Taragaman the Hungerer

Taragaman the Hungerer is a felguard, a hulking demon soldier of the Burning Legion, who stands at the heart of Ragefire Chasm beneath Orgrimmar. The Horde believes he leads the Searing Blade cult hiding under its capital, and Neeru Fireblade sends young adventurers down to bring back his heart.

Background

The Searing Blade is an offshoot of the Burning Blade, the demon-worshipping cult that answers to the Shadow Council and works to drag the orcs back under demonic rule. Its members hide in Ragefire Chasm, directly below the Cleft of Shadow, and try to win over discontented orcs in the city above.

Neeru Fireblade, the orc warlock who stands by the dungeon entrance, says Thrall has charged him with rooting out the demonic influence in Orgrimmar, and names Taragaman as the cult's leader. Taragaman is the biggest and most frightening of the cultists, but he may not be in charge at all. Thrall's own quest chain points instead at Jergosh the Invoker and Bazzalan as the Searing Blade's true leaders, and later sources describe the felguard as expendable muscle the cult could afford to lose.

Abilities

• Uppercut: a heavy punch that does extra damage and knocks the target back. In the open cavern this can throw the tank into a pack the group hasn't pulled yet.
• Fire Nova: a burst of flame that hurts everyone standing near him. It isn't strong on its own, but it hits every melee player at once.

Strategy

Taragaman waits in a large lava cavern roughly halfway through the dungeon, with Searing Blade cultists patrolling nearby.

• Kill the patrolling Searing Blade Cultists and any other packs within reach before pulling him. A knocked-back tank or a fleeing player can easily drag a second group in.
• Tank him with his back to a wall, or in the middle of the open ground, so Uppercut doesn't throw anyone into the lava or into trash.
• Melee players can step out when he casts Fire Nova if the healer is struggling; ranged players should stay well away.
• He has the most health of the four Ragefire bosses, so it is the longest of the fights, though still short.

A normal group of five players around level 15 kills him without trouble. Many players come back a few levels later to solo him for the quest.

Loot

Taragaman always drops his heart for the quest, plus one of three uncommon (green) items. His is the best loot table in the dungeon.

Quests

• Slaying the Beast: Neeru Fireblade, at the entrance to Ragefire Chasm in the Cleft of Shadow, wants Taragaman slain and his heart brought back to show Thrall the threat is dealt with.

Neeru also plays a part in Hidden Enemies, the Thrall chain that ends with the deaths of the other two Searing Blade leaders. In that chain Thrall asks the player to pose as a cult sympathizer and gauge what Neeru knows, which casts his eagerness to see Taragaman dead in a less innocent light.

Later history

Taragaman was removed when Mists of Pandaria (patch 5.0.4) rebuilt Ragefire Chasm around the Dark Shamans. Before that, Cataclysm (patch 4.0.3a) raised his health and reclassified him as a demon rather than a humanoid. The 1.12 encounter returned with World of Warcraft Classic in 2019.

Sources

• Taragaman the Hungerer, Warcraft Wiki
• Ragefire Chasm (Classic), Warcraft Wiki
• WoWDB NPC, loot and quest data for patch 1.12