Just to make this absolutely clear: it wasn't three left Bindings of the Windseeker.
"Well, would you look at that. We actually got this thing."
When Gabryell opened the loot window and saw that splash of orange at the top, an amused smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"How could I have forgotten about this item? Baron Geddon has more than one orange drop."
Many players had no idea that Baron Geddon could drop two Legendary items. Aside from the Bindings of the Windseeker, there was also an orange necklace—the only level-60 Legendary necklace in World of Warcraft history.
"What dropped?"
"Orange? This game has orange gear?"
"That can't be right. Purple should be the highest tier."
Everyone was eager to know exactly what had dropped. Before anyone had actually seen a Legendary item, everyone naturally assumed Epic gear was as good as it got.
Gabryell linked Baron Geddon's orange drop in raid chat.
"An orange tank necklace."
He made sure to point out that it was tank gear right away, just in case everyone started fighting over it and ruined the mood.
Talisman of Binding Shard (Legendary)
Binds when picked up
Neck
+13 Strength
+5 Agility
+8 Stamina
+24 Fire Resistance
+24 Nature Resistance
Requires Level 60
Equip: When struck in combat, inflicts 4 Nature damage to the attacker.
A flash of fiery orange—one of a kind.
The Talisman of Binding Shard was a truly unique piece of equipment in Warcraft history, the only Legendary item that had genuinely existed as a single copy.
Compared to Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker, Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros, and Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, the Talisman of Binding Shard flashed through vanilla WoW like a meteor, appearing only briefly before disappearing from the game forever.
"With the global open beta launching everywhere at the same time, nobody managed to kill Baron Geddon before us. Blizzard never got the chance to remove this thing."
If Gabryell remembered correctly, the only Talisman of Binding Shard in World of Warcraft history had dropped for the guild Nurfed on March 23, 2005, with the necklace going to their tank, Noktyn. Blizzard hotfixed it out of Baron Geddon's loot table almost immediately afterward.
However, Blizzard allowed Noktyn to keep it, making it one of the most famous one-of-a-kind items in World of Warcraft history. As Noktyn gradually stepped away from the game, the necklace itself became something of a legend, slowly fading from the public eye.
In this version of World of Warcraft, however, the global open beta had launched simultaneously everywhere. There had been no regional head start, so nobody could have obtained the Talisman of Binding Shard ahead of everyone else.
That meant the one Fearless had just looted was the very first Talisman of Binding Shard in this world.
"This is absolutely insane."
Compared to a left Binding, the Talisman of Binding Shard was obviously far rarer, and it wasn't even close.
They could always farm another left Binding later. The Talisman of Binding Shard, however, would only ever exist as a single copy. No matter who got it first, Blizzard would definitely patch it out immediately afterward.
"Twenty-four Fire Resistance and twenty-four Nature Resistance. You could use this necklace all the way from MC through Ahn'Qiraj."
The Talisman of Binding Shard was practically made for a main tank. The 24 Nature Resistance in particular meant the tank wouldn't even need to swap to a Nature Resistance necklace once they reached Ahn'Qiraj.
"This thing is still on the loot table. Maybe Blizzard hasn't added the left and right Bindings yet."
Many players had speculated that, judging from the Talisman of Binding Shard's existence and Blizzard's almost immediate removal of it, the orange necklace might originally have been part of an early version of the Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker questline.
Before the developers settled on using the two Bindings of the Windseeker as Thunderfury quest items, they might have considered requiring several Legendary items to craft the weapon instead.
That could explain why the Talisman of Binding Shard existed at all, as well as why it had a Nature-damage proc. It fit Thunderfury perfectly and might once have been intended as one of the weapon's early crafting components.
Of all the theories players had come up with, this was also the one most people found convincing.
Either way, this necklace would remain completely unique in World of Warcraft—a true one-of-a-kind item, with only a single copy ever existing from beginning to end.
Even if WoW Classic were released again in the future, players still wouldn't be able to obtain it.
The Talisman of Binding Shard truly deserved the word Legendary.
"Whoa, there really is orange gear?"
"Holy crap, this necklace is insane. Look at all those stats!"
"Orange gear... now this is what real BiS looks like. Looking at the purple gear I'm wearing, it suddenly feels like a bunch of trash."
The Talisman of Binding Shard hit everyone even harder than the first time they had seen Epic gear.
It completely overturned their understanding of item quality.
So above Epic, there was an even higher tier: Legendary.
With the Talisman of Binding Shard sitting right there, everyone had completely lost interest in the rest of the loot.
Only Gabryell, as raid leader, still remembered to check it.
The Legendary drops from Garr, Baron Geddon, and Rag counted as bonus loot. They didn't take up one of the Epic drop slots, so getting an orange item didn't mean losing a purple one.
Talisman of Ephemeral Power (Epic)
Binds when picked up
Unique
Trinket
Requires Level 60
Use: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 175 for 15 seconds. (1.5-minute cooldown)
Oh, and there was also the Felheart Shoulder Pads, one of those obnoxious set pieces.
With the Talisman of Binding Shard already in the bag, though, Gabryell was in such a good mood that even the Felheart Shoulder Pads suddenly looked appealing.
"Holy crap, there's even a Talisman of Ephemeral Power."
Gabryell had been so overwhelmed by the absurdly lucky drops that he had almost missed it.
Baron Geddon had dropped yet another BiS item: the Talisman of Ephemeral Power.
"How ridiculously lucky is this loot?"
Gabryell genuinely couldn't imagine a luckier raid night unless both Bindings of the Windseeker dropped in the same run.
"Everyone, calm down for a second. We'll start with the Felheart Shoulder Pads. Warlocks who haven't taken any gear yet, bid your points."
Gabryell decided to start the bidding with the least valuable item, the Warlock set piece.
Shadowlord had already taken the Felheart Belt, so the Felheart Shoulder Pads went to FirstDate, while DesertWanderer chose not to bid.
"I don't even know whether I should congratulate him or feel sorry for him."
On the one hand, FirstDate had picked up a set piece.
On the other, by spending points on it, he had given up his chance to compete for the Talisman of Ephemeral Power.
In fact, if FirstDate hadn't bid, the Felheart Shoulder Pads would have gone unsold for the moment. He could have competed for the Talisman of Ephemeral Power first, then come back and bid on the shoulders afterward.
Still, taking them now wasn't necessarily a bad decision.
With this many caster DPS in the raid, winning the Talisman of Ephemeral Power was hardly guaranteed.
"Talisman of Ephemeral Power. Caster DPS who haven't taken any gear yet, bid your points. This is BiS."
Gabryell deliberately emphasized that it was BiS, and the bids immediately shot up.
The moment the casters saw the +175 spell damage effect, their eyes practically turned red.
Everyone started throwing points at it without hesitation. The bidding frenzy only stopped when Gabryell finally set a maximum bid.
Anyone who reached the cap would roll for it.
"Why did I have to take the Ring of Spell Power first?"
OldSeven felt that the Talisman of Ephemeral Power was clearly better, but unfortunately, he had already taken the Ring of Spell Power earlier.
That meant he couldn't compete for it.
All he could do was watch helplessly as the Talisman of Ephemeral Power went to a Mage named Preserved Egg and Lean Pork Congee.
Gabryell vaguely remembered Preserved Egg and Lean Pork Congee.
He was a real-life friend of RedAce.
RedAce was definitely trustworthy, so if the person taking the item was his friend, Gabryell figured he probably wasn't the type to grab gear and immediately disappear.
Gabryell had actually bid points on the Talisman of Ephemeral Power himself.
Unfortunately, he lost the roll.
He could only keep saving his points for another BiS item.
Once the two purple items had been distributed, it was finally time for the most exciting piece of loot.
The Talisman of Binding Shard.
"For this item, the resistances are what really matter. Carlos, Susie—it doesn't make much difference which one of you takes it. Why don't you two roll?"
Gabryell obviously couldn't just hand the Talisman of Binding Shard directly to Carlos.
That would make it look like the guild leadership was funneling gear to its own people.
Carlos chuckled.
"Susie, it's time to put our luck to the test."
This time, Susie didn't back down.
After all, who wouldn't be tempted by an orange-tier item?
"Bring it on. I, Susie, never lose."
Gabryell said, "Let me warn you first. Whoever takes this orange item loses priority on the next one. Who knows? The next Legendary might be an even stronger weapon. Think carefully before you decide whether you really want this necklace."
Gabryell was, of course, referring to Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.
There was no way he could give both Thunderfury and the Talisman of Binding Shard to the same person. The other tank would inevitably feel that the distribution was unfair.
By making the rule clear now—that whoever took the Talisman of Binding Shard would give up priority on Thunderfury—there wouldn't be any arguments later when the Bindings eventually dropped.
Susie said, "I only care about what's in front of me. I'm not going to worry about the future."
Carlos said, "Great minds think alike."
"In that case, go ahead and roll. This necklace will cost 100 DKP."
Gabryell only hoped they wouldn't regret it.
The Talisman of Binding Shard might be one-of-a-kind, but in terms of actual power, it still couldn't compare to Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.
DKP didn't mean much for the main tank and off-tank anyway.
The 100 DKP cost was purely symbolic.
Carlos and Susie rolled at the same time.
"Congratulations to Susie on getting an orange item!"
"Susie's insane! Orange gear! That's fucking awesome!"
As usual, Carlos's luck with rolls was terrible.
His 6 lost to Susie's 23.
"Carlos actually came out ahead by losing this one. For once, his terrible luck with rolls did him a favor."
Gabryell sighed.
For Carlos, this was a blessing in disguise.
There was now absolutely no dispute over who should receive Fearless's first Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.
Carlos would have priority.
The Talisman of Binding Shard was ultimately more of a symbol than anything else.
Thunderfury was the true icon of Legendary gear in vanilla WoW.
Even far into the future, players could still use it for transmog.