Kings' Rest M+ Guide

Kings' Rest is a four-boss Zandalari tomb dungeon in western Zuldazar. Returning for Midnight Season 2 with updated pacing, it remains a route-efficiency and boss-execution key — Animated Gold from Spit Gold, Council totem priority, and Dazar's mount phase define the run.

33:00Battle for Azeroth12.1

Route and gates

Standard route pulls trash in a linear path through the tomb — no skips, but gate timing matters.
Use % routes from Mythic Dungeon Tools; Blizzard adapted enemy forces for modern M+ pacing.
Pull efficiently between bosses — the 33-minute timer has little slack for double pulls gone wrong.
CC Zanchuli Witch doctors and Anima-filled Vessels to control dangerous trash packs.
Save major cooldowns for Council of Tribes and King Dazar — the final two bosses are throughput checks.

Trash that ends keys

Interrupt Zanchuli Witch Doctor Shadow Bolt Volley — required on every pull with this mob.
CC or kill Anima-filled Vessels before they detonate for massive group damage.
Kill Honored Ancestors quickly — their Ancestor's Fury buff nearby mobs.
Dispel Poison Nova from Spire Guardian and dodge Quaking Leap landing zones.
Break Entomb sarcophagus shakes quickly in trash — Wail of Mourning damage ramps.

What to kick

Always kick

Miss one and someone dies.

Shadow Bolt Volley
Zanchuli Witch Doctor
Raid-wide shadow damage — highest trash priority.

Kick when you can

Costs healing or time if it goes off.

Devour
Spectral Brute
Heals the mob significantly — interrupt or kill fast.
Hex
Spire Guardian
CCs a player — interrupt or dispel immediately.
Ancestral Fury
Honored Ancestor
Buffs nearby mobs — kill ancestor or interrupt the cast.

Spare kicks

Only when nothing above is casting.

Wretched Discharge
Half-Finished Mummy
Interrupt on Mchimba adds and trash mummies.

The Golden Serpent

A gold-coated serpent that spits molten gold pools, summons Animated Gold on Lucre's Call, and channels Serpentine Gust. Stack Spit Gold puddles and cleave Animated Gold blobs.

The fight, in order

Pull & stack pools
Drop Spit Gold puddles near existing pools. Tank faces away for Tail Thrash.
If targeted by Spit Gold, drop your pool next to existing gold puddles to cluster them in one corner. Tank faces the serpent away from the group — Tail Thrash swipes anyone behind the tail. Use a defensive on Spit Gold if you are the target.
Everyone
Lucre's Call
Puddles become Animated Gold — cleave blobs with slows and CC.
The moment Lucre's Call fires, every gold pool spawns an Animated Gold blob. Kill or CC blobs immediately with slows and roots — any blob reaching the boss empowers it and stacks raid damage. Cleave them before they path to the serpent.
Damage
Serpentine Gust
Healers ramp for channel. Group CDs for raid-wide damage.
Healers pre-shield and top the group before every Serpentine Gust channel — it is the main predictable spike and a timer killer at high keys. Pop a group defensive if available. DPS should not greed damage during the cast window.
Healer
Dodge charge
Move perpendicular to Serpent Charge. Avoid gold trails.
When the serpent charges, move perpendicular to the line — not along it. Gold trails left behind apply a fire DoT that stacks fast. Tank keeps the boss positioned so charge paths do not cut through the group stack.
Everyone
Repeat & win
Loop pool stacking, gold blob cleave, and Gust ramps until serpent dies.
Every cycle repeats: cluster Spit Gold, cleave blobs on Lucre's Call, ramp for Gust, dodge charge. Scattered pools mean blobs everywhere — that is the primary wipe cause. Hold burst for post-Gust windows when blobs are dead.
Everyone

Do this

Spit Gold on two random players — drop puddles near existing pools so they cluster.
On Lucre's Call: Spit Gold puddles become Animated Gold — cleave blobs down with slows and CC.
Healers ramp for Serpentine Gust channel — raid-wide damage needs group CDs.
Tank faces serpent away from group for Tail Thrash — swipe hits behind the boss.
Dodge Serpent Charge lines and gold trails left behind.
Use defensives on Spit Gold if targeted — pool spawns under you hurt.

Not this

Scattered Spit Gold puddles — Animated Gold spawns everywhere on Lucre's Call.
Missing Serpentine Gust ramp — channel is a timed run killer at high keys.
Melee standing in Tail Thrash swipe zone behind the serpent.
Letting Animated Gold reach the boss — empowerment stacks raid damage.

Mechanics

Boss
Add
Tank
Healer
Damage
Get out
Stand here

Cluster the pools

Spit Gold marks two players.
Each drops their pool beside the existing ones, then moves off.
Clustered pools mean clustered blobs on Lucre's Call.

Spit Gold / Lucre's Call

Drop Spit Gold puddles near existing pools to cluster them. On Lucre's Call, cleave Animated Gold blobs immediately — use slows and CC so they do not reach the boss and empower it.

Spit Gold drops pools on two players; Lucre's Call turns pools into Animated Gold adds.

Everyone

Slow and kill

Lucre's Call turns every gold pool into a blob.
Slow, root and kill them at once.
Any blob that reaches the serpent empowers it.

Animated Gold

Kill or CC Animated Gold the moment Lucre's Call spawns them. Slows and roots prevent blobs from empowering the serpent — empowerment stacks raid damage.

Blobs spawned from gold pools during Lucre's Call. Empower the boss if they reach it.

Damage

Ramp the channel

Healer ramps before the channel starts.
The Gust damages everyone for its whole duration.
Use a group defensive or healing cooldown.

Serpentine Gust

Healers ramp before Serpentine Gust every time — use group defensive or healing CD. DPS do not skip mechanics to greed damage before Gust.

Channeled raid-wide damage that needs healing cooldowns.

HealerEveryone

Never behind

The tail sweeps the area behind the serpent.
Anyone behind it steps round to the front.
Melee attack from the front, never from behind the tail.

Tail Thrash

Tank faces the serpent away from the group. Melee stay in front of the boss — Tail Thrash chunks anyone behind the tail.

Tail swipe hitting players behind the serpent.

TankEveryone

Step sideways

The serpent charges in a straight line across the room.
Move sideways off the line, not along it.
Stay off the gold trail it leaves.

Serpent Charge

Move perpendicular to the charge line. Do not stand in gold trails left behind — fire DoT stacks fast.

Serpent charges across the arena leaving gold trails.

Everyone

Your job

Tank

Face the serpent away from the group for Tail Thrash every moment of the fight.
Kite the boss so new Spit Gold pools cluster with existing ones.
Defensive on Spit Gold if you are targeted — pool under tank hurts the group.
During Serpent Charge, move perpendicular to the line, not along it.

Healer

Ramp before every Serpentine Gust — call for group CD if needed.
Pre-hot Spit Gold targets before pools spawn under them.
Animated Gold reaching boss means higher sustained damage — call for blob kills.
Dispel Molten Gold from pools if players are forced through puddles.

Damage

Drop your Spit Gold pool next to existing pools — clustered blobs are cleaveable.
Kill Animated Gold on Lucre's Call with slows and CC — before they reach the boss.
Stay in front of the serpent — never stand in Tail Thrash zone.
Hold burst for post-Gust windows when blobs are dead.

From the Encounter JournalBlizzard's own notes and ability list for The Golden Serpent

The Golden Serpent spits gold at party members, who then leave it behind in the form of Molten Gold. The Golden Serpent later animates these pools with Lucre's Call. Any Animated Gold that reaches The Golden Serpent is absorbed, granting a stack of Luster that shields the Serpent and increases its damage.

Damage

Lucre's Call turns all pools of Molten Gold into Animated Gold, which move toward The Golden Serpent.
Spit Gold inflicts Fire damage over time to the afflicted player and leaves a pool of Molten Gold at their location.

Spit Gold
- Molten Gold
Lucre's Call
- Animated GoldAttempts to move towards The Golden Serpent. If any reach it, The Golden Serpent absorbs them and gains a stack of Luster. When any Animated Gold are killed, they return to pools of Molten Gold.
  - Luster
Serpentine Gust
Tail Thrash
Heroic and Mythic Difficulty OnlyKings' Rest is not available in Normal Difficulty.

From Blizzard's Encounter Journal (game data API). Ability tooltips via Wowhead.

Route and gates

Standard route pulls trash in a linear path through the tomb — no skips, but gate timing matters.

Use % routes from Mythic Dungeon Tools; Blizzard adapted enemy forces for modern M+ pacing.

Pull efficiently between bosses — the 33-minute timer has little slack for double pulls gone wrong.

CC Zanchuli Witch doctors and Anima-filled Vessels to control dangerous trash packs.

Save major cooldowns for Council of Tribes and King Dazar — the final two bosses are throughput checks.

Trash that ends keys

Interrupt Zanchuli Witch Doctor Shadow Bolt Volley — required on every pull with this mob.

CC or kill Anima-filled Vessels before they detonate for massive group damage.

Kill Honored Ancestors quickly — their Ancestor's Fury buff nearby mobs.

Dispel Poison Nova from Spire Guardian and dodge Quaking Leap landing zones.

Break Entomb sarcophagus shakes quickly in trash — Wail of Mourning damage ramps.

What to kick

Always kick

Miss one and someone dies.

Shadow Bolt Volley
Zanchuli Witch Doctor
Raid-wide shadow damage — highest trash priority.

Kick when you can

Costs healing or time if it goes off.

Devour
Spectral Brute
Heals the mob significantly — interrupt or kill fast.
Hex
Spire Guardian
CCs a player — interrupt or dispel immediately.
Ancestral Fury
Honored Ancestor
Buffs nearby mobs — kill ancestor or interrupt the cast.

Spare kicks

Only when nothing above is casting.

Wretched Discharge
Half-Finished Mummy
Interrupt on Mchimba adds and trash mummies.

Route and gates

Trash that ends keys

What to kick

The fight, in order

Pull & stack pools

Lucre's Call

Serpentine Gust

Dodge charge

Repeat & win

Do this

Not this

Mechanics

Spit Gold / Lucre's Call

Animated Gold

Serpentine Gust

Tail Thrash

Serpent Charge

Your job

Tank

Healer

Damage

Damage

Route and gates

Trash that ends keys

What to kick

The fight, in order

Pull & stack pools

Lucre's Call

Serpentine Gust

Dodge charge

Repeat & win

Do this

Not this

Mechanics

Spit Gold / Lucre's Call

Animated Gold

Serpentine Gust

Tail Thrash

Serpent Charge

Your job

Tank

Healer

Damage

Damage