The Heigan Dance - suggestions?

[Poetry]

I know several of you here have had great success with Heigan (including getting The Safety Dance achievement) but I still can't get a single follower through the fast dance. I tried the strafing technique yesterday and kept flubbing it up. The first couple passes it would look ok but 1) I found it really hard to get the initial positioning correct, ie having everyone square to each other and square to the platform while not being too close or too far (too close and we get the casting debuff, too far and I can't heal the tank), and 2) followers would get out of whack with my main and eventually start dancing their own dance. I box Naxx with 2 other people and I think they didn't want to sit (or repair) through my trial and error and declared we should just 3 man it as usual. But I'd really like to figure out how to do this right. Any more tips and tricks anyone can pass on? I'd like to stop dreading this boss. If it makes any difference, I 5 box on one machine with latency typically 200ish.

[Youngceo]

I think the trick is to keep your guys moving, the end zones are where im most likely to get hit. I try turnin them in like a semi circle as quick as I can rather than just turning and facing the otherway, otherwise the the follow mechanics they stop, turn around, look for a second then start running again.

Keep em moving the whole time and know exactly where the zones start and finish. Just takes bit of practice.

I get clipped now and then or lose a guy most of the time but always get 2 or 3 through usually.

[Vmpwraith]

Stay as close to the platform during the dance it will give you more time to move as you dont have to move so far to clear the stuff. If you are further back in the room you have to run further to each safe zone.

[Kaynin]

...

Yeah... This, admittedly abstract masterpiece, needs a bit of an explanation.

Basicly, you start on the 'left' side (Artistic painting PoV :P ), first follow the black lines, then trail back along the red lines. The trick is this.

1. Before the lava comes up on the next part, you want your main AND alts to be close to the edge.
2. When the lava jumps up and it is save to move on, you have to run all the way to the other edge, and quickly divert to a side. (To pull your alts close to the line as well as you wait for the lava to jump on the next bit)
3. Repeat until the turning points, the turning points can be doen with one movement by dragging your alts just over the line as in the picture (last black trail).

This way has been, for me, the best and easiest way to do heigan. Now, I have had lagspikes and such that mess it all up a few times. But that's something you can't really deal with anyhow. When things are as how they are supposed too, I don't get hit at all, at most one tick accidentally with my main for running too far up ahead accidentally. But that usually doesn't kill. :P

That's how I do Heigan now. (At first I was doing the constant running thing, which worked pretty well as well. Halfway up the room just far enough to be able to non stop run. But that was succeptable to lag more in my experience.)


edit: The second black trail goes a bit too far into the room. My mouse must have slipped. The idea is to trail your alts close along the edge of the next lava bit.

[Bigfish]

Memorize when the last eruption of the slow dance takes place. It should be when the safe zone has moved to the other side of the room and back, and then gone 1 more to the safe zone after the first. Once the last eruption has taken place, don't wait for Heigan to teleport, immediately run to the first safe zone, facing the back wall with the portruding section of the wall to your right with your followers at the same angle. Use a strafe key bound to all your characters to make them all strafe at the same time. The angle may get slightly messed up, but that's not so important as just geting them in to all the safe zones. Because they are moving back and forth on a straight line, you should be able to tell if they are close enough to survive by the end of the first pass. Just strafe back and forth until the fast dance ends, and repeat.

It sucks and there is a ridiculous learning curve, but if you can nail that initial position, you should be able to do it.

[Kaynin]

Memorize when the last eruption of the slow dance takes place. It should be when the safe zone has moved to the other side of the room and back, and then gone 1 more to the safe zone after the first. Once the last eruption has taken place, don't wait for Heigan to teleport, immediately run to the first safe zone, facing the back wall with the portruding section of the wall to your right with your followers at the same angle. Use a strafe key bound to all your characters to make them all strafe at the same time. The angle may get slightly messed up, but that's not so important as just geting them in to all the safe zones. Because they are moving back and forth on a straight line, you should be able to tell if they are close enough to survive by the end of the first pass. Just strafe back and forth until the fast dance ends, and repeat.

It sucks and there is a ridiculous learning curve, but if you can nail that initial position, you should be able to do it.

This is how I did it the first time as well, it took me like 4 wipes before I came close and the fifth time I even had to sacrifice one of my toons because the direction of two characters was wrong and I only had time to correct one. :<
Doesn't take away that it isn't doable, ofcourse it is doable. But mmh, if you can manage with follow, which I seem to be able to do fine now, it's prefered over strafing.

[Bigfish]

This is how I did it the first time as well, it took me like 4 wipes before I came close and the fifth time I even had to sacrifice one of my toons because the direction of two characters was wrong and I only had time to correct one. :<
Doesn't take away that it isn't doable, ofcourse it is doable. But mmh, if you can manage with follow, which I seem to be able to do fine now, it's prefered over strafing.

Well, I prefer strafing. Wider margin of error and less distance intensive.

[Poetry]

Stay as close to the platform during the dance it will give you more time to move as you dont have to move so far to clear the stuff. If you are further back in the room you have to run further to each safe zone.

How close can you get to the platform and still avoid his Plague Cloud in phase 2?

[Poetry]

Enough good sounding solutions here that I'm almost looking forward to trying this fight again (never thought I'd say that after the past 3 weeks)! I'll be sure to post back on how it goes this weekend.

[Ellay]

If someone could make a flawless video of this that would be awesome. I'm curious to see how others do it as well.