Sign inAtiesh
Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian is the staff of the Guardians of Tirisfal, last carried by Medivh, and the legendary staff that spellcasters could rebuild in Classic's version of Naxxramas. It was the first legendary item made for casters, and it took 40 splinters, two final-boss drops and a demon fight in Stratholme to finish.
How to get it
Splinters and the Frame
Kel'Thuzad's lieutenants in Naxxramas guard the broken staff. Nearly every Naxxramas boss except Sapphiron and Kel'Thuzad has a chance to drop a [[forever:item:22726]], including [[forever:npc:15956]], [[forever:npc:15953]], [[forever:npc:15952]], [[forever:npc:15954]], [[forever:npc:15936]], [[forever:npc:16011]], [[forever:npc:16061]], [[forever:npc:16060]], [[forever:npc:16028]], [[forever:npc:15931]], [[forever:npc:15932]] and [[forever:npc:15928]] all carry them. A raider needs 40 splinters, which combine into the [[forever:item:22727]]. Since several splinters drop per raid but must be shared among every caster who wants one, the frame could take a guild many months of clears.
Holding the frame starts [[forever:quest:9250]]. Two mages who study the staff, [[forever:npc:16381]] inside Naxxramas and [[forever:npc:16116]] at Light's Hope Chapel, react badly to it: talking to either while carrying the frame kills them on the spot. The quest leads to the bronze dragon Anachronos at the Caverns of Time in Tanaris.
Head and base
Anachronos then asks, in [[forever:quest:9251]], for the two remaining pieces:
- The [[forever:item:22733]], which drops from [[forever:npc:15990]] at the end of Naxxramas
- The [[forever:item:22734]], which drops from [[forever:npc:15727]] at the end of the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj
Both are raid-final bosses, and Naxxramas in particular was beaten by only a small share of guilds before the expansion arrived.
Cleansing the staff
Assembled, the staff becomes Atiesh, the Befouled Greatstaff, which still carries the taint of Sargeras. The class quest from Anachronos ([[forever:quest:9270]] for mages, [[forever:quest:9271]] for warlocks, [[forever:quest:9257]] for priests and [[forever:quest:9269]] for druids) sends the player to Stratholme. Using the staff on consecrated ground in Festival Lane exorcises the demon [[forever:npc:16387]], who must be killed before the cleansed staff can be returned to Anachronos.
The four staves
Each class gets its own version, with the same base damage and a shared portal to Karazhan but different bonuses and a cloth color to match.
| Class | Item | Key bonuses |
|---|---|---|
| Mage | [[forever:item:22589]] | Up to 150 spell damage, 2% spell hit, party aura of +2% spell critical chance |
| Warlock | [[forever:item:22630]] | Up to 150 spell damage, 2% spell critical chance, party aura of up to 33 spell damage |
| Priest | [[forever:item:22631]] | Up to 300 healing and 120 spell damage, party aura of up to 62 healing |
| Druid | [[forever:item:22632]] | Up to 300 healing, +420 attack power in feral forms, party aura of 11 mana every 5 seconds |
Every version has a use effect that opens a portal to Karazhan, Medivh's tower. In patch 1.11 Karazhan was not yet open, so the portal led to a closed front door. It became a working shortcut when the Burning Crusade opened the raid. The staff also draws ravens to its wielder, a nod to Medivh's shapeshifting.
Lore
Atiesh was passed from Guardian to Guardian until it reached Medivh, the last of them. After Medivh's death the Kirin Tor brought it to Dalaran, where every mage who handled it died. They sealed it behind wards with [[forever:npc:16116]] as its keeper. When Archimonde destroyed Dalaran during the Third War, the wards failed and the staff shattered. Kel'Thuzad gathered the pieces, and the Argent Dawn's assault on Naxxramas was partly an effort to keep the staff out of his hands.
History
Atiesh arrived with Naxxramas in patch 1.11 in June 2006. When the Ashbringer rumors were at their height, community manager Eyonix had promised that the Ashbringer would not come before "an awesome legendary item for casters", and Atiesh was that item. The staff could be built only until patch 3.0.2, when Naxxramas moved to Northrend for Wrath of the Lich King and the splinters stopped dropping.
Sources
Categories: Items
Comments (0)
No comments yet.