WoW Forever Blackmaw Hold Guide

Blackmaw Hold is the new level 55–60 dungeon of WoW Forever and the biggest new instance of the launch. Behind an old sealed gate in northern Azshara lies the city of the Blackmaw, a furbolg clan that has fallen to a demonic corruption, and Legashi satyrs are already fighting them over the tunnel that leads inside. The developers call it a little bigger than Blackrock Depths, but built so a group can clear it from beginning to end in one long session. Its deepest tunnels run toward the Barrow Deeps, the raid that opens on December 9.

The dungeon opened with the launch on November 4, and four days later the picture is still filling in. Wowhead lists three dungeon quests per faction and a lead-in so far, and their givers stand in Darnassus, Thunder Bluff, Dalaran and on the cliffs of Azshara. Together with the lead-in they are worth about 40,000 experience for the Horde and 37,000 for the Alliance. Below you will find the way in, every quest with its giver and rewards, the seven bosses in game order, the loot seen so far and the tips that matter for a dungeon this size.

Blackmaw Hold at a Glance

These are the numbers to check before you look for a group. Quest experience is the value Wowhead shows for each quest, and the totals count the lead-in quest too.

How to Get to Blackmaw Hold

Since the original game a big stone gate has stood in the mountains of northern Azshara, and walking up to it showed the name Timbermaw Hold. In WoW Forever this is the way into Blackmaw Hold, but the Blackmaw are not the Timbermaw of Felwood: they are a different clan, and the developers describe them as a corrupted tribe that deals with demons. The quest texts call the way in a burrow that the furbolgs guarded for years, and only now that the satyrs attack it can outsiders get inside.

The tunnel into Blackmaw Hold at about 38.4, 32.6 in Azshara

The furbolg tunnel opens at about 38.4, 32.6 in Azshara, northeast of Valormok: a carved archway with two lights in a forest clearing, with a Meeting Stone right beside it. The tunnel climbs north-northwest under the mountains for about a minute of running, and the instance portal waits at its far end, at 35.0, 23.4 in Azshara, right by the Winterspring border. In the first entrance videos the tunnel was empty, so you can summon the group at the Meeting Stone and run straight to the portal. Horde players fly to Valormok in western Azshara, where Jediga also gives the lead-in quest. The Alliance flies to Talrendis Point in southwestern Azshara and rides north.

Blackmaw Hold entrance in Azshara, with the flight paths and quest givers nearby

The instance portal at the end of the tunnel, at 35.0, 23.4 in Azshara

There is no attunement or key listed for Blackmaw Hold, and no quest opens the gate. The dungeon counts toward Master Spelunker, the account-wide achievement for 17 endgame dungeons from Razorfen Downs to Dire Maul that earns 1 Legacy Point, and the game counts the kill of Varrox Bleakhoof for it. A hotfix on November 6 stopped some creatures inside from dropping combat on their own. Our WoW Forever attunements and dungeon keys guide covers the keys you do need for the other endgame instances.

Blackmaw Hold Quests

Blackmaw Hold has a short quest list so far, and most givers are far from the dungeon. Each faction has its own copy of Get to the Roots of It and Blackmaw Magic, and Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore for Ogtinc is open to both. Wowhead has not recorded most givers yet, so the table names the one the quest text points to. Quest experience is not split in a group, and every quest here can be shared. Our WoW Forever dungeon leveling guide shows where these quests fit on the way from 55 to 60.

Blackmaw Hold Quests by Faction

Horde Alliance

Horde Quests

3 dungeon quests, 39,800 XP

Quest	Level	Starts	XP	Rewards
Get to the Roots of It	Level 55, from 45	Nara Wildmane at Elder Rise in Thunder Bluff (75.6, 31.0), after Beneath Nordrassil	11,300	150 Thunder Bluff reputation, no item
Blackmaw Magic	Level 59, from 52	Not listed yet	16,100	90 silver, 300 Earthen Ring and 150 Thunder Bluff reputation
Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore	Level 58, from 45	Most likely Ogtinc in Azshara (42.4, 42.6)	12,400	Choice of Great Bear Claw, Staff of Wild Beasts or Wild Malleus (green), plus 150 Timbermaw Hold reputation

Alliance Quests

3 dungeon quests, 36,500 XP

Quest	Level	Starts	XP	Rewards
Get to the Roots of It	Level 55, from 45	Mathrengyl Bearwalker at the Cenarion Enclave in Darnassus (35.4, 8.4), after Beneath Nordrassil	11,300	150 Darnassus reputation, no item
Blackmaw Magic	Level 59, from 52	Not listed yet, most likely a mage in Dalaran who works with Archmage Lan'dalock	12,800	90 silver, 300 Kirin Tor and 150 Darnassus reputation
Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore	Level 58, from 45	Most likely Ogtinc in Azshara (42.4, 42.6)	12,400	Choice of Great Bear Claw, Staff of Wild Beasts or Wild Malleus (green), plus 150 Timbermaw Hold reputation

Beneath Nordrassil, the Lead-In Quest

The hardest quest to find is the first one, because it starts in Azshara and sends you to a capital. Both versions of Beneath Nordrassil are level 55, open at level 45 and pay 560 experience. On the Horde side the giver is Jediga at Valormok in Azshara (22.5, 51.4). The quest text tells of furbolgs and satyrs fighting over a burrow to the northeast that seems to lead beneath the World Tree, and sends you to Nara Wildmane at Elder Rise in Thunder Bluff with the words "tell her Jediga sent you". She then gives Get to the Roots of It.

Nara Wildmane on Elder Rise, Thunder Bluff (75.6, 31.0)

Mathrengyl Bearwalker in the Cenarion Enclave, Darnassus (35.4, 8.4)

The Alliance version of Beneath Nordrassil is not tied to a giver on Wowhead yet. Its text comes from a night elf who watches the same fight from the south and sends you to Mathrengyl Bearwalker at the Cenarion Enclave in Darnassus, so look for it among the Alliance quest givers of southern Azshara. Wowhead lists it as the first step of the series, so take it before you travel to the capital.

Get to the Roots of It

The druids want 10 Nordrassil Root Caps, fresh roots of the World Tree that grow only deep underground, where the tunnels of Blackmaw Hold pass beneath Nordrassil. The root caps are party loot, so every member of the group can loot each one and a full group finishes the quest together.

Blackmaw Magic

Both factions want a Blackmaw Ritual Totem, and only the strongest shamans of the clan carry one. Wowhead lists Elder Shaman Bloodmane as the boss that drops it, so the quest is done when he dies. The Horde version worries about what the corruption does to the elements and pays Earthen Ring reputation. Its giver is not listed yet, but Alaana Stormwalker in Mulgore gives the similar Earthen Ring quest Fragment of the Firelands, so check her first. The Alliance version comes from a scholar who works with Archmage Lan'dalock in Dalaran. The Horde version pays 16,100 experience, the Alliance one 12,800.

Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore

Ogtinc lives on the cliffs northeast of the Ruins of Eldarath in Azshara (42.4, 42.6). He wants the two beasts that patrol the old home of the Blackmaw dead, Bonesnout the Unbroken and the great bear Withermaw, so that his people can return home. Bring the Claws of the Great Bear and the Tusks of the Unbroken, and he makes you a weapon in their memory: a fist weapon, a caster staff or a two-hand mace, all green and item level 60. Wowhead does not name the giver, but the hand-in is Ogtinc, so ask him first.

Blackmaw Hold Quest Chains Step by Step

Open a quest to see every step in order, with the quest giver, the zone and the coordinates. The quests in bold are the quests you complete inside Blackmaw Hold.

The quests of every other dungeon are in our WoW Forever dungeon quests guide, and the WoW Forever dungeon list shows all dungeons by level.

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Quest Items Inside Blackmaw Hold

Several bosses drop quest items, and for some of them Wowhead does not list a quest yet. Loot them anyway: the quests may turn up later in Azshara or in the capitals.

• Nordrassil Root Caps: 10 for Get to the Roots of It, party loot, so everyone in the group can loot one.
• Blackmaw Ritual Totem: from Elder Shaman Bloodmane for Blackmaw Magic.
• Claws of the Great Bear and Tusks of the Unbroken: from Withermaw and Bonesnout the Unbroken for Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore.
• Head of Varrox Bleakhoof and Mark of Xavius: from Varrox Bleakhoof, quests not listed yet. The mark is a blue sign of service to the Burning Legion in the name of the satyr Xavius.
• Reliquary of Tyr: a Paladin-only epic quest item from Elder Shaman Bloodmane, quest not listed yet.
• Totem of Ursol, Totem of Ursoc and Feathered Charm Necklace: new quest items from the same batch as the claws and tusks, source not recorded yet. The necklace starts a quest from level 47.

Blackmaw Hold Routes

Blackmaw Hold is not a straight corridor. Blizzard's launch preview says there is no single trail to victory and describes two of the ways forward. On one route you cut through a cabal of ritualists whose spells make a patrolling boar's tusks deadlier and its hide far harder to break. On the other you swim across a lake into a cavern where a rotting bear stalks, leaving pools of lava that burst from the infested scars on its back. Both lead to the heart of the twisted ritual at the center of the hold.

The ritualists' route, from Blizzard's launch preview

The rotting bear of the cavern route, from Blizzard's launch preview (most likely Withermaw)

The boar and the bear match Bonesnout the Unbroken and Withermaw, the two beasts Ogtinc wants dead, but the game does not name them in the preview. The ritualists are most likely the Legashi Ritualists, the satyrs that players have already met inside. You need both beasts for Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore, so take both routes.

Blackmaw Hold Bosses

Blackmaw Hold has seven boss encounters, numbered in the order the game's encounter data lists them, plus a rare. The first groups recorded four boss levels, 57 to 60. Boss guides do not exist yet, so the notes below are short: what each boss is, what it drops and what the previews say.

Our dungeon tool shows the bosses and their loot and fills in as the game data is updated.

Withermaw

Withermaw is the great bear of the Blackmaw and the first encounter, a level 58 elite beast. It drops the Claws of the Great Bear for Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore and the Withering Grips, a blue leather caster glove. If it is the rotting bear from the preview, it leaves lava on the ground, so move the fight out of the pools.

Impaan the Imprisoner

Impaan the Imprisoner is a level 57 demon that the corrupted clan let into its home. Players have seen him drop the Impish Chain Hood, a blue mail helm, and no one has recorded his abilities yet.

Elder Shaman Bloodmane

Elder Shaman Bloodmane is the elder shaman of the clan and the one who carries the Blackmaw Ritual Totem for Blackmaw Magic. Paladins also get the Reliquary of Tyr from him. His level and abilities are not recorded yet. Furbolg shamans are casters, so bring interrupts.

Bonesnout the Unbroken

Bonesnout the Unbroken is a level 58 undead boar, and its Tusks of the Unbroken are the second half of Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore. The preview's boar is empowered by ritualists, so kill or crowd control the Legashi Ritualists around it before you pull. Players have seen it drop the Lucky Shovelnose Tuft, a tank trinket.

Varrox Bleakhoof

Varrox Bleakhoof is a level 60 demon, the highest-level boss recorded so far, and his kill is what counts for Master Spelunker. He drops the Head of Varrox Bleakhoof and the Mark of Xavius, quest items whose quests are not listed yet.

Blackmaw Behemoth

Blackmaw Behemoth is the sixth encounter, an elite beast with no recorded abilities or loot so far.

Unbound Spirit

Unbound Spirit is the last encounter in the game data, an elite elemental. It may be the end of the twisted ritual at the center of the hold, but nobody has described the fight yet.

Moontouched Wanderer, the Rare

Moontouched Wanderer is a level 55 rare elite beast that does not always spawn. Players have seen it drop the Claymore of Two Moons, a blue two-hand sword, so kill it whenever you find it.

Blackmaw Hold Loot

Five blue items have been seen dropping in Blackmaw Hold so far, from three bosses, the rare and the satyr trash. Wowhead shows no other items of their batch yet, so there are no probable drops to list.

Tips for Blackmaw Hold

Few groups have cleared the whole dungeon yet, so these tips focus on what you can prepare before the run.

• Collect the quests before you go and plan one long session. The givers stand in the capitals, Dalaran and Azshara, and none of them is inside the dungeon.
• Take both routes. Withermaw and Bonesnout the Unbroken sit on different paths, and Claws That Rend, Tusks that Gore needs a drop from each.
• Handle the Legashi Ritualists first. They empower the boar, and they are the mobs that drop Satyr's Touch.
• Bring interrupts. The clan has Blackmaw Shamans and Blackmaw Totemics among its warriors, so expect casters in many packs.

What We Still Don't Know About Blackmaw Hold

These are the open questions four days after launch, and we will update the guide as groups clear the dungeon.

• Who gives Blackmaw Magic on both sides, the Alliance Beneath Nordrassil and the Ogtinc quest. Wowhead does not list these givers yet.
• Which quests use the quest items from Varrox Bleakhoof and Elder Shaman Bloodmane and the two bear totems.
• The full loot table, the drop chances and the levels of the last bosses.
• Boss abilities, beyond what the previews describe.
• Whether the Blackmaw get a reputation. The Blackmaw Pouch is gathered for them in Ursolan, but Wowhead lists no such faction.

If you would rather skip the tunnels and the wipes, our WoW Forever Blackmaw Hold boost clears the dungeon with an organized team, with quest rewards, gear and experience included.

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More Dungeons for Levels 55–60

These dungeons share the level range of Blackmaw Hold: Blackrock Depths (52–60), Dire Maul (54–60) and Lower Blackrock Spire (55–60), each with quests that pay well on the way to 60. The WoW Forever Dungeons List shows every dungeon with its levels, location and quests.

WoW Forever Blackmaw Hold FAQ

These are the questions players ask most often about Blackmaw Hold.