The Lost Explorers
The Venomous Abyss · boss 3 of 8
A band of tortollans, possessed by spirits, have come to their senses near the sarcophagus of an ancient Soulcoiler. Trapped in the vault, they seek ancient artifacts to protect themselves from further possession by vengeful spirits.
A mind-controller, Mor'zahi, is puppeting three tortollan explorers. Break his control by feeding a Disgusting Fish to the possessed one, and never let Final Ascension finish.
You're fighting Mor'zahi's control, not really the explorers. Find the Disgusting Fish in Gebbo's crates, throw it to the possessed tortollan to break concentration, and interrupt Final Ascension before it completes. Each time control breaks he re-commands a new target with fresh abilities.
The spells that matter
The handful you actually react to. Hover for Blizzard's own text; click through for the full tooltip.
Dark Whispers
Mor'zahi's Command
Final Ascension
Disgusting Fish
Frostfire Volley
Mighty Thud
Blink Nova
Shredding Shards
What actually kills you
Everything else is noise until these three are handled.
- Letting Final Ascension finish. It is the deadly channel — break Mor'zahi's control with the fish before it lands.
- Never finding the fish. The Disgusting Fish out of Gebbo's crates is the only thing that interrupts Mor'zahi.
- Stacking for Blink Nova. Players closer to Scrollsage Iku's target take more — spread out, don't clump.
Your job
If you tank
- Shredding Shards stacks a vulnerability to itself on Iku's target. Swap on the stacks.
- Steady Strikes ramps First Mate Nama's damage the longer he hits the same person.
- Keep Nama away from Iku and Gebbo. When all three are near him he grants the explorers United Defense.
If you heal
- Blink Nova hits players CLOSE to Iku's target hardest — those far away take less. Spread.
- Icebound Flames is huge if Iku isn't interrupted, but the lingering effect is dispellable.
- Killing an explorer empowers the survivors — Iku's Cataclysmic Invocation grows with each cast, Gebbo grabs a shovel, Nama escalates. Expect a spike on every kill and pre-plan the order.
If you DPS
- Watch the thrown crates for the Disgusting Fish and throw it at the possessed tortollan — that breaks Mor'zahi's control. Don't leave crates lying around either; an untouched one ruptures (Relic Rupture) into raid damage.
- Frostfire Volley leaves fire and frost patches. Opposite elements cancel: walk a Frost effect through a fire patch and a Fire effect through a frost patch.
- Mighty Thud splits its impact among everyone it hits — group up in it. If it whiffs entirely it hits the whole raid instead.
How the fight goes
| Part | What to do |
|---|---|
| Break the control | Find the Disgusting Fish in Gebbo's crates, throw it to the possessed tortollan, interrupt Mor'zahi. |
| Mor'zahi's Command | When control breaks he expends all his energy to violently retake a target and grants them extra abilities. Whichever explorer he re-commands gains their empowered kit — expect the threat to shift each time. |
| Final Ascension | A slow, deadly channel that ramps raid damage. If it completes you wipe — break control before it resolves. |
Heroic vs Mythic
Heroic and Mythic
No Heroic- or Mythic-specific text is published for this encounter. We would rather say that than invent a difference.
Loot
Everything The Lost Explorers can drop, from the Midnight Season 2 item database.
| Slot | Item |
|---|---|
| Head | Errant Scrollsage's Hood |
| Waist | Unpossessed Skullsash |
| Feet | Boots of the Reckless Wayfarer |
| Wrist | Shellbound Bracers |
| Trinket | Gebbo's Bottomless Bag |
| Trinket | First Mate's Shellward |
| One-hand | Malevolent Spiritcudgel |
| Shield | Venom-Slashed Scuteward |
| Ranged | Gebbo's Backup Blaster |
Nothing matches that.
This boss drops 2 trinkets. 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.