Hello everyone! Today, I will rank the raids from Burning Crusade. This is simply my opinion and if you don’t agree then feel free to let me know. Before we begin I want you to know how I am grading the raids. My grading scale is out of five possible points for every category. My categories are lore, difficulty, bosses, trash mobs, overall design, and music for a possible total of thirty points. I will also take into account when the raids were released as well.
I will not be including Zul’Aman as it is now listed as a dungeon. I failed to mention Zul’Gurub will be counted as a dungeon in my Vanilla WoW ratings. Feel free to go check out that article first then come back to this one. I’ve run these at varying levels as well to ensure that I could get a good stable ground about each raid. With the entire preface out of the way, let’s get right into my ranking of classic World of Warcraft raids from worst to best.
8. The Battle for Mount Hyjal
The Battle for Mount Hyjal came out on May 22nd, 2007. Want to know what other raid released the same day? Black Temple… one of the raids that are critically acclaimed by wow players. You never hear anyone say “Man the Battle for Mount Hyjal is the best raid ever… If only we could get more raids like it”. So why are we here? Well, this is its strong point. The Infinite Dragon flight is messing with time again, and the Bronze Dragon Flight requested aid from heroes and adventurers to put a stop to them messing with it. This raid isn’t difficult by any means. If you can fight trash mobs for almost two hours then you can easily beat this raid.
The only good boss in this raid was Archimonde making love to the world tree. His mechanic of tossing everyone in the air was amazing… then you remember that The Eye (Tempest Keep) did it first and better. The trash mobs make this raid feel like it goes on for hours. I went back just recently on a level 50, post-level squish, and it still took me forty minutes on my extremely geared druid. It’s a lot of space and therefore fails in both trash mobs and overall design. It felt rushed and isn’t good by any means. The Music is generic music which I think they just stole from a Horde and Alliance encampment. It isn’t memorable in the slightest.
- Lore: 5/5
- Difficulty: 2/5
- Bosses: 2/5
- Trash Mobs: 0/5
- Overall Design: 0/5
- Music: 0/5
- Total: 11/30
7. Serpentshrine Cavern
Serpentshrine is a very forgettable raid when compared to the other raids that came out around this time. The story goes that Illidan was doing everything he could to seize all of Outlands. He went to Queen Azshara and asked her if he could have some Naga and a trusted advisor to drain the water of Outlands. Azshara let them join so that Illidan wouldn’t screw up and ruin her plans. Lady Vashj and the Naga army got to work and started draining all the water from Zangarmarsh. We as adventurers are asked to enter Serpentshrine Cavern and put a stop to Lady Vashj and save the outland’s water supply.
Now many may say that this raid was so difficult, but it wasn’t even in the slightest. It was just glitchy and therefore you could die without any explanation. Therefore the bosses have to rank a bit lower too. One boss I have to give credit to again is The Lurker Below. It was clever to reuse this fishing mechanic from Zul’Gurub, but make it have a cool animation with it. When I ran it recently The Lurker Below still made me jump to this day.
The trash mobs are beyond forgettable and I can’t remember one single pack. The overall design is pretty okay. With the pipes all around sucking up water, but where the design shines is the bridge leading to Lady Vashj. The music made sense for this raid but I just felt like they went pretty basic for the time and it was just an afterthought.
- Lore: 3/5
- Difficulty: 1/5
- Bosses: 2/5
- Trash Mobs: 1/5
- Overall Design: 3/5
- Music: 2/5
- Total: 12/30
6. Gruul’s Lair
For those of you who raided during Warlords of Draenor then you may recognize this guy’s name. You may not have realized how hardcore he is though. Here is the official quote from Blizzard about Gruul’s Lair before it was taken down: “When the infamous Dragon Aspect, Deathwing, discovered the Dark Portal and Draenor, he felt sure that few of Draenor’s denizens would dare challenge the black dragon flight, so he scattered clutches of his eggs throughout the world. Deathwing made a serious miscalculation when he chose to leave his eggs under meager guardianship in Blade’s Edge Mountains. The guardian dragons were torn from the sky by the gronn living in Blade’s Edge, and the leader of the gronn, Gruul, impaled the wyrms he fought on the stone spires of the mountains. Today Gruul the Dragonkiller is worshipped as a deity by the ogres of Blade’s Edge Mountains. His powerful sons ravage both the spires of their home and the plains of Nagrand. Gruul’s unparalleled strength and experience in battle would pose a serious threat if he ever chose to attack Horde or Alliance forces in Outland”.
The lore for this is amazing, but the raid itself doesn’t live up to the hype. It is not difficult at all, even though they stated that he could easily wipe out both Horde and Alliance. There are one or two mechanics that will prove challenging but overall the bosses and two trash packs serve no difficulty. There are only two or three trash packs, but they don’t bring anything to the table. The design is weak for such a cool character as Gruul. It would have been amazing to see some dragons impaled on spikes in the area or even some shrines to Gruul built by the Ogres. In the end, though, it is just a cave with nothing of interest. The music matches the cave-like vibes and is at least music to fill the void, but if it wasn’t there this probably would have ranked lower.
- Lore: 5/5
- Difficulty: 2/5
- Bosses: 2/5
- Trash Mobs: 1/5
- Overall Design: 0/5
- Music: 3/5
- Total: 13/30
5. Magtheridon’s Lair
“After the Legion came to Outland, Magtheridon controlled all but small pockets of Outland. Even so, he was taken largely by surprise when Illidan and his allies conquered the Black Temple. Many believed that Magtheridon had been slain in the attack, but, when Illidan discovered that Magtheridon’s blood had a transformative, corrupting effect on orcs, the beaten pit lord was dragged to Citadel. Bound by chains both physical and magical, Magtheridon survives, at the brink of death. Each day, Illidan’s minions drain his tainted blood, pooling it for a purpose as malevolent as Magtheridon himself: the creation of a new army of barbaric fel orcs.” This Lore from the official blizzard site before it was taken down is amazing. It was setting up things for Legion before we even knew it.
This raid shares many similar faults to Gruul’s Lair in terms of Lore, difficulty, and music. The difficulty is basic and it’s meant to be “baby’s first raid”. The boss isn’t that interesting as all he does is summon abyssal and occasional small fire bursts. One thing that does elevate the fight is the Manticron cubes. You can use all five cubes to do damage and interrupt his Blast Nova. The trash mobs are at least memorable humanoids that are the level of bosses. They cast heals and can do quite a bit of damage to your tanks if you aren’t careful. The overall design is that of a prison meant to keep him contained. An interesting fact, if you do the blood furnace dungeon and kill the final boss then look down, you can see Magtheridon’s Lair. The music is a major letdown. I expected maybe some chains rattling and some horns, but it is just disappointing.
- Lore: 5/5
- Difficulty: 2/5
- Bosses: 3/5
- Trash Mobs: 3/5
- Overall Design: 3/5
- Music: 2/5
- Total: 18/30
4. Sunwell Plateau
After we defeated Illidan at the Black Temple, Kael’thas returned to Quel’Thalas to summon Kil’Jaeden. On his way, he captured the human incarnation of the Sunwell’s power: Anveena. Kael’thas tried to summon Kil’Jaeden using the Sunwell as a portal. He was stopped by the Shattered Sun Offensive, a group of adventurers who wanted to stop Kil’Jaeden from conquering Azeroth, but it was too late and Kil’Jaeden made it through. The Shattered Sun Offensive and the power of Anveena combined were enough to stop Kil’Jaeden from fully entering Azeroth. The toll of this was the Sunwell didn’t have any more power. With the help of the Naaru M’uru, Velen reignited the Sunwell and it became the power of the blood elves that use the light. The difficulty for this raid is kind of hard to discuss. It was one of the hardest raids, but not if you stacked classes and everyone was a leatherworker. Have six shamans and six warlocks who all could make drums of war? Then this place was a breeze, but if you didn’t then it was nigh impossible.
There is only one memorable boss… you all know and love him… I’ve already mentioned him. Yes! It’s … it’s… IT’S… M’uru. All jokes aside Kil’Jaeden is an amazing and super fulfilling boss. He is the big bad man that chased the Draenei from their home. The trash didn’t live up to the hype of killing KJ. It just doesn’t feel like we are thwarting this big evil plan when most of the mobs are just blood elves chilling and talking about the best salad topping. The overall design is beautiful and I think it’s the cleanest looking raid from early WoW. The room you fight Kil’Jaeden in is beyond incredible and it fits so perfectly in the build-up to Kil’Jaeden. The music is memorable until you enter M’uru’s room, and I’m not joking about this. Go run the raid and listen to the shift in tone when you enter M’uru’s room. It’s like night and day. From the little bit of music we get, it is quite incredible.
- Lore: 5/5
- Difficulty: 5/5
- Bosses: 3/5
- Trash Mobs: 1/5
- Overall Design: 5/5
- Music: 3/5
- Total: 22/30
3. The Eye (Tempest Keep)
With the Burning Legion becoming an increasing threat on Azeroth, Khadgar and Velen reached out to the Army of the Light. They were too busy on their own front, but the plea for help went to three Naaru who wanted to aid Azeroth’s war efforts. A’dal, M’uru, and O’ros brought Tempest Keep and transported the army of the light to the Outlands to fight the legion. When the Naaru left Tempest Keep, aiding us, Kael’thas and the blood elves invaded and claimed it as their own. They used it to create the Manaforges so that Kael’thas could summon Kil’Jaeden. Even though they kept a tight grip on Tempest Keep, Velen and some Draenei took one of the ships aboard Tempest Keep called The Exodar. Eventually, they crash-landed on Azeroth.
The difficulty is nothing to scoff at. These bosses and ads were buggy but it almost became more of a mechanic. Serpentshrine’s glitches made it impossible to almost play the raid, but The Eye was still playable and was almost more fun with the glitches. All bosses were fun and rewarding, and I would say the same went for the trash mobs as well. The overall design was beautiful, but since it was a place for siphoning magic I would like maybe more strange machines. Maybe some magic runes around that were used for extracting power, and they would hurt the player or do weird things if interacted with. The music makes sense again, but it’s just lacking certain oomph to it. It does its job and at least I can say it was music.
- Lore: 5/5
- Difficulty: 4/5
- Bosses: 4/5
- Trash Mobs: 3/5
- Overall Design: 4/5
- Music: 3/5
- Total: 23/30
2. Black Temple
The long-awaited fight with Illidan came true in this raid. We all know that this raid is mostly run now by demon hunters trying to get the Twin Warglaives of Azzinoth. When Illidan went to Outland after the Third War, he kicked out Magtheridon and claimed the Black Temple as his HQ. After he was defeated by Arthas: The Lich King; he returned to the Black Temple and then worked on tightening his hold on the Outlands. He spends his day commanding his army and waiting for any man, demon, or undead who would come to challenge him. The heroes of Azeroth combine forces with the Scryers, the Aldor, Akama, and Maiev Shadowsong to take Illidan down once and for all. We can’t just waltz right through the front door and end up fighting demonic Illidari forces. This opened up a side entrance and allowed us to enter to put an end to Illidan.
This raid’s difficulty lies in certain bosses, such as Teron Gorefiend who has a one-shot mechanic that is insane on/ slightly about level. The bosses are great all around and are very fun to fight with few exceptions. Shrine of Lost souls is how you are supposed to do an ad fight correctly. The trash is okay, but I feel like it has the same issues as molten core in some spots. The ads do have fun mechanics that could be their own boss fights. I do enjoy fighting the ads in the Den of Mortal Delights. The overall design is so ominous and well-designed that I can’t believe that it came from such an early raid. The room right behind Supremus is a great example of that. The music gives this swelling performance of retribution for everything that Illidan has done. It both inspires hope and yet instills fear in all the raiders. All of this adds up to be a great raid that all should run at least once.
- Lore: 5/5
- Difficulty: 3/5
- Bosses: 4/5
- Trash Mobs: 3/5
- Overall Design: 5/5
- Music: 5/5
- Total: 25/30
1. Karazhan
Karazhan: home of the Guardian, and library of magic and secrets. Mages of the Violet Eye have protected this tower since the passing of the Guardian. Something went wrong and the Burning Legion arrived in Karazhan and is using it as a portal to the Twisting Nether. With the help of Khadgar, the heir to the title of Guardian, we adventurers go into Karazhan to free it from the Legion’s clutches. We meet many mages who live there and help to purge this sanctuary once and for all.
This raid was pretty difficult for being a launch raid. This raid is so amazing and there is a reason that we go back to Karazhan multiple times. The difficulty comes from glitchy fights such as Shade of Aran, His halo of flames soon became a mechanic even though it initially didn’t work as intended. While we are on the subject, one boss that I get asked about a lot is the Chess Event with Medivh. “Is there a way to skip the Chess event in Karazhan?” and I know a few have googled: “Chess event Karazhan solo”. There is no skip for it, but take control of the queen (Mage for Alliance and Warlock for Horde), kill the priest, then kill the king. This fight becomes unbelievably easy. To start the fight though, you have to take control of your king. If your Queen dies then just take control of the king.
The trash is super fun for this raid and if you talk to the stable master, then he will reveal which servant quarter’s rare boss will spawn that week. Then you just have to kill that specific trash pertaining to the boss (if he says the spiders are everywhere then kill them and. The opera goers are amazing too, and you don’t want to miss stealing their spotlight! The overall design for this raid is creepy and yet magical. I know I said that Sunwell was the most beautiful raid from the time, but Karazhan gives it a run for its money. The music fits every area and I love how it becomes almost more insane the higher you go. It’s an ascent to madness and insanity.
- Lore: 4/5
- Difficulty: 4/5
- Bosses: 5/5
- Trash Mobs: 5/5
- Overall Design: 5/5
- Music: 5/5
- Total: 28/30
Final Rankings and thoughts
These are my rankings, from best to worst, and again this is my opinion.
- Karazhan (28/30)
- Black Temple (25/30)
- The Eye (23/30)
- Sunwell Plateau (22/30)
- Magtheridon’s Lair (18/30)
- Gruul’s Lair (13/30)
- Serpentshrine Cavern (12/30)
- The Battle for Mount Hyjal (11/30)
If you feel that I was too harsh on something, or you feel like I forgot to mention something then please leave a comment. I will be continuing this with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion soon. For now, I am Lore Keeper Gosmidin, Thank you for reading!
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