Quel'Serrar

Quel'Serrar is an ancient elven sword that warriors and paladins could earn in Classic by tempering a blade in the fire and blood of Onyxia. The quest begins with one of the rarest drops in Dire Maul and ends with a raid trick in Onyxia's Lair, and the finished sword was one of the best tanking weapons of its day.

How to get it

Foror's Compendium

Everything starts with [Foror's Compendium of Dragon Slaying], a book that drops from the bosses of Dire Maul at a rate of about 0.2 percent. Almost every Dire Maul boss can drop it, from King Gordok in the north wing to Alzzin the Wildshaper in the east and Magister Kalendris in the west. The rate was so low that nobody could reasonably farm it, so most copies changed hands on the auction house for large sums. The book does not bind on pickup, so any class could sell it.

The book starts Foror's Compendium. Returning it to Lorekeeper Lydros in the Athenaeum, the library of Dire Maul's west wing, earns reputation with the Shen'dralar and prompts him to conjure [A Dull and Flat Elven Blade] for the player.

The Forging of Quel'Serrar

Handing the dull blade back to Lydros in The Forging of Quel'Serrar begins the real test. He trades it for an [Unfired Ancient Blade] and the final quest, also called The Forging of Quel'Serrar:

1. Enter Onyxia's Lair with a raid and engage Onyxia.
2. Drop the Unfired Ancient Blade on the ground where Onyxia's breath will hit it. Her Deep Breath, the fire she breathes across the room while flying in the second phase, heats it into a Heated Ancient Blade.
3. Pick up the heated blade before it cools. It only stays hot for a short time.
4. Kill Onyxia and plunge the heated blade into her corpse, which turns it into the [Treated Ancient Blade].
5. Bring the treated blade back to Lydros for [Quel'Serrar].

Getting Onyxia to breathe on the blade was the tricky part. The player had to guess where she would breathe, survive the fire long enough to grab the blade, and then make sure the raid killed her before it cooled.

What it does

[Quel'Serrar] is a 2.0-speed one-handed sword with 84 to 126 damage and 12 Stamina. Its chance-on-hit effect, Sanctuary, grants the wielder 13 defense and 300 armor while it lasts. Fast attacks and a defensive proc made it a strong main-hand weapon for warriors who tank. It is restricted to warriors and paladins and carries the flavor text "The High Blade."

Lore

In older lore, Quel'Serrar was a blade forged long ago with the help of the dragonflights, given to the night elves, and later lost. Lydros and the Shen'dralar, the last Highborne who hide in Dire Maul with their prince, Prince Tortheldrin, still hold the knowledge to restore it. Later expansions named it one of several Prismatic Blades and introduced its twin, Quel'Delar, which belonged to the high elves.

History

Quel'Serrar arrived in patch 1.3, the same patch that opened Dire Maul. Because of the book's drop rate, a Quel'Serrar from the original game was a rare sight. The quest stayed in the game until patch 3.2.2, when it was removed. Later games gave the blade new forms, including Burnished and Gleaming Quel'Serrar.

Sources

• Quel'Serrar on Warcraft Wiki
• The Forging of Quel'Serrar on Warcraft Wiki