TBT: Reunited and it Feels So Good

After about ten earnest weeks of farming, I finally got the Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle from the Opera Event in Karazhan.

It feels just as glorious to wield it today as it did years ago in the Burning Crusade. I don’t think this was the first epic I ever had on my Hunter, but it certainly felt the most epic of anything I had previously.

At one time it was considered one of the top Hunter weapons in the game, especially if you were a Dwarf, because of their racial. Anyone who was a Hunter wanted this gun.

Out of all the raids Karazhan remains the dearest to me. Today, anyone can run through there and decimate the place in mere minutes, but there was a time when clearing the place could consume an entire evening if not two.

Before you could even set foot in the place you had clear a long quest chain to acquire a key to get in. In the beginning, everyone in your raid had to have this key.

The quest involved running around parts of Azeroth and Outland. You had to run some 5-man heroics, which also required you and everyone in your group to have a key.

Yes, back then, one did not simply walk into Karazhan. Heck, even after your group got attuned it was hardly a cake walk.

I remember the challenge of clearing the trash to the Huntsman and then getting him down before it respawned. It was on a pretty short timer.

As a Hunter I got to chain trap one of the adds on the Moroes fight. A skill that’s lost now I’m afraid.

The Shade of Aran fight was one that gave our group fits, and we were not alone in our struggles. His flame wreath mechanic was particularly challenging to players, as it was the one of the few times you wanted to stand in the fire.

People struggled with this so much that it let to the creation of the Shade of Aran Chant, one of the most pouplar WoW memes ever.

While the chess event may be hard to solo, it was easy for groups. I seem to recall in the early days you could defeat the event, and then bring in a player who wan’t part of it to collect loot.

Nightbane was an optional boss that you could summon. In order to summon him a member of your group had to complete a difficult quest chain and obtain an urn.

There were other optional bosses, but our group used to do them all. The Opera Event was my favorite. I thought the voice acting was superb. Especially on the Wizard of Oz.

There were three events, The Wizard of Oz, Romeo and Juliet and the Big Bad Wolf. You got a random one each week, and each had their own loot tables. The rifle dropped from the Big Bad Wolf.

I remember that each week we would have someone start the event so we could see what it was beforehand.

I would listen to Barnes as he began his opening. “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to this evening’s presentation!”

And I would anxiously await his next words, quickly muttering to myself out load, please say, “tonight things are not what they seem, things are not what they seem, things are not what they seem.”

And then depending on his words, I would either pump my fist in the air in excitement, or let my head fall to my chest knowing I would have to wait another week for a chance at my prize.

Even if we didn’t get the Big Bad Wolf or the rifle didn’t drop, I could count on there being a next week.

For many months we ran Karazhan on Fridays and Saturdays. At first we ran with one group and cleared it over the course of two nights.

Eventually we got to the point where we could clear it in one night, so we ran with our mains on Friday, and then alts on Saturday.

This wasn’t about raiding or gear. It was about having a good time with friends on the weekend. Karazhan was our Cheers, and I will always remember it with great fondness.

Well that’s it for the week’s TBT, now “run away little girl!”