Hodir (tactics)

For character biography, see Hodir.

Hodir
Race	Titanic watcher (Giant)
Level	?? Boss
Location	The Halls of Winter
Status	Defeatable
Ulduar The Siege of Ulduar Flame Leviathan Ignis the Furnace Master Razorscale XT-002 Deconstructor (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) The Antechamber of Ulduar Assembly of Iron Kologarn Auriaya (lore) (lore) (lore) The Keepers of Ulduar Mimiron Freya Thorim Hodir (lore) (lore) (lore) (lore) The Descent into Madness General Vezax Yogg-Saron (lore) (lore) The Celestial Planetarium Algalon the Observer (summoned) (lore) Other Ulduar instances Halls of Stone (5) Halls of Lightning (5)

Hodir is one of the boss encounters in Ulduar. Players are able to defeat him, but not kill him. His loot is distributed through a frozen chest in his chambers.

25-man abilities

• Hard Enrage - 8 minutes after encounter starts.
• Reported to be able to hit for up to 25k on plate.
• Biting Cold - Aura that stacks up a DoT that deals frost damage. Simply moving will dispel this DoT.
• Freeze - Inflicts 5550 to 6450 Frost damage to nearby enemies, immobilizing them for up to 10 sec. 10 yard radius, can be dispelled.
• Flash Freeze - Hodir will emote (Winds of the north consume you!) and start casting Flash Freeze. At this point, areas of safety are marked with large white circles. You need to wait (roughly) 5 to 10 seconds for the snow to drop on the circle. If you stand in the area when the snow falls, you will take ~13,500 damage plus a 10-15 yards push back. Once the snow dropped on the area, you need to get inside it before Hodir finishes casting Flash Freeze to avoid it. If you were not, you will be frozen (ice blocked) and unable to perform any action. The ice blocks have 100,000 health and need to be destroyed by people. If you're hit by Flash Freeze again while you're still an ice block, you're instantly killed.
• Icicles - Ice Shards fall from the ceiling and deal a knockback with 12,000 frost damage to any players underneath. This also spawns Snowdrift on the ground where the Ice Shard hits. To avoid Flash Freeze, one must stand on the Snowdrifts.
• Frozen Blows - Self buff that adds 40,000 frost damage to all melee attacks but reduces physical damage by 70%. Also adds a 4K AOE frost effect to his attacks.

10-man abilities

• Hard Enrage - 9 minutes after encounter starts.
• Biting Cold - Aura that stacks up a DoT that deals frost damage. Simply moving will dispel this DoT.
• Flash Freeze - Freezes everyone in ice blocks. If anyone is hit by it, kill their ice block immediately (40,000 HP). If you're hit by Flash Freeze again while you're still an ice block, you're instantly killed.
• Icicles - Ice Shards fall from the ceiling and deal a knockback with 12,000 frost damage to any players underneath. This also spawns Snowdrift on the ground where the Ice Shard hits. To avoid Flash Freeze, one must stand on the Snowdrifts.
• Frozen Blows - Self buff that adds 31062 frost damage to all melee attacks but reduces physical damage by 70%. Also while up hits the entire raid for 4000 frost damage every 2 seconds. This buff last 20 seconds.

Friendly NPCs

Before the start of the fight, there are several NPCs (8 in Heroic, 4 in Normal) frozen in iceblocks who can be freed by attacking the iceblocks. When freed, they will help the raid by attacking Hodir, casting spells to help the raid, and providing beneficial buffs. Horde and Alliance raids will see a different set of NPCs according to their faction. If you wish, you can mark the NPC's while frozen by typing /tar and their first name to target them.

Class	Normal		Heroic		Position	Abilities
	Alliance	Horde	Alliance	Horde
Priest	Field Medic Penny	Battle-Priest Eliza	Field Medic Jessi	Battle-Priest Gina	Leftmost	Casts: Smite, Greater Heal, Dispel Magic.
Druid	Ellie Brightfeather	Tor Greycloud	Eivi Nightfeather	Kar Greycloud	Front of boss	Casts: Wrath and Starlight
Shaman	Elementalist Avuun	Spiritwalker Yona	Elementalist Mahfuun	Spiritwalker Tara	Right	Casts: Casts: Lava Burst and Storm Cloud which gives the Storm Power buff to raid members.
Mage	Missy Flamecuffs	Veesha Blazeweaver	Sissy Flamecuffs	Amira Blazeweaver	Rightmost	Casts: Conjure Toasty Fire, Fireball. She can remove Flash freeze from other NPC and players very quickly with Melt Ice.

General strategy

This is a single phase fight that remains the same from beginning until the end when Hodir is at 1% health. Making effective use of the friendly NPCs' buffs can increase raid DPS tremendously and is necessary to successfully complete the encounter in Hard mode which requires killing Hodir within 3 minutes. Also the "Projected Textures" option in the game video settings should be turned on for this fight (as of 3.1.1 it's on by default), as much of the avoidable raid damage requires seeing the glowing white target circles on the ground.

Once the encounter begins by pulling the boss or attacking an iceblock, all players need to be aware of Hodir's Biting Cold aura. This aura cannot be outranged and will stack a DoT debuff every few seconds whenever a player is not moving. The amount of damage done every tick increases rapidly with every stack of the debuff, so players that accumulate more than a few stacks will likely die. Moving will only remove one stack of the debuff every second, so players who have multiple stacks of the debuff must remain moving for several seconds before the debuff is completely removed.

Throughout the fight, Hodir will randomly cast Freeze which is a Frost Nova type spell centered on a random member of the raid. The targeted player along with any other players within 10 yards of him will be rooted for 10 seconds. This should be dispelled as quickly as possible. Priest [Mass Dispel] works well for this. Paladins can help free players with [Hand of Freedom] and Mages can [Blink] to free themselves. Gnome characters can also use [Escape Artist], so gnome mages have two escapes from this root effect. Humans can use Every Man For Himself and Rogues have [Cloak of Shadows] and [Vanish]. The major problem with Freeze is if it prevents players from moving out from under an Icicle, or to safety from Flash Freeze. It may be worth saving one's personal escapes for these situations.

Randomly during the fight, Icicles will fall from the ceiling onto players. They are visually cued by snowflakes pouring down before they land and, with projected textures, a white target circle on the ground. Players have a few seconds to move from the area before the Icicle hits the ground, causing significant damage to all players in the area and knocking them back around 30 yards if they are not already rooted by Hodir's Freeze spell.

Periodically Hodir gains a self-buff called Frozen Blows. It reduces the physical damage he does, but in turn buffs frost damage to his attacks (up to 40,000 unresisted). While Hodir has the Frozen Blows buff he also deals 4,000 frost damage to the whole raid every 2 seconds, so healers will have to be prepared. If the raid is employing a frost resist tank, he needs to watch for the emote tied to this and immediately taunt him. Healers also need to be paying attention for the emote to switch targets onto the frost resist tank. When the buff wears off, the original tank must taunt back immediately and the healers must switch back right away again.

When Hodir starts casting Flash Freeze, three large icicles will begin to fall (two on Normal). The areas where these icicles will fall are immediately marked by a mound of snow and a large white targeting circle on the ground. Players should get next to, but not inside one of these large circles as soon as possible. After several seconds the large icicle will crash into the ground causing tremendous damage to anyone in the circle and knocking them 30 yards away. After the icicle has hit the ground, all players have only a couple seconds to run into the circle where a large icicle has just fallen. Any NPCs or players who are not in one of the large circles will be frozen in an iceblock by the Flash Freeze. Players and NPCs in iceblocks should be freed immediately prior to resuming DPS on Hodir.

Overall, this fight is mostly a test of endurance. No players should get more than a couple stacks of the Biting Cold debuff. Very few should ever get hit by falling Icicles. And no one should get frozen by Flash Freeze.

In depth - Mage NPC's

The two Mage NPCs will randomly Conjure a Toasty Fire, These stop players from having to move around to get rid of the Biting Cold debuff. Note that the fires only place the buff on a certain number of people in range, so keep an eye on your buffs and don't assume you have it. Check to be sure you have the buff, else you could be left out in the cold.

But, on top of that effect, any DPS caster that should have the Toasty Fire buff will also apply the stacking effect Singed to Hodir, which increases magic damage taken. This can stack up to 25 times, increasing all spell damage taken by 50%. The Mages also have an ability called Melt Ice, which they cast on the other NPCs who are caught by Flash Freeze. This does between 5 and 15% of the total life of an Ice Block, although, this isn't enough for your raid to ignore the other NPCs. Because of these abilities, To simplify the encounter even more Mages need to be your priority NPC to release from the Ice Blocks.

Mage/Singed tactics

Because the Mages will only spawn fires about 5-15 yards around them selves, assigning a caster to each of the Mages will ensure that the debuff stay's up at all times. Before you start the encounter, mark each of the Mages before you begin (using Diamond and Moon, as these are less likely to be used by any addons), their names are Amira Blazeweaver/Missy Flamecuffs and Veesha Blazewaver/Sissy Flamecuffs and can be targeted using the /Target command (their Ice Block stops them from being clicked).

Once the encounter starts, release the mages first, as they will help your raid to release the rest of the NPCs. The assigned casters will be looking out for the fires they spawn, Once up, practicaly stand on top of them and start casting to get the debuff rolling (remember, You can't run though them once he starts casting Flash Freeze!). Singed has a 30 second duration, and a 30% apply chance. To help with keeping the Debuff stacked, It's important for the raid to release the mages as fast as possible. The mages will help you to release the rest of the NPC's, which is a nice little bonus! Assigned casters get back to their respective NPC, and refresh Singed.

Quotes

Aggro:

• You will suffer for this trespass!

Frozen Blows:

• <Furious roar>

Flash Freeze:

• Winds of the north consume you!

Hard mode missed:

• Hodir shatters the Rare Cache of Hodir!

Killing a player:

• Tragic. To come so far, only to fail.
• Welcome to the endless winter.

Berserk:

• Enough! This ends now!

Defeated:

• I... I am released from his grasp... at last.

Required for Yogg-Saron's encounter:

• The veil of winter will protect you, champions!

Sound files

See Sound Files of Ulduar: Hodir

Drops

Main article: Cache of Winter

Cache of Winter

Avalanche Item Level 219Disenchants into:  [Abyss Crystal]: 1-2 Binds when picked up Bow Ranged Speed 2.90 106 – 198 Damage (52.4 damage per second) +28 Agility +51 Stamina +15 Critical Strike +14 Haste Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 80 Sell Price: 16 81 42 Breastplate of the Wayward Conqueror Binds when picked up Classes: Paladin, Warlock, Priest Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 5 Breastplate of the Wayward Protector Binds when picked up Classes: Shaman, Hunter, Warrior Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 5 Breastplate of the Wayward Vanquisher Binds when picked up Classes: Druid, Rogue, Death Knight, Mage Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 5 Cowl of Icy Breaths Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when picked up Cloth Head 3 Armor +3 Intellect +5 Stamina +3 Critical Strike +3 Haste   Meta Socket Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +8 Critical Strike   Durability 100 / 100 Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 6 17 69 Frost-Bound Chain Bracers Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when picked up Mail Wrist 5 Armor +2 Agility or Intellect +3 Stamina +2 Critical Strike +2 Haste Durability 55 / 55 Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 6 29 70 Frostplate Greaves Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when picked up Plate Legs 14 Armor +4 Strength or Intellect +5 Stamina +4 Critical Strike +3 Versatility   Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +3 Spell Power   Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 12 11 2 Frozen Loop Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when picked up Unique-Equipped Finger +2 Intellect +3 Stamina +2 Critical Strike +2 Haste Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 7 56 23 Leggings of the Wayward Conqueror Binds when picked up Classes: Paladin, Warlock, Priest Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 5 Leggings of the Wayward Protector Binds when picked up Classes: Shaman, Hunter, Warrior Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 5 Leggings of the Wayward Vanquisher Binds when picked up Classes: Druid, Rogue, Death Knight, Mage Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 5 Northern Barrier Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when equipped Shield Off Hand 47 Armor +2 Strength +6 Intellect +3 Stamina +1 Critical Strike +1 Haste +1 Versatility Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 10 99 8 Signet of Winter Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when equipped Unique-Equipped Finger +2 Strength +3 Stamina +2 Critical Strike +2 Haste +1 Versatility Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 7 56 23 Stormedge Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when picked up Axe Two-Hand Speed 3.60 6 – 14 Damage (2.8 damage per second) +4 Strength +4 Stamina +4 Critical Strike +5 Haste Durability 120 / 120 Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 27 82 7 Winter's Frigid Embrace Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when picked up Back 3 Armor +2 Agility +3 Stamina +2 Critical Strike +2 Haste Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 6 10 77 Winter's Icy Embrace Item Level 35Disenchants into: Not disenchantable Binds when picked up Leather Chest 7 Armor +3 Agility or Intellect +4 Stamina +4 Critical Strike +3 Haste   Prismatic Socket Prismatic Socket Socket Bonus: +3 Attack Power   Durability 165 / 165 Requires Level 30 Sell Price: 12 15 53

Hard mode

Main article: Rare Cache of Winter

Rare Cache of Winter

	[Bindings of Winter Gale]			[Bitter Cold Armguards]
	[Constellus]			[Drape of Icy Intent]
	[Frigid Strength of Hodir]			[Gloves of the Frozen Glade]
	[Ice Layered Barrier]			[Icecore Staff]
	[Shiver]			[Staff of Endless Winter]
	[The Boreal Guard]

Related achievements

•  Cheese the Freeze
•  Getting Cold in Here
•  I Have the Coolest Friends
•  Staying Buffed All Winter
•  Heroic: Cheese the Freeze
•  Heroic: Getting Cold in Here
•  Heroic: I Have the Coolest Friends
•  Heroic: Staying Buffed All Winter

Hard mode

The following achievements are for the encounter's hard mode.

•  I Could Say That This Cache Was Rare
•  Heroic: I Could Say That This Cache Was Rare

Patch changes

• Template:Patched
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External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB

WoWraid Complete Hodir strategy guide based on Ulduar live boss kills.

Severance Gaming Full tactics for Hodir based on PTR testing and WWS parsing.

StratFu Strategy guide for the Hodir fight (PTR)

World of Raids Tactics for Hodir based on PTR testing.

WoWJuju Stats, abilities, strategy and loot for Hodir.

Guías WoW Guía completa en Español.