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The Venomous Abyss · Midnight Season 2

What kills raids on The Coiled Altar

Sever causes 30% of first deaths on Heroic The Coiled Altar wipes.

Measured from this season's Heroic and Normal The Coiled Altar pulls uploaded to WowCoach: what causes the first death, what kills players while raids wipe, and how far raids get. Each ability links to Wowhead and carries a short counter. Updated October 16, 2026.

HeroicNormal

Heroic The Coiled Altar

Wipes for every kill
7
Typical kill time
7:01
Typical deaths on a kill
3

What causes the first death on a wipe

The ability behind the first player death of each Heroic wipe. The first death usually starts the wipe.

  1. Sever30%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 63% fewer players per minute to Sever than raids that wipe.
    • Counter: Only the tank stands in front of Zul'jan when Sever goes out, about every 17 s from 23 s: carriers drop globules on the pile and step clear before the cone.
    • Counter: Tanks swap after every Sever and aim it through the pile, away from the raid.
  2. Melee hits13%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 49% fewer players per minute to Melee hits than raids that wipe.
  3. Gravebound13%
    • Counter: The moment you get Gravebound, stop casting and walk over every one of your fragments; they fade in 10 s and a missed one kills you.
    • Counter: Keep fragment paths clear of puddles and other players' bombs so runners are not slowed.
  4. Venom Rupture9%
    • Counter: Stagger the pops: clear the pile on every Sever so each cast pops only a few globules, and never let it grow before Zul'jan dies.
    • Counter: Healers keep a raid cooldown for the end of Phase 1, when every leftover globule explodes at once.
  5. Dreadful Presence8%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 89% fewer players per minute to Dreadful Presence than raids that wipe.
    • Counter: Healers rotate throughput cooldowns through the whole Malacrass stage and keep the raid topped before each Gloombomb and tank cone.
    • Counter: Players at low health use a personal defensive or healthstone before the next big hit instead of waiting.
  6. Gravebound5%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 66% fewer players per minute to Gravebound than raids that wipe.
    • Counter: The moment you get Gravebound, stop casting and walk over every one of your fragments; they fade in 10 s and a missed one kills you.
    • Counter: Keep fragment paths clear of puddles and other players' bombs so runners are not slowed.
  7. Axegrinder4%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 73% fewer players per minute to Axegrinder than raids that wipe.
    • Counter: Stand in the middle with no edge behind you when Axegrinder is cast (about 14 s and 99 s); an axe landing beside you knocks you off the platform.
    • Counter: Sidestep the wandering axes; each touch is an armor-ignoring hit.
  8. Guillotine3%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar almost never lose a player to Guillotine.
    • Counter: Alternate two soak groups for Guillotine, 5+ players each, or the whole raid takes Execution: group A takes the axe at about 48 s, group B the one at about 133 s.
    • Counter: Take each axe to its assigned corner, and nobody who soaked the last axe stands in the next one; when the hit lands everyone gets at least 40 yards clear, 50 to be safe, with a Gateway or Stampeding Roar if you have one.

What kills players during wipes

Every player death on Heroic wipes, by ability. Deaths in the last 20 seconds are left out: that is usually the reset.

  1. Melee hits19%
  2. Gravebound15%
  3. Venom Rupture10%
  4. Dreadful Presence8%
  5. Sever7%
  6. Coalesced Venom6%
  7. Gravebound4%
  8. Grim Guillotine3%

How much health The Coiled Altar has left when raids wipe

  • Over 75% health left12%
  • 50–75% health left10%
  • 25–50% health left27%
  • 10–25% health left32%
  • Under 10% health left19%

Normal The Coiled Altar

Wipes for every kill
3.2
Typical kill time
5:29
Typical deaths on a kill
4

What causes the first death on a wipe

The ability behind the first player death of each Normal wipe. The first death usually starts the wipe.

  1. Sever55%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 64% fewer players per minute to Sever than raids that wipe.
    • Counter: Only the tank stands in front of Zul'jan when Sever goes out, about every 17 s from 23 s: carriers drop globules on the pile and step clear before the cone.
    • Counter: Tanks swap after every Sever and aim it through the pile, away from the raid.
  2. Gravebound12%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 46% fewer players per minute to Gravebound than raids that wipe.
    • Counter: The moment you get Gravebound, stop casting and walk over every one of your fragments; they fade in 10 s and a missed one kills you.
    • Counter: Keep fragment paths clear of puddles and other players' bombs so runners are not slowed.
  3. Dreadful Presence8%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 80% fewer players per minute to Dreadful Presence than raids that wipe.
    • Counter: Healers rotate throughput cooldowns through the whole Malacrass stage and keep the raid topped before each Gloombomb and tank cone.
    • Counter: Players at low health use a personal defensive or healthstone before the next big hit instead of waiting.
  4. Melee hits8%
    • Raids that kill The Coiled Altar lose 32% fewer players per minute to Melee hits than raids that wipe.
  5. Guillotine7%
    • Counter: Stack at least 5 players on the marked player to share the axe, or the whole raid takes Execution; then run out of the 40-yard eruption as soon as the hit lands.
  6. Axegrinder2%
    • Counter: Stand in the middle with no edge behind you when Axegrinder is cast (about 14 s and 99 s); an axe landing beside you knocks you off the platform.
    • Counter: Sidestep the wandering axes; each touch is an armor-ignoring hit.
  7. Fangs of the Coiled Altar2%
    • Counter: Healers cover the 8 s channel with a raid cooldown, and the tank takes a defensive for the empowered melee swings right after it.
    • Counter: Keep the boss and the raid off the swelling puddles under the altar mouths.
  8. Gravebound2%
    • Counter: The moment you get Gravebound, stop casting and walk over every one of your fragments; they fade in 10 s and a missed one kills you.
    • Counter: Keep fragment paths clear of puddles and other players' bombs so runners are not slowed.

What kills players during wipes

Every player death on Normal wipes, by ability. Deaths in the last 20 seconds are left out: that is usually the reset.

  1. Gravebound36%
  2. Sever16%
  3. Melee hits13%
  4. Dreadful Presence12%
  5. Coalesced Venom3%
  6. Guillotine2%
  7. Gravebound2%
  8. Despair1%

How much health The Coiled Altar has left when raids wipe

  • Over 75% health left11%
  • 50–75% health left13%
  • 25–50% health left17%
  • 10–25% health left36%
  • Under 10% health left23%

Which of these killed your raid?

Upload your The Coiled Altar log and WowCoach shows who died to what on each pull, the first death that started each wipe, and what to change on the next pull.

Upload a log freeGet the desktop appAsk about your logs in ChatGPT or Claude

About these numbers

Every percentage comes from The Venomous Abyss pulls uploaded to WowCoach since September 1, 2026. A difficulty appears only once there are enough wipes and kills for the shares to hold steady. Counters are WowCoach's coaching notes for each ability. For full fight strategy, read the boss guides at Icy Veins and Wowhead.