Top 5 - Raid Bosses Currently in WoW Classic

Hey dudes, Silvite Soltis here. And today, I've got another top 5 post for your reading pleasure.

Since BWL has been out for over a month, and many guilds have handily slain Nefarian and his minions, I thought it might be a good time to look back on the foes we've faced thus far in Classic. As always, keep in mind that these are my opinions - based purely off my enjoyment of these encounters. As such, I'd love to know which of the currently available bosses are your favorite and why, so please leave a comment down below sharing yours!

But anyway, with that out of the way, let's get right into my Top 5 Raid Bosses Currently in WoW Classic:

#5 - Baron Geddon

Baron Geddon

Starting off our list is the 5th boss of Molten Core - the fire elemental known as Baron Geddon. Famous for wiping many a raid group back in the day with his ability Living Bomb, Baron Geddon is one of the fights I always look forward to when raiding Molten Core. Compared with the first four bosses in this raid, Baron has quite a few mechanics to be mindful of - Ignite Mana, the pulsing fire AoE, and, of course, Living Bomb to name a few. All of these pose a decent threat to an underprepared raid team, and I'm sure we've all seen that one raid member who starts running the wrong way with a skull over his head...

Sure, he doesn't drop the best loot - other than one of the bindings needed for Thunderfury - but the fight is engaging and entertaining, a reward in and of itself in my opinion. And that's why I put the Baron here at number 5.

#4 - Ragnaros

Ragnaros, the Firelord

Awakened too soon to fight our ready and waiting raid teams, Ragnaros the Firelord is an absolutely fantastic finish to the first raid of Classic. First off, there's a ton of lore surrounding this guy - enslaving dwarves, burning a giant chunk of the Eastern Kingdoms, and nomnoming on Thunderaan being some of my personal favorite tidbits. As a boss fight, however, he still packs quite a punch.

As anyone who has vanquished the Firelord will already know, the initial setup and preparation is what this encounter is all about. And though there are a few other encounters in MC where positioning are important (such as Baron and Garr), the Ragnaros fight takes it to an entirely new level. Spread out, hug a buddy, and be ready to get pingponged around by fire blasts which may or may not kill you, depending on if you used a fire potion. The unprepared will fall, but those who plan well ahead just might be rewarded with their tier 2 pants...

So yeah, he's got a pretty awesome fight...so long as you beat him before the submerge. And that's why I ranked him at number 4.

#3 - Broodlord Lashlayer

Broodlord Lashlayer

Alright, so Raggy is pretty awesome and I'm sure most people expected to see him on this list, but I doubt many expected to see this one. Immediately following the infamous Suppression Room, the third boss of Blackwing Lair stands waiting. Broodlord Lashlayer is an absolute beast of a boss for those who aren't ready - my raid team included. His aggro range is deceptively massive, which means many accidental pulls are made by raiders who have just barely finished the gauntlet.

Yeah, I've got some fun memories of our Suppression Room progression, but my favorite aspect of this fight isn't just the many facepulls, it's the mortal strike ability.

All too often as a priest healer, I simply need to spam Heal and Flash Heal, depending on the urgency. With Broodlord's Mortal Strike and the heavy tank damage, I get to make good use of Power Word: Shield for a change. With the constant tank swapping and lack of reliable timers, I can say I always really enjoy this fight when we get to it.

So yeah, this epic climax to the Suppression Room is my number 3.

#2 - Onyxia

Onyxia, the Broodmother

Whelps! Left side! Even side! Many whelps! Now, handle it! Without a doubt, Onyxia is one of the greatest and most iconic fights in all of WoW Classic. With an absolutely epic backstory (for Alliance anyway), 3 unique phases, and fantastic loot, the broodmother of the black dragonflight is an all-around amazing experience.

As a healing priest, there's not much to do for the first phase, but that swiftly changes once Onyxia takes off. Wanding to help dps, healing fireball damage, and, of course, watching out for deep breaths that kill half the raid are all things that keep me engaged during the fight. Of course, the most intense part of the fight is the transition from air to ground, when she needs to be picked back up and brought back into position. No matter how many times guilds do this, it always seems that a certain rogue or warrior starts opening up a bit too soon, only to get everyone else breathed on.

But once she falls, the feeling is incredible - watching every survivor scramble to the dragon's corpse to see if their tier 2 helm dropped is one of the staples of my raiding experience in Classic thus far. And though the fight is really very easy now with BWL out, I still enjoy doing it every week. For this reason, as well as the amazing Alliance attunement quest chain that leads to this phenomenal fight, I have to rank it as my number 2.

There's one boss that I believe trumps the Ony encounter, though. But before that, here are a few honorable, and dishonorable, mentions.

Honorable Mentions

Firemaw - Though he eats your raid initially, it's fun learning the different ways to position him.
Gehennas - He's a loot pinata, but one with some minor awareness of Rain of Fire that keeps you on your toes.

Chromaggus - A big bad dragon doggo with lots of unique mechanics.

Dishonorable Mentions

Razorgore - This fight is too long and frustrating to be a first boss of a raid. Also, biased because it took us like 14 attempts to down him the first time...
Shazzrah - Just hate this guy with his damn insta-gib arcane explosions right after teleporting. Never seen a 'clean' kill.

#1 - Nefarian

Nefarian, Lord of Blackrock

And at number 1, I've put the Lord of Blackrock himself. The son of Deathwing, brother of Onyxia - Nefarian.

As a character in the lore, this guy is legit - experimenting on dragons, enslaving orcs, and generally just being a badass are all great reasons to love, or hate, him. And as a boss, he's no joke either.

Nefarian is the final boss of Blackwing Lair, currently the most difficult raid available in Classic. With so many tough encounters in BWL, getting to him is hard enough as it is, but his fight is yet another challenge. Initially, you need to kill a bunch of his lackies - simple drakonids that come in a rainbow of colors. When he reveals his dragon form, however, you're in for the fight of your life.

Nefarian has a shadowflame ability, which requires all raiders to have their Onyxia Scale Cloaks equipped to avoid, which is an interesting quirk of this boss - you have to kill his sister in order to be able to take him down yourselves. In addition, he's got class call abilities - a different one for every class in Classic - that he periodically casts throughout the fight. Mages turn into giraffes, priests damage their healing targets, etc. This means that every week, the fight will be slightly different. But my favorite part about this fight isn't the calls' mechanics, but the actual calls themselves...

He taunts you when he uses them:
"Priests! If you're going to keep healing like that, we might as well make it a little more interesting!"
"Hunters and your annoying pea-shooters!"
"Warriors, I know you can hit harder than that! Lets see it!"

But, of course, the best part of any boss fight isn't the fight itself - it's the loot. And Nefarian has got some of the most amazing items in the game - Ashkandi, Neltharion's Tear, and of course, the tier 2 chestpieces. No matter what class you play, you definitely want to beat this bad boy.

As you all probably know, I never actually raided back in Vanilla. And though I did face off Nefarian back in early 2014 on a private server, I've always wanted to officially defeat him. Now that Classic's out, and my raid team is progressing through BWL, I know that I've got my chance again. This time, for sure, I'll defeat this big baddie - and achieve the final of my Classic goals!

(And just in case you're asking: no, I haven't beaten him yet.)

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it - my top 5 raid bosses currently in Classic. While I listed quite a few here, I will say that I think all of the raid bosses in Classic have their own special place in my heart - even those dishonorable mentions I threw in there. That being said, these 5 are definitely my favorites, whether it be for lore reasons, mechanics specifically tailored to me playing a priest, or aesthetics. If you thought I should've included a different boss, or have your own top 5 bosses list, let me know by leaving a comment down below. I'd love to hear your reasons.

But anyway, that's it for today. If you liked this post or found it interesting, feel free to follow my blog by adding yourself to my email list. Alternatively, you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates when I create additional content here, or over on YouTube. In any case, thanks for reading, have an awesome day, good luck beating those bosses. And as always...

Take it easy!