High Priestess Arlokk

High Priestess Arlokk is the high priestess of Bethekk, the panther goddess, and one of the five priests of Zul'Gurub. She doesn't stand waiting for the raid: she has to be summoned by striking a gong in her temple. Once she appears, stealthed panthers pour out of cages on both sides of the room and hunt whichever player she has marked, and Arlokk herself vanishes and returns in panther form.

Background

Arlokk is one of the five high priests sent into Zul'Gurub to stop Hakkar the Soulflayer, each a champion of one of the troll loa. Like the others, she was turned by the Blood God and now feeds him her goddess's power. While she lives, Hakkar has the Aspect of Arlokk, a gouge that stuns his tank and wipes his threat, which makes the final fight much harder. The Zandalar on Yojamba Isle want her killed along with her fellow priests; see Gurubashi Empire.

Her temple holds a gong, panther pens behind wooden fences, and a large shield on the far wall. Striking the gong calls her into the room.

Abilities

• Mark of Arlokk: marks a player, and every panther that can see the mark goes after them.
• Whirlwind: a spinning attack on everyone near her, which she uses in panther form.
• Ravage: a heavy strike that stuns her target.
• Gouge: incapacitates her tank for a few seconds, forcing her onto the next player.
• Vanish: she disappears for a time and returns in panther form.

As soon as she's engaged, non-elite Zulian Prowlers begin slipping out of the cages on either side of the room, one every few seconds, stealthed until they attack. Patch 1.8 slowed the rate at which they spawn.

Strategy

Most strategies agree on one thing: hold the panthers rather than fight them. Two off-tanks stand in the pens and gather panthers as they come out, spamming Demoralizing Shout to keep them all, while healers keep the off-tanks alive. Killing panthers on the tanks only makes room for new ones that run for the casters. The rest of the raid stands with their backs to the wall across from the gong, giving any panthers chasing a marked player the longest possible path.

The main tank holds Arlokk near the raid, with an off-tank ready to taunt her back after a Gouge. A marked player runs to an off-tank so the panthers can be pulled off them. While she is gone after a Vanish, the raid cleans up loose panthers. When she returns in panther form, rogues and other melee stay out of her Whirlwind. Good raids killed her before the second or third vanish.

Other raids tried different tricks. Some had a warlock stand in the middle using Hellfire to kill the panthers; others used a rotation of mages casting Frost Nova to hold the panthers in the gong alcove. Alliance raids could use a paladin's Blessing of Sacrifice to absorb the many small panther hits, or Divine Shield to clear the mark. Warcraft Wiki's notes also record a myth: hunters' Flares and warlocks' Detect Invisibility do not reveal her while she's vanished.

Loot

Drop chances are from our database (patch 1.12).

The [Arlokk's Grasp] is a fist weapon and the [Will of Arlokk] a staff. The [Arlokk's Hoodoo Stick] is an off-hand item and the [Panther Hide Sack] a bag. Her Primal Hakkari items, such as the [Primal Hakkari Sash] and [Primal Hakkari Shawl], are exchanged with the Zandalar for class set pieces.

Quests

Arlokk drops a [Channeler's Head] for A Collection of Heads from Exzhal, one of five heads the Zandalar want from the high priests. The quest rewards a belt of shrunken heads.

Trivia

• Arlokk was voiced by Kath Soucie, who also voiced High Priestess Jeklik.
• Many raiders believed killed panthers came back with more health; Warcraft Wiki's notes record a guild testing this in 2006 and finding it wasn't so.

Sources

• High Priestess Arlokk - Warcraft Wiki
• Zul'Gurub (Classic) - Warcraft Wiki