Classic WoW has been out for barely half a year, with the rollout wrapping up Phase 2 with Phase 3 on the horizon. That means you still have plenty of time to level and attune for those raids that we won’t see until later phases, like Naxx, and the ones that are already available, such as Molten Core.
But you’d better get started! While you grind, enjoy some useful information about how and when your favorite endgame activities came to be. The following are a list of fun facts from both the actual technical creation and obscure lore of the dungeons.
10 Molten Core Was Finished In A Week
This interesting rumor has been floating around on the interwebs for a while, but it’s actually true. Either the raid was done in seven days or it ended up on the shelf with Kharazhan. That’s pretty impressive, considering it’s a fan favorite and Ragnaros himself is one of the most popular and iconic bosses in all of raid history. It’s obvious when you think about how unsophisticated the interior is, lacking any of the colors or designs that made later raids like Zul’Gurub and Naxxramas so popular. In case the shape of the room seems familiar, that’s because it was originally intended to be a single room in Blackrock Depths before it was expanded into an instance all its own.
9 A Classic Old God
Ahn’Qiraj is a raid that’s notorious for the epic quest chain that opens the gates, an endeavor that involves the whole server and both factions. That’s big enough to overshadow the notoriety of the raid’s final boss, the Old God C’Thun. In later expansions, the Old Gods played a much bigger role in the gameplay then they did in vanilla, where they barely appeared at all. There was the god imprisoned in Darkshore and there was a persistent rumor of one whispering beneath Tirisfal Glades, but C’Thun was the only Old God that we saw and challenged in person, and it happened at the end of this raid.
8 The Rumor That Started A Raid
Speaking of Molten Core and Ragnaros, remember that quest you did in Blackrock Depths about a “kidnapped” Princess? Moira Bronzebeard chose to stay in Blackrock Depths after you murdered her husband, and lead the Dark Iron Dwarves as queen. Her first move, release them from the bondage of Ragnaros, but how to do that without risking the lives of her own people? Well, how about we start a rumor about all the fat purple loot Ragnaros is sitting on and let those same greedy adventurers that killed her husband take care of the problem? According to the lore, that’s what Moira did, not only to save the Dark Irons but also to take her revenge on us.
7 Actually, This Is Deadmines
If you’re Alliance, the story of the raid on Blackwing Lair and the fight with Onyxia actually starts with the lore connected to a low-level dungeon, Deadmines. One of the last links in the quest chain for Onyxia attunement is called “The Great Masquerade” when you find out the noblewoman, Lady Prestor, who acts as a guide and advisor to the young King, is actually Onyxia in disguise.
How did this Lady Prestor get to such a prominent position in the royal throne room anyway? That’s where the lore of low-level Deadmines connects with Onyxia, the highest of high-level bosses. Lady Prestor came to power during the tumultuous time when the nobles and the mason’s guild were fighting over who would pay for fixing Stormwind. The King, who was paying them from his own pocket, mysteriously disappeared, leaving his vulnerable son in his place. Lady Prestor took advantage of this situation and became the de-facto leader of Stormwind until you expose her as Onyxia.
6 Vanilla Karazhan
We know, it’s not available as a zone or a raid until the Burning Crusade expansion, but it’s still on the list. Did you know it wasn’t just designed for vanilla, but it was one of the first dungeons to be developed for the game ever? Medivh was a crucial part of the lore, after all, and there were all kinds of fan theories flying around about what was going on in Duskwood.
Part of why it wasn’t released until much later is because it was too big, and when we finally did see it in The Burning Crusade it had been severely truncated from its original design. Some players have managed to make their way down into the unfinished crypts and wine cellar, which aren’t supposed to be accessible.
5 The Last Naxx
If you visit Naxxramus in retail, it’s floating over the snowy hills of Northrend, but it wasn’t part of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Naxxramas was the last raid added to vanilla WoW, only months before the Burning Crusade expansion, and originally it floated over the Plaguelands. It was one of the most difficult dungeons as well, challenging players in a lot of new and creative ways, and its certainly a popular raid today, but at the time barely any players saw it. The first big expansion overshadowed the Scourge Invasion and the arrival of Naxxramas. It was vanilla’s last raid, and maybe one of the best, but it couldn’t compete with space goats and anime elves.
4 Zul’Gurub And A Design Revolution
You can trace the history and lore of Zul’Gurub (ZG) back literally thousands of years, which is fascinating anyway. From a technical point of view, this instance gave MMOs a whole new way of looking at dungeons. These two viewpoints intertwine in an interesting way, taking players on quest chains that train them for the raid as they level, so by the time they get there they have the skills and trinkets to get them through a raid. ZG was an open-concept dungeon, similar to Zul’Farrak, and the first raid instance that was designed for 20 people instead of 40. Players could also travel fairly quickly through it on their mounts, which cut down on the run time.
3 The Early Days Of Baradin Hold
Similar to Karazhan, the zone of Tol’Barad was one of the first zones to was ever designed for WoW and was originally intended for vanilla but wasn’t finished in time and was released with a much later expansion instead. The history of Tol’Barad dates back to the first war and is connected with Stromgarde. The idea of a battleground that unlocks an instance was an idea that was hatched in the earliest days of WoW development, but technical issues and integration with quests and lore progression held it back. With much of these practical hurdles a thing of the past, Tol’Barad was released as part of the Cataclysm expansion.
2 The Floating Dark Portal
This was a fan theory in vanilla WoW and not actually a raid. Back in the days of vanilla, the infamous Dark Portal moved from zone to zone and nobody knew why. One day it would be at the bottom of the sea in Azshara, the next it would be in the Blasted Lands. The prevailing theory was that it was a portal to an unfinished raid. The actual answer was that the developers were still trying to decide where they wanted it to go, and that was it. The rumors were eventually put to rest, so you’re not going to see it while playing Classic WoW. There’s a slight chance that Activision still allows devs to have a sense of humor but nobody here is holding their breath.
1 Fishing In ZG
Secret bosses are rare spawns are pretty thrilling where you can find them, and one of the most memorable started right here in Zul’Gurub. This dungeon had a few creative firsts, including this twist on a high-level quest that only a raider could do. A quest chain starts here that leads back to your friend Nat Pagel and a powerful fishing lure that summons a secret boss, Gahz’ranka. This lives on in the modern game as part of a fishing achievement and is a requirement for the “Salty” title.
NEXT: 5 Reasons WoW Classic Is Better Than Retail, And 5 Reasons Retail Is Better
