In WoW BC Classic the first raids have already been completely cleared – just one day after release. Some of the bosses had previously dealt significant damage to the players and held out for weeks.
Who achieved the World First? The guild Progress from the EU server Firemaw mastered the raid Karazhan on the night of June 2 to 3, completing the last raid they needed. They are now the first guild to have completed all three raids from Phase 1 in BC Classic.
Previously, Progress had cleared Gruul’s Lair and Magtheridon’s Chamber on the afternoon and evening of June 2. The players from the guild were also among the first at Level 70, albeit through a tedious method.
However, they could not claim the first kill on Gruul for themselves; that went to the guild APES. APES had already achieved the first kill on Ragnaros in WoW Classic.
How did they manage that? Many players from Progress quickly leveled up to the maximum level by “Dungeon Spamming.” However, not all players were Level 70 when they entered the first raids.
Thus, they entered the raids earlier – except for Karazhan, the easiest and best of the three raids, for which you must be Level 70. Therefore, Progress first completed the other two raids and then continued leveling and completing dungeons to obtain even better gear.
Competitor APES was still struggling with Gruul, as too many players were not at Level 70 or nearby, making the first boss in the Lair a challenge.
Progress already achieved the World First in Naxxramas in WoW Classic within not even 90 minutes. For the Bastion of Twilight they shared the first place.
Magtheridon held out for 40 days
The guild defeated the final boss Prince Malchezaar shortly after midnight on June 3, German time (via warcraftlogs.com). They only needed about 24 hours to clear all the PvE content of the first phase – including leveling.
Previously, guilds took significantly longer to do so. The professional guild Method collects the times for the World First kills in their archive (via method.gg). Back then, the bosses lived much longer:
- Karazhan: 12 days after release (including the secret boss Nightbane, not Prince Malchezaar)
- Gruul: 19 days
- Magtheridon: 40 days – almost 6 weeks
Why did it go so fast? The reason everything goes much faster today is partly because players know much better what to do. Over the many years, professionals have gained experience and now know exactly how to reach the maximum level or get through a raid as quickly as possible.
By today’s standards, the raids from Classic and TBC are not necessarily challenging; however, back then hardly anyone knew how the mechanics worked. Still, 24 hours is an impressive achievement. Congratulations, Progress! It remains to be seen how they will handle the upcoming content, as some of the bosses from BC are the hardest in history:
WoW: The 7 hardest bosses of all time – They have survived the longest
