The Ruins of Lordaeron is the level 15 to 20 dungeon of World of Warcraft: Forever, set in the streets of the old human capital above the Undercity. It has seven bosses (one a rare spawn) and ten quests, six for the Horde and four for the Alliance, and it was open in the beta per Blizzard’s October 1 development notes. To get in, walk through the ruins’ front gate and, before you reach the keep, take the stairs on your left to the portal at 72.4, 11.6 on the Undercity map.
Where the data comes from: coordinates and quest data come from beta data sites (October 1 build or later), named each time; item stats are the live game’s. Updated November 3: the Alliance route map now follows the roads instead of crossing the mountains. Updated November 5: boss loot and quest rewards now show the live game’s stats, and every quest here starts at level 15 since Blizzard’s launch notes of November 2.
Ruins of Lordaeron Entrance and How to Get There
The Ruins of Lordaeron entrance is in the surface courtyard of the ruined city above the Undercity, in Tirisfal Glades: 72.4, 11.6 on the Undercity map (Warcraft Tavern; Zockify has 71.6, 11.4). On the Tirisfal map that is about 63.2, 67.5 by our conversion with the beta client’s map bounds (kami-labs: 64.3, 67.2).
Horde: Undead start next door. Everyone else takes the zeppelin from Orgrimmar to Tirisfal or flies to the Undercity, whose bat handler (63.3, 48.5) matches the Forever flight path on wowhandbook. Pick up the four outside quests before you go in.
How to Get to the Ruins of Lordaeron from Stormwind
Alliance players have the longest trip of any new dungeon. Blizzard’s Found Photos panel recap confirms a boat line from Menethil Harbor via Southshore to Auberdine. The route, per Warcraft Tavern and Zockify:
- In Menethil Harbor, take the boat toward Auberdine from the northern pier and get off at Southshore, or fly to Southshore if you have the flight path.
- Ride west into Silverpine Forest, north into Tirisfal Glades, then east to the ruins.
- Inside, Captain Truman on your left gives the first Alliance quest. The other three start from loot.
On the PvP ruleset, Silverpine and Tirisfal are Horde ground and the portal sits in the Undercity’s front yard, so travel as a group and zone in first. If you die inside, your ghost appears in the ruins’ courtyard (Warcraft Tavern). Alliance players at these levels have the Hall of Thanes under Ironforge much closer to home.
The other entrances are in our WoW Forever new dungeon locations guide.
Ruins of Lordaeron Level and Requirements
The Ruins of Lordaeron is a level 15 to 20 dungeon on Blizzard’s list (quoted by Icy Veins), and the live client’s Group Finder lists it from level 15, as in the beta.
| What | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Level range | 15 to 20 (Warcraft Tavern: 15 to 22, Method: 16 to 22) | Blizzard |
| Accept the quests | Level 15 | Blizzard’s launch notes (November 2) |
| Quest levels | 21 and 22 | Beta client (wowforevertalents) |
| Boss loot | Item level 20 to 24, requires 15 to 19 | Wowhead’s Forever database (November 5) |
Go at 17 to 19 with every quest in your log. Under Classic rules, quest XP only drops once you are more than five levels above the quest, so these pay in full up to level 26 or 27 (we found no report that Forever changed that), and the two wave events favor a stronger group.
Ruins of Lordaeron Quests for Horde and Alliance
The Ruins of Lordaeron has ten quests: six for the Horde, four for the Alliance. Four Horde quests start outside the dungeon, the rest inside, and in the beta none needed an earlier quest. Since Blizzard’s launch notes of November 2, every Ruins of Lordaeron quest can be taken from level 15 (it was a mix of 15 and 16); the same notes adjusted some prerequisites without saying which. Numbers match the maps.
Horde quests
| # | Quest | Starts at | Accept at | Task |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Light’s Justice | Morbin Lightbane, Royal Quarter, Undercity 57.8, 89.7 | 15 | Loot 25 Intact Limbs from undead |
| 2 | The New Plague | Theodore Griffs, Apothecarium, Undercity 46.3, 71.9 | 15 | Loot Witherfang’s Highly Toxic Strain |
| 3 | The Wrath of Rath’mael | Deathguard Kristof, south-east of Brill, Tirisfal 65.2, 60.1 | 15 | Kill Rath’mael |
| 4 | A Frightened Request | Tabitha Heartweaver, the Sepulcher, Silverpine 44.5, 43.0 | 15 | Find Edward Heartweaver’s body |
| Unending Torment | Abominable Head from The Baron | 15 | Five-step chain in the Undercity | |
| Crest of Lordaeron | The Crest, at a random spot inside | 15 | Bring it to Oran Snakewrithe, Undercity 73.3, 32.6 |
Edward’s body lies on the west side of Rath’mael’s graveyard by a ghoul pack; walking up to it is enough. Zockify lists the item-started quests as unshareable, in line with Blizzard’s October 1 fix, but the Abominable Head drops for every player (Icy Veins).
Unending Torment: The Undercity Chain
Unending Torment pays XP at every one of its five steps without leaving the Undercity (Warcraft Tavern).
- Bring the Abominable Head to Master Apothecary Faranell in the Apothecarium (48.6, 69.6).
- Take the Head of the Baron to Othmar’s body, through the door north of Faranell (46.0, 62.1).
- Report back and pick Monstrous Cleaver, Grave Shroud or Slain Baron’s Signet.
- Buy Toxic Skullcap from Tawny Grisette, who walks the Trade Quarter’s upper ring, take Blisterweed from a pot behind the herb vendors (54.1, 49.4) and buy Essence of Agony from Ezekiel Graves (75.7, 51.5).
- Pour the Hissing Serum from the railing above Othmar (45.0, 62.9), then return to Faranell.
Alliance quests
| Quest | Starts at | Accept at | Turn in to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abominable Creatures | Captain Truman, left of the entrance | 15 | Truman, with the Head of the Baron |
| Bloodied Insignia | Drop from undead (collect 10) | 15 | General Marcus Jonathan, Valley of Heroes, Stormwind |
| Remember That I Love You | Letter by Edward’s body | 15 | Orphan Matron Nightingale, Stormwind, then Avette Fellwood in Darkshire |
| Crest of Lordaeron | The Crest, at a random spot inside | 15 | Lady Dena Kennedy, Stormwind Keep |
Walk out instead of hearthing, since Truman waits at the entrance. Sites disagree on the Stormwind coordinates, most likely because Forever redrew that map, so the table names places.
Ruins of Lordaeron Crest Locations
The Crest of Lordaeron, a shield with crossed swords, spawns at one of five spots (Warcraft Tavern, Zockify):
- South of the entrance at the fountain, turn right and open the crypt door; it’s on the wall behind the banshee.
- Inside the tower right of Bjork’s patrol, on the floor under the stairs.
- Behind Bjork’s patrol area, on the wall.
- Atop the tower left of the spiders near the start, on the outside wall.
- Atop the tower just past The Abandoned, on the outside wall.
Ruins of Lordaeron Bosses and Tactics
The Ruins of Lordaeron has six bosses plus a rare. The streets are open, but Warcraft Tavern describes a U-shaped path: spiders in King’s Alley first, then the Scourge. Dense packs and patrols are the real danger. Tactics: Warcraft Tavern, Icy Veins, Method and wowhandbook.
- Cure Ghoul Plague at once: 30 minutes of slower movement and lower damage.
- Ghoul packs hit hard; kill the Ragged Ghoul first (Method).
- Stone Watchers on the upper floors turn to stone mid-fight, immune to physical damage. Use spells then.
- Shortcut: past the entrance, skip the webbed gate and jump through the window on the right.
Witherfang
The spider patrols King’s Alley with her Broodlings but didn’t pull them along in the beta, so pull her alone at range (Warcraft Tavern). She poisons the tank. Horde players loot the Highly Toxic Strain.
The Baron
The most dangerous fight. His knockback takes nearly half the tank’s health and stuns (Method), and he turns on the next player meanwhile. Tank him against a wall, keep melee behind his frontal attack and ranged spread out; stuns work. Afterwards, jump from the broken pillar over the wall behind him, pets dismissed.
Viktor the Vile
Optional. Click the fireplace in the burned-down house in the south-west to start five waves, then Viktor (Method). Start at full mana; Viktor is tank and spank with Witherfang’s poison.
The Abandoned
Approach the statue with glowing eyes in Market Square to start three waves from both corridors. The ghost has a chilling Frost Armor, Frost Nova and Drain Life on the tank: interrupt or stun it. If the event stalls, fetch stuck adds.
Bjork
Bjork patrols the north-west near ghoul packs. His Anti-Magic Shield blocks spells for about three seconds (Method); Icy Veins and wowhandbook add a knockback.
Rath’mael
The last boss waits in the fenced graveyard. Interrupt, stun or step out of his Flamestrike, which lands on the tank and anyone nearby; Icy Veins adds an aura melee must heal through.
Lordaeron Captain (rare)
He sometimes spawns on the west side (Icy Veins: only after the other bosses die) and is friendly to the Alliance, so only Horde groups can kill him. Tank and spank on a long patrol. His two drops are the best here, at item level 27 but requiring level 22.
Ruins of Lordaeron Loot by Class
Every boss drop is blue and binds on pickup. Stats are the live game’s, from Wowhead’s Forever database on November 5, and most differ from the beta values wowhandbook still lists; Zockify, Icy Veins and Method agree on which boss drops what.
| Boss | Item | Type | Stats | For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witherfang | Atrophic Girdle | Mail waist | +3 Strength, +7 Stamina | Warriors, paladins |
| Witherbite Bracers | Leather wrist | +4 Agility, +5 spell power | Druids | |
| Segmented Spider Leg | Staff, 17.5 DPS | +9 Agility, +5 Spirit | Feral druids, hunters | |
| The Baron | Meathook Slicer | Dagger, 13.6 DPS | +5 Stamina | Rogues |
| Abomination Bones | Mail chest | +8 Strength, +5 Shadow Resistance | Warriors, paladins | |
| Leftover Abomination Skin | Cloth chest | +9 Spirit, +7 Shadow spell damage | Shadow priests, warlocks | |
| Viktor the Vile | Vileblood Scimitar | Sword, 14.6 DPS | +5 Spirit | Warriors, rogues, paladins (for the DPS) |
| Bloodied Chestwraps | Leather chest | +7 Agility, +9 Spirit | Druids, rogues | |
| Vilewalkers | Mail feet | +7 Strength, +5 Stamina | Warriors, paladins | |
| The Abandoned | Scepter of the Abandoned | Main-hand mace | +24 spell power, +5 Shadow Resistance | Priests, paladins, shamans |
| Rotmender’s Leggings | Cloth legs | +5 Stamina, 4 mana per 5 sec | Healers | |
| Grip of Fear | Mail hands | +6 Strength, +6 Intellect | Paladins | |
| Bjork | Corpse Chopper | Two-handed axe, 18.2 DPS | Use: chop a corpse for 150 health, 150 mana and 15 rage | Warriors, paladins, shamans |
| Bonerust Leggings | Mail legs | +4 Strength, +9 Agility | Warriors, paladins | |
| Tuskwrap Belt | Cloth waist | +5 Spirit, +6 spell power | Casters | |
| Rath’mael | Coldspire Staff | Staff | +32 Frost spell damage, +13 Frost Resistance | Frost mages |
| Mirror of Rath’mael | Shield | +5 Strength, +1% block | Warriors, paladins, shamans | |
| Rotmender’s Treads | Cloth feet | +7 Stamina, +15 healing, +5 spell damage | Healers | |
| Lordaeron Captain | Haunting Blade | Two-handed sword | +33 healing, +11 spell damage | Horde holy paladins |
| Phantom Armor | Mail chest | +3 Strength, +12 Stamina, +5 Spirit | Warriors, paladins |
Mail goes to warriors and paladins because hunters and shamans learn Mail only at level 40 in Classic. Rotmender’s Leggings and Treads belong to the five-piece Rotmender’s Raiment; where the other three pieces drop is unknown. Rath’mael also drops the Fermenter and Arcane Salvager camping Blueprints (Zockify, kami-labs).
The Wrath of Rath’mael still pays blue item level 24 rewards; every other quest reward here is green, item level 23 or 24, with no level requirement (live game data, November 5).
| Quest | Pick one of | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| The Wrath of Rath’mael (Horde) | Forsaken Greataxe (two-handed axe, 20.5 DPS, +8 Strength, +4 Stamina) or Gnarled Necromancer’s Staff (+10 Spirit, +26 spell power); both add 2% movement speed in Silverpine Forest and Hillsbrad Foothills | Blue |
| Light’s Justice (Horde) | The Stitcher (main-hand mace, +3 Stamina, +30 healing, +10 spell damage) or Spare Part Bindings (leather wrist, +3 Agility, +3 Stamina) | Green |
| The New Plague (Horde) | Plaguefang (sword, 12.4 DPS, nature poison on hit) or Blight Gloves (cloth, +4 Nature Resistance, +5 spell power) | Green |
| A Frightened Request (Horde) | Edward’s Knife (dagger, 12.2 DPS, +2 Agility, +2 Stamina) or Tabitha’s Cuffs (cloth wrist, +4 Stamina, +3 spell power) | Green |
| Unending Torment (Horde) or Abominable Creatures (Alliance) | Monstrous Cleaver (two-handed sword, 15.2 DPS, +6 Stamina, +4 attack power, +6 more against undead), Grave Shroud (cloak, +3 Strength, +3 Stamina) or Slain Baron’s Signet (ring, +3 Stamina, +1 defense) | Green |
| Bloodied Insignia (Alliance) | Duty Bound Leggings (leather, +6 Agility, +4 Intellect) or Remembrance Armor (mail chest, +3 Strength, +5 Stamina, +3 Intellect) | Green |
| Crest of Lordaeron (both) | Small Sack of Gems | – |
The Wrath of Rath’mael is the quest worth planning around: the staff for any caster, the axe for two-handed melee. The green rewards are small; the Monstrous Cleaver is down to 15.2 DPS from the 19.7 of the beta data we first printed.
How Much XP the Ruins of Lordaeron Quests Give
The Ruins of Lordaeron quests with a listed value most likely pay about 23,600 XP for the Horde and 22,450 for the Alliance after Blizzard’s October 1 cut: a little over one level at level 18, and about 1.7 times what the five Hall of Thanes quests pay. wowhandbook lists 36,000 and 35,450, but those numbers most likely predate the cut. One Horde quest and the later chain steps have no listed value, so a full run pays more.
| Quest | Faction | Normal value (client) | Listed (wowhandbook) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light’s Justice | Horde | 2,200 | 7,050 |
| The New Plague | Horde | 2,600 | 8,300 |
| A Frightened Request | Horde | 2,200 | 7,050 |
| Crest of Lordaeron | Horde | 2,600 | 8,300 |
| Unending Torment (step 1 of 5) | Horde | 1,650 | 5,300 |
| The Wrath of Rath’mael | Horde | Not listed | Not listed |
| Bloodied Insignia | Alliance | 2,600 | 9,750 |
| Remember That I Love You (step 1 of 2) | Alliance | 2,600 | 9,750 |
| Crest of Lordaeron | Alliance | 2,600 | 9,750 |
| Abominable Creatures | Alliance | 1,650 | 6,200 |
Normal values are the client’s quest table values, listed by wowforevertalents. Blizzard’s October 1 notes cut only the bonus on top: dungeon quests “now reward 50% less extra experience beyond normal quest values”. wowhandbook doesn’t say which build its rewards reflect, and they sit at 3.2 times normal for the Horde and 3.75 times for the Alliance, unexplained. The City of Dalaran points to the older build: its quests pay 9,400 XP each in the beta client’s quest data of October 13 (wowforevertalents), only 2.4 times the normal level 33 value of 3,950, which is what a 3.75 times reward comes to once the bonus is halved. Most likely, then, the halved bonus leaves about 23,600 (Horde) and 22,450 (Alliance), a little over one level from the start of 18 (19,400 and 21,300 XP for the next two levels on the Classic curve, which Blizzard says is unchanged). If wowhandbook’s numbers are from after the cut instead, its totals stand: about 1.8 levels.
Either way, a full run equals 9 to 14 normal level 22 quests (our estimate), while mob XP was brought “way down” (Kris Zierhut, quoted by Warcraft Tavern), even after the October 8 build raised it by about 20%. Run it once with every quest. Our WoW Forever XP changes guide covers the other XP changes, and the WoW Forever dungeons by level list shows what to run next.
FAQ
Is the Ruins of Lordaeron Horde only?
No. Alliance players can enter the Ruins of Lordaeron and have four quests of their own, all starting inside. Only the rare Lordaeron Captain is off-limits, because he is friendly to the Alliance.
Does the Ruins of Lordaeron have a lockout?
Not in the beta: groups ran it back to back (kami-labs, wowforevertalents). The client also holds an unused daily-lockout version, so the rules at launch are unknown.
Sources: Blizzard’s beta development notes (October 1) and Blizzard’s Found Photos panel recap. Blizzard’s dungeon level list via Icy Veins. Item stats from Wowhead’s Forever database (November 5). Dungeon data from Warcraft Tavern (including its report on the Zierhut interview), Zockify, Icy Veins, Method, wowhandbook, kami-labs and wowforevertalents. Maps: Blizzard Entertainment.