by Hald Twinpack

November 11, 2024

Zekvir’s Lair Delve guide: Strategies, rewards, and more!

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A comprehensive Zekvir’s Lair Delve guide that will help you get that prestigious “Let Me Solo Him” achievement, Void appearance for your Delver’s Dirigible, transmog, and more!

The War Within brought new endgame content and excited many players about the latest expansion. Called Delves, these dungeon-esque challenges allow players to test their mettle against many foes and enemies. What makes them different from dungeons, then? The main difference is that one can complete them solo. This makes WoW Delves a perfect end-game content for those who dislike relying on others or prefer to play solo.

If Mythic+ or Raid feels like too much for you or not your kind of PvE, we advise you to give Delves a try.

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What is Zekvir’s Lair in Delve The War Within

Each Season of The War Within is planned to have its own challenge Delve. These serve as the ultimate goal for the Delves, the same as completing high-tier keys or defeating a final boss on the Mythic difficulty in Raids. 

WoW Zekvir’s Lair is such a challenge Delve for Season 1 of The War Within. And even though it is not as hard as a raid or M+ dungeons, there is a catch that makes it quite a feat to clear. To get all the limited seasonal WoW Zekvir rewards, one must complete it solo. You can compare it to the Mage Tower Challenge, as it feels similar.

Zekvir’s Lair difficulties

Challenge Delves have two cryptic levels of difficulty. For WoW TWW Zekvir’s Lair they are Tier ? and Tier ??. Yes, with question marks.

Tier ? is the base tier for such Delve. It is easier than Tier ??, as the boss has fewer Zekvir mechanics and Health. Completing that Tier opens the ?? Zekvir. Due to this difficulty, the boss has extra health, damage, and new mechanics. 

Where is Zekvir’s Lair

The WoW Zekvir Delve location is in the Azj-Kahet zone. There is a part of the map called the City of Threads. Here, in the western part, you can find the Zekvir’s Lair Delve entrance. 

How to unlock Zekvir’s Lair

Just arriving at the Zekvir’s Lair location doesn’t grant you entrance. First, you must fulfill some requirements to participate in this challenge. For Tier ? you need to complete any Tier 8 Delve with revives remaining, the Zekvir Tier ?? difficulty requires you to do the same, but for any Tier 10 Delve.

All Zekvir’s Lair quests and events

Regarding the WoW Zekvir’s Lair quest, the seasonal Delve currently has only one. In the case of Season 1, this is Zekvir, The Hand of the Harbinger. There are also several achievements to earn unique WoW Zekvir loot from this Delve. 

Zekvir’s Lair gear requirements and recommendations

The Delve Zekvir’s Lair gear recommendations for Tier ? is 600. This should be enough in most cases to clear that instance. The WoW Zekvir Tier ?? is more challenging, so the higher your item level is, the better. However, there are clears with item level around 612. This, however, depends on your class and spec, but more of this latter. 

Zekvir’s Lair boss strategy: How to defeat Zekvir

Zekvir is a boss on the complexity level close to Raid or final Dungeon bosses. He doesn’t have that many mechanics, but they require you to pay attention, as things can quickly go sour. Our WoW Zekvir guide is based on the current tuning of Zekvir’s Lair and Delves. We plan to update this Zekvir’s Lair WoW walkthrough if the situation changes. 

Tier ?

• Claw Smash. A frontal cone aimed at either the player or Bran. Deals damage to any cocoons caught in AoE.
• Angler’s Web. Incapacitating attack quickly cast in front of the Zekvir boss. Catches its target and is more likely to kill them.
• Call Web Terror. Summons a cocoon that will turn into an add after 15 seconds. The add, Web Terror, has twice the Health of the web and can stun its target.
• Enfeebling Spittle. Quick interruptible cast that applies powerful Zekvir DoT and slows all player’s movement. The debuff can be removed with magic dispel.
• Horrendous Roar. An AoE around the boss deals damage and Fears anyone caught in it for 4 seconds.

The Tier ? Zekvir is not hard to solo as the fight is straightforward. Dodge everything that can be avoided, especially Horrendous Roar and Angler’s Web. Kill the cocoons to prevent adds from spawning, as they have an interruptible stun spell. Cocoon and Web Terror share the HP pool. So even if you won’t be able to deal with a Zekvir egg on time, you can still finish the add right after. Another possible option is to use hard crowd-control on them. Abilities and spells like Freezing Trap, Hibernate, Polymorph, etc. can keep the Zekvir adds in place. This tactic has drawbacks, as there are diminishing returns on such effects, while adds will keep spawning until the end of the WoW Zekvir fight. There is also a possibility of Brann attacking a Web Terror, removing control from him.  Interrupt Enfeebling Spittle to avoid taking extra damage and slow. If you get hit, use magic dispels to remove the negative effect. 

Having item level 600 should be more than enough to clear this Zekvir difficulty. Tier ? does somewhat work as practice for Tier ??. You can learn the general flow of the fight and practice your reaction to adds and AoEs. If you have trouble with Tier ? you are not ready to tackle the WoW Zekvir ?? Delve. 

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Tier ??

• Claw Smash, Angler’s Web, Horrendous Roar. The cast time for these abilities is reduced to 1.5 seconds.
• Call Web Terror. The summoned cocoon became sturdier, now with 15 million Health. The add and cocoon no longer share the Health pool.
• Enfeebling Spittle. Damage from the DoT effect has increased significantly.
• Regenerative Carapace. Interruptible cast that heals Zekvir for 10% of his maximum Health.
• Black Blood. A phase transition ability is used at 60% of boss Health. For about 10 seconds Zekvir will take only 1% of all damage inflicted. After the transition ends, he gets a new attack. While 3 other moves get upgraded. 
• Regenerative Carapace becomes Blood-infused Carapace. The healing is increased from 10% to 25% of Zekvir’s maximum Health.
• Horrendous Roar becomes Infinite Horror. The Fear effect now lasts indefinitely. 
• Unending Spines. Rifts appear all over the arena conjuring spikes. This can be avoided by moving away from affected zones. 
• Angler’s Web now creates a set of Zekvir portals. When the boss shoots, the projectiles fly from one portal to another. 

Aside from everything becoming faster, stronger, and tankier, the biggest problem of the fight is the boss having two casts that need to be interrupted. This is quite a problem for classes with long cooldowns on such WoW Zekvir abilities. For example, Druids or Priests have 60 and 45-second cooldowns respectively. 

This brings us to another important part of the WoW Zekvir solo run. We are talking about Brann Bronzebeard, your companion for Delves in Season 1. Since the classes in WoW have their own identity with weak and strong sides, helping NPC is added to Delves to balance out classes and ensure players can complete them. For that reason, Brann in Season 1 can be a Support or DPS.

Sadly, with recent hotfixes, it is impossible to solo Zekvir relying fully on Brann. Previously, players let Brann hold aggro while keeping him alive and saving bursts for adds. After the nerfs to Brann, he doesn’t deal enough damage to keep the aggro and even if he does, Zekvir now finishes him off in several hits. So if anything, Brann is there to support you and not carry you.

As of now, there are not many clears, as the hardest part of the fight is to pass the DPS checks on the adds. Since Web Terrors stun unless interrupted, this spreads thin already limited resources. And failing to interrupt them leaves you open to any follow-up attacks from the Zekvir himself. As of now, the only 100% confirmed post-nerf clear we managed to find is of ilvl 612 Arcane Mage. This class manages to pump enough damage for that fight.

Following the WoW Zekvir’s Lair guidelines should help you secure victory in this challenge. We placed them in order of priority, with the most important one being on top.

1. Save your bursts and resources for the Web Terror’s cocoons. It takes about 10 seconds for an add to hatch, so if you can do 15m of damage in that time, you should be good. Killing adds is crucial to avoid their stuns, as getting stunned guarantees death in most cases. If the adds hatches, you can use hard CC, such as Hibernate, Polymorph, etc. to control him. But try to avoid hatching in the first place. The key to victory is staying safe and consistent. 
2. Interrupt Enfeebling Spittle and Regenerative Carapace. Both have nearly the same priority, but Carapace is more important in the second phase. The choice is obvious if you have magic dispel. Otherwise, you have to decide which cast to prioritize and which one to leave to Brann. Zekvir doesn’t have a strict rotation, but rather a set of skills he uses when they are off cooldown. Both WoW Enfeebling Spittle and Regenerative Carapace have about 30 seconds of cooldown. So if you have an interrupt under 30s cd, you can consistently deal with one of these casts. We recommend going for Carapace, as in the second phase it recovers 25%. Since the fight doesn’t tolerate mistakes, you don’t want to prolong it. 
3. Set Brann to the Support role. After nerfs Brann can’t deal as much damage as before or tank the boss for you. The best way to utilize him is to let him heal you. Again, Brann, being an NPC, makes him too unreliable, so don’t build your WoW Zekvir tactics around him doing something consistently. Treat him as a nice bonus to what you have, but don’t expect him to carry you. As for the Zekvir curios, something that helps you survive or provides extra stats is great. This includes Idol of Earthmother, Light-touched Idol, Porcelain Arrowhead Idol, Amorphous Relic, etc. 
4. Pick talents that increase your survivability. Classes have different defensive options, and you want as many of those as you can get to make sure you survive that fight. One of the reasons Arcane Mage is capable of clearing that Zekvir challenge is not only his damage but also survivability thanks to Barriers. For example, the Mage who cleared the fight post-nerf used these talents. 
5. Get better gear and raise Brann’s level. No matter how good you are, the nerfs showed us that this content is supposed to be time-gated. This means that until a specific item level for Zekvir is reached, it is nearly impossible to clear the fight on particular classes. 

Best specs to complete Zekvir’s Lair 

Knowing the best strategy to beat Zekvir, we can look for better tools to utilize that strategy. Not every spec will have it easy. However, it is still possible to beat Zekvir’s Lair with all the specs. Below, you’ll find the top specs to easily conquer Zekvir’s Lair challenge. These specs aren’t ranked from strongest to weakest; instead, they’re presented as a list:

• Enhancement Shaman
• Frost DK
• Retribution Paladin
• Havoc Demon Hunter
• Shadow Priest

Enhancement Shaman

Enhancement Shaman is a go-to spec with one of the best potential to defeat Zekvir. Your main task is to focus on Maelstorm Weapon management and keeping your main cooldowns, like Ascendance, in check. We know it takes 10 seconds to add to hatch, so keeping your Ascendance and Feral Spirit cooldowns ready for this is the main strategy.  It is good enough for a cocoon mechanic unless you are underequipped for the challenge.

Another challenge is managing Enhancement Shaman rotation, which is objectively hard. Remember to use Lava Lash, Crash Lightning, and Flame Shock as filler abilities. We recommend using Bloodlust in the first phase to trivialize the encounter. Stone Bulwark Totem will give you a shield that will absorb some damage, and Wind Rush Totem will provide extra movement speed. Also, Thunderous Paws talent will allow you to remove Enfeebling Spittle if you’ve wasted your kick cooldown.  And if you are short on heels when you have 5+ Maelstrom Weapon stacks, use Healing Surge + Earth Shield for passive healing.

Unholy Deathknight

Our next highlight is Unholy DK. It may seem unintuitive to use Unholy DK vs. Zekvir. However, he is a good option when you think about it. Unholy DK is a tanky spec in terms of HP, saves cooldowns, and has excellent Damage output. And the best thing is that the damage from Zekvir will spread through you, Brann, and your summon. We recommend taking Rider of the Apocalypse Hero Talent tree versus Zekvir for more mobility with Death Charger Talent. Unholy DK has enough damage to comfortably deal with cocoons, especially if you command your summon to attack it. And don’t forget about Lichborne ability to remove the fear effect from Horrendous Roar and  Icebound Fortitude vs Web Terror stun.

The main concern for his fight is AOEs; these will lower your damage, which is quite challenging. You cannot do much with this; just retreat, press the Death Charge button when Zekvir casts AOE, and always focus on cocoons. Remember to use Army of the Dead, kick dangerous spells like Regenerative Carapace with Mind-Freeze, and take Commander of the Dead Talent to empower your summons even more. Save cooldowns like Anti Magic Shell and Death Strike will provide extra health. The neat part is that if you cast Anti Magic Shell before Enfeeblins Spittle, you will negate its effect.

Retribution Paladin

Like Unholy DK, Retribution Paladin is another reliable Plate wearer class that manages Zekbir without any problem on any difficulty. It is also complemented by his short cooldowns (Avenging  Wrath/Crusade every 45 seconds with Radiant Glory Talent, 1 minute without it), defense cooldowns like Shield of Vengeance and Divine Protection (which grants full immunity to everything), and Flash Heal, World of Glory for extra healing against Zekvir mechanics. Your Hand of Freedom has 30 30-second cooldowns and dispels all DoTs, trivializing the fight to just DPS check. Just use Crusade (or Avenging Wrath), Executioner’s Sentence, and Wake of Ashes combo on cocoons, and you’ll be fine. And don’t forget about your ultimate Get of Jail Free card – bubble, Divine Shield. If you consider the overall difficulty of the spec, Retribution is probably the best spec to do Zekvir.

Havoc Demon Hunter

Havoc Demon Hunter is The one spec you won’t have any problems with regarding mobility and switching targets. Use your usual rotation with Eye Beam/Abyssal Gaze, trying to hit the cocoon and Zekvir. Also, Demon Hunter Vengeful Retreat removes slow and roots vs Enfeebling Spittle, and it is even included in the rotation. Yes, Havoc Demon Hunter is riskier because of no strong defensive cooldowns. However, with all of this mobility and Brann Healer abilities, you will encounter little problems.

Shadow Priest

Shadow Priest shines with Zekkvir. Having good DoTs like Vampiric Touch, Devouring Plague, and Shadow Word Pain is all you need for the encounter. You can use your standard rotation just reacting to Zekvir’s abilities. Don’t use Devouring Plague on a cocoon; it would be much more useful to either burst in Shadowform or use Mind Devourer and Mind Blast. 

We don’t have strong preferences for your talent pick; however, picking Dark Energy in the Voidweaver Hero Talent tree will ease your encounter if you need help with movement and positioning. Never forget about Silence, one of the best “kicks” in the game. And, of course, Phantasm talent always uses Fade when you have Enfeebling Spittle over your character. Also, your Fade with Phantasm talent removes roots and slows the effects, allowing you to dispel Enfeebling Spittle. And remember, Dispersion is one of the most vital defensive cooldowns which will heal you and protect you from damage.

If you are interested in solid classes overall, read our article on the best classes in Delves.

Zekvir’s Lair rewards and achievements

Completing WoW Zekvir’s Lair rewards players with various items and achievements.

• Nemesis. Defeating Zekvir for the first time in his lair grants this limited-time WoW Zekvir achievement. 
• Hunting the Hunter. Beating the boss on Tier ?? grants this achievement with the WoW Zekvir title “Ascension Breaker”. 
• Let Me Solo Him. Completing the WoW Zekvir Delve on Tier ?? while being solo during this Delve season grants this achievement with a new Void appearance for your Delver’s Dirigible.
• Zekvir’s Raptorial Spine. A transmog cape you can get from the chest in Zekvir’s Lair after defeating him.
• Toxic Victory. A toy that creates toxic green circles around your shoulders for an hour. Granted for completing Zekvir, the Hand of Harbinger quest. 

Zekvir’s Lair Delve guide: Conclusion

And this is it for our WoW Zekvir’s Lair delve guide. We hope it helped you to gain insight into the WoW Let Me Solo Him challenge and learn about Zekvir’s Lair. We hope that Blizzard addresses the situation with that fight so every class can solo it. But as of now, keep practicing and upgrading your Delve gear, and one day, the solo Zekvir achievement will be yours! 

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