The Stockade is the prison under Stormwind, and in Classic it was the dungeon people ran for quests and experience, not for loot: only the rare Bruegal Ironknuckle dropped anything worth keeping. WoW Forever changes that completely. Every boss now has its own set of rare items, 16 new pieces in total, from the Graverobber's Shovel that digs up graves in other zones to the Debt Collector, a caster sword that heals you when a spell is resisted. The fights stay short and simple, so the Stockade becomes one of the best places to gear up in the late 20s.
The dungeon is tuned for levels 24 to 32, the group is capped at five players, and it is an Alliance dungeon in the middle of Stormwind. Below you will find how to get in, the quests worth picking up, everything that changed in Forever, a strategy for each boss, the best loot for each role and tips for a smooth run.
The Stockade sits on the canal between the Mage Quarter and the Trade District in Stormwind City. Warden Thelwater stands at the door, and the instance portal waits at the bottom of the steps inside. Alliance players fly to Stormwind or take the Deeprun Tram from Ironforge, then walk west from the Trade District to the canal.
Horde players can enter too, but getting there is the hard part. The usual route is the zeppelin to Grom'gol Base Camp, the coast north through Westfall and a sneak past the city guards into Stormwind. Form the group before the trip, since the Group Finder lists the Stockade for Alliance only.
All Stockade quests are Alliance quests, and most of them send you to kill one boss. The two to grab first are Quell the Uprising from Warden Thelwater at the door and The Color of Blood from Nikova Raskol in Old Town, because both are done inside the dungeon without extra travel. Three boss quests now offer a new reward choice: Crime and Punishment adds Town Clerk's Mittens, What Comes Around... adds the Ursine Hammer, and The Fury Runs Deep adds Magistrate's Pantaloons. Six Classic quest rewards, including the Headbasher and the Hardened Root Staff, are blue now and noticeably stronger.
Every quest, where it starts and what it rewards is listed in our WoW Forever dungeon quests guide.
The prison, its bosses and their abilities are the same as in Classic. The big change is the loot: a dungeon that used to have almost nothing to drop now has a full loot table on every boss.
The bosses use the same abilities as in Classic, so the fights play out the way you remember. The changes that matter are small but worth knowing:
The other mechanics are unchanged: Targorr the Dread still uses Thrash and Enrage, Kam Deepfury still stuns the tank with Shield Slam, Hamhock still casts Bloodlust, and Bazil Thredd still stuns nearby players with Smoke Bomb.
Every boss received three or four new rare items, each with a drop chance of around 1 to 2%. These are the ones worth knowing:
| Item | Boss | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Executioner Mantle | Targorr the Dread | Leather shoulders with Spirit and Attack Power |
| Blackrock Harness | Targorr the Dread | Leather chest with Defense and Attack Power |
| Dark Horde Band | Targorr the Dread | Ring with Stamina and spell power |
| Demolition Girdle | Kam Deepfury | Leather belt with Strength and spell damage |
| Bridgebreaker Bindings | Kam Deepfury | Cloth bracers with healing and 7 Fire Resistance |
| Hamhock's Cleaver | Hamhock | Axe with Attack Power and a bonus against Humanoids |
| Ogre Grips | Hamhock | Mail gloves with Strength and Stamina |
| Repurposed Rack | Hamhock | Shield with Strength and spell power |
| Graverobber's Shovel | Dextren Ward | Two-handed mace with double Attack Power against Undead that can dig up graves at Raven Hill Cemetery and the Scarlet Monastery graveyard |
| Boneslicer | Dextren Ward | Polearm that can wound the target for 70 Physical damage |
| Nightskulker Ring | Dextren Ward | Ring that makes Fear effects 4% less likely to hit you and gives 2% movement speed in Duskwood |
| Defias Jailbreakers | Bazil Thredd | Leather gloves with Agility, Stamina and +4 Lockpicking |
| Red Wool Cloak | Bazil Thredd | Cloak with healing and mana regeneration |
| Debt Collector | Bazil Thredd | Caster sword that restores health and mana when one of your spells is resisted |
| Concealed Hand Crossbow | Bazil Thredd | Crossbow with Ranged Attack Power |
| Sharpened Cutlery | Trash | Throwing weapon that adds 1 weapon damage |
The Graverobber's Shovel is the most unusual of them: on top of being a strong two-hander for fighting Undead, it has 20 charges to dig up graves, and the Nightskulker Ring is a small but real counter to the fear from Dextren Ward himself.
The old Stockade drops are back with better stats, and two of them picked up effects worth knowing:
| Item | Source | New Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Kam's Walking Stick | Kam Deepfury | Now binds on pickup, carries 32 spell power and shortens all movement impairing effects on you by 10% |
| Iron Knuckles | Bruegal Ironknuckle | Its pummel proc now deals 25 damage instead of 4 and still interrupts spellcasting for 5 seconds |
| Defias Renegade Ring | Trash | Now blue, binds on pickup and has more Agility and Stamina |
Bruegal Ironknuckle still drops Prison Shank and Jimmied Handcuffs with slightly better stats, and both now need level 23.
The Stockade has five bosses and one rare. The prison is a simple cross of corridors, and every cell door can hold a pack, so clear each hall before you pull the boss at its end.
Targorr the Dread waits in a cell north of the first junction. Pull him away from his neighbors and kill any free add first. Thrash gives him extra attacks in bursts, and Enrage makes the end of the fight hit harder, so the tank should save a defensive cooldown for the last 30%. He drops the new Executioner Mantle, Blackrock Harness and Dark Horde Band.
Kam Deepfury sits in a cell in the east hall. Crowd control one of the adds and kill the other first. He uses Improved Blocking to raise his block chance for a few seconds, so melee players should hold their big cooldowns until it ends. Shield Slam stuns the tank for 2 seconds, which the healer should be ready for. He drops Kam's Walking Stick, the new Demolition Girdle and the new Bridgebreaker Bindings.
Hamhock is the two-headed ogre in the east round room, with two Defias next to him. Crowd control one, kill the other, then turn on the boss. Interrupt his lightning, spread out so it jumps to fewer players, and purge or dispel Bloodlust when he casts it. He drops the new Hamhock's Cleaver, Ogre Grips and Repurposed Rack.
Bazil Thredd is in a cell off the east round room. Pull the Defias Inmate away or crowd control it, kill the Defias Insurgent, then the boss. The tank should face him away from the group, and the healer should stand out of melee range so Smoke Bomb only stuns the tank. He drops the new Defias Jailbreakers, Red Wool Cloak, Debt Collector and Concealed Hand Crossbow.
Dextren Ward waits at the west end of the prison. Clear the cells around his room first, then fight him in the middle of the room: his shout fears the group, and a feared player who runs into an uncleared cell pulls more enemies. Top everyone up after each shout. He drops the new Graverobber's Shovel, Boneslicer and Nightskulker Ring.
Bruegal Ironknuckle is a rare dwarf who sometimes stands in a cell in the west hall. He has no special abilities and dies quickly. Check his cell on every run: he drops Iron Knuckles, Prison Shank and Jimmied Handcuffs.
With 16 new items, the Stockade now has something for every role. These are the drops worth staying for:
| Role | Best Items |
|---|---|
| Tank | Blackrock Harness, Repurposed Rack, Ogre Grips, Jimmied Handcuffs |
| Melee damage | Boneslicer, Graverobber's Shovel, Hamhock's Cleaver, Defias Jailbreakers, Iron Knuckles, Prison Shank |
| Ranged physical | Concealed Hand Crossbow, Sharpened Cutlery |
| Caster damage | Debt Collector, Kam's Walking Stick, Dark Horde Band, Demolition Girdle |
| Healer | Red Wool Cloak, Bridgebreaker Bindings, Kam's Walking Stick, Dark Horde Band |
These are the small things that save the most time and the most wipes:
For the full list of dungeons on the way to 30 and beyond, see our WoW Forever dungeons overview.
If you would rather skip the group search, our WoW Forever Dungeons Tour clears The Stockade and the other Forever dungeons in one order with an organized team, with quests, loot and experience included.
These are the questions players ask most often about The Stockade.
The Stockade is tuned for levels 24 to 32. Groups around level 25 can clear it comfortably, since the bosses are level 24 to 29.
Yes, much more than in Classic. Every boss now drops rare items, 16 new pieces in total, and the quests give good experience.
Each boss has three or four new rare items, such as the Graverobber's Shovel, the Debt Collector, the Boneslicer and the Nightskulker Ring, plus the new Sharpened Cutlery from the trash.
Yes, but they have to sneak through Stormwind City to reach the entrance, and the Group Finder lists the dungeon for Alliance only. All the quests are Alliance quests.
Iron Knuckles drops from Bruegal Ironknuckle, a rare boss who does not appear on every run. Its pummel proc now deals 25 damage instead of 4.
These guides help you plan the rest of your dungeons:
