Nick Dow's blog : World of Warcraft bosses are a classic!
Every PvE player can remember many different stories from
their raiding life. But there are opponents, the meeting with which will
forever remain in the memory. Stories about them can be breathlessly told
to beginners after a few years or discussed in the company of other experienced
raiders. About World of Warcraft bosses that
cause such emotions, we'll talk today. It is difficult to name one
very-most, and all this is subjective, so let's just remember the most
interesting enemies in chronological order. Today is the turn of classic
content bosses.
Onyxia
Location: Onyxia's Lair, Blackwing Descent
Deathwing's daughter and Nefarian's sister, also known as Lady Katrana
Prestor, is the epitome of what is called a "boss" in
MMORPGs. Firstly, it's a dragon, secondly, it lives in a gloomy cave, and
thirdly, probably every WoW player has heard about it. And there are
plenty of reasons for that. Onyxia has been in the game since release and
has been a real test of strength for a 40-man raid. There are many
interesting stories associated with it. For example, the famous phrase
"Beat the dragons!" easy with mythic keystone
15 boost, which sounded in one of the videos, was even immortalized in the
achievement of the same name. Back in those days, there was a tale that a
mount in the form of Onyxia herself falls from the boss.
During another anniversary of the game, Blizzard Entertainment updated
the Dungeon with the Vile Dragon, adapting it for players of 80
levels. The dungeon turned out to be only a shadow of the former hardcore
challenge, but it was thoroughly saturated with nostalgia: a lot of updated
items from the "classics" and... a long-awaited mount resembling
Onyxia in miniature fell from the boss. In addition, all players who
logged into the game during the anniversary celebration received Onyxia
Hatchling, a funny non-combat pet that blows smoke rings.
Her story could have ended there, but that was not the case. Onyxia is
back in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. This
time, she appeared as the resurrected accomplice of her brother, Nefarian, the
head boss of Blackwing Descent. She assists him in the final battle before
exploding spectacularly, leaving the raid alone with her brother.
This is interesting: One of the most interesting and
large-scale quest chains, removed in the second addition, allowed to reveal the
secrets of the missing king of the Alliance - Variann Wrynn. A comic book
also told about his fate before returning to the throne. Onyxia,
pretending to be the aristocrat Katrana Prestor, sowed confusion and discord in
the court of Stormwind, causing an uprising of masons led by Van Cliff. She
almost succeeded in destroying not only the king, but the human kingdom
itself. However, having overcome all difficulties, Rynn was able to return
to the throne and destroy Onyxia, who captured his son, Prince Anduin.
Ragnaros
Where: Molten Core, Firelands
Once exiled by the titans, the firelord Ragnaros was summoned back to
Azeroth by the Dark Iron dwarves. Having enslaved his liberators in the
depths of Blackrock Mountain, the fiery lord set out to get to the surface and
burn all life. Like Onyxia, Ragnaros was a huge challenge for subscribers
who played World of Warcraft right after release. Most guilds couldn't
even deal with the first lava giants guarding the entrance to the Molten Core,
let alone the final boss.
Time passed, new additions came out, and only those who wanted to collect
the legendary weapon that the fire lord Sulfuras possessed - the Hand of
Ragnaros began to drop by Ragnaros. And the task for another
"legendary", Thunderfury, also requires him to be killed.
This is interesting: Like many other bosses, Ragnaros
is returning to us with the recent 4.2 patch in the new Firelands
dungeon. The fire lord is trying to destroy the World Tree in Hyjal, and
adventurers, along with the druids, go into the fiery planes in order to
prevent him from doing this.
C'thun
Location: Temple of Ahn'Qiraj
The Old God who had enslaved the insectoid Silithid race and was locked in
the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj dungeon was a formidable foe. In a battle with
him, it was necessary to keep track of many things at once. For example,
behind the tentacles crawling out of the ground. To top it off, players
who got into the stomach of the boss had every chance to stay there. The
top guilds couldn't kill C'Thun for about a week. And the reason for this is
not breathtaking complexity, but a bug missed by the developers, which
prevented the destruction of some tentacles. In the end, after much
debate, the bug was fixed, and the Nihilum guild got their first kill of an
ancient god in the world. Even now, at level 85, defeating him alone is
extremely problematic.
This is interesting: Speaking of the Qiraji dungeons,
it is worth remembering that getting there itself required completing the most
difficult and longest chain of quests in the history of WoW. The entire
faction had to spend a long time collecting resources for the Qiraji War, so
that only one (!) player could hit the gong, signaling the opening of the gates
of Ahn'Qiraj.
Where: Naxxramas
Perhaps the most difficult boss of the "classics" was presented by
a quartet of death knights in the service of the Lich King. Many members
of the hardcore guilds still recall with a shudder the many hours of trying to
end this boss. The slightest mistake of just one of the forty players was
punished by a trip to the graveyard of the entire raid group. Killing the
riders required a truly colossal amount of coordination. The first victory
over them came after seven weeks of unsuccessful attempts. Modern raiders
will not even dream of such figures in a nightmare. And don't forget: to
get to the old Naxxramas back then, you had to complete a series of difficult
tasks, and only the best PvE guilds could afford to go there.
Precisely because only a few managed to see such a magnificent instance at
one time, the developers from Blizzard returned it as the first raid dungeon of
the expansion World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. True,
it was so simplified that all the bosses (including riders) were passed in a
couple of evenings at most.
This is interesting: The leader of the four riders was the
legendary paladin Alexandros Mograine, enslaved by the Lich King. His son
Darion Mograine managed to wrest his father's spirit from the clutches of
darkness, sacrificing his own life and then becoming the leader of the Knights
of the Ebon Blade.
It was from the conclave of riders that the famous sword of Alexandros, the
Corrupted Ashbringer, fell. There are very few people who managed to get
it before the Naxxramas rework, and a player with such a weapon instantly
becomes the object of everyone's attention, wherever he appears. According
to the story, the Purified Ashbringer is now owned by Highlord Tirion
Fording. It was with it that he destroyed the Lich King's sword,
Frostmourne. At present, a sword called “Armageddon” is falling from the
four, which, apart from its colossal size, cannot boast of anything special.
- Gaming