Heroic: Spore Loser - A Guide

Spore Loser. This one is easy with a plan, and a healthy dose of self restraint.

We were guild #563, you can be #564.

The Achievement: Kill Loatheb without killing any spores. This cuts your DPS some, since you aren't rocking a +50% crit buff - but the real challenge is just not having them die by accident. The spores are fragile, and most classes put out more undirected damage then they know.

What you need: A Prot Warrior, and a second tank. Healthy dose of DPS and healers.

The bulk of the raid will remain just inside Loatheb's room. The tank keeps Loatheb more or less on top of them, facing the center.

All the healers pile in the middle of the room. Whenever they are able to heal, it will draw spores to them like a magnet (If you have a paladin with rightous fury, awesome, though we did it without). Healers are in the middle (as opposed to the raid), so the path most spores take will stay -away- from the dps'ers & tanks. For the other 17 seconds, you have a protection warrior.

Your warrior will be the "spore tank". That means no weapon, no shield (damage shield), no thorns, no ret aura. Put vigilance on the loatheb tank, and use taunt to drag spores that spawned in/near the raid to the center. Only after you have a few wailing on you, will you have the rage to spam demo shout. We used Stoneclaw Totems to manage them as well, but I found this just starved me for rage.

As for your DPS/Tank - the recommended action is to take off all AoE-like abilities from your bars. Thunderclap, Consecrate, Whirlwind, Killing Spree, Treents, Mirror Image, Starfall, Divine Storm, Cleave - are just some of the things that will gib a spore. And if it happens, you'll be able to tell by the buff it leaves.

When a spore spawns in the raid - yell. Some people may not otherwise resist the ability to press Whirlwind or Divine storm (if its still on their bars).

Finish the job, and Profit. Roll around in your achievement points (which are far nicer to get covered in, as opposed to fungal spores).

The DPS and Healing requirements for this fight may be an issue for some, but if your in an achievement chasing guild, it shouldn't be an issue. We had zero deaths. If people are dying, though, don't sweat it. A lone healer and tank can more or less solo the fight, or at least the last few remaining percent (but don't tell your raid that!).