Blackrock Spire

Blackrock Spire is the fortress in the upper half of Blackrock Mountain, held by the orcs, ogres and trolls of Rend Blackhand's Dark Horde and by the black dragonflight of Nefarian. It is split into two instances: Lower Blackrock Spire, a dungeon built for five players (the game allowed up to ten) with bosses at level 57 to 60, and Upper Blackrock Spire, a ten-player raid whose bosses reach level 62. Upper Spire was many guilds' first raid, the home of Onyxia and Blackwing Lair attunements, and the main source of the Dungeon Set 1 chest pieces.

Background

The spire was carved by the Dark Iron mason Franclorn Forgewright as a symbol of his clan's power. After the Dark Irons summoned Ragnaros and fell under his rule, they retreated into the depths below, and during the First War the orcish Shadow Council made the spire its hidden base. After the Second War, the remnants of the Blackrock Clan rallied here as the Dark Horde under Rend Blackhand, son of the old warchief Blackhand.

They are not the true masters. Nefarian, son of Deathwing, took the top of the spire and made Rend his general, while his dragonkin breed experiments in the Rookery and his own lieutenant, General Drakkisath, guards the throne room. Nefarian's war is with Ragnaros in the depths below. In the Classic era he also walks among the mortals of Azeroth as Lord Victor Nefarius, while his sister Onyxia poses as Lady Katrana Prestor in Stormwind's court.

Layout

Lower Blackrock Spire begins at the portal on the mountain's upper levels and climbs through Hordemar City, a sprawl of halls, ramps and bridges. Three factions share it:

• Spirestone ogres under Highlord Omokk.
• Smolderthorn trolls under Shadow Hunter Vosh'gajin and War Master Voone.
• Bloodaxe orcs under Overlord Wyrmthalak, whose quarters hold the worg master Halycon and the beast tamer Gizrul the Slavener.

The spider queen Mother Smolderweb has her own nest, Quartermaster Zigris runs the supply room, and the ogre Urok Doomhowl can be called with a quest item.

Upper Blackrock Spire starts at a sealed door near the Lower Spire entrance, which opens only for a group with a [Seal of Ascension] holder. Its route goes past Pyroguard Emberseer, through the dragon hatchery of the Rookery, into Blackrock Stadium, where Rend fights for Nefarius's amusement, and up to Drakkisath's throne room. Beyond the throne room is the Orb of Command, the way into Blackwing Lair.

Bosses

Levels and drops are from our database (patch 1.12). Pieces of the Dungeon Set 1 armor (such as Valor, Lightforge and Wildheart) drop from many of these bosses.

Lower Blackrock Spire

Upper Blackrock Spire

Loot

The Lower Spire's loot is a steady run of blue items for characters just reaching 60. Highlord Omokk, War Master Voone and Overlord Wyrmthalak drop the three gemstones needed for the Seal of Ascension, so most groups kill all three whether or not they need gear.

The Upper Spire is where Classic characters began to look like raiders. General Drakkisath drops the chest pieces of each class's Dungeon Set 1, the blue sets often called Tier 0. Rend Blackhand drops the matching Dal'Rend swords, [Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge] and [Dal'Rend's Tribal Guardian], which together grant a set bonus, and very rarely the epic dagger [Felstriker]. Gyth has a small chance at a [Chromatic Carapace], a rare crafting material. Goraluk Anvilcrack drops several high-end blacksmithing plans, including [Plans: Invulnerable Mail].

Quests and attunements

• Seal of Ascension and Seal of Ascension: Vaelan, hiding in the Lower Spire, asks for an [Unadorned Seal of Ascension] (dropped by most Lower Spire enemies) and the three gemstones. The second part sends the bearer to the ancient drake Emberstrife in Dustwallow Marsh to forge the seal, which opens the Upper Spire door.
• Horde Onyxia attunement: Warlord's Command (kill Omokk, Voone and Wyrmthalak) leads to Eitrigg's Wisdom and then For The Horde!, where Thrall sends players after Rend's head. Turning in the head lets Thrall grant everyone in Orgrimmar the Warchief's Blessing buff. The chain continues with Rexxar and ends with Blood of the Black Dragon Champion, which rewards the [Drakefire Amulet], the key to Onyxia's Lair.
• Alliance Onyxia attunement: after the Windsor escort in Blackrock Depths, the Alliance chain also ends at the Spire with Drakefire Amulet for Haleh in Winterspring. Overlord Wyrmthalak drops [General Drakkisath's Command], which starts a related Alliance quest, General Drakkisath's Command.
• Blackwing Lair attunement: Scarshield Quartermaster outside the instance carries [Blackhand's Command], which starts Blackhand's Command. Players must reach the brand behind Drakkisath's throne to take the Mark of Drakkisath.
• Lower Spire quests: Put Her Down for Halycon, Mother's Milk (let Mother Smolderweb poison you), Urok Doomhowl, Snakestone of the Shadow Huntress, The Darkstone Tablet, Kibler's Exotic Pets and En-Ay-Es-Tee-Why for Kibler's pets, and Bijou's Belongings for the spy Bijou.
• Upper Spire quests: Egg Freezing and Egg Collection in the Rookery for Tinkee Steamboil, The Matron Protectorate, and Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service!, which starts when Finkle Einhorn climbs out of The Beast after it is skinned.
• Dungeon Set 2 (patch 1.10): the chain that begins with [[forever:quest:8960]] ends with the [[forever:item:22057]], used here to summon Lord Valthalak.

Strategy notes

• Pyroguard Emberseer. Using the altar in his room starts the event. The Blackhand Incarcerators channeling on him attack first, and Emberseer breaks free once they are dead.
• The Rookery. Walking too close to the eggs hatches whelps, so groups keep to the paths. Lighting the brazier called Father Flame in the middle of the room starts waves of Rookery defenders, ending with Solakar Flamewreath.
• Blackrock Stadium. Lord Victor Nefarius watches from a balcony while waves of dragonkin and handlers pour into the arena. Rend rides in on Gyth and fights on foot once he is knocked from the saddle.
• The Beast is a huge core hound in a room full of trash. It fears and knocks players back; tank it with its back away from the room's edges.
• General Drakkisath fights with two Chromatic Elite Guards. Many groups pull the guards away and kill them first, or use two tanks.

History

Blackrock Spire was in the game at launch. Upper Spire was originally open to much larger groups; patch 1.3 limited it to fifteen players and patch 1.10 to ten. For much of Classic it was the standard gateway into raiding, since the Seal of Ascension, the Dungeon Set 1 chests and the Onyxia and Blackwing Lair attunements all ran through it.

Patch 1.10 added Lord Valthalak and the Dungeon Set 2 quests. In Cataclysm the Lower Spire was capped at five players, and in Warlords of Draenor the Upper Spire was rebuilt as a new instance with the Iron Horde in control.

Sources

• Blackrock Spire - Warcraft Wiki
• Lower Blackrock Spire - Warcraft Wiki
• Upper Blackrock Spire - Warcraft Wiki
• Seal of Ascension (quest) - Warcraft Wiki