The Molten Core

Raid Group : 40 Player Limit
Instance Location : Black Rock Depths in Searing Gorge
Instance Bosses : Lucifron, Magmadar, Gehennas, Garr, Baron Geddon, Shazzrah, Sulfuron Harbinger, Golemagg The Incinerator, Majordomo Executus, Ragnoros
Instance Trash : Molten Giant, Molten Destroyer, Firelord, Lava Spawn, Lava Surger, Lava Annihilator, Ancient Core Hound, Flame Imps, Core Hound Pack, Lava Pack

Access to The Molten Core is only granted to those players who have first completed the quest, Attunement to the Core, which begins with Lothos Riftwaker, in Blackrock Mountain.

The Basics: A good communications program is essential for this instance. Limit talk to a few leaders, but all members should be able to listen. Set up chat channels as needed for other groups; warlocks, healers, mages. CT Raid Assist is also more or less essential.

Group makeup is one of the keys to success. About a third, or slightly more, of the group should come from the heal classes. Assign one decurser per group. Set up tanking groups that include the tank, a couple of healers, and a couple of DPS characters (mages, warlocks, hunters). Besides the Main Tank, there should be two Off-tank groups. All pet classes should have pets on Passive. Warlocks will use Imps primarily, but will pull Void Walkers for some situations.

In early tries, haste leads to needless deaths and frustration. Before each and every encounter, stop, explain the tactics, and make sure everyone is ready before proceeding. There are multiple tactics that can work in many situations. Designate one person to be the person who makes final decisions as to which tactic will be used.

Molten Core "Trash Mobs":

Giants: This is the first mob you will encounter, and will always be a pair. They come as a Molten Giant Pair, Molten Destroy Pair, or Molten Giant & Molten Destroyer. You can use a hunter to pull them (they will come together as their AI does not allow them to be single pulled). Designate one for the MT, and one for the OT. Both tanks will need healers assigned. The OT will keep one busy while the raid group targets the MT's target. Once two sunders are applied, the raid group can attack, applying DoTs, followed by DPS. All giants should be debuffed with Curse of Shadow and Curse of the Elements. Typically, each of these curses will be assigned to certain warlocks who will cast them for the duration fo the raid.

For the pair which has one Giant and one Destroyer, have the MT attack the Giant with the raid group taking this one down first. Take the Destroyer down last.

Firelords: Firelords have to be tanked; they are immune to banish and fire. The Firelords main attack is Soulburn. It needs to be disspelled as soon as he casts it. Otherwise, handle this elemental just as you would the Giants.

Lava Spawns: These are small, weak fire elementals which periodically appear around the Firelord. They should be tagged with Curse of the Elements by the Warlock responsible for handling that curse. Mages should use AOE frost spells to assist in killing these, while Melee fighters tank them. They need to be taken out as soon as they spawn.

Lava Annihilator: This is a weak elemental, which can be easily tanked. They have no special attacks, and can be banished temporarily if needed. The entire raid group should cluster around them and use a melee attack (this includes cloth armored classes).

Ancient Core Hound: The easiest strategy is to have two tanks for this creature. Have the MT attack from the front, with the secondary tank in the ready. Once sunders are in place, the raid group can attack from the rear. The secondary tank should be quick to step in if the MT loses aggro from stun or fear.

Lava Surger: Surgers tend to charge random players. They can do up to 1000 damage to those in melee range, and they have a knockback effect. Apply sunders and attack with melee attacks, while ranged players attack from a distance. Taking him down as quickly as possible is the key to limiting his damage. Do not confuse this elemental with a Lava Annihilator. Cloth wearers who get in his range are going to get badly pummeled, usually to death.

Flame Imps: Flame Imps come in packs and can be dealt with by using AOE attacks, while melees finish off damaged Imps on a one by one basis.

Core Hound Pack: This pack of five hounds is found within Magmadar's cavern. Mark each target, and assign a warrior to each. Pull the pack and have the warriors cluster them together. Once a minimum of two sunders are on the targets, start AOE attacks to finish them. All targets need to be killed within 10 seconds of each other to prevent them from reigniting dead targets.

Lava Packs: These packs consist of a Flameguard, a Firewalker, and either one Lava Reaver or two Lava Elementals. Mark all targets and assign warlocks to the Reaver and Elementals. On the pull, the warlocks banish their targets, and keep them banished while the rest of the raid takes out the Flameguard and Firewalker. The tanks assigned to the Flameguard and Firewalker should turn them so the mob is facing away from the main party, with enough separation between the two creatures that they can be AOE'd separately. Kill the Firewalker first, Flameguard second, then the Reaver or the Elementals, one at a time. Secondary warlocks can be assigned as backups on the Reaver or Elementals, in case a primary warlock dies or has their banish resisted.

The Bosses:

Lucifron
Magmadar
Gehennas
Garr
Baron Geddon
Shazzrah
Golemagg the Incinerator
Sulfuron Harbinger
Majordomo Executus
Ragnaros