by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

Exploring Draenor delves into the hidden places of the world that will one day become Outland. From the volcanic landscape of Frostfire to the gloomy dells of Shadowmoon, these articles are your guide to events that are off the beaten path.

Location: Edge of Daggermaw Ravine, north of Bladespire Fortress

Task: Collect/kill

Rewards: 17 Garrison Resources and Ritual Leggings of Mur’og. With mining, an additional 17 Garrison Resources and around 20 True Iron Ore.

Bladespire Fortress: mountainous hub of the Bladespire ogres; a monolithic marriage of mineral and magma; and a secret hiding place?

While galloping around Frostfire Ridge in the beta recently, looking for another part of that upcoming article that I talked about last week, I came across a vignette that was even more hidden than normal. Indeed, it appeared that the Bladespire clan had gone to some lengths to hide this one…which, in the manner of ogres, is the equivalent of painting a big red arrow with the words ‘DON’T LOOK HERE, HONEST.’

There are several ways to reach Daggermaw Ravine; I rode up a snowy track east of Bladespire, but you could also fight your way through a level 90 Thunderlord orc camp, or come in from the relatively clear western end. If you come from the east or west you have the option of venturing down to the base of the crag – but your attention might be piqued by the Ogre Wayguide at either end.

The ogres, bless them, have tried to hide their secret lava pools by assuring passing travellers that there are absolutely none around. Nope. They’re definitely not this way. What’s what? You found one? Well, okay, but that’s definitely the only one here. There are absolutely no more up that path to the right…

You get the idea. The first Wayguide ‘directs’ you to a bubbling pool of lava and the first vignette of the area, the Smoldering True Iron Deposit. Miners have the option of jumping into the searing magma and chiselling away at it; everyone else will ride past (head west from the pool) and take a left up another narrow path. This leads over a stone bridge, past a final Wayguide (‘Go Away’) to the second lava pool, which flows down into the one containing the Smoldering True Iron Deposit.

This second pool is being agitated by an ogre shaman called Primalist Mur’og. He appears to be casting spells into the pool, but I have no idea what he hopes to achieve. Maybe he’s trying to turn the lava in Bladespire Fortress against its new occupiers? That would be messy…

Mur’og is a fairly easy fight. He will cast a direct-damage/DoT spell (Ancient Lava Burst) and summon adds called Slag Shards from the pool. These adds only have about 8,000 health, will use a melee attack and have proximity-based aggro; you can avoid most of them by staying away from the lava. Mur’og’s other attack is called Magmacore; these are orbs of hot, glowing rock that he will pull up from the pool, three at a time, and throw at you. However, they are extremely easy to avoid. Not only do they travel slowly, they have a short arming time after they land. Melee players may need to watch out, though, because they could all land on Mur’og, preventing you from getting close while he casts at you with impunity.

After defeating Mur’og, Horde players will be able to access a new Shamanstone; quite appropriately, it is linked to the elemental spirit of fire. While affected by Touched by Fire, your attacks have a chance to cause a pillar of lava to erupt beneath your enemies.

Primalist Mur’og shows how in-tune with the elements of Frostfire the Bladespire ogres actually are. Although they appear to be slightly dense and, dare I say it, cuddly, the ogres are actually brutal warriors and powerful shaman. Good thing that we players have the Frostwolf orcs and Draenei on our side to take them on, really…