Azuregos

Azuregos is a blue dragon, a servant of the Aspect Malygos, who guards the ancient night elf ruins of Azshara. In Classic he is a world boss: a level 63 dragon who wanders the southeastern coast of Azshara and can be attacked by any raid that finds him. With Lord Kazzak, he was one of the first two outdoor raid bosses in World of Warcraft, and his teleport and frost mark made him a memorable fight.

Biography

After the Sundering, the blue dragonflight took on the task of guarding the magical relics left in the ruins of the night elf city of Eldarath, in what is now Azshara. Azuregos came to the region to protect those treasures and to study the magic-soaked coast. Blizzard's original description of the encounter hinted that the blue dragons' interest might mean something as important as the Vials of Eternity was buried there.

Azuregos also holds a piece of the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, the artifact that sealed Ahn'Qiraj. After the scepter was broken, the blue flight's shard was given to him, and he resented the job: guarding it brought a steady stream of would-be heroes to his door.

Unlike most of the dragons players meet in Classic, Azuregos is not evil. He is gruff and eccentric, and he simply wants to be left alone with his studies. On aggro he warns that the place is under his protection and that the mysteries of the arcane shall remain inviolate.

In World of Warcraft

The fight

Azuregos roams near the Ruins of Eldarath in southeastern Azshara. He has around 900,000 health in our data and is immune to arcane damage, with high frost resistance. His abilities:

• Arcane Vacuum: he teleports every player within about 30 yards to his feet and wipes his threat list. The raid must stop attacking until the tank has picked him up again.
• Mark of Frost: any player who dies to Azuregos gets this mark. If they come back to the fight, he freezes them solid. It was added to stop raids from running back from the graveyard and throwing bodies at him.
• Manastorm: a blizzard-like storm that drains mana from casters caught inside it.
• Reflection: periodically he puts up a shield that reflects spells back at the caster.
• Frost breath and cleave for anyone in front of him.

The usual plan was to keep him facing away from the raid, stand at his sides within teleport range, and pause after every teleport. With limited resources the fight could take a long time, and because he was in the open world, other guilds or the opposite faction could show up at any moment.

Loot

Azuregos drops more than one epic item per kill, from this list:

He always drops [Mature Blue Dragon Sinew]. Hunters need it for Ancient Sinew Wrapped Lamina, the quest that turns the [Ancient Petrified Leaf] into the [Ancient Sinew Wrapped Lamina], an epic quiver.

The scepter puzzle

The [[forever:npc:15481]] in Azshara plays a part in the scepter chain. His magical ledger, carried to Narain Soothfancy in Tanaris in [[forever:quest:8575]], starts a long series of riddles and errands that eventually recovers the blue scepter shard. It is one of the many steps toward the Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal and the Opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj.

Later history

Azuregos survives his defeats. In Cataclysm, adventurers working for Kalecgos found that he had been hiding in the spirit world after a group of hunters killed him for "a now-useless quiver". He helped Kalecgos fight the black dragonflight. In Legion he secured the Nexus, and in Dragonflight he was still there studying.

Since the game's 13th anniversary in 2017, a version of Azuregos has been part of the anniversary event's world boss rotation.

Trivia

• The Cataclysm joke about a "now-useless quiver" refers to the [Ancient Sinew Wrapped Lamina], which Classic hunters killed him over and over to complete.

Sources

• Azuregos (Warcraft Wiki)
• Azuregos (tactics) (Warcraft Wiki)
• Ruins of Eldarath (Warcraft Wiki)