Wipes in raids of World of Warcraft can be quite frustrating. But what if you’re not exactly sure whether the boss has truly been defeated or not?
On the Edge of Death
Surely every WoW player who has been raiding more or less intensively has experienced one or another close wipe in their past. While the complete annihilation of your raid at 3% falls already into the “annoying” category, frustration increases proportionally the fewer HP the boss has left. A German guild must have been particularly upset in recent days as they attempted Archimonde. After they had drained the Eredar Lord of 464 million health points, it ultimately failed due to a single HP.
It is little consolation that the boss was mathematically certain to be defeated, for the last attack of the brave raider must have caused enough damage. The cause of this narrow defeat is a change in the opponent mechanics from Mists of Pandaria. Bosses and other special enemies do not drop below 1 HP while they are casting a spell or are in a dialogue sequence. This very mechanic ultimately led to the raid’s demise.
Luckily, the palpable frustration did not last long: Later, the raid managed to send the commander of the Burning Legion back to the Nether.
