Hello and welcome to the very first post of Rarebane’s Hardcore Journey, the only classic wow blog with its eyes on every rare spawn the game has to offer!

Okay, deep breaths. We have a lot of ground to cover but first lets set the scene.

World of Warcraft. A massive open world teeming with infinite possibilities. I want you to (figuratively) close your eyes and let your imagination wander.

We begin our journey in the character creation screen and the choice for me was obvious: a Dwarf Hunter. Little did I know this would present our first obstacle in our Hunter Mode Challenge but more on that later.

I did not have the foresight of snapping a screenshot of Raresbane at character creation. I’m sorry internet you’re just going to have to envision a Dwarf Hunter, slightly balding, with a magnificent black braided beard all on your own.

Dun Morogh, the snowy starter zone for Dwarfs and Gnomes is where we will begin our quest to hunt every rare spawn available to us. Dun Morogh has a total of 3 rare spawns to hunt:

1. Edan the Howler, an oversized and ornery Wendigo dwelling in the caves just below Kharanos.
2. Timber, an elusive Frost Wolf stalking the pines at the center of a frozen lake West of Kharanos.
3. Bjarn, the fierce Polar Bear that claims the South-East valley between Kharanos and Gol’Balar Quarry. 

Before we could begin our hunt for these ferocious beasts we needed to get our character leveled, stock up on supplies, and geared up. In World of Warcraft levels, supplies, and gear are your bread and butter. Nothing happens in Wow without these essentials.

Lets refer back to our map and locate Coldridge Valley, the southern most region surrounded by mountains. Coldridge Valley is where new Dwarf and Gnome characters beginning their adventures in Azeroth. It is also the home of my fondest childhood memories.

Let’s rewind 20 years and introduce my first character: Willywonka the Dwarf Hunter. I loved Gene Wilder’s performance in the movie as a kid, especially the song Pure Imagination, and decided that was a great character name. One problem. I misspelled it Wilywanka because I thought that was how it spelled. Oops?

There is nothing like your first character. The memories and stories, the people you meet along the way. It’s something special and impossible to recreate. 

My very first pet was named Yogi and, believe it or not, I tamed Bjarn the mighty Polar Bear we will be hunting later in this series. I remember the chance encounter with Bjarn that would cement my love for World of Warcraft.  I never took another pet after that meeting Yogi and we quested together all the way through the Cataclysm when I stopped playing WoW as much, went off to college, got jobs and responsibilities. A tale as old as time.

Let’s not forget the first guild I joined, The Defenders of Anvilmar. This wasn’t a roleplay server but we all stuck to our vow to keep Coldridge Valley and all of Dun Morogh safe.  Somewhere deep inside I am still a Defender of Anvilmar.

Here we are 20 years later and it dawns on me just how many quests through this challenge I will not be able to complete due to the restrictions of Rule 2: Hunter Mode. In tangible terms that translates to lost experience points, money, and gear upgrades. The gear upgrades are the serious sore spot. We will be relying on random junk from the countless monsters we will be slaying and purchasing items from the local economy.

But, all of that aside, there were a few tasks we could complete and we knocked those out promptly. But, in the end it came down to killing about 550 boars.

And I can already hear you asking Why did you need to…

Remember at the top where I mentioned starting in Dun Morogh would Present our first obstacle? Let’s refer back to our map and locate Anvilmar in the southern region of Coldridge Valley. Anvilmar is the name of the mining and smithing settlement that occupies this region. Unlike Kharanos to the north whose centralized location forms a natural crossroads, Anvilmar is accessible by only one road. 

Coldridge Pass is a nasty little tunnel infested by Troggs between levels 4 and 5. The space is tight and the Troggs a plenty. And the worst part? Troggs are Humanoids! That’s right, Humanoids were blocking my only path into greater Dun Morogh and the wilds of Azeroth. Que the boar killing montage.

Now, drama aside, this wasn’t a huge hurdle to overcome. It took about an hour of mindless grinding and truth be told I was having a blast! Although the ineffable feeling of starting your first character is forever gone, and the glittery glamor of starting new characters has long since faded for me, there was something special happening in Coldridge Valley that evening. 

A genuine excitement was brewing for the unknown obstacles ahead. What other oddities would I need to strategize and overcome? The 550 boars is what it took for Raresbane to reach level 8 and mark the Troggs in the pass as Grey enemies.

For the uninitiated, the level discrepancy between you and any monster in World of Warcraft dictate the interactions you will have with each other. For our purposes today those interactions are Aggro Range and Hit chance. Aggro range refers to the distance between you and a monster before they are alerted to you presence and will engage you in combat. Hit chance is exactly what it sounds like.

We’re getting into the weeds here but I think it is important to establish these concepts early and watch as they develop as we continue our journey across Azeroth. 

Okay, so! We have leveled up Raresbane as much as possible but what about supplies and gear? 

Fun Fact: If you kill 550 boars in the starting zone you are likely to leave with 3 small pouch bags, who knew! Also, you will sell enough boar meat and tusks to buy an entire set of Cracked Leather Armor. L I T E R A L Y peak gaming. These will be our Best In Slot items for the foreseeable future.

Raresbane is now totally prepared for what might be a grisly end. We find ourselves at the entrance to the tunnel and immediately spot a Trogg blocking the way. This would not be the last time in this journey where a little patience would be paramount in our success. Eventually, the Troggs pathing program shoved him face first between a wall and a rock. Nice coding Blizzard, thanks. Big W.

With the first obstacle navigated I proce… Who the fuck am I kidding? I literally walked through the fucking pass with zero resistance, traveled along the main highway, picked up a new gun from a couple of drunks blowing shit up on the shoulder lane, arrived in Kharanos, and proceed to get absolutely HAMMERED on Thunder Brews all night. Good times!

Haha, good start to our journey to hunt every rare spawn the game has to offer us am I right? See y’all next week where we will tackle our first rare: Egan the Howler. Till next time and happy hunting!