Ruby Life Pools Guide: Midnight Season 2 Mythic+ Bosses, Route, Loot

Quick summary

• What it is: a three-boss Dragonflight dungeon in the southeast Waking Shores, back in the Midnight Season 2 Mythic+ pool. The bosses are Melidrussa Chillworn, Kokia Blazehoof, and Kyrakka and Erkhart Stormvein (Wowhead).
• Two gates: Defier Draghar must die before Melidrussa, and all 4 Blazebound Destroyers must die before Kokia becomes active (Icy Veins, TheWoWDB).
• Final boss: Winds of Change pushes players and fire in a fixed order: northwest, southwest, southeast, northeast (Method). Use it to move fire away from the group.

Get there and plan the run

Fact	Value	Source
Location	Southeast Waking Shores, entrance near 60.0, 75.7	Wowhead
Fast travel	Timeways portal in Silvermoon City (42.4, 58.3), the center portal	Wowhead
Teleport	Path of the Clutch Defender, after timing a +10	Wowhead, Icy Veins
Difficulties	Heroic, Mythic, Mythic+	Wowhead
Bosses	3	Wowhead, Method
Timer	28:00	Wowhead

TheWoWDB says the run is "short and linear": fight to Melidrussa in the Infusion Chambers, ride a Radiant Drake up to the Ruby Overlook, clear Kokia's area, then head down the stairs to the final boss. It also says Blizzard made the dungeon's trash "simpler and thinner" for this season and made Frigid Shard interruptible. That's TheWoWDB's summary; Blizzard's public hotfix log doesn't list those changes. New to keys? See our first key checklist.

Pull the opening trash

Wowhead says "a common strategy is pulling lots of trash before the first boss."

Mob	Key ability	What to do	Source
Primal Juggernaut	Excavating Blast, Crushing Smash	CC-immune; dodge the circles; tank defensive	Method, Icy Veins
Deepstone Earthshaper	Tectonic Strike (stacking debuff on the tank)	Watch the stacks	Method
Earthbound Guardian	Earthbound's Imprint	Focus-heal the target	Method
Flashfrost Chillweaver	Ice Shield, Frostbolt	Kick or CC Ice Shield; spare kicks on Frostbolt	Method, TheWoWDB
Infused Whelp	Cold Claws on the tank	Dispel or freedom before 20 stacks	Method, TheWoWDB

Icy Veins warns that walking over Dragon Eggs in the Infusion Chambers spawns Infused Whelps, and that full Primal Chill stacks freeze you. Watch your path.

On August 25, Blizzard replaced the Chillweaver nearest Defier Draghar with a Deepstone Earthshaper and moved an Earthbound Guardian next to it. It also cut the Earthshaper's health by 8% and its Tectonic Strike vulnerability to 25% (was 35%), and cut Chillweaver health by 10%. Forces were adjusted so routes stay the same.

Beat Defier Draghar and Melidrussa

Defier Draghar is CC-immune and has "significantly more health" than other trash (Icy Veins).

• Steel Barrage: a channel on the tank. Use a defensive and dodge the swirls it leaves (Method).
• Blazing Rush: a charge at a random player. Stack near a wall to bait it and step out of the line (Method, Icy Veins).

Melidrussa Chillworn:

1. Frigid Shard: kick it as often as you can (Method, TheWoWDB).
2. Hailburst: leaves blocks of ice. Stay grouped so they land in one spot, then rotate around the room. Since August 18, the cast takes 3 seconds (was 2), per Blizzard.
3. Chillstorm: drop it away from the group and fight the pull-in. Wowhead warns not to get knocked into Hailbombs when it ends.
4. Awaken Whelps: at 66% and 33%, Infused Whelps spawn and the boss shields herself with Ice Bulwark while channeling Frost Overload. Stack the whelps on the boss and break the shield fast.

Ride up and decide on the lieutenants

After Melidrussa, take a Radiant Drake to the next area (Icy Veins). On September 3, Blizzard fixed the drake that returns you to the entrance not appearing in Mythic+ after the final boss.

Two drake lieutenants sit near the landing. Icy Veins puts Thunderhead on the left and Flamegullet on the right.

Lieutenant	Key abilities	Source
Thunderhead	Storm Breath frontal, Thunder Jaw (knockback), Rolling Thunder on 2 players	Method, Icy Veins
Flamegullet	Flame Breath frontal, Fire Maw, Molten Blood below 50%	Method, Icy Veins

Should you fight them?

Source	Advice
Method	"I recommend avoiding" both
TheWoWDB	Calls them "optional"
Icy Veins	Says you "must face" them and gives full tactics

Our call: in a pug, follow your route. If you fight Thunderhead, Icy Veins says to dispel one Rolling Thunder and let the other expire, so the two group hits don't land together. If you fight Flamegullet, save damage cooldowns for the Molten Blood stacks below 50%.

Clear the Destroyers and beat Kokia Blazehoof

Kokia only becomes active after all 4 Blazebound Destroyers around the area are dead (Icy Veins, TheWoWDB).

Mob	Key ability	What to do	Source
Primalist Cinderweaver	Cinderbolt, Living Bomb	Kick Cinderbolt; keep bomb targets away from allies	Method, TheWoWDB
Ashseer Flamelasher	Flaming Barrage, Blaze of Glory	CC the channel; purge or dodge on death	Method
Blazebound Destroyer	Inferno, Fiery Blast, Burnout	CC-immune; defensive for Inferno; leave the 20-yard Burnout	Method
Primalist Flamedancer	Flame Dance	Can't be kicked; use a stun	Icy Veins
Ruinous Stormbringer	Storm Bolt, Lightning Rod, Thunderstorm	Kick; watch for the knockback at full energy	Method, TheWoWDB

On August 25, Living Bomb damage dropped 10%. On September 17, Blizzard fixed Destroyers and Flamedancers sometimes not counting toward forces. A side effect is that their tooltips no longer show their forces value.

Kokia Blazehoof:

• Ritual of Blazebinding: move somewhere you won't cleave the group. The hit spawns a Blazebound Firestorm add (Method).
• Blazebound Firestorm: kick Blaze Volley and heal through its Inferno. Bring Kokia over so the group can cleave both (Method, TheWoWDB). Leave Burnout when it dies and avoid the Scorched Earth (Icy Veins).
• Molten Boulder: bait it away from your path; it explodes on terrain and stuns for 3 seconds.
• Searing Blows: a defensive for every cast, plus a stacking bleed (Method, Icy Veins).

Wowhead suggests kiting slowly around one area so you keep clear floor.

Beat Kyrakka and Erkhart Stormvein

Trash first. Purge the Primal Thundercloud's Stormcloud Barrier, but watch out when several pop at once. Use a defensive if Lightning Torrent targets you. Kill High Channeler Ryvati's Tempest Stormshield before it expires (Method).

Phase 1:

• Kyrakka flies around and casts Inferno Spit on 2 players. Leave the group to drop the fire. She also lands to aim Roaring Flamebreath at a random player.
• Erkhart stays on the ground. Stormslam leaves a magic debuff on the tank. Icy Veins says it raises Nature damage taken by 100% and stacks, so dispel it before the next cast.
• Interrupting Cloudburst: stop casting before it finishes.
• Winds of Change: pushes players and fire puddles. Method says it always starts northwest toward the balcony, then southwest, southeast, and northeast, and repeats. Drop your fire where the next wind will push it away from the group.

Phase 2: Method says that when either boss reaches 50%, Erkhart mounts Kyrakka and Inferno Spit hits 3 players. Pool damage, healing, and defensives for it.

August 18 hotfixes (Blizzard): each Flaming Ember is 5 yards across (was 7) with a less random spawn pattern. Kyrakka also waits before casting after she lands for the final phase and moves faster, so you can reposition her. On August 19, Erkhart's Stormslam stopped hitting unexpected players.

Compare the routes

Route	Lieutenants	Strength	Source
Method pug route	Avoids both	MDT import https://wago.io/IEtQSuWgA	Method
Wowhead tips	Big pulls before the first boss	Fast opening	Wowhead

Assign kicks

Cast	Mob	Priority	Source
Ice Shield	Flashfrost Chillweaver	Every cast (or CC)	Method
Frigid Shard	Melidrussa	As many as you can	Method, TheWoWDB
Cinderbolt	Primalist Cinderweaver	Every cast	Method
Storm Bolt	Ruinous Stormbringer	Every cast	Method
Blaze Volley	Blazebound Firestorm	Every cast	Method, TheWoWDB
Interrupting Cloudburst	Erkhart	Stop casting instead	Method

See our interrupt coordination guide for building a rotation.

Know the hotfixes and loot

Date	Change	Source
Aug 14	Thunderhead's Electrical Discharge sometimes failed to hit; fixed	Blizzard
Aug 18	Hailburst 3 s cast; ember radius 5 yd; Kyrakka pauses after landing; clearer Ice Shield visual; Earthbound's Imprint no longer overlaps	Blizzard
Aug 19	Erkhart's Stormslam targeting fixed	Blizzard
Aug 20	Thunderhead and Flamegullet breaths no longer cancel unexpectedly	Blizzard
Aug 25	Draghar pack swap; Earthshaper and Chillweaver health cut; Living Bomb -10%	Blizzard
Sep 3	Radiant Drake return NPC appears after the final boss in Mythic+	Blizzard
Sep 17	Destroyers and Flamedancers always count toward forces	Blizzard

Trinkets (Wowhead): Ruby Whelp Shell (Melidrussa), Blazebinder's Hoof (Kokia), and Kyrakka's Searing Embers (final boss). End-of-run item levels are in our Season 2 Mythic+ guide.

Achievements (Icy Veins): four, including Mythic: Ruby Life Pools and Keystone Hero: Ruby Life Pools for timing a +10, which gives the teleport. Track them on our achievements page.

Avoid the common mistakes

• Walking over Dragon Eggs. Each one can spawn whelps (Icy Veins).
• Spreading Hailburst ice everywhere. Bait it in one spot.
• Pulling a lieutenant by accident. Decide before you land.
• Leaving a Destroyer alive. Kokia stays inactive until all 4 die.
• Dispelling both Rolling Thunders at once. Stagger them.
• Dropping Inferno Spit fire without checking the next wind.

Run it on alts or after a break

• Returning for 12.1.5: the opening pack changed on August 25 and the forces fix came on September 17. From October 20, +10 runs drop Venomstones (Blizzard, via our Season 2 Mythic+ guide).
• Alts: each character times its own +10 for the teleport (Icy Veins). The short timer makes this a good dungeon for weekly vault runs on alts.
• Pushing: see our push guide. The other legacy dungeons are in our Kings' Rest and Temple of Sethraliss guides.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, World of Warcraft dungeon and Mythic+ services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Blizzard's End User License Agreement before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

FAQ

What is the Ruby Life Pools timer? 28:00 (Wowhead).

Do I have to kill Thunderhead and Flamegullet? Method and TheWoWDB treat them as optional. Icy Veins says you must face them.

Why won't Kokia Blazehoof start? Kill all 4 Blazebound Destroyers first (Icy Veins, TheWoWDB).

Which way does Winds of Change blow? Northwest, southwest, southeast, then northeast, repeating (Method).

When does the final phase start? At 50% per Method and Icy Veins. Wowhead's journal text says 40%.

Can I interrupt Frigid Shard? Yes. Method and TheWoWDB both say to kick it.

Where is the Ruby Life Pools portal? In the center of the Timeways room in Silvermoon City.