Paragon, the famed Finnish mega-guild responsible for multiple world-first World of Warcraft boss kills, is dropping out of the raid game entirely. It’s the end of an era.

You might be tempted to chalk this one up as a sign of the times, of WoW’s waning appeal. Guild leader Seita, though, said the decision came on the heels of logistical issues and a long, exhausting legacy:

We have decided to stop raiding which obviously means we will not be a part of the world first race in Legion. In the end it came between going international, playing with suboptimal Finnish roster or quitting. For a while I was seriously considering going the international route, but in the end decided it was not worth the trouble for me. This question has been looming over our heads for a long time as it has always been a challenge to get a solid Finnish 20-25man roster together and this time there was no 10man option to bail us out.”

“Going forward I have no idea if we will be playing WoW in any capacity in the future, we will have to see what is the situation when Legion launches. In the meantime you might see some of us in the fields of Overwatch.”

“I would like to thank everyone who played in progress raids with us and made this all possible.”

Paragon treated new WoW bosses like dominoes, lining them up and knocking them down with calculated fury. They saw their best successes during the Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria cycles, where they picked up multiple world firsts including heroic mode Garrosh Hellscream.

They go as far back as Wrath of the Lich King, and most recently they helped lead the charge on Warlords of Draenor, picking up a world first on mythicImperator Mar’gok in Highmaul. They were also second on mythicBlackhand and Archimonde, shortly behind rival raiding elites Method, who recently split into multiple guilds after troubles of their own.

 

Paragon’s accomplishments reverberated through World of Warcraft at large, with other guilds picking up both specific boss strategies and entire guild strategies and techniques from them. It’s not a stretch to say that they were partially responsible for the way the game evolved, at least in the upper echelons of raiding.

They’ve got a lot to be proud of. I wish them the best.