Exorsus: An Exalted Raiding History Comes to an End
In some sad news we have a retirement of sorts in the Race to World First, as venerable top guild, as well as Russian No.1 for a long time now, Exorsus has announced that they will be reducing their raiding times in the upcoming Sanctum of Domination race. In the same way that many top guilds in the past stopped going for the Race to World First at full speed, Exorsus will be stepping down from the hardcore progress schedule and will only be raiding 2 days a week come Sanctum of Domination. Here's the GM Alveona (who we talked to about the guild's faction swap just before Shadowlands as well) to fill out the details:
After a recent discussion held within the guild, we decided to switch to an evening raiding format with two raid days a week. Many may be surprised by such a decision. As an RL and GM of the Exorsus guild for 12 years, this guild has long ceased to be just a raiding place; it has become a part of my lifestyle, and after weighing everything well, I concluded that this is the only way.
We are one of the oldest guilds in the World of Warcraft hardcore scene, and we also have probably the most stable roster. Even during the Castle Nathia progression, 12 out of 20 people who took part in our World First played with the guild for almost five years (for lovers of nostalgia - our beautiful videos from the Legion add-on - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiOEz5YWHO4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5BTdavXUSc, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt-MPGPn970). In some cases, we have been together with some raiders for over ten years. During this time, the guild turned into a great community; we often met in real life, many became close friends or colleagues.
However, during this time, many of us have developed many other pursuits, commitments, and hobbies. And World of Warcraft itself, unfortunately, has not shown any attempts to evolve over the past few years, and it becomes challenging to devote time to a game if there is nothing attractive, except for raids. In this regard, such a solution looked optimal for us - this way, we can continue to enjoy the raiding and keep our roster. Of course, some of our players will continue hardcore raiding, and I will gladly recommend them to the best guilds in the world. However, some of the old players who stopped playing with us some time ago due to the inability to dedicate such serious raid time will rejoin us again!
This is why we do not say goodbye. We will continue to play together, stream our progression, and partner with sponsors who have helped us over the past years. See you on the broadcasts of our raiders and members of the Exorsus community!
https://www.twitch.tv/team/exorsus
Alveona, GM & RL of Exorsus
As mentioned above, Exorsus is a venerable guild and has a long and storied history, so we're going to dive into it a little here to honor them. They've been at the very top of World First races since Cataclysm and started their competitive raiding back in Ulduar with a top 50 placement. From there it was a constant rise as they upped their game with each new raid that came along, just missing out on the top 10 on Heroic Ragnaros in the Firelands by 1 spot. The next two raids, however, were huge jumps for the already top-talent team, as they went from World 6th on Madness of Deathwing to 4th in the Terrace of Endless Spring in Tier 14.
Third place seemed to be Exorsus' sweet spot for the next several raids, as bronze became their new favorite color/metal, but the Russian guild never stopped pushing upwards. It took another 6 raids and two expansions, but the next big step up from bronze was a damn big one, as Exorsus managed to claim their first win and gold medal at the very start of Legion, with their extremely fast Xavius and Emerald Nightmare clear which only took about 18 hours!
Considering the Emerald Nightmare was such a short raid many assume the win was a fluke, as Method had been dominating the field for a very long time at that point. But Nighthold was absolutely not a short one, and is still considered one of the better raids in WoW history, so when Exorsus took back their champion status after Method's Trial of Valor win (which was also a short one) and took down Gul'dan World First as well, they cemented themselves as one of the great guilds of WoW history.
The guild remained locked in a long contest with Method for the very top spot, coming in 2nd for for rest of Legion (Tomb of Sargeras and Antorus), but started dropping a little as Battle for Azeroth came. Returning to their final bronze in Uldir, they remained in the top 10 for almost all of BfA and claimed the World 8th in Castle Nathria just a few months ago as well, in addition to hosting their own Russian-language Race to World First coverage event!
And so it's sad to see another top guild (basically) retire from the World First race, but luckily Exorsus aren't quite completely gone yet, as you never know when that spark might return and they throw their hats into the ring once more! Hopefully we'll see more from them in the future, but even if we don't, it's been a real pleasure watching your videos and following you amazing journey Exorsus! Thanks for everything!
