Blackwing Lair isn't just the top floor of Azeroth's most infamous mountain. It's the home of the fearsome dragon, Nefarian. It's also one of the most difficult raids in Classic World of Warcraft, requiring specific party composition, flawless mechanics, and a myriad of consumables and special items just to survive, never mind succeed.
In case the guild hasn't posted them in Discord already, it's handy to have a list of everything you need. Certain items may be more essential than others depending on your class. Some are obvious while others may be a surprise.
10 Scaled Cloak of Onyxia
It only takes twenty minutes to do, but it's still a raid. For some reason, Onxyia's Lair is a simple cave as opposed to her brother's lavish multi-room penthouse, so there's very little to clear before you reach her. Kill the fearsome beast a few times, and she yields the materials needed to make a cloak out of her scales. Not only does it give the player a healthy +16 fire resistance, but imagine how Nefarian feels when you walk into his house wearing his sister's skin.
9 Greater Fire Protection Potions
You're fighting dragons, so this is a no-brainer, but the spellcasters here use a lot of fire damage, too. This is more helpful with some bosses than others, and Nefarian himself has a number of abilities in addition to fire damage. The second boss, Vealestraz, deals fire damage almost exclusively. Blackwing Lair isn't on the same level as Molten Core, which is almost exclusively fire-based damage with little or nothing else. Players need other consumables for a variety of elements and different schools of magic if they can expect to defeat Nefarian.
8 Rum
No joke, don't forget the rum. Not just any rum, however. There are a few different types in the game and not all of them give a +15 stamina buff. Specifically, players want to imbibe Rumsey Rum Black Label and Rumsey Rum Light. Rumsey Rum Dark is an option but it only grants +10 to stamina. It also gets your 'toon drunk, so no worries about that part.
How does a player acquire this essential item? Obviously, they fish it up from various coastlines throughout Azeroth. Raiders have to farm for regents like Stonescale Eels anyway, so save the mugs of rum for the raid.
7 Restorative Potions
This humble mid-level potion doesn't look like much when you get it in the Badlands, but it's indispensable in Blackwing Lair. The boss Chromaggus uses a variety of debuffs that include disease, magic, curses, and poison, all of which the Restorative Potion wipes away. Not only that, but it protects the imbiber from similar effects for the next 30 seconds. That's pretty overpowered for a level 40 recipe.
6 Buff Foods
Which ones specifically will depend on your class and spec, but certain buffs are helpful to everyone, like Stamina and Spirit. Everyone who raids should also have a maxed-out Cooking skill, which means you can make the high-level recipes like Nightfin Soup for casters and Grilled Squid for melee fighters. Max out both Cooking and Fishing and be the raider that brings Darkclaw Lobster to the raid.
5 Tier 2 BiS Gear
Normal player progression usually consists of higher-level dungeons like Blackrock Depths, Stratholme, Dire Maul, or Blackrock Spire. The gear needed for the Tier 2 raiding sets drop in these dungeons and a 'toon can't proceed into these raids without them.
The list of Best-in-Slot items that drop in these dungeons gets longer every time Blizzard releases another patch. Some high-level items are available now that weren't even in the game a few months ago. Get them and live to see Nefarian die.
4 Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker
To be precise, a character doesn't need to wield this weapon themselves, but the player tanking the raid better have it. This famous epic weapon only became available in recent patches, and although only one member of the guild wields it, getting it is a team effort. It's not just the materials that need to be collected but also the special items that drop in Molten Core, namely two Bindings of the Windseeker and the Essence of the Firelord. Be prepared to run MC a few times to see those rare items drop.
3 Magic Resistance Potions
Up until Blackwing Lair, fire protection was almost all that a player required. The fights here, however, include Mages in addition to dragons and related scaley monsters. In the vanilla fight, it was all about combating undead minions and shadow magic. In the Classic version, some things have been changed. The focus is on shielding layers from other schools of magic. Alchemists can make these potions if they've acquired the recipe, but players can also get the potions as part of a Cenarion Circle Cache.
2 Health and Mana Pots
Healers have to prioritize, after all. One of the most obvious ways to stay alive without the help of a healer is to use potions. A player can only take so many in a limited amount of time, and they have to learn to be strategic when it comes to their consumables.
Health and mana potions come in a variety of forms, not just the basic Major Healing Potion or Major Mana Potion. The Wildvine Potion is another option, restoring both health and mana but at an unpredictable rate.
1 Resurrection Reagents
These are not only to bring a player back from the dead but also all of their friends. This can make or break a raid, as it's a lot easier to regroup and try again after a wipe if you can skip the long run back to the dungeon. Ankhs, maple seeds, and soul shards are noted examples.
Ankhs are used for the Shaman spell Reincarnation, maple seeds are essential for casting the Druid spell rebirth, and Warlocks need soul shards as a regent for the soul stone, a spell which allows a player to return to life after death.