Olaf

Olaf is the biggest of the Lost Dwarves, the three brothers trapped in Uldaman along with Baelog and Eric "The Swift". He is the trio's shield-bearer, and Horde groups meet him as part of a three-dwarf boss fight at Dig Two. He is based on Olaf the Stout from Blizzard's 1993 game The Lost Vikings, and his shield even lets the wearer fall slowly, a trick the original Olaf was known for.

Background

Olaf came to Uldaman with his brothers on a contract from the Explorers' League of Ironforge, to clear a way through the vault for the League's researchers. The three got lost, the troggs rose up and overran the dig, and the brothers were left stranded at Dig Two. Olaf passed the time with a bet: he told Baelog his beard would reach his knees before they saw anyone who wasn't a trogg. Alliance adventurers found them while he still had a few inches to go.

Olaf is unusually large for a dwarf and is described as the brawn rather than the brains of the family.

Abilities and strategy

Olaf favors defense. In the fight he uses Shield Slam, a shield bash that stuns its target for a moment. He has the most health of the three brothers, which makes him the natural one to leave for last: control him or let an off-tank hold him while Baelog and Eric go down, then finish him.

The brothers belong to the Ironforge faction. Alliance players can't attack them and get quests from Baelog instead.

Loot

From our database (patch 1.12):

Olaf's All Purpose Shield has Stamina and a use effect that slows the wearer's fall. In The Lost Vikings, Olaf could hold his shield over his head to float down from heights, and the item copies that. He also drops Oil of Olaf, a white consumable that raises armor, and an assortment of leatherworking armor kits.

Later history

After Cataclysm the brothers appear at Dragon's Mouth in the Badlands, where Olaf shows Alliance players his defensive skills with a taunting shout and a shield wall. In Warlords of Draenor Olaf loses his beloved shield escaping the Bloodmaul Slag Mines and asks players at their garrison inn to get it back, twice. In Dragonflight he returns to Uldaman with his brothers for a new boss fight, now dressed in blue with a winged helmet like Olaf in The Lost Vikings 2.

Trivia

• Olaf wears green clothes and a horned helmet like Olaf in the first Lost Vikings game.
• In our data, Olaf is the only creature that drops Oil of Olaf.

Sources

• Olaf, Warcraft Wiki
• The Lost Dwarves (tactics), Warcraft Wiki
• WoWDB loot data for patch 1.12