In the center of a vast lake of fire stands Sulfuron Keep, the home of Ragnaros the Firelord. Until comparatively recently, he ruled his underground land with an iron fist. Three hundred years ago, he was summoned to fight in the dwarven civil war known as the War of the Three Hammers. This reckless act sundered the Redridge Mountains and created Blackrock Spire. Now, in a greatly weakened state, he lies at the bottom of that volcano on Azeroth, striving to find a way home. Meanwhile, in Sulfuron Keep and elsewhere across the Firelands, his elemental princes battle constantly for dominance.

The Firelands occupy the theoretical bottom of the “sphere” of the Elemental Plane. Just as the Skywall sits atop the plane, in a sort of bowl shape, the Firelands sit in the bottom of a similar curve. The “ground” underneath the surface is a sticky, bubbling mess of tar, ooze and rock fallen from Deepholm, which of course serves as the “sky.” In some places, lakes of flammable oil and combustibles form, burning constantly and filling the air with superheated smoke. Organic and semi-organic material from Deepholm, and even the waters of the Abyssal Maw higher above, constantly filters down to provide new fuel for the endless flames. In places where the Fire Princes do battle with Therazane, huge volcanoes rise, spewing lava into the Firelands and upwards as well, sometimes reaching the floor of the Abyssal Maw or even the upper surface of Deepholm, where they blow noxious fumes into Al’Akir’s realm.

The Firelands will be a new outdoor raid instance in the upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

The Crucible of Flame, Firelands Forgeworks and Firelands Hatchery are part of the Firelands, which are only accessible through Flamegates located within Mount Hyjal.

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When a creature is slain by Sulfuras, its body is consumed by intense flame and effectively disintegrated, leaving behind only a pile of ash. The heat and pressure of this effect solidifies the ash into a hard, dark, crystal. This crystal is known as an eye of Sulfuras and is used by Ragnaros’ followers in ancient rituals or to craft special weapons such as sulfuron hammers.

Source

This weapon is not dropped, but rather may be forged by anyone who has obtained both the [Sulfuron Hammer] and [Eye of Sulfuras]. A skilled (300) blacksmith is required to make the hammer, and the Eye is only, and rarely (about a 3% rate), dropped by Ragnaros himself. The plans for the Sulfuron Hammer are obtained by turning in a [Sulfuron Ingot] to Lokhtos Darkbargainer in the Grim Guzzler in Blackrock Depths. There is no reputation requirement to receive the plans.

Background

Sulfuras is the mighty weapon of Ragnaros the Firelord. The weapon never leaves his grasp. It is composed of flaming red elementium and etched from end to end with intricate runes that seem to move like flowing lava across the weapons surface. Sulfuras is covered with many vicious pikes of varying sizes, each white hot and surrounded by the distortion of shimmering heat.

When a creature is slain by Sulfuras, its body is consumed by intense flame and effectively disintegrated, leaving behind only a pile of ash. The heat and pressure of this effect solidifies the ash into a hard, dark, crystal. This crystal is known as an eye of Sulfuras and is used by Ragnaros’ followers in ancient rituals or to craft special weapons such as sulfuron hammers.

Sulfuron Hammers

Sulfuras is incredibly massive. Far too massive, in fact, for most mortals to even dream of wielding, even if they could somehow defeat the elemental Firelord. However, fanatical followers of Ragnaros found a way to craft hammers in its image. Each requires an eye of Sulfuras, and these lesser weapons are known as sulfuron hammers. A sulfuron hammer appears to be a smaller version of Sulfuras. It is a spiked, flaming red warhammer. The hammer is crafted entirely from elementium, with an eye of Sulfuras embedded deep in the hammer’s head.

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Background

The Firelord and his brethren once held sway over the entire world. As a servant of the Old Gods, he fought against the Titans for domination over the planet. The victorious Titans banished him and his brethren to the Elemental Plane — there to remain imprisoned until the end of time. It was then and there that the brothers turned on each other. For five millennia a battle was fought at the core of this world. It was during the Elemental Sundering that Ragnaros attacked Thunderaan, Prince of Air. Thunderaan was utterly defeated and the Firelord feasted upon his essence, but was unable to consume him entirely. Ragnaros divided what remained between his servants, Baron Geddon and Garr.

In the center of a vast lake of fire in the Elemental Plane stands Sulfuron Keep, the home of Ragnaros. Until comparatively recently, he ruled his underground land with a molten iron fist.

Around three hundred years ago the ambitious and ruthless Dark Iron clan initiated a war against their dwarven brethren, the Bronzebeard clan and Wildhammer clan, thinking that they were about to unite against the Dark Irons. During this War of the Three Hammers, the Dark Iron dwarf leader named Thaurissan lay siege to the Wildhammers’ capital city of Grim Batol and destroyed it. Due to this victory, the Wildhammers and Bronzebeards did decide to unite against the Dark Irons and were ultimately able to push them back to the city of Thaurissan, the Dark Iron Dwarven home. Thaurissan, seeking to summon a supernatural minion that would turn the tide of the war back to his favor, called upon the ancient powers sleeping beneath the world. To Thaurissan’s surprise, and ultimately his doom, the creature that emerged was more terrible than any nightmare he could have imagined.

Now, freed by Thaurissan’s call, Ragnaros erupted into being once again. Ragnaros’ apocalyptic rebirth into Azeroth shattered the Redridge Mountains and created a raging volcano at the center of the devastation. The volcano, known as Blackrock Mountain, was bordered by what is now known as the Searing Gorge, to the north, and the Burning Steppes, to the south. Though Thaurissan was killed by the forces he had unleashed, his surviving Dark Iron clan brethren were ultimately enslaved by Ragnaros and his elementals. Many Dark Iron dwarves remain within the lower areas of the mountain, especially Blackrock Depths, toiling away at the behest of Ragnaros and the Firelord’s lieutenants. They worship Ragnaros, considering him not only a Elemental Lord but also an Old God, although he is only affiliated with the Old Gods. The Bronzebeards and Wildhammers, however, remain free.

Witnessing the horrific devastation and the fires spreading across the southern mountains, the Bronzebeards’ King Madoran and Wildhammers’ King Khardros halted their armies and hastily turned back towards their kingdoms, unwilling to face the awesome wrath of Ragnaros. Now he lies at the bottom of that volcano on Azeroth, striving to find a way home, as well as to gather his strength once again so he can burn away Azeroth and take it for his own. Meanwhile, in Sulfuron Keep and elsewhere across the Firelands, his elemental princes battle constantly for dominance. He and his dwarven minions took control of the Blackrock mountain’s volcanic depths and made war on the orcs in the Upper Blackrock Spire, which served as the seat of power for Nefarian the black dragon. Ragnaros has uncovered the secret to creating life from stone and plans to build an army of unstoppable golems to aid him in conquering the whole of Blackrock Mountain.

Abilities

Ragnaros has several abilities that he uses in the fight, sometimes accompanied by yelling. They are as follows:

Wrath of Ragnaros – Melee Knockback

25s cooldown. “Taste the Flames of Sulfuron!” .When this ability is used characters in melee range are sent flying, much like Garr’s guardians when they die. This also reduces threat of the targets it does hit. It is common to be thrown very far and end up either in the lava or in the back row. It is resistible and on a predictable 25 second timer. Melee DPS should back out of melee range and only resume attacks once they are sure the MT or OT has aggro. Most melee deaths occur by melees engaging too fast — after the MT fails a resist and gets knocked back but before the OT engages. Because of Ragnaros’s size, melee DPS can not see the MT and OT and must use the “target of target” feature of the UI which can be found in the interface options or a “target of target” mod.

Hammer of Ragnaros – Ranged Knockback and Damage

20–30s cooldown. “By fire be purged!” This attack targets a random player with a mana bar and knocks back all players (excluding the target) within ~20 yards. They are knocked back from the impact point which is at the foot of the target.

Lava Splash – Localized Damage

At various times a lava splash will be triggered which cause large damage to all those hit. It will affect anyone within close proximity to a lava flow. With decent fire resist (150+) it should be partially resisted most of the time. It can be partially resisted with the standard mechanic; every 100FR equals about 25% damage reduction.

Elemental Fire – Damage Debuff

This is a debuff that Ragnaros puts on whoever has aggro. 4800 damage over 8 seconds.

Magma Blast – Massive Ranged Damage

If no one is engaged in melee with Ragnaros he will throw a ranged attack for 4000–6000 damage which will kill most non-tank players in 1 hit and quickly wipe the raid. It’s advisable to have a MT stand by at the end of Phase 2 to pick him up immediately upon resurfacing.

Melt Weapon – Melee Durability Damage

Often Ragnaros damages melee weapons that strike him. This takes 1 point off a weapon’s durability per attempt. To counter this, bring spare weapons and ensure the raid has a repair-bot for between every few attempts.

Summon Sons of Flame

After 3 minutes of combat Ragnaros will summon 8 Sons of Flame and submerge (he will still be visible though; this might be a bug). After 90 seconds or once they are defeated (whichever happens first) Ragnaros will reappear. This process continues after a further 3 minutes until either your group or Ragnaros is dead. Be aware that Ragnaros considers Banished sons as defeated and can resurface prematurely. See below for a detailed Sons of Flame strategy in Phase 2.

Preparation

• All other Molten Core bosses must be defeated before Ragnaros can be summoned.
• The whole raid needs to know where the exits from the lava are, because everybody has a good chance to take an involuntary lava bath.
• Fire resistance is the key to surviving his attacks.
• Your MT should have at least 300 (315 is recommended with buffs) fire resistance.
• No member should exceed 315 resistance buffed as it is the maximum effective level of resistance. (See:Formulas:Magical resistance) This is a DPS fight, you will need as much DPS gear as you can wear while maintaining a healthy, but not excessive level of resistance.
• Any melee classes should have at least 200.
• Any other class should have at the very least 100 (unbuffed), or they won’t be around very long. In each case, more fire resistance is better.
• Everyone in the raid should use anywhere from 1-3 fire protection potions during the fight to stay alive. Preferred a few seconds before the sons of flame spawn.
• All ranged DPS (Mages, Hunters, Warlocks) should keep in mind that it is impossible for them to pull aggro from the MT. Ragnaros will always attack players who are in melee range first, regardless of their position on his hatelist (so don’t hold back on DPS).
• From the time you get Domo to summon Ragnaros you have 2 hours to defeat him, after which he submerges. Majordomo Executus will respawn within 2 to 3 hours.
• HINT: Head your raid (up to 10 players at time) to LBRS and Mind Control one or more Scarshield Spellbinders (you can find them just at the entrance under the bridge), at this point provide all players with his +81 Fire resistance buff. The buff lasts 60 Minutes, and is on a 30 second cooldown. This trick was initially thought to be a bannable offense, but it is actually perfectly legal and ok to use.

Strategy overview

This fight alternates between two stages – in the first, Ragnaros is up and everybody concentrates on DPSing him, in the second Ragnaros is immune to DPS, and the raid has to deal with his sons instead. Ragnaros is always up for 3 minutes (stage 1), then submerges for 90 seconds. This alternates until either the raid is wiped or Ragnaros is dead.

The basic idea is to get him down to 30%-40% before the first wave of sons, to be able to kill him before the second. If your warriors and warlocks are up to the task, it is possible to get him down between the second and third wave of sons, but there’s not much point in holding back DPS as no tradeoff between survivability and doing damage is possible.

Phase 1

• Have your MTs run in and attack, and have all your melee and ranged DPS assist. You have 3 minutes before he submerges.
• Ranged DPS should immediately burn trinkets and cooldowns to maximize damage. So long as anyone is within melee range of Ragnaros, ranged will never pull aggro, thus dish out as much as possible.
• Ragnaros will shoot random explosions that knock people into the air (often into the lava) and do a lot of damage. Players knocked away must return to their designated areas so they can be in range of the healers, as they will be very busy.
• Ragnaros also has an AoE knockback ability that he does every 25 seconds. All melee types except the MT should back out before this happens and then re-engage immediately afterwards.

20 seconds before Ragnaros submerges and spawns Sons of Flame, the whole raid (exc. the MT who keeps tanking until the submerge) should collapse to the southern lip of the outer ring, as to be ready to handle the sons when they spawn. Mages should already be positioned at the collapse point. Mana users should be at the very edge of the ring, as to avoid the Son’s massive mana burn aura. Tanks and Rogues should form a wall in front of the casters.

Phase 2

• Ragnaros submerges and 8 “Sons of Flame” come out. They do purely fire-based damage and have an AoE mana burn, so you need to keep them away from your mana-users.The sons spawn from around the spiral that Ragnaros is along the west, north and east side, and then rush south to meet the raid. The sons damage is entirely fire based, so with decent fire resistance you will take very little damage from them.
• Control them with warriors, mage frost novas, mage blizzard, perhaps bear tanks, hunter freezing traps and kill them all (there is not much time for banish, but some guilds choose to banish a few). The Sons should be tanked and banished while they are brought down one after the other. It is important to always have at least one that is not banished, as sometimes when all the remaining sons are banished (or otherwise incapacitated) Ragnaros will re-appear. If this happens you are very likely looking at a wipe. Also you must deal with the Sons quickly as Ragnaros will surface after 1 1/2 minutes whether they are dead or not. To accomplish this everyone MUST be assisting one person that is picking targets. If attacks are spread out they will take too long to kill. With all DPS on one Son you should be aiming to drop one every 10 seconds or less.
• Ragnaros will come back after 90 seconds or when all sons are dead, whichever happens first. When you are nearing the 90 second point in the fight it is critical that you send the main tank, secondary tank and their healers back to engage Ragnaros when he re-enters combat. If the tank is not there Ragnaros will start throwing Magma blasts. Once the rest of the group has killed any remaining sons they should re-enter combat with Ragnaros.

Phase 3

• Same as phase one. You have 3 more minutes before he submerges again for another minute-and-a-half session with the Sons of Flame.
• Generally, you want to kill him before the Sons spawn again or else you will probably die. If you don’t get him to at least 40% HP before the end of Stage 1, then you probably won’t accomplish this goal.

Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros

Ragnaros approximately has a 3% to drop the legendary [Eye of Sulfuras]. The Eye of Sulfuras, when combined with a [Sulfuron Hammer], creates the legendary hammer, [Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros]. In order to learn how to the craft the Sulfuron Hammer, you must turn in one Sulfuron Ingot to the Thorium Brotherhood member Lokhtos Darkbargainer located in the Blackrock Depths. The Sulfuron Hammer can only be crafted using the Black Anvil. The Sulfuron Hammer takes the following materials to craft.

• Sulfuron Ingot x8
• Fiery Core x10
• Lava Core x10
• Essence of Fire x25
• Blood of the Mountain x10
• Dark Iron Bar x10
• Arcanite Bar x50

Thunderfury

• [Essence of the Firelord] – a 100% drop, assuming one has the quest

To get the quest you need :

• both Left and Right [Bindings of the Windseeker]

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Most Worgen keep their wolf-like forms at all times, but experiments by the mage Arugal have resulted in human/worgen hybrids who only appear as Worgen under the light of the moon. They carry with them a dark, corrupting malaise that grows wherever they infest, making the surrounding area dark and gloomy.

Description

Resembling a cross between a human and a dire wolf, the hunched-over creature is roughly humanoid. Its body is covered in coarse, grayish-black fur with twitching claws and snarling teeth. The creature’s eyes are mottled yellow in colour, unblinking and devoid of any discernible emotion other than hunger.

Cursed beings from another dimension, Worgen only appeared in Azeroth as the result of magical mishaps. True aberrations, they are accidentally drawn through temporary rift tunnels and deposited in this world with no apparent way of returning. Absolutely nothing is known about the Worgen’s home realm, or even precisely how to spawn the rift tunnels through which they come.

Worgen are usually encountered in small packs near sites of recent intense magical activity. A pack may contain four to twelve individuals. A Worgen tribe may contain between twenty and two hundred individuals. Fiercely territorial creatures, they rarely stray from the general vicinity of the place in which they first appeared. Fearless beasts, they brazenly prowl near both villages and monster lairs. Although Worgen display an apparent fondness for nighttime and its darkness, they can perform equally well in the daytime.

Pure savage beasts, Worgen tend to attack any creatures that they encounter, regardless of whether their unfortunate prey is animal, humanoid, undead, or something even more fearsome. Strangely, however, Worgen refuse to feed on the remains of their victims, preferring to shred and tear the corpses and then to return immediately to prowling. Rumors suggest that worgen somehow receive sustenance continually from their native dimension… as well as guidance from a distant force.

Combat

Worgen prefer to hide in shadows before leaping great distances upon their foes. They attack with feral tenacity, slashing with their deadly claws and biting with sharp, infectious fangs. Worgen are nearly fearless and typically fight to the death, relying on their regeneration to save them.

The saliva of a worgen carries a dangerous infection that can prove deadly against those who are bitten.

History

The worgen hail from a dark and treacherous world, from which there is no corner which is truly safe. There, the worgen battle their unflinching enemy in a vicious war; the Lords of the Emerald Flame. Ur, a mage of Dalaran, did research on worgen but never summoned them. Frustrated by the destruction of Dalaran by the Scourge and against the advice of his peers, Archmage Arugal elected to summon an army of the extra-dimensional entities by using Ur’s research. The summoned worgen fought against the undead armies, but quickly turned on the wizards themselves. Driven mad with guilt, Arugal adopted the worgen as his children and retreated to the newly dubbed Shadowfang Keep, where he then cursed the village people of Pyrewood to turn into worgen whenever the sun went down.

At approximately the same time, the night elf Sentinel Velinde Starsong was given the task of clearing Felwood of demons. She prayed to Elune and was granted a magical scythe which could summon worgen. Using the Scythe of Elune, she summoned a very large number of the creatures to fight at her side against the demons. Later Velinde began to notice that some of her force were unaccounted for. It was as though the Scythe of Elune no longer required her presence to perfom the summoning process. Perplexed by this development, she ordered the remaining worgen to remain at the Shrine of Mel’Thandris in Ashenvale and began to search for Archmage Arugal, whom she had heard also summoned worgen. From that point on her fate became a mystery, but it was rumored that she was killed in Duskwood and lost the Scythe of Elune. Black Riders from Deadwind Pass came to Duskwood looking for the Scythe and murdered a family of farmers in the search to find it. It is also known that the dark mage Morganth was searching for the Scythe of Elune, and stole Ur’s Treatise on Shadow Magic as well.

In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, it is revealed that the worgen curse has spread into secluded kingdom of Gilneas, transforming its inhabitants into the worgen. More recent evidence suggests that their true origin might have a connection to the night elves and a secretive druidic order from Kalimdor’s distant past. Many believe that a treatment for the worgen curse may exist, although others have nearly given up, fearful that if the barricades should fall, their humanity will be lost forever.

The curse originated from the druidic sect who followed Goldrinn, known as Druids of the Scythe. They shapeshifted into the feral Worgen and eventually lost their minds to its violent nature. The other Druids agreed that they must be locked away, and thus put them into eternal slumber deep beneath a tree… until the day Arugal and Velinde Starsong tampered with the Scythe of Elune. It was the night elves, after all, who created the curse in the first place. Obliged to help their newfound allies, they re-introduce them to the Alliance.

The curse, however, was not contained. It persisted in the lands of Silverpine and extended even into the fabled walled nation of Gilneas, where the curse rapidly reached pandemic levels.

The citizens of Gilneas found themselves trapped, with no hope of escape. They retreated deeper within the isolated domain, and there they survived, fearful of the savage presence that lurked just outside the barricades.

Tensions among the displaced citizens escalated over time, resulting in a civil war that now threatens to destabilize the embattled nation even more.

There are those among the Gilneans, however, who cling to hope. Many believe that a treatment for the worgen curse may exist, although others have nearly given up, fearful that if the barricades should fall, their humanity will be lost forever.

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Lore

Serving as the first wing in this expansive dungeon, the Forge of Souls will quickly put players to the test of carving through the Scourge stronghold into deeper, more treacherous locations. Jaina will command Alliance forces, and Sylvanas will direct Horde forces. The goal is to ruin the twisted engines known as soul grinders found in this portion of the citadel, and then players can advance — that is, if the Horde and Alliance forces can overcome the foes who confront them.

Inspiration

The name for this instance might be inspired by the Forge of Souls of the Warhammer 40.000 universe: a workshop which crafts the unholy weapons of Daemons. Among its creations are the Soul Grinders, terrible machines fused with daemons.

Bosses

Bronjahm, the Godfather of Souls

An instrument of reckoning, Bronjahm watches over the engines in the Forge of Souls. He must be killed if the soul grinders are to be destroyed.

The Devourer of Souls

As the chief operator of the engines found in this wing, the Devourer stands guard over the souls stolen by the Lich King.

Quick Facts

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To become “attuned” to the Pit of Saron, players are required to complete the quest Echoes of Tortured Souls (Alliance) / (Horde) in the Forge of Souls as part of the Frozen Halls story line quest chain.

Lore

The Pit of Saron, accessible only to those who have laid waste to the Forge of Souls’ unholy operations, will bring Horde and Alliance forces deeper into the Lich King’s domain. Players who venture here will immediately be confronted by the lord of this lair, Scourgelord Tyrannus. But defeating him will not be as easy as it seems. Before they can present a threat to Tyrannus, the adventurers, instructed by their leaders, will need to free enslaved allies who have been trapped by the Scourge. Until that happens, Tyrannus will leave all adversaries to his minions, workers of the citadel’s mines. Perhaps the challenges here will lend clues as to the whereabouts of the Lich King’s private chambers outside of the Frozen Throne, deep within the Halls of Reflection.

Dungeon denizens

Bosses

Forgemaster Garfrost

A master of Scourge weaponry, the forgemaster hauls stocks of saronite ore and other precious materials to the cold forges where the mechanisms of death are born. With a host of rime weapons and exotic alloys at his disposal, it could get cold in here.

Krick and Ick

Zombies serve as mindless muscle in the Pit of Saron’s mines, stockpiling metals for Forgemaster Garfrost, and Krick — a devious leper gnome — supervises the operations from atop Ick, Krick’s ghastly means of transportation.

Scourgelord Tyrannus

Tyrannus is a terrible force who will no doubt demonstrate his powers to those brave enough to enter the Pit of Saron. The scourgelord must die if players hope to make their way into the third and final wing of this dungeon.

Quick Facts

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The dungeon’s release was delayed until a week after patch 3.3.5 went live in the US, in an effort to make sure all players world-wide could access it at the same time, (with the exception of the U.S. servers down for 24 hour maintenance the day of it’s release.).

The Ruby Sanctum is an extension to the Wyrmrest Temple dragonflight Sanctum raids. Sacred grounds of the red dragons, the Ruby Sanctum was invaded by the Twilight dragonflight. It was released in patch 3.3.5 and it’s is very similar to the Obsidian Sanctum – both in its physical appearance and encounters. Three hills, guarded by mini-bosses overlook a central area, where the only real boss of the raid resides – in this case that’s Halion the Twilight Destroyer. His lieutenants are Baltharus the Warborn, General Zarithrian, and Saviana Ragefire.

All three of the mini-bosses, as well as Halion drop Emblem of Frost. Halion himself, the only boss with loot drops epic gear half a tier (7 item levels) higher than the ones in the Icecrown Citadel. New trinkets, amongst other things, await those strong enough to defeat the Twilight Destroyer in a place where he is equally able to fight in both the physical realm… and the twilight one.

Lore

When a clutch of twilight dragonflight eggs was discovered within the Obsidian Sanctum, Korialstrasz asked the Council of Six to send adventurers to destroy them. The deed was done quickly, and without fanfare or acknowledgment. At first all seemed quiet, but then all communication with the guardians in the Ruby Sanctum ceased. The guards stationed at the portal were slain, and the mystic stones shattered. The implications of the Ruby Sanctum being breached are dire, and little is known of the identity of the attackers, as the black dragonflight’s numbers in Northrend seem too limited to have pulled off such an attack. What power would dare to attack the stronghold of the red dragonflight, and how did they get past the guards undetected?

Encounters

The black dragonflight has assaulted the sanctum and is attempting to destroy it to facilitate Deathwing’s reemergence into Azeroth. Halion will be the primary encounter, along with three mini-encounters that must be completed prior to him. Unlike the Obsidian Sanctum, there are no progressive hard modes from leaving up some or all of the minibosses. Loot is comparable to that of the Lich King.

Quick Facts

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Following the assassination of Medivh, the staff was brought to Dalaran where it was held by successive members of the Kirin Tor, who all found their deaths soon (except for highborne sorcerer Tarsis Kir-Moldir, it appears). After all these deaths, it was decided that the staff was to be put “behind impenetrable barriers of magic” and a “watcher” was appointed: Angela Dosantos. The shattering of the staff came about following the destruction of Dalaran by Archimonde, probably due to the failsafe system of the magical barrier. Atiesh was shattered into forty-two pieces which were scattered across all of Azeroth[3]. Brann Bronzebeard held the Base of Atiesh, which he somehow lost to C’Thun. The Scourge captured the forty-one other pieces, twenty of which were initially held by Tarsis. Forty pieces of Atiesh were each entrusted to a different lieutenant of Kel’Thuzad within Naxxramas, while the fallen mage himself held the staff’s head.

When Naxxramas appeared over the Eastern Plaguelands, the Argent Dawn attempted to prevent this powerful focus of power from falling into the hands of the necromancer-lich, Kel’Thuzad, and were apparently successful in this regard.

Later, Meryl Winterstorm sent Garona Halforcen on a mission to retrieve the base of the shattered staff from within the remains of C’Thun. Garona succeeded and gave the base to Med’an, who restored the whole staff simply by holding it while being imbued with the powers of the New Council of Tirisfal.

Description

This final task will be the most difficult of all, <name>. You have faced and defeated both an Old God and the Lich King’s General, but now you must face the hand of Sargeras.

Take the staff to Stratholme. It is there that you will find a piece of consecrated earth: ground where the greatest knights of Lordaeron were murdered. Place the befouled staff upon the holy ground and prepare for an entity of immense power to break from within… Defeat the demonic being that controls the staff and return to me.

Rewards

You will receive:

Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian

Quick Facts

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Ulduar is a mysterious subterranean realm of ice and stone. This was once the storm giants’ stronghold, but they didn’t build it. Brann Bronzebeard believes it to be a titan city (it is also a production facility and prison), as it matched the design of the two temples in Northrend and other ruins dwarves found elsewhere (and because it contained the word “Uld”). Massive buildings protrude from the tops and sides of mountains, many hundreds of times taller than a human. When Brann Bronzebeard first explored the area, a section he discovered was covered in rock and ice. He thought it was an amazing place but couldn’t tell from outside, because it was completely hidden to him. The exterior he saw looked like the other peaks to him: a jumble of rock and ice cut at angles only nature would have produced. The entrance he discovered was well-hidden and heavily guarded by crystal golems. However large sections of the facility are now visible aboveground.

Inside, Ulduar is a profusion of tunnels and stairs and balconies. The entire place appears to be carved out of a massive cave, and many of the levels are natural ledges. It has the feeling, as if nature were improved upon rather than replaced or recreated. The surfaces are a strange mix of smooth and unaltered stone and ice, as when a master sculptor works in stone and lets the material’s natural texture add depth and beauty. It shows where the dwarves got their skill in stonework, but judging by Ulduar they’re still a long way from matching their creators.

When Brann was exploring the place, the storm giants themselves were so few in number that one could wander the halls without ever meeting one — he believed this was probably for the best, since no one was supposed to gain entrance. The giants are a dying race desperately avoiding their fate. They seem to think another race will vanquish them some day, and so they hide in Ulduar rather than girding for battle. They are too frightened to battle the Scourge, but apparently they hate it. Ulduar is likely a treasure trove of information on the Titans and their activities. Since then the storm giants have moved to the Howling Fjord.

Ulduar is a raid dungeon in the Titan complex of Ulduar, located within the The Storm Peaks. It serves as the prison of the old god Yogg-Saron as well as the current residence of most of the titanic watchers who have fallen under his influence.

Notable Loot

All bosses in Ulduar drop Emblem of Triumph, which can be used to acquire epic quality gear from various vendors in Dalaran. They can also drop Runed Orb, a rare component used to craft high level gear.

Also, each boss on 25-player difficulty has a chance to drop a Fragment of Val’anyr, which are needed in order to reconstruct Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings.

Quick Facts

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In order to shatter the Wyrmrest Accord and to crush those that would stand in the way of their master’s reemergence into Azeroth, a powerful war party of the Black dragonflight; led by the fearsome twilight dragon Halion and his lieutenants Saviana Ragefire, Baltharus the Warborn and General Zarithrian; has launched an assault upon the Ruby Sanctum beneath Wyrmrest Temple.

Strategy

Baltharus has two main abilities; a blast wave-type ability which will knock back melee, and an occasional split. The blast wave isn’t a very big deal, and can be easily healed through. The split, though, requires some extra strategy. You will need two or three tanks to tank Baltharus’ doubles, and the main Baltharus should be marked with a skull, so as not to be confused with the doubles. When Baltharus dies, his copies will too.

Baltharus the Warborn is located on the cliff to the left; the way to him is blocked by a few Charscale wyrms.
Two (25-player: 3) tanks are needed for this fight. At 50% (25-player: 75%, 50%, and 25%) Baltharus will summon a clone of himself. During the split, nearby players will suffer damage and be knocked away and stunned, so move just before his health reaches any of the aforementioned percentages.

The second tank (and third) should pick up the split copies as fast as possible to prevent the healers from getting threat. DPS should focus on the original Baltharus, as the other clones will de-spawn once he is dead.

During the fight, Baltharus will occasionally perform a whirlwind-move; DPS and nearby players must move away immediately.

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