Altairus

Altairus
Race	Storm dragon (Dragonkin)
Level	83 - 87 Elite
Reaction	Alliance Horde
Location	Nimbus Rise, Vortex Pinnacle
Vortex Pinnacle Grand Vizier Ertan Altairus Asaad (lore) (lore) (lore) Loot

Altairus is the second boss of the Vortex Pinnacle in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Abilities

•  Chilling Breath (Heroic mode) 80 yd range — Inflicts 25500 to 34500 (47500 to 52500) Frost damage to enemies in a cone in front of the caster. 2 sec cast.
•  Lightning Blast (Heroic mode) 50000 yd range — Strikes an enemy with a blast of lightning, inflicting 55500 to 64500 (83250 to 96750) Nature damage. 1 sec cast.

•  Call the Wind 50000 yd range — Summons strong winds to impede players.
  •  Upwind of Altairus  — Standing upwind of Altairus makes it easier to attack and cast spells. Attack and casting speeds are increased by 100%. Movement speed is increased by 30%.
  •  Downwind of Altairus  — Standing downwind of Altairus makes it difficult to attack and cast spells. Attack and casting speeds are reduced by 100%. Movement speed is reduced by 30%.

Strategy

It's possible for all players to get the Upwind buff.

• Altairus only casts Lightning Blast at players that attempt to leave the platform.
• Wind flows on the platform of Altairus: all dps and healer should stay upwind of the boss in order to gain the Upwind of Altairus buff and avoid the negative Downwind debuff.
• Tank will need to stand Downwind from the boss in order for melee dps to receive the buff. If there are no melee, however, it is possible for tank to stay Upwind too.
• Altairus will randomly change the direction of the wind; everyone needs to adjust their positions accordingly to stay upwind of the boss.
• Rogues are extremely powerful against Altairus, energy regeneration increases with attack speed, with [Slice and Dice] and other buffs, the Rogue has a practically unlimited energy pool and can easily double thier DPS. [Safe Fall] also prevents the fall damage from the tornadoes.

Heroic

• Tornadoes are all over the platform. You must avoid them: if you get caught up in one you will take about 6000 damage and get knocked up and away, possibly off the platform. When you land you will take fall damage.

• He will not only frost breath the primary target, he will turn and target a random group member and breath on them, hitting anyone in that direction.

• Everyone stand in the hitbox and move as needed to get the buff.

• The tank needs to focus first on avoiding the tornadoes, second on keeping frost breath from hitting the party. If necessary, you can tank him at the edge of the platform, as shuffling the party around the boss in the center makes it very likely that someone will get caught in the tornadoes or breath.

• DPS and the healer need to focus first on avoiding the tornadoes, second on staying out of his face, and last on aligning themselves with the wind. The tank cannot always put Altairus in a position that makes it easy to get the upwind buff. Do not chase the wind if it requires you to get in the boss's face or run through a lot of tornadoes. The wind will shift soon anyway, and this is more of a survival test than a DPS race.

Loot

Normal

Amulet of Tender Breath Item Level 316Disenchants into:  [Small Heavenly Shard]: 1 (100%) Binds when picked up Neck +16 Intellect +24 Stamina +11 Critical Strike +11 Versatility Requires Level 81 Sell Price: 5 34 34 Axe of the Eclipse Item Level 316Disenchants into:  [Small Heavenly Shard]: 1 (100%) Binds when picked up Axe One-Hand Speed 2.60 72 – 134 Damage (39.6 damage per second) +12 Strength +18 Stamina +6 Critical Strike +9 Mastery Durability 90 / 90 Requires Level 81 Sell Price: 23 83 38 Hail-Strung Belt Item Level 316Disenchants into:  [Small Heavenly Shard]: 1 (100%) Binds when picked up Mail Waist 1183 Armor +170 Agility +255 Stamina +121 Critical Strike +99 Mastery Durability 50 / 50 Requires Level 81 Sell Price: 6 81 88 Mantle of Bestilled Winds Item Level 316Disenchants into:  [Small Heavenly Shard]: 1 (100%) Binds when picked up Leather Shoulder 24 Armor +22 Agility or Intellect +32 Stamina +14 Haste +14 Versatility Durability 85 / 85 Requires Level 81 Sell Price: 9 47 25 Reins of the Drake of the North Wind Binds when picked up Unique Mount Use: Teaches you how to summon this mount.  This is a flying mount. Requires Level 27 Requires Artisan Riding Skyshard Ring Item Level 316Disenchants into:  [Small Heavenly Shard]: 1 (100%) Binds when picked up Unique-Equipped Finger +127 Strength +191 Stamina +91 Critical Strike +74 Expertise Requires Level 81 Sell Price: 5 34 34

Heroic

Amulet of Tender Breath (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Axe of the Eclipse (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Hail-Strung Belt (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Mantle of Bestilled Winds (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ Reins of the Drake of the North Wind Binds when picked up Unique Mount Use: Teaches you how to summon this mount.  This is a flying mount. Requires Level 27 Requires Artisan Riding Skyshard Ring (heroic) This item is not yet in Wowpedia. Contribute it using the Item Boilerplate. Look up in: ω þ

Trivia

Altair means the flying one or bird of prey in Arabic. Coincidently, Altairus is pointing north, and since he drops Reins of the Drake of the North Wind, this is probably intentional.

Videos

Heroic

Heroic dungeon overview

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB