For The Paladin

A lot of times when I talk about WoW, one of my major topics of conversation is what it was like to play the game when it originally came out. It is with that thought that I’d like to present what (hopefully) will become a weekly ritual to forthepaladin: Raiding to the Past. In it, I will discuss raid bosses from raids past and discuss abilities, strategies, and other stories. Enjoy!

Magmadar

Attacks and Abilities (Thanks to WoWWiki.com)

* Magma Spit

Deals 93-107 Fire damage and an additional 75 Fire damage every 3 seconds for 30 seconds. Stacks up to 3 times.
School: Fire
Range: ?? yards

* Lava Breath

Inflicts 1157 to 1343 Fire damage to enemies in front of the caster.
School: Fire
Radius: 35 yards

* Panic

Panics nearby enemies, causing them to flee in fear for 8 sec.
Type: Magic
School: Shadow
Radius: 30 yards

* Lava Bomb

Throws a Lava Bomb at an enemy, creating a fire that inflicts 3200 Fire damage over 8 sec.
School: Fire
Range: 100 yards
Fire Radius: 5 yards

This boss was the first boss to introduce a reason for the spell Tranquilizing Shot, a hunter spell which was learned from a tome which dropped from Lucifron (Molten Core’s first boss). The idea was that he would enrage, which would cause his attack speed and damage to increase so heavily that main tanks everywhere would fall to his brute strength. It was also key to have a group of hunters with Tranq. shot so that they could keep a rotation of who was using the spell and whether it was a hit or a miss.

This was also the first boss that introduced the ever-so-simple raid tactic of “STAY OUT OF THE FIRE!” While unbelievably easy to counter, you will always encounter that one (or more) raid member who doesn’t realize that the orange-red stuff under his feet is actually killing his character. This maneuver has been a staple of many different raid bosses, and this was the first raid boss that implemented the strategy (at least, this is the first I can remember).

He also had a fear which made dwarf priests and shamen unbelievably useful. Why dwarf priests, you ask? Oh, that’s right, you might not remember. At one point, dwarf priests were the only priests (rather, the only race/class combo) that was given the spell Fear Ward, which made any single fear attack on the target null and void, thus breaking the ward. It was crucial that some kind of fear-dispelling spell was placed on the tank, because even though the tank would not lose aggro, Magmadar would follow the tank, which would put the healers out of max range, and thus vulnerable to the fear. If a fear ward or a tremor totem couldn’t be placed in time, a Warrior (yes, 10 times out of 10 the tank in Vanilla WoW was a warrior) would have to do something which is known as a “stance dance”, where he switches from defensive stance to bezerker stance, which would remove the fear, and then back to defensive stance.

If you could manage to stay out of the fear, the fire, and his face, you could end up with some phat loot, including your Tier 1 legs. My personal favorite was the Magma Tempered Boots. Here’s the rest:

Earthshaker
Eskhandar’s Right Claw
Striker’s Mark
Medallion of Steadfast Might
Obsidian Edged Blade
Quick Strike Ring
Aged Core Leather Gloves
Deep Earth Spaulders
Fire Runed Grimoire
Flameguard Gauntlets
Flamewaker Legplates
Mana Igniting Cord
Sabatons of the Flamewalker

And to think, at one point, this was some of the best loot you could find in the game…ahh the memories.

Anyway, tune in weekly for more Raiding to the Past!

~Baros