The Steamvault (normal)

The final of the non-raid Coilfang Reservoir instances, the Steamvault are where the nefarious plans of the Naga to drain the water of Zangarmarsh are being put into action. For many players this dungeon is the culmination of the winged zone that starts with the Slave Pens and the Underbog, both being other sections of the large complex designed by the Naga. The Warlord Kalithresh controls this section, assisted by the Hydromancer Thespia and Mekgineer Steamrigger, a rogue leper gnome who maintains the machinery of the Reservoir.

Designed for 5 level 70 adventurers, the Steamvault are the only place to accumulate Cenarion Expedition reputation after Honored outside of Heroic mode. Being somewhat short (45 minutes to an hour for an experienced group) it’s a popular place to farm CE reputation, especially for druids lusting after their Earthwarden. Level 69/68 characters can venture into here successfully, as the trash is all level 70, but the bosses are all level 72, so be warned if you have too many lower-level characters.

How to Find the Damn Place

Located in the middle of the massive Serpent Lake in Northern Zangarmarsh, Coilfang Reservoir is, to the passer-by, a group of mean spires extending from the water. Courageous adventurers that dive towards its murky center will find a long air-rich tube that leads to a large antechamber that houses the entrance to the three non-raid CR dungeons and the Serpentshrine Cavern raid instance. Outside these are the meeting stone and the valiant Watcher Jhang, who has a few tasks for those strong enough to challenge the Naga. (In the mythical 2.1 patch a faction vendor and repair NPC should be added.) The second tunnel to the left leads into the Steamvault.

Pertinent Quests

[70] The Warlord’s Hideout – Watcher Jhang
Jhang, noticing a group of Naga entering the Steamvault, overheard the name Kalithresh. Recognizing this, she tasks you with slaying the Warlord in charge of Naga operations in the Steamvault. A simple kill quest, requiring only the death of Warlord Kalithresh, which has a series of respectable blue helmets with ever valuable metagem slots.

[70] Orders From Lady Vashj – Random drop
Upon slaying a random Naga you may stumble upon orders from their leader, Lady Vashj. They’ve discovered that the druids of the Cenarion Expedition are aware of their plan and as a result production has been doubled. Delivering these orders to Ysiel Windsinger will net you a hefty sum of experience (or gold) and 500 reputation with the CE.

Trash Mobs

Like many of the level 70 instances, the trash in the Steamvault has a lot of tricks up its sleeves. Here are all the different mobs and the things you need to look out for:

Coilfang Siren - Perhaps the most deadly of the mobs in the instance for one reason: they fear. They also have a lightning bolt and moonfire, both of which do moderate damage. Priority CC on these guys, as a bad fear can easily add an extra pull in here, where the groups are tight. Since they’re casters, make sure to use LOS to pull them back to a safe zone before engaging them, so if they do manage to get a fear off you’re far enough away from other groups to avoid anything too nasty. Tremor totems / fear ward trivialize these guys.

Coilfang Oracle - The second most dangerous mob in the instance. They have a 10 sec. silence, which can cripple healers if it gets out of hand. They also have a full heal ability which can be interrupted. A nasty frost shock rounds them out. These guys should be second on the CC list if you can manage it. If not, put them at the top of the kill order, as silences and heals can easily overwhelm an unprepared party.

Coilfang Engineer - Not especially dangerous, but rather annoying. They have a short (.5 sec) cast time bomb throw and a 10 sec. net that locks a target in place. This makes tanking them an exercise in frusturation. Otherwise they have a weak melee attack and shouldn’t be much of a concern.

Coilfang Warrior - Rather boring melee mobs. Tank and spank.

Coilfang Myrmidon - Naga in Wrath! Much like a warrior, these are the hard hitters of the instance, with a nasty cleave and sweeping strikes. They also have a execute ability. Tank these guys away from the squishy caster types and you’ll be fine.

Coilfang Sorceress - Standard frost caster mob. Throws out frostbolts for about 1.2k damage with the occasional dispelable frost nova. They can also use an interruptible blizzard, which should be stopped as soon as possible.

Coilfang Slavemaster - Similar to the Slavehandlers in the Slave Pens, these guys come with a retinue of nearby slaves who can actually be solo pulled when the Slavemaster isn’t nearby. The slaves have a questionable aggro table, so some groups might prefer pulling them individually. Otherwise, they flee for safety when the Slavemaster dies. Does a disarm and knockback, but otherwise a simple tank and spank.

Bog Overlord - Massive bunches of moss that hit really really hard for around 2k damage on a warrior. Emits an AOE poison that ticks for 400/sec and throws out a stacking poison bolt. They also trample for 2-3k damage, so watch your melee DPS.

Tidal Surger - One large water elemental surrounded by 4 smaller ones. If a warlock is available banish the big guy and deal with the adds, otherwise have a warrior tank the big guy and AOE down the tiny adds. Does a high-damage knockback and frost nova. Immune to frost spells.

Leper Gnomes - Two larges packs before Mekgineer Steamrigger. Some are ranged, some are melee, so just AOE them down to the best of your ability and move on.

The pulls before Hydromancer Thespia consist of groups of 3-4 Engineers, Warriors, Sirens, and Oracles. Make sure to CC the Sirens and Oracles first, focusing on the melee mobs. Three Tidal Surger groups patrol up and down the main room, so pull these when convenient. Bog Overlords flank the room and, aside from the first one to the immediate right of the entrance, can be ignored.

As you approach Mekgineer Steamrigger, groups of Sorceresses and Myrmidons with the occasional Slavemaster start to appear. The main room before Kalithresh has 4 pulls consisting of a Myrmidon, a Sorceress, an Oracle, and a Siren. Try and pull these back as far as possible, using the door to LOS them.

The Bosses

Special note: Before the door to Warlord Kalithresh opens, you must activate the panels behind the two bosses. There’s no specific order to do this in, but I tend to prefer the Hydromancer -> Mekgineer route.

Hydromancer Thespia - This overblown frost mage comes complete with two water elementals. The initial pull may seem daunting, but never fear, as they are banishable. Even if you don’t have a warlock, it’s very possible to off-tank one with any hybrid class or even a hunter pet while the tank proper handles the boss and the other add. Make sure to kill the off-tanked mob first, then move onto the other elemental. If you were able to banish one, keep it banished for the duration of the fight, letting the off-tank hold the other add while the tank focuses on the boss. After both adds (or the non-banished one) are down, you can move onto the boss, who has a variety of tricky moves:

Lightning Storm - A channeled AOE damage spell that hits for 1.5-2k damage/sec. If this goes down immediately get out of the way. If you’re the tank, make sure to move her out of it as soon as possible.

Enveloping Winds - A dispelable magic debuff that stuns a target for 5 sec. It seems random who she casts it on, but the tank will rarely, if ever, get it. If you can, try and get this dispelled as soon as possible, as a healer who gets stunned and caught in the lightning storm will almost always die.

The key here is mobility, as the lightning storm can easily wipe a slow party. 2-3 seconds of exposure can spell death for a poorly geared character, so make sure that you move quickly and stay as spread out as possible. Keep the stun cleared as best as you can, especially if a healer gets hit with it.

Mekgineer Steamrigger - A long lost brother of Thermaplugg, Steamrigger has been managing the machinery of the cursed Steamvault with the help of his leper gnome brethren. The gimmick behind the Steamrigger fight is that at every 25% (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%) he summons three non-elite adds which run out and start a channeling heal on him. They hit for around 500 melee and their heal can be broken with damage, so DPS needs to immediately shift onto them when they come out. He’ll do a yell when he summons them, so be ready. Since they hit so softly and don’t have a lot of HP the tank doesn’t need to hold them as long as the DPS can focus fire to prevent them from going out of control. Beyond the adds Steamrigger has a retinue of nasty abilities:

Sawblade - Randomly launches a giant sawblade that hits everybody in range for 1.5-2k damage. If the healer is running low on mana, DPS should bandage off this damage, otherwise just heal through it.

Electrified Net - Used on highest aggro. Roots the target for 10 sec. and does 600-700 damage.

Shrink Ray - Reduces damage done by 35% and just like the engineering trinket it has a chance to backfire.

The hardest part about this fight is managing the adds when they come out. A quick thunderclap / swipe / consecrate can break their initial heal and keep them on the tank while the DPS focus fires them down. Make sure to set up a strict /assist macro here, as if the adds get loose they can chew through clothies.

Warlord Kalithresh - The first of a long-line of DPS burn fights. Around his room there are several vats full of green liquid. These are vital to the encounter, so take note of them before you pull. After clearing his room pull him to the center of the main platform, making sure to position him in the middle of the four vats at the corners. After a while he will yell and make a break for a nearby vat, channeling “Warlord’s Rage” on it. At this point you need to shift all DPS to the vat, which has around 10k health, and destroy it before he finishes channeling. This means even the tank and healer should be contributing. If he succeeds he receives a 75% damage / 70% haste buff that spells instant doom for the tank. The channel moves pretty fast (10 sec) so save your energy / rage / cooldowns for the vats and kill them as quickly as possible. Once you master this mechanic the rest of the fight is pretty simple, as he only has a few other abilities:

Reflective Shield - A white bubble encases Kalithresh and he reflects all magic damage. Just watch out and it should be no problem unless you manage to throw out a 6k pyroblast crit.

Impale - Kalithresh randomly impales targets, doing 500dmg/3sec. Heal through it and it’s no big deal.

Communication and fast reactions are the best way to win this fight. If your DPS can shift quick enough to the vats, you’ll have no problems taking the leader of the Steamvault down.