Fire in the hole: Scald

Searing Gorge is one of the most distinctive zones in the Eastern Kingdoms. Dominated by a huge rent in the earth called the Cauldron, which is dominated by the cruel Dark Iron dwarves, the zone is in my view the nicest of the "scorched wasteland" areas in classic World of Warcraft. The Gorge also has several rarespawns, of which today's subject is one.

This post is about Scald.



Fiery destroyers

Scald is a rare mob fire elemental located in the Searing Gorge in the Eastern Kingdoms.



Scald can supposedly spawn in several spots in the Cauldron, but I have always found him in the same spot. That spot is at the far western edge of the Cauldron, in a small lava pool at the bottom of the deep gorge. There are usually a few normal fire elementals standing in the way here, and Scald looks identical to these. This rarespawn is entirely stationary, it's just a matter of finding him alive.



Scald has no special abilities beyond that he shrugs off fire-based damage (many classic WoW elementals are immune or highly resistant to their own element). He is merely a somewhat larger and stronger fire elemental with no unique drops.

Children of fire

While Scald does not have any distinguishing features of his own (or its own, it's hard to speak of genders when discussing animated balls of pure element), why Scald can be found where he is makes sense. The Searing Gorge is a region close to Blackrock Mountain, where the firelord Ragnaros rules his dark iron puppets and countless elemental servants from the Molten Core.



Doubtless Scald is one of Ragnaros' lesser servants, sent from the Core to oversee the operations in the Cauldron. The firelord seems to not entirely trust his dwarf servants, and frequently dispatches his elementals to keep an eye on important operations. A good example of this is Overmaster Pyron, found in the mine at the entrance of Blackrock Depths.



Scald's name is of course a synonym for "hot", another trend among named fire elementals. Their names are usually fire-related, unsurprisingly. While there isn't a lot to say about rarespawns like this, I must add that I do like the designs of elementals in WoW. The fire elementals look suitably fiery and destructive, and the non-humanoid design helps designate them as something other than the many mortal races.



In closing, Scald is another mediocre rare which looks cool and is rather hard to find.

Until next time, stay out of the fire!

~Dragonshade

More creepy-crawlies: Rekk'tilac

As I stated earlier, there are a lot of rarespawn spiders in World of Warcraft. No doubt Blizzard are cunningly tapping into the almost primal fear that many humans have for these (generally) inoffensive creatures by enlarging them to monstrous size and making them attack adventurers. Interestingly, this means that spiders and rare spiders can be found even in extreme environments in Azeroth.

Today's rarespawn is Rekk'tilac.



Spider tracks

Rekk'tilac is a rare mob spider found in the Searing Gorge, in the Eastern Kingdoms.



Unlike many rare mobs that I have covered so far, Rekk'tilac cannot be pinned down to any specific area in the Gorge. In short, it can spawn almost anywhere where its kin, the lava spiders can be found. Visually it also looks exactly like the other spiders, so it must be found via tracking or checking nameplates.



Rekk'tilac, and the regular lava spiders, use the "tarantula" spider model (which I discussed here ). Lava spiders are a bright orange color and found only in very hot areas, seemingly well-adapted against heat. Their bright carapaces do not offer very good camouflage, so it probably instead serves as a visual cue to warn other creatures that the spider is dangerous.



As I mentioned in my earlier post, I definently am not a fan of the tarantula model, so I will not dwell on it more here. Rekk'tilac is tameable, but offers no special benefits to a hunter as it is identical to the common spiders nearby.

What's the story?

Rekk'tilac is probably just an especially strong lava spider which got a name from someone living in the area. It has no special attacks, is not particularily tough, has no special drops and is not unique-looking for a hunter.



As I have said previously, not every rarespawn is amazing, or even interesting. Some are just mobs with names tacked on, and the improved drop table. Rekk'tilac lands squarely in the "mediocre" category. Still, I cannot help but wonder at what kind of adaptions allow spiders (and other bugs) in Azeroth to grow to huge sizes with no respiration or body integrity problems.



Maybe a higher oxygen content in the atomsphere helps arachnids breathe. After all, many spiders have a more efficient respiration system than insects, utilizing organs called "Book lungs" to draw oxygen. However, given the sheer size and ferocity of Azerothian invertebrates, I think it is safe to say there is also magic involved.

Rekk'tilac is nothing special, but even the mediocre rarespawns have a place in my blog.

Until next time;
~Dragonshade