hard Mode...

Hard mode is accessed by pressing the Red Self Destruct button in the back of the room, which will automatically start the encounter. Before we push the button, we group up near the button, so we can keep the first fires out of the way. Fires will spawn on a particular member in the raid, but will follow whoever is closest to them. When the first fires spawn, we spread out to begin phase 1. We drag Mimiron to the outer edge of the room to minimize the effect of Shock Blast. We then drag him clockwise around the room, moving him away from mines, and whenever Shock Blast occurs. As a result of pushing the button and activating the room's self-destruct sequence, Mimiron and his adds gains an Emergency Mode buff that increases his health and damage by 30%.

Everyone must be aware of fires following them and remain spread out, as multiple people getting Napalm Blast could lead to an early death. This includes melee, when they spread out for shock blast.

To prevent Napalm Blast from spreading to the tank, only healers should stand in the path where mimiron will be dragged, and they must maintain a safe distance from the tank. He performs all of the same abilities in each phase as he does in normal mode, with one extra ability per phase to extinguish the fires. About halfway through this phase, he will spray a flame supressant, extinguishing all of the flames in the room and increasing the cast time of spells by 50% for 8 seconds. He will only do this once in phase 1.

After that, it's rinse and repeat. Continue to watch for fires that spawn and spread, and watch out for mines, Shock Blast, and remain spread out for Napalm Blast.

During the transition between phases, the raid must group up to control the fires. This is done by having a the entire raid group up on one side of the room. If you picture the room as having 3 parts to the room separated by the spawn points of the phase 3 adds, we have the raid group up next to the fire on the 3rd of the room with the most fire at the end of each phase. We try to fill in as much of this third as possible with fires before the next phase. We try to work from one side to the other, but we may wind up standing between two areas of fire, and filling in as much of that third of the room as possible. Running through a little fire is OK, as it deals about 5000 damage per second, but be aware of fires stacked on top of each other. When there is about 10 seconds left on the Phase 2 timer, we set up for Phase 2, spreading out on the remaining two-thirds of the room.

Controlling the fires between each phase is extremely important, as it gives your raid more room to maneuver at the start of each phase.

In this phase, Mimiron will regularly extinguish fires in melee range, slowing their attack speed, and every minute or so will summon a frost bomb in a random area that's covered in fire. After a few seconds, this Frost Bomb will explode for 50,000 damage to anyone within 30 yards, and extinguish all fires in that area. Everyone must be made aware of its position, should the melee need to run out, or the ranged groups need to adjust. When the fires are extinguished, the ranged groups can spread out and make use of the extra area if they need to, especially after a Laser Barrage.

The three ranged groups are assigned a holy priest, all 3 of which must be appropriately spec'd and glyphed for Holy Nova. These three priests are marked, and they are responsibile for positioning and healing their group this phase. The groups must communicate with each other when to adjust their position to minimize gun damage. Holy Nova is key here for keeping the ranged groups alive on the run. Melee are usually healed by the remaining healers from range. If there are fires in melee range when he starts casting Laser Barrage, the melee have to be aware that things can get a little tight, as he doesn't extinguish fires while casting.

Depending on the timing of the frost bombs to when you finish the phase, you might find yourself fire capped. You'll see the explosions, but fires won't appear from those explosions, nor will the current fires grow. If not, continue to control the fires for the next phase, as shown here.

In phase 3, Blue Beams will appear where Emergency Fire Bots will spawn. These have a Deafening Siren ability that silences everyone within 15 yards, and they have a water spray that hits anyone in it's range for 20,000 damage, knocks them back 200 yards, and puts out any fire in it's path. Any of these that are in danger of being near the raid must be killed immediately. One plate DPS, such as a Death Knight, is responsible for taunting the bomb bots away from the raid and blowing them up. Even without a cooldown, they should not one shot a plate DPS, as they hit for about 20K Fire Damage. Junk bots are picked up by the Assault Bot tank wherever possible. During this, all DPS is focused on killing the firs two assault bots that spawn and assigning someone to loot both cores.

As the second assault bot is about to go down, the ranged tank must move the Aerial Command Unit to a safe spot, if necessary. When we have two cores, we bring him down, bloodlust, and burn cooldowns. When he comes up, he'll spawn a bomb bot that must be dragged away from the raid. If necessary, we quickly move the Aerial Command Unit to another safe spot and he's brought back down again. At this point the Aerial Command Unit should be below 15% health, and now the ranged stay on the head to finish it off, while the melee clean up the remaining bots. When the Aerial Command Unit is about to die, the Main Tank is to taunt the head, so he gets aggro at the beginning of phase 4. If we have a hunter tank the head in Phase 3, they can then Feign Death, or if we use a warlock, they can Soul Shatter to drop their threat after the taunt.

During the transition to phase 4, clean out the remaining bots while controlling the fire. Plan out in advance where you're going to put him initially. In this phase, the only extra ability he retains is frost bombs, and you must pay attention to those at all times. The ranged groups set back up again and act much like they did in phase 2. You're to keep DPSing and healing while moving the groups to minimize hand pulse damage and avoiding fires, rockets, shockblast, frost bombs, proximity mines, and laser barrage. This is another burn phase, and you'll likely run into the enrage timer on your first kill. When it enrages, the room self-destructs, dealing 12,000 damage every second, only giving you a few more seconds on the boss while survival cooldowns are still up.

Overall, Mimiron Hard Mode will test your players' ability to perform their best while consistently moving. There is a high DPS requirement that is very well-tuned, but more importantly, there's a lot to be aware of. Situational and Encounter awareness from all of your raiders are key to this encounter.