The new dungeon “Twilight of the Eternal” must become the new standard in World of Warcraft. At least that is what MeinMMO demon Cortyn thinks.
I think we can agree that the launch of Patch 10.1.5: Rifts in Time has been rather “so-so”. The latest update of World of Warcraft caused lags and bugs that could ultimately only be fixed with an emergency maintenance, which lasted almost the whole afternoon.
Nevertheless, my guild ventured into the new mega-dungeon “Twilight of the Eternal” in the evening and had a lot of fun. This was also due to the fact that we always adhere to a special rule for mega-dungeons.
When a new mega-dungeon is upcoming in World of Warcraft, a group from my guild has a clear agreement: Nobody informs themselves beforehand about the bosses of the dungeon. We all go in “blind”, without knowing what the bosses can do.
And to be honest: Those are always the funniest and most interesting hours in World of Warcraft.
The Bosses – The Clear Highlight of the Dungeon
Even though World of Warcraft can’t reinvent the wheel in boss design after seemingly countless bosses and mechanics inevitably must resemble each other, that was not the case in the Twilight of the Eternal.
Every single boss felt cool and interesting and demanded that all players engage with and understand the mechanics. The mechanics felt largely fresh and unexhausted. A few small examples:
The boss “Manifested Timeways” has two different areas that constantly move around him. One speeds up and deals a lot of damage, while the other slows down and deals only a little damage. All other mechanics of the boss interact with this. He periodically launches waves of orbs that must be dodged. In the slow area, the orbs are also slowed down, making it easy to avoid.
At the same time, players are afflicted with a debuff that must be dispelled within the correct zone because: In the “fast” zone, this triggers an explosion that evaporates immediately. However, in the slow zone, the dispel causes a slowly spreading explosion that deals damage multiple times.
Equally exciting is the fight against Morchie (the “evil” Chromie). She repeatedly summons several Morchies from other timelines, all of whom start a devastating spell simultaneously. This damage can only be avoided if you stand behind the true Morchie – which you can recognize by her clothing. There are only a few seconds left to find the true Morchie and hide.
In another boss fight, you must quickly pass a debuff like a “hot potato” to other players so that you are not affected by mind control. Those who lag behind here quickly kill their own group.
Even with the final boss, things get chaotic. Time and again, two bombs drop from above, which must explode with a delay, as the stackable debuff otherwise means the death of the group. The delay of the explosion is achieved by standing in the bomb, which then falls more slowly. In theory, it sounds simple, but one must quickly announce which bomb will be triggered first. This becomes even more challenging as the boss starts to cover everything with area effects, allowing you to only delay the bomb by a few seconds.
Blizzard wanted players to see the dungeon as a “small raid” – and that’s exactly how it feels. Every boss fight is a mini raid boss, mostly with several phases and mechanics that can quickly lead to the death of the entire group.
Aside from that, the story of the dungeon is also quite interesting, as it presents Chromie with an almost insoluble time problem, where simply not all difficulties can be overcome. Something that will likely come into play in the next patches.
All these mechanics also make the mega-dungeon Twilight of the Eternal a horror for random groups. Without communication, it seems, at least at first glance, nearly impossible to manage this dungeon. Whether it’s announcing the “real” Morchie, delaying explosions, or correctly dispelling within a certain zone. Coordination through Discord, in chat, or at least with the upcoming “ping system” is absolutely necessary.
Rewards That Just Feel Good
With an item level of 438, my priest was already quite well-equipped, but the dungeon still felt worthwhile.
This is partly because every boss drops a hefty 5 fragments for a Shadowflame Crest of the Aspect – so you receive a total of 40 fragments from one dungeon visit. This corresponds to 3-4 dungeons of the “Mythic+16” level or higher.
But the actual loot is also interesting. Whether weapons or trinkets, the dungeon has 1-2 items for almost every class that are simply exciting and make the gameplay a bit more entertaining. For example, I now have a trinket that grants me a powerful buff of over 2,000 haste every minute but stuns me for 5 seconds if I fail to defeat enough enemies or dungeon bosses afterwards.
For the final boss, a “true” reward awaits all players – transmog. Because each character receives a transmog item that is not yet in the collection – at least in theory. Unfortunately, I got a shield with my priest, and since she can’t wield shields… well. That was a bit disappointing.
However, it does not dampen the experience of the mega-dungeon. If you have a group of 5 friends or guild colleagues, then jump into the Twilight of the Eternal. I know my group will do this every week now.
It’s the best “5-player content” that World of Warcraft has had in a very long time. All other dungeons pale in comparison.
Have you already been in the Twilight of the Eternal? How did you like the mega-dungeon?
