Sign inNefarian
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Nefarian is the eldest son of Deathwing and the master of Blackrock Spire, where he rules the Blackrock Clan and the Dark Horde from his human guise, Lord Victor Nefarius. He is the final boss of Blackwing Lair, the 40-player raid at the top of Blackrock Mountain that opened in patch 1.6 (July 2005). His laboratory experiments, his war with Ragnaros, and his habit of mocking raids as they fight make him one of Classic's most present villains.
Biography
After Deathwing disappeared at the end of the Second War, his children took over his schemes. While Onyxia worked her way into the Stormwind court, Nefarian claimed the upper half of Blackrock Mountain. He gathered the remnants of the Blackrock orcs under Warchief Rend Blackhand, the Dark Horde, and set his black dragonkin above them.
From his lair he wages a long war against Ragnaros and the Dark Iron Dwarves for control of the mountain. Nefarian also runs experiments: he mixes the blood of all five dragonflights to create a new chromatic dragonflight, an army that he hopes will be stronger than any single flight. The drakonids, chromatic whelps and the two-headed hound Chromaggus in Blackwing Lair are the products of that work. He also captured and corrupted the red dragon Vaelastrasz.
When dealing with mortals he takes the form of a black-clad nobleman, Lord Victor Nefarius, "Lord of Blackrock".
In World of Warcraft
Lord Victor Nefarius in Blackrock Spire
Nefarius first appears in Upper Blackrock Spire. When players reach the arena outside Rend Blackhand's hall, Nefarius taunts them from a balcony while waves of Blackhand troops attack, then sends Warchief Rend Blackhand and his drake into the fight. Quests elsewhere, such as Haleh's Wrath of the Blue Flight in Winterspring, name him as the enemy behind the dragonkin.
Getting into Blackwing Lair
The lair sits above Upper Blackrock Spire. To use the orb that teleports raiders in, each player must have read Blackhand's Command, a letter carried by the Scarshield Quartermaster in Blackrock Mountain. The letter refers to the Mark of Drakkisath, which players earn by killing General Drakkisath and touching the orb in his hall.
Inside, the raid fights Razorgore the Untamed, Vaelastrasz, Broodlord Lashlayer, three drakes (Firemaw, Ebonroc and Flamegor), and Chromaggus before reaching Nefarian.
The fight
The encounter begins with Lord Victor Nefarius sitting at a table at the end of the lair. Speaking to him starts the battle: he banishes his disguise, and drakonids of random colors pour in from both sides of the room while he fires shadow bolts and fears the raid. Once enough drakonids have died, Nefarian himself lands.
In his dragon form he uses Shadow Flame, a frontal cone of shadow fire that kills anyone not wearing an [Onyxia Scale Cloak]. He also has a fear and Veil of Shadow, which cuts healing. Every 30 seconds or so he calls out a class and curses it: warriors are forced into Berserker Stance, mages turn random players into sheep, hunters break their ranged weapons, priests' heals start to hurt, and so on. Each class call needs its own plan.
At 20% health, every drakonid killed in the first phase rises as a bone construct, and the raid has to burn Nefarian down while tanking the adds.
Loot and rewards
Nefarian always drops the [Head of Nefarian] (Alliance) or [Head of Nefarian] (Horde). The Lord of Blackrock and The Lord of Blackrock mount the head at the city gates and grant the Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer buff, and the follow-up quest rewards one of the Master Dragonslayer pieces.
He drops the Tier 2 chest pieces, such as [Breastplate of Wrath] and [Robes of Transcendence], plus [Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood], [Staff of the Shadow Flame], [Crul'shorukh, Edge of Chaos], [Lok'amir il Romathis], [Neltharion's Tear], [Prestor's Talisman of Connivery] and [Mish'undare, Circlet of the Mind Flayer]. Players on the scepter quest also take the [[forever:item:21138]] from his body, which he stole from Vaelastrasz.
Later history
Nefarian's death in Blackwing Lair was not the end. In Cataclysm (2010) he returned as an undead dragon in Blackwing Descent, under the rebuilt Blackrock Mountain, with a reanimated Onyxia at his side. He has also been the final boss of Hearthstone's Blackrock Mountain adventure. Blackwing Lair returned with World of Warcraft Classic in 2020.
Trivia
- Several items in the Blackwing Lair loot table are named after his family: [Neltharion's Tear] for his father, whose true name is Neltharion, and [Prestor's Talisman of Connivery] for his sister's alias.
Sources
Categories: Characters