The Venomous Abyss · Midnight Season 2
What kills raids on Vashnik the Malignant
Plague Wave causes 55% of first deaths on Mythic Vashnik the Malignant wipes.
Measured from this season's Mythic and Heroic Vashnik the Malignant 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 22, 2026.
Mythic Vashnik the Malignant
- Wipes for every kill
- 10.8
- Typical kill time
- 6:36
- Typical deaths on a kill
- 4
What causes the first death on a wipe
The ability behind the first player death of each Mythic wipe. The first death usually starts the wipe.
- Plague Wave55%
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 53% fewer players per minute to Plague Wave than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Aim the lines at the Malignant Totems, never at the raid: first set on the marker line, second set at the totems that are left. Two hits kill.
- Counter: Everyone else stays stacked behind the boss, off every line; lines fire 6 s after the froth lands.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 53% fewer players per minute to Stygian Burst than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Infected players keep moving away from the raid so the swirls land on empty ground; nobody stands within 4 yards of them.
- Counter: Healers end it by healing the absorb off.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 77% fewer players per minute to Caustic Surge than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Kill the 3 Burning Venoms one at a time: grip two in, banish the third, and kill it last.
- Counter: Healers use a cooldown on each death; each explosion adds a stacking raid damage-over-time.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 69% fewer players per minute to Caustic Explosion than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Dispel the 4 flame infections in a set healer order, a few seconds apart, with each target away from the raid; never two together.
- Counter: Never dispel into an Imbibe, a totem's Malignance or a bile impact; top the raid between dispels.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 62% fewer players per minute to Plague Froth than raids that wipe.
- Counter: First set after each Imbibe: targets go to the marker line between the Shadow and Flame fountains so the waves sweep the Malignant Totems; second set: aim at the totems that are left.
- Counter: Never point a wave line at the raid stack; two wave hits kill.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 65% fewer players per minute to Malignance than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Clear every totem with the two froth wave sets after each Imbibe: the first set on the marker line, the second aimed at the totems that are left.
- Counter: Call any missed totem before the next Imbibe and save a raid cooldown for it; one is survivable, two is a wipe.
- Melee hits4%
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 77% fewer players per minute to Melee hits than raids that wipe.
- 78% of the players it kills are tanks.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 32% fewer players per minute to Stygian Infection than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Healers burn the absorb off these targets first; that ends the infection.
- Counter: Infected: keep moving away from the raid, out of your own swirls, but stay in healing range.
What kills players during wipes
Every player death on Mythic wipes, by ability. Deaths in the last 20 seconds are left out: that is usually the reset.
- Plague Wave33%
- Melee hits6%
How much health Vashnik the Malignant has left when raids wipe
- Over 75% health left12%
- 50–75% health left54%
- 25–50% health left24%
- 10–25% health left6%
- Under 10% health left4%
Heroic Vashnik the Malignant
- Wipes for every kill
- 0.5
- Typical kill time
- 5:24
- Typical deaths on a kill
- 1
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.
- Plague Froth13%
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 85% fewer players per minute to Plague Froth than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Run out in all directions the moment you get it so no wave line crosses the boss; everyone else stacks behind the boss.
- Counter: Keep 5 yards from every other player until it expires; the pulses stack.
- Plague Wave13%
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 35% fewer players per minute to Plague Wave than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Froth targets run out in all directions so no line crosses the boss; everyone else stacks behind the boss. Lines fire 8 s after the froth lands.
- Counter: Step off any line pointing at you; never cross two.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 83% fewer players per minute to Caustic Explosion than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Dispel the flame infections one at a time, 3-4 s apart, with each target away from the raid; never within 5 s of an Imbibe or a bile impact.
- Counter: It stacks with Caustic Surge and Imbibe damage: top the raid before each dispel.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 68% fewer players per minute to Caustic Surge than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Kill the two Burning Venoms a few seconds apart, never together; each explosion adds a stacking raid damage-over-time.
- Counter: Healers use a cooldown on each death; grip or crowd-control the second until the first is dead.
- Raids that kill Vashnik the Malignant lose 77% fewer players per minute to Stygian Infection than raids that wipe.
- Counter: Healers burn the absorb off both targets first: the first set lands with the bile impacts and Caustic Surge stacks, where the Heroic deaths happen.
- Counter: Infected: keep moving away from the raid, out of your own swirls, and leave the bile circles to others.
- Counter: Infected players keep moving away from the raid so the swirls land on empty ground; nobody stands within 4 yards of them.
- Counter: Healers end it by healing the absorb off.
- Counter: Kill the Burning Venoms first, gripped into melee, one a few seconds after the other.
- Counter: Healers cover the pulses; they stop as each add dies.
- Counter: Allies stand in each target's circle until the absorb is gone; it is the only way to heal them.
- Counter: Keep Vashnik off the Blood fountain and this never goes out.
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.
- Plague Wave13%
- Plague Froth10%
How much health Vashnik the Malignant has left when raids wipe
- Over 75% health left23%
- 50–75% health left23%
- 25–50% health left23%
- 10–25% health left23%
- Under 10% health left8%
Which of these killed your raid?
Upload your Vashnik the Malignant 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.
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.