"Everyone resurrect at the Graveyard with Resurrection Sickness, then open portals back to Ironforge."
Thrall was dead. There was no reason to corpse-run back into Orgrimmar just to keep fighting.
They took Resurrection Sickness at the Graveyard and immediately opened portals back to Ironforge.
By the time the Horde camping their bodies realized nobody was coming back, the Ironforge portals in the Graveyard would already be gone.
"Haha, that was so damn satisfying!"
"Absolutely amazing. The Horde must be green with rage after seeing Thrall's corpse."
"Did you guys get screenshots? I forgot."
"I did! I got one! How could I not screenshot such a historic moment? I'll post it on the forum later. It'll definitely be tomorrow's hottest thread."
After taking down Thrall, everyone was still buzzing with excitement. Guild chat was still flying. Even members who hadn't been there for Thrall's death joined in, enjoying the excitement secondhand.
"Where are we going now?"
David was still riding the high. "Should we go kill the leader of Undercity too?"
He still had not had enough. After killing Thrall, he wanted to kill Sylvanas as well.
Gabryell thought about Undercity's terrain. Half the raid would probably die just taking the elevator. "We're not going to Undercity for now. We'll go another time when we get the chance."
David sounded a little deflated. "So today's event ends here?"
With so many people still together, Gabryell had another idea. "How many level 60s have finished the Onyxia attunement? If you have, type '1' in Ventrilo chat."
He had another target in mind: Onyxia's Lair. Molten Core progression was set for Tuesday; he had never said Onyxia had to wait.
He wanted to use this rare chance to evaluate some players and choose the best candidates for Molten Core progression.
"Ah, the Onyxia attunement? I haven't done it. I couldn't even tag the mobs. I only did Attunement to the Core."
"Same. I only did Attunement to the Core. That one's easy; the Onyxia attunement is a pain."
"Haha, I finished the Onyxia attunement. Did it in the middle of the night with a few buddies."
"Impressive. Questing in the middle of the night. I don't have time that late, so I can only envy you."
Gabryell glanced at the guild chat channel, then switched to Ventrilo. Only a few dozen people typed "1" in the public chat.
Most players had only finished the Molten Core attunement. That one was simple: one trip through Blackrock Depths. The Onyxia questline was longer and made players compete for mobs, so far fewer people had completed it.
That was exactly why those guilds had chosen to progress Molten Core first instead of Onyxia's Lair. For Molten Core, they could form several raids. For Onyxia's Lair, they might struggle to put even one raid together.
"Why are you asking all of a sudden?" RedAce asked. He had finished the attunement too.
Gabryell said, "It's still early. I want to take everyone into Onyxia's Lair and see what a 40-player raid is really like. It'll give us a better idea of what to expect when Molten Core starts Tuesday."
That was all the invitation the attuned players needed. They immediately lit up at the chance to see a 40-player raid.
"Leader, I did the quest. Sign me up. You have to take me."
"A 40-player raid must be insane. I heard those guilds wiped all night in Molten Core and couldn't even kill the two trash mobs at the entrance. I have to see a raid that tough for myself."
Anyone who had put off the Onyxia attunement was regretting it now. If they had done the questline earlier, they could have joined tonight.
"I'm doing the Onyxia attunement tomorrow. No excuses."
"Me too. Let's go together."
"We have to. I'll pull an all-nighter if that's what it takes."
The decision gave the whole guild fresh motivation—an unexpected bonus.
"We're actually going after Onyxia?" DesertWanderer had assumed the night would end with Thrall, so this was a welcome surprise.
"That's right. Let me check everyone's classes. I'll form a raid for Onyxia's Lair based on class composition."
Gabryell could not invite everyone who had finished the attunement; he still had to build the raid around class balance.
"What classes do we need?" Carlos asked.
Gabryell was about to say Dwarf Priests had priority, but immediately swallowed the words and changed course. "At least three or four Main tanks, eight or nine healers. For ranged and melee DPS, we'll balance it as we go."
This was only a trial run. Gabryell wanted them to feel how hard Onyxia hit, not chase a server first, so he only sketched out a rough composition instead of trying to optimize every slot.
He also had no intention of handing them the strategies in advance the way he had in five-player dungeons. He wanted the raid to learn through pulls, wipes, and discussion until they understood the bosses themselves.
If they truly got stuck, he would give them a nudge or two and let the group work out the rest.
"I'm reforming the raid. Everyone leave first. Those I invite will participate in tonight's Onyxia's Lair progression."
As Gabryell spoke, he left the raid and invited Carlos first, creating a new group. "Those who aren't chosen, don't get discouraged. It isn't about being good enough; we just have limited spots. Once more people finish the Onyxia attunement, we can form more raids."
That was enough to take the sting out of being left behind.
Most people understood. A forty-man roster still had to be balanced; they could not fill it with nothing but DPS or healers.
Based on class composition, Gabryell invited the players he thought were ready for the first raid.
Before long, the new 40-player raid was full.
This wasn't Fearless's final core raid roster. It was simply the best lineup they could currently assemble for Onyxia's Lair.
Gabryell brought four Main tanks: Carlos, David, Susie, and Nightlord.
He brought all four because they were the guild's best tanks. All four were slated for Fearless's first Molten Core progression raid next Tuesday, so bringing them now would give them an early taste of forty-man raiding.
Ten healers: four Priests, four Paladins, and two Druids.
The Priests were Dwarf Priest Danielly, Dwarf Priest ServerHeals, Dwarf Priest BigHealsShortLegs, and Human Priest DontPanicHealz.
The Paladins were Igor, SevenDays, Oldman, and Warquell.
In raids, Paladins could only heal. Warquell had no choice but to put his Protection Paladin dream on hold and play Holy for the time being.
The Druids were Lunatori and MushroomHunter.
There were twenty-six DPS.
Ten Mages, because there was no such thing as too many Mages; five Rogues; five Hunters; three Warlocks; and three Fury Warriors.
"Starting next Tuesday, we're officially using DKP."
Tonight was an impromptu Onyxia run, so there would be no DKP. The system would go live Tuesday when Molten Core progression officially began.
Gabryell opened his friends list, saw Isenor online, and sent him a private message. "How is the DKP system I asked you to draft yesterday coming along?"
Isenor was Victor, the finance manager at Fearless Company. Because the company was so busy, he only had time to log in at night, and he still was not level 60.
Gabryell had given him the task of drafting the DKP system yesterday.
Victor replied, "There are still a few details I haven't finished. I'll try to get it to you in the next two days."
DKP was still a brand-new concept at this point, so putting a proper system together would take some time.
"Fine."
Gabryell glanced at Victor's level. Only level 42. "When I have time, I'll help you level and get you to level 60 as soon as possible."
Fearless's DKP officer couldn't stay level 42 forever. Gabryell did not need to farm gear right now, so when he helped level alts tomorrow, he could bring Victor's character along as well.
After finishing his private chat with Victor, Gabryell glanced at the top-right corner of his screen. Resurrection Sickness was gone. "Everyone in the raid, make sure you have your Drakefire Amulet with you. Then move out. We're gathering on Theramore Isle."
Fearless's first unofficial forty-man progression night was already taking a different path from everyone else: they were starting with Onyxia.