Molten Core is the first 40-player raid and where most guilds start. This is what you need before you go, and what to watch for on each boss.
Attunement
You need the quest “Attunement to the Core”. You pick it up deep inside Blackrock Depths, at the Molten Bridge near the Lyceum, by clicking the orb there. Once you have done it, you can use the orb just inside the Molten Core entrance to teleport down. Get attuned on a Blackrock Depths run before raid night so you are not the one holding the group up.
What to bring
- Fire Resistance gear matters on some fights, not all. Tanks need a Fire Resistance set first, then a few others build one over time. You do not need a full raid in FR gear.
- Plenty of Greater Fire Protection Potions, Free Action Potions for the knockback fights, and your own food and flasks.
- A decurse plan. Mages, Priests, Paladins, and Druids should know which curses and magic to remove and when.
Boss notes
- Lucifron: two adds, and a curse that weakens your healers’ output. Decurse fast or the raid runs dry on mana.
- Magmadar: a fear and a frenzy. Tranquilizing Shot the frenzy, and a Fear Ward or careful positioning keeps melee from running into the room.
- Gehennas, Shazzrah, Sulfuron: trash-heavy approaches and adds. Curse removal and add control, not raw damage.
- Garr: many adds that explode. Tank them apart, kill carefully, do not cleave them all into the raid.
- Baron Geddon: a player becomes a living bomb and must run out before it goes off. Everyone watches their own debuff.
- Golemagg: two dogs that stay alive until the boss is low. Two off-tanks hold them far apart for the whole fight.
- Majordomo: a council fight, you kill adds in order and force the boss to yield. No killing the boss himself.
- Ragnaros: the final boss. A long fight with a knockback and a submerge phase that spawns adds. Positioning and Fire Resistance on the tank carry it.
First-clear advice
Clear at your own pace and expect to spend a couple of nights learning it. A calm raid that resets and tries again beats a fast one that falls apart at Ragnaros. Loot rules sorted before you pull saves a lot of arguments after.