The Theatre of Pain is well-named in all respects; it is clearly designed to emphasize and encourage the ‘meaningful suffering’ that is the hallmark of the Maldraxxi in both its spectators and its participants. Fights are often wild and uncontrolled - the individual is tested as well as the group. The combatants must be constantly shifting positions, and any who wish to participate in the games would be well-advised to bring plentiful amounts of their own healing, as well as numerous disease remedies.
I entered the Theatre with the rogue Addikus, the mage Hidon, and two others not of the “Grim;” a druid and a death knight.
The beginning and final bouts take place in full view of the crowd, while all matches betwixt the two take place below the arena proper.
From the underworks below the main stage, the group seems free to advance in whichever direction they so choose, but they must deal with every fighter of "note" before returning to the main stage for the final event. Unlike most of these instances, the fights to get to each 'fight of note' are often taxing and idiosyncratic. Included are several maps with highlighted areas indicating problems, as well as a seemingly workable strategy for each.
Chamber of Conquest
1: By this point the team will be passingly familiar with the 'Arbalest' combatants. The size of this particularly group of enemies makes eliminating or 'controlling' them first a priority. Attempting to take the entire group all at once is highly likely to result in casualties, as the Arbalests are highly mobile will fire into the team's back line almost without fail.
Upper Barrow of Carnage
2: A variety of undead constructs await here - all are to be considered highly dangerous. With the exception of the 'Abomination'-esque model familiar to the Forsaken, each construct will move erratically through the team will little regard to the efforts of the front line. These erratic constructs are to be prioritized and focused, as all (or nearly all) constructs here have an alarming disease that quickly necrotizes flesh and renders it immune to magical healing. Any magical or mundane disease-removal will reverse the spread.
Lower Barrow of Carnage
3: There is little here that is not above, save at the indicated point - a group of weaker constructs will jump out of the flesh sacs on both sides of the bridge to ambush the team as it moves through.
Altar of Agony
4: This is, as Hidon referred to it, a "gauntlet" area. Spirits will attack and snare the team as it moves through while the entire area is bombarded. On Hidon's advice, we quickly dashed through and dealt with the ghosts outside the bombardment area. This strategy is taxing, and the spirits utilize chains in the manner of some of the Jailer's minions - these chains must be dealt with to move quickly through the area.
5: None of these platforms, from which the team will portal from one to another, require special mention save the last - upon arrival a Lich will immediately ambush the first person through the portal, and throughout the fight will regularly conjure miniature tornadoes, which will move directly in a line in front of him. Being hit by one means being blown off the platform to your death.
Fights of Note:
The first bout matches team against team in a manner similar to that of the "Arena" so enthusiastically enjoyed by both Horde and Alliance. There is little of note here, save that it well illustrates the nature of what is to come - that fights will be largely uncontrolled and will require each team member to watch their footing and fend for themselves. Once this preliminary is dealt with, the team will be moved below the arena, where the majority of the fighting takes place.
The next three bouts can take place in any order, and I list them here in no particular way.
Gorechop - a construct within the Barrow of Carnage. Gorechop very regularly makes use of waves of meathooks to shift and silence his opponents. Each wave has gaps through which one can dodge, but each series of waves also calls two of the stronger diseased, erratic constructs into the fight, which must be very quickly disposed of, lest the team be overwhelmed.
Kul'tharok - a lich in the Altar of Agony, Kul'tharok must be engaged in melee with the 'vanguard' at all times. Multiple times during the fight, she "removes the souls" (according to her) of the other combatants, to their vast detriment. Those with "lost souls" must quickly chase down and recover them before their bodies die.
Xav - a large, and fairly straightforward fight in the Chamber of Conquest. For the most part, watching one's positioning is sufficient here, but Xav will make this difficult by utilizing a Necrolord banner to 'slow' (the magic of this eludes me) the group, necessitating its immediate destruction upon placement. He also, several times, forced two of the team out of the fight to some end (apparently to "fight" each other) but they seemed to return relatively healthy fairly quickly. Addikus and Hidon underwent this, so it may be prudent to ask them. I was never ejected in this manner.
The final battle is with Mordetha. She has (rightly, in my opinion) the top spot in the Theatre. Nothing of this match is straightforward, and Mordetha's power is awe-inspiring to behold. Footwork, yet again, is essential. The primary threat comes from a magical affliction that detonates around the afflicted (that old chestnut). The threat here is three-fold; the entire team will be afflicted without fail, the explosion will create unmoving spirits that will fire at the team indiscriminately, and that Mordetha will create some sort of magical vortex as the affliction is about to explode that will 'pull' everyone towards it. Normally we spread out to deal with these kinds of abilities, but leaving five or more 'spirit turrets' on the field quickly leads to disastrous results, especially as she utilizes this maneuver multiple times. After several skirmishes, we hit upon a strategy of forming a kind of close (but not too close) pentagon to 'clump' the turrets and quickly eliminate them. This is made even more difficult than it sounds by the vortex, and teams should be prepared to utilize shields or quickly heal themselves with their own tricks and trinkets so as not to overtax the healer should the maneuver go even slightly awry.