Stratholme

Stratholme is the burned ruin of Lordaeron's second city, in the north of Eastern Plaguelands, and one of the main level 60 dungeons of Classic World of Warcraft. The city is split in two: on the Live side, the last of the Scarlet Crusade hold a fortress against the dead, and on the Undead side, Baron Rivendare rules from the Slaughterhouse. Its bosses range from level 57 to 62, and the Baron's drops, including the rare Deathcharger's Reins, made the "Baron run" one of the most repeated dungeon routes of the era.

Background

Stratholme was once the jewel of northern Lordaeron and the birthplace of the Knights of the Silver Hand. During the Third War, the Cult of the Damned spread the plague through grain shipped into the city. Prince Arthas arrived with Uther the Lightbringer and Jaina Proudmoore, realized the people had already eaten the grain and would rise as undead, and ordered the city purged. Uther and Jaina refused. Arthas and his loyal soldiers killed the population and burned the city, an event remembered as the Culling of Stratholme.

The ruins never recovered. In the Classic era the Scourge holds most of the city, ruled by Baron Rivendare, a former Lordaeron noble who traded his loyalty to Kel'Thuzad for undeath. A fortress of the Scarlet Crusade, the Scarlet Bastion, stands in the northwest under Grand Crusader Dathrohan. The crusaders believe they are fighting a holy war, but their commander is the dreadlord Balnazzar wearing the body of Saidan Dathrohan, one of the original paladins of the Silver Hand. Above the Plaguewood, the floating necropolis of Naxxramas watches the city.

Layout

The dungeon has two entrances on the north side of Eastern Plaguelands.

• The Main Gate leads into the Live side: Market Row, Crusaders' Square, Elders' Square and the Scarlet Bastion, where the crusaders are fighting the Scourge street by street.
• The Service Entrance, a side gate, leads directly into the Undead side: Slaughter Square, three ziggurats and the Slaughterhouse. It is locked from outside and needs the [Key to the City], dropped by Magistrate Barthilas, or a rogue to pick the lock.

The two halves are joined inside, so a group can clear the whole city in one long run, but most groups pick one side at a time.

Bosses

Levels and drops are from our database (patch 1.12).

Live side

Undead side

Two more bosses can appear on either side. The Stratholme Courier drops keys to the city's postboxes, such as the [Market Row Postbox Key]; opening the postboxes calls Postmaster Malown (level 60), who drops [The Postmaster's Tunic], [The Postmaster's Trousers], [The Postmaster's Band], [The Postmaster's Seal] and [Malown's Slam]. Patch 1.10 added the summoned pair [[forever:npc:16101]] and [[forever:npc:16102]] for the Dungeon Set 2 quests.

Loot

Baron Rivendare is the main draw. He drops the leg piece of every class's Dungeon Set 1, a strong list of blue weapons and jewelry, and two famous rarities: the epic sword [Runeblade of Baron Rivendare] and the [Deathcharger's Reins], a skeletal warhorse mount. The mount's drop chance was tiny, and some players ran the Baron hundreds of times without seeing it.

The Live side has its own favorites. Balnazzar has a small chance at the [Book of the Dead], and his table includes the [Pattern: Truefaith Vestments] tailoring pattern. Postmaster Malown drops a full themed set of postal gear. Cannon Master Willey and Archivist Galford each drop Set 1 pieces, and Galford's [Tome of Knowledge] is a caster off-hand found nowhere else. Many creatures in the city also drop Righteous Orbs, a material for high-end crafting.

The Baron run

From patch 1.10 the run had a timer. In the quest [[forever:quest:8945]], the ghost of [[forever:npc:16016]] asks you to rescue his wife, [[forever:npc:16031]], held prisoner by the Baron. Once the group is inside the Undead side, Rivendare announces that he will kill her in 45 minutes. Reaching him in time means clearing the three ziggurats (Baroness Anastari, Nerub'enkan and Maleki the Pallid), which unlocks the Slaughterhouse, then killing Ramstein the Gorger and the waves of undead that follow before the Baron himself. A group that makes it in time saves Ysida, completes the quest and receives the [[forever:item:22137]].

Even before the timer, groups ran this route over and over for the Baron's loot, and a fast clear became a point of pride for Classic players.

Quests

• Above and Beyond: Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff at Light's Hope wants Baron Rivendare's head, which leads to Lord Maxwell Tyrosus.
• The Archivist and The Truth Comes Crashing Down: kill Archivist Galford and burn the Scarlet archive; the Grand Crusader's true form leaves the Head of Balnazzar, which starts the second quest.
• Ramstein (Horde): Nathanos Blightcaller in Eastern Plaguelands wants the head of Ramstein the Gorger, the abomination that escaped him.
• Of Love and Family: the painting "Of Love and Family" hangs in the Scarlet Bastion and is part of the redemption chain for Tirion Fordring.
• The Great Fras Siabi: Smokey LaRue wants a box of Fras Siabi's premium tobacco, which means a fight with Fras Siabi at his old smoke shop.
• Houses of the Holy: Leonid Barthalomew the Revered wants crates of [Stratholme Holy Water] from around the city.
• The Flesh Does Not Lie and The Active Agent: plague samples and Scourge data from the ziggurats for Betina Bigglezink.
• The Restless Souls: Egan in Eastern Plaguelands asks you to free the ghosts of the city's citizens.
• The Medallion of Faith and Aurius' Reckoning: a hidden quest. The Medallion of Faith, found in a chest guarded by Malor the Zealous, lets the paladin spirit Aurius join the fight against the Baron.
• Menethil's Gift: part of the Ras Frostwhisper chain for Scholomance.

Strategy notes

• The Undead side is long and packed with large groups of skeletons, ghouls and abominations. Area-of-effect damage and a paladin or priest for undead crowd control help a lot.
• The ziggurats each hold a boss and a crystal. Killing the boss and every enemy inside topples the crystal; all three must fall before the Slaughterhouse opens. Stratholme Holy Water from the city's crates deals heavy damage to undead and is useful here.
• Ramstein the Gorger tramples nearby players and knocks out the tank; after him, waves of Black Guards and undead come out of the Slaughterhouse.
• Baron Rivendare raises skeletons during the fight and sacrifices them with Death Pact to heal himself, while his Unholy Aura damages everyone near him. Kill or crowd-control the skeletons quickly.
• Balnazzar first fights as the Grand Crusader. When he drops low he reveals his demon form, which can take control of a player's mind and put others to sleep.

History

Stratholme was in the game at launch. Patch 1.3 limited it to ten players, and patch 1.10 cut it to five, the same patch that added the Ysida rescue and the Dungeon Set 2 summons. When Naxxramas arrived in patch 1.11, its necropolis floated above the Plaguelands near the city.

In Wrath of the Lich King the Caverns of Time added a separate dungeon, The Culling of Stratholme, which replays Arthas's purge. In Cataclysm Baron Rivendare was replaced in the Slaughterhouse by his son, Lord Aurius Rivendare, after the Baron moved to Naxxramas.

Sources

• Stratholme - Warcraft Wiki
• Stratholme (Classic) - Warcraft Wiki
• Dead Man's Plea - Warcraft Wiki
• Baron Rivendare - Warcraft Wiki