Merry Christmas to all! Let's all bring good tidings and kill the Avatar of War today. As alluded to in the OP, AoW is an extremely difficult fight that requires a copious number of Clerics working together to keep the tank(s) alive. This encounter is all about the Clerics. In preparation for Avatar of War, I thought it would be helpful to post some information for our upcoming battle for those who have not participated in an AoW fight on a Cleric before.
Preparation
- Create manual /target <tank> hotkeys for each tank listed in the tank chain (will be announced prior to engaging)
- Create an /autoinventory hotkey and keep an open primary inventory slot for the modrods. Make a hotkey for the primary inventory slot as well.
- Protection of the Glades, Symbol, Armor of Protection on yourself for modrod HP. Also, obtain a regen before the fight along with Clarity 2 and Gift of Brilliance. You want the largest mana pool possible and a lot of HP to eat mod rods
- GINA is useful but not absolutely required. CH Chain will be fast, just be attentive and do nothing but watch the CH chain messages.
- Turn down far clip plane and opacity to 0. Turn off all spell effects.
- Disable trades in the Options window. This is to avoid errant mod rod trades that will change your target.
- Get in a Bard group if you can.
During the Encounter
- The CH chain time is 1 second or less for the entire fight, no exceptions.
- The CH order is of the utmost importance, stay calm and be ready to cast CH immediately when your turn comes up. If you are 10th on the chain, you are getting ready to cast when #9 casts. Remember, the very act of pressing a key takes 1/3 of a second.
- If the person ahead of you misses, cast. Avoid gaps and stalling of the chain at all costs, it's better to be early than late.
- After each cast, click on a mod rod, then click /autoinventory and then eat your mod rod. It can be difficult to target, so always remember to click your tank macro after consuming each mod rod. If you and all other Clerics can master this pattern, AoW dies.
- STAY CALM. The best AoW kills are the ones where everyone is calm and focused. If it becomes chaotic when a tank dies, let the chain settle down and get back into the rhythm do your best to stay in order after it starts to settle down.
- Be ready for Tank swaps. When the raid leader calls for a tank swap, be ready to switch your macro. If the Tank dies, we restart the chain on the next tank.
- OPTIONAL: Sit cast CH (click sit on the hotbar or your spellbook icon and again once CH is about to land). Only do this if you are 100% comfortable sit casting CH.
Good luck everyone! AoW is the ultimate classic EQ encounter. I hope to see you there!
Razimuth 60 Cleric - Green