The official trailer for Patch 4.2, Rage of the Firelands, was recently unleashed onto the world and as usual Blizzard did not disappoint with their video making magic. Seriously people, if you haven't had a chance to view it yet, do it now, you won’t regret it! The video pulls into the Maelstrom where we find Thrall still desperately seeking an answer from the enraged elements. However, this time Thrall gets an answer and from a surprising source.
Ragnaros, master of all fire elementals, answers Thrall's summons and gives him a glimpse of the destruction that he and his minions plan to bring to the world. Thrall is deeply disturbed by this vision, and gives the impression of hopelessness until he is seemingly bolstered by Aggra (his mate). The
video ends shortly after, but as it was probably intended to do, leaves us wondering where Thrall’s story will go from here.
For those of you too impatient to wait for patch 4.2 to hit live servers, and without enough free time or energy to actually play on the PTR, this article will provide the answer to that question complete with a basic walkthrough so you can be well prepared when 4.2 goes live. So, if you haven’t figured it out by now, be warned: there will be spoilers beyond this point!
Read onward for a complete walkthrough of the quests in this series, or skip to the overview to find out what happens and how we felt about the quest line.
To start the Thrall quest chain, level 85 players (sorry lowbies!) first venture to the Earth Shrine either in Orgrimmar or Stormwind depending on your faction (it is not advised to try to seek out the Earth Shrine of the opposing faction).
The first quest in this chain “The Call of the World-Shaman” sends us on our way to Nordrassil in Mount Hyjal where we will meet with Thrall himself and accompany him in a ritual of healing. Talk about getting right down to business!
The Call of the World Shaman
To complete this quest simply take the portal to Hyjal or if you have yet to open the portal you will have to do things the hard way and either take a flight path or jump on your flying mount and fly there yourself.
Once you have reached Nordrassil, Thrall can be found south of the tree, across the shimmering purple-pink lake. Speak to Thrall to turn in the quest an pick up the next.
The Nordrassil Summit
Apparently the Earthen Ring has been talking up your many feats which explains how you managed to find yourself once again helping to save the world. Regardless, now that you are here you may as well see it through, so indicate to Thrall when you are ready and be transported into an epic cut scene.
Here the Cenarion Circle and the Earthen Ring have joined forces, with Thrall at the helm, to perform a powerful ritual that has the potential to heal the world. But of course, nothing is as easy as it seems, and things go very, very wrong...
At the end of the cut scene Thrall is gone, his spirit scattered across the elemental planes, and with the loss of the Earthen Ring’s most powerful shaman, it truly seems as if all hope is lost. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!
Ok so it seems like all hope is lost for all of 5 seconds but then you speak with Aggra who refuses to give up hope. She believes that there may be a way to save Thrall from eternal torment at the hands of the elements.
Into Slashing Winds
In this quest Aggra details her plan to save Thrall. According to her (and this Orc chick knows things, trust me) even if the smallest part of Thrall still exists he can be found. So grab your travel gear because Aggra doesn’t want to go it alone and the first stop on the find Thrall travel guide is Uldum, or more precisely, Vortex Pinnacle. Indicate to Aggra you are ready, by speaking to her again, and she will transport you and herself to the Vortex Pinnacle instantly.
Here you will meet with the air elemental Cyclonas who is apparently very in the know as to what happens in the plane of air. Speak to him to turn in the quest and find out if he knows anything about Thrall’s whereabouts and to obtain the next quest.
Elemental Bounds: Doubt
Cyclonas thankfully knows of Thrall, but he does warn you that he does not feel it is wise to follow him. Thrall has gone into the cyclone where his body and mind are torn by the winds and if you follow him you could find yourself subject to the same fate. Since people who make logical (in this case backing slowly away, then bolting) choices have little fun, we are of course going to seek out Thrall regardless of possible harm to body or soul.
Speak to Cyclonas after accepting the quest and indicate that you are ready. You will then be taken on an epic cyclone ride to Cloudtop Terrace.
Here, with Aggra in tow, you will find Thrall, and as the quest implies he is being tormented by his doubts ranging from promoting Garrosh to warchief, to being worthy of Aggra‘s affections.
Your job here will be to protect Thrall from these elements while Aggra attempts to reach him. To do this you must defeat 100 of the various air elementals swirling about in order to fill a bar that appears in the bottom middle of your screen. The larger elementals provide more points than the smaller elements. Be warned, as you try to free Thrall from his doubt things get a little crazy.
[PROTIP]Elementals that you help kill count towards your total even if they have been tagged by another player. So don't worry about grouping
or stealing while completing these quests![/PROTIP]
Once you have defeated 100 of the elementals Thrall will briefly come to his senses and almost has a happy reunion with his love, before he is once again torn away. Speak to Aggra to continue onward.
Into Coaxing Tides
Thrall has been pulled into the realm of water, which means that it is time again to seek out the help of another elemental; Hydrius who can be found near the Abyssal Breach in Vashj’ir.
Don’t worry ladies and gentlemen, you don’t actually have to do any work to get there. Simply speak with Aggra after accepting the quest and you will be instantly transported to Vashj’ir with Hydrius directly in front of you.
Elemental Bonds: Desire
Hydrius helps to reveal Thrall and once again we find him tormented not only by elementals (water this time), but also by his own inner demons, this time focusing on his desires.
Once the quest is accepted a bar will appear on the bottom center of the screen.
To complete the quest you must slay the Tides of Longing and Vortexes of Longing surrounding Thrall in his watery prison. When each of these elementals are defeated the bar that has appeared fills up. Both Tides and Vortexes will cause the bar to increase, with Tides granting 5 points to your total, and Vortexes providing a larger increase with 15. Be warned though that while Vortexes will allow you to complete this quest faster, they are 85
elites and can be difficult to kill.
While completing this quest you get a glimpse at Thrall’s innermost desires including his deep desire to be a father.
When the bar is filled Aggra will temporarily be pulled into the vortex, swim to her to free her. At this point Thrall will once again be freed, at least for a few moments. Just as Aggra realizes that Thrall must find balance between his own desires and the needs of others his aspect shifts and he is lost once
again. Speak to Aggra to find out how to continue on.
Into Constant Earth
It appears Thrall’s aspect has shifted into earth, and who better to aid you in finding him than the Earth Mother herself? Never mind the fact that her greatest desire is to smash all mortals beneath her rather impressive bottom. Speak to Aggra after accepting the quest to be instantly teleported to Therazane’s Throne.
Therazane is unexpectedly more than willing to assist in finding Thrall in her realm. Despite her anger and stoney demeanor Therazane remembers what it is to love and can hear the hearts of Aggra and Thrall calling to each other despite his torment. Because of this, you have the blessing of the Earth Mother herself to see out Thrall. But will he want to leave? Speak to Aggra for further instruction.
Elemental Bonds: Patience
Aggra is prepared to take you to Thrall, all you need to do is hold of the Twilight’s Hammer forces while she attempts to reach him. Why does it seem you always manage to get the short end of the stick in these little adventures? When you are ready to go, speak once again to Aggra.
Be prepared as the Twilight’s Hammer will ambush you almost as soon as you surface from you emerge from your underground ride. Once you reach Thrall you will notice he is seemingly made of stone, a tribute to his stubbornness.
Help Thrall break out of his stone prison by defeating the Corestones of Patience and Elements of Patience surrounding him. As usual, you will need to fill the bar that appears on your screen to complete this task. Elements of Patience increase the bar by 5, while Corestones increase the bar by 15.
As you kill more and more elementals things get more crazy for Aggra as she begs Thrall to wake up, but despite her pleadings he continues to be
“patient” which makes Aggra more than a little annoyed.
Then finally…Thrall awakens. But once again happiness it short-lived and his aspect changes, leaving Aggra alone once again.
Into Unrelenting Flame
Air, Water, Earth….and all that is left is Fire. Aggra reveals in order to save Thrall you must venture into the Firelands, the home of Ragnaros himself. Will any of you survive the experience? Brace yourself them speak to Aggra once again when you are ready to start the final, and most dangerous portion of your mission.
Seconds after you reach your destination, Aggra will be on the move, and soon after you will find Thrall, engulfed in lava and flames representing his own anger. Speak to Aggra to learn how to free him.
Elemental Bonds: Fury
Aggra is determined,despite the unpleasent locale, to free Thrall and to do that you need to assist her in activating her totems. Located around the edges of the plateau you stand upon, each totem is surrounded by fire elementals that need to be destroyed before the totem can become active. You must kill the elementals around the totems indicated on your screen or they will not count towards your total.
As each totem is activated after killing several of the elementals near it, it produces a beam leading directly to Thrall.
After all the totems are activated, a mighty explosion rocks the plans and all of Thrall's elements come together now working in harmony.
You are asked to meet Thrall and Aggra back at the World Tree. There is something they would like you to see. Turn in the quest and accept the next then take the portal provided to be transported back to Hyjal.
Elemental Bonds: The Vow
Once back in Hyjal you will find both Aggra and Thrall standing where this all started. Speak to Thrall to turn in the quest you just accepted and choose one of the four rewards offered to you. There is something for almost every class and spec, and all the rewards are fairly decent, which is good considering all the trouble you just went through.
After you collect your reward, the quest chain is over with Thrall having made many discoveries about himself. With the quest line complete and Thrall saved and reunited with Aggra be prepared for some sappy romantic goodness that goes a little something like this:
After the impromptu nuptials, you will have officially completed the Thrall quest chain! Congratulations!
For those of you that don’t want to read the lengthy walkthrough to find out what happens to Thrall here is the shortened version:
- The Earthen Ring and Cenarion Circle join forces to complete a ritual to heal the world.
- Twilight Hammer cultists appear and target Thrall, casting him into the elemental plane.
- Aggra, Thrall’s mate, visits the various elemental planes (Air, Water, Earth, and Fire) to seek out pieces of Thrall that are being tormented
by his own inner demons on each of the planes. - Aggra frees Thrall from his torment and they become life mates in an impromptu ceremony.
- The End.
Going into this quest chain I was more than a little excited. I love Thrall, he is one of my favorite characters in the game and because of this I was more than a little sad to see him step down as Warcheif. This quest chain allowed me to step back into his world and that thrilled me. I loved getting a look into Thrall’s heart and soul, and felt a little redeemed at the fact that even Thrall can see that Garrosh was potentially a mistake
(man I hate that guy).
Despite my love for Thrall I still felt this quest chain turned out to be a little disappointing compared to other similar chains in the past. However, it does leave us some food for thought as to where Thrall will go from here not to mention the quest turn ins provide some hefty amounts of gold, leaving
me to say that this quest chain is totally worth diving in to. Enjoy!
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