The second boss on the orange side was Razorlash, basically a giant angry flower. Compared to Noxxion, it was a much simpler fight. Keep the tank alive, don't let him get chunked by its abilities, and it would go down easily.
With two healers on Carlos, that was more than enough. They also had a Protection Paladin ready to step in if something went wrong.
Phytoskin Spaulders (Rare)
Binds when picked up
Leather Shoulder
111 Armor
+16 Agility
+10 Stamina
+10 Nature Resistance
Durability 60 / 60
Requires Level 46
Another piece of Nature Resistance gear, this time leather shoulders. Rogues loved them, though really, everyone liked good-looking shoulders. Shoulder armor was one of the most visible gear slots in the game. You could tell immediately whether someone's shoulders looked good or terrible.
There was only one Rogue in the group, so DeathScum took them without question.
"Thanks, everyone."
Getting loot on his first dungeon run with Gabryell's team had him visibly excited.
"Relax, Death. Your DPS is way higher than Igor's. You earned it."
With the damage meter addon open, Hugo did not forget to take a shot at Igor, who was sitting dead last. "You're embarrassing the Holy Light."
The numbers were right there, so Igor had no comeback. As their levels rose, Retribution Paladin damage became weaker and weaker, and the gap between them and other classes kept widening. Without stubborn resolve or friends willing to carry them, many Paladins eventually gave up on Retribution and switched to Holy just to get dungeon spots.
Gabryell did not really want to ruin Hugo's mood. In Vanilla, Hunters and Shamans were often mocked as the two mail-wearing problem children of PvE. Leaving PvP aside, Hunter damage would feel worse and worse as other classes scaled with better gear. They would not truly take off until The Burning Crusade, when Hunters became one of the top DPS classes.
Hunters and Shamans were extremely polarized in Vanilla. Strong players were genuinely terrifying, while weak ones were absolute dead weight.
By contrast, the other classes had much better reputations. Warriors and Paladins carried plate, Rogues and Druids represented leather, while Mages, Warlocks, and Priests formed the cloth trio. That alone showed how much Vanilla players complained about Hunters and Shamans.
Who could have imagined that in The Burning Crusade, the two mocked mail classes would completely turn around? Hunters became top-tier DPS, while Shamans became so wanted that people would beg level 68 Shamans to join dungeon runs. They could lie dead on the floor the entire time as long as they got up once and dropped Bloodlust or Heroism when needed.
Gabryell could only sigh at how much World of Warcraft changed from expansion to expansion. Fortunately, he played Mage. No matter how the game changed, Mages always had a place.
After Razorlash went down, the orange side was finished, and they cleared their way back toward Poison Falls.
"Which way?" Carlos asked at the fork.
Forward led to Earth Song Falls, while going back led toward the demon side. Normally, they could skip Lord Vyletongue during a Maraudon run, but not this time. They had agreed with Madhouse that every boss had to die for the clear to count.
Gabryell was not going to cheat by skipping a boss and pretending otherwise. Knowing Dreamshade's personality, he doubted Madhouse would either. Secrets never stayed buried forever. Whoever cheated and got exposed would be the one embarrassed later.
"Up the waterfall."
Gabryell knew the route from Poison Falls to the purple side far too well. Back in later WoW Classic, he had solo-farmed the purple entrance and waterfall route at least a thousand times. It was pure muscle memory by now. Even with his eyes closed, he could practically feel where every mob was.
"There's a rare!"
When they reached the top of Poison Falls, one of the patrolling mobs ahead had a unique name.
"Meshlok. Nice. First run and we already found him."
Meshlok the Harvester sounded intimidating, but in practice, he was not much different from an ordinary patrol mob. His spawn rate was not especially low either. You could probably run into him once every few runs. Mages who solo-farmed the purple entrance and waterfall route had killed him hundreds of times.
"Kill him like trash."
The rare really was just another trash mob. No special handling needed. Treat him like a walking loot chest.
Fungus Shroud Armor (Rare)
Binds when picked up
Chest Leather
148 Armor
+25 Agility
+10 Stamina
Requires Level 46
"Holy shit, Rogue gear again?" Igor was the most depressed person in the group. Did this dungeon not drop anything for Retribution Paladins?
"Death, you're making out like a bandit," Hugo said enviously.
DeathScum was delighted. "Thanks, everyone."
Getting two pieces in one dungeon made him feel a little awkward.
"Don't overthink it. If it drops and you can use it, take it," Gabryell said. "The faster everyone gears up, the stronger the guild gets."
Poison Falls connected to the purple side's satyr area. Coming from this route let them skip the huge amount of trash at the front of the purple entrance and approach the only boss there from behind: Lord Vyletongue.
"First, pull the two stealthed satyrs at the entrance and kill them."
There were two stealthed satyrs in front of Lord Vyletongue that could be pulled out and killed. There were also two more beside the boss, but those could not be pulled separately and had to be handled during the fight.
Anyone unfamiliar with the purple-side layout would easily miss the two stealthed mobs at the doorway, charge straight in, and end up fighting Lord Vyletongue plus four stealthed satyrs at once.
"Carlos, pull the boss. Quell, pick up the two stealthed mobs inside. We burn the boss first, then clean up the adds."
Having two tanks made things convenient. They did not need to waste time killing the adds first and could focus the boss down as quickly as possible.
After a full day of practice, Warquell was getting better and better as a Protection Paladin. He could already function as a proper off-tank. The guy really did have a feel for the role.
Lord Vyletongue was only level 47, making him the lowest-level boss in Maraudon. He fought like a Rogue-type melee mob. As long as tank threat stayed stable, the fight was simple.
"Carlos's threat is really solid. Feels even steadier than Susie," DesertWanderer said.
So far, he had not pulled aggro once.
DeathScum added, "I ran Scarlet Monastery with David and Susie before. Carlos really does hold threat better than both of them."
"David is the worst," DesertWanderer said, unable to hold back. When he grouped with David, he often died from pulling aggro.
"If David heard that, he'd duel you on the spot," Hugo said.
DesertWanderer scoffed. "Let him. I'll duel him anytime. He's never beaten me. I'll Fear him to death."
He had played with David for a long time and knew him well, which was why he could joke like this. Because he kept dying from pulling aggro, he had spent plenty of gold on repairs and was forced to hold back every fight.
Poor David had already been branded as a noob tank.
"Lunatori, loot!" Hugo shouted the moment Lord Vyletongue died.
"There are still two adds up," Lunatori said.
Gabryell said, "Learn from her, Hugo. Fight first, loot after."
Rushing to loot before the fight was over was a terrible habit. Fortunately, Lunatori did not have it.
Only after the two satyrs were dead did she go up and loot the boss.
Satyr's Lash (Rare)
Binds when picked up
Unique
One-Hand Dagger
39 - 74 Damage Speed 1.70
(33.2 DPS)
Durability 65 / 65
Requires Level 45
Chance on hit: Fires a Shadow Bolt at the target, dealing 55 to 86 Shadow damage.
More Rogue gear, and this time it was a dagger usable at level 45. Aside from epic daggers like Gut Ripper, this was one of the best daggers available at their level.
"Damn it, seriously? Why is everything Rogue gear?" Igor wanted to slam his head into the desk.
"This dungeon really loves Rogues," Coldhands said.
Hugo was just as speechless. What was going on with Lunatori today? She kept looting Rogue gear. Was her loot luck secretly working for DeathScum now?
"Thanks, everyone."
DeathScum was overjoyed. He was probably grinning like an idiot in front of his screen. They had only killed three bosses and one rare so far, yet he had already gotten three items. His luck was absurd.
He happily equipped the dagger. Just a few days ago, he had been drooling over Gut Ripper, but now that was completely out of his mind.
He finally had a real weapon.
"Back to Poison Falls. Let's keep moving."
As guild leader, Gabryell was genuinely happy to have another strong Rogue in Fearless. Later dungeons would only get harder, and a Retribution Paladin could never truly replace a Rogue. It was best for the team to bring one.
And no argument: when you run into a locked chest in a dungeon and your group has no Rogue, tell me that doesn't drive you insane.