Mastering the Ascendant Affix: AoE Crowd Control Strategies for Every Class

With this week’s affix, Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant, players are tasked with managing 10 Orbs of Ascendance that need to be dealt with before their casts are completed. Understanding how to effectively remove these orbs is crucial for maintaining group performance and maximizing buffs. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to handle the Ascendant affix using AoE crowd control (CC) abilities from each class.

Understanding Xal'atath's Bargain: Ascendant

The Orbs of Ascendance present a unique challenge, as they can be removed through various methods:

Interrupting an Orb's cast.
Applying any CC or displacement effects to the Orbs.
Purging the Orbs.

Once an Orb is successfully neutralized, your party will receive a significant boost: up to +20% movement speed and +20% Haste if all 10 Orbs are cleared in time.

Available AoE CC for Each Class

Utilizing AoE CC is the most efficient way to manage the Orbs of Ascendance. Below is a breakdown of the available options for each class:

Death Knight

Blinding Sleet: Can be cast on any Orbs in front of the Death Knight.
Gorefiend's Grasp (Blood spec): Excellent for grouping mobs and clearing orbs simultaneously.

Demon Hunter

Demon Hunters have a versatile toolkit:

Sigil of Misery and Chaos Nova are standard options.
Vengeance Demon Hunters can additionally use Sigil of Silence and Sigil of Chains.
Metamorphosis: Activating this ability creates a slam effect that stuns and breaks Orbs.

Druid

Druids can effectively utilize:

Typhoon and Incapacitating Roar, available across all specializations.
Solar Beam (Balance spec): Best reserved for critical situations to avoid disrupting other dangerous mob casts.

Evoker

Evokers can deploy:

Tail Swipe and Wing Buffet, with Upheaval being situational for Augmentation Evokers.

Hunter

Hunters have several choices:

Bursting Shot and either High Explosive Trap or Implosive Trap.
Tranquilizing Shot (if talented into Kodo Tranquilizer) can remove two additional Orbs.

Mage

Mages can choose between:

Blast Wave and either Supernova or Dragon's Breath. Supernova is generally more effective due to its knockback effect.

Monk

Monks benefit from:

Leg Sweep and Ring of Peace, both of which are effective against the Orbs.

Paladin

Paladins primarily use:

Blinding Light for CC.
Protection Paladins can additionally use Avenger's Shield with Divine Toll for extra effectiveness.

Priest

Priests have access to:

Psychic Scream and Mass Dispel. The cooldown on Psychic Scream makes it a reliable choice for frequent use.

Rogue

Rogues can only utilize:

Blind, with a limited AoE benefit from Airborne Irritant, though it doesn’t cleave off of orbs.

Shaman

Shamans can handle the affix through:

Capacitor Totem and Thunderstorm. They can also use Totemic Recall for a second Capacitor Totem if needed.

Warlock

Warlocks can use:

Shadowfury effectively, and Summon Infernal (Destruction spec) for its stun effect, although this should be reserved for specific situations.

Warrior

Warriors have:

Shockwave as their primary option.

Racial Abilities for Extra CC

Both Taurens and Blood Elves bring unique racial abilities to the table:

War Stomp (Taurens): An AoE stun affecting all enemies within 8 yards.
Arcane Torrent (Blood Elves): Acts as an AoE purge, which can be beneficial when positioned closely to the orbs.