Lord Alexei Barov

Lord Alexei Barov was the lord of Caer Darrow, the nobleman who sold his family's keep to the Cult of the Damned in exchange for immortality. The cult kept its promise in its own way: he now serves the Scholomance as an undead death knight in the Barov Family Vault. Many players counted him the hardest of the six instructors whose deaths summon Darkmaster Gandling.

Background

Before the Scourge came, Alexei Barov ruled Caer Darrow, Brill, Tarren Mill and Southshore. He was husband to Lady Illucia Barov and father to Jandice Barov and to the brothers Alexi Barov and Weldon Barov. Not content with all that land, the Barovs made a deal with Kel'Thuzad: they gave him Caer Darrow and the crypts beneath it, and the cult turned those crypts into a school for necromancy. Alexei was raised as a death knight to serve it.

Along with Baron Rivendare, he was one of the first death knights in World of Warcraft. The deed to Caer Darrow lies next to him in the family vault, and both surviving sons want it.

Abilities

• Unholy Aura: constant shadow damage to everyone near him, like Baron Rivendare's aura.
• Veil of Shadow: cuts healing on nearby players by 75%.
• Immolate: fire damage over time.

He fights alongside two undead guards, and the three are linked: pulling one pulls all of them.

Strategy

The aura is the problem. Everyone within its reach takes steady shadow damage, so groups tank him where the casters and healers can stand out of range, often at the foot of the stairs into the Headmaster's Study. A priest's Shadow Protection or a paladin's Shadow Resistance Aura helps a great deal, and Veil of Shadow should be dispelled from the tank right away.

The guards need handling too. Common plans include a priest shackling one guard while an offtank holds the other, a hunter's Freeze Trap on one, a paladin turning one with Turn Undead, or a hunter, mage or druid kiting Alexei around the upper ring of the study while the group kills the guards. Warcraft Wiki's strategy notes say a group that can beat Alexei can usually finish the dungeon.

Loot

Drop chances are from our database (patch 1.12). Since patch 1.4 he always drops at least one rare. His share of the instructors' table is larger than theirs.

[Lightforge Bracers] are the paladin's Dungeon Set 1 bracers (see Tier Sets). He also drops a [Corruptor's Scourgestone].

Quests

Barov Family Fortune (Horde, from Alexi Barov at the Bulwark) and Barov Family Fortune (Alliance, from Weldon Barov at Chillwind Camp) both want four deeds hidden in the school: [The Deed to Caer Darrow] beside Alexei, plus [The Deed to Brill], [The Deed to Tarren Mill] and [The Deed to Southshore] elsewhere in the dungeon. The follow-ups, The Last Barov and The Last Barov, send you to kill the other brother.

Later history

In Mists of Pandaria, Alexei's spirit returns as the Talking Skull, guiding players through the rebuilt school out of regret for what he did to his family. After Gandling's death he shows his true form and finally rests. The Legacy of Scholomance brought back his Classic fight in patch 10.1.5.

Sources

• Lord Alexei Barov - Warcraft Wiki
• The Deed to Caer Darrow - Warcraft Wiki