Sometime last year, I made a thread busting some myths about Dragons and their abilities.
Well, it's been a while since then, and while we will soon be saying our goodbyes to dragon as everyone moves over to the new world event once Greymoor releases, I want to bust some myths so that if any newcomers want to fight dragons, they can do so while having some knowledge about how to fight them as well. Also, there have been several new types of dragons to fight since I made my previous thread, so let's go ahead and clear up the misconceptions about the dragons. I will be doing 3 posts: One concerning fire dragons, another concerning frost dragons, and the last one concerning storm dragons. We will begin with fire dragons, and the remaining two dragons will be discussed at great length in the next couple days.
Fire Dragons: Mythbusting
Myth 1: Dragons are soloable with the right gear and knowledge.
Fact: At upwards of 14.7 million health, the dragons are the toughest world boss to date (at least, as of right now, I will not comment on how difficult Greymoor stuff will be). They also pack a variety of attacks that will make soloing a dragon impossible. Bring friends! If there is anyone out there who can claim "I soloed a dragon" and WITHOUT using any cheats/exploits, I'd love to hear about them and their strategy.
Myth 2: Shout of Power (Where Dragon goes Fus-RO-DAH!) is an instagib.
Fact: Only if you are caught in the cone and you don't get your guard up. Shout of Power is a dragon's heavy attack, which means all you need to do is block it (default: press and hold RMB). Blocking will prevent you from being knocked up into the air, which that plus the fall damage is what kills players.
Myth 3: As long as I stand behind or to the side of the dragon, I can melee the dragon.
Fact: Tail Lash (where the Fire Dragon will slam his tail into the ground and create several Eruptions) and Wing Buffer (where he swipes his wing, knocking down and backwards players while 3 Fire Tornadoes radiate out damaging players) are very fast ways to die while standing behind or to the side of the dragon. Also, while we're on the subject of meleeing a dragon, please try to avoid it unless you are a fully equipped tank. One good Bite, Tail Lash, or Wing Buffer is usually enough to one-shot anyone that is not named Main Tank.
Myth 4: Scorch (where the dragon flies through the playspace and scorches the ground) is an instagib.
Fact: Only if you stand right in the "path" of the dragon. Scorch is meant to divide the playspace...and as discovered, it divides the playspace into two equal parts. The best way to avoid Scorch is to wait until the dragon chooses his angle, then stay away from the path. Do not approach until the scorch is done and the scorched ground returns to normal.
Myth 5: I don't have to worry about taking damage until I engage.
Fact: With Firestorm, you need to approach and engage quickly, or die quickly. Firestorm is meant to catch AFKers as well as those who try to run away/enter a fight late. Worse, it deals a lot of damage, and damage increases with each tick, so either get in the eye of storm or get burned.
Myth 6: Eruptions are unavoidable and are an instagib.
Fact: Eruptions, whatever the source of the attack, are in no ways an instagib. Just roll dodge out of the way. Also Eruptions are another way to catch AFKers/bots...either get out of the way or get burned. While on the subject, when fighting a dragon you should be moving...constantly. Every inch of the playspace will eventually be affected by an attack. Stand still and you'll be a stain on the wall in no time flat. So keep moving. You can apply this to most other games out there, from first-person shooters to MMOs to MOBAs.
That's it for mythbusting Fire Dragons. Check in tomorrow, where I will bust some myths related to Ice Dragons.