Gahz'rilla

Gahz'rilla is a giant three-headed hydra that the Sandfury trolls of Zul'Farrak worship as a demigod. In Classic she doesn't appear on her own: a player has to strike the gong at the city's sacred pool with the Mallet of Zul'Farrak, made far away in The Hinterlands, before she rises from the water. That long errand made her an optional boss.

Background

When the Gurubashi Empire's trolls still held the lands that became Tanaris, they built Zul'Farrak around a sacred pool. From that pool they learned to call up Gahz'rilla, a hydra so powerful that her scales crackle with electricity. The trolls revere her as a god, and the hydra is a common motif in the city's carvings and ornaments. The secret of her summoning is closely kept.

The game's Adventure Guide adds that legends call her a beloved pet of the Old Gods, or a demigod in her own right. Wary of her icy temper, the Sandfury only rouse her when they have plenty of sacrifices ready to feed her. Quests sometimes call the hydra "he", but most sources use "she".

Summoning her

In Classic, players need the [Mallet of Zul'Farrak]:

1. Take the [Sacred Mallet] from Qiaga the Keeper at the Altar of Zul in The Hinterlands.
2. Carry it to the altar at the top of the troll city of Jintha'Alor, nearby, and use it there to turn it into the Mallet of Zul'Farrak.
3. In Zul'Farrak, strike the gong by the sacred pool with the mallet. Gahz'rilla rises from the water.

Ancient Tablets looted from the city's trolls describe the process.

Abilities

• Icicle: a bolt of ice that deals heavy frost damage and slows the target.
• Freeze Solid: freezes a player in a block of ice, stunning them and dealing frost damage over a few seconds.
• Gahz'rilla Slam: hits everyone near her and throws them into the air.

Strategy

Gahz'rilla hits hard and deals mostly frost damage. The tank should hold her at the edge of the pool, with the healer at range. Gahz'rilla Slam throws nearby players into the air, so melee players should expect to lose a few seconds getting back to her. Freeze Solid can land on anyone, including the healer, so keep a second source of healing or potions ready. Frost resistance helps: a paladin's Frost Resistance Aura or a shaman's Frost Resistance Totem cuts the damage from her ice.

Loot

From our database (patch 1.12):

Gahz'rilla Scale Armor is mail with Spirit and Stamina. The Gahz'rilla Fang is an uncommon dagger that wraps the wielder in static electricity, hurting anyone who hits them.

Quests

• Gahz'rilla: Wizzle Brassbolts at the Shimmering Flats in Thousand Needles wants Gahz'rilla's electrified scale to power his race car. The reward is a choice of [Speedy Racer Goggles] or [Carrot on a Stick], a trinket that makes the wearer's mount 3% faster.

Later history

Patch 3.0.8 made Gahz'rilla always present, so the mallet is no longer needed. In Cataclysm's Elemental Unrest event, the Sandfury try to send her against Stormwind and Thunder Bluff. Hunters have been able to tame her since patch 6.0.2.

Trivia

• The Warcraft Wiki suggests her name and her heads may be a nod to Godzilla and his three-headed enemy King Ghidorah.

Sources

• Gahz'rilla, Warcraft Wiki
• Mallet of Zul'Farrak, Warcraft Wiki
• WoWDB quest and loot data for patch 1.12