Sulfuras

Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros is the legendary two-handed mace of Ragnaros the Firelord, and the first legendary weapon players could build in World of Warcraft. It combines the rare Eye of Sulfuras from Molten Core with a hammer made by a master blacksmith, and for most of Classic it was a status symbol as much as a weapon.

How to get it

Making Sulfuras takes two pieces: the [Eye of Sulfuras], which drops from Ragnaros, and the [Sulfuron Hammer], which a blacksmith crafts. Right-clicking the Eye while carrying the hammer fuses them into [Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros].

The Eye of Sulfuras

The [Eye of Sulfuras] drops from Ragnaros at the bottom of Molten Core. Its drop chance is about 3 percent, and it can drop for any raid, not only one with a class that can use maces. It binds when picked up, so the raider who wins it is the one who will wield the finished hammer. Guilds usually handed it to a warrior, paladin or shaman who could carry a two-hander.

The Sulfuron Hammer

The other half is a crafted epic, the [Sulfuron Hammer]. To learn it, a blacksmith needs the [Plans: Sulfuron Hammer]. These come from Lokhtos Darkbargainer, the Thorium Brotherhood quartermaster in the Grim Guzzler inside Blackrock Depths. He gives the [Thorium Brotherhood Contract] to anyone who brings him a [Sulfuron Ingot], and turning that contract in through A Binding Contract rewards the plans. Sulfuron Ingots drop from Golemagg the Incinerator in Molten Core.

The recipe needs 300 Blacksmithing and a Black Anvil, and uses:

Eight Sulfuron Ingots meant eight Golemagg drops, so the hammer alone could take a guild months. The Sulfuron Hammer binds when equipped, which meant a blacksmith in the guild, or on the auction house, could make it for whoever held the Eye.

What it does

In patch 1.12 Sulfuras is a 3.7-speed two-hander that hits for 223 to 372 damage, with 12 Strength, 12 Stamina and 30 Fire resistance. While worn it deals 5 Fire damage to anyone who strikes the wielder in melee, and its chance-on-hit effect throws a fireball for 273 to 333 Fire damage plus burning damage over time.

Until Blackwing Lair opened in patch 1.6, Sulfuras had the highest damage per second of any melee weapon in the game. It kept the highest raw damage per hit until [[forever:item:22798]] arrived in Naxxramas in patch 1.11. By then raid weapons had passed it, but a player wielding Sulfuras was still the most recognizable sight in a capital city.

Lore

Sulfuras is the weapon Ragnaros carries when he rises from the lava in his lair. The hammer players build is a smaller weapon in the same image. The Sulfuron Hammer is the vessel, and the Eye of Sulfuras is the part of Ragnaros's power that makes it a true Hand of Ragnaros. The Thorium Brotherhood, a guild of Dark Iron smiths whose agent drinks in Blackrock Depths, trade the plans with a contract that disowns any harm that comes from trying to build, sell, or eat Sulfuras.

History

Sulfuras was in the game from patch 1.1, making it the first legendary item players could actually earn. Thunderfury followed in patch 1.6. Both came from Molten Core, so for the first year of the game a guild's legendaries were a public measure of how far it had gotten.

The weapon has returned in later forms. Ragnaros himself wields it in the Firelands raid of the Cataclysm expansion, and a damaged version, Sulfuras, the Extinguished Hand, dropped there. Season of Discovery also brought back the Classic version with new stats.

Sources

• Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros on Warcraft Wiki
• Sulfuron Hammer on Warcraft Wiki
• Eye of Sulfuras on Warcraft Wiki