# The Blinding Vale +17 — ABANDONED

2:15 · -93% over the 30:00 par · 7 deaths · Tyrannical, Fortified, Xal'atath's Guile

*2026-10-07 · 19:56 · `WoWCombatLog-100726_175146.txt`*

> **AI-WRITTEN ANALYSIS** — The numbers come from the combat log. The verdict and notes were written by an AI reading them, and can be wrong in ways the numbers cannot. Written by Claude (Opus 5.5), from the combat log and the archive.

**Why it failed:** Overpull: 3 packs, about 16 mobs (Guardian Druid); Low DPS: raid talents in a key, ~40% less AoE (Hyporock)

## Hyporock played this key on his raid talents, so none of his single-target buttons hit the pack.

Guardian Druid gathered three packs and the party opened with Bloodlust on about 16 mobs. Arcane Mage died first to a Belch Spores hit that landed on nobody else. Spouting Floret and Uproot then went off together, and the party fell over within the next half minute. Hyporock still had his raid loadout from earlier in the night, which drops Blade of Vengeance, Blessed Champion and Tempest of the Lightbringer. Those three talents carry Ret damage on a big pull. His damage over the pull was about 40% lower than on the same opener with his dungeon build. Ele Shaman's damage was normal for an Elemental Shaman, so the gap between them is mostly the talents.

**What to change**

1. Hyporock: check the talent pane after every raid night before the first key
2. Guardian Druid: pull the first Blinding Vale pack alone
3. Holy Priest: hold Divine Hymn for the first Floret and Uproot overlap
4. Arcane Mage: answer Belch Spores with Greater Invisibility when Ice Cold is down

## The run

| | |
|---|---|
| on the clock | **2:15** — 1:03 fighting |
| deaths | **7** |
| party damage taken | **32,526,482** — 517,114/s while fighting |
| enemies killed | **8** |
| dispels | **2/3** — 2,120,762 came through |

## Players

| player | spec | role | ilvl | DPS | HPS | taken/s | deaths | grade |
|---|---|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|:---:|
| Guardian Druid | Guardian | tank | 325 | 150,390 | 50,476 | 99,319 | 1 | **D+** 57 |
| Holy Priest | Holy Priest | heal | 327 | 9,778 | 111,523 | 30,710 | 2 | **D** 56 |
| Ele Shaman | Ele Shaman | dps | 324 | 345,893 | 9,856 | 50,632 | 1 | **B** 79 |
| Hyporock | Ret Paladin | dps | 327 | 168,336 | 11,643 | 32,896 | 1 | **D-** 49 |
| Arcane Mage | Arcane Mage | dps | 328 | 123,466 | 628 | 28,182 | 2 | **F** 37 |

*Gear and M+ score are from Raider.IO. No Warcraft Logs percentiles: not on warcraft logs (nobody uploaded this key).*

### Guardian Druid — Guardian — D+ (57/100)

*M+ score 3,528*

**Where the points went**

- **-22 utility** — scored 0: 0 used of ~5 the kit offered
- **-18 mitigation** — scored 64: 87% uptime of the 100% this kit can hold, 88% of worst windows covered
- **-3 survival** — scored 86: 1 death(s)

<details><summary>All axes</summary>

- **survival− 86** [−2.8 pts] — 1 death(s)
- **mitigation 64** [w 50%] — 87% uptime of the 100% this kit can hold, 88% of worst windows covered
- **damage~** — n/a. 150,390 dps, 71% of the average DPS; not scored, because a tank's damage can only be compared with other tanks (Warcraft Logs), not with this party's damage dealers
- **mechanics− 100** [no charge] — 0% of intake was damage comparable players did not take
- **interrupts** — n/a. nothing kickable in this key
- **activity 100** [w 28%] — 100% engaged while alive in combat
- **utility 0** [w 22%] — 0 used of ~5 the kit offered
- _overcapped Rage: 252 of 1,416 generated (18%)_
- _never pressed: Incapacitating Roar, Remove Corruption, Soothe, Typhoon, Ursol's Vortex_

</details>

### Holy Priest — Holy Priest — D (56/100)

*M+ score 3,519*

**Where the points went**

- **-32 throughput** — scored 54: covered 67% of the 19,642,582 that needed an outside heal (38% of the party's intake was self-covered or overkill); 1,049,242 absorbed
- **-6 activity** — scored 80: 92% engaged while alive in combat
- **-6 survival** — scored 61: 2 death(s)

<details><summary>All axes</summary>

- **survival− 61** [−5.8 pts] — 2 death(s)
- **throughput 54** [w 70%] — covered 67% of the 19,642,582 that needed an outside heal (38% of the party's intake was self-covered or overkill); 1,049,242 absorbed; NOTE this key needed 145,985/s of healing, more than 95% of the 55 keys this scale was built from (cut-off 130,287/s, median 90,211/s). The score is a floor: no healer in that set has covered this much
- **response** — n/a. n/a: the party's worst windows cover 89% of a 63s fight, so there is no calmer stretch to compare them with
- **mechanics− 100** [no charge] — 0% of intake was damage comparable players did not take
- **interrupts** — n/a. nothing kickable in this key
- **dispel** — n/a. too few known-dispellable debuffs to judge
- **activity 80** [w 30%] — 92% engaged while alive in combat
- **utility** — n/a. no utility cooldown with a measured recharge yet
- _never pressed: Desperate Prayer, Dispel Magic, Divine Hymn, Fade, Guardian Spirit, Mass Dispel, Psychic Scream_

</details>

### Ele Shaman — Ele Shaman — B (79/100)

*M+ score 3,316*

**Where the points went**

- **-18 activity** — scored 52: 81% engaged while alive in combat
- **-3 survival** — scored 86: 1 death(s)

<details><summary>All axes</summary>

- **survival− 86** [−2.5 pts] — 1 death(s)
- **damage~ 99** [w 62%] — 345,893 dps, 226% of the other damage dealers' median
- **mechanics− 100** [no charge] — 0% of intake was damage comparable players did not take
- **interrupts** — n/a. nothing kickable in this key
- **activity 52** [w 38%] — 81% engaged while alive in combat
- **utility 0** [w 0%] — 0 used of ~2 the kit offered
- _overcapped Maelstrom: 9 of 745 generated (1%)_
- _never pressed: Capacitor Totem, Cleanse Spirit, Earth Elemental, Purge_

</details>

### Hyporock — Ret Paladin — D- (49/100)

*M+ score 3,490*

**Where the points went**

- **-31 damage (rank)** — scored 50: 168,336 dps, 66% of the other damage dealers' median
- **-18 activity** — scored 52: 81% engaged while alive in combat
- **-3 survival** — scored 86: 1 death(s)

<details><summary>All axes</summary>

- **survival− 86** [−2.5 pts] — 1 death(s)
- **damage~ 50** [w 62%] — 168,336 dps, 66% of the other damage dealers' median
- **mechanics− 100** [no charge] — 0% of intake was damage comparable players did not take
- **interrupts** — n/a. nothing kickable in this key
- **activity 52** [w 38%] — 81% engaged while alive in combat
- **utility** — n/a. no utility cooldown with a measured recharge yet
- _never pressed: Blessing of Sacrifice_
- _not counted as button presses (procs, ticks): Crusading Strikes_

</details>

### Arcane Mage — Arcane Mage — F (37/100)

*M+ score 3,276*

**Where the points went**

- **-35 damage (rank)** — scored 44: 123,466 dps, 57% of the other damage dealers' median
- **-21 activity** — scored 45: 70% engaged while alive in combat
- **-7 survival** — scored 61: 2 death(s)

<details><summary>All axes</summary>

- **survival− 61** [−7.0 pts] — 2 death(s)
- **damage~ 44** [w 62%] — 123,466 dps, 57% of the other damage dealers' median
- **mechanics− 100** [no charge] — 0% of intake was damage comparable players did not take
- **interrupts** — n/a. nothing kickable in this key
- **activity 45** [w 38%] — 70% engaged while alive in combat
- **utility 0** [w 0%] — 0 used of ~2 the kit offered
- _never pressed: Alter Time, Prismatic Barrier, Remove Curse, Spellsteal_

</details>

*Axes marked ~ are ranked against the other players in this key, not measured on their own. Someone is always in the middle.*

## How to improve

**Guardian Druid — Guardian**

Change: press Pull size at the first pull of Blinding Vale. Timed groups on Warcraft Logs fight five or six mobs on this opener, about a third of this pull. A smaller pull keeps Floret and Uproot casters from stacking with a Belcher.

**Holy Priest — Holy Priest**

Keep: Spore Spines purified. You cleared Spore Spines off the tank twice. The third stack went up while the party was already dying. Change: press Divine Hymn when Spouting Floret and Uproot go off together. Both hit all five players and neither mob can be stunned, so the overlap is a healing cooldown moment. Divine Hymn was never pressed, and the party died during that overlap.

**Ele Shaman — Ele Shaman**

Keep: Big Bloodlust window. Stormkeeper, Ascendance and Earthquake all landed inside Bloodlust on the full pull. That is what a strong Elemental opener looks like.

**Hyporock — Ret Paladin**

Keep: Opener lined up with Bloodlust. Wings, potion, Execution Sentence and Fangstone all went out half a second after Bloodlust, on the full pull. Change: press Talent loadout when you zone into a dungeon after raiding. The raid loadout has no Blade of Vengeance, Blessed Champion or Tempest, so Blade of Justice and Crusading Strikes hit one target. Your dungeon build did about 60% more damage on this same opener.

**Arcane Mage — Arcane Mage**

Change: press Greater Invisibility when Sporeblight Belcher starts Belch Spores. Belch Spores hit only you, for 915k, with Ice Cold already spent and Greater Invisibility still unused. The damage reduction from Greater Invisibility would have left you alive.

### As a group

The three-pack opener put a Sporeblight Belcher and a Virid Grovekeeper in the same pull, so Spouting Floret and Uproot could land together. No group cooldown was planned for that overlap, and Belch Spores killed the mage before it came. Timed groups take this opener one pack at a time. With Hyporock on his raid talents as well, the pull had less AoE than it needed.

## Deaths

7 deaths in 2 separate incidents. The wipe at 1:11 (6 deaths in 16s) was the big one.

**What was landing while people died** — Counts only the seconds before each death, not the whole key.

| spell | in | damage | killing blows |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| Melee | 4 of 7 | 3,621,466 | 3 |
| Spouting Floret | 5 of 7 | 3,538,051 | 1 |
| Uproot | 4 of 7 | 1,350,938 | 1 |
| Thornblade | 3 of 7 | 1,293,961 | — |
| Spore Spines | 1 of 7 | 1,020,835 | 1 |
| Belch Spores | 1 of 7 | 915,492 | 1 |

### Death · 0:50 · Arcane Mage · dps

**0:50 · Arcane Mage · dps** — killed by **Belch Spores** for 915,492 from Sporeblight Belcher

took **915,492** · in **one hit** · health at the start **99%**

| when | what | damage |
|---:|---|---:|
| 5.1s before | ? | 195,290 |
| 3.0s before | ? | 118,878 |
| 1.1s before | ? | 141,516 |
| 0.9s before | ? | 7,561 |
| at death | Belch Spores (killing blow) | 915,492 |
| at death | ? | 7,561 |
| | 2 smaller hits | 14,788 |

**no defensive pressed** · **no healing landed**

### Full wipe · 1:11 · 6 deaths in 16s — Arcane Mage went first

**1:11 · Arcane Mage · dps** — killed by **Uproot** for 359,110 from Virid Grovekeeper

took **942,112** · in **3.4 s** · health at the start **53%** · before the last hit **18%**

| when | what | damage |
|---:|---|---:|
| 3.4s before | Spouting Floret | 287,508 |
| 2.4s before | Refraction | 3,993 |
| 1.3s before | Spouting Floret | 287,508 |
| 1.3s before | Refraction | 3,993 |
| at death | Uproot (killing blow) | 359,110 |

**no defensive pressed** · 172,874 healed · Holy Priest

**1:12 · Holy Priest · heal** — killed by **Spouting Floret** for 289,835 from Sporeblight Belcher

took **1,871,834** · in **4.8 s** · health at the start **72%** · before the last hit **68%**

| when | what | damage |
|---:|---|---:|
| 4.7s before | Thornblade | 269,510 |
| 3.9s before | Spouting Floret | 289,835 |
| 2.8s before | Thornblade | 139,657 |
| 1.9s before | Spouting Floret | 289,834 |
| 0.6s before | Uproot | 386,447 |
| at death | Spouting Floret (killing blow) | 289,835 |
| | 2 smaller hits | 279,312 |

**no defensive pressed** · 1,000,219 healed · Hyporock, Guardian Druid

**1:16 · Guardian Druid · tank** — killed by **Spore Spines** for 526,882 from Lasher

took **2,161,667** · in **2.2 s** · health at the start **87%** · before the last hit **35%**

| when | what | damage |
|---:|---|---:|
| 4.7s before | ? | 286,674 |
| 3.9s before | Spore Spines | 453,410 |
| 2.1s before | Spouting Floret | 211,321 |
| 1.9s before | Spore Spines | 493,953 |
| 1.7s before | Earthrupture Strike | 202,341 |
| at death | Spore Spines (killing blow) | 526,882 |
| | 20 smaller hits | 1,585,847 |

Ironfur -5.3s · Ironfur -4.5s · Lay on Hands · Hyporock -3.2s · Ironfur -0.8s · 345,153 healed · Holy Priest, Hyporock

**1:18 · Ele Shaman · dps** — killed by **Melee** for 533,458 from Virid Grovekeeper

took **3,355,944** · in **10.1 s** · health at the start **68%** · before the last hit **4%**

| when | what | damage |
|---:|---|---:|
| 7.9s before | Spouting Floret | 302,878 |
| 6.7s before | Uproot | 403,838 |
| 6.0s before | Spouting Floret | 302,878 |
| 4.1s before | Spouting Floret | 302,878 |
| 0.3s before | Melee | 316,756 |
| at death | Melee (killing blow) | 845,286 |
| | 4 smaller hits | 881,430 |

**no defensive pressed** · 1,587,397 healed · Holy Priest, Hyporock, Guardian Druid

**1:20 · Hyporock · dps** — killed by **Melee** for 301,366 from Lightgorged Lasher

took **2,363,741** · in **12.6 s** · health at the start **72%** · before the last hit **54%**

| when | what | damage |
|---:|---|---:|
| 12.2s before | Spouting Floret | 267,809 |
| 9.1s before | Uproot | 201,543 |
| 8.3s before | Spouting Floret | 192,981 |
| 7.9s before | Rune of Void-Tainted Shell | 688 |
| 6.3s before | Spouting Floret | 209,909 |
| at death | Melee (killing blow) | 1,490,136 |
| | 1 smaller hits | 675 |

Divine Protection -11.2s · Lay on Hands -7.5s · 873,605 healed · Holy Priest

**1:28 · Holy Priest · heal** — killed by **Melee** for 453,621 from Underbrush Stalker

took **453,621** · in **one hit**

| when | what | damage |
|---:|---|---:|
| at death | Melee (killing blow) | 453,621 |

**no defensive pressed** · **no healing landed**

## Where the time went

| | seconds | |
|---|---:|---|
| combat | 63 | 1:03 |
| death penalty | 105 | 1:45 |
| lead in | 19 | 0:19 |

Costliest pulls — *Cost is the time the pull lost: a wipe loses the whole pull, a pull that held loses only its deaths.*

| pull | at | fighting | enemies | deaths | taken | cost |
|---:|---|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 1 | 0:19 | 1:03 | 8 | 6 | 32,072,861 | 2:33 |

*Under each pull: who pulled, where the healer was (from their nearest cast), and which cooldowns were still recharging.*

- pull 1: opened by Guardian Druid (Melee on Lightgorged Lasher); healer Holy Priest 84 yd away (last seen 13 s earlier)

## Defensives · Hyporock

| button | presses | most the cooldown allowed | on you | on others |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Divine Protection | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Divine Shield | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Lay on Hands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Blessing of Protection | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Blessing of Sacrifice | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Health potion | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Stoneform | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |

- Divine Protection: 1 of 1 went out before a real hit.
- Divine Shield: 1 of 1 blocked hits, cleared a debuff or met real damage.

<details><summary>Every press</summary>

- 0:24 Blessing of Protection at 80% health: cleared a debuff (cleared Thornblade (bleed))
- 0:41 Divine Shield at 85% health: blocked hits
- 1:09 Divine Protection at 84% health: before a real hit — died within 15 s
- 1:12 Lay on Hands on Guardian Druid at 59%, healed 715,608 — died within 15 s

</details>

## What the group left up

**Debuffs that could have been dispelled and were not**

- Spore Spines: 1x, up for 20s in total, 2,120,762 damage

**Party damage eaten by shields on the enemies: 1.7% of what was dealt never landed (not graded)**

- 1,800,321 absorbed of 107,354,081 landed
- Lightbloom Pollination: 1,800,321
- on: Lightgorged Lasher (1,800,321)

**Hit most of the party (not graded: everyone took it, so nobody is charged for it)**

- Spouting Floret: 5/5 players, 34 hits, 7,588,194 (23% of party intake)

**Aimed at most of the party (the targeted player is not charged; hits on anyone else could have been avoided)**

- Thornblade: 5/5 players, 44 hits, 5,929,365 (18% of party intake)

## Notes

### Cross-check against Warcraft Logs

I took 30 timed BV +17 runs with a Ret and measured the first 44 s from the Ret's first hit. Rets did 35M to 68M there (median 47M) on 5 to 6 mobs, and the 7 Elemental Shamans did 38M to 56M. The 10 Rets I broke down were item level 325 to 329. Their Blade of Justice hit about 25 times per cast and Crusading Strikes about 5 times. Hyporock's Blade hit 13 times in 5 casts and every Crusading Strike hit one target. The same spells on 10-03 and 10-05 cleaved, so the change is the loadout.

### Where the grader reads this key wrong

The dispel line shows Spore Spines left up once. Holy Priest purified the first two applications at 0:45 and 0:56; the one left up started at 0:56 while the party was already in trouble.

## Method

Each axis is scored 0 to 100 against what this run allowed, not against a fixed target. A player is only scored on things their spec can do. An axis that does not apply is left out and the other weights are scaled up. 100 means nothing was missed; a solid, even key usually lands near 75. Survival and mechanics carry no weight of their own: they start at 100 and take points off when something went wrong.

*Generated 2026-10-07T20:00:32 · schema 11 · written analysis: Claude (Opus 5.5), from the combat log and the archive*