Deadmines

by Caolinn, Human Priest, Thorium Brotherhood

Deadmines is considered by many to be the coolest instance in World of Warcraft. If you put in the stipulation that end-game instances are not included, the number of people who believe this is considerable. Lucky us that it’s one of the first instances many of us will run in the game.

What makes Deadmines so great?

Well, first, variety. There’s a variety of surroundings in the instance, making the explorer in all of us happy. There’s also a nice variety of inhabitants of the Deadmines, making the trip just that much more exciting.

Second, Deadmines will teach you to work as a team, which is important in a freshman instance. Careful pulling, patience and a good healer (as with any instance) are a must in Deadmines.

Last, the loot. Oh my goodness the loot. End-game instances aside, this instance has the most of the best loot for the applicable levels of most any in the game. For an instance with level ranges 17 to 26 to have multiple blue item drops is fantastic. You will come out of Deadmines with fancy duds and lots of coin, or enchanting materials, in your pockets.

And without further ado, here’s a guide to help you make the most of your Deadmines experience.

I. Finding it
II. Quests
III. Bosses and Loot

I. Finding it

The entrance to the Deadmines is in Moonbrooke in southwestern Westfall, in the town of Moonbrooke. In fact, the Defias Brotherhood quest line will lead the way to the entrance of the Deadmines.

II. Quests

There are a number of quests associated with Deadmines, all of varying levels. Unless you wait until you and most of your group members are in their low 20s, you will visit Deadmines multiple times as a result.

Collecting Memories [18]
Description: "Many of my friends perished that horrible day when the mine tunnel caved in. If your adventures happen to bring you into that wing of the mine in Moonbrooke, please keep an eye out for any sign which might identify them. If you come across any of their Miners' Union Cards, bring them back to me and I'll make sure their families get some resolution from this horrible accident."

Objectives: Retrieve 4 Miners' Union Cards and return them to Wilder Thistlenettle in Stormwind.

How to: Be advised that this quest is completed outside the actual instance. In most of the tunnels leading up to the instance, you’ll find miners going about their business. But, if you look at the minimap before you head into the instance, you’ll see an area that looks kind of purple – this is where you need to head. The undead there hold these cards.

Oh Brother… [20]
Story: "We were deep in a vast mine in Westfall, hidden beneath a barn in Moonbrook. No clue where these stinkin' thieving types came from. Anyway, the mine tunnel collapsed on us. I got out but the others... well... the others haven't been heard from.

You look like you might have better luck in there. If you could look for my brother, I'd be thankful. He always carried his Explorers' League Badge. If you can't find him, that badge would at least give me some peace of mind. Objectives: Bring Foreman Thistlenettle's Explorers' League Badge to Thistlenettle in Stormwind."

Underground Assault [20]
Description: “Gnomeregan has fallen under the control of those dastardly troggs! The situation is grave but perhaps you can help, [Player].

Deep in the Deadmines is a functional goblin shredder. Find that shredder and bring back the intact power supply. With the shredder's power supply, we can give our gyrodrillmatic excavationators the power they need to break through the rocky underground borders of Gnomeregan, opening the way for a gnomish assault!”

Objectives: Retrieve the Gnoam Sprecklesprocket from the Deadmines and return it to Shoni the Shilent in Stormwind.

How to: The shredder is the second boss you will meet in your journeys through the Deadmines. You will come to a large door which is the door to the Mast Room; open it. DO NOT CHARGE IN. You must pull the woodcarver goblins one by one until you have cleared them all before you take on the shredder and its operator, Sneed. Once you destroy the shredder, do not rest yet, you still have a solid fight from Sneed. The Gnoam Sprecklesprocket will drop from the shredder. Also, look around for a chest in this room – it’s not always there, but it usually contains one or two nice items.

The Defias Brotherhood [22]
Description: “There is but one task left for you to complete. Edwin VanCleef must be assassinated. While it saddens me to condemn any man to a death sentence, it is for the greater good of the people of Westfall that VanCleef is laid to rest once and for all. Bring me the villain's head once the deed is done.”

Objectives: Kill Edwin VanCleef and bring his head to Gryan Stoutmantle.

How to: VanCleef is at the very end of the instance. You will have quite a ways to go to get to VanCleef after taking down the shredder in the Mast Room (you are about halfway through the instance at that point). Deadmines travelers will have to fight their way through the smelting chamber, the docks, past the First Mate and the Captain of the pirate ship before reaching Van Cleef.

Once you do reach him at the top level of the ship, be aware that he is accompanied by a few powerful guards. VanCleef has very high health and unless you have a high level group, it will be a tough fight. It is best to focus your high damage players on VanCleef himself. He starts with two guards, but once he’s down to approximately half health, he calls two more to help.

The best way to win this fight is to have your healer stand on the cannon which protrudes from the bow of the ship, just below the level on which VanCleef appears. Other members of the group should pull VanCleef and his adds to the front where the healer has line of sight. None of the Defias will be able to reach your healer there, so in addition to having no interruptions for their heals, they will likely grab all aggro from the adds.

III. Bosses and Loot

Rhahk’Zor [The Foreman, 20 Elite]
This large fellow has quite a lot of health and packs a powerful punch. However, if you pull him into the hallway, he’s quite manageable. Watch out for the patrol coming from behind after you defeat Rhahk’Zor!

Miner Johnson (rare) [19]
Just after Rhahk’Zor’s chamber, you will find a fork in the tunnel. The instance continues to the right, but to the left is where you may be lucky enough to find this rare spawn. This is a fairly easy fight, provided you are not surprised by this group, and he does not run and pull more mobs.

Loot: Gold-plated buckler (blue)

Shredder/Sneed
Soon after the fork in the road, you will come to a large door which is the door to the Mast Room; open it. DO NOT CHARGE IN. You must pull the woodcarver goblins one by one until you have cleared them all before you take on the shredder and its operator, Sneed. Once you destroy the shredder, do not rest yet, you still have a solid fight from Sneed. Watch out for the patrol coming from behind after you defeat Sneed!

Loot: Taskmaster Axe (blue) or Gold-flecked Gloves (green); also, there is occasionally a chest in this room

Gilnid [The Smelter, 19 Elite]
You will find Gilnid at the bottom of a winding ramp in the smelting room. Be extremely careful with pulling in this room – it’s easy to become overwhelmed here. It is best to stay to the left, close to the wall and send in only one person who is skilled at pulling. Once you have cleared the room of the goblin engineers, you can attack Gilnid, who is on the opposite side of the room from the bottom of the ramp. Watch out for the patrol coming down the ramp after you defeat Gilnid!

Loot: Lavishly jeweled ring (blue) or Smelting pants (green); look for a chest under the ramp; boxes of engineering parts are often in this room, as well

Mr. Smite [The Ship’s First Mate, 21 Elite]
I daresay this is the first real test of your group’s ability. Mr. Smite himself is quite tough, but he has a couple of Defias Blackguards with him. As you attack Mr. Smite, you’ll find he stuns your whole party three separate times for several seconds each. During these stuns, if you have not killed the guards, they will continue to attack your party. Many groups are wiped at this point. Stay on your toes and healers keep your main tank’s health up at all times to avoid death during the stuns.

Loot: Smite’s Mighty Hammer (blue), Smite’s Reaver (green) or Thief’s Blade (green)

Cookie [The Ship’s Cook, 18 Elite]
Cookie can be found on the first level of the ship and is really the only reason you need to clear out the first level. He looks like a murloc and has a propensity to run away quickly when he gets to about ¼ health. He’s worth going after; the wand is useful for quite some time.

Loot: Cookie’s Stirring Rod (blue) or Cookie’s Tenderizer (green)

Captain Greenskin [20 Elite]
The Captain is found on the top floor of the ship, just before you reach VanCleef. He will be accompanied by two defias. It is best to try to pull him and his guards down the ramp a ways to lower the possibility of one of the enemy to run and pull VanCleef or his guards.

Loot: Emberstone Staff (blue), Impaling Harpoon (green) or Blackened Defias Belt (green)

Edwin VanCleef [Defias Kingpin, 22 Elite]
Be aware that VanCleef is accompanied by a few powerful guards. Additionally, VanCleef has very high health and unless you have a high level group, it will be a tough fight. It is best to focus your high damage players on VanCleef himself. He starts with two guards, but once he’s down to approximately half health, he calls two more to help.

Loot: Corsair’s Overshirt (blue), Cape of the Brotherhood (blue), Blackened Defias Armor (blue) or Cruel Barb (blue)

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