WoW Venomous Abyss Raid Guide: Boss Order, Loot, Tier, Mounts

Quick summary

• The Venomous Abyss is Midnight Season 2's eight-boss raid. It's in the Vaults of Atal'Utek on the Coiled Isle, and the final boss is Ula'tek (Wowhead).
• Loot by difficulty: Raid Finder 279–289, Normal 292–302, Heroic 305–315, and Mythic 318–324.
• Bosses 2–6 each drop a tier token for one slot. Ula'tek drops the Slumbering Coil Curio, which you can trade for any slot.
• Patch 12.1.5 is out today. From the week of October 20, every Heroic and Mythic boss drops Ascendant Venomstones and the crest cap is lifted (Blizzard).
• Normal Ula'tek or higher counts for the Crimson Venomfang mount through Glory of the Venomous Raider. Primeval Skyfriend drops from Mythic Ula'tek.

Learn the raid basics

The Venomous Abyss has eight bosses, ending with Ula'tek, inside the Vaults of Atal'Utek on the Coiled Isle (Wowhead).

Follow the boss order

Nek'zali is first. Then two wings of two bosses each must both be cleared, in either order, before you return to the central pit for the last three bosses.

Step	Boss
1	Nek'zali the Soulcoiler
2	Wing A: Entombed Sentinels, then The Lost Explorers
3	Wing B: Vashnik the Malignant, then Sszorak (wings in either order)
4	The Twin Fangs
5	The Coiled Altar
6	Ula'tek

Learn each boss's deciding mechanic

Mythic changes aren't covered here.

Boss	What decides the pull	Burn window
Nek'zali	Keep Restless Amani out of the Soulcoil Well. Break their magic shield, then cleave them	Phase 2
Entombed Sentinels	Keep the bosses 40+ yards apart (99% damage reduction if close). Even out their health. Pair Helical Toxins to exactly 4	Pull
Vashnik	Rotate fountains. Don't let venoms reach the center pool. Stagger Burning Venom deaths	Pull
The Lost Explorers	Keep the turtles apart. Feed a Disgusting Fish before Mor'zahi hits full energy. Interrupt Icebound Flames	Pull
Sszorak	Drop Viscous Cysts opposite the wind clusters, then use them to counter Howling Maelstrom	Dig In: +30% damage taken for 25 seconds
The Twin Fangs	Manage Eternal Venom stacks. Use Ravenous Feast to remove stacks. Kill both together	Pull
The Coiled Altar	Carry poison orbs into Sever. Break Dreadmarch. Interrupt Eternal Nightfall. Keep both bosses even in Phase 3	Soulbinding: Zul'jan takes +100%
Ula'tek	Carry eggs to Spectral Coils, not into Caustic Waves. Burn the Venomous Heart. Manage the shrinking arena	Rage of the Shackled (Heart exposed 20 seconds)

Example: On The Lost Explorers, assign one melee player to grab the fish when Gebbo throws junk.

Plan your loot by difficulty

Difficulty	Boss 1	Bosses 2–3	Bosses 4–6	Bosses 7–8	Crest
Raid Finder	279	282	285	289	Veteran
Normal	292	295	298	302	Champion
Heroic	305	308	311	315	Hero
Mythic	318	321	324	344	Myth

Great Vault: the raid row unlocks at 2, 4, and 6 bosses killed in a week, on any difficulty except Story Mode (Wowhead). BoEs: the raid drops tradable Bind-on-Equip armor with random secondary stats, two pieces per armor type plus a necklace. Our gearing guide covers upgrade tracks.

Plan your tier set

Tokens are shared by armor type:

Armor	Token family
Plate	Venomforged
Mail	Venomcast
Leather	Venomcured
Cloth	Venomwoven

Set pieces also come from the Great Vault and the Catalyst.

Example: You need Head and Chest for 4-piece. Kill The Twin Fangs (Head) and Vashnik (Chest) each week, use a Curio or the Catalyst for a third slot, and let the Vault fill the gap.

Use 12.1.5's raid changes

Blizzard's 12.1.5 notes add three raid-relevant changes:

1. Ascendant Venomstones (week of October 20). They drop from every Heroic or Mythic raid boss, Mythic+ +10 and above, Tier 11 Bountiful Delves, and Nightmare Prey chests. Ten Venomstones, used near the Catalyst in Silvermoon City, raise the item level of a fully upgraded Season 2 Hero, Myth, or max-quality Tidal Crafted weapon, trinket, or necklace. That's Blizzard's wording.
2. Crest cap lifted the week of October 20.
3. The Unbinding of Kith'ix, a new single-boss raid hidden beneath the Venomous Abyss.

Choose your difficulty

Your goal	Difficulty	Why (source)
Catch-up gear, solo queue	Raid Finder	273 entry, 279–289 loot
Story only	Story Mode	Guide sites report it doesn't count for Glory
Glory mount	Normal or higher	Each boss achievement needs Normal+
Ahead of the Curve	Heroic	Kill Ula'tek on Heroic+ during Season 2
Venomstones	Heroic or Mythic	Blizzard 12.1.5
Cutting Edge, 344 gear	Mythic	—

The game only enforces 273 for Raid Finder. Compare classes in our DPS tier list and healer and tank tier list.

Chase the mounts and collectibles

Reward	How	Source
Crimson Venomfang (mount)	Glory of the Venomous Raider: 8 boss achievements on Normal+	Wowhead
Primeval Skyfriend (mount)	Mythic Ula'tek	Wowhead
Boss decor	Each boss, any difficulty	Wowhead

Two of the Glory achievements change the fight. "Is Venom Stasis A Joke To You?" needs each Sentinel to heal more than half its health. Do them once the bosses are on farm. Track progress on our achievements hub. Decor ideas are in our housing guide.

Return, catch up, or bring an alt

• Returning player: Raid Finder has the lowest entry bar, at item level 273. From October 20, the lifted crest cap lets you upgrade faster (Blizzard). Our weekly checklist shows where the raid fits.
• Alts: the Curio and Catalyst fill missing tier slots. Wowhead says the Vault draws from the bosses you've killed, so kill the bosses that drop your slots.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, World of Warcraft raid 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

How many bosses are in the Venomous Abyss? Eight: Nek'zali, Entombed Sentinels, The Lost Explorers, Vashnik, Sszorak, The Twin Fangs, The Coiled Altar, and Ula'tek (Wowhead).

Which bosses drop tier tokens? Entombed Sentinels (Hands), The Lost Explorers (Shoulders), Vashnik (Chest), Sszorak (Legs), and The Twin Fangs (Head). Ula'tek drops the Slumbering Coil Curio for any slot.

How do I get the Crimson Venomfang? Complete Glory of the Venomous Raider, which takes eight boss achievements on Normal or higher.

What does 12.1.5 change for the raid? From the week of October 20, Heroic and Mythic bosses drop Ascendant Venomstones and the crest cap is lifted. The single-boss Kith'ix raid also opens beneath the Abyss (Blizzard).

Do Ascendant Venomstones work on any item? No. Blizzard limits them to fully upgraded Season 2 Hero, Myth, or max-quality Tidal Crafted weapons, trinkets, and necklaces.

What item level does the Venomous Abyss drop? Raid Finder 279–289, Normal 292–302, Heroic 305–315, Mythic 318–324, with 344 from the last two bosses on Mythic (Icy Veins).

Is the raid linear? No. After Nek'zali you clear two wings of two bosses in either order, then The Twin Fangs, The Coiled Altar and Ula'tek in a fixed order.