Posts with tag boss-fights

My Horde guild recently discovered something interesting about the Dark Shaman encounter, as you can see detailed in the video above. This interesting something is the fact that the Dark Shaman will, in fact, teleport to wherever you pull them from--including the roof of the Orgrimmar auction house. This could be a little challenging in a fight where positioning is actually quite important. Oops!

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C'thun is generally accepted among WoW raiders to own the title of most challenging raid boss to date. "They had to nerf C'thun before anyone (and I mean anyone) could kill him without exploiting," notes WoW Insider warrior extraordinaire Matt Rossi. "For a group of level 60s in BWL/AQ gear, pre-Naxx, C'thun was the hardest fight. Not even Naxx fights compared. There has never been a fight tuned that high again."

But many players find C'thun-like levels of stress to be suffocating rather than thrilling. They agonize over personal performance, grind their teeth over repeated wipes, and bang their heads over night after night of painstaking attempts. For these raiders, difficulty definitely does not equal excitement.

What boss do you think of, then, that fill you with a looming sense of imminent danger? Is there an encounter that makes you feel as if you're dancing on the edge of the sword the entire time? What makes these encounters thrilling to you?

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Last week there were a lot of calls in my "Best fight from Burning Crusade" article for Mimiron, Yogg-Saron, or Arthas himself to be the subject of this article. I had to smile at them because, well, they guessed it. I'll admit that, as a healer, I was tempted to pick Valythria, but I don't think I could really do that in good conscience. Valythria might have been one of my favorite fights, but the best? No, not really. My choice for the best fight from Wrath of the Lich King? Mimiron.

Mimiron is a four-phase tier eight fight with some complex mechanics and a good deal of entertaining humor to it. In my opinion, the Ulduar raid was the crown jewel of Wrath of the Lich King, and Mimiron was one of the most fun and challenging bosses in it.

Last week I wrote about what I considered to be the best fight from classic WoW, so this week we're moving into The Burning Crusade. Though I stated that I try to stay away from obvious choices, this boss is so infamous that I really couldn't choose anything else, despite considering several others. The picture at the top of the article has already given my answer away: Kael'thas Sunstrider, the final boss of Tempest Keep: The Eye.

This could be the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia speaking, but looking back, I really do believe that The Burning Crusade had some of the most interesting, fun, and infuriating boss mechanics of any expansion so far. Mage and/or warlock tanks? Check. Necessary item usage? Check. Guaranteed aggro resets? Check!

And Kael'thas had all of those.

The Thunder King is risen! Today, hordes (and alliances) of characters are flocking to the Isle of Thunder to take part in the hotly-anticipated new content. Many of you will be jumping straight into the new raid as well, and in the spirit of being prepared, WoW Insider has got you covered. Check out our Throne of Thunder write-ups and go in swinging!

• Jin'rokh the Breaker
• Horridon
• Council of Elders
• Tortos
• Megaera
• Ji-Kun
• Durumu the Forgotten
• Primordius
• Dark Animus
• Iron Qon
• Twin Consorts
• Lei Shen

The ultimate last boss of 5.2, Ra-den, is locked behind a heroic-mode defeat of Lei Shen and that encounter remains a closely-guarded secret -- for now. Happy patch 5.2 everyone, and happy raiding!

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I love heroic Spine of Deathwing because I am a prot warrior.

Is the fight hectic? Absolutely it is. If I were a healer, I would probably hate it with a passion, having to heal that stupid debuff off of people and deal with some ridiculously high damage spikes. If I were a DPSer, I'd probably loathe having to throttle my damage for 90% of the fight then go for broke for the tendons, being sure to line up my cooldowns and consumables and trinkets. And dealing with the Fiery Grip is an exercise in doing exactly what you have never learned how to do as a damage dealer, not killing things.

But as a tank? Especially one kiting bloods up and down the spine? It's glorious. It's hard, really really hard. As the fight progresses, the difficulty of tanking the bloods goes from Meh, I can do this while I eat this giant hoagie to There are 50 bloods chasing me help help. You will use every cooldown, big and small, as well as every movement increase you have. You will shift from tanking one or two bloods to tanking 10 or 20, and finally you will find yourself drowning in the things, hopping around the back of the spine and desperately hoping for a cooldown to come up. And it's awesome. It is the most fun I've had in Cataclysm, bar none.

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

The Crusaders, Sally Whitemane and Renault Mograine, stepped into the Two Bosses arena, well-rested after their bout with Forgemaster Throngus. The Cardboard Assassin had already been assembled in the opposite corner, swaying uneasily with the deafening roar of the gathered crowd.

Tirion Fordring rose from his seat and spread his arms to silence the audience. The moment the cheering stalled, Tirion motioned to Whitemane and Mograine. He bellowed, voice gruff and rumbling. "Today, in the left corner, heralding from the Tirisfal Glades of the fallen Kingdom of Lordaeron, we have the Scarlet Crusaders, Champions of the Light, bane of the unholy Scourge."

Tirion motioned in the other direction. "In the right corner, heralding from the forges of Westfall, stands the Cardboard Assassin, slayer of men and gods alike."

"Champions," Fordring shouted, "are you rea--"

The arena floor burst into flames, flooding the coliseum with smoke and cutting Lord Fordring's words short, driving the audience into sudden silence. The fires were extinguished as quickly as they came, and a woman stood in their place, obscured amidst the smoke. "Well," she observed, "this hardly seems fair."

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

Readers have been saying all along that Ozruk is going to sweep this tournament, and he's on course to do just that. He's in for his most difficult battle yet this week, however. Could Eregos, Wrath of the Lich King Two Bosses Enter champion, pull out a win over him?

Remember, audence -- we've put a roof on the Two Bosses Enter arena. Eregos is a formidable opponent, but he cannot just fly away and call it a win!



In last week's matchup, Shadowfang Keep's Baron Ashbury went head to head with the corrugated menace. How did he fare?



Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.

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

A grave mistake was made when the Cardboard Assassin was allowed into the Two Bosses Enter tournament. The world severely underestimated the power of the comedy option. This week, can the menace of Baron Ashbury overcome the hilarity of the Cardboard Assassin?



In last week's matchup, Throngus the Forgemaster slammed face-first into the Scarlet Crusade's Whitemane and Mograine. Was his skull thick enough to pull it off?



Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.

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

Round 3 of the Crazy Eights kicks off this week, pitting the goliath Forgemaster Throngus against the cutest couple of Crusaders you've ever seen!



In last week's matchup, Eregos and Erudax went head-to-head in the new and improved Two Bosses Enter arena -- an arena with a roof.



Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.

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

Before this week's matchup gets underway, I want to announce that the Two Bosses Enter arena now has a ceiling. Bosses with wings cannot simply fly away and win. Capisce?

With that out of the way, this week a glutted tick and a scaley bird face off!



In last week's matchup, we kicked off the Crazy Eights of this season of Two Bosses Enter with a showdown between Ozruk of the Breaking Body and Shadowfang Keep's Lord Godfrey.



Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's matchup.

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

The Sweet Sixteen of this Two Bosses Enter tournament has come to a conclusion, and we officially enter the Crazy Eights. Ozruk and Lord Godfrey step back up to the plate this week for a cataclysmic battle.



In last week's matchup, it was assassin versus assassin: Vanessa VanCleef faced down our final wild card competitor, the Cardboard Assassin.



Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.

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

The shadows part, and this week's contestants are revealed! Vanessa VanCleef, kingpin of the reborn Defias Brotherhood, will go head-to-head with the Cardboard Assassin, the finest tank Azeroth has ever seen.



In last week's matchup, Baron Ashbury and the Construct of Life Ammunae fought each other to a near stalemate, thanks to their equally impressive healing capabilities. However, a winner did pull through ... eventually.



Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.

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

This week on Two Bosses Enter, it's a battle between Ammunae, the Construct of Life, and Baron Ashbury, a scary dead guy. Oh, the anticipation!



In last week's matchup, Augh and Lockmaw slammed face-first into the Scarlet Wall that is Renault Mograine and Sally Whitemane. The pygmy and his pet didn't stand a chance.



Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.

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

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. It's time for our third of four wild cards this season. Whitemane and Mograine make a triumphant return from WoW of old to tackle the dastardly duo from Lost City of the Tol'Vir: Augh and his pet croc Lockmaw.



In last week's matchup, Karsh Steelbender and Forgemaster Throngus went toe-to-toe in what turned out to be quite a tight matchup. Which of them could stand the heat, and which of them couldn't?



Follow along for the details of this week's matchup, as well as discussion on last week's match.