For the World of Warcraft Black Morass instance you must complete the Saving Thrall instance (Old Hillsbrad Foothills) in the Caverns of Time before you attempt The Black Morass.
In the Black Morass, you and four friends are tasked with defending Medivh from an unknown dragonflight from the future that wants to disrupt the past by killing Medivh as he tries to open the Dark Portal, preventing the Horde from ever reaching Azeroth and, therefore, the Alliance from forming!
Back to the task at hand. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to defend Medivh through 18 rounds of enemy advances. Medivh has a shield that starts at 100%, and goes down if enemies are attacking him. Each round (except for 6, 12, and 18, which are boss rounds… we will discuss these later) consists of two seperate things happening at once.
- A rift opens and an elite, high HP mob called a Rift Keeper spawns from it
- After the Keeper spawns, nonelite dragonkin will spawn out of the portal every 5-10 seconds and head straight to Medivh
The Rift Keeper for each portal comes in different variations. There is a melee version, a warlock version, and a mage version. You need to keep at least two steady DPSers and a tank on the Rift Keeper at all times. It is imperative that you get him down as FAST as possible. There are several reasons for this. First, if you take too long, another portal will open and you will probably wipe. Second, by getting him down as quickly as possible, you keep the number of non-elite adds that spawn to a minimum.

Black Morass Pointers

1) Make sure your tank has atleast 10K health and 12k armor (if warrior) or 12k health and 16k armor if druid.
2) Make sure your mage and priest are well geared and have tons of mana pots.
3) Make sure you DO NOT have 2 mages, they burn mana real fast and unlike locks, they cant life tap to keep the fight going.
4) Make sure you have a melee dps specialist (rogue or feral druid) so that he can take on adds if the mage runs out of mana and needs help.
5) Always keep an eye on the percentage remaining on medivhs shield. Its on the top of the screen.

Strategy

The tank is the star of the show, you need a tank who can really really take damage and stay on his feet.
After every boss fight, the clothies need to drink to atleast 80% mana. The tank needs to be able to hold the boss on his own, without heals for this short duration of time while the priest is drinking.
The tank needs to get to the center of the area and keep an eye on where the portal opens up, run there and ping the mini map for others to follow.
The people in the group need to follow one strategy very strictly… draw a straight line between the boss and medivh and ALWAYS stay in this one line. Tank, melee dps who are on boss, healer and range dps (clothie or hunter who are on boss) and the mage who is taking out the adds.
The biggest mistake you can make here is if the mage goes too far from the healer. The healer needs to be midway between the mage and the tank so as to heal them both. If the healer has to run around, then … you will wipe. You cant have the mage get too far from the line of sight of the healer.

Allocate beacon strategy

1) 1st beacon drop by the mage who is on adds
2) 2nd by the clothie / range dps guy who is on boss
3) 3rd by the melee dps guy who is also on boss
4) 4th by healer
5) 5th by tank.

WoW Boss features

Boss 10, 11 and 12 come very close on top of each other. Its timer based, so you need to bring down Boss 10 and 11 down very fast. If you dont, you will be fighting adds from boss 10, Boss 11, adds from boss 11 and Boss 12… who is the toughest of the bosses.
Same with Boss 16, 17 and Boss 18.
Boss 16 and 17 come very fast. And boss 18 is the only boss who comes directly on top of medivh.
As for the adds, you must have one SOLID DPSer dealing with them. Be smart when assigning your DPS tasks in this instance. A hunter or pally would be an excellent choice to take care of the adds, because both classes have the ability to tank them with minimal damage taken (hunter has a pet, pally has plate). A rogue, on the other hand, is much better suited to stay on the Rift Keeper at all times, because they have extremely high (and more importantly, sustained) single target DPS.
DPSers, LISTEN UP: You CANNOT slack during this instance or your group WILL wipe. In other instances, you can jerk off during a boss fight, and as long as you have an excellent healer with a large mana pool, you can still get the job done… it’ll just take a bit longer. In the Black Morass, if you are not producing, your group WILL wipe because more portals will spawn. This instance rides heavily on the ability of a group’s DPSers. THAT SAID, attempting the Black Morass without three SOLID DPSers is extremely inadvisable.

Beacon drops

IF Needed, then drop a beacon at Boss 11 (on the boss) because Boss 10, 11 and 12 come very close to each other. So keep an eye on the shield status, if needed, then drop a beacon on Boss 11 and let the dragon kill the mini boss, you might have to help out a little.
Then Boss 12… everyone needs to dps Boss 12. So no one is protecting medivh’s shield.
Drop a beacon on Medivh when Boss 12 is 50% down, and IF needed, another beacon on medivh when Boss 12 is 90% down or dead.
Now after Boss 12, you get a nice break, drink and heal, get some lock candy aka master health stones from the ritual of souls.
Then keep on the rest of the bosses.
At boss 16 you can just drop a beacon on boss 16, or save it.
But at boss 17, you definitely need to drop a beacon on the boss and one person can dps the boss, while the rest run to medivh to take out the adds.
Boss 18 is going to be there veryyyy soon.
Once boss 17 is down… and if you have a spare beacon, drop it on medivh for Boss 18, the summoned dragon can tank the Boss 18 for a few seconds while you guys eat and drink.
Generally the shield is holding up pretty good, so eat and drink and tank and spank the Boss 18.
Boss 18 casts a sleep, lasts about 3 seconds. But he comes down pretty easy.
Okay, so you made it to round 6. Now you get your first boss, but first, we must discuss Chrono-Beacons. At the beginning of the instance, everyone will get a Chrono-Beacon from the Caverns of Time NPC. When used, this item spawns a huge dragon for about 20 seconds. The dragon will help you kill whatever you spawn it near. However, if the dragon gets too close to a boss, the boss will despawn it. Therefore, use your dragons for:
- Cleaning up adds if they start to get out of control
- Taking out Rift Keepers in rounds 15, 16, and 17. We will discuss this later.

Black Morass Bosses

CHRONO LORD DEJA

Special Abilities: Time Lapse – Magic debuff, an AoE debuff, Attack speed and Movement speed reduced by 60%.

Strategy

Like the portals guarded by Rift Lords and Rift Keepers, Chrono Lord Deja’s portal will constantly spawn dragonkin of the Infinity. Based on the skill/classes/gear of our party we can decide beforehand whether or not to kill the adds or let them pass and hopefully take care of them before they damage Medivh too much. If we allow the Infinity to pass a player can use the Chrono-beacon to assist Medivh.
Deja will cast his Time Lapse from time to time but he does not cast it often, if possible it should be removed from non casters first. Assuming we are allowing the Infinity adds to pass, a watchful eye should as always be kept on our healers.
Bug Alert: When using the Chrono-beacon, it should be placed away from Chrono Lord Deja, Temporus, or Aeonus or the Guardian of Time will not spawn
This guy is relatively easy. He has an arcane missiles-esque AE attack that hits everyone for around 2k. Tranquility/Prayer of Healing/HoTs, etc. You know the drill. Simply tank him and spank him.
Particularly if you are new at this instance, you will want to use one of your dragons to care of adds during this round, because you will need all three of your DPSers focused on the boss. Placement of the dragon is EXTREMELY important. The Chrono-Beacon can be used at a very long range, and its targeting functions much like the Mage spell Blizzard or the Hunter spell Volley. Simply click where you want the dragon to spawn, and he will stay in that general vinicity. So here’s what you do:
1. Boss spawns, tank picks him up and tanks him AT THE RIFT. DPS starts immediately… tank has got to be on his game (hunters use your Misdirection)
2. Adds begin spawning.
3. Once there are 3-4 adds attacking Medivh, a designated person uses his or her Chrono-Beacon. They must deploy it very close to Medivh so that the dragon will not venture near the boss and therefore be despawned.
4. The dragon takes care of the adds in very short order, and continues killing adds for about 20 seconds… at which point it despawns.
5. You need to have the boss dead or nearly dead by this point. You can’t waste more than one dragon on any boss round.
(Note that, if you’re really leet, you can get through the boss rounds without using a dragon. Simply kill the boss really fast, then go kill all the adds. If you can save your Chrono-Beacons up in this way, it gives you a lot more flexibility during rounds 13-18, when the portals will be spawning very fast.)
So you beat Deja! Grats on your mediocre loot. You get a short break to rest up, rebuff, pass our the loot, etc. As soon as portal 7 opens, get there and start burning that Keeper down. Don’t screw around or you will waste time and wipe. Portals 7-11 function essentially the same way as 1-5. Don’t screw up or disconnect, and everything will be fine.

TEMPORUS

Special Abilities: Mortal Wound – Healing reduced by 10%, stacks up to 9 times.

Strategy

Like the portals guarded by Rift Lords and Rift Keepers, Temporus’ portal will constantly spawn dragonkin of the Infinity. Based on the skill/classes/gear of our party we can decide beforehand whether or not to kill the adds or let them pass and hopefully take care of them before they damage Medivh too much. If we allow the Infinity to pass a player can use the Chrono-beacon to assist Medivh.

The best way for us to deal with Temporus is either:
A. A well geared/specced/played tank that can avoid Temporus’ Mortal Wound from stacking 9 times.
B. 2 tanks to rotate agro so Mortal Wound will drop off and not get 9 stacked.
Assuming we are allowing the Infinity adds to pass, a watchful eye should as always be kept on our healers.
Bug Alert: When using the Chrono-beacon, it should be placed away from Chrono Lord Deja, Temporus, or Aeonus or the Guardian of Time will not spawn.
Temporus is the second and hardest boss, and he spawns from portal 12. He has a 10% healing reducing Mortal Strike effect that stacks up to 10 times (100% reduced healing). There are several ways to deal with this; all of them are dangerous.
- A lesser invulnerability pot, if chugged at the appropriate second, will ensure that the debuff falls off
- Blessing of Freedom
- An off-tank (unadvisable, because wasting a spot for a tanking-specced OT will leave your DPS too weak)
- You may get lucky and the debuff will fall off naturally
The first two, which are also the two best options, both involve the tank losing aggro. It’s unfortunate that that happens, but you just have to deal. Priests spam fade, hunters FD, rogues vanish, fire mages… hahahhaha. You get the picture. You should only have to aggro-clear to clear the debuff once in the fight.
That’s about it for this guy. Use a dragon as before to take care of adds (if necessary) and enjoy your loot. There are a few really awesome drops off this guy. Now rest up and get ready for the hardest part of the instance… portals 13-17.
PORTALS 13-17!
These get their own section because they are truly much harder than the boss at portal 18. The reason they are so hard is because they spawn really, really fast.
The SECOND 13 opens, you need to be there and your DPS needs to be tearing @*!@ up. Then get to 14 right away, and to 15 right after that. On 16, you may need to use a dragon if you are getting behind.
You can use your dragon right on top of the Rift Keeper, and he will not despawn it. Only bosses despawn dragons. So, depending on how your group is doing, it’s a good idea to use a dragon on 16 and 17. Hell, even use one on 15 if you still have three left at that point.
At this point you have killed everything and closed all the portals through 17. Nice work. But before you pat yourself on the back, notice that portal 18 has opened and a massive, Nefarian-type dragon is now beating on Medivh’s shield. Before engaging him, stay at a distance and drink up/rebuff. You should still have plenty of Medivh’s shield left, so you have a while to let him beat on it.

AENOUS

Special Abilities: Time Stop – AoE stun.

Strategy

Before Aeonus comes we should take inventory of remaining Chrono-beacons as they are most valuable now. Aeonus’ big claim to fame is he has “MACK” printed on his chest because he hits like a truck. When Aeonus comes out of his portal he comes out alone and beelines to Medivh, we do not have to worry about the Infinity dragonkin for this boss.
As for the remaining Chrono-beacons we want to take turns on spawning the Guardians of Time, using all at the same time is not as effective because their damage is not what we want, it is their debuff they will use against Aeonus. Like the Epoch Hunter in Old Hillsbrad they use “Sandstorm” which reduces movement speed and increases time between attacks. It looks as though the Sandstorm debuff does in fact stack but it is preferable to have the debuff on him for the entire length of the fight instead of having it active x3 for half the fight then deal with Aeonus’ full strength for the other half.
Bug Alert: When using the Chrono-beacon, it should be placed away from Chrono Lord Deja, Temporus, or Aeonus or the Guardian of Time will not spawn.
Unlike Deja and Temporus, who stay at their rifts, the final boss will head straight to Medivh and start beating on him. HOWEVER, also unlike portals 6 and 12, portal 18 does NOT spawn any adds. Once 17 is closed, you are free of adds forever.
Aenous does hit pretty hard, and he does have a time-stop ability (kinda like Chrom’s), but he is the easiest boss overall (partly due to his lack of adds). It’s really nice to have a pally in your group at this point to help your priest/druid heal, but it can definitely be done without one.
Claim your loot, and talk to Medivh to complete your quest. Now hearth to Shatt’rath and talk to Khadgar to get your Karazhan key! Grats to rogues (his droprate for Handguards of Assassination is 100%) and good job beating the Black Morass, aka the most P.I.T.A. instance to ever exist. Hopefully this guide helped you =)

Black Morass tips

1. ONE person on adds. A number of classes can do it well. I have seen the best success with fire specced mages and arms/fury warriors. I would say a warrior is best, because they can stay right on the elite and build up rage while aggroing the adds, spamming whirlwind, etc. And they don’t run out of mana. I have not seen a frost mage who could do it, and I have not seen warlocks do it particularly well either. Also, locks (and hunters) can put out so much damage on a single target that you don’t want to waste that if you can help it. Another thing I have seen work well is for a hunter’s pet to be put on Stay/Aggressive near a mage handling adds, where it could tank for the mage, and grab any whelps that might get by.
I have had a successful run or two where one person (e.g., a rogue) would take single adds, and someone else (e.g., a mage) DPSing the rift lord would aoe the whelps as they came by, but this was always messy and just barely successful. This approach was more likely to fail. You need one on adds.
2. Heavy DPS. Actually, this can trump #1, as almost any class can take adds if the elites go down fast enough, and you have time to clean up stragglers and mana up in between. But you have to be able to at least get the rift lord down before the next portal begins spawning adds, or else there’s simply no class that can stop them.
3. A well geared tank, or an insanely good healer. The bottleneck of the battle is the second boss, with its healing debuff on the tank. You need a tank that can take a beating here. I have had successful runs with non-prot warriors tanking, but the healer was just off-the-charts good.
The best time to use the beacons is on the second boss. Place it at Medivh, or between Medivh and the boss, after the adds start coming into range. The dragons will be your adds-killer here, as you will want whoever was doing adds to be on the boss to take him down as quickly as possible, so your healer doesn’t run out of mana healing the tank through the debuff.
Finally, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a PUG or whatever. You don’t need vent. As long as everyone understands the simple pattern of events, the whole thing is on autopilot. You just need a group with the right components.