Naxxramas is an introductory level-80 raid dungeon floating above Dragonblight in Northrend. It is a Scourgenecropolis, the seat of the archlichKel'Thuzad.
The 40-man classic version of Naxxramas is no longer available, having
been permanently closed with the release of the Wrath of the Lich King
expansion.
An ancient Nerubian Necropolis, Naxxramas was torn free from the ground by agents of the Lich King to serve as Kel'Thuzad's base of operations as he spreads the plague throughout Lordaeron.RtD 3 Other sources say Obrahiim, the Traveler, a great skeletal architect, was pivotal in the conception of Naxxramas, hinting that it was altered or retooled. See the Compendium of Fallen Heroes for more details.
Due to his fighting a war against the Scarlet Crusade, the Argent Dawn, the Forsaken and the Humans of the Alliance,
as well as constant incursions of adventurers from every race and
nation into the Scourge-controlled Plaguelands on a daily basis, the
forces of Kel'Thuzad have been severely taxed to maintain the security
of the necropolis. But now the gates of Naxxramas are open, and
Kel'Thuzad's new forces are rapidly sweeping away all opposition to the
Scourge.
Road to Damnation
Blizzard has posted a short back story for Naxxramas on the official site: Road to Damnation
Recent history
After the defeat of Kel'Thuzad in the Eastern Plaguelands, Naxxramas has returned to Northrend and now hovers above the Carrion Fields in eastern Dragonblight, where it lays siege to the Alliance stronghold of Wintergarde Keep.
Raid setup
The 10-man version
Raid composition – three of the wings can be completed with 2
healers, 2 tanks, and 6 DPS, although a common setup (and one better
suited for beginning Naxxramas) is 2 tanks, 3 healers, and 5 DPS.
General gear check – level 80 rares and/or epics from crafting or heroic dungeons.
Tanks: A good start is to have 540 Defense, 22,000 HP, and 21k Armor rating.
DPS: Ideally each DPS should have at least 1.5k DPS, 2.5k AP or 1350 Spell Power. Also a hit rating near 7.5% is also desirable.
Healers: Shoot for 1500 bonus heal (now equivalent to approximately 900 spell power) and 160 MP5.
The 25-man version
Raid composition – aim for 3-4 tanks, 6-7 healers and 14-16 DPS.
General gear check – level 80 epics from crafting and normal mode raids.
Tanks – at least ~25,000 unbuffed HP.
DPS spellcasters should have 17% to hit.
Bosses
Monsters
Map
The Arachnid Quarter
A web-covered wing of spiders and cultists of the Cult of the Damned that contains three bosses.
An entry-level quarter, this is usually the first one targeted by guilds to gear up their players.
The trash clear to Anub'Rekhan is short, with the clears to Grand Widow Faerlina and Maexxna being progressively longer.
A wing of strange fungus, ghouls, gargoyles, maggots and other plagued monstrosities.
This wing has three bosses and is only very slightly more
difficult than the Arachnid Quarter, with Noth the Plaguebringer being
arguably the easiest boss in the instance. The trash clear to Noth the
Plaguebringer and Heigan the Unclean is of medium length with Loatheb
having a short gauntlet of quickly respawning maggots and eye stalks
rather than a trash clear.
A wing of Death Knights, their students, and their steeds.
This wing also has three bosses and requires slightly more
coordination than the Arachnid or Plague wings, but has no higher gear
requirements. The trash clear to Instructor Razuvious is the longest in
the instance, with considerable trash clears for Gothik the Harvester
and The Four Horsemen.
A wing of toxic slime filled with abominations and their creators.
Previously known as the Abomination wing in level 60 Naxxramas.
This quarter contains four bosses and requires slightly higher gear and coordination than the first three wings.
It is recommended new groups tackle this quarter last.
Patchwerk is a considerable healer test on Heroic difficulty and
Thaddius is a considerable DPS check on Heroic difficulty. The trash
clear to Patchwerk is long but Grobbulus and Thaddius have short clears.
Gluth has no trash whatsoever.
The Frozen Heart of Naxxramas which contains the two bosses,
Sapphiron and Kel'Thuzad, and can be accessed by teleportation orbs.
Pre-Patch 3.3.0 you had to clear each of the four final bosses in the four wings.
Neither boss has any trash to clear.
Sapphiron will severely test the healers of new groups.
Kel'Thuzad is considerably easier on 10-man difficulty but is arguably
the hardest boss in the instance on Heroic difficulty and will require
top effort from all of the raid.
