Sunken Temple

The Sunken Temple, properly the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, is a five-player dungeon under a lake in the Swamp of Sorrows, where exiled troll priests try to summon the blood god Hakkar the Soulflayer. Its bosses run from level 50 to 55, putting it between Maraudon and the Blackrock Mountain dungeons. The temple is known for its puzzles: several bosses only appear, or only become reachable, after the group does something first, which makes it confusing on a first visit and rewarding once it is understood.

Background

More than a thousand years ago the Atal'ai, a sect of priests in the Gurubashi Empire, tried to bring Hakkar into the world. The ritual tore the empire apart in a civil war, and the surviving priests were driven out. They fled north into the swamps and built a great temple where they could keep trying.

Ysera, Aspect of the green dragonflight, learned of the plan and smashed the temple down into the marsh, then left dragons to guard the ruins. The guardians did not stay pure. The Emerald Nightmare slowly twisted them, and the Atal'ai who returned under Jammal'an the Prophet found the wardens confused and easy to corrupt. In the Classic era the trolls hold the temple again, their rituals have resumed, and the green dragons under Shade of Eranikus are now as dangerous as the priests they were meant to watch.

Layout

The entrance is underwater. Players swim down into the drowned ruins in the middle of the lake in the Swamp of Sorrows (Sunken Temple), then follow a flooded corridor to the instance portal. Inside, the temple is a set of stacked rings around a central pit.

• The upper ring holds six troll champions standing on balconies. Each one guards a sealed area.
• The dragon pit below is full of corrupted dragonkin and the four drakes who serve the Shade of Eranikus.
• The Lair of the Chosen, off the pit, is where Jammal'an and his undead servant hold court.
• The basement, reached by separate stairs, is optional. It holds a circle of serpent statues and the hidden boss Atal'alarion.
• The Sanctum of the Fallen God is the altar room where the Avatar of Hakkar can be summoned.

A hole in the center of the dragon pit drops straight into the basement. Falling through it is a common way to lose a group member for a long time.

Bosses

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

The four drakes share one loot table, and each item on it has only a small chance to drop from any single kill. The troll champions also carry the colored Voodoo Feathers used in several class quests.

Strategy notes

Atal'alarion. In the basement, six serpent statues sit on balconies around a pool. Activating them in the right order (south, north, southwest, southeast, northwest, northeast) summons Atal'alarion into the water below. The quest Secret of the Circle sends players here.

The six trolls. A force field keeps the group away from Jammal'an until all six troll champions on the upper balconies are dead. They are spread around the ring, each with a pack of priests and undead.

Jammal'an and Ogom. The Lair of the Chosen has to be cleared before the pull, since every pack joins the fight otherwise. Kill Jammal'an first: he can turn a player against the group with his Hex and also casts heals.

The drakes. Dreamscythe and Weaver fly loops over the pit; Hazzas and Morphaz guard the southern hall to the Shade. Their acid breath hits everyone in front of them, so tanks should turn them away from the group.

Shade of Eranikus. The Shade can't be killed until Jammal'an is dead. Any dragonkin left alive in the pit will run to help him once he is pulled, so clear them first.

Avatar of Hakkar. Optional. Someone in the group must carry the [Egg of Hakkar] from the Yeh'kinya quest chain. The ritual at the altar draws waves of defenders, including Nightmare Suppressor packs that try to stop it, before the Avatar takes form.

Quests

• Into The Temple of Atal'Hakkar (Alliance): Brohann Caskbelly of the Explorers' League in Stormwind wants ten Atal'ai Tablets. It follows In Search of The Temple.
• The Temple of Atal'Hakkar (Horde): Fel'zerul in Stonard wants twenty [Fetish of Hakkar], which most trolls in the temple drop. It follows Pool of Tears and The Atal'ai Exile. Both faction quests reward the [Guardian Talisman].
• Jammal'an the Prophet: the Atal'ai Exile in The Hinterlands wants the [Head of Jammal'an].
• The Stone Circle chain: The Sunken Temple (Horde, Witch Doctor Uzer'i in Feralas) and The Sunken Temple (Alliance, Angelas Moonbreeze) send you to the goblin Marvon Rivetseeker in Tanaris. He sends you to fetch the Stone Circle from his old workshop in Ratchet in The Stone Circle, then into the temple for Into the Depths and Secret of the Circle, which rewards the [Hakkari Urn].
• The God Hakkar: the end of a chain from Yeh'kinya in Tanaris that begins with Screecher Spirits. You fill the Egg of Hakkar during the Avatar ritual. Rewards include the [Gemburst Circlet] and [Lifeforce Dirk].
• The Essence of Eranikus: the Shade of Eranikus drops the [Essence of Eranikus], which starts this quest on the spot. Placing it in the Essence Font gives the [Chained Essence of Eranikus] trinket, and a follow-up, The Essence of Eranikus, goes to Itharius in the swamp.
• Haze of Evil and Zapper Fuel: two Un'Goro Crater quests that need Atal'ai Haze from the temple's oozes and worms.
• Class quests. Eight classes have a level 52 quest here. Hunters (The Green Drake), mages (Destroy Morphaz), priests (Blood of Morphaz) and rogues (The Azure Key) need items from Morphaz. Paladins (Forging the Mightstone), shamans (Da Voodoo), warlocks (Trolls of a Feather) and warriors (Voodoo Feathers) collect Voodoo Feathers from the troll champions.

Late in Classic the temple also became a stop on the road to the Opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj: during the Scepter of the Shifting Sands chain, players meet the spirit of Malfurion Stormrage in the temple, who starts [[forever:quest:8733]].

History

The temple was in the game at launch and changed little through Classic beyond the class quests and the Ahn'Qiraj quest step. It was always a long run because of how far the bosses were spread and how easy the layout was to get lost in.

In Cataclysm (patch 4.0.3a) the basement and lower floors were removed, along with the bosses on them, and the level range moved to 52-55. Hakkar himself finally takes physical form in Zul'Gurub, the 20-player raid added in patch 1.7.

Sources

• Temple of Atal'Hakkar (Classic) - Warcraft Wiki
• Temple of Atal'Hakkar - Warcraft Wiki
• Shade of Eranikus - Warcraft Wiki