"Back to back to back" - Social media reacts as Echo secures World First in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight's Vault of the Incarnates Mythic raid

With every new raid in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, guilds race to beat the hardest version first, with Echo claiming victory recently for the third time in a row. At 11:45 am CT, Echo won the Vault of the Incarnates Race to World First, after 265 pulls of the final boss, Raszageth.

However, this victory was not without controversy. There were quite a few fans that were upset, considering what went down around the time of Echo’s victory. The guild can claim their World First title again, as the first raid of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight concludes.

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Echo has claimed World First in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight’s ‘Vault of the Incarnates’ race

With the race to World First finally concluded, Echo has secured the title on December 23, 2022. Liquid and Echo, two of the top World of Warcraft: Dragonflight guilds in the world have been competing non-stop to see who could complete Vault of the Incarnates on Mythic difficulty first.

Interestingly, it's a victory that is, according to some, mired in controversy. About 20 minutes before the final pull that secured their victory, a hotfix was pushed out that weakened Raszageth, with Liquid not around to compete at the same time.

The hotfix nerfed Raging Storm, Raszageth’s “Enrage,” an ability that slowly closes in around the room. During the time of the last pulls, it was noted by some that the radius shrank slower, making it more workable to clear.

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At the time of the hotfix, Echo was already hip-deep in attempts to finish the raid, and Liquid was not around. Whether they were actually asleep, or simply not at their PCs, the fact remains that Echo won the World of Warcraft: Dragonflight race to World First.

Echo also won the last two races of Shadowlands, and wound up winning this one as well. Fans were excited to see the guild secure the boss kill with their entire raid alive. Nevertheless, there were quite a few people discussing the victory on social media, and some weren’t too happy about it.

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Why did the World First winner receive backlash?

While the guild’s supporters were glad to see success, there were people that were furious about how this race went down. However, the vast majority of the complaints were leveled at Blizzard. Nerfing the raid as it was occurring was considered an insult. One Redditor, in particular, felt like Blizzard was purposefully dragging the race out, to make the raid seem more difficult than it was.

Some disagreed, stating that it would be less enjoyable to watch if guilds just stomped their way through the fights. Several Redditors disagreed, suggesting that Blizzard could have balanced the game before the raid launched instead.

A few others were convinced that this nerf wasn’t done to aid any guild in particular, but to allow them to spend time with their loved ones for the holidays, which was taken as a gracious gesture from the World of Warcraft: Dragonflight developers.

The discussion of this World of Warcraft: Dragonflight encounter had quite a few different opinions on social media. Some figured that a global release would have helped, allowing guilds to tackle the content at their own pace instead of adhering to another time zone’s timetable. Redditors also thought that this nerf was pretty unfair since Liquid did not have time to react to it in the same way that Echo did.

Some World of Warcraft: Dragonflight viewers feel that a global release timer might help sort these things in the future (Image via LiveStreamFails/Reddit)

Unfortunately, there are many who feel Liquid was slighted by Blizzard’s timing for the World of Warcraft: Dragonflight nerf, but these feelings are not universal. A similar number of fans are delighted to see Echo claim victory.

While it was unfortunate to see Liquid was not as prepared to take the title of World First in Vault of the Incarnates, the situation will hopefully change for the next raid launch.