teleportation effects should be deployed ahead of combat to let the user return to the platform easily if knocked off. Otherwise, dropped characters will need to use the waterspouts again or run along the bridge. The latter is definitely not recommended, even if the bridge is cleared due to speed concerns;
• Necrotic Pitch slows down movement, including that caused by pull effects. As a result, while it should generally be avoided, heroes will want to hide in it when Inhale is active, givign them the best odds of evading the worm’s maw. The damage from being pulled in is much greater and harder to manage;
• Body Slam is well-telegraphed, so heroes should be able to avoid it so long as they pay attention;
• The lesser Carrion Worms will go away when Bonemaw is defeated. There is no need to try and kill them. It is easier and faster to simply duck away from their Body Slams and concentrate fire on the boss;
• Fetid Spit and Corpse Breath can only be endured. Damage mitigation and healing should be prepared for when those effects occur. Healers should also top up people hiding in Necrotic Pitch.

Mobs before Ner’zhul

There are only a few more monsters between Bonemaw and the final encounter of the dungeon. First, there is a pack of Bats and Spiders that should be easy enough to deal with as long as the Spiders are constantly interrupted. It may be a good idea to hold back on using the strongest cooldown abilities in this fight because the next one is more challenging. This encounter involves two Void Spawns at once, making it extremely difficult to avoid their area-of-effect attacks and hazards. Heroes will need to bring down one of them as quickly as possible, using all powers at their disposal. The other one will be more manageable after that. Once they are down, the way to the final boss arena will be clear.

Ner’zhul Boss Fight Tips

The end boss only has three abilities. Malevolence is a spell that harms everyone in a large cone aimed at the tank and halves the victims’ offensive power. Omen of Death is an effect spawned on the hero who is farthest away from Ner’zhul. It hurts every party member, but the harm done is reduced depending on how far they are from the effect. Finally, Ritual of Bones summons a small army of skeletons, who then march in a row across the platform. Anyone who ends up standing between two skeletons will receive a debuff that deals heavy damage over fifteen seconds. However, destroying a skeleton creates a gap in this wall of death.

All in all, this is a surprisingly easy encounter so long as the players do not slip up:

• The tank should “aim” Malevolence away from the party. The beam is wide, but well-telegraphed, so adventurers should have no difficulty getting out of the way;
• Have one hero stand near a distant edge of the platform when Omen of Death is cast. That will keep its power to a minimum, though naturally the adventurers should also take care to move away from it;
• The tank could also try to lead Ner’zhul away from Omen of Death to make it easier to fight him without it interfering;
• Whenever Ritual of Bones is cast, concentrate fire to take out one skeleton, letting the party pass safely through the gap. It may be wise to agree on which skeleton to destroy in advance and prepare accordingly;
• Healers should watch out for any mistakes and patch up party members who end up too close to a dangerous effect quickly;
• Bloodlust at the beginning of the encounter should last long enough to help the party punch through the initial Ritual of Bones. It will also help whittle down Ner’zhul early, before player mistakes have any chance to accumulate.