This time, however, nobody got to watch them do it.
Method defeated Mythic Sszorak for the World First kill after deliberately switching off its raid streams and hiding public access to the group's composition.
In Race to World First language, Method went dark.
Then Sszorak died.
For an event that has increasingly become as much a live broadcast as a raid race, that makes this particular kill unusually interesting.
Method Turned Off the Cameras Before the Kill
When Method reached serious progression on Sszorak, the guild stopped publicly streaming its attempts.
Its raid composition was also hidden, meaning rival guilds could no longer watch the pulls, study positioning or immediately copy any strategy Method developed.
According to the World First Sszorak report, there was therefore no public kill VOD or confirmed composition available immediately after the boss died.
That was entirely the point.
Race to World First guilds share an extraordinary amount of information simply by streaming progression.
Every wipe teaches the guild pulling the boss.
It also teaches everyone watching.
Sometimes the most useful raid cooldown is apparently the OFF button.
Going Dark Is Actually Rare Now
There was a time when top-end progression was mostly hidden.
Guilds protected tactics, logs and compositions because giving rivals information could cost a World First.
The modern Race to World First is different.
Liquid, Echo and Method now broadcast huge portions of progression to thousands of viewers, complete with commentators, analysts and live coverage.
That makes Method's decision notable.
The previous World First boss reportedly killed completely off-stream was Mythic Council of Blood, defeated by Liquid during Castle Nathria.
That was several expansions ago.
Method temporarily brought an old-school raid tradition back:
you can see the achievement.
You just cannot see how they got it.
It Is Method’s Second World First of the Raid
Sszorak also continues what has already become a much better raid for Method.
Earlier in The Venomous Abyss, Method secured the World First Mythic Vashnik kill after only 11 pulls.
That result was particularly significant because it ended a roughly seven-year wait for another Method World First boss kill.
Then they immediately took another one.
Vashnik showed Method could solve an encounter quickly.
Sszorak showed they were prepared to protect that solution when they thought secrecy mattered.
The Race Has Become a Game of Information
This is one of the stranger consequences of modern Race to World First.
The guilds are competing in World of Warcraft, but they are also constantly deciding how much information they are willing to give their opponents.
Streaming creates enormous benefits.
It gives sponsors exposure, brings viewers into the event and has transformed high-end raiding into something people can follow almost like an esport.
But it also means a competing guild can watch your pulls.
They can see what failed.
They can see what worked.
And, crucially, they do not have to spend their own pulls discovering everything themselves.
Method decided Sszorak was worth closing the curtains for.
This Does Not Mean Method Has Already Won the Race
There is an important distinction between taking individual World First bosses and winning the entire raid.
The Race to World First is ultimately decided by Ula'tek.
Since Method's Sszorak kill, the race has continued moving, with Echo claiming the World First on Mythic Twin Fangs.
Liquid, Echo and Method are also operating around different reset schedules and enormous gearing plans, something we already saw when Liquid spent days on splits before seriously entering Mythic progression.
So Sszorak does not crown a winner.
But two World First bosses in the same raid absolutely make Method harder to dismiss.
Method Got the Kill — Everyone Else Gets the Mystery
Normally, a World First kill immediately gives the rest of the raiding community footage to study.
This one gave them a dead boss and several unanswered questions.
What composition did Method use?
What positioning solved the encounter?
What exactly convinced them that Sszorak was worth hiding?
Those answers will eventually become less important as more guilds kill the boss and strategies spread.
But for a brief moment, Method had something increasingly rare in modern World of Warcraft raiding.
A secret.
They turned off the cameras.
They killed Sszorak.
And everybody else had to figure out the rest for themselves.
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