Lord Kazzak

Lord Kazzak is a doomlord of the Burning Legion, the most powerful demon left on Azeroth after the Third War. In Classic he is a world boss: an outdoor raid encounter in the Tainted Scar of the Blasted Lands, fought in the open world rather than inside an instance. Together with Azuregos, he was one of the first two world bosses in the game, and his three-minute enrage made him a test of how much damage a raid could put out.

Biography

Kazzak came to Azeroth with Archimonde during the Third War, when Kel'Thuzad summoned the Legion's forces near Dalaran. After Archimonde fell at the Battle of Mount Hyjal, the surviving demons were cut off from the Twisting Nether. Kazzak pulled back to the Blasted Lands, near the ruined Dark Portal, and set his lieutenant Razelikh the Defiler to hold the region. Trapped and without new orders, he became the Legion's de facto ruler on Azeroth, waiting for a chance to reopen the portal.

In World of Warcraft

The Tainted Scar

Lord Kazzak stands at the back of the Tainted Scar, a fel-scarred valley in the western Blasted Lands guarded by elite demons left over from the war. Because he is in the open world, anyone on the realm can attack him, and rival guilds, and the opposing faction, often competed for the kill when he spawned.

The fight

Kazzak is built to punish slow raids. His main abilities:

• Shadow Bolt Volley: shadow damage to everyone near him, cast at irregular intervals.
• Cleave: hits the tank and anyone beside them.
• Twisted Reflection: a magic debuff on a random player that heals Kazzak. Priests have to dispel it immediately.
• Mark of Kazzak: a curse that drains the player's mana and explodes when it runs out, hurting everyone nearby. Mages have to remove it quickly.
• Capture Soul: whenever a player or pet dies near him, Kazzak heals for a large amount. Raids avoided pets and totems, and a single death could undo a lot of damage.

After three minutes, Kazzak goes into what players called "supreme mode", announced by a yell. From then on he fires shadow bolts constantly, and the raid wipes. The whole fight had to be won inside that window.

Loot

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

He always drops [The Eye of Shadow], a key part of the priest quest for Benediction and [Anathema]. Before Kazzak, priests had to farm it as a very rare drop from demons in Winterspring.

History

Kazzak's open-world placement led to some famous incidents. On many realms, players pulled him out of the Blasted Lands and led him to Stormwind City, where, after his three-minute timer ran out, he killed everyone in sight until a game master stepped in. Blizzard eventually stopped him from leaving the Blasted Lands.

Another story involves the paladin talent Reckoning, which at first could store an unlimited number of extra attacks. A paladin on one realm stored more than 1,800 charges and killed Kazzak alone. Reckoning was quickly limited to four charges.

Later history

Before The Burning Crusade (2007), the Dark Portal was reopened and Kazzak crossed into Outland, where he became Doom Lord Kazzak, a world boss in Hellfire Peninsula. His old spot in the Blasted Lands was taken by Highlord Kruul. In Warlords of Draenor, an alternate Supreme Lord Kazzak appeared as a world boss in Tanaan Jungle. Since the game's 13th anniversary in 2017, a version of Lord Kazzak has been part of the anniversary event's world boss rotation.

Sources

• Kazzak (Warcraft Wiki)
• Lord Kazzak (tactics) (Warcraft Wiki)
• Tainted Scar (Warcraft Wiki)