From this thread on the WoW forums:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...&T=1129601&P=2
First and foremost: Ranged will never, ever, pull aggro as long as someone is in melee range. This is your typical stationary mob behavior. As soon as you enter melee range, all your ranged classes should go balls-to-the-walls DPS. If, and only if, there are no melee in range will Ragnaros start doing his 4k+ DD nuke which basically one-shots ranged one at a time.
His ranged knockback (the fireball he shoots at ranged folk that knock them around the place) only targets mana users. The person who is actually hit by the fireball will not be knocked away but everyone surrounding that person within a 15ish yard range will. Therefore it's important for mana users to position themselves in a way where they can easily get back onto land and to spread out. There's a few tricks here that'll help such as facing land (angling your character and camera so they face land while still being able to nuke Ragnaros) so when they do get knocked forward, they land safely (the majority of fireball knockbacks will knock you forward- weird, I know). Also, having pairs of mana users stand on top of each other means that only one person per pair will be knocked back (since it never knocks back the person who gets hit with the fireball) if either in that pair gets targeted by the knockback fireball (and assuming another pair isn't close enough to knock your pair). Again, this ONLY targets mana users so it's absolutely imperative that mana users stay the hell away from your melee, especially your tanks.
Ragnaros's melee-range knockback (the one where CTRA broadcasts times for) is entirely avoidable by melee. The only damage your Rogues will take is the lava splashes by standing near Ragnaros which, with decent FR and good healers, should never be a problem. As soon as the CTRA message comes up, all the melee except for the MT need to get out of melee range (~8-10 yards) and wait for the knockback to occur. If they don't, they risk getting punted while taking falling and fire damage. This is also a great time for them to bandage.
So, we know that the melee knockback is avoidable. We also know that Ragnaros will always target melee first and not aggro on ranged if there's at least one person within melee range.
Therefore, the solution is: When CTRA broadcasts the knockback (**AE KNOCKBACK IN 5 SEC**), everyone but your MT must haul ass out of melee range. Your MT must stand there and take the knockback with your OT just out of range ready to Taunt if the MT does get knocked away.
Here's the thing about the knockback: The knockback and damage itself is resistable, however the hate reducing component of the knockback is not.
Hm. Well, if ranged can't pull aggro and Taunt inherits the highest threat on the current list, then an easy tactic comes to mind: Have your Hunters NEVER Feign Death (and don't give anyone except Rogues and non-tanking Warriors Salvation).
When your MT gets hit by the melee knockback, he will always lose a percentage of threat, resisted or not. Therefore, it's absolutely important that the current tank Taunts before allowing melee to go in. Since the tank's threat can easily fall below the Rogues' threat with the hate reduction of the knockback, the tank needs to surpass the Rogues' threat every knockback and before they re-engage.
Having your Hunters NOT FDing means that the tanks can simply piggyback on the threat generated by them. They can also piggyback on Mage, Warlock, etc. threat since they won't have Salvation and won't be bound by traditional threat limitations.
So this is the general sequence: Knockback announced. All melee except the MT goes out to avoid the knockback. If the MT resists the knockback, he must immediately Taunt Ragnaros and can then call melee back in to position. If the tank gets knocked back, the second tank (who should not have been hit by the knockback) simply runs in and Taunts. Your melee should NOT come back in unless they see the Taunt debuff on Ragnaros otherwise they risk being one-shot. And you simply continue this cycle.
If a Taunt gets resisted, you can also use Mocking Blow and Challenging Shout to hold Ragnaros's attention until your Taunt finishes it's cooldown (remember, MB and CS do not inherit hate).
Also, it's very common for Ragnaros to switch targets throughout the fight. He simply targets a mana user, throws a fireball, and goes back to the tank. This is not because ranged have pulled aggro (since, again, they can never pull aggro if there's someone in melee range), but simply because they were the lucky winner of a fireball. Do not waste your Taunts on these.
And the reason you want your tanks at the maximum resist rate vs. a level 63 mob (315) is to avoid the knockback. The fire damage is harsh at first, but the knockbacks are what youre aiming to stop. Every knockback means a pause in DPS and if your DPS is having to stop too much or simply dying, you wont have the DPS to bring him down before a 2nd wave of Sons.
Also, have no melee other than the MT engage Ragnaros until the first knockback since the first one is always unannounced. This also applies when he re-emerges after sons. REMEMBER: Melee can still pull aggro!
Hope this helps.
Edit- Regarding the poster above me: Don't use your Taunt until the knockback actually hits otherwise you risk taking the threat reduction and not having Taunt available. This means your Rogues'll get fried.
Edit- Fixed up a few things and added a bit here and there to clear up some points.
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Aredhel wrote:
