Sign inDragons of Nightmare
The Dragons of Nightmare were four corrupted green dragons who served as outdoor raid bosses in World of Warcraft, added in patch 1.8 in October 2005: Ysondre, Lethon, Emeriss and Taerar. Once lieutenants of Ysera, the Aspect of the green dragonflight, they had been twisted by a dark power inside the Emerald Dream and came through the portals at the four Great Trees of Azeroth. Each was a level 63 boss for a forty-player raid, and each could appear at any of the four portals.
Background
The green dragonflight guards the Emerald Dream, the spirit world that mirrors Azeroth as it might have been without mortals. Ysera's most trusted lieutenants were the first to fall to a creeping corruption inside it, the Nightmare. Mad and changed, the four left the Dream through the great trees where its portals stand, intending to spread terror through the waking world. Patch 1.8 was named "Dragons of Nightmare" after them.
The portals
The four Great Trees, each guarded by green dragonkin, stood in:
- Twilight Grove in Duskwood.
- Seradane in The Hinterlands.
- Dream Bough in Feralas.
- Bough Shadow in Ashenvale.
A dragon appeared at one tree at a time, and which one came where was random. After a kill, the next one could take days to appear, so raids from many guilds kept watch on the portals, and on PvP realms the fights often drew the other faction.
The fights
All four dragons shared a set of abilities: a Noxious Breath that greatly increased the cost of abilities and the time between them, a Tail Sweep, a Dream Fog that put players to sleep, and the Mark of Nature, which left anyone who died in the fight stunned for minutes if they were brought back and returned to the fight too soon. Each dragon also had one trick it used at 75, 50 and 25 percent of its health:
| Dragon | Signature |
|---|---|
| Ysondre | Lightning Wave, and at each threshold she summons Demented Druid Spirits |
| Lethon | Shadow Bolt Whirl, and Draw Spirit, which pulls Spirit Shades out of every player that heal him if they reach him |
| Emeriss | Volatile Infection, and Corruption of the Earth, which hits every player for a large share of their health; mushrooms grow from the bodies of those who die |
| Taerar | Arcane Blast and Bellowing Roar, and at each threshold he vanishes and splits into three Shades of Taerar |
The fights asked for a lot of Nature resistance, and many guilds built special Nature resistance gear for them.
Loot
Each dragon dropped a shared pool of epic items, including the [Green Dragonskin Cloak], the mace [Hammer of Bestial Fury], the [Staff of Rampant Growth], the [Trance Stone] and the [Acid Inscribed Greaves], plus items of its own:
Every dragon also dropped a [Nightmare Engulfed Object], which started Shrouded in Nightmare. Keeper Remulos in Moonglade cleansed it, and the follow-up Waking Legends became part of the long chain toward the green shard of the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, which ties the dragons into the Opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj.
Later history
- In Cataclysm, the dragons were removed from the old world. Ysondre was cleansed and helped players kill Taerar in Feralas; Lethon and Emeriss died later in the war against the Nightmare.
- Since 2017, all four have returned each year as bosses of the game's anniversary celebration.
- World of Warcraft Classic brought them back in their original form in 2020.
Sources
- Dragons of Nightmare (Classic), Warcraft Wiki
- Shrouded in Nightmare, Warcraft Wiki
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