The Unbinding of Kith'ix: DPS Guide (WoW Midnight)

The Unbinding of Kith'ix: DPS Guide (WoW Midnight)

This guide covers everything a DPS player needs to know for The Unbinding of Kith'ix, introduced in Patch 12.1.5. It assumes you have read the full overview guide. Here you will find add priority, cooldown timing, burn windows, loot targets, and the mistakes that kill your parse before Phase 2 even starts.

Kith'ix is a flex raid, 15 to 25 players on all difficulties including Mythic. Lady Liadrin fights alongside you as an NPC ally. Her abilities directly affect your damage windows, so learn them.

DPS Priority Summary

• Phase 1: Voidweaver interrupt and kill, then Venomous Hulk, then Bomber Beetles (cleave), then Eggs (Heroic+). Damage boss only during Divine Radiance stun windows.
• Intermission: Stack in Liadrin's Refulgent Bulwark. Kill all remaining adds before they Dark Frenzy enrage. Help absorb Abyssal Grasp if you have any offheal.
• Phase 2: Full burn. Every cooldown goes here. Bloodlust on pull of Phase 2 or immediately after Stygian Howl fades. Kill Kith'ix before 8 Eightfold Eclipse casts.
• Always: Collect Light's Embrace orbs from Liadrin. Never stand in void zones (Nullshards). Never be in melee range during Dark Devastation unless you are a tank.

Phase 1 DPS Strategy (100% to 25%)

Add Priority Order

Kith'ix's portals (Voidswarm) continuously spawn aqir adds. Killing adds near the boss is a waste. Commanding Presence gives all adds near Kith'ix a 75% damage reduction. Drag adds away from the boss before committing to kill them.

1. Voidweaver (interrupt + kill immediately). This immobile caster applies Nightfall, a stacking Shadow DoT on the raid, and fires Voidweave beams at random players. One Voidweaver left alive too long wipes your healers' mana. Hard interrupt every cast. If you cannot interrupt, kill it faster.
2. Venomous Hulk (high priority target). Large melee add with significant HP. Casts Venom Roar, a frontal cone with knockback. Never stand in front of it. The off-tank should drag the Hulk toward the nearest Voidweaver so your cleave damage hits both targets simultaneously. Sustained single-target into it. Heroism is not worth it here, save it.
3. Bomber Beetles (cleave, do not stack cooldowns). Three spawn at a time, fixate random players for 30 seconds. On death or contact they explode (Gut Reaction) and leave Digestive Juices, a Nature DoT. The fixated player kites away from the raid; everyone else cleaves them down. Do not detonate them near grouped players. Stagger beetle kills so the raid does not eat multiple Digestive Juices DoTs at once; wait for the previous DoT to fade before killing the next beetle.
4. Eggs (Heroic and above only). Eggs hatch into Mindstingers. Kill them before they hatch. If your raid has ranged to spare, assign two or three to pre-emptively burn eggs as they appear.

Boss Damage Windows

Outside of Divine Radiance, your boss damage is secondary to add control. When Liadrin casts Divine Radiance, all adds are stunned. This is your burn window. Swap to Kith'ix immediately and unload. These windows are your only efficient boss DPS opportunities in Phase 1, so track the timing and pre-pot or line up short cooldowns accordingly.

Light's Embrace Orbs

Liadrin spawns Light's Embrace orbs throughout Phase 1. These grant 90% Shadow damage reduction. Collect them. Kith'ix's Twisted Appendage tentacle attacks hit hard in Shadow, and Extinguish removes this buff if you get caught by its shockwave. Reapply orbs as they spawn. Do not let your Shadow DR drop between orb spawns during heavy add waves.

Positioning

Melee: stay behind Kith'ix. Dark Devastation is a tank debuff with a 25-second duration, but the cleave or splash can punish melee clustered at the wrong angle. Move adds to the designated kill zone, at least 25 yards from the boss, before burning them.

Ranged: spread loosely to reduce Twisted Appendage splash. When Unspeakable Horrors marks you with a CC or fear debuff, move away from the group before it resolves.

Intermission DPS Strategy

Intermission triggers at 100 energy. Suffocating Darkness hits the whole raid; stack tightly inside Liadrin's Refulgent Bulwark or you die. Do not break stack to chase adds.

Any adds alive when intermission begins gain Dark Frenzy, becoming enraged. Your absolute priority on entering intermission is finishing any low-health adds before the enrage applies. Once enraged, the Hulk especially becomes dangerous to your tanks and will pressure the raid heal-check hard.

Abyssal Grasp applies a healing absorb to random players. It lasts 8 seconds before killing the target if uncleared. If you play a spec with any self-heal or offheal (Death Strike, Second Wind, etc.), use it immediately when you are targeted. Report to your healing lead if you have offheal capability.

Save your major cooldowns for Phase 2. Do not pop two-minute or three-minute abilities here unless an add is about to wipe the raid.

Phase 2 DPS Strategy (25% HP to Kill)

Phase 2 is the entire DPS check. The fight ends here, one way or another.

The Transition

Stygian Howl stuns the entire raid at 25%. You cannot act during this. Liadrin's Last Light fully heals the entire raid. Do not panic: Luminous Grace then grants the raid +50% damage done and +100% healing done. Everything you do in Phase 2 hits significantly harder. This is why you saved cooldowns.

Eightfold Eclipse: The Hard Enrage

Kith'ix casts Eightfold Eclipse repeatedly. Eight total casts is a wipe. You have a limited number of casts to kill the boss. This is not a soft enrage you can heal through.

Pop Bloodlust or Heroism immediately after Stygian Howl fades. Every DPS cooldown goes now: two-minute, three-minute, potions, trinkets, everything. You want to land as much damage as possible during the first two to three Eclipse casts while Bloodlust and Luminous Grace are both active.

Null Gate and Nullshards

Null Gate targets one melee, one ranged, and one healer. If targeted, move out of the raid before the gate resolves. Do not eat it standing in the group.

Nullshards leave void zones. Nullify applies a stacking debuff: 6 stacks kills you on Normal, 5 on Heroic, 3 on Mythic. Do not stand in void zones, especially while you are burning cooldowns and moving feels slow. Position discipline here directly affects how many global cooldowns you lose to repositioning.

Negation is a tank mechanic. You do not need to manage it, but if a tank dies, be ready to use any personal survivability you have.

Cooldown Management

Cooldown Type	Phase 1	Intermission	Phase 2
Bloodlust / Heroism	No	No	Immediately after Stygian Howl fades
2-minute CDs	Divine Radiance add-stun windows only	Only if an add threatens a wipe	On pull of Phase 2
3-minute CDs	Hold unless fight is very long	Hold	On pull of Phase 2
Potion	Pre-pot on encounter pull	No	Second pot at Phase 2 start
On-use Trinkets	Align with Divine Radiance windows	No	On pull of Phase 2

If the fight is going long and your two-minute cooldown would sit unused for the entire back half of Phase 1, use it on a Divine Radiance window and it will be back for Phase 2. Do not let short cooldowns sit idle for three or four minutes on the off chance Phase 2 starts sooner than expected.

DPS Loot Priority

The cantrip armor pieces proc Shadow AoE on attacks, and gain a 15% bonus if you are also running Venomcursed gear from Venomous Abyss. If you are building a Venomcursed set, prioritize the cantrip pieces that match your armor type.

Item	Type	Notes
Twisted Horror's Tendril	DPS Trinket	Crit stat, stacking crit buff. Top priority for most physical and crit-scaling specs.
Lu'selama, Light's Justice	2H Sword, Strength	Warrior, DK, Paladin two-handers. Very high item budget.
Sanctified Knight's Phoenixblade	1H Sword, Intellect	Caster one-hander. Priority for Arcane Mage, Shadow Priest and similar.
Band of the Swarmcaller	Ring, Mastery/Haste	Strong generic ring for any spec that values both secondary stats.
Corroded Hulk's Skullcap	Plate Helm, cantrip	Plate DPS. Shadow AoE proc synergizes with Venomcursed.
Aberrant Commander's Gauntlets	Mail Hands, cantrip	Mail DPS (Hunter, Shaman, Evoker).
Chestwrap of Palpable Terror	Leather Chest, cantrip	Leather DPS (Rogue, Druid, Monk, Demon Hunter).
Voidweaver's Leggings	Cloth Legs, cantrip	Cloth DPS (Mage, Warlock, Shadow Priest).

Raid item levels: RF 285 (Veteran 3/6), Normal 298 (Champion 3/6), Heroic 311 (Hero 3/6), Mythic 324 (Myth 3/6). The trinket and weapon are worth targeting even at Normal if you are still using older gear. See the Midnight gearing guide and Venomstones guide for full upgrade pathing.

Common DPS Mistakes

• Killing adds next to the boss. Commanding Presence is a 75% damage reduction aura. You are doing a quarter of your normal damage and wasting time. Pull adds to the kill zone before burning them.
• Not interrupting Voidweaver. Nightfall stacks fast. One missed interrupt in a pug can cascade into a wipe by adding catastrophic healing pressure.
• Popping Bloodlust in Phase 1. It belongs in Phase 2, after Stygian Howl, when Luminous Grace is active. The +50% damage buff multiplies with Bloodlust. Do not waste it on add cleave.
• Ignoring Light's Embrace orbs. Skipping orbs makes you a liability during heavy Twisted Appendage waves and forces extra healer attention onto you.
• Taking Nullify stacks in Phase 2. Four or five stacks means death. You cannot DPS while dead. Move out of void zones even if it costs a global cooldown.
• Not finishing adds before Intermission. Any add that enters intermission alive becomes Dark Frenzy enraged. One enraged Hulk mid-intermission is a serious problem.

Melee vs Ranged Differences

Melee

• Positioning is tighter. You must physically move adds to the kill zone, not just target-switch.
• Watch your angle on Kith'ix to avoid Dark Devastation splash.
• Null Gate targets you by role in Phase 2. Know your out-direction before it happens.
• Bomber Beetles fixate melee disproportionately. Practice kiting patterns that keep you within range of cleave support.

Ranged

• You can pre-target Eggs as they spawn without leaving the ranged platform, reducing Mindstinger pressure on Heroic.
• Spread positioning reduces Twisted Appendage overlap, but do not spread so far you cannot reach orbs.
• In Phase 2, void zone density is higher in the center. Ranged who maintain loose spread naturally avoid more Nullshards.
• You are also targeted by Null Gate. Pre-designate an out-direction for ranged so the healer target does not collide with you.

FAQ

When exactly does Divine Radiance stun the adds?
Liadrin casts it periodically throughout Phase 1. The timing is not tied to your energy or HP. Watch Liadrin's cast bar and pre-position on Kith'ix before the stun lands so you do not lose globals repositioning.

Should melee ever ignore adds and tunnel the boss in Phase 1?
No. Add control is a DPS responsibility, not only a tank one. Unchecked Voidweavers and Hulks will cause a wipe before Phase 2 regardless of boss HP.

What if we hit eight Eightfold Eclipse casts?
The raid wipes. There is no recovery. If your group is consistently hitting five or six casts, your Phase 2 entry DPS is too low, either from cooldowns being spent earlier or Phase 1 taking too long. Check your Phase 1 add clear speed and Intermission execution first.

Does the cantrip armor proc count as my damage for leaderboard purposes?
Yes. The proc is attributed to you. Stacking cantrip pieces with Venomcursed bonuses from Venomous Abyss is a real parse optimization, not just a survival stat.

Related Guides

• The Unbinding of Kith'ix: Full Overview
• Healer Guide for Kith'ix
• Tank Guide for Kith'ix
• WoW Midnight Gearing Guide
• Venomstones Guide (Venomous Abyss)

Need a fast clear? Koroboost runs The Unbinding of Kith'ix carries on Normal, Heroic, and Mythic. Full loot traders available. Or check our BiS gear service to target specific pieces from this raid.