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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsTwo Bosses Enter: Altairus vs. Eregos
by Alex Ziebart 
Apr 11th 2011 at 8:00PM
"What!?" I hear you ask, trembling with rage. "Eregos!? He was a Wrath of the Lich King boss!" He sure was. Not only was he a Wrath boss, he was the winner of the first season of Wrath of the Lich King's Two Bosses Enter, long before our previous wild card, Scourgelord Tyrannus, was even in the game.
"Uggghhh!" I hear you curse, trembling with only slightly less rage than before. "We've already had a Wrath boss wild card! You are just the worst!" Well, perhaps this bit of information will please you: There are no more Wrath bosses amidst the remaining wild cards. In fact, neither of them have appeared in Two Bosses Enter before at all. They could be anything. Anything.
| Altairus | |
|---|---|
| Eregos |
In last week's matchup, we saw Grim Batol's Erudax clash with Throne of Tides' Lady Naz'jar. There was a clear winner throughout the voting process, though it wasn't nearly the landslide that was Ozruk's win at the beginning of the tournament weeks ago.
Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's matchup.
The rules of the ring
- The WoW Insider Ring is considered neutral territory, where both combatants are able to access their usual encounter mechanics and abilities. If you can't visualize it inside the squared circle, visualize it someplace else -- but you must take into consideration all of each bosses' abilities and mechanics.
- Assume that each opponent is intelligent and capable of strategic thinking.
- All of the competitors' abilities, including crowd control and other effects to which bosses are usually immune, work on their opponents (with apologies to considerations of lore on this point).
- Assume that the opponents share similar levels, health pools, and comparative overall damage output.
- Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter.
- Don't neglect style, story, and scale. Everything is a factor; seeking balance is your goal as a spectator and judge.
I don't actually say anything in Vortex Pinnacle, so here's some trivia instead! My name is Arabic for "bird of prey" or "flying one"! Whooo-ooooa!
Altairus sits top Vortex Pinnacle, the realm of Al'Akir the Windlord. Altairus controls the wind and commands the sky itself. In this dragon-versus-dragon death match, can Eregos really top an opponent who controls the very battlefield in which they meet?
Altairus's abilities include:
- Chilling Breath
- Lightning Blast
- Being downwind of Altairus will impede Eregos's combat ability, but being upwind of Altairus will be a benefit! Can Altairus keep Eregos downwind?
Such insolence... such arrogance... must be PUNISHED!
Eregos dominated the first Wrath season of Two Bosses Enter. Even Loken, the most dangerous NPC in the game in the early months of the expansion, fell to Eregos. Sure, Altairus controls the skies, but Eregos has proven himself to be the most dangerous
Eregos's beefy toolkit includes: Weren't around in Wrath of the Lich King? Didn't have the pleasure of wiping in Oculus for hours? Read about the horrors from firsthand reports of other players, then!
Erudax rocked last week's competition, and I'm going to pretend it's entirely because of Rai's fiction in support of the Duke of Below. His write-up was quite popular last week, so here's his depiction of what went down between Erudax and Lady Naz'jar.
The deathly silence of the underground arena shattered as the Lord of Below smashed open the doors, lurching across to his half of the battlefield. As the entrance sealed behind him, Lady Naz'jar stood opposite him with her top two arms crossed. Both combatants eyed up one another, taking a moment to prepare. A pair of worker murlocs dragged in a cart of dragon eggs either side, carefully placing them on the ground against the wall. The Lady blinked and tilted her head at Erudax, who shrugged before charging.
"You think you can withstand the force of the seas themselves?" Lady Naz'jar hissed, firing off a Shock Blast at Erudax. The mighty Duke of Below took the hit directly, singed by the lightning but reaching the Lady and beginning to smack her around with his arms. The two were locked in combat, Naz'jar being quicker but Erudax hitting harder each time. He let out a roar, as the room began to fill with a swirling purple vortex. Smirking to herself, the Lady moved into the eye of the storm, a large obvious circle and stood there, firing off another shock blast.
"Predictable cretin!" she laughed.
"We shall see" Erudax replied, as the nova subsided. As Lady Naz'jar prepared to charge at the hulking creature, she spotted two Corruptors lurching into the arena. Peering at the eggs and then back to them, she worked it out.
"Oh no you don't!"
Lady Naz'jar began to summon a geyser under one of the two sets of eggs, before firing off a shock blast at the corruptor headed for the other pack. Erudax stomped after her, hitting at her but she continued the assault, reaching the corruptor as it began to channel a spell onto the eggs. As the geyser on the other side of the room exploded, the second corruptor was killed, the aftershock of the geyser pushing the Duke away as she finished off the first with another shock blast.
"Enough! Your pathetic attempts at egg scrambling are useless!" she cackled, leaping to the centre of the room and casting a waterspout. Water appeared from nowhere, encasing her as she grinned, her servants coming to her aid. Erudax stomped towards them, slowly being overwhelmed from all angles. Without a word, he began to cast Shadow Gale again, filling the entire room with the vortex. "Foolish creature! I am entirely protected for another minute! What could you possibly plan to achieve?"
Erudax said nothing, pointing what would otherwise be considered a finger at her underlings. One of them, a Tempest Witch, was stood in the eye, but the other two were not so lucky. Lady Naz'jar continued to laugh, shaking her head with pity. Suddenly, there was a look of terror in her eye. Two more corruptors stumbled into the room as the Shadow Gale faded, before Erudax glared at the last assistant, casting Binding Shadows and draining health from the naga before killing it. The two corruptors moved into position and began channeling as Erudax turned to face the Lady.
"Your cowardice will be your undoing."
The corruptors finished their deeds with the eggs at approximately the same time the Waterspout wore off. Whelps burst forth from the eggs, flapping towards Lady Naz'jar and clawing at her. The corruptors began to drain life from her, throwing a heal at their leader. The Naga Lady grunted in agony.
"You... Ozumat... you shall..."
"No" Erudax said, smashing the Lady with an Enfeebling Blow, shortly before his assistants drained the last of her life. He nodded at the whelps, which began to feast. The Duke then turned to his corruptors, performed the equivalent of a Faceless One clicking their fingers and walked towards the exit of the arena, his cohorts in tow and his Gale of Shadows trinket in hand.
| Erudax | |
|---|---|
| Lady Naz'jar |
Personally, I was rooting for Lady Naz'jar so I could paste in this piece from Morohtar instead. C'est la vie.
The battle begins!
Remember, Two Bosses Enter matchups are all about substance and style, not gameplay, mechanics, and numbers. Don't base your strategies on player tactics, which opponent has been easiest or most difficult for you personally, or the difficulty of each opponent relative to instance progression. Vote for the spirit of the battle as set forth above. Set aside differences in opponents' health pools, game level, and actual damage output. Absolutely no game mechanics nitpicking!
Set aside the world order -- let the WoW Insider Ring determine who's the champion! Your votes determine the outcome in WoW Insider's series of fantasy deathmatches, Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves.
Filed under: Two Bosses Enter
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
Marshal Apr 11th 2011 9:23PM
I vote for Altairus!
...because he gave me his mount :3
Rai Apr 11th 2011 9:27PM
The skies above the large, flat platform were empty. From the space above the battlefield, Azeroth below was too far down to be seen. Former-champion Ley-Guardian Eregos stood atop the platform, awaiting his next challenge. Many had challenged him before but few had lived to tell the tale, or admit their lack of skill when riding drakes. A gentle breeze whipped up for a few seconds before turning into a full-blown gale as Altairus swooped onto the platform, standing before Eregos and staring deep into his eyes.
"What manner of flight are YOU supposed to represent?!" Eregos yelled, his mighty wings lifting him up into the air despite the winds rampaging against him. Altairus said nothing, watching the Ley-Guardian as he took off, circling the battlefield and trying his best to remain eye-contact. Eregos launched the first blow suddenly, firing an Arcane Barrage off to test the water (or air, as it were). Altairus took the hit but shrugged it off, as the hurricane ravaged Eregos even more forcefully. The wind blew towards Eregos, and he felt impeded by it.
"You think your pathetic weather control can stop one of the most powerful members of the Blue Dragonflight?!" Eregos boomed, narrowly flying over a small vortex of air, but being pushed upwards. The two drakes were locked in combat, lightning and arcane magic flying back and forth, with Altairus firing off attacks more often. Eregos flew towards him, enraging and attempting to match the damage with little success.
"ENOUGH!!!"
With a cackle, Eregos shifted out of existence. Confused, Altairus flew as fast as he could around in a circle, trying to avoid the anomalies that were threatening him. He just about managed to avoid them as Eregos reappeared, upwind. A few tiny whelps appeared, but unlike Eregos they were too small to not worry about the vortexes, being thrown around like an ice revenant on fire. Eregos increased his attack, enraging once more and wittling away at Altairus's health, gaining the upper hand.
"Such insolence... such arrogance... must be pun-eh?"
The wind suddenly changed direction in Altairus's favour. He began blasting Eregos faster with both chilling and lightning breath at an alarming rate to the Ley-Guardian. Both were terribly injured by this point. A golden orb floated past Eregos's head but he shook it away.
"Not even the North Wind is a match for me!" the Ley-Guardian declared, phase shifting once more. With a twinkle in his eye, Altairus flew directly upwards as far as he could, narrowly dodging an anomaly, heading to the very top of the battlefield. Eregos laughed. "Coward!". Suddenly, his whelps began to die. He looked round at the lightning charges that were filling the battlefield, killing his minions and tormenting him. As the Ley-Guardian phased back into existence, the lightning overwhelmed him.
"This is merely a setb...who cares?" Eregos coughed, breathing his last. His shift had ended. If he had a pair, Altairus would have donned a pair of sunglasses for that pun. Yeaaaah.
Othgan Apr 11th 2011 9:31PM
Eregos flys up to Altarius's balcony. "You who controls the mere winds thinks he can be me?"
Altarius says nothing and with a nod of his head, Eregos is pushed back by the wind and surrounded by cyclones. Eregos can do nothing as the cyclones slowly cut at his health due to his large size. Altarius then hits Eregos with a blast of frost, further injuring the dragon.
Eregos does a planar shift, summons his orbs, and moves upwind of Altarius. Altarius simply moves away from Eregos and shifts the wind. Eregos comes out of his shift and is instantly hit with the cyclones, with Altarius suffering damage from one orb.
Eregos then summons his whelps. Altarius makes short work of them with his chilling breath and hits Eregos with lightning. Eregos returns with Arcane volley and barrage, then shifts again.
Altarius, weakened by the most recent attacks, moves too slowly and gets hit by two orbs.
Eregos shifts out enraged and charges at Altarius down wind. Altarius simply uses chilling breath and lightning to eat at Eregos's health while the cyclones, which he had forgotten about in his rage finish him off.
Lemons Apr 12th 2011 2:50AM
"Eregos flys up to Altarius's balcony."
As soon as I read this I immediately thought "I can show you the world..."
Bvannas Apr 11th 2011 9:39PM
*Intro*
*Insults*
*Basic trading of blows*
Eregos was blown back with the combined might of the winds, his skin fizzled with the impact of another of Altarius' blows. Wounded, he stared back into the Storm Dragon's eyes and felt his fury begin to rise. Shifting into a different plane, he let Altarius amuse himself for a while. Eregos watched Altarius change the winds to flee from the anomalies and moved himself into position.
"The Servants of Neltharion will pay for the death of Sindragosa!" Eregos roared. With both the winds and his anger on his side, he launched Volleys of pure magic into the belly of the Storm Dragon. A few of Altarius' counterattacks struck home, but they were the desperate strikes of a doomed foe. Altarius collapsed in a explosion of the Arcane, and Eregos departed, one step closer to vengence.
Jidan Apr 11th 2011 9:43PM
Altairus gazed in wonder at the structure before him. There stood the Nexus, as well as the column of pure magic that defiled the Northern Winds. The wind drake grew angry at the sight of such obvious neglect for natural laws, but before he could act to negate the energy a large blue drake portaled into the area.
“You brash interloper, you’re out of your element! I will ground you!” proclaimed the azure dragon with startling finality.
This must be the Ley-Guardian thought Altairus. Nonetheless, Al’Akir’s mission, namely the cleansing of these airways, would be finished one way or another.
Altairus called upon the northern winds, slowing the ancient drakes approach. Altairus found the irony of the Guardian’s previous statements to be very amusing, in these northern winds Altairus could keep the other dragon at length indefinitely. Suddenly the unexpected happened.
“We command the arcane, you will not turn it against us!” the Guardian intoned, summoning a group of whelps. In sequence, the blue dragons fired off bolt after bolt of crippling arcane energy. Altairus flinched as the projectiles hit their mark, but was far from finished.
Bolstered by the strength of the winds, Altairus’s own breath weapon flowed among the whelps. Frost accumulated on their wings, and those not killed by the brutality of the cold were quickly forced to land, helpless to continue. Eregos was not unaffected by this blast either though, and realized he would soon collapse as well.
“No magic of nature will help you now!” He exclaimed, shifting into another plane. Altairus ceased his attack, and watched as a series of anomalies formed nearby. The nearest pulsed with magic, searing the wind drake. The drake began flying in circles, first out of fear and then with mirth. These orbs did nothing to those not in the immediate area.
Finally the Ley Guardian returned to the current plane, striking the jovial drake. “Such insolence... such arrogance... must be PUNISHED!” He exclaimed, swelling with arcane might. The drake fell distance ways, but was suddenly caught by his beloved northern winds. The drake glared back up at the Blue Dragon, who was now preparing an arcane volley.
Before he could finish an exotic voice rippled across the winds. “Altairus senses your cowardice!” it claimed, and the wind drake began to crackle with static. Without warning, a blast of lightning rippled from his maw, mortally wounding the blue dragon. Altairus offered up a word of thanks to Al’Akir, and then began his investigation on how to seal the ley line and restore his domain.
Jidan Apr 11th 2011 9:50PM
Sorry for the 'wall o' text' style of formatting, wrote it in word and the paragraph spacing apperently didn't copy over.
Iirdan Apr 11th 2011 9:58PM
Altarius wins.
"Such insolence! Such arrogance... MUST BE PUNISHED!"
...Eregos wins. /bandages slash marks
LucaBS Apr 11th 2011 10:01PM
Eregos.
When Altairus uses his breath and blast, Eregos will simply Planar Shift, and meanwhile Eregos is unable to attack, his adds will take care of Altairus. Altairus' winds will do nothing, cause of the Enraged Assault of Eregos, one time being normal casting (Downwind + Enraged Assault) and the other time casting incredibly fast (Upwind + Enraged Assault).
Also, Eregos could just fly over Altairus' whirlwinds.
Biskit333 Apr 11th 2011 10:01PM
Since we are not to neglect style, I will comment on that area.
Eregos is a classic blue dragon, he has the motivations of Malygos's insanity and his own twisted morality. He controls a major aspect of the world, magical forces. While he berates players for their hubris, his pride is ultimately his undoing. From a style standpoint, Eregos gains points for his wonderfully overdone personality and the sense of raw power that accompanies him. He looses points, however, for his unmitigated ego and his relatively mundane attacks. Let's face it, we have been fighting "arcane" enemies for years now.
Altairus is in general an unknown quantity. It is not explained to any degree of detail what his motivations for serving Al'Akir are or how he gained his powers. He is a new type of drake, using elemental based powers rather than those granted by the Titans to the Aspects. He is a silent force of nature, relying on his raw strength and cunning tactics rather than banter and debate. Altairus gains points for his silent man mystique and the unknown nature of his abilities. He looses points for his lack of personality and backstory.
In my opinion, Altairus narrowly beats out Eregos from a style perspective. He is a new, mysterious dragon who takes no nonsense and mets out punishment using the very forces of nature. Eregos has an overwhelmingly strong personality, but I fear that his rage and indignation will have no effect on the coldly logical Altairus and his confusing tactics.
Of course, style is completely subjective and many will disagree with me, but I feel that too many people focus on strictly game mechanics (ie. saying that Eregos will always be hit by the cyclones due to his size).
Omegan01 Apr 11th 2011 10:13PM
Asking "who wins in a fight, Altairus or Eregos?" is a lot like asking "who wins in a fight, the high school JV football captain, or the 350-lb probowl linebacker?"
But, to even it out, we'll give the JV captain a super soaker and the linebacker a bazooka.
Eregos would -eat- Altairus. Possibly literally.
Silversol Apr 11th 2011 10:18PM
So the wild cards... could be anything, you say? I'm predicting a clean sweep from Basic Campfire.
Unless the cogwheel of doom from last October comes back. That'd be a good matchup.
Nina Katarina Apr 12th 2011 7:43AM
I'm hoping for Gamon.
MattKrotzer Apr 12th 2011 8:17AM
I suspect The WoWInsider Comment System to make a clean sweep to the Championship.
Shanic Apr 11th 2011 10:25PM
The most basic rule of fantasy is that the biggest dragon always wins. Hence, Eregos.
RetPallyJil Apr 11th 2011 10:58PM
Eregos is just too powerful. He'd have easily taken over Malygos' slot as Aspect of Magic if we hadn't killed him.
GhostWhoWalks Apr 11th 2011 11:05PM
Eregos, Eregos, Eregos. We love to hate you, but apparently we also hate to love you.
Anyway, Big Blue's definitely taking the win here. Let's look at what Altarius does; he messes around with speed using the wind and he punts people into the air with his tornadoes. He doesn't use any roots, so Eregos can easily reposition to always benefit from the wind, and...well, he FLIES, so he can completely ignore the tornadoes. Technically Eregos could get insta-gibbed by being pushed out of Altarius' area, but seeing as both dragons fight head-to-head and Eregos is protected from the tornadoes, that's unlikely to happen.
So Eregos already has the advantage in that he can brush off Altarius' unorthodox mechanics with ease. Altarius isn't afforded the same protection, as there's no way around Eregos' Planar Shift and the Anomalies.
Pretty much the only aspect of the fight in Altarius' favor is that the Whelp adds Eregos summons can be wiped away by Chilling Breath. Not enough to keep him alive, but it's more than what some of the previous matchups could offer. Eregos takes this easily.
anbilow Apr 11th 2011 11:16PM
I feel like most people either won't remember Eregos, or they have blocked him out of their memories.
I kinda forgot for a second, it was so long ago... I regret remembering now...
Zhinn Apr 11th 2011 11:33PM
Going to have to go with Altairus. His wind will confused Eregos and reduce his cast time thus making it impossible for him to on a phantasmal stage.
Vodkamartini Apr 12th 2011 12:13AM
SCENE: The skies of Azeroth. A blue day fit for a blue dragon. Whose fit to be peeved.
EREGOS: (muttering) Don't they know how much I have to eat after these trips around the planet? I don't care if some egghead calculated the diameter of Azeroth to be 50 to 60 kilometers*, it's a bother of a trip. Better be something over there to eat, some Taunka wings, a dozen Gnome-filled fried mallomars or something.
(EREGOS quiets, seeing a sillouette. Actually, two, as they come closer: some winged creature he's never seen before, and a large bat with tusks. )
EREGOS (hovering uneasily): What the hell is this winged monkey? And who the hell are you?
DRUID: Me be Druid referee and translator Bahtkwano, mon. Dis ere be Altarius, Storm Draggin, yer opponent for dis week's edishun of Too Boss Entah, One Boss Leafs!
EREGOS: Simpletons! Out here instead of (grabs invitation hanging on a chain around the neck, reads, tosses it) the Thunderdome?
BAHTKWANO: Hey brah, they dids de measurements. Wouldn't fit. Take a massa blasta to accomodate yas. We don't need anudda hero --
EREGOS: - to do menial tasks like collecting logs to make an arena. Got it. Plus he's a storm dragon. Allegedly. I guess it would give him home field advantage. Altarius? I thought the invitation said Algol, or Al Ghoulius.
BAHTKWANO: Nah man, dat fantasee star an udda be ownah o' de Raidahs. OK, 'ere be laws of de fite. Dis be nootral terrytory. Crowd contros ayloud. Heysume each ohpoenint bees intelligent an' apeable of strategic tinkin'. Everyting bees a factor -
EREGOS: - whatever, do you Trolls ever attend a school to speak Common? I could've gotten a drunk dwarf to say the same to me if those pudgy pucks could fly.
BAHTKWANO: Jes' doin me job, boss-
EREGOS: - and did you say "capable of strategic thinking?" This is a frakking gecko with wings. Is he gonna lick me and roll his eyes all creepily and googily and give me 15 minutes of flight insurance? Oooh, scary! Please tell me for the love of Malygos what this purple people eater is capable of.
BAHTKWANO: Kay, Lemme recall it entrance ...
EREGOS: Trance? You like that music too? Kaskade, Tiesto and I get together on the weekends in Northrend, bust out the glowsticks, get some belf chicks to raise the roofies and get our grooves on ... we had a sweet sound the other day, going like this ... dooshdooshdoosh ti-dink-ti-dink da-dink da-dur-
BAHTKWANO: Mon I bees tryin' to concentrates 'ere-
EREGOS: -whirrr dooshdooshdoosh -- whee! Oh man, you gotta hear us!
BAHTKWANO (concentrating): Yaya mon, come out to de kost, we'll git togetha, hava few laffs. Altarius brah, 'e bees de massa o' de wins. 'E breaf out forst breaf, lightnin' an' debuff yas on downlo. Upwin tho, brudda buff ya.
EREGOS: OK, I know I may have given you that impression, but I don't roll that way.
BAHTKWANO: HA! I means dis draggin be rooinen yer stats if ye bees downwin.
EREGOS: Downwind? My god, don't tell me rips ones ripe to stay afloat.
BAHTKWANO: Git da brudda afta bobbycue sundaes, 'e bees paintin' wit da colors of de win! Pew pew! MUAH MUAHA!
EREGOS: Thank you. Now, did you tell him the rules for combating me?
BAHTKWANO: Ya, but dere bees a problem 'ere. 'E only one, not fo', got no drakes-
EREGOS: So? He claims to be "de massa o' de wins" as you put it.
BAHTKWANO: Time, time, stop, I know roos is roos ...
EREGOS: (ANGRILY) You were planning on betraying me with a time stop ruse? Such insolence ... such arrogance ... MUST BE PUNISHED!!!
(Eregos goes enraged, blasts a quick arcane barrage, then does a planar shift, releasing anomaly sparks who smash Bahtkwano and Altarius out of the sky within seconds.)
EREGOS: Enjoy the fall!
* = http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1567927014?page=1