Classic Guardian Druid Mage Tower (finally) Completed

First off I'm a casual (almost 50) boomer (i.e. i'm as lowly as it gets) I got started a week later than everybody else. I did no gear farming, consumables grinds, no vid watching. My only "prep" was the fact that I did the MT back in legion and it was *only* when the artifacts went thermonuclear with AP and you could use Luffa legendary to stay in bear form and swipe/thrash Variss from outside his circle. I just knew (mostly) the mechanics. My dumb druid is my main, I quest/grind in bear form. Even with that, it took me 220+ attempts to get the thing done this time around.TL;DR: i'm going full cliche: "yes, if *I* can do it, you DEFINITELY can"Talents:Brambles - good synergy with SotF, lower CD's on Barkskin for P2, and add help for P1Wild Charge - those damn infernals every now and then will tag you and having this for a save was goodBalance Affinity - a cookie cutter way to deal with P1, Boomie spells to attack from range and tag eyes with 2 dotsMighty Bash - another save button, mostly in P2 when you're at 4+ AnnihilatesGalactic Guardian - the auto + the proc'd 300% MF were pretty much an easy source of insta-cast low maintenance damage for both phases.SotF - pretty standard choiceRend and Tear - ditto, standard choiceGear:My gear was plain ole Shadowlands Korthia gear.. literally that bog-standard crud from Korthia. Stat prio: haste->vers->masteryexceptions -swapped out my legendary legs for.. you guessed it... Korthia legs!used my old legion Claws of Ursoc artifact weapon to put 2 shadowcore oils + 2 enchants (lightless force, force multiplier)after some frustration (probably 100+ attempts) I looked at some video guides and saw mention of the Ravaged Seed Pod. This trinket is pretty op for P1 adds and if you can get Kruul to sit in the puddle, big dam on him.Enchants:Shadowlands enchants for everything I could with the above-mentioned Force Multiplier on the Claws off-handConsumes:Potion of Un(friggin)bridled Fury - i popped this + drums as soon as P2 started, big dam!. I side-quested my alchemy/herb alt to get rank 3 herb + the rank 3 recipe from Mechagon to save some AH $$Drums - just used the SL version since my LW alt had about eleventy billion heavy desolates and bonesVeiled Augment Rune - just to keep from blowing through them, I'd use it when Variss was about 25% health, if you're actually good you can just use it throughout. Some max-leveled alts with command tables to bolster your supply of these helpsSteak a la Mode - SL versa foodSpectral Flask of Power - again, gagillions of SL herbs so just made of batch of these on my alch altShadowcore Oil - as mentioned before, with Claws of Ursoc, can use this twiceMacros:P1/P2 main interrupt: /cast [@boss1] Skull BashP1/P2 might bash: /cast [@boss1] Mighty BashP2 poppin' coolies: /use Drums of Deathly Ferocity /use Potion of Unbridled FuryTactics:P1 - I ended up rarely using Typhoon since it was just another thing to manage Variss' position on the platform and not getting too far from Velen and eyes. I preferred Drain Life interrupts as bear to tag Variss with a Mangle/Thrash vs staying range in moonkin. Basically I mostly casted MF + Sunfire, Wrath and Starsurge on those times (rare) when I could stand and cast that long. Self heals with Regrowth and Frenzied Regen depending on form. Heal-agro was a good way to get the adds to come to youP2 - all about Annihilate management, do your best to top off your health before the Annihilate lands (i.e. frenzied regen + orbs) and use your defensives (I did: 2x iron furs, barkskin + ironfur, Surv. instincts + ironfur, surv. instincts + iron fur). IMHO this aspect of the fight is THE toughest as all the dynamics of what's happening at P2 (infernals, the purple bars, Kruul puddles, etc) do their darnest to get your health low and you really need to be as close to max health + use *some* kind of mitigation to survive the Annihilate and get just enough damage on Kruul.Final thoughts:like others who have done this, I did *NOT* finish the fight alive. Velen and his other useless (har har) companion finished off the remaining 2k of Kruul's healthOf course I didn't weep a bit when i got the achievement.. srslyFor a crappy casual like me, upon its announcement this skin was the only thing in the game that I really really REALLY wanted... I'll never be a raider or good at pvp or whatever, but that Felbear form is something that I'll have for as long as the game is alive.. and I'll have the most satisfying memories of the journey it took me to get it... good luck to you too in your own journey via /r/wow https://ift.tt/3z6GNTn