Nek'zali the Soulcoiler
The Venomous Abyss · boss 1 of 8
Long ago, the shadow hunter Nek'zali and her followers were entombed for the blasphemous act of summoning Ula'tek. Restored by the very power she unleashed, she calls the other Soulcoilers from their tombs to serve her once more.
Restless Amani walk to a well in the middle. Every soul that reaches it feeds a Soulcoil Rite that hits the whole raid — keep souls out of the water.
Stop things reaching the Soulcoil Well. Kill the walking Amani before they arrive, and drag back anyone Nek'zali Soulcoils before the compulsion walks them into the water. Too many souls entering the well is what wipes you, not her melee.
The spells that matter
The handful you actually react to. Hover for Blizzard's own text; click through for the full tooltip.
Soulcoil Well
Soulcoil Rite
Soulcoiled
Soulcoil Ignition
Essence Rend
Restless Amani
Possession Barrage
Echo of Jawae
What actually kills you
Everything else is noise until these three are handled.
- Restless Amani reaching the well. Each one that arrives triggers a Soulcoil Rite on everybody, and too many souls entering the well makes the Rite deadly.
- A Soulcoiled player being dragged into the water. Soulcoiled compels the victim toward the well, where they are sacrificed and set off another Rite — get them controlled or bodyblocked before they reach it.
- Soulcoil Ignition unhealed. She channels a repeating Soulcoil Rite while Anguished Echoes erupt from the well and knock people back.
Your job
If you tank
- Face her away from the raid. Possession Barrage fires spectral echoes toward her primary target that burst on all players, and the damage is HIGHEST close to her — it drops off the farther each echo travels, so don't let her burst land on a stacked group.
- Hollowing Strikes is your steady tank damage. Swap when you are uncomfortable, not on a timer.
- Once she reaches full energy and Uncoils she becomes immune to taunt. Have your swap sorted before that.
If you heal
- Soulcoil Ignition is the raid-damage channel — she reinvokes the Rite repeatedly and spawns Anguished Echoes. Hold a cooldown for it.
- Every extra Rite is avoidable. If you are healing a wall of Rites, the failure is souls reaching the well, not throughput.
- Nobody lives in the well — it ticks Shadow damage every second. In the intermission, players ejected by Soulcoiler's Curse come out Soulcoiled and need to be stopped before the water reclaims them.
If you DPS
- Adds first, always. Restless Amani rise from the sarcophagi on the outer edge and walk to the well — kill them on the way, they move under Gravebound Advance and are slowest early in the walk.
- When Essence Rend expires it leaves a Latent Cultist where you were standing — drift to a harmless spot before it drops.
- In the intermission, kill the Echo of Jawae to sever its Tether of Awakening and drag her back out; watch the Drowned Echo in Grasping Depths that pulls players toward the well.
How the fight goes
| Part | What to do |
|---|---|
| Stage One: Soulcoiler Initiation | Kill the walking Amani before the well. Handle Essence Rend cultists and don't stack for Possession Barrage. |
| Intermission: Ritual of Awakening | At 50% she retreats behind an Echo of Jawae and takes no damage. Kill Echoes to sever their Tethers and pull her back. A Drowned Echo wakes in the well (Grasping Depths) pulling players in; Soulcoiler's Curse ejects anyone in the water and leaves them Soulcoiled. |
| Stage Two: Uncoiling | At full energy she Uncoils, gaining Uncoiled Rage — faster, harder-hitting, taunt-immune — and the well overflows for constant raid damage. She Invokes Rites and repositions Latent Cultists. Burn her down. |
Heroic vs Mythic
What changes on Heroic
- Soulcoil Rite afflicts players with Ritual Burn, which stacks and makes every later Rite hit harder — one Amani reaching the well is no longer a small mistake.
- Defeated Amani leave Vessels of Awakening on the floor; during the Ritual of Awakening they are repossessed and come back empowered. Kill them clear of where you'll stand.
- Hungering Pyre appears: a Slithering Flame chases a player and, on expiry, combusts into Cremation.
What changes on Mythic
Nothing published beyond Heroic.
Loot
Everything Nek'zali the Soulcoiler can drop, from the Midnight Season 2 item database.
| Slot | Item |
|---|---|
| Head | Crown of the Eternal Fang |
| Head | Skullguard of the Risen Sacrifice |
| Waist | Cursed Reliquary Cincture |
| Legs | Initiate's Sacrificial Tights |
| Feet | Entombed Cultist's Sabatons |
| Feet | Nek'zali's Spiritwalkers |
| Wrist | Restless Spirit Shackles |
| Trinket | Soulcoiler Ritual Vessel |
| One-hand | Tomb-Creeper's Claw |
| One-hand | Strongblood's Ceremonial Cleaver |
| One-hand | Hexing Spiritrender |
| Back | Amani Summoning Shawl |
| Chest | Vestment of the Awakening |
Nothing matches that.
This boss drops a trinket. Trinket value varies enormously by spec — see the simulated trinket rankings.
Worth a bonus roll?
That depends on how many items on this table you still want. A boss owing two or more is worth returning to; one owing a single piece is a vault pick, not a roll — the bonus roll guide explains why, and the planner works it out per spec.