Phase 1:

Macros

I’ll begin by recommending that at least two macros be made:

1. /target Algalon the Observer 2. /target Collapsing Star

In addition to these, macros to mark targets with raid symbols will come in very handy. We use Skull and Square as our two symbols, and the macros to mark targets with them are:

1. Skull: /script SetRaidTarget("target",8) 2. Square: /script SetRaidTarget("target",6)

You can change which symbol is used by changing the number at the end of the macro.

How Stars Work

The Collapsing Stars spawn in groups of 4 and then slowly decay. If stars are still alive when the next wave is spawning, it will spawn enough to make the total number of stars equal 4. Since they will hit the entire raid for a significant chunk of damage when they die, it is important to manage the stars effectively. Below is our strategy for dealing with them.

Procedure

When the stars spawn, whatever dps is assigned to kill them (we use a Warlock) switches off Algalon and immediately begins killing stars. The kill target is marked with a Skull so that raid members can easily see if they need to worry about the star dying and leaving a void zone near them (in addition, the “star destroyer” also calls out on vent if a low star is near raid members).

It is important to give a warning several seconds before a star dies so that raid members can use cooldowns if needed and healers can prepare for the spike of raid damage that will come when the star does die.

On the initial spawn, 3 stars are killed this way and then the remaining star is marked with a square and left untouched. When the next wave of stars comes, 3 new ones will spawn, bringing the total back to 4.

The Square will die on its own shortly following the first big bang, leaving you with the 3 stars from the most recent spawn. This process is then repeated for each subsequent wave of stars. 2 of the 3 new stars are killed, and the last one is marked with a Square. While this star slowly decays, 3 more spawn.

Following Square’s death, 2 more are killed and the last one is again marked with a Square. Once Algalon reaches 20%, all Collapsing Stars that are still alive will disappear.

Additional Details

These are the basics of our tactics for dealing with Collapsing Stars. I use the /target Algalon the Observer macro to set my pet on him after each Big Bang and to quickly swap to dps him when I am not busy killing stars. The macro for targeting stars I think speaks for itself.

The most important things to keep in mind are that, so long as you try to monitor raid hp and make sure people are topped off before a star dies AND GIVE FAIR WARNING ON VENT, you’re doing your job.

As a star killer, the 2 things that you do not want to happen are for a star to die without you giving advance notice on vent or for 2 stars to die at the same time. For this reason, the single most important thing is to get comfortable with monitoring how many stars are alive and what their relative health pools are.

Once you are comfortable with that, just make sure that 2 don’t die at once and your raid should be able to manage. If you can avoid killing stars while Big Bang is casting or a Cosmic Smash is coming, your healers would probably greatly appreciate it. Failing to do so won’t necessarily lead to a wipe, but it can lead to preventable deaths and undue stress on your healers.

This is merely what we do, and is by no means the only way to deal with Collapsing Stars. I am in no way perfect, nor am I an astronomer; take any information I give you about stars with a grain of salt. If there are any questions about our strat, I’ll gladly do my best to answer them. Hopefully this was helpful. Best of luck to everyone working on this encounter!