World of Warcraft: Forever introduces the Hall of Thanes, a new low-level dungeon designed to provide Alliance players with valuable blue-quality gear early in their journey. Functioning as the Alliance counterpart to Ragefire Chasm, this instance is ideal for both returning players looking to refresh their skills and newcomers to dungeon crawling.
Getting to the Hall of Thanes
The Hall of Thanes is situated in Old Ironforge, accessible from The High Seat within Ironforge. For players starting as Dwarves or Gnomes in Dun Morogh, reaching Ironforge is straightforward. Those beginning in Stormwind can utilize the Deeprun Tram from the Dwarven District. Night Elf players, who previously had to undertake lengthy journeys, can now travel to Stormwind via a new ship from Darkshore after taking a portal to Rut’theran Village. Once in Ironforge, navigate to The High Seat, located near The Great Forge (around 44, 52). From there, descend the stairs to enter Old Ironforge and the Hall of Thanes.
Navigating the Dungeon and Its Quests
The Hall of Thanes features a path that winds through the western hall of Anvilmar’s Rest, into the central chamber, and then into the Dark Iron Ingress in the eastern sector. After clearing the dungeon, players can exit south through newly opened doors. While in-game maps are not natively supported, the Atlas addon with the Kalimdor & Eastern Kingdoms map pack can provide in-instance map functionality.
There are five quests associated with the Hall of Thanes: three available outside the dungeon and two within. "Old Ironforge Incursion" requires players to obtain a Dark Iron Map from Dark Iron Spies east of Gol’Bolar Quarry, then defeat Durgen Dirgehammer. "The Restless Dead" tasks players with killing 15 Enraged Apparitions and ten Tormented Souls within the dungeon. "Important Heirlooms" involves collecting eight Dwarven Heirlooms scattered throughout the instance. "An Ancient Grudge" requires defeating Faldrim Anvilmar. Finally, "The Treaty of Understanding" involves retrieving a treaty from a vault and delivering it to Magni Bronzebeard.
Questing is now a primary method for leveling in WoW: Forever, with dungeons like Hall of Thanes offering substantial experience rewards alongside gear. For efficiency, players can pick up "A Visitor to Dun Morogh" from Beldin Steelgrill near Kharanos, which leads to killing Dark Iron Spies. Inside Old Ironforge, "The Restless Dead" and "Important Heirlooms" can be obtained from Afadra Dunwall and Thom Filch, respectively. "An Ancient Grudge" is found within the dungeon from the Ghostly Attendant, and "The Treaty of Understanding" can be acquired from one of Durgen Dirgehammer's vaults.
Boss Encounters
The Hall of Thanes features four bosses: Faldrim Anvilmar, Magmatus, Plunder, and Durgen Dirgehammer. While mechanics are not overly complex, it is crucial to manage surrounding enemies before engaging bosses and to utilize crowd control abilities.
Faldrim Anvilmar, encountered in Anvilmar’s Rest, casts "Anvilmar’s Curse" on the tank, reducing attack and casting speed. Players should clear nearby adds before initiating the fight.
Magmatus is always accompanied by a Dark Iron Summoner. Tanks should position Magmatus away from the group due to his "Fire Nova" ability, which can strain healers. The focus should be on defeating the summoner first.
Plunder possesses a knockback ability, "Knock Away," which can send players into other enemies. Clearing the pack to the right of his arena and luring him to a corner minimizes this risk.
Durgen Dirgehammer's encounter includes an area-of-effect fear. It is advisable to eliminate as many "tertiary Dark Iron Looters" as possible before pulling, or to kite Durgen and his "Lesser Stone Golem" minions back into the hallway. The priority is to defeat the golems before focusing on Durgen, who applies a damage-over-time effect with "Rend."
Notable Loot
Quest rewards include items such as the "Calibrated Blunderbuss," "Ironforge Greathammer," "Deepblaze" wand, "Dusty Belt," "Cryptwalker Bracers," "Dwarven Tome," "Tomb Robber’s Gloves," "Catacomb Cloak," and "Deepgrave Trousers." Boss drops offer additional powerful gear, including "Aetherwisp Bracers" from Faldrim Anvilmar, "Fang of Magmatus" and "Flamefist Grips" from Magmatus, "Golemguard Chest" and "Kindlegem Girdle" from Plunder, and "Direhammer Leggings" and "Robes of the Disgraced Thane" from Durgen Dirgehammer.