Black Temple Attunement Guide for TBC Anniversary: Full Quest Chain and the October 22 Change 

The Black Temple attunement is the quest chain that ends with the Medallion of Karabor, your entry pass to Illidan’s raid in Shadowmoon Valley. On the Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary realms it matters for a short window: Black Temple opened on August 27, 2026 with the attunement in place, and Blizzard’s October 8 Zul’Aman announcement removes the requirement when the Zul’Aman phase goes live on October 22, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PDT. Until then, one character per Battle.net account has to finish the chain.

Updated October 14, 2026: rewritten for TBC Anniversary with the account-wide rule, the October 22 removal and the full quest chain.

Quick Answer: Do You Need Black Temple Attunement?

On TBC Anniversary realms you need the Black Temple attunement until October 22, 2026, and only on one character per account. From October 22, Black Temple and the Battle for Mount Hyjal have no entry requirement at all.

• Before October 22: the first character on your account completes the chain, from Tablets of Baa’ri to A Distraction for Akama, and receives the Medallion of Karabor. That opens Black Temple for every character on the Battle.net account.
• From October 22: any level 70 character can zone in. The quests still pay out Ashtongue Deathsworn reputation, the Blessed Medallion of Karabor teleport and possibly the Hand of A’dal title.

Our recommendation as of October 14: if nobody on your account has started, don’t race the clock. A fresh account needs Vashj and Kael’thas for Hyjal access plus Karathress, Al’ar and Rage Winterchill in a fixed order, with roughly one raid week left. Raid Black Temple from October 22 and do the quests later for the rewards.

Black Temple Attunement on TBC Anniversary vs TBC Classic and the Original

Black Temple has launched with an attunement in every version of The Burning Crusade and lost it months later. TBC Anniversary repeats the 2021 timing almost to the day, and it is the only version where one character attunes the whole account.

The account-wide rule comes from Blizzard’s November 2025 development notes for the Anniversary edition, as reported by Warcraft Tavern: the first character attunes to each raid the normal way, then the raid opens for every character on the account. The same notes say raids launch in their post-nerf state.

Two earlier gates are already gone. Blizzard community manager Kaivax confirmed in the Phase 3 opening thread on August 24 that Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep stopped requiring attunement when Black Temple opened, and that both raids got skips straight to Lady Vashj and Kael’thas Sunstrider.

Black Temple Attunement Requirements

The Black Temple attunement needs a level 70 character aligned with the Aldor or the Scryers, access to The Arcatraz, a small group and a raid that kills three specific bosses.

• Level 70 and an Aldor or Scryer choice: the first quest comes from Anchorite Ceyla at the Altar of Sha’tar (Aldor) or Arcanist Thelis at the Sanctum of the Stars (Scryers) in Shadowmoon Valley. Both versions are identical; our Aldor vs Scryer guide helps if you haven’t picked a side.
• The Arcatraz: one group member needs the Key to the Arcatraz (or a rogue with 350 Lockpicking) to open the door, and Warcraft Tavern lists Expert Riding as an entry requirement for the Tempest Keep dungeons on Classic realms. The key comes from the Netherstorm quests in our Sha’tar rep guide.
• The Ata’mal Terrace: a group quest outside the Black Temple. Three to five players make it easy.
• Three raid kills with the quest active: Fathom-Lord Karathress in Serpentshrine Cavern, Al’ar in Tempest Keep: The Eye and Rage Winterchill in the Battle for Mount Hyjal.
• Hyjal access (before October 22 only): The Vials of Eternity from Soridormi in the Caverns of Time. Take it before the kills: Vashj’s Vial Remnant (Lady Vashj) and Kael’s Vial Remnant (Kael’thas) are quest drops. Warcraft Tavern lists Revered with the Keepers of Time as a requirement for the quest.

Watch the skips: since August 27, raids can go straight to Vashj and Kael’thas. A run that skips Karathress or Al’ar doesn’t advance your chain.

Black Temple Attunement Quest Chain, Step by Step

The Black Temple attunement quest chain has 16 quests: ten in Shadowmoon Valley, The Arcatraz and Shattrath City that fit into one evening, then six more that start with the three raid kills.

Part 1: Shadowmoon Valley, The Arcatraz and Shattrath

1. Tablets of Baa’ri: collect 12 Baa’ri Tablet Fragments at the Ruins of Baa’ri. Pick them up from the ground; the drop rate from the Ashtongue workers is low.
2. Oronu the Elder: kill Oronu at the Ruins of Baa’ri and loot the Orders From Akama.
3. The Ashtongue Corruptors: kill the four corruptors for their medallion fragments: Lakaan near Coilskar Point (about 49, 23), Uylaru (about 48, 38) and Eykenen (about 51, 52) in the center of the zone, and Haalum at Netherwing Pass (about 56, 73).
4. The Warden’s Cage: find Sanoru inside the Warden’s Cage, the cave south of the Ruins of Baa’ri. This is the last quest that differs between Aldor and Scryers.
5. Proof of Allegiance: kill Zandras, a satyr who patrols the walls around the Warden’s Cage.
6. Akama: swim through the underwater passage at the back of the cave to reach Akama’s hidden chamber.
7. Seer Udalo: find Udalo’s body in The Arcatraz, in the last room before Harbinger Skyriss. Normal and heroic both count.
8. A Mysterious Portent: return to Akama.
9. The Ata’mal Terrace: at about 71, 35, kill the three elite channelers (attacking them calls in waves of non-elites), then kill Shadowlord Deathwail when he lands and loot the Heart of Fury.
10. Akama’s Promise: bring the Medallion of Karabor to A’dal in Shattrath City for 1,000 Sha’tar and 1,000 Ashtongue Deathsworn reputation and a choice of six items.

Part 2: Serpentshrine Cavern, Tempest Keep and Hyjal

After Akama’s Promise the chain looks finished, because A’dal has no follow-up quest. The next step appears inside Serpentshrine Cavern once Fathom-Lord Karathress is dead, and only for characters who have turned in Akama’s Promise.

1. The Secret Compromised: kill Fathom-Lord Karathress and talk to Seer Olum, who appears behind him. Return to Akama in the Warden’s Cage and watch his conversation with Illidan.
2. Ruse of the Ashtongue: put on the Ashtongue Cowl and kill Al’ar in Tempest Keep: The Eye while the disguise is active. If you die or take a battle resurrection, reapply it before the kill.
3. An Artifact From the Past: kill Rage Winterchill, the first boss of the Battle for Mount Hyjal, and bring the Time-Phased Phylactery to Akama.
4. The Hostage Soul: report to A’dal in Shattrath City.
5. Entry Into the Black Temple: speak to the naaru Xi’ri in front of the Black Temple.
6. A Distraction for Akama: tell Xi’ri you’re ready. He charges for 20 seconds, buffs you with Light of the Naaru for 10 minutes, and the Aldor and Scryer forces attack. Stay near Akama and Maiev, don’t pull extra packs, and turn in to Xi’ri for the Medallion of Karabor.

How Long Does the Black Temple Attunement Take?

The Black Temple attunement takes about 2.5 to 3.5 hours of non-raid play by our estimate, plus at least one raid week for the Karathress, Al’ar and Rage Winterchill kills. The raid part sets the pace, because those three kills only count in a fixed order.

Order is what costs people a week. Ruse of the Ashtongue only unlocks after you turn in The Secret Compromised, so if your raid clears Tempest Keep before Serpentshrine Cavern, that Al’ar kill doesn’t count for you. Before October 22, Serpentshrine, then Tempest Keep, then Hyjal in one week finishes everything, including The Vials of Eternity.

Medallion of Karabor: The BT Attunement Neck

The Medallion of Karabor is the BT attunement neck: an epic necklace with 3 Stamina and 3 Shadow Resistance from A Distraction for Akama that marks your character as attuned. What matters is the quest line it continues.

Three more quests follow inside the raid: Seek Out the Ashtongue, Redemption of the Ashtongue (Shade of Akama) and The Fall of the Betrayer (Illidan). The last one upgrades the necklace to the Blessed Medallion of Karabor, which teleports you to the Black Temple’s doorstep on a 15-minute cooldown. Alts on an attuned account enter without a medallion, but they only get the necklace, the teleport and the quest reputation by running the chain themselves.

Is the Black Temple Attunement Worth Doing After October 22?

After October 22 the Black Temple attunement chain is optional. Blizzard’s announcement only drops the entry requirement, so we expect the quests to stay, as they did in the original game. They’re worth finishing on your main Black Temple raider for the reputation and the teleport, and rarely on alts.

The reputation is the part you can put a number on. Exalted with the Ashtongue Deathsworn takes 42,000 reputation from Neutral, and Warcraft Wiki puts a full Black Temple clear at about 7,750. Without the quests that is 5.4 clears, so six weeks. With the 4,350 from the quests the remaining 37,650 takes 4.9 clears: five weeks. For a non-human raider the chain saves one week on the way to the Ashtongue Talisman that Okuno sells for your class at Exalted.

The Hand of A’dal title needs both The Vials of Eternity and the full Black Temple chain. In the original game it arrived with patch 2.4, the same patch that removed both attunements, and the chains kept awarding it until Wrath of the Lich King. Blizzard hasn’t said how Anniversary handles it; boost services sell the title on Anniversary realms, which suggests it can be earned, but we couldn’t confirm that.

FAQ

Is Black Temple attunement account-wide?

Yes, on TBC Anniversary realms: once one character on a Battle.net account finishes the chain, every character on that account can enter. In 2007 and 2021 it was per character.

Do you still need SSC and TK attunement for Black Temple?

No. Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep stopped requiring attunement on August 27, 2026, but the Black Temple chain still needs Fathom-Lord Karathress and Al’ar kills.

How do you start the Black Temple attunement?

At level 70, take Tablets of Baa’ri from Anchorite Ceyla at the Altar of Sha’tar (Aldor) or Arcanist Thelis at the Sanctum of the Stars (Scryers) in Shadowmoon Valley.

Sources: Blizzard’s Zul’Aman announcement, Blizzard’s Phase 3 announcement and Kaivax’s Phase 3 raid post. Quest, item, patch and reputation data from Warcraft Wiki; Anniversary attunement rules, Blizzard’s November 2025 development notes and the Hyjal requirements as reported by Warcraft Tavern. Time estimates and reputation math are our own. Screenshots: Blizzard Entertainment.