'Holy s**t, that was intense' - Twitch streamer Xaryu showcasing skills in WoW Classic Hardcore duel to death leaves fans impressed

Twitch streamer Josh “Xaryu,” a member of the popular WoW Classic Hardcore guild OnlyFangs, took part in an interesting duel to the death in his most recent stream. Known as Mak’gora in lore and the game, players who take part in such a duel know that defeat means their character’s hardcore run is over.

What impressed fans the most was that in this situation, nine out of 10 times, the streamer should have lost this fight. However, the Twitch streamer came out on top, defeating the Mage, known as Knowfeer, on the WoW Classic Hardcore servers.

Everything about the duel said that Xaryu should have been bested, but he won, and it left players both impressed with the streamer and baffled by the Mage player. As one player succinctly put it:

"Holy s**t that was intense."

Fans were stunned by the streamer's victory (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

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Twitch streamer Xaryu wins an intense duel to the death in WoW Classic Hardcore

(Clip begins at 2:47:35)

Xaryu, a content creator for Team SoloMid, has been grinding up a Warrior, “Xarbarian” as a member of the OnlyFangs guild, run by Sodapoppin. As this is taking place on the WoW Classic Hardcore servers, death means the end of that character permanently. However, at level 57—so close to the level cap—the content creator challenged a Mage in the Andorhol zone to Mak’gora.

By all accounts, Xaryu should have lost this duel. As a Warrior, he doesn’t have enough tools to keep up with a Mage who knows their class inside and out. In this case, it was a Frost Mage who could comfortably crowd-control the Twitch streamer for the entire duel. That’s how it should have gone down, at any rate.

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

The battle was mostly back and forth, but there were critical mistakes, such as the Mage allowing the WoW Classic Hardcore content creator to heal up via bandages. Anytime the Mage got too far away, Xaryu would charge right to them.

Despite having access to Blink, Frost Nova, Frostbolt, and other spells, the Human Mage couldn’t keep Xarbarian away from them in this duel. He wasn’t hitting hard, but he was chipping away at the Mage’s health pool, slowly but surely. As the Mage Frost Novaed and Blinked away, a realization came upon the streamer:

“Oh my God. I’m gonna die.”

Another charge was met by an Ice Block, to nullify all incoming damage to the Mage, though it may have been premature. At this point, while his melee strikes continued to hit, the Twitch streamer spammed the “Execute” button.

This ability attempts to finish off a target and is only usable when they have 20% or less health. Dealing 1,497 damage, it destroyed the Mage, ending their run on WoW Classic Hardcore. Realizing he had just permanently defeated someone on the server, he yelled:

“Oh my God, why did I do that man? I did it! I beat a Mage!”

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

There was a wide assortment of reactions to the clip on the LiveStreamFails subReddit. Some remarked on this being the fourth Mak’gora that the Twitch streamer was shocked someone accepted, while others congratulated him on his hard-fought victory.

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

Comment byu/Ur3rdIMcFly from discussion inLivestreamFail

Some netizens found they were rooting for the Mage, while others critiqued the gameplay. All the Frost Mage had to do was use Level 1 Frost Bolt and the built-in crowd-control abilities to keep the Warrior out of range; unfortunately, things didn’t go that way, and one of the best classes in WoW Classic Hardcore was defeated.

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For now, at least, Xarbarian’s run continues on WoW Classic Hardcore. If the Twitch streamer continues to challenge other players to Mak’gora, there’s no telling if he will ultimately be defeated. His audience cannot wait to see how it all turns out, though.