In Two Bosses Enter, WoW Insider's series of fantasy death matches, bosses, leaders, and powerful figures of World of Warcraft face off in the squared circle. Your vote determines who wins and claims the season title.

Ah, this will be a fun mashup fight to watch. While I would have originally said this would be a win for Baine's father Cairne immediately, I don't know if I can say the same for his son. With Baine's popularity on the rise, however, anything is possible. There is also the looming irony of two of the most friendly and conflict-averse characters in the entire game going head-to-head in a winner-takes-all fight. It's almost like it was planned all along. Don't worry, it wasn't. I'm not that clever.

Last week's matchup was a sad shut-out for Arcurion, who I am sure most people don't even know because he lives at the beginning of a dungeon that people try their best to close their eyes and breeze through. Truth be told, it usually works, and that's all right in my book. Easy and fun are better than frustrating and time-consuming, in my book.

Who takes home the next coveted spot on the ever-dangerous quest to become the champion on Two Bosses Enter? Only you can decide ...



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.

In Corner One: Echo of Baine

In his first match of the tournament, the Echo of Baine demolished his opponent Peroth'arn. With a commanding 65.2% of the vote, Baine pushed forward as an early crowd favorite at the beginning of the voting. I am under the impression that Baine's connection as son to the beloved Cairne Bloodhoof definitely plays into his popularity, which actually makes a lot of sense for the tauren leader, considering he is supposed to have the strength, wisdom, and power of all his ancestors before him. Take that, logic!

Ancestors or not, the Echo of Baine is a tricky foe to deal with, especially because of the environmental concerns. Baine's opponent might not be able to Blink as effectively as she would like to considering the rocky, disjointed, and dangerous terrain. Jaina may be a great mage, but it's tough to cast spells when you're neck-deep in lava.

Baine also has a distinct advantage in his ability to throw his weapon when Jaina moves. He can still attack at range while moving back into positon, which might not actually be that far away, depending on the timing and distance of Jaina's blinks.

The Echo of Baine's abilities include:

• Molten Axe Echo of Baine's axe gets supercharged when he dips into the lava around his platforms.
• Molten Fists Echo of Baine's enemies can also dip into the lava for a Molten Fists buff, inflicting extra fire damage on hit.
• Pulverize Baine slams down his totem, destroying the platform he is on and hitting all nearby enemies for a nice chunk of damage. Platforms will eventually return but take some time.
• Throw Totem Echo of Baine throws his totem at a target, causing lots of damage and knocking his target back. His totem can then be picked up and thrown back at Baine, stunning him briefly and increasing his damage taken.

You can read more about the Echo of Baine on Wowpedia.

In Corner Two: Echo of Jaina

The Echo of Jaina did not have as decisive a victory against her opponent Morchok as many would have expected. I thought more people out there were Jaina fans! She's getting a book, people -- get excited. Anyway, we'll see whether or not her mediocre popularity can stand in the way of Baine Bloodhoof.

The real triumph of Jaina's match was the number of votes for one of the first raid boss to ever be a part of Two Bosses Enter. The Morchok encounter has probably been encountered by exponentially more players than any other first boss in a raid due to the new Dungeon Finder, and that's awesome. More content for more people is encouraging for the genre as a whole.

Echo of Jaina's abilities include:

• Blink Jaina blinks.
• Frost Blades Jaina will fire three large frost blades that fan out in front of her.
• Frostbolt Volley Frostbolts erupt from Jaina's hands, dealing damage and slowing movement speed.
• Flarecore Echo of Jaina throws a Flarecore ember on the ground near her enemies, which explodes if it is touched. If the embers are not triggered in 10 seconds, the Flarecore explodes for massive damage.
• Pyroblast Jaina winds up a huge damaging fireball and launches it at a target, dealing heavy damage.

Read more about Jaina Proudmoore on Know Your Lore, our very own fantastic lore column about World of Warcraft. You can also see her article on Wowpedia.


Poor, poor Arcurion. How on earth could this nobody defeat the great Lord Godfrey, slayer of Sylvanas, hero of Shadowfang? As you might have guessed, this matchup was a complete shutout, as Godfrey grabbed a staggering 73.7% of the vote. Those are big numbers, baby. Big, big numbers. Let's hope Arcurion doesn't get too roughed up in the battle reports.

Rai discussed some sentiments that hit Arcurion deep, and that's an emotional wound that will never heal:

I'd post a witty comment about Godfrey utilising his ghouls and cursed bullets, of which Arcurion couldn't dodge at the end, and such but Arcurion is, in my opinion, the weakest boss in Cataclysm.

Then again, maybe that's just post-Mannoroth syndrome.

I know, right? Arcurion, I don't know, man. You were fun the first few times, but you've just waned in required effort. I would absolutely hate to be a mid-instance boss, a filler obstacle before the real deal. Such a sad existence. You're like a middle management version of a Star Trek red shirt. Arcurion could have gone to technical school and apprenticed as an electrician or something -- but no, his mother and father forced him into Twilight University. Sometimes the college of the damned isn't the best option for every student.

Vaniya's description of the fight was pretty darn good, especially with the twist ending, and Godfrey's ferocity is felt through the story. Good work! Also, Arcurion really never stood a chance, did he?

Hi! Guess I'll put a quick note up here, I'm Vaniya and I play on both Elune and Wyrmrest Accord, and any time in the past you've seen the name Vaniya on these, it's me :P Story Time!

Arcurion stood outside the double doors, unsure how he got to be there, when an arguing duo of a Worgen and Undead rushed past him, breaking down the door. Arcurion shot a bolt of frost magic at them, but it dissipated in a small flash of light. The pair, still unaware of him, shouted "Godfrey! You will pay for your crimes!"

Lord Godfrey, disturbed from his work, looked over and swiftly shot at the two. They were flung out of the room, past Arcurion, who was walking into the room. After he passed the threshold, a bronze shield covered his only exit. Godfrey turned towards the Ascendant, saying "More interruptions? This will not stand!" he fired a round of cursed bullets at Arcurion, who leapt out of the way. In response, Arcurion fired a Hand of Frost at Godfrey, grabbing his throat.

"Insolent wretch!" Godfrey cried as he flung Arcurion with inhuman strength away from him. Arcurion, angered, called upon his magic and summoned forth his elemental minions. Not pleased, Godfrey raised a small army of ghouls, which went to attack. After seeing his minions dispatched of, Arcurion said "You shall not survive today, Mage!" and conjured up a Torrent of Frost, cutting down swathes of the undead.

"I can do that too." stated Godfrey calmly, aiming his pistols at Arcurion. While running from the barrage of dark bullets, Arcurion formed an icy prison around Godfrey, trapping him in place. Walking smugly to the now frozen man, Arcurion charged up a massive spell. "Guess we know who is stronger." said Arcurion.

Right as the spell shattered his prison, Godfrey blinked past Arcurion, shooting him in the back of his head, killing him instantly. "Guess we do." said Godfrey. And at that moment, Sylvanas fired seven arrows into his black heart. "That's for killing be, you bastard."

Excellent work as always, commenters. While too long to post the entire thing, please also pay special attention to reader Ikana's story of the fight, which you can go to right here. I love it, and you should read it, and that's all.

Vote or die. Do it now!

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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.

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Tags: baine, echo-of-baine, echo-of-jaina, featured, jaina, lord-godfrey, morchok, role-playing, wow-boss, wow-boss-battle, wow-bosses, wow-rp

Filed under: Two Bosses Enter