Ulduar guide for Wrath of the Lich King 3.3.5a, every boss, hard mode and Algalon
Ulduar is the titan city in The Storm Peaks, and in Wrath of the Lich King 3.3.5a it is a level 80 raid for 10 or 25 players with 14 bosses: 13 across four sections, plus Algalon the Observer. Most bosses have a hard mode that you switch on inside the fight, by a choice the encounter offers, such as leaving a tower standing or destroying a boss’s heart. Below is each section in order, the mechanic that decides each fight, and how hard modes work.
The Ulduar story in brief
The titans built Ulduar as a prison for the Old God Yogg-Saron, whose whispers have now corrupted the city’s keepers and constructs. You break in alongside Brann Bronzebeard, free the four Keepers, and descend to face Yogg-Saron, while Algalon arrives to judge whether Azeroth should be wiped clean.
Ulduar sections and bosses at a glance
| Section | Bosses | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Siege of Ulduar | Flame Leviathan, Ignis the Furnace Master, Razorscale, XT-002 Deconstructor | Ignis and Razorscale are optional |
| The Antechamber of Ulduar | Assembly of Iron, Kologarn, Auriaya | Auriaya is optional |
| The Keepers of Ulduar | Hodir, Thorim, Freya, Mimiron | Any order |
| The Descent into Madness | General Vezax, Yogg-Saron | The end of the main raid |
| The Celestial Planetarium | Algalon the Observer | A separate, gated encounter |
The Siege of Ulduar
Flame Leviathan
The raid fights from vehicles: siege engines, demolishers and choppers. The Leviathan fixates on one vehicle at a time and chases it, so that vehicle kites while everyone else shoots. Demolishers launch players onto its back to destroy its turrets, which overloads it and leaves it stunned and taking extra damage.
Ignis the Furnace Master
Ignis animates Iron Constructs, and each one makes him stronger. The tank drags constructs through his Scorch fire to heat them, then into a pool of water, which makes them brittle enough to shatter with a hard hit.
Razorscale
Razorscale stays airborne while waves of dwarf adds pour in. Engineers repair the harpoon guns, and firing them chains her to the ground for a short burn window. Later she lands for good, and the raid dodges her Flame Breath and the Devouring Flame patches on the floor.
XT-002 Deconstructor
XT-002 puts Searing Light and Gravity Bomb on players, who run out of the raid with them. At set health points he opens his chest to expose his heart while scrap bots run in to repair him. Whether you destroy that heart is his hard mode.
The Antechamber of Ulduar
Assembly of Iron
Steelbreaker, Runemaster Molgeim and Stormcaller Brundir fight together, and each time one dies the survivors gain new abilities, so kill order changes the fight. Brundir’s Overload and Lightning Whirl need interrupts and running out, and tanks drag the bosses into Molgeim’s Rune of Power.
Kologarn
A giant fused into the bridge, with two arms that can be destroyed separately. His right arm grabs players with Stone Grip, and the raid damages the arm to free them. Focused Eyebeam chases a player who must lead it away from everyone. Arms take a chunk of his health when they die, spawn rubble adds, and grow back.
Auriaya
She arrives with Sanctum Sentries that are tanked away from her, then summons the Feral Defender, which revives several times. Sonic Screech splits its damage between everyone in front of her, so the raid stacks to share it, and Terrifying Screech fears the raid.
The Keepers of Ulduar
The Keepers are corrupted, not evil. Beating each one frees them, and they then offer their help against Yogg-Saron.
Hodir
Biting Cold stacks on anyone standing still, so the raid keeps moving. Flash Freeze traps everyone not standing in the snow mounds. Freed NPC helpers give useful buffs, such as a warming fire and Storm Power, and the fight rewards awareness over raw damage.
Thorim
The raid splits. One group runs the gauntlet corridor beside the arena to reach Thorim’s balcony, while the rest hold the arena floor against waves of adds. When the gauntlet team arrives, Thorim jumps down and the raid fights him while avoiding Chain Lightning and Lightning Charge.
Freya
Phase one is waves of nature adds: Detonating Lashers explode on death, and a trio of elementals must die at almost the same moment or they revive each other. Phase two is a burn on Freya while handling roots and Nature Bombs. Three Elders (Brightleaf, Ironbranch and Stonebark) wait elsewhere in her area, and whether you kill them first sets her difficulty.
Mimiron
Mimiron fights in four stages: the Leviathan Mk II tank, the VX-001 gun platform, the Aerial Command Unit, and finally all three combined as V-07-TR-0N. Each stage brings its own threats, from Shock Blast and mines to rockets and bomb bots.
The Descent into Madness
General Vezax
Aura of Despair stops normal mana regeneration, so casters lean on Saronite Vapors, clouds that restore mana but deal damage, and balance how many stacks they take. Interrupt Searing Flames, dodge Shadow Crash, and if you get Mark of the Faceless, move away from everyone.
Yogg-Saron
One of the most famous fights in Wrath. Phase one is Sara and the Guardians that spill into the room. In phase two a team goes through portals into Yogg-Saron’s mind, sees visions of the past and must damage his brain in a short window, while the rest fight tentacles outside. Everyone has a Sanity meter, and anyone who hits zero is driven insane and mind-controlled against the raid. In phase three the raid turns away from Lunatic Gaze to protect its sanity.
Ulduar hard modes: how they are triggered
Ulduar’s hard modes are choices inside the fights, not a menu setting, and a harder kill gives better loot and achievements.
| Boss | How the hard mode is triggered |
|---|---|
| Flame Leviathan | Leave some or all of the four towers on the approach standing; each one left up makes it harder |
| XT-002 Deconstructor | Destroy the exposed heart, which gives him more health and new abilities |
| Assembly of Iron | Kill Steelbreaker last |
| Hodir | Kill him within a short time limit to earn the rare cache |
| Thorim | Reach him through the gauntlet fast enough that Sif stays and joins the fight |
| Freya | Leave one, two or all three Elders alive; each one empowers her |
| Mimiron | Press the big red button in his room, which starts a self-destruct and fills the fight with fire |
| General Vezax | Leave the Saronite Vapors alone so they combine into a Saronite Animus |
| Yogg-Saron | Turn down help from some or all of the Keepers; fighting with none is the hardest version |
Ignis, Razorscale, Kologarn and Auriaya have tough achievements but no hard mode of this kind. Yogg-Saron with no Keepers is the raid’s best-known challenge, and in 25-player mode it is the source of the Mimiron’s Head mount.
For hard modes, a boss mod helps a lot. Deadly Boss Mods has timers for every Ulduar fight, and our best WotLK addons guide covers it alongside others.
Algalon the Observer
Algalon is the titan construct sent to judge Azeroth, and he waits in the Celestial Planetarium. Access is gated, so he is usually the last thing a strong group does in Ulduar. The fight has its own rules:
- A one-hour limit. From your first pull, the raid has about an hour to win. If it fails, Algalon finishes his signal and leaves until the lockout resets.
- Black holes and Big Bang. Collapsing Stars leave black holes when they die. Stepping into one moves you into another phase, which is how the raid survives Big Bang, an attack that would otherwise wipe it.
- Constellations. Living Constellations are pulled into black holes to close them, so the raid manages how many holes stay open.
Why players rate Ulduar so highly
Ulduar is one of the most common answers when Wrath raiders name a favourite raid. The usual reasons:
- Variety. A vehicle fight, a gauntlet, a split-raid brain phase, a four-stage gnome, a sanity meter and a one-hour timer, all in one instance.
- Hard modes built into the fights. Pressing a button or sparing a guardian to make a fight harder made each boss feel like a puzzle with a second layer.
- Setting and story. Vast titan halls, Brann’s commentary, the Keepers and the Old God’s whispers make it feel like a place, not a corridor of bosses.
- Rewards worth chasing. Tier 8 gear, the legendary healer mace Val’anyr, built from fragments that drop in 25-player mode, and proto-drake mounts for the Glory of the Ulduar Raider achievements.
- Flexible routing. Optional bosses and Keepers in any order let a group shape the night around what it can handle.
After Ulduar, most groups move on to the Trial of the Crusader and then Icecrown Citadel. For where Ulduar fits in your gear path, see the WotLK gearing guide, and for the mounts above, the achievements and mounts guide.
Play Wrath of the Lich King on Lasthavens
Lasthavens is a free Wrath of the Lich King 3.3.5a realm that runs the real game client in your web browser, with no 17 GB download and no launcher. The first visit loads about 50 MB to reach the login screen, and your browser caches it after that. It plays on Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, iPhone, iPad and Android, with touch controls built from the game’s own buttons on phones and tablets. It is one PvP realm with twice the normal experience from kills, quests and exploring. Make an account on the login screen with Create Account, and switch on Deadly Boss Mods, Skada and more from the AddOn Library at character select.