This guide covered events in patch 5.3 and is here only for historical rememberance. Content may or may not apply to WoW any longer.

One of the best parts of each new patch to the World of Warcraft is the continuation of the storylines that are being told in the game.  With Patch 5.3 we are treated with a further expansion to the ongoing war between the Alliance and the Horde. 

Warning - Spoiler Alert!  This should really go without saying, but as this guide discusses the ongoing storyline and quest chain that leads you through it, this guide gives away significant parts of the patch 5.3 fluff.  Read on only if you are not concerned about knowing ahead of time.

While it is a story of the continuing war, it is also a story on the continued deterioration of the Horde as a cohesive force.  We have seen the signs for a while now, that Garrosh is taking the war too far and has either lost it mentally or is under some form of dark control.  While we still don’t know for sure which is the case, we are seeing consequences of his madness. 

Patch 5.3 brings about the Escalation storyline and tells of the Darkspear Trolls open rebellion against the Warchief.

While the storyline is a little different between the two factions the overall idea is the same.  This guide is presented from the Alliance point of view.

A Little Field Work

This quest has you teleport to Ratchet from the Shrine of the Seven Stars and then travel to Skull Rock, which is just outside of Orgrimmar.  Once there you will meet up with you friends, the SI:7 crew for some covert operations.

Gathering Intelligence

For this quest you need to find several pieces of information around the Horde Camp, and free a troll prisoner from the Darkspear clan.  The area is heavily guarded though, so there is no way to complete this as yourself.  Therefore you can disguise yourself as “Project C4T” and make your way through the encampment as a mechanical cat. 

While you are the cat you can still be seen so make sure you keep away from enemies as much as possible.  Also if you are a class that has a combat pet (Hunters and Warlocks) make sure you dismiss the pet first as it will follow the cat and aggro the enemy (or at least it works this way on the PTR server, it may be changed for live release).

The Darkspear Rebellion

Once you are done gathering intelligence you are sent to meet with the trolls at Razor Hill.  When you near there you will wave a white flag so that you are not attacked, it is a Horde city after all.

The troll you rescued earlier, Zen’tabra, will be there to vouch for you and make sure you get through this part ok.

Vol’jin of the Darkspear

Zen’tabra now leads you to the leader of the Darkspear trolls to start the next quest.  He is in the base of a tower just north west of where you start the quest and also has Chen Stormstout with him. 

Battlefield: Barrens

Vor’jin is willing to listen to you, and to accept help from you, even though you are from the Alliance.  He does however want some proof and sends you to the Barrens battlefield to prove your loyalty. 

He needs you to gather 15 of each resource found there and then return to him.  Gather 15 lumber, stone, oil, and meat and then return it to Vol’jin.

The Old Seer

After you are done with the opening quest to unlock the Barrens: Battlefield you will be sent to find the Old Seer Hao Pham Roo, that can be found in the centre of Kun’Lai Summit in Pandaria.

Path of the Last Emperor

Once you find the old seer he will ask for help making his way up the path of the last emperor.  This path is a winding  path up the mountain that is difficult to pass due to the blowing winds and the elementals guarding it. 

There are several checkpoints along the way that you need to make your way towards while pulling a rope with you, once at the checkpoint you need to tie the rope there and allow the Seer time to climb up before you can move onto the next checkpoint.

Make sure you clear the elementals along the way before trying to tie off the rope as they will interrupt you if they are not already defeated.

Once you complete the quest and get the Seer to the top on the mountain he will reward you with an awesome pair of item level 502 boots that should help out most players.

Important: If you already have a set of high item level boots, it may be a good time to change your Loot Specialization or to change specs so that you get a set for your offspec.

He will also provide a bit of a storyline that explains how pride can cause problems and to remember to always remain open to help from others.  An obvious message pointed at the orcs and their current situation.


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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Byron has been playing and writing about World of Warcraft for the past ten years. He also plays pretty much ever other Blizzard game, currently focusing on Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, while still finding time to jump into Diablo III with his son.

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