Sign inMaraudon
Maraudon is a sprawling cave dungeon beneath the Valley of Spears in Desolace, built for groups of five players in their mid-to-high 40s. It is the holy burial ground of the centaur and the lair of Princess Theradras, the earth elemental whose grief and corruption turned the region into a wasteland. Added in patch 1.2, it was the first new dungeon Blizzard shipped after World of Warcraft launched, and with three wings it is one of the longest five-player runs of the Classic era.
Background
Centaur legend says the race began in Maraudon. Zaetar, a son of the demigod Cenarius, came to the caverns, fell in love with Princess Theradras, and fathered the first centaur khans with her. The children turned on their father and killed him. Theradras hid his body in the deepest grotto and, by most tellings, held his spirit there as well. Her power seeped out through the stone, poisoning the caves and the land above.
The centaur still treat the place as sacred. Only their most devout priests and the spirits of the dead are meant to walk its halls, and the Maraudine clan guards the entrance. Over time other creatures moved in. The satyr Lord Vyletongue arrived and won Theradras's trust by breeding monsters for her, among them the plant horrors Noxxion and Razorlash. Celebras, Zaetar's nephew, came with his dryad sisters to free his uncle's spirit and was corrupted by the caves instead.
Layout
The dungeon starts in the open caves under the Valley of Spears. The tunnel ends at a fork marked by glowing crystals: purple on one side, orange on the other. Each path leads through outer caverns full of centaur ghosts and elementals to a separate instance portal.
- Orange side (Foulspore Cavern): a short, poisonous wing holding Noxxion and Razorlash.
- Purple side (Wicked Grotto): the satyr-infested wing with Tinkerer Gizlock, Lord Vyletongue and Celebras the Cursed. The rare Meshlok the Harvester sometimes wanders between the two halves.
- Inner caverns (Earth Song Falls): reached by pushing through either wing and dropping into the great lake, or through a third portal in the middle of the outer caves. In Classic that middle portal needs the [Scepter of Celebras], which players make with the Celebras quest chain. Here wait the mountain giant Landslide, the old crocolisk Rotgrip and Princess Theradras, whose chamber sits in Zaetar's Grave.
A full clear takes a long time. Most groups split the dungeon into two or three trips, or skip straight to the princess once someone in the group has the scepter.
Bosses
Levels and drops are from our database (patch 1.12). Each boss has its own small loot table of blue (rare) items, so the drops below are representative rather than complete.
Almost every boss also drops a [Theradric Crystal Carving], the item collected for the Twisted Evils quest.
Loot
Maraudon's rewards are aimed at characters in the 45 to 52 range, a stretch where few other dungeons offer much. Princess Theradras has the deepest table, with seven blue items spread across weapons, armor and a ring; Landslide's [Fist of Stone] is a one-handed mace with a mana-restoring effect, and Gizlock's [Megashot Rifle] is one of the better ranged weapons available to hunters at this level.
Quest rewards add to this. The Princess kill quest offers a choice of the [Thrash Blade], the [Resurgence Rod] and the [Verdant Keeper's Aim], and the Celebras chain gives everyone who completes it their own [Scepter of Celebras].
Quests
Most Maraudon quests start in Desolace, at Shadowprey Village for the Horde and Nijel's Point for the Alliance, or at the centaur camps just outside the dungeon.
- Legends of Maraudon: Cavindra, waiting outside the entrance, asks you to recover the two halves of Celebras's scepter. Noxxion carries the Celebrian Rod and Lord Vyletongue the Celebrian Diamond. After you defeat Celebras the Cursed, his freed spirit, Celebras the Redeemed, performs a ritual for The Scepter of Celebras and hands each player the scepter, which opens the direct portal to the inner caverns.
- Corruption of Earth and Seed (Horde, from Selendra) and Corruption of Earth and Seed (Alliance, from Keeper Marandis): kill Princess Theradras.
- Seed of Life: after Theradras dies, Zaetar's Spirit appears and asks you to carry the first seed that sprouted from his remains to his brother, Keeper Remulos, in Moonglade.
- Vyletongue Corruption (Horde, from Vark Battlescar) and Vyletongue Corruption (Alliance, from Talendria): fill a vial at the orange crystal pool, then pour it on Vylestem Vines to draw out and kill eight Noxious Scions.
- Twisted Evils: Willow, a Twilight's Hammer agent camped in Desolace, wants 25 Theradric Crystal Carvings. Her rewards include the [Acumen Robes] and the [Hulkstone Pauldrons].
- The Pariah's Instructions: the exiled Centaur Pariah in southern Desolace sends you after the ghosts of the five original khans to assemble the Amulet of Union. The reward is the [Mark of the Chosen].
- Shadowshard Fragments and Shadowshard Fragments: Uthel'nay in Orgrimmar and Archmage Tervosh in Theramore want ten Shadowshard Fragments from the crystal golems in the purple caves.
Strategy notes
- The outer caves are not instanced but are full of elites. Groups heading for the Princess with a scepter can run through them to the middle portal and skip both wings.
- Noxxion splits into small adds partway through the fight. Kill them or keep them off the healer.
- Landslide knocks players away and tramples those near him; fight him with your back to a wall.
- Princess Theradras hits hard and throws boulders at players standing at range. A sturdy tank and a healer with mana to spare are the key.
History
Maraudon arrived in patch 1.2, the update known as "Mysteries of Maraudon," and became the main dungeon for the late 40s, filling the gap between Zul'Farrak and the Blackrock dungeons. It saw fewer groups than its rewards deserved. Desolace was out of the way, most players leveled through the 30s and 40s in Stranglethorn Vale instead, and a complete clear took hours.
Patch 3.0.8 removed the scepter requirement for the middle portal, and in Cataclysm (patch 4.0.3a) the level range dropped from 45-52 to 32-39. Theradras returned during the Elemental Unrest as Crown Princess Theradras.
Sources
Categories: Dungeons and Raids
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