Breakfast Topic: Favorite raid boss encounter
by Dan O'Halloran 
Oct 7th 2007 at 8:00AM
I don't raid, but a co-worker of mine does. He talk enthusiastically about one of his favorite raid boss encounters in the expansion: Hydross the Unstable in Serpentshrine Cavern.As he explained to me, the encounter is a particularly intricate dance of timing and coordination. From what I gathered, Hydross switches damage types, so the raid must have two main tanks with two different resist gear sets on. When Hydross switches, so must the tanks. Also, Hydross must be dragged about the cavern at timed intervals which also spawns adds.
I believe the high level of coordination among the raid was what made this boss a favorite of my co-workers. Now I put it to you, gentle readers: what is your favorite raid boss encounter and why?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Burning Crusade, Bosses
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Simon Oct 7th 2007 8:12AM
That's a hard one, but I would have to go with either a. Vaelstrsza or b. Nefarion or c. Patchwerk
Matt Oct 7th 2007 8:13AM
The Lurker Below. The fight is somewhat of a combination between Ragnaros and C'thun, with a submerge phase that spawns adds, and a spout that he casts that you have to get out of the way of. (I just like running from the spout...)
First :D
Matt Oct 7th 2007 8:14AM
Darn you Simon, you posted right before i did :(
Zarkharaan Oct 8th 2007 11:14AM
From the fights I experienced so far I'd have to say Gruul, Shade of Aran and Prince Malchezaar.
Especially Prince's quotes.
"You face not Malchezaar alone, but the legions I command."
"Simple fools. Time is the fire in which you'll burn."
4STR4STALeatherBelt Oct 7th 2007 8:34AM
C'thun, hands down. Great design and always fun to do, even once he was on farm. Also proud as my guild took him down before 'easy mode Patch 2.0' came along, was a challenging fight to learn and execute but very rewarding.
Love the atmosphere too, the whispers/Friday the 13th type sounds really add to the feel of the boss.
Blurred Oct 7th 2007 8:59AM
Big Bad Wolf Opera Event hands down. Most fun thing I have done in WoW.
Puh Oct 7th 2007 9:09AM
Bloodlord Mandokir is great. Its not so much that I like the fight. I like the "DING" joke.
Also, as a druid I love the Buru the Gorger encounter.
Althen Oct 7th 2007 9:44AM
Lady Vashj.
Well executed fight with so much going on. When you down her you really feel as if you've accomplished something.
Plus you get a Tier 5 helm and a sweet weapon-skill belt.
Wolfstalker Oct 7th 2007 9:58AM
I agree with Blurred.
RUN AWAY, LITTLE GIRL, RUN AWAY!
Natoro Oct 7th 2007 10:17AM
Kael'thas hands down. Learning the fight will make you want to /wrists at times, but once you down him, you appreciate how great the encounter is. It is the most rewarding experience I've had in game.
Patrick G. Oct 7th 2007 10:52AM
i always been partial to hakkar and getting those sons to him. hmmm and big bad wolf is great too.
TotalBiscuit Oct 7th 2007 11:33AM
C'thun and Vashj are great encounters, very involved, requiring everyone in the raid to be 100% alert. I also enjoyed Ossirian.
Melenor Oct 7th 2007 11:39AM
I think Illidan is definitely the most f-- okay, yeah, I wouldn't know. I'm going to have to say Magtheridon or Netherspite - unless you're on cage duty, or it's not your turn to grab the blue beam.
Krishan Oct 7th 2007 12:08PM
Kael is really fun and whilst it can get annoying, it was one encounter i was happy to wipe on and looked forward to trying. When we eventually got him down the fun kinda went from doing him 5 runs later but I will always remember the good fun our guild had trying on him :>
Then I would say maybe curator just for the awesome damage you can do during evocation ^^
Knucker Oct 7th 2007 12:21PM
i'm still going to have to say vael in BWL, he's the only boss i could pull aggro by healing :P
Apocpwns (Skullcrusher-US) Oct 7th 2007 12:38PM
Bloodlord Mandokir in ZG by a long shot. Our guild took him down a few days ago, and it was one of the most fun fights I've ever been a part of with his "Threatening Gaze" since if you do anything or even move when he's staring at you he'll charge and one-shot you (especially since I'm a cloth-clad dps machine).
But I like that the ghosts on the edge come over to your body and rez you, that's very nice.
AndyF Oct 7th 2007 2:54PM
I think Supremus scores pretty high on my list for sheer amusement - as a melee I usually just run away during his Fixate-Chase phases, which means I get a great view of the boss chasing random people around, and it's always funny when someone fails to get away and dies.
Gurtogg, also from Black Temple, is especially fun as a Rogue. When the fel rage phase hits, most classes affected by the debuff have to try and survive the onslaught. As a rogue, you tap Evasion .. and then Adrenaline Rush, Blade Flurry, Trinket (if you have a Use: one), and go straight to the top of the damage meters with the 300% damage buff :D
I also like any boss that uses Mind Control abilities on other party/raid members ... we don't have DKP penalties for killing our MC'd guildies ;)
TheSporkWithin Oct 7th 2007 3:03PM
Pre TBC it was the Twin Emperors. It was such a well designed fight; so incredibly and overwhelmingly difficult, with so many different things going on at once. Plus it introduced warlock tanking, which is just freaking awesome (and which is part of why when I rolled a new main for TBC I rolled a lock). Now that I've "beaten" The Burning Crusade though, a few fights have passed it. I have to say that Kael'thas is my new favorite fight. There's so much going on there, and so much of it relies on the coordination of the raid. In some ways it's more difficult than Illidan; sure, Illidan hits several orders of magnitude harder, but it still seems to me that of the two fights Kael is actually quite a bit trickier; he can still wipe guilds downing Illidan and Archimonde if people aren't in the right places.
Kresh Oct 7th 2007 4:24PM
Hard to pick one favorite, but for sheer adrenaline rush (staying alive requires you be very aware of what's going on around you), I'd have to say Archimonde.
For sheer balls-out DPS fun, Shade of Akama is a 30-60 second rush of pure fun.
For the satisfaction of great team execution, it's hard to beat Kael'Thas.
Greeneyed Oct 7th 2007 5:36PM
Onyxia. No question. It's a sleeping dragon in a cave that you have to go slay. You also have to put an epic blade in her fire breadth to create a wicked sword. Does it get any better? I think not. Another awesome thing was how well Onyxia was tied to the lore. It was a cool story and it was awesome how you could interact with her. She stands in human form next to the King of Stromwind. The quest chain to get attuned to her lair was epic as well. The last part of the quest chain where you have to escort that Alliance hero through Stromwind and then fight off waves of elite dragonkin. That was freaking epic. One of my favorite experiences in any game period. I pity the horde who never got to experience it. Even after I did the Onyxia fight for the 200th time I NEVER got sick of it. Even after I got every single drop I needed from her I still went and was pissed if I didn't get an invite. You got a really sick T2 helm and a nice bag as well. It was a quick fight that you could do before MC or BWL and the fight was fun iteself. And it inspired the funniest animated vent recording of all time. One of the funniest things I've seen in my life actually.