Princess Theradras was an elemental creature, though most players seeing her for the first time would probably describe her as a mutated pig that somehow became sentient. She had 23,192 HP and four main abilities.
Thrash
Instant
Grants the caster additional attacks.
This was the ability that could delete a tank if the hits lined up badly.
Boulder
2 sec cast
5–30 yd range
Throws a boulder at an enemy.
It could knock players down. Mages could dodge it with a well-timed Blink, and anyone who ran out of range during the two-second cast could avoid it as well.
Repulsive Gaze
Instant
10 yd range
Roars at an enemy, paralyzing them with fear for 8 seconds and causing nearby enemies to flee.
This was the real wipe mechanic. Without a Dwarf Priest, the tanks and melee would all get feared. Eight seconds of paralysis was more than enough for Princess to send two level 45 tanks straight to the graveyard if the healers were not already spamming them.
Dust Field
Instant
Princess Theradras's signature move, better known among players as the "fart cloud." She kicked up dust around herself, dealing AoE damage and knocking nearby players back.
Gabryell had solo-farmed Princess more than a thousand times and knew her inside out. At this point in time, he probably understood the fight better than Blizzard's own designers.
Princess loved chaining her abilities together: Boulder or Thrash, then Repulsive Gaze, then Dust Field. Repulsive Gaze and Dust Field, in particular, often came almost back-to-back.
"Ranged and healers, stay at max range. Melee, get out the moment she starts Dust Field."
Gabryell laid out the strategy. Killing Princess mostly depended on ranged DPS, because Dust Field came out constantly. As long as there was a target in melee range, she would kick up dust every dozen seconds or so.
ServerHeals put Fear Ward on every melee player. That gave them one chance to avoid being feared and then blasted by Dust Field.
"I'm going in. Keep me up."
Carlos was a little nervous. A level 51 Princess was no joke. If those four arms came smashing down at once, they could absolutely tear off half his health.
Igor said, "Carlos, you go first. If you can't hold her, we'll take over. Don't embarrass the rest of us. No shaky knees."
"Get lost. You're charging in with me."
The melee group charged in together. With Princess Theradras, getting pinned down by her was much more likely than the other way around. This was, after all, the boss who had trapped Cenarius's son inside Maraudon.
Carlos took first threat, while Warquell focused on staying second. Aside from those two tanks, no one else could survive a bad Thrash.
"Ease in. Don't rip aggro," Gabryell warned. "If ranged pulls, they probably just eat a Boulder. If melee pulls, they die."
"Rogues, use Feint properly. Igor, keep your hand near Divine Shield."
He really wanted to complain about Vanilla Retribution Paladins. Their DPS was already low, yet somehow their threat was not. If only their threat and damage could swap places, they would be perfect.
"Oh, more men. Come play with Princess!"
That was not Princess Theradras's actual voice. Coldhands was dubbing over her.
"You filthy little men, hurry into Princess's arms. Princess will reward you properly."
"The Princess is ugly, sure," Igor said, "but she's got curves. Carlos, take her down."
"Ahem."
Gabryell cleared his throat as a reminder. "There are girls in the group. Watch it."
Lunatori said shyly, "I'm still a child."
"Heal me!"
Carlos had barely reached Princess before she hit him with Thrash, chunking off half his health and scaring him into shouting.
"One hit took half my HP? What the hell is this damage?"
He finally understood why Freedom's tanks had looked like paper. It was not that they were too weak. Princess Theradras was just that overtuned for level 45 players.
"That's nothing. Dust Field is coming soon, so be ready to move," Gabryell reminded them again.
A level 45 player could not afford to stand in Princess's Dust Field. If people died to it, the fight would become much harder.
"She has that too?"
"Yes. Often. And it hurts."
"Damn it, Blizzard really made one disgusting Princess."
Princess used her abilities very frequently. That was exactly why even level 60 characters could not simply face-tank her. They had to kite her down.
With melee targets in range, Princess did not cast Boulder. Instead, she began using Repulsive Gaze.
"Fear Ward is actually insane," Carlos said.
Since he had not been feared, he finally understood just how powerful a Dwarf Priest was and why Gabryell valued them so highly.
"Dust Field soon. Melee, be ready to move."
Gabryell warned them immediately. Repulsive Gaze and Dust Field were basically a linked combo.
No one had been feared. As long as they reacted properly, they should be able to get away the moment they heard the call.
"Igor, why are you still standing there? Move!"
Gabryell saw that Igor had not moved and hurriedly called him out.
Igor ripped off his headset and snapped, "Damn it, my game froze!"
Gabryell looked at his screen.
Sure enough, the image was frozen.
At the worst possible moment, one DPS had crashed, and there was nothing they could do about it.
"Igor's frozen. Don't waste mana on him. Let him die."
Gabryell had no choice but to sacrifice Igor, silently hoping that offering up this flashy bastard would improve their odds of getting Blade of Eternal Darkness.
"It's fine. He's lowest DPS anyway," Carlos said. "We'll live."
"Carlos, next time you get no Blessing of Protection and no Lay on Hands."
A vein bulged on Igor's forehead. What did he mean, lowest DPS did not matter? Even weak DPS was still DPS. At the very least, in a critical moment, he could throw out Blessing of Protection, use Lay on Hands, and pretend to be a healer for a few seconds.
"Dust Field! Move!" Hugo shouted.
Princess Theradras began kicking up dust. The melee players scattered at once, except for Igor's Retribution Paladin, who was still frozen in place. He stood there like an idiot, ate the full blast, and died on the spot.
"Haha, I'm dying. Igor got killed by Princess fart damage."
Hugo laughed loudly. "So? How'd Princess smell?"
Igor wanted to duel him in real life. If his game had not frozen, he never would have died such a humiliating death.
Without needing a reminder, ServerHeals immediately refreshed Fear Ward on Carlos.
"ServerHeals, your threat is getting high. Fade once," Gabryell reminded him.
The Dwarf Priest could not die. If he went down, the fight was over.
ServerHeals immediately used Fade to drop some threat, preventing Princess from running straight at him after Dust Field ended.
"This is disgusting," DesertWanderer said. "She stood still and let me cast, and all three Shadow Bolts missed."
"That's normal. With a six-level gap, landing even half your casts is already decent."
Gabryell said, "Warlocks have a harder time with spell hit than Mages. Mages at least have Elemental Precision for Frost and Fire spells. Shadow Bolt doesn't get that kind of easy help, so Warlocks need to make up for it with gear. Spell hit is their top priority, then spell crit."
From a damage-value perspective, spell crit gave Mages excellent returns, which was why many Mages loved stacking it. But if your spell hit was too low, you still took hit gear when you could. Otherwise, missing several casts in a row was just embarrassing.
"I'm going back in. Heal me."
As soon as Dust Field ended, Carlos immediately picked Princess back up before she could go after anyone else.
The weakest DPS had died, leaving nine players alive. Princess still had 87% HP, so the fight could continue.
As long as Gabryell himself did not die, they still had a backup plan. He could use the small rock on the right side of the room and kite Princess with Fire Blast until she went down.
So there was no need to panic.
He was completely steady.