Gabryell regretted it.
He really should not have let Smooch loot the corpse.
No rare elite had appeared during this dungeon run, so Bloodmage Thalnos was Smooch's next chance to prove herself.
Bloodmage Thalnos had two pieces of gear on his loot table. One was a blue off-hand, Orb of the Forgotten Seer, with an equip bonus of +12 spell damage and healing. At this stage, it was the best off-hand available. Paired with Hypnotic Blade from Arcanist Doan in Library, it gave a total of +21 spell damage.
Orb of the Forgotten Seer plus Hypnotic Blade was one of the best spell-damage setups in the level-45-capped open beta. The only things that could really compare were Zum'rah's Vexing Cane, dropped by Witch Doctor Zum'rah in Zul'Farrak, which also gave +21 spell damage, and the BoE epic world drop Staff of Jordan, with +26 spell damage.
Bloodmage Mantle (Uncommon)
+8 Intellect
+4 Spirit
A trash-tier green.
Gabryell clicked Pass in frustration. Smooch had actually managed to loot Bloodmage Mantle, which had an even lower drop rate, perfectly missing the more common Orb of the Forgotten Seer.
Cursed looter!
If that was not a cursed looter, then what was?
"Aaaah! I'm not cursed!" Smooch was about to collapse. How could a cute girl like her possibly be cursed?
"Next time, let Luna enter the dungeon first and loot the corpses."
Gabryell felt a little guilty. In truth, he was pretty cursed himself, because he had been the first one to enter the dungeon this time. According to old player superstition, dungeon drops were tied to the first person who entered. Smooch's cursed luck had partly taken the blame for him.
"Are we continuing?" Carlos asked. Gabryell had said before that he would leave after one run.
Gabryell also wanted to test whether he really was cursed, so he decided to run it again. "One more run. This time, let Luna enter first."
When they left the dungeon, there was actually a Horde group sitting outside eating and drinking.
The two sides stared at each other for a moment. Strangely, neither side made a move. The Horde group had not flagged for PvP to pick a fight.
"There are starting to be more level 30 Horde players. Scarlet Monastery really is going to become a trouble spot."
Scarlet Monastery's location was extremely awkward for Alliance players. The Alliance could not possibly give up a dungeon that covered levels 30 to 40. Once the Southshore players reached level 30 and above, the area outside Scarlet Monastery would become a contested hotspot.
The Horde had the absolute initiative at Scarlet Monastery. They could choose whether to fight or not, while the Alliance could only take it.
"Luna, go in."
Since that Horde group did not want to fight, Gabryell could not be bothered to provoke them.
Lunatori entered the dungeon first, and everyone else followed.
After clearing it once, the second run became much easier. This time, they killed Interrogator Vishas first. When Vishas fell, Lunatori went up to loot him.
Torturing Poker (Rare)
One-Hand Dagger
Speed 1.70
21–39 Damage
+5–7 Fire Damage
21.2 damage per second
Requires Level 29
Good grief. Lunatori had actually looted the extremely low-drop-rate Torturing Poker. There was no arguing with that luck.
"Everyone roll. You can use it for fun."
There were no Rogues in the group, and the weapon did not have any stats. The only thing worth collecting was its unique appearance: the front end was red-hot like a branding iron, while the back was an ordinary iron rod.
Smooch rolled a 96 and won it. She immediately equipped it.
"See? I'm not cursed. I just had bad luck earlier."
Gabryell now felt that maybe it really was not Smooch who was cursed. Maybe it was him. In the future, he really could not casually be the first one to enter a dungeon and curse the lockout.
They cleared the four mobs in front of the chest. Their luck was good, and the chest was still unlocked.
Lunatori went to open it.
A pair of level 27 cloth boots of the Eagle dropped.
Lunatori knew Gabryell needed Eagle gear for AoE farming, so she voluntarily passed. And don't be that guy—at this stage, Intellect cloth gear was still perfectly good for a healing Druid. Gabryell had always let her roll on it too.
"From now on, Luna should be the one looting in SM."
Once they reached the Forlorn Cloister in the graveyard area and spotted Ironspine, Gabryell completely gave up on the idea that this was a cursed run.
After killing Ironspine, they looted Ironspine's Eye, a blue physical DPS ring with +4 Strength and +9 Agility.
Carlos did not want a ring with no Stamina, so Igor and Smooch rolled for it.
Smooch rolled a 92 and won another piece of gear for herself.
"Hahaha, I told you! I'm not cursed."
Smooch was extremely excited, completely washing away her earlier humiliation. "Igor, you're the cursed one."
Igor, who had only rolled a 21, had no way to argue. He felt like Smooch was his natural enemy.
"Gabryell, I strongly suggest swapping BentArrow back in next time."
When he traded insults with Hugo, he could win. When he traded insults with Smooch, he had never won once.
Gabryell finished gathering the nearby Grave Moss and Kingsblood, then completely ignored Igor's words.
"Into the Tomb of the Unrepentant. Let's kill Bloodmage Thalnos."
This run was hot. Orb of the Forgotten Seer might actually drop.
The Scarlet Crusade truly deserved to be called one of Azeroth's most shameless fanatical organizations. This was clearly Scarlet Monastery Graveyard, a place where they conducted inhumane experiments, yet they still had the nerve to call it the Tomb of the Unrepentant.
Fortunately, some members of the Scarlet Crusade still had clear heads. After leaving the Scarlet Crusade, they founded the Argent Dawn. Otherwise, the heroes of Azeroth would have had no foothold in the Eastern and Western Plaguelands.
They cleared ghost mobs all the way to the lowest level of the graveyard, leaving only Bloodmage Thalnos standing alone.
7,736 HP.
As expected of a Warlock boss, his health was as ridiculous as a well-geared Warlock's. In later stages, a well-geared Warlock had more health than plate classes, nearly rivaling a Protection Warrior.
Bloodmage Thalnos had three abilities: Shadow Bolt, Fire Nova, and Flame Spike. As long as they avoided the last two and did not let too many people get caught in the AoE, he was not hard to beat.
Carlos charged in. Igor was a Paladin with Divine Shield and Lay on Hands, so there was no need to worry about him. Gabryell, Lunatori, and Smooch spread out to avoid taking AoE.
With 7,736 HP, it took them several minutes to kill him. Once Bloodmage Thalnos fell, Lunatori went up to loot him.
Orb of the Forgotten Seer (Rare)
Off Hand
Requires Level 33
Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 12.
Lunatori did not disappoint Gabryell. She looted the spell-damage off-hand.
Gabryell clicked Pass.
Lunatori was puzzled. "Leader, you don't want it?"
Gabryell said, "I don't need a main hand and off-hand. You take it."
Lunatori was currently using a one-handed mace, making this off-hand perfect for her. It would add +12 healing.
Gabryell continued, "When we run Scarlet Cathedral, switch your main hand to Hand of Righteousness from Whitemane. You'll become our guild's number one Restoration Druid."
Hand of Righteousness was more suitable for a Restoration Druid than Hypnotic Blade. For healers, the best main hand in Scarlet Monastery was Hand of Righteousness, while Hypnotic Blade was better prioritized for caster DPS.
Of course, that did not mean Restoration Druids could not use Hypnotic Blade. Before getting Hand of Righteousness, Hypnotic Blade was also one of the best main-hand options for a Restoration Druid.
Gabryell did not want spell-damage gear for now. Early spell-damage values were not high, so the damage increase was not obvious. Blizzard also did not benefit much from spell-damage bonuses, so it was better to use a staff with high Intellect and Stamina.
Once he reached Zul'Farrak, he could solo farm Witch Doctor Zum'rah and get Zum'rah's Vexing Cane for himself. The other blue item dropped by Zum'rah, Jumanza Grips, was a cloth glove with excellent stats and was also very suitable for an AoE-grinding Mage.
"Are we still farming?" Carlos asked.
Gabryell said, "You guys keep farming. As long as the Horde doesn't interfere, farm straight to level 40 before leaving. I'm not farming anymore. I'll go back to AoE grinding. I'll check whether anyone else in the guild wants to come."
Farming Scarlet Monastery was better than competing with a crowd for mobs outside.
Gabryell opened the guild list. Over the course of the morning, the guild had gained one more level 30 member: OldSeven, a Gnome Mage and friend of DesertWanderer.
OldSeven had already been close to level 29 yesterday. He had gotten up early today and managed to quest his way to level 30 before the main group logged in.
Gabryell asked OldSeven whether he wanted to come to Scarlet Monastery.
OldSeven immediately replied that of course he did.
Gabryell sent DesertWanderer a private message and asked whether his group was almost done. DesertWanderer replied that they were nearly finished.
Once DesertWanderer's team finished Graveyard, Gabryell had him summon OldSeven over, then let OldSeven take his place to farm Scarlet Monastery Graveyard.
"If anyone else in the guild reaches level 30, keep calling them over to farm Scarlet. Once you have enough people for five groups, there's no need to keep running six-person teams," Gabryell said to David and Nightlord before leaving.
The two replied, "Got it."
They were eager for more level 30 guild members anyway. That way, they would not have to run six-person groups. Six-person groups really did not give much experience, and the party penalty was brutal.
Gabryell used his Hearthstone and returned directly to Southshore.
Carlos asked, "Once you hit level 40, are you still coming back to Scarlet?"
Gabryell nodded. "I'll come. Call me when it's time to kill those lovebirds."
Gabryell needed Whitemane's Chapeau and Triune Amulet. Both pieces had excellent stat spreads and were among the best cloth-slot items around level 40, making them very suitable for solo farming the Zul'Farrak graveyard.
Whitemane's Chapeau would only be replaced in Maraudon by Soothsayer's Headdress from Celebras the Cursed. Triune Amulet would need to be replaced by Gemshard Heart from Princess Theradras.
Carlos was puzzled. "Lovebirds?"
Gabryell laughed. "Scarlet Cathedral."
He did not explain what he meant by "those two lovebirds." Once they reached Scarlet Cathedral and killed Scarlet Commander Mograine and High Inquisitor Whitemane, they would understand soon enough.