Blackrock Depths Prison satchel time!

When the Dungeon Finder was released Blackrock Depths was one of those ridiculously long Classic dungeons that became split up into more manageable pieces. Unfortunately, someone decided that the best way to chunk down an instance that spans 12 character levels (48 – 60) and includes 20 bosses was to split the zone into two parts: Prison, covering 1 boss, and Upper City, presumably covering the other 19 bosses.

Makes no sense to me either. But we’ll work with what we’re given.

After struggling through Sunken Temple it was something of a relief to be dropped into Blackrock Depths to complete a super quick run and receiving a satchel 5 minutes later. Then I, and my groups, became dissatisfied. These one boss BRD Prison runs were just too short. I started dragging my groups off to kill some of the bosses wandering the corridors nearby.

This guide will actually cover the starting area of Blackrock Depths and should give you a nice, quick, four boss run with minimal trash kills. We’re going to clear the Halls of Law, Ring of Law and then finally head south and kill High Interrogator Gerstahn for a satchel.

The Map

Blackrock Depths: Prison - bosses and travel path marked

1. Lord Roccor Optional.
   This giant rock elemental patrols the Halls of Law – look out for him.
2. Houndmaster Grebmar Optional.
   Drops a sweet caster cloak by the way!
3. Ring of Law Optional.
   Make sure your entire party is well within the gate before you speak to the NPC and start the event. The gate will close and lock party members out of the fight if they’re not inside the arena. The bosses summoned during the event are random, but waves of adds will come out of the east gate and then north gate first.
4. High Interrogator Gerstahn
   The final boss. Congratulations on your Satchel!

The Run

If Sunken Temple showed us the low of the low: tanks who couldn’t tank, healers who couldn’t heal and DPS that did nothing, Blackrock Depths: Prison showed us the opposite. We were grouped up with efficient killing machine style tanks. Bind on Account gear was the norm, not the exception.

Even the tanks that struggled to hold threat against the full brunt of mine and Pixii’s AoE were excellent and well in control of their character and the enemy mobs.

Actually, the reason I wanted to put this guide together was because I ended up queuing one night on my own and was fortunate enough to be grouped with a very experienced tank/healer duo in BoA gear that knew BRD back to front. These guys weren’t content to kill one boss. At level 50 and 51 they were ready to do a full instance clear. It was this pair that showed me that Houndmaster Grebmar and Lord Roccor are just around the corner from the starting area and these two players that patiently explained all the tricks to successfully clear the bar without wiping.

Unfortunately not all of our runs were as blissful. It was in a Blackrocks Depths: Prison run that I played with the absolutely worst player that I’ve ever played with. Yes, it was that bad. Yes, it was a tank.

A bot could have done a better job.

I can only assume that this particular Warrior had been hassled by their Hunter friend to try out tanking. The pair were from the same guild, the Hunter was quite skilled and did their very best to compensate for their friend’s performance by laying traps like crazy and misdirecting non-stop. Unfortunately this Warrior had an epic DPS weapon, no shield and just ran in and auto-attacked. No thunderclap, no taunts, no shouts, nothing. I’m serious, it was like watching a brand new player run around Northshire Abbey right clicking on boars.

One pull in and a DPS left the group. We replaced them. Another two pulls and another DPS left the group. We replaced them. But when the healer left a couple minutes later I gave up too. I’ve never been so glad to get out of a party before.

Still Want More?

There’s no doubt about it, even doing a “full” four boss clear, Blackrock Depths: Prison is a really short instance. It’s not uncommon to be standing over the body of High Interrogator Gerstahn still wanting more.

If your group is keen, and you’ve already killed the four bosses on the map, I suggest that you extend the run out to almost double the length and turn it into a “Shadowforge Key” run. Unless you’re a Rogue (with Pick Lock) you’re going to want to earn your own Shadowforge Key before you reach the Blackrock Depths: Upper City level bracket (51 – 61).

To start the quest chain you need to spirit run back into Blackrock Depths, talking to a ghost quest-giver in the heart of Blackrock Mountain (just near the summoning stone, in the center rock hanging suspended from 2 metal chains) on the way. So if you do happen to wipe in Blackrock Depths: Prison make sure you use that spirit run back to pick up the quest. Alternatively you can accept the quest from another party member if they share it with you.

I’m going to write a separate guide for the Extended Prison Run, so keep an eye out. When it’s released I’ll come back and link to it from this article.

The Corpse Run

Everytime I’ve wiped or died during a Prison run of Blackrock Depths I’ve released and ended up near Thorim Point in northern Searing Gorge at a graveyard. However, Blackrock Mountain sits rights at the border between Searing Gorge (to the north) and Burning Steppes (to the south). There is a small chance that you will end up in the northeast graveyard in Burning Steppes depending on where you die inside Blackrock Depths itself.

It’s unlikely, though. So I’ve covered the trip back from the Searing Gorge graveyard to the Blackrock Depths entrance. This is also how I would travel there if you’re not getting summoned or teleported straight in.

The basic directions are:

1. Travel south from Thorium Point/The Graveyard, in the general direction of your corpse marker on your minimap
2. As you enter the southern half of your map start looking towards the southern border of the zone for a set of wooden slats which form the path up to Blackrock Mountain. Take that path (I think it’s a bit further east than where your corpse marker on your mini map).
3. Enter through the giant doors. Blackrock Mountain can be navigated via a giant ring path. The northern door opens out to Searing Gorge, the southern door opens out to Burning Steppes. If you enter from Searing Gorge, turn left and travel a short distance along the ring road.
4. Climb up the rubble onto the giant chain that links the ring road to the floating rock island in the middle of the mountain. Walk onto the chain, turn right and head down the chain towards the summoning stone (going left takes you to Blackrock Spire – upper and lower).
5. Walk into the building, the tomb, via either door near the summoning stone. Head down through the center rooms until you come out the other end. Don’t walk off the edge.
6. Turn right and you’ll see that the path spirals down until it meets a second chain bridge.
7. Cross the second, smaller chain bridge and walk up towards the blood elf (this guy exists to port attuned players directly into the raid zone – Molten Core) but just before you reach him, take the right open doorway.
8. Welcome to the Grinding Quarry. Head north east, weaving between the giant rocks, until you see a wide bridge due north.
9. Cross the bridge and you’ll see the Blackrock Depths zone portal tucked into the rock face on your right.

The path to Princess Theraras in Maraudon: Pristine Waters

Pristine Waters (levels 41-53) begins south of where a Purple Crystals (levels 39-49) or Orange Crystals (levels 41-51) run would end.

Pristine Waters is the easiest part of Maraudon to get lost in. This is also where you’ll find the most beautiful scenery in Maraudon. There are many winding paths that loop back and over each other at different levels.

When I create these guides I aim to put together comprehensive boss runs – guides that ensure you kill all the bosses in quick succession and give you a satchel at the very end. Unfortunately that’s just not possible in a Pristine Waters run.

This guide will take you on a loop that kills all four bosses. But you’re going to get your satchel midway when you kill Princess Theraras. To kill Princess last would require a lot of extra clearing and backtracking. This run is much shorter, but you may need to convince your party to stick around for the two optional bosses in the run.

The Map

Maraudon Pristine Waters Map with bosses and travel path marked

The bosses are:

1. Landslide
   He’s at the very top level of a long winding path. Once you’ve killed him, backtrack halfway down the path and take a right.
2. Princess Theraras
   Technically she’s the final boss of the instance and will award you a satchel. The path from Landslide logically leads you to Princess and all the groups that I’ve been in have instinctively traveled this direction. I’m not going to buck the trend here!
3. Rotgrip optional, recommended
   There’s absolutely no reason not to kill Rotgrip after Princess. No mobs lie between the two. Face away from Princess and jump off the left side of the path into the water and wait for Rotgrip to swim to you.
4. Tinkerer Gizlock optional
   There’s a bit of clearing in order to get to Tinkerer Gizlock and I’ve yet to find myself in a group willing to kill him. Perhaps his loot isn’t very good? Swim east after killing Rotgrip then follow the path clockwise, over the bridge then north west.

I really did try and figure out a good, logical clearing order which would bring your party to Princess last. I promise, I tried. However the amount of stuff that needs killing between Landslide and Tinkerer Gizlock is a real bummer.

And there’s just no good way to kill Rotgrip before killing Princess T – you’ll be standing on the bridge facing Princess and trying to convince your party members to take a one way detour to kill Rotgrip and Gizlock – I just can’t see that happening.

The other kill order I’ve seen suggested is:

1. Tinkerer Gizlock (there’s another way to get to him on the way to Landslide – taking a route north east off the path. Follow the dotted line marked on this map – thanks Shrike!)
2. backtrack then go up to Landslide
3. go off to kill Princess
4. then fall in the water and kill Rotgrip

Personally I hate the amount of trash you need to clear by taking that route to Tinkerer Gizlock. I know that my path looks really long on the map but most of it is clear of mobs – it’s just a long run with a couple packs in the way. And I can never find the turn off to get to Gizlock along the path marked yellow.

The Run

I’ll admit it’s been weeks and weeks since Pixii and I ran Pristine Waters. I’ve been trying to get my mind around how to do this guide. Unfortunately that means that I don’t remember much about the pugs themselves.

I do remember that all the diemetradons cast a Sonic Burst silence on casters that accidentally get into melee range and it’s just not worth trying to get a Frost Nova off. I remember that the rock elementals break down into smaller rock elementals upon death. AoE ftw!

I do remember that almost every run includes a 2 minute interlude while the party members speculate on just how ugly Princess Theradras is. And on that topic, I’m convinced that the only reason we give her so much grief is because she has the word “Princess” in her name and we start thinking of Snow White, Cinderella or maybe even celebrity princesses like Paris Hilton. Tiny, cute and blonde she is not.

Lathere is convinced that Princess ought to come to Northrend and meet Patchwerk, Rotface or Festergut. I think it’s better she stays single:

Ages ago, Theradras and Zaetar, first son of Cenarius, began a relationship. The offspring of their time together became known to the people of Kalimdor as centaurs, who promptly slew their father for his part in their misbegotten creation.

The Corpse Run

To recover your body after dying in Pristine Water you’ll need to run back to the instance portal in Valley of the Spears, Desolace. However there is no Pristine Waters instance portal – you need to take either of the two Maraudon portals like you would for a Purple or Orange Crystals instance run.

I would recommend following the path to the Purple Crystals portal found at the end of this guide.

*** ps. Next up: the dreaded Sunken Temple **

Standing in front of the Staff of Prehistoria (used to summon Ironaya) in Uldaman

One of the nicest surprises the Dungeon Finder has given me has been Uldaman. Not the Uldaman of my past, but Uldaman without all the crap. Uldaman for fun and XP. Uldaman has a bad reputation, but most of it doesn’t really apply anymore:

1. Home of the only Artisan Enchanting Trainer in the world
Can you believe that once you reached a certain level of enchanting (225, I believe) the only way to visit the Enchanting Trainer was to trek into Uldaman. Even on your own at level 60 this sucked.

2. Getting to the instance portal is half the work
This is also true of Blackfathom Deeps and the Deadmines in my opinion. If you travel there, old school style, you actually need about 20 minutes to clear and find your way through a maze of tunnels to reach the instance portal. And there’s no flight path nearby either. Definitely a mood, and group, killer.

3. It’s ugly
The scenery is pretty bad – lots of dust and lots of dwarves.

Ok, the last one is still a problem.

Like others I have gotten lost in Uldaman many times in the past. However, when I came to put this map together, I realised that once you take your eyes off the wonky, half-mined out tunnels and winding caverns and look at your mini-map the way through isn’t as obscured as you think.

The great things about Uldaman:

1. Lots of bosses in a short distance
2. Lots of mass AoE, no caster, pulls
3. XP, XP, XP!

Having run Scarlet Monastery for the good part of a decade – if you can call 10 levels a decade – it’s nice to queue a dungeon and translate that 20 minutes waiting time into an instance which returns more than 20 minutes of experience gains.

And the tanks that I’ve been grouped with have all been keen to clear the entire zone for experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The Map

Uldaman, colour coded, with bosses and travel path marked

View/download the full size map here:

http://www.hotsdots.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/uldaman-map.jpg

The bosses are:

1. Revelosh In preparation for summoning Ironaya take note of which party member has looted the Staff of Tsol from the body of Revelosh. If you want to summon Ironaya this person needs to loot the next time otherwise: no boss! Cross-server groups mean you cannot trade these items so be careful.
2. Baelog (Horde only boss) and/or Baelog’s Chest You’ll find some Alliance quest-givers in this room – which Horde can kill for loot. Alliance and Horde players should send the player holding the Staff of Tsol up to open and loot Baelog’s Chest which you’ll find in this room.
3. Ironaya If one player has both the Staff and the Medallion (from the chest) they can combine these two items in their inventory and click on a marker in the center of the room to open a door and bring out Ironaya – an optional, summoned boss.
4. Obsidian Sentinel He’s not much of a boss, but he does drop an item for a Mage class quest as I discovered.
5. Ancient Stone Keeper
6. Galgann Firehammer
7. Grimlok
8. Archaedas You’ll complete an event (unlocking 4 stone sentinel statue things) towards the end of the instance. Go through the gate and head west, down the ramp and double back til you end up in a circular room directly underneath where Archaedas waits.

The Run(s)

What can I say? I’ve actually only gone back into Uldaman twice and I’m level 44 now – it’s green difficulty for me – and I doubt I’ll get queued for Uldaman much more often. Once you reach level 41 the Dungeon Finder likes to group you with other level 41 players and send you to Mauradon (Orange) where the bosses are level 46. Enjoy those misses!

The two Uldaman runs that I’ve been part of have been absolutely excellent – definitely some of the best I’ve experienced on any of my characters, level 80 or otherwise. Perhaps it’s just at this level that tanks can really seem to keep up with my AoE damage, threat wise.

Is there anything more fun than Blizzard-ing scores of troggs and dwarves into oblivion, raking in the experience and playing with some genuinely nice players? I’ve been having a blast!

The Dormitory: One mailbox does not make a city.

… a menace rose up from the bowels of the earth and invaded Gnomergan… The surviving Gnomes fled to the safety of the Dwarven stronghold, Ironforge. There they remained devising strategies to retake their city.

If you’ve ever started a Gnome and listened to the voice over, you’ve probably wondered why a few of the elites in Ironforge just walk down the road and retake the goddamn city?

There must be some other reason why the Gnomes still choose to hang out in Tinker Town in Ironforge. I believe the reason is simple: They don’t really want it back. And why would they? The Domitory must be the most uninhabitable living quarters I’ve ever seen.

The Guide

For level 20 somethings, you’ll be dropped using the Dungeon Finder right inside the portal. I’m going to assume that’s your starting point. There’s actually a back entrance you could use on subsequent runs and some quest stuff located just outside the instance portal.

I’ll leave those out of my basic Map, which is intended for players who get handed Gnomeregan when they queue for a classic dungeon. I’ll do my best to help you out with the quests later on in the guide.

The Map

The only way I could map the travel path through the instance was by breaking it down into 4 layers/levels. Which makes for a very long map. It’s like Oculus in reverse – starts at the top and works down level by level.

Map of Gnomeregan - with bosses and travel path marked.

View/download the full size map here:

http://www.hotsdots.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/GNOmap.jpg

The bosses are:

1. Grubbis When you arrive, talk to the friendly litte Gnome to start an event that ends with killing Grubbis. Some groups will demand that everyone jumps at the very beginning of the instance, thus skipping this guy. Jumping that distance is dangerous and a waste of loot in my opinion.
2. Viscous Fallout A corrupted water elemental. He patrols along a wide circle around the room.
3. Electrocutioner 6000 Drops the workshop key as well as loot.
4. Crowd Pummeler 9-60 There are a few different ways to reach Pummeler. I’ve marked my preferred path because even though it looks complicated (you down to the lowest level only to take a lift back up to reach the boss) it’s less mobs because you’re clearing towards the last boss then taking a brief detour. If the group is getting a bit tired you can just skip him at the last moment.
5. Mekgineer Thermaplugg If you killed Pummeler you’ll need to back track to that main south-west leading wide corridor. Once you’re on that stretch he’s easy to find. Congratulations!

The Graveyard Run

Spirit Running to Gnomeregan as Horde

Your group wiped. I’m so sorry. Here’s how to find your way back to the instant portal from the closest graveyard. As far as I can tell it’s pretty much the same run for Horde and Alliance:

1. Run directly west over the lake. Take the main path down the tunnel into Gnomeregan.
2. Follow the tunnel down and down until you reach a circular room with no other way out. Stand on the lift in the center of the room, alternatively wait for 30 seconds or so until the lift arrives, and you’ll drop down one level further.
3. Once you reach the Train Depot you can either turn north or west. Take the upper path heading west and continue along the curve until you reach the instance portal.

Preparation and Quests for Alliance

Normally I wouldn’t bother doing all the Gnomeregan quests. However, if you’re using the Dungeon Finder tool almost exclusively to level up (it’s becoming a popular method of earning XP) then it might be worth spending some time preparing for your first Gnomeregan run.

There are a heck of a lot of Gnomeregan quests. I’ll make some suggestions on the tricky ones here that might stump members of your group.

In addition to all the quests given out in Tinker Town:

• a Gnome in Kharnos will give you a quest (he also has a Gnomeregan follow up for your 2nd run) and
• Shoni in the Dwarven District of Stormwind has a quest too.
• There’s also an escort quest you can start from inside Gnomeregan. I’d skip this one, but if you want to do it look for Kernobee when you’re in the Domitory in one of the south or east rooms before you reach Viscous Fallout. You’ll have to escort him all the way back to the start – the opposite direction to where you’re going.

Pre-queue Quest 1, Solo: Save Techbot’s Brain!

You’ll need to head down to Gnomeregan to start this one before using the Dungeon Finder. Pick up Data Rescue aswell because you start that in the same place.

Head to Gnomeregan in Dun Morogh and once you’ve taken the lift down head keep heading north (ignoring the west corridor which leads to the instance portal) into the Train Depot.

In a small room to the west of the central platform you’ll find Techbot. He’s not an elite and is definitely solo-able.

By the way, the northern corridor from the Train Depot leads to a back door into the instance if you have the Workshop Key and means you could, if not with a cross-realm party, shortcut to the last 2 bosses in the instance.

Pre-queue Quest 2, Solo first part: Data Rescue AKA The Punch Cards One

As above, head into the Train Depot inside Gnomeregan. Make sure you loot each kill until you loot a White Punch Card from one of the Lepers.

Before leaving the Train Depot find one of the little machines around the place, they’re called Matrix Punchographs, and click it to turn your White Punch Card into a Yellow Punch Card.

Now that you have an Yellow Punch Card you’re ready to join a Dungeon Finder run for Gnomeregan. If you follow the path mapped out above and kill all bosses, click on a Matrix Punchograph found near each boss to upgrade it. The Matrix Punchographs near Pummeller/Thermaplugg on the lowest floor should spit out a Prismatic Punch Card and complete the quest for you.