Post by SilBob on Feb 1, 2006 15:30:40 GMT -5
THE TOUGHEST AREA OF DIRE MAUL, the west wing also offers the best loot of the three areas, and features a few quests dealing with beating the Prince. There are also several key class-specific quests here, including ones for both paladins and warlocks to get their epic mounts; you may even want two warlocks along for this particular run.
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1. The group enters the West instance from the courtyard, via the right side door (you'll need the Crescent Key from Dire Maul East). When you zone in, you'll find yourself in the Capital Gardens, which in many ways looks similar to the other wings of Dire Maul -- a perimeter of patrols surrounding a large central area. This time, the perimeter is guarded by Ironbark Protectors, who roam alone or in pairs.
2. For most groups, the ultimate goal of a Dire Maul West run is to reach the Prison of Immol'thar, defeat him, and then confront Prince Tortheldrin in the Library. To access the prison, however, you'll need to deactivate five giant crystal pylons throughout the instance, the first of which can be found right here in the center of the Capital Gardens. Each pylon is guarded by many elementals that usually come in groups of two or three, most effectively handled by warlocks banishing. Without a warlock, clearing the elementals guarding each pylon becomes a much more tedious process.
3. After the first pylon is down, the group moves straight ahead to the Court of the Highborne. Waiting at the bottom is Tendris Warpwood, a huge boss who is also needed for the Paladin epic mount quest. Although you don't need to just yet, most groups will defeat Tendris before moving on to the next crystals.
4. The Court of the Highborne has several levels to it, and your next stop is up to the roof for the second and third pylons. Leaving Tendris Warpwood's area, the group moves back up, to the right, indoors (clearing several mobs) and then heading up the ramp to the roof.
5. On the upper level, you'll see the next pylon right in front of you. The process is the same as the first: kill all the elementals to power down the crystal. Two down, three to go.
6. Past the pylon, there's a group of non-elite skeletons between you and a small bridge leading to the other side of the roof. With enough AoE, the skeletons are simple enough to dispatch of.
7. In the middle of the bridge, almost directly above Tendris Warpwood's area, is the Shen'dralar Ancient, who gives the quest "The Madness Within." This is the actual quest to defeat Immol'thar and then the Prince, which hopefully you're well on your way to completing.
8. On the other side of the bridge is the third pylon, which shouldn't present much of a challenge if you've gotten this far. Just pull the elementals and that's three down, two to go.
9. Past the third pylon is an optional named NPC, Illyanna Ravenoak, and her pet beast, Ferra. Illyanna hits hard, and can be hard to defeat without a good tank keeping control of her while the rest of the group drops Ferra first.
10. Now done with the upper level, the group backtracks all the way down to the ramp leading to Tendris Warpwood. Here, some groups will go in search of another named NPC, Magister Kalendris. He's in the first level in the far southwest corner, an area patrolled by undead spirits. Kalendris occasionally likes to mind control players, complicating the fight, but otherwise it's a simple enough fight. Kalendris is coveted for either his Elder Magus Pendant (necklace) or Mindtap Talisman (trinket).
11. You're almost to the Prison area. Return to the spot where you fought Tendris Warpwood and through the exit to the right. There are several spirits patrolling this long corridor -- some stealthed -- so be careful running through.
12. Finally, you arrive at the Prison of Immol'thar, which is fairly huge. To the left and right are the fourth and fifth pylons, and Immol'thar waiting in the center. In addition to the elementals guarding each pylon, there are also nasty groups of Arcane Feedback and Arcade Torrents roving around this immediate area, which should absolutely be cleared before going after the final two pylons.
13. With the pylons down, it's finally time for Immol'thar. He's basically a smaller version of The Beast from Upper Blackrock Spire, and can be extremely challenging for a five-man group. He'll spawn Eyes that can complicate the battle, which the group should destroy immediately while the tank tries to maintain aggro on Immol'thar.
14. Before moving on, you may have a warlock in your group with the quest "Dreadsteed of Xoroth" for the epic mount, which happens right in the same spot you defeated Immol'thar. The event starts when the warlock lets the imp Jeevee from his jar, at which point many imps and a few elite dreadguards will storm the prison. This goes on for a while, and eventually the Dreadsteed mount will appear, followed soon after by his master, all of whom need to be defeated in order for the warlock to finish the quest.
15. With the prison events finished, it's time to go the Library for the final confrontation with Prince Tortheldrin. Conveniently, there's a passage that leads from the prison area straight to the Dire Maul library, and the prince can be found waiting under the ramp.
16. The fight with the Prince can be a tough one, complicated by the fact that he has a nasty knockback that also clears all aggro. The key is to (a) fight in the corner, with your backs to the wall, and (b) have everyone stay near the tank. If the tank has to chase the Prince across the room to regain aggro, one of your party members will likely be dead by the time he gets there. Any group members who get aggro should immediately run to the tank, and the battle becomes much more manageable.
17. Once the Prince is defeated, there's a small chest in the corner. Inside is the Gauntlet of Gordok Might, which you need to bring back to Captain Kromcrush in Dire Maul North to complete "Unfinished Gordok Business." (More on that in a second.)
18. Thought you were done? Think again. To complete the quest "The Madness Within," you'll need to return to the Shen'dralar Ancient way up at the top level of the Court of the Highborne. Yes, that means you have to leave the Library, backtrack through the prison, past Tendris Warpwood's area, and then through the undead areas back to the roof. Depending on how long you've taken, you may have to deal with respawns in certain areas.
19. Once you've made it to the Shen'dralar Ancient to turn in the quest, you're still not quite done. She gives the quest "The Treasure of the Shen'dralar," which requires that you go BACK down to the Library. Yes, again. This time it's worth it, however, as underneath the ramp where you fought the prince is a chest, and you'll get to choose one of three items: Backwood Helm (mail), Sedge Boots (leather) or Bonecrusher (54DPS 2H mace).
20. Finally, to wrap things up in Dire Maul once and for all, you'll need to do one more successful Tribute Run in Dire Maul North to complete "Unfinished Gordok Business." Why? Because you need to turn in the quest to Captain Kromcrush, which requires defeating the king while leaving Kromcrush alive. You can kill the other guards along the way if you want; you'll just have to create another Gordok Ogre Suit to keep Kromcrush alive. The reward for that quest is the Gordok Bracers of Might, which come in different flavors for plate, mail, leather and cloth.
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1. The group enters the West instance from the courtyard, via the right side door (you'll need the Crescent Key from Dire Maul East). When you zone in, you'll find yourself in the Capital Gardens, which in many ways looks similar to the other wings of Dire Maul -- a perimeter of patrols surrounding a large central area. This time, the perimeter is guarded by Ironbark Protectors, who roam alone or in pairs.
2. For most groups, the ultimate goal of a Dire Maul West run is to reach the Prison of Immol'thar, defeat him, and then confront Prince Tortheldrin in the Library. To access the prison, however, you'll need to deactivate five giant crystal pylons throughout the instance, the first of which can be found right here in the center of the Capital Gardens. Each pylon is guarded by many elementals that usually come in groups of two or three, most effectively handled by warlocks banishing. Without a warlock, clearing the elementals guarding each pylon becomes a much more tedious process.
3. After the first pylon is down, the group moves straight ahead to the Court of the Highborne. Waiting at the bottom is Tendris Warpwood, a huge boss who is also needed for the Paladin epic mount quest. Although you don't need to just yet, most groups will defeat Tendris before moving on to the next crystals.
4. The Court of the Highborne has several levels to it, and your next stop is up to the roof for the second and third pylons. Leaving Tendris Warpwood's area, the group moves back up, to the right, indoors (clearing several mobs) and then heading up the ramp to the roof.
5. On the upper level, you'll see the next pylon right in front of you. The process is the same as the first: kill all the elementals to power down the crystal. Two down, three to go.
6. Past the pylon, there's a group of non-elite skeletons between you and a small bridge leading to the other side of the roof. With enough AoE, the skeletons are simple enough to dispatch of.
7. In the middle of the bridge, almost directly above Tendris Warpwood's area, is the Shen'dralar Ancient, who gives the quest "The Madness Within." This is the actual quest to defeat Immol'thar and then the Prince, which hopefully you're well on your way to completing.
8. On the other side of the bridge is the third pylon, which shouldn't present much of a challenge if you've gotten this far. Just pull the elementals and that's three down, two to go.
9. Past the third pylon is an optional named NPC, Illyanna Ravenoak, and her pet beast, Ferra. Illyanna hits hard, and can be hard to defeat without a good tank keeping control of her while the rest of the group drops Ferra first.
10. Now done with the upper level, the group backtracks all the way down to the ramp leading to Tendris Warpwood. Here, some groups will go in search of another named NPC, Magister Kalendris. He's in the first level in the far southwest corner, an area patrolled by undead spirits. Kalendris occasionally likes to mind control players, complicating the fight, but otherwise it's a simple enough fight. Kalendris is coveted for either his Elder Magus Pendant (necklace) or Mindtap Talisman (trinket).
11. You're almost to the Prison area. Return to the spot where you fought Tendris Warpwood and through the exit to the right. There are several spirits patrolling this long corridor -- some stealthed -- so be careful running through.
12. Finally, you arrive at the Prison of Immol'thar, which is fairly huge. To the left and right are the fourth and fifth pylons, and Immol'thar waiting in the center. In addition to the elementals guarding each pylon, there are also nasty groups of Arcane Feedback and Arcade Torrents roving around this immediate area, which should absolutely be cleared before going after the final two pylons.
13. With the pylons down, it's finally time for Immol'thar. He's basically a smaller version of The Beast from Upper Blackrock Spire, and can be extremely challenging for a five-man group. He'll spawn Eyes that can complicate the battle, which the group should destroy immediately while the tank tries to maintain aggro on Immol'thar.
14. Before moving on, you may have a warlock in your group with the quest "Dreadsteed of Xoroth" for the epic mount, which happens right in the same spot you defeated Immol'thar. The event starts when the warlock lets the imp Jeevee from his jar, at which point many imps and a few elite dreadguards will storm the prison. This goes on for a while, and eventually the Dreadsteed mount will appear, followed soon after by his master, all of whom need to be defeated in order for the warlock to finish the quest.
15. With the prison events finished, it's time to go the Library for the final confrontation with Prince Tortheldrin. Conveniently, there's a passage that leads from the prison area straight to the Dire Maul library, and the prince can be found waiting under the ramp.
16. The fight with the Prince can be a tough one, complicated by the fact that he has a nasty knockback that also clears all aggro. The key is to (a) fight in the corner, with your backs to the wall, and (b) have everyone stay near the tank. If the tank has to chase the Prince across the room to regain aggro, one of your party members will likely be dead by the time he gets there. Any group members who get aggro should immediately run to the tank, and the battle becomes much more manageable.
17. Once the Prince is defeated, there's a small chest in the corner. Inside is the Gauntlet of Gordok Might, which you need to bring back to Captain Kromcrush in Dire Maul North to complete "Unfinished Gordok Business." (More on that in a second.)
18. Thought you were done? Think again. To complete the quest "The Madness Within," you'll need to return to the Shen'dralar Ancient way up at the top level of the Court of the Highborne. Yes, that means you have to leave the Library, backtrack through the prison, past Tendris Warpwood's area, and then through the undead areas back to the roof. Depending on how long you've taken, you may have to deal with respawns in certain areas.
19. Once you've made it to the Shen'dralar Ancient to turn in the quest, you're still not quite done. She gives the quest "The Treasure of the Shen'dralar," which requires that you go BACK down to the Library. Yes, again. This time it's worth it, however, as underneath the ramp where you fought the prince is a chest, and you'll get to choose one of three items: Backwood Helm (mail), Sedge Boots (leather) or Bonecrusher (54DPS 2H mace).
20. Finally, to wrap things up in Dire Maul once and for all, you'll need to do one more successful Tribute Run in Dire Maul North to complete "Unfinished Gordok Business." Why? Because you need to turn in the quest to Captain Kromcrush, which requires defeating the king while leaving Kromcrush alive. You can kill the other guards along the way if you want; you'll just have to create another Gordok Ogre Suit to keep Kromcrush alive. The reward for that quest is the Gordok Bracers of Might, which come in different flavors for plate, mail, leather and cloth.
