Wrath of the Lich King · Tier 7 · The Obsidian Sanctum
The Obsidian Sanctum raid guide
Tactics for Sartharion, progression checklists and a documented change history from original Wrath to Wrath Classic.
How to use this guide
Read the change history and boss summaries before the detailed instructions. Boss cards cover core tactics and role assignments, with version-specific difficulty differences where applicable.
This guide covers level 80 Wrath. Level 60 Classic, Timewalking and legacy scaling from later expansions are outside its scope.
The Obsidian Sanctum in the chronological Wrath progression
Sartharion’s difficulty depends on how many of the three twilight drakes you leave alive. The guide distinguishes the basic encounter from the three-drake hard mode.
Quick links
The Obsidian Sanctum: nerf and change history
The timeline separates intentional difficulty changes, release schedule, loot/catch-up changes, and actual bug fixes. Inaccurate pre/post figures are not filled with guesswork.
| Date | Documented change | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| November 13, 2008 | The Obsidian Sanctum opened as Wrath's launch raid. | Leaving the drakes alive formed a built-in difficulty. |
| Wrath Classic | The encounter was released as a 10/25-player version at the same Tier 7 stage. | Bug fixes are separated from the intentional 0-3 Drake scaling. |
| Later legacy hotfixes | Loot issues with killing too fast were fixed in later scaling. | They are not treated as level 80 nerfs. |
Each boss’s nerf section refers to this raid-wide timeline and highlights only changes relevant to that encounter.
The Obsidian Sanctum - bosses in order of progression
Encounter 1 / 1 · The Obsidian Sanctum
Sartharion
The Obsidian Sanctum · Lava Walls, twilight portals and 0-3 Drake hard mode.
Raid priorities
- Choose how many drakes to leave alive and assign drake and add tanks.
- Move through the gap in each incoming lava wave.
- For three drakes, follow the agreed kill order and portal assignments before finishing Sartharion.
Before the pull
- Review the tanking, healing and damage responsibilities for Sartharion in a 10- or 25-player group.
- Mark safe movement for Flame Tsunami and agree on positions for drakes, adds and portal groups.
- Assign interrupts, dispels, crowd control and target swaps before the pull.
- Save raid and personal cooldowns for the encounter’s most dangerous phase.
Mechanics reference
Phase plan and tactic
Choose how many drakes to leave alive and assign drake and add tanks.
Move through the gap in each incoming lava wave.
For three drakes, follow the agreed kill order and portal assignments before finishing Sartharion.
Role notes
Tanks
- Face the boss and adds away from the raid; swap tanks when required by debuffs or phase changes.
- Tell healers in advance when you will use defensive cooldowns or make a dangerous tank swap.
Healers
- Assign tank healing, raid healing and dispels before the pull.
- Plan raid cooldowns for the largest predictable damage window and avoid unnecessary overlap.
Melee DPS
- Stay clear of frontal and rear attacks, and switch to adds as soon as they are called.
- Don't sacrifice movement or soak mechanics for damage uptime.
Ranged DPS
- Maintain the required spacing and prioritize distant adds, orbs or moving targets.
- Save abilities used while moving for mandatory transitions.
Raid utility
- Agree on interrupt, purge, stun, slow and immunity rotations depending on the encounter.
- Use a combat resurrection only when the fallen player’s role is essential for the next mechanic.
Nerfs: what changed
- The boss-specific history is read in conjunction with The Obsidian Sanctum raid timeline; original Wrath and Wrath Classic are kept separate.
- Three-drake Sartharion is a hard mode of the same encounter, not a separate boss.
- Level squishes, Timewalking and changes to soloing from later expansions are outside the scope of these level 80 tactics.
Sources and version scope
Boss counts, release structure and Classic availability have been checked against Blizzard’s publications. Mechanics and original patch changes are cross-checked against Warcraft Wiki encounter guides and patch histories.
- Blizzard — Tier 7 raids now live
worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23837381/wrath-classic-naxxramas-eye-of-eternity-and-obsidian-sanctum-now-live - Warcraft Wiki — The Obsidian Sanctum
warcraft.wiki.gg/wiki/Obsidian_Sanctum
Updated 19 August 2026. Legacy changes from later expansions are excluded.