Post by SilBob on Feb 1, 2006 15:15:16 GMT -5
Although Lower Blackrock Spire (LBRS) is meant to be beatable with a 5-man team, and accommodates as many as 15 players, you'll most commonly see the instance raided with a group of 10. No matter how many people you go in with, this guide will give you an idea of what to expect on a typical LBRS raid.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. As you enter the instance, there are a few mobs near the entrance. Up the ramp and to the left is the entrance to UBRS; you, on the other hand, will be going to the right to Lower Blackrock. Some groups move down the ramp here and clear out all the mobs; others move up the ramp to the right and jump down, shaving some time.
2. There's a tough pull with 4 elites and 2 dogs here, not to mention a patrol which roams by. In a 5-man group, good crowd control will help greatly. Once those group is cleared, the raid makes a hairpin left and enters Hordemar City.
3. Although most raids won't bother with it, there's a major shortcut through LBRS available at the entrance to Hordemar City -- you can jump down a few ledges to the right and arrive at the lowest area of the raid, at the corner of two alleys filled with orcs. This can shave an hour or more off the total raid time, but you'll also skip several major bosses by doing so, which is why most raids ignore the shortcut.
4. Entering Hordemar City, there are a few groups of mobs, and an upper ledge you can reach by curling left, backwards and up. Although there appears to be an enemy mob out on the ledge, it's actually a friendly NPC named Vaelan who shapeshifts when you approach him. He gives the "Seal of Ascension" quest, which requires you get three gems from the bosses and another random drop in order to create the key to Upper Blackrock Spire.
5. Back on the main path is another NPC wandering around the rope bridge area. This is Warosh, who gives the quest "Urok Doomhowl," to defeat a boss you'll encounter later on. There are two rope bridges ahead, and after the second bridge, there's a Roughshod Pike on the wall next to some sleeping mobs, later used in the "Urok Doomhowl" event.
6. After the second rope bridge, you'll usually find a chest over to the left, and you'll see a huge crack in the floor to the right. Down below is Bijou, who gives the "Bijou's Belongings" quest. Don't jump down -- there's another way to reach Bijou if you're in a 5-man group.
7. The raid proceeds down a long hallway with a few ogres, across a short bridge, and finally into a dead end -- Mok'Doom. Here you'll find Highlord Omokk, the first boss of the raid. He's one of the bosses you need to kill in a 5-man raid for "Maxwell's Mission," and he (occasionally) drops one of the three gems needed for the "Seal of Ascension" quest and the key to UBRS. He also drops Omokk's Head, which, combined with the Roughshod Pike, is needed for the Urok Doomhowl event.
8. Backtracking out to Hordemar City, the raid will loop around and head down a ramp leading to a room filled with trolls. Across the room is an exit leading up to Shadow Hunter Vosh'gajin (above). Although it's a fun event -- Vosh has an attack that turns anyone in range into a frog for a few seconds -- many raids skip it, since the loot is mostly junk. (Shadowcraft Gloves are currently the only rare set piece in Vosh's loot table.) This room also contains one of items needed for "The Final Tablets."
9. Back in the main troll room, there's a long ramp leading down to a huge chamber crawling with mobs. In a 5-man group, you might go up the opposite ramp, which leads to Bijou. Most raids, however, will go down, to the right and straight for War Master Voone (above), the second of the three major bosses needed for "Maxwell's Mission." This is a pretty straightforward fight, and, like Omokk, Voone can drop one of the three gems needed for the Seal of Ascension. It's possible to find the quest item for "Bijou's Belongings" here, and his room also contains the last tablet for "The Final Tablets."
10. With Voone dispatched, the raid will usually clear a path to the exit at the far side of the room, which leads to an alley filled with orcs. At the end of the first alley, you may find a rare mob named Bannok Grimaxe (below), who usually drops one of a few blue items. (This is the corner you'd drop down to if you used the shortcut described earlier.) You'll also find a crack in the wall that leads down to the lava. If you have "Bijou's Belongings," you may find the quest item here.
11. After completing the two orc alleyways, you'll eventually come to the Skitterweb Tunnel -- a ramp filled with various spiders. Almost everyone hates these mobs -- when you kill one large elite, more smaller non-elites come swarming out. They're not hard to kill in a 10-man raid, but a hassle and a time suck. There are also two 5-man quests that can be completed in this area: "En-Ay-Es-Tee-Why," in which you need to collect spider eggs, and "Mother's Milk," which requires that when you defeat the boss, Mother Smolderweb (above), you stay poisoned until you can visit the quest giver, Ragged John in the Burning Steppes, to be "milked." (It's arguably the most pointless high-level quest in World of Warcraft.)
13. Once you're finally out of the spider area, it's time for one of the biggest battles of the raid: Urok Doomhowl. If you have Omokk's Head and the Roughshod Pike, you can combine the two items and place the head-on-a-stick into a nearby mound of skulls to trigger the event (don't do this until everyone is ready!) Giant ogres will spawn repeatedly until Urok Doomhowl himself spawns, and this will complete the "Urok Doomhowl" quest when 5-manning (don't forget to loot Urok for Warosh's Mojo). While this is a completely optional event in a raid, most groups do it as Doomhowl can drop some nice loot.
14. Up the next corridor, you'll go up a flight of steps and notice paths going both left and right. To the left and up is a dead end -- a rare mob named Quartermaster Zigris usually appears here and drops a backpack with a few greens in it. It's not uncommon to see some of the bind-on-equip rare armor set pieces drop in this area.
15. To the right is a worg nest, and the boss Halycon, objective of the quest "Put Her Down." If you pull the worgs separately, you can tame one for the "Kibler's Exotic Pets" quest. When Halycon is defeated, her mate, Gizrul the Slavener attacks, who can drop a few nice blue items.
16. There's one last stairway here which leads to a room chock full of mobs. There isn't much interesting in this room -- it just takes a while to clear out before you can move to the final battle of the raid.
17. At long last, you've reached the Chamber of Battle, and it's time for Overlord Wyrmthalak. This is the last of the three major bosses, which means (in a 5-man raid) you can finish "Maxwell's Mission," and also potentially get the third and final gem needed for the Seal of Ascension. Wyrm calls for several guards partway the fight (the boss usually gets dropped first), and when it's all over, Wyrm drops a letter that leads to Marshal Maxwell and then the quest "General Drakkisath's Command" in UBRS.
That's it for LBRS -- it's time to zone out and get ready for Upper Blackrock!
Next: Upper Blackrock Spire walkthrough
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. As you enter the instance, there are a few mobs near the entrance. Up the ramp and to the left is the entrance to UBRS; you, on the other hand, will be going to the right to Lower Blackrock. Some groups move down the ramp here and clear out all the mobs; others move up the ramp to the right and jump down, shaving some time.
2. There's a tough pull with 4 elites and 2 dogs here, not to mention a patrol which roams by. In a 5-man group, good crowd control will help greatly. Once those group is cleared, the raid makes a hairpin left and enters Hordemar City.
3. Although most raids won't bother with it, there's a major shortcut through LBRS available at the entrance to Hordemar City -- you can jump down a few ledges to the right and arrive at the lowest area of the raid, at the corner of two alleys filled with orcs. This can shave an hour or more off the total raid time, but you'll also skip several major bosses by doing so, which is why most raids ignore the shortcut.
4. Entering Hordemar City, there are a few groups of mobs, and an upper ledge you can reach by curling left, backwards and up. Although there appears to be an enemy mob out on the ledge, it's actually a friendly NPC named Vaelan who shapeshifts when you approach him. He gives the "Seal of Ascension" quest, which requires you get three gems from the bosses and another random drop in order to create the key to Upper Blackrock Spire.
5. Back on the main path is another NPC wandering around the rope bridge area. This is Warosh, who gives the quest "Urok Doomhowl," to defeat a boss you'll encounter later on. There are two rope bridges ahead, and after the second bridge, there's a Roughshod Pike on the wall next to some sleeping mobs, later used in the "Urok Doomhowl" event.
6. After the second rope bridge, you'll usually find a chest over to the left, and you'll see a huge crack in the floor to the right. Down below is Bijou, who gives the "Bijou's Belongings" quest. Don't jump down -- there's another way to reach Bijou if you're in a 5-man group.
7. The raid proceeds down a long hallway with a few ogres, across a short bridge, and finally into a dead end -- Mok'Doom. Here you'll find Highlord Omokk, the first boss of the raid. He's one of the bosses you need to kill in a 5-man raid for "Maxwell's Mission," and he (occasionally) drops one of the three gems needed for the "Seal of Ascension" quest and the key to UBRS. He also drops Omokk's Head, which, combined with the Roughshod Pike, is needed for the Urok Doomhowl event.
8. Backtracking out to Hordemar City, the raid will loop around and head down a ramp leading to a room filled with trolls. Across the room is an exit leading up to Shadow Hunter Vosh'gajin (above). Although it's a fun event -- Vosh has an attack that turns anyone in range into a frog for a few seconds -- many raids skip it, since the loot is mostly junk. (Shadowcraft Gloves are currently the only rare set piece in Vosh's loot table.) This room also contains one of items needed for "The Final Tablets."
9. Back in the main troll room, there's a long ramp leading down to a huge chamber crawling with mobs. In a 5-man group, you might go up the opposite ramp, which leads to Bijou. Most raids, however, will go down, to the right and straight for War Master Voone (above), the second of the three major bosses needed for "Maxwell's Mission." This is a pretty straightforward fight, and, like Omokk, Voone can drop one of the three gems needed for the Seal of Ascension. It's possible to find the quest item for "Bijou's Belongings" here, and his room also contains the last tablet for "The Final Tablets."
10. With Voone dispatched, the raid will usually clear a path to the exit at the far side of the room, which leads to an alley filled with orcs. At the end of the first alley, you may find a rare mob named Bannok Grimaxe (below), who usually drops one of a few blue items. (This is the corner you'd drop down to if you used the shortcut described earlier.) You'll also find a crack in the wall that leads down to the lava. If you have "Bijou's Belongings," you may find the quest item here.
11. After completing the two orc alleyways, you'll eventually come to the Skitterweb Tunnel -- a ramp filled with various spiders. Almost everyone hates these mobs -- when you kill one large elite, more smaller non-elites come swarming out. They're not hard to kill in a 10-man raid, but a hassle and a time suck. There are also two 5-man quests that can be completed in this area: "En-Ay-Es-Tee-Why," in which you need to collect spider eggs, and "Mother's Milk," which requires that when you defeat the boss, Mother Smolderweb (above), you stay poisoned until you can visit the quest giver, Ragged John in the Burning Steppes, to be "milked." (It's arguably the most pointless high-level quest in World of Warcraft.)
13. Once you're finally out of the spider area, it's time for one of the biggest battles of the raid: Urok Doomhowl. If you have Omokk's Head and the Roughshod Pike, you can combine the two items and place the head-on-a-stick into a nearby mound of skulls to trigger the event (don't do this until everyone is ready!) Giant ogres will spawn repeatedly until Urok Doomhowl himself spawns, and this will complete the "Urok Doomhowl" quest when 5-manning (don't forget to loot Urok for Warosh's Mojo). While this is a completely optional event in a raid, most groups do it as Doomhowl can drop some nice loot.
14. Up the next corridor, you'll go up a flight of steps and notice paths going both left and right. To the left and up is a dead end -- a rare mob named Quartermaster Zigris usually appears here and drops a backpack with a few greens in it. It's not uncommon to see some of the bind-on-equip rare armor set pieces drop in this area.
15. To the right is a worg nest, and the boss Halycon, objective of the quest "Put Her Down." If you pull the worgs separately, you can tame one for the "Kibler's Exotic Pets" quest. When Halycon is defeated, her mate, Gizrul the Slavener attacks, who can drop a few nice blue items.
16. There's one last stairway here which leads to a room chock full of mobs. There isn't much interesting in this room -- it just takes a while to clear out before you can move to the final battle of the raid.
17. At long last, you've reached the Chamber of Battle, and it's time for Overlord Wyrmthalak. This is the last of the three major bosses, which means (in a 5-man raid) you can finish "Maxwell's Mission," and also potentially get the third and final gem needed for the Seal of Ascension. Wyrm calls for several guards partway the fight (the boss usually gets dropped first), and when it's all over, Wyrm drops a letter that leads to Marshal Maxwell and then the quest "General Drakkisath's Command" in UBRS.
That's it for LBRS -- it's time to zone out and get ready for Upper Blackrock!
Next: Upper Blackrock Spire walkthrough
