Memories of Onyxia: Back Into The Lair
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Amatera on Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 27 Comments Tags: Raid, deep breath, lair, level 80, memories, onyxia, wipe
Amatera on Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 27 Comments Tags: Raid, deep breath, lair, level 80, memories, onyxia, wipe
The first thing we did upon entering Onyxia's Lair for the first time in several years was wipe. Foolishly, after pulling the first trash mob, the tank managed to grab the attention of a second. Having walked down the slope, and farther into the cave, this left him out of our healers' line of sight. Our token meat shield soon found himself added to Onyxia's collection of floor rugs, which meant that the rest of us were quickly picked off one by one. Ahh yes, having my face cratered by Lair trash! Just like old times!
It stung even harder when the quick jaunt back to the entrance was met with another death. I guess those Warders weren't quite done with us yet after our Hunter attempted to Feign Death and, for one reason or another, failed at doing so. The affair made me doubly sour, though I couldn't blame him for his actions. After all, as a Rogue, I would've Vanished if I hadn't been next in line for a beating after the tank.
It turned out, though, that we'd just run into some bad luck. To use a common phrase, raiding Onyxia's Lair at 80 was like trying to ride a bike again: you never truly forget. Regardless, that first time you get back on the seat and grab the handle bars, your ride is going to be a little shaky. Promptly enough, we cleared out the remainder of the trash and found ourselves at the gaping maw of the dastardly dragon's inner sanctum. After briefly recapping the encounter for those who hadn't done the fight in a very long time (or ever), we breached the brood mother's den.
The first thing that struck me off right off the bat was how claustrophobic the room felt. I always remembered it being gigantic and, with 10 people instead of 40, it should have seemed even roomier than it did. Memories are weird that way, I guess. They tend to become exaggerated or warped over time and raiding experiences are, apparently, no exception.
And so the fight unfolded in ways that it never did when it was a part of vanilla end-game content. Sure, we wiped once, after failing to assign a tank to one pack of whelps during Phase 2 (you know, the one where she flies around in the air), and then losing a couple of people to her first Deep Breath (which, contrary to popular opinion, she did not seem to do more often!), but we caught on quickly and downed Onyxia on the second attempt without a single death. A well-placed Tremor Totem completely nullified her Bellowing Roar ability in Phase 3, making it only slightly harder than Phase 1. The only new twist seemed to be the inclusion of a new add, the Onyxian Lair Guard, which spawns every so often.
To tell the truth, I'm not sure what this says about the encounter. It surely couldn't have always been this easy, as I distinctly recall spending hours in here on certain nights way back when. Angry Raid Leader will forever remind us of how frustrating the encounter can be. Sure the old girl hits a little harder, has a few more hit points, and adds can quickly get out of control if you don't burn them down, but it's nothing unmanageable. This isn't Hard Mode Mimiron, after all.
Maybe we've all just gotten better as players? That's always a possibility, but if the Onyxia was over-tuned at Level 60, I'd argue that she's under-tuned at Level 80. Let's not forget that the reintroduction of Onyxia is more of a love letter to the old raid than a legitimate addition to current-tier raiding, and that Blizzard probably wants as many players to be able to access it as possible. What once was a barrier is now a gateway.
On the whole, though, I think it's easier to make sense of the encounter because it's fundamentally less chaotic. Running a raid in the old days meant wrangling thirty-nine other people, making sure that they were always where they were supposed to be and that they could ably side-step the Deep Breaths or stay off the cracks in the floor when an Eruption was pending. The more bodies there are in the room, the greater the chance of someone being knocked into the whelps, as well.
Part of me really wanted Onyxia to come back and show modern raiders what a really, truly tough encounter could bring to the table. That may not have happened, but I'm still grateful for the chance to revisit one of the premiere raids in the game. It was great seeing some of that old loot drop again, too. Our first foray into the Level 80 version of Onyxia's Lair didn't leave us with a mount, but we did nab a Gleaming Quel'Serrar and I'm looking forward to nabbing the Enlarged Onyxia Hide Bag one of these days.
It may not be as difficult or imposing as my memories would have be believe, but in the end, I think it'll find a spot in our weekly rotation of raids, at least until the gear is completely outclassed by the next tier of content.
Have any of you had the chance to go toe-to-claw with the revamped version of Onyxia? We'd love to know what you think and whether or not it lives up to the legend!
It stung even harder when the quick jaunt back to the entrance was met with another death. I guess those Warders weren't quite done with us yet after our Hunter attempted to Feign Death and, for one reason or another, failed at doing so. The affair made me doubly sour, though I couldn't blame him for his actions. After all, as a Rogue, I would've Vanished if I hadn't been next in line for a beating after the tank.
It turned out, though, that we'd just run into some bad luck. To use a common phrase, raiding Onyxia's Lair at 80 was like trying to ride a bike again: you never truly forget. Regardless, that first time you get back on the seat and grab the handle bars, your ride is going to be a little shaky. Promptly enough, we cleared out the remainder of the trash and found ourselves at the gaping maw of the dastardly dragon's inner sanctum. After briefly recapping the encounter for those who hadn't done the fight in a very long time (or ever), we breached the brood mother's den.
The first thing that struck me off right off the bat was how claustrophobic the room felt. I always remembered it being gigantic and, with 10 people instead of 40, it should have seemed even roomier than it did. Memories are weird that way, I guess. They tend to become exaggerated or warped over time and raiding experiences are, apparently, no exception.
And so the fight unfolded in ways that it never did when it was a part of vanilla end-game content. Sure, we wiped once, after failing to assign a tank to one pack of whelps during Phase 2 (you know, the one where she flies around in the air), and then losing a couple of people to her first Deep Breath (which, contrary to popular opinion, she did not seem to do more often!), but we caught on quickly and downed Onyxia on the second attempt without a single death. A well-placed Tremor Totem completely nullified her Bellowing Roar ability in Phase 3, making it only slightly harder than Phase 1. The only new twist seemed to be the inclusion of a new add, the Onyxian Lair Guard, which spawns every so often.
To tell the truth, I'm not sure what this says about the encounter. It surely couldn't have always been this easy, as I distinctly recall spending hours in here on certain nights way back when. Angry Raid Leader will forever remind us of how frustrating the encounter can be. Sure the old girl hits a little harder, has a few more hit points, and adds can quickly get out of control if you don't burn them down, but it's nothing unmanageable. This isn't Hard Mode Mimiron, after all.Maybe we've all just gotten better as players? That's always a possibility, but if the Onyxia was over-tuned at Level 60, I'd argue that she's under-tuned at Level 80. Let's not forget that the reintroduction of Onyxia is more of a love letter to the old raid than a legitimate addition to current-tier raiding, and that Blizzard probably wants as many players to be able to access it as possible. What once was a barrier is now a gateway.
On the whole, though, I think it's easier to make sense of the encounter because it's fundamentally less chaotic. Running a raid in the old days meant wrangling thirty-nine other people, making sure that they were always where they were supposed to be and that they could ably side-step the Deep Breaths or stay off the cracks in the floor when an Eruption was pending. The more bodies there are in the room, the greater the chance of someone being knocked into the whelps, as well.
Part of me really wanted Onyxia to come back and show modern raiders what a really, truly tough encounter could bring to the table. That may not have happened, but I'm still grateful for the chance to revisit one of the premiere raids in the game. It was great seeing some of that old loot drop again, too. Our first foray into the Level 80 version of Onyxia's Lair didn't leave us with a mount, but we did nab a Gleaming Quel'Serrar and I'm looking forward to nabbing the Enlarged Onyxia Hide Bag one of these days.
It may not be as difficult or imposing as my memories would have be believe, but in the end, I think it'll find a spot in our weekly rotation of raids, at least until the gear is completely outclassed by the next tier of content.
Have any of you had the chance to go toe-to-claw with the revamped version of Onyxia? We'd love to know what you think and whether or not it lives up to the legend!
Reader Comments (27)
Looking forward to getting a revamped bloodfang hood, as I lost my 60 counter part ;(
I was in a guild run for both the Onxynia 10 & 25 versions. the 10-player wasn't too bad, only took 4 attempts. Immediately afterwards, we formed up our 25-player run. That one took us about 8 tries. Hopefully we can have her on farm within the next couple of weeks.
I only recently got to do Onyxia and did so with my DK, another DK, and a rogue from my guild and a friendly healer since the three of us wiped on the first try. Not having been around until nearly Wrath means I did not have the pleasure of seeing this dragon at the original level. Want to go back in for the 80 run but have not been able to as of yet.
My guild master got the mount the first run. on wednesday. 10 man
no one cares
Amidaman is secretely crying cause he didnt get the mount.
im just mad that i couldnt get the original t2 Judgement helm for my lvl 60 pally before she went live. but i have run it on my main. the adds are the only thing that give us real trouble.
If a missing person sees their picture on a milk carton that offers a reward, would they get the money?
10 player Ony was a bit of a joke this week. 25 was a little more fun but I think this is just filler (like 3.2) until the release of 3.3 Icecrown.
@Mike
Oh yes, it's filler. However, getting some extra Triumph emblems alone from Ony 25 is going to put it on a lot of guilds' raiding calendars.
Just a complaining guys, when we'll see new episodes?
No ToC? No Onyxia's? :( :( :(
I just want a chance to complain against the 25-man raid boss on my server, Troran.
This is the guy who started the Ony-25 raid, invited a whole bunch of well geared and experienced players (myself included), then started switching us out at the door to the raid because some of his grossly under-geared RL friends wanted in.
So the original 4 Blood DKs, 3 SV Hunters and 3 Demon Warlocks (all lvl 80) got switched out for 3 lvl 72 Holy Pallies, 5 lvl 71 and 72 Arcane Mages, and 2 lvl 75 Subtility Rogues.
Can't see that raid going very well since the rest of them were Disc and Holy Priests, a few Enh Shammies, 1 BM Hunter, and 2 Prot Warriors.
damm. I keep trying to do 10 ony, but cuz no one ever stacks on phase 2 we never get her down. when we do however, we don't have any tremor totem up. our shammy doesn't bother with it. but i'm gonna try out some new strat and see if it'll work. and where would the tremor totem be placed if none of us would wanna get feared?
@Diego Camargo
Most of us on the blog side of things have very little to do with the videos, sadly, so we can't say precisely when things might pick up again.
But Alex has indicated on his Twitter account that Project Lore episodes will likely be coming sometime soon.
@Amatera
Thanks for reply :)
I'll add Alex Twitter for more 'information' about it :)
Did both versions this week, and as most times the 25 was a little harder but again, as with most 25s it was because more people equals more people being stupid. It was fun to hear the reactions of my guildies who had never done Onyxia at 60 or ever. Even more fun were the reactions of the few of us who had done her at 60, and early 60 mind you not Naxx days, and thought she'd still be as "hard" as she used to be. The revamp really demonstrates what many of the supporters of the 'Raiding has gotten harder and more sophisticated, but we also have become better and knowledgeable as a whole' camp (sorry for the super long title), which I am a part of, believe; the mechanics have not changed, only the statistics and now we can see how simple the fight truly was.
she's atm the most freekin easy thing to do,crap loot,so...seriously..was expecting waaaaaaaaaaaaaay something more
useful information. It’s really good
This is the second entry I read tonight. And I am on my third. Got to think which one is next. Thank you.
My new favorite raid. I loved the old one at 60 and couldn't wait for the patch to come through. Amat makes this sound like an easy encounter, imho it is and isn't. I recently started playing on a new character and hit 80 4 days before Ony came out. long story short I pugged my group Ony. I have to say although frusturating during the 2.5hrs we took to down her it was amazing. The thrill of raid leading a pug on a boss who is by no means a gear check but a "skill check" was wonderful. The ppoint of this si if you go in with your guild that has ToC10 on the weekly schedule it's a cake walk, you over gear it and you know eachother. If you wnat a challenge though pug it, I myself was in a mix of 200's and 213's as our MT healer. regardless to say an amazing fight!
И опять об этом. Если поисковики научатся понимать смысл, то блогерам придется поизголяться, чтобы быть читаемыми и не похожими на других.
Хм… даже такое бывает.
It is the second entry I read tonight. And I am on my third. Got to think which one is next. Thank you.
Thank you very much for that wonderful article
Why is a square meal served on round plates?