After we sent you to the WoW Classic instance Lower Blackrock Spire (LBRS) with our retro guide, it’s time to visit the Upper Blackrock Spire (UBRS). We refreshed our UBRS retro guide a bit so you know how to get to General Drakkisath. The Onyxia questline is calling!
The Blackrock – or Blackrock in WoW (buy now) : Classic – is so massive it “lurks” over two regions of Azeroth: the Searing Gorge and the Burning Steppes. Not only is this monstrous mountain home to the Molten Core and Blackwing Lair raids, it also contains three other instances: Blackrock Depths , Lower Blackrock Spire , and Upper Blackrock Depths . The trio is usually abbreviated to BRD, LBRS and UBRS. However, we have also read “OBRS” for Upper Blackrock Spire in chat on the Classic servers.
Makes sense, after all UBRS is the English abbreviation. Nevertheless, you should make sure when you answer a group request for “UBRS” whether the heroic squad is forming for the “Upper Blackrockspire” (i.e. the Obere Blackrockspitze) or for the “Untere Blackrockspitze”, which is also abbreviated to UBRS leaves. Now that we’ve got all the clarity out of the way, we present you with our retro guide to Upper Blackrock Spire. UBRS is for level 58-60 heroes.
WoW Guide: The Upper Blackrock Spire aka UBRS
The Seal of Ascension
You can only enter UBRS after finding the three gems in LBRS and forging the Seal of Ascension. To do this, you have to turn off the bosses Omok, Voone and Wyrmthalak in LBRS and collect the three gems, which only have a drop chance of about 15 percent. You now need the Unornamented Seal of Ascension. This is a random drop from all humanoids in the instance.
To forge the seal, speak to Vaelan again. That’s the orc on the plateau in the first room, who turns into a human as soon as you get close to him. Vaelan now sends you to Dustwallow Marsh to build Cinderwing. This is in the very south, behind the hoard of Onyxia. This level 61 elite dragonkin is alone in his lair. As an experienced druid you can defeat this dragon alone, but it is advisable to take at least one healer, one tank and one damage dealer with you. If you use an addon, you should first check whether the companion control bar is also visible. You need this to control the dragon and complete the quest.
After the pull you bring Cinderwing to 25 percent of his life points. Now you should place the seal on the ground in such a way that you can see it well. It will now continue to do damage to the dragon up to about 10 percent. With the help of the orb that you got from Vaelan, you can now take control of the dragon. The dragon has various attacks. The first attack “Flames of the Black Dragonflight” is important here. Now you should aim the dragon in the direction of the placed seal and use the attack.
Now pick up the seal and bring it back to Vaelan. In parting, Vaelan says, “… and remember, this seal will come to your aid in the hour of your greatest need.” What this means will be explained later in this guide. Only so much can be revealed, your need will be greatest in the arena of UBRS.
The group composition
UBRS is a 10-man instance, which can also be explored with five players. Two warriors should be taken along. A hunter is worth its weight in gold at the latest when it comes to the final boss, General Drakkisath. There should be at least one druid and one priest, if only because of the buffs, but at least two full-time healers. The rest of the group is filled with mages, villains and at least one warlock who can donate additional life points to the two tanks with his imp.
The way to Upper Blackrock Spire
This instance can be reached via the same route as Lower Blackrock Spire, except that in the first room you turn left and not right.
The first rooms
There is a long room behind the door. This is filled with a total of seven chambers that are used by the orcs as rest rooms. There are still a few dragonkin running around in the hallway. You should pull the first dragonkin in front of the door before entering the room. If the dragonkins are dead in the front part of the room, you can enter it. Now you have the task to delete all runes in the chambers. This is done by killing all enemies in such a chamber. The tanks and the healers should always pay attention to their line of sight to each other. It is best if a healer who heals the tanks always stands in the door frame of such a chamber. You should also make sure that you don’t pull the mobs from a neighboring chamber. Once all the runes have been cleared, go up the stairs.
The bosses in UBRS
The Ember Seer
In the next room there is a pedestal on which the Emberseer is held by standing orcs. There is also a pedestal in this room, which should only be clicked when the group is completely in this room. Otherwise latecomers will have to wait in front of the room until the following event is over. As soon as you click on the pedestal, the doors close and the orcs rush the group. But these are all not elite opponents. After a while, the Emberseer wakes up from his sleep and attacks the group. The orcs should be dead by then though, and there should be a tank on the Emberseer itself. Fighting him is not particularly difficult.
The incubator
The doors open and on the other side of the front door you continue towards the incubator. The first Elite Dragonkin are pulled into Emberseer’s room and killed. Now it’s on to one of the least popular rooms in the instance, the incubator. This is where the black dragonspawn grows and thrives. You can also skip the event in this room, but as soon as a priest still needs his T0 shoulders, you should do it. As soon as you enter the room, keep to the left. First, some of the eggs must be eliminated. However, this should be done very carefully and based on the number and skill of the magicians. On the left wall, the group now works their way through the eggs to the far end. From there, continue along the wall to the pylon. Again, this should only be clicked when the group is ready for battle. A little space should be created in advance. After the party’s powers have been refreshed, the event can be started by activating the pylon. There are now five waves of two 56 Elite Dragonkin to kill. Solakar will appear last. This opponent also makes no special demands on the group. The dragonkin will try to open some of the eggs, but this can be stopped with focused fire and stuns. When the event is over, you look for a way through the remaining eggs back to the slope without opening any more eggs. After the group’s powers have been refreshed, the event can be started by activating the pylon. There are now five waves of two 56 Elite Dragonkin to kill. Solakar will appear last. This opponent does not make any special demands on the group either. The dragonkin will try to open some of the eggs, but this can be stopped with focused fire and stuns. When the event is over, you look for a way through the remaining eggs back to the slope without opening any more eggs. After the party’s powers have been refreshed, the event can be started by activating the pylon. There are now five waves of two 56 Elite Dragonkin to kill. Solakar will appear last. This opponent also makes no special demands on the group. The dragonkin will try to open some of the eggs, but this can be stopped with focused fire and stuns. When the event is over, you look for a way through the remaining eggs back to the slope without opening any more eggs. The dragonkin will try to open some of the eggs, but this can be stopped with focused fire and stuns. When the event is over, you look for a way through the remaining eggs back to the slope without opening any more eggs. The dragonkin will try to open some of the eggs, but this can be stopped with focused fire and stuns. When the event is over, you look for a way through the remaining eggs back to the slope without opening any more eggs.
Goraluk Hammerbreak
The upper level of the slope is being cleared of mobs. This is where you meet the notorious tongues of fire for the first time. These elite dragonkin should always be fought first as they can dish out some pretty strong area fire damage. It is not recommended to enter the great hall through the first passage. It’s better to fight your way to the back passage. Once here, the group takes a position in front of the passage, in such a way that no one stands with their backs to the abyss, otherwise you will very quickly find yourself in the other eggs of the incubator due to the fighting with the orcs.
The individual groups are gradually being pulled into the aisle. If the room is mostly rid of the mobs, you can enter it. if there is someone in the group who needs or wants to do the blacksmith, you should pull and fight the groups in front of the blacksmith individually again, but you can also do this in the large hall. The blacksmith itself shouldn’t pose much of a challenge. Continue up the stairs on the right, but not without luring down and killing the dragonkins first.
Gyth and Rend Blackhand
Standing on the balcony, it is important that the hunters and witchers make their companions disappear. When all players in the group have reached the top, they all jump into the arena at the same time. As soon as you set foot on the ground, the fight begins and the balcony fills with spectators. You now face Nefarius, his allies Rend Blackhand and his followers.
Rend will now send multiple waves of chromatic dragons into the arena. These should be killed as quickly as possible through a focused approach before the next wave comes. Finally, Rend himself joins the fight. First you have to fight against your mount, the dragon Gyth. The tank should tank the dragon with its head facing away from the group so only it gets the acid breath. When Gyth becomes too weak, Rend dismounts from his mount and joins the fight himself. The key to the citadel can serve you very well here. The ring calls Vaelastrasz at this moment when you use it. What exactly happens will not be revealed at this point, just try it out.
On the way to the beast
Now the packs are getting a bit more demanding. There are also orc villains roaming the area. First you pull the mobs behind the arena exit into the arena and kill them. Once the room has been cleaned, you position yourself in front of the stairs. The mobs from the next room will now be pulled down the stairs and killed there. Once this room is cleared, move on. The same game applies to the next room, but not all packs are pulled, only the one on the left and the pack on the burning barricade. The group then proceeds along the left wall into the Hall of the Beast. From there, the pack standing in the middle of the room is pulled.
Beware of the patrol, this should be pulled individually if possible. Now there should only be two packs left in the large room, one on the left and one on the right against the back wall. These are left for now and the group prepares for the fight with the beast. Don’t run too far ahead with the preparations, otherwise the beast will crawl out of its nest. The main tank should now go ahead and lure the beast. He should be given some time to refuel. If possible, the beast should be fought in the back of the room, as it quite often fears the group. The Priest’s Shadow Protection buff helps resist the fear effect. Everyone should have healing potions and bandages ready, as the healers are often out of reach. Once the beast is dead, head back into the room with the two remaining packs. You could summon Lord Valthalak now, but it’s definitely better to wait until the end with this event.
The last stand before the General
The last packs before General Drakkisath have it all again. The group should use their entire repertoire. Stunning, sheep, putting to sleep, succubus, ice trap et cetera, all these skills are now in demand. The packs should always be lured to the group and the group should not go to the packs, as they are relatively close together. Now continue over a bridge. However, there are also opponents in front of and behind the bridge. These should be pulled into the room you are in. Behind the bridge is the general’s room. However, this is filled with packs. The first pack should also be pulled back into the room you are in via the bridge. When pulling, make sure that the patrol is not nearby. All the time it can happen that an orc villain will appear. This is then to be killed by a focused approach, otherwise it will disassemble the cloth carrier. After completing the first pack you should pull the patrol over the bridge, then the way is free to enter the last room. Two packs are still waiting to be killed, then you stand in front of the general and his two guards.
General Drakkisath
One tank is now required for each guard. A hunter takes care of the general first. The battle group then uses focus fire to first kill the left guard and then the right guard. In the pull, the hunter first pulls the general towards him with an Aimed Shot, followed by Deflecting Shot, again followed by a Snake Bite. With the appropriate aspect (of the cheetah), the hunter now pulls the general into the beast’s nest and plays dead there. From time to time the hunter should damage the general so that he really runs after him. During this time, the raid should kill the two guards, so don’t waste time.
Once the guards are dead and the general enters the room, both tanks will begin to build up aggro. However, only the main tank should smash Armor Sunder. Once this happens twice, the raid can begin with DPS. The main tank should position the general so that the breath doesn’t hit the group. After a short while, Drakkisath will set the main tank on fire. This debuff makes him run around the area uncontrollably. In this case, the second tank must react immediately and take over the general until the main tank is available again. So both tanks will burn alternately until the general is dead. Now go back to the chamber of the beast.
Lord Valthalak
This is the last boss of the long T-0.5 quest line.
capabilities
Shadow Rage: This is a chain-lightning shadow spell that spreads to multiple targets, doubling its damage per target. Any lightning that bounces more than four times will heal Valthalak for the damage done. The spell can be interrupted and even prevented entirely by siphoning mana.
Summon Spectral Assassins: Lord Valthalak can summon two minions, each of which can take one of the group out of combat. These minions should be killed within ten seconds or the two victims will die.
Enrage: From 40 percent of his HP, Valthalak will hit faster and harder.
Shadow Bolt Volley: At 15 percent of his HP, Valthalak throws Shadow Bolts at all party members.
What is WoW Classic?
World of Warcraft Classic is a true recreation of the original WoW as you know it from 2006. All parts of the game – from combat mechanics and talent trees to character models and zones – have been recreated, contributing to the authentic experience.
Getting Started
All players with an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time on their accounts have access toWoW Classic at no additional cost.
- Open the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App and select World of Warcraft from the menu.
- Select World of Warcraft Classic from the Version menu. If you have more than one World of Warcraft account, you’ll see a second Account drop-down list. In this column, select the active account you want to play with.
- Click the Install button. The progress bar will tell you when your game is ready to play.
- Click the Play button when the installation is complete.
You will need to select the realm you want to play on from several different realm types. Make sure you choose the same realm as your friends – in World of Warcraft Classic, you can only group with characters that are on the same realm as you!
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