axispheydra:
OSUN WARRIORS! COME! TEST YOUR STEEL IN THE ANCIENT BLOOD PIT OF KEL VORETH! LET THE BLOODSPORT BEGIN!
One of the first two level 25 dungeons, which eventually became the only level 25 dungeon with Wildstar Reloaded (Stormtalon’s Lair became level 20), there ain’t no one who doesn’t remember the telegraph-dodging segments of this dungeon’s final boss. Maybe parts like that are why WS cultivated a reputation for being stupid hard early on? Even when the encounter was eventually toned down, it was still a hell of an intro to instanced content.
It’s no secret that the Osun are some of my favorite NPCs, and the aesthetics of the Ruins of Kel Voreth make it my favorite dungeon. Starting off with the darkened skies and looming walls of the blood pit, then making your way into the half-excavated Exo-Lab before finishing with the burning skies of the towering forge, I could’ve taken dozens of screenshots of the place. But some part of me knew I had to tone it down.
Memorable moments:
Grond the Corpsemaker’s Thrash telegraph, which was a fun intro to interrupts before the Protogames Academy was released.
Slavemaster Drokk’s dozen different phases, each with their own rules and DPS checks.
Forgemaster Trogun’s Touhou-esque bullet dodging segments.
Another interesting tidbit about this dungeon: according to a dev statement (I think it was on a livestream) the unique robotic quality to Slavemaster Drokk’s voice lines is actually not edited – the voice actor,
Fred Tatasciore,
was able to create it himself! Though given that he also voiced the Holo-Crypt Keeper, the announcer, Archon Jariel, and a number of other varied voices, that may not be so surprising after all!