Botanica
Project Lore Editor
The Botanica is the second part of the Tempest Keep instances in Netherstorm. These wings are floating off of the east side of the zone, and are accessed by flying mount or warlock summon. Enemies inside include Mechanicals, humanoids, demons, beasts, and elementals. There are five bosses in the instance, and all of them are technically optional, though most of the trash leading to each must be cleared to continue through the instance. Enemies in the Botanica give Sha'tar Reputation, and heroic mode require the Warpforged Key, purchasable in the center of Shattrath from Almaador.
A relatively simple fight, dispel the Arcane Resonance debuff if possible. After some time, she will summon three Bloodwarder Reservists (non-elite) and a Bloodwarder Mender (elite). The easiest way to deal with these is to fear them while the boss is finished off, and they can be avoided entirely by killing the boss before they spawn.
Exactly the same fight, with more applications of Arcane Resonance. It should still be relatively easy to kill the boss before the adds appear.
Freywinn should be tanked at the close side of the bridge. One DPS class should take out the seedlings as the spawn. Once he transforms into the Tree Form, all party members should run out of the tranquility and then take out the protectors to minimize the amount of healing Freywinn is able to do. Once the protectors die, resume DPS on the boss. Repeat this strategy as he transforms back and forth.
Other than increased damage and hit points, this fight is exactly the same.
The main idea here is to avoid his hellfire, which can be accomplished by tanking him away from the altar where party members are sacrificed. All party members can run out of his hellfire as soon as he casts it, helping to alleviate some pressure on the healer. If possible, the healer should stay out of Thorngrin's line of sight to avoid a sacrifice. Fire and shadow resistance are also helpful to mitigate a large amount of his damage.
No major changes, but all damage is increased
Throughout the fight, Laj will teleport back to his spawning point and summon two adds. Each time Laj teleports, he will change colors, signifying a different resistance. Black is Shadow, Blue is Frost, Green is nature, Red is Fire Resistant, White is Arcane Resistance. Laj can either be tanked on his platform or in the area before his room, out of line of sight of the adds. If he is tanked on his platform, take care of the adds as soon as possible by killing or crowd controlling them. The adds can be feared and banished, so warlocks should be able to take two out of the fight. If he is tanked in the hallway, the adds should be killed once Laj teleports back to his platform while he runs back to the group. After Laj dies, the adds persist, so be ready to kill them afterwards.
The same tactics can be applied, as Laj has no new abilities.
Ranged DPS and healers should stand at a distance in order to avoid the Stomp. Warp Splinter should be faced away from the group to avoid arcane volley as well. If you have a warlock or a priest, tank Warp Splinter at the part of the path where it starts to spread out into the large area where he stands. Then, healers and ranged DPS should stand where Warp Splinter starts. This will attract the adds to them, and they can then be fear bombed to prevent them from healing Warp Splinter when they despawn. A warrior tank can do the same with positions reversed. If you have no AoE fear, focus fire the adds down or ignore them if you feel your DPS is high enough.
Warp Splinter has no new abilities, so the same tactics are effective.
The Botanica is one satellite wing of the Tempest Keep. The Tempest Keep is a fortress created by the Naaru. It contained three other satellites, the Arcatraz, the Mechanar, and the Exodar. The fortress is able to travel along the Twisting Nether to travel almost instantly between places. The Naaru used this ability of the Tempest Keep to travel to the Outlands, but when they left the fortress, the blood elves led by Prince Kael'thas attacked it and took it over.
The Botanica is a center for plant experimentation for Kael'thas and his Blood Elves. Commander Sarannis is stationed there, along with High Botanist Freywinn. Together they are in charge of creating strange plant and elemental based abominations, including Laj and Warp Splinter. Warp Splinter is an ancient of the arcane that has been confused and twisted into becoming evil. By taking a piece of him back to Darnassus, the being can be grown anew over thousands of years.
 | Enter the Botanica. Most of the mobs in the instance will need to be killed to clear all of the bosses, though a few can be avoided. If possible, Mind Control the Menders to cast Holy Fury on any classes that use spells, as it gives a huge buff to spell damage. You'll eventually find a group of dragonhawks with a single humanoid. If possible, crowd control the humanoid because she will direct all of the birds onto a single random target after some time, making tanking them all very difficult. With her out of the fight, they follow a normal aggro table. Prior to the boss who pats up and down a bridge leading to a small window overlooking the Warp Splinter's room, there are nine enemies who pull in groups of three. Be careful to pull these while the boss is away in order to avoid an accidental pull of the boss. |
 | Head past the first boss and then stay towards the left wall to avoid some pulls, but be careful because some mobs in the groups around the tables are difficult to see. Be very careful with chemists, as they drop a Vial of Poison that causes a green cloud that must be avoided, since it does a lot of damage. Pull the single elite with the non elites and AoE them down. The next pull is the nearest four mobs by the wall, so be ready. After that, clear the rest of the mobs and get ready for the second boss. |
 | Continue heading into the Botanica, downing the AoE pull with the single elite and then watch for glowing red enemies. The buff will dissipate after some time, so be patient. Interrupt the channelers when they cast soul channel, since it does significant damage. Head down the right side of the room, watching for pats of demons on the ramp area. Pull the group of four demons while the channeler is away and while they are not glowing red, then pull the channeler when it is not glowing red. Repeat for the other group. Before pulling the boss, run to the left to find a set of stealthed satyrs to avoid pulling them during the boss fight. |
 | Go back towards where the stealthed demons were and continue. Watch out because Gene-Splicers will cast a red cloud, Death and Decay, on the ground that does high damage, so get out of it. They also summon non-elite adds. Harvesters cast polymorph, and Fear Shriekers will fear, as well. |
 | Head down the ramp past Laj and take on a couple of AoE pulls before the final boss Warp Splinter. |
Commander Sarannis
Abilities
- Arcane Resonance: A magical debuff that increases arcane damage taken
- Arcane Devastation: An arcane based melee attack
Strategy
A relatively simple fight, dispel the Arcane Resonance debuff if possible. After some time, she will summon three Bloodwarder Reservists (non-elite) and a Bloodwarder Mender (elite). The easiest way to deal with these is to fear them while the boss is finished off, and they can be avoided entirely by killing the boss before they spawn.
Heroic
Exactly the same fight, with more applications of Arcane Resonance. It should still be relatively easy to kill the boss before the adds appear.
High Botanist Freywinn
Abilities
- Plant Blue Seedling: Spawns a Blue Seedling that casts a slow effect.
- Plant Green Seedling: Spawns a Green Seedling that inflicts a damage aura.
- Plant Red Seedling: Spawns a Red Seedling that deals direct damage.
- Plant White Seedling: Spawns a White Seedling that casts Freezing Touch.
- Tree Form: Transforms into a Tree of Life, becoming invulnerable and summoning Protectors. Once the Protectors are killed, he will transform back into his humanoid form.
- Tranquility: Cast over the entire duration of Tree Form, heals High Botanist Freywinn and all of his adds for 1% of his health every 2 seconds
Strategy
Freywinn should be tanked at the close side of the bridge. One DPS class should take out the seedlings as the spawn. Once he transforms into the Tree Form, all party members should run out of the tranquility and then take out the protectors to minimize the amount of healing Freywinn is able to do. Once the protectors die, resume DPS on the boss. Repeat this strategy as he transforms back and forth.
Heroic
Other than increased damage and hit points, this fight is exactly the same.
Thorngrin the Tender
Abilities
- Sacrifice: Occasionally sacrifices a party member, teleporting them to Thorngrin's initial position and doing Shadow damage over time. This will only hit targets in line of sight and those other than his primary target.
- Hellfire: Channels Hellfire at his feet, causing fire damage in large radius around him
- Enrage: Occasionally enrages, increasing attack speed by 75% and physical damage by 110.
Strategy
The main idea here is to avoid his hellfire, which can be accomplished by tanking him away from the altar where party members are sacrificed. All party members can run out of his hellfire as soon as he casts it, helping to alleviate some pressure on the healer. If possible, the healer should stay out of Thorngrin's line of sight to avoid a sacrifice. Fire and shadow resistance are also helpful to mitigate a large amount of his damage.
Heroic
No major changes, but all damage is increased
Laj
Abilities
- Allergic Reaction: A disease that does periodic nature damage and increases damage taken by 500. It can spread to nearby players. Dispellable.
- Summon Thorn Flayer & Summon Thorn Lasher: Adds will be summoned to the two pedestals near Laj. These will randomly be Thorn Lashers or Thorn Flayers.
Strategy
Throughout the fight, Laj will teleport back to his spawning point and summon two adds. Each time Laj teleports, he will change colors, signifying a different resistance. Black is Shadow, Blue is Frost, Green is nature, Red is Fire Resistant, White is Arcane Resistance. Laj can either be tanked on his platform or in the area before his room, out of line of sight of the adds. If he is tanked on his platform, take care of the adds as soon as possible by killing or crowd controlling them. The adds can be feared and banished, so warlocks should be able to take two out of the fight. If he is tanked in the hallway, the adds should be killed once Laj teleports back to his platform while he runs back to the group. After Laj dies, the adds persist, so be ready to kill them afterwards.
Heroic
The same tactics can be applied, as Laj has no new abilities.
Warp Splinter
Abilities
- Spawn Treants - summons 6 Saplings on the grassy area around Warp Splinter. They are slow moving, but will do melee damage to targets in their range. After approximately 20 seconds, they will despawn and heal Warp Splinter for their remaining health.
- Stomp - 1000-2500 physical damage, 25 yard range AoE stun increasing damage taken by 550 - lasts 5 seconds.
- Arcane Volley - Hits all targets in range with arcane bolts.
Strategy
Ranged DPS and healers should stand at a distance in order to avoid the Stomp. Warp Splinter should be faced away from the group to avoid arcane volley as well. If you have a warlock or a priest, tank Warp Splinter at the part of the path where it starts to spread out into the large area where he stands. Then, healers and ranged DPS should stand where Warp Splinter starts. This will attract the adds to them, and they can then be fear bombed to prevent them from healing Warp Splinter when they despawn. A warrior tank can do the same with positions reversed. If you have no AoE fear, focus fire the adds down or ignore them if you feel your DPS is high enough.
Heroic
Warp Splinter has no new abilities, so the same tactics are effective.
Lore
The Botanica is one satellite wing of the Tempest Keep. The Tempest Keep is a fortress created by the Naaru. It contained three other satellites, the Arcatraz, the Mechanar, and the Exodar. The fortress is able to travel along the Twisting Nether to travel almost instantly between places. The Naaru used this ability of the Tempest Keep to travel to the Outlands, but when they left the fortress, the blood elves led by Prince Kael'thas attacked it and took it over.
The Botanica is a center for plant experimentation for Kael'thas and his Blood Elves. Commander Sarannis is stationed there, along with High Botanist Freywinn. Together they are in charge of creating strange plant and elemental based abominations, including Laj and Warp Splinter. Warp Splinter is an ancient of the arcane that has been confused and twisted into becoming evil. By taking a piece of him back to Darnassus, the being can be grown anew over thousands of years.
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