Razorfen downs is the lair of Amnennar the Coldbringer, who was a shaman long ago. The Burning Legion transformed him into a Lock of great power. He transferred his allegiance to the Lich King and the Scourge. He has now used his powers to control the Razorfen Downs and the Death's Head Quilboar tribe.
The remaining Quilboar tribes are trying to gain control of their once capital city back from the forces of the undead, however they are not having much luck so far. As a result most of the MOBs that you will find in the instance are undead Quilboars.
Location
Razorfen Downs is located in the Barrens far to the south. It is in very near the border to Thousand Needles and along the Eastern edge. It is a mid-size instance for both Alliance and Horde players, although it is located in Horde territory. Alliance must access Razorfen Downs via Theramore, Ratchet, Tanaris or Feralas, all of which are far runs.
Time
Razorfen Downs is a mid-level instance and fairly small, it takes approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on party level and skill. With all upper level characters it can be finished in less than 40 minutes.
Levels
Razorfen Downs is meant for characters level 37 - 40. You can continue to make loot and experience runs to about level 42, but after that the experience gains are not worth the effort. You are better off running Scarlet Monestary for loot if that is what you are looking for above 40.
The MOBs in Razorfen Downs range from 35 to 40 elite. The quest MOBs are up to 42 elite.
Screen Shots
You can find our gallery of screen shots from Razorfen Downs here: Razorfen Downs Gallery.
Tactics
Being the second mid level instance for Horde group tactics really start to come into play. It is very important to practice good team work at this stage so higher level (and more difficult) instances play easier and you get a good reputation for team play. This is the level where tactics really do prevent wipes. Some pulls can get deadly fast to beginners, tactics, crowd control, dps and aggro control all really take effect in this instance.
The MOBs in Razorfen Downs range from 35-40 elite and are generally found in groups of 3-4, with the occasional group of 5 or more. Most of the groups will consist of 1 or 2 casters and 2-4 dps'ers or warriors. The casters should be your first priority to kill (as in most instances). Two good strategies are to either shackle them since most are undead, or to have the priest mind control them and allow the rest of the enemy group to kill them. Both work, and in fact if there are two casters, controlling one until its dead and then shackleing the other is the best move. If your whole group is at the high end of the range you can likely just power through them, but coming at the proper level is critical to learning tactics, so I suggest finding a group and working through the instance at the lowest possible levels.
As well as placed MOBs there are patrols that wander Razorfen Downs that you need to be careful of. Watch for the patrols and time your fights as a fairly normal fight against 2 or 3 MOBs can quickly turn ugly if a patrol wanders by and you are unprepared. Most of the groups of patrols have casters with them, and it is once again important to take out the casters first.
There are several key tactical issues to keep in mind for this specific instance.
- The instance is mainly undead. Make sure you take advantage of this by using all the undead abilities you have at your disposal. For example the priests Shackle Undead ability and the Palidins Undead damage spells.
- There are several points in the instance that the walls obscure your vision to new groups of MOBs. Always advance carefully and ensure you pull groups back to cleared areas to fight them.
Party Composition
As this is a mid level instance, party composition starts to really play a factor. The bigger factor will be still be player levels, but composition can make a big difference. You need to ensure that you have at least a one player at the upper end of the level range to help out against the named MOBs.
As in any group you will want someone in the party that can heal (even an alt-healer, although without a main you will likely want two alts) and someone who can tank. Other than that though, unless you are very low on the level scale you should be ok with almost anything. Tactics and player ability with their characters come into play far more at this early stage in the game that party composition does in the late game (55+).
Due to the fact that the instance has many undead MOBs Paladins can play a bigger part in damage than they normally do, don't always count on them having mana for healing. If they need to be a healer, make sure that they know that going in so that they don't blow all thier mana on damage abilities.
Quests
There are a few quests in Razorfen Downs for each of the two factions, however being a small instance there are very few quests. There are only 3 quests for the Horde, 2 for the Alliance and 2 that both factions can complete.
Alliance Quests
Start + End NPC / Location: Archbishop Benedictus, Stormwind City
Level Obtained: 40
Quest Level: 45
XP Reward: 2200-4300
Objectives: Archbishop Bendictus wants you to slay Amnennar the Coldbringer in Razorfen Downs.
Notes: Amnennar the Coldbringer is the final boss in the instance and you will get there anyway. Make sure the tank holds aggro though as he can do some serious damage if he attacks any of the cloth wearers.
Horde Quests
Start + End NPC / Location: Master Apothecary Faranell, Undercity
Level Obtained: 29
Quest Level: 36
XP Reward: 400-2500
Objectives: Bring Ambassador Malcin's Head to Varimathras in the Undercity.
Notes: This is the second part of a chain that starts with a letter that is dropped by the leader in Razonfen Kraul, Charlga Razorflank. Ambassador Malcin is found just outside the instance.
Start + End NPC / Location: Master Apothecary Faranell, Undercity
Level Obtained: 29
Quest Level: 36
XP Reward: 400-2500
Objectives: Andrew Brownell wants you to kill Amnennar the Coldbringer and return his skull.
Notes: Amnennar the Coldbringer is the final boss in the instance and you will get there anyway. Make sure the tank holds aggro though as he can do some serious damage if he attacks any of the cloth wearers.
Quests available to both Faction
Start + End NPC / Location: Myriam Moonsinger, Barrens
Level Obtained: 35
Quest Level: 41
XP Reward: 1000-1400
Objectives: Kill 8 Razorfen Battleguard, 8 Razorfen Thornweavers, and 8 Death's Head Cultists and return to Myriam Moonsinger near the entrance to Razorfen Downs.
Notes: You can find Myriam Moonsinger in the Southern Barrens just outside the instance. The required kills are simply the MOBs inside the instance. You will pick them up easily on your travels through the instance.
Start + End NPC / Location: Belnistrasz, Razorfen Downs
Level Obtained: 37
Quest Level: 44
Objectives: Escort Belnistrasz to the idol and give him time to cast his spell.
Notes: This is an escort quest that is recieved in the instance. It is an extremely difficult quests due to the spawn rate of some of the mobs. You will be in almost constant combat so it is critical that you pace yourself and not spend all your mana or use all your pots to early.
Bosses
Tuten'kash is a giant spider that is summoned by a gong. When you get to the point of fighting him, you need to fight through three waves of spiders to get to him. Tuten'kash also puts a 15 minute debuff on players so make sure a mage removes the curse before you move on.
Glutton is a wandering patrol that wanders through the spiral part of the instance. This type of boss will become very familiar to you later in the game.
Mordresh Fire Eye is one of my favorite bosses, and is an undead skeleton that can be found on a giant pile of bones. He is surrounded by a ton of skeletons that look like they are in a mosh pit. When you aggro one, the whole group will rush you. The best way to handle them is the AOE them down quickly and them move onto Mordresh.
Ragglesnout is not found all the time, as he is a rare spawn, not a constant boss. When he is spawned you will find him on the spiral shortly after the Gluttons path.
Amnennar the Coldbringer is the final boss in the instance and is a lich that uses cold spells to great effect. His biggest ability is that he will summon ghosts to help in the fight. The best way to deal with them is just power through the fight killing him and shackle at least one of the ghosts. As soon as he dies the ghosts will disappear so they are not worth worrying about.
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