The Stockade

The Stockade is the prison under Stormwind City, seized by its inmates in a riot organized by the Defias Brotherhood. It is a short Alliance dungeon for characters around level 24 to 32: a straight run through cell blocks to hunt down the ringleaders, most of whom are wanted by someone elsewhere in the Alliance.

Background

The Stockade is a high-security prison beneath the canal district of Stormwind. Its warden, Warden Thelwater, kept petty thieves, rebels, murderers and some of the most dangerous criminals in the kingdom behind its doors. Many of the inmates were Defias members captured in Westfall.

Shortly before the events of World of Warcraft, the prisoners rose up. They overpowered the guards and took the cell blocks, and the warden escaped only as far as the entrance. The mastermind of the revolt is Bazil Thredd, a Defias agent with ties to Edwin VanCleef. Quest text adds that the prison was badly run: a teenage guard named Mac was murdered by inmates, and several prisoners sentenced to death were kept alive because nobles at court had their executions put on hold for political reasons. Officials from Lakeshire, Darkshire and Ironforge, tired of waiting, quietly send adventurers to finish the job.

Bosses

None of the regular bosses has a rare drop table of its own. Bruegal Ironknuckle, a rare dwarf who spawns only some of the time, is the one source of blue items. Most of the dungeon's value lies in its quest rewards.

Targorr the Dread is a Blackrock orc, Dextren Ward a human grave robber, Kam Deepfury a Dark Iron dwarf and Hamhock an ogre. Several of these prisoners have more than one possible spawn point, so the order of the run can change.

Quests

The Stockade's quests are all Alliance, and they come from across the Eastern Kingdoms.

• Quell The Uprising: Warden Thelwater wants 10 Defias Prisoners, 8 Defias Convicts and 8 Defias Insurgents killed.
• The Stockade Riots: kill Bazil Thredd and bring Thelwater his head. The chain starts with The Unsent Letter, the letter dropped by VanCleef in The Deadmines, and continues with Bazil Thredd.
• What Comes Around...: Guard Berton in Lakeshire, Redridge Mountains, wants the head of Targorr the Dread. Rewards: [Lucine Longsword] or [Hardened Root Staff].
• Crime and Punishment: Councilman Millstipe in Darkshire, Duskwood, wants the hand of Dextren Ward. Rewards: [Ambassador's Boots] or [Darkshire Mail Leggings].
• The Fury Runs Deep: Motley Garmason at Dun Modr in the Wetlands wants the head of Kam Deepfury. Rewards: [Headbasher] or [Belt of Vindication].
• The Color of Blood: Nikova Raskol in Stormwind's Old Town wants 10 Red Wool Bandanas, the scarves the Defias inmates make from torn prison blankets.

Strategy notes

The Stockade is small. The entrance hall branches into three wings of cells, and the inmates come in groups of two or three.

• Many of the prisoners flee when hurt and pull more enemies back with them. Kill runners quickly or stop them with stuns and snares.
• The bosses have no special mechanics and stand among their fellow prisoners. Pull each boss's group in pieces where possible.
• Because the instance is right in Stormwind, groups often form, finish and turn in quests in under an hour.

History

The Stockade was part of World of Warcraft at launch in November 2004 and was the only dungeon inside a capital city on the Alliance side, matching Ragefire Chasm under Orgrimmar for the Horde.

Later history

Cataclysm (patch 4.0.3a) rebuilt the Stockade with new bosses, including a captive Hogger, and the riot story was updated. The 1.12 version returned with World of Warcraft Classic in 2019.

Sources

• Stormwind Stockade (Classic), Warcraft Wiki
• Stormwind Stockade, Warcraft Wiki
• WoWDB quest and loot data for patch 1.12