Are you tired of the long, arduous trek through Blackrock Foundry, fighting your way through countless mobs and bosses just to get to Blackhand? Well, my friend, you're in luck! This comprehensive guide will show you exactly how to perform the Blackrock Foundry skip, saving you precious time and effort, especially if you're farming for that elusive Ironhoof Destroyer mount or just some sweet transmog! Let's dive in!
The Blackrock Foundry Skip: Your Fast Track to Blackhand
The Blackrock Foundry (BRF) skip is a fantastic quality-of-life feature introduced in World of Warcraft that allows players to bypass a significant portion of the raid and go straight to the final boss, Blackhand. This is incredibly useful for solo farmers, alts, or anyone who wants to quickly clear the final encounter for specific loot.
Before we begin, a crucial note: The Blackrock Foundry skip quests are now account-wide (Warbound), meaning once you complete the questline on one character for a specific difficulty (Normal, Heroic, or Mythic), the skip will be available for all your characters on that same difficulty! This is a massive time-saver!
Step 1: Embark on the Journey to Gorgrond
Our adventure begins in the treacherous lands of Draenor!
Getting to Blackrock Foundry
- Your first task is to reach Gorgrond in Draenor. If you haven't been there in a while, the quickest way for most players is to use the Ashran portal located in your faction's capital city (Stormwind for Alliance, Orgrimmar for Horde). These portals will take you directly to your faction's hub in Ashran, from where you can easily fly or ride to Gorgrond.
- Locating the Entrance: Once in Gorgrond, head towards the coordinates 51.4, 28.7. You'll find a massive, imposing industrial gate built into the mountains – that's your entrance to Blackrock Foundry!
- Remember: There are no repair vendors directly inside or near the entrance of Blackrock Foundry, so make sure to repair your gear before you go in, or bring a repair mount if you have one.
Step 2: The Quest for the Sigil of the Black Hand
This is the most critical step to unlocking your permanent skip! You need to complete a specific quest for each difficulty you wish to skip.
Sub-heading: Picking Up the Quest
- Enter Blackrock Foundry: Head into the raid on the difficulty you want to unlock the skip for (e.g., set raid difficulty to "Normal" if you want to unlock the Normal skip).
- Locate Goraluk Anvilcrack: Inside the raid, you're looking for an NPC named Goraluk Anvilcrack. He's typically found in the area south of the Iron Maidens encounter. You'll need to clear some trash mobs to reach him.
- Accept the Quest: Goraluk Anvilcrack will offer you a quest called "Sigil of the Black Hand." Accept this quest.
- Important: This quest requires you to obtain four Embers of the Mountain. These embers drop from the final boss of each of the first three wings of Blackrock Foundry:
- Slagworks: The Blast Furnace
- The Black Forge: Flamebender Ka'graz
- Iron Assembly: Iron Maidens
- Note: You can only get one Ember of the Mountain per week per difficulty from each of these bosses. This means it will take you a minimum of four weeks to complete the quest for a single difficulty, as you need to kill these three specific bosses and then Blackhand in order to get credit for the quest items and eventually complete the quest. If you've already killed the boss for the week, you won't get another quest item until the next weekly reset.
- Important: This quest requires you to obtain four Embers of the Mountain. These embers drop from the final boss of each of the first three wings of Blackrock Foundry:
Sub-heading: Completing the Quest
- Kill the Required Bosses: Over the course of four weeks (or fewer if you run it on multiple characters before the skip becomes account-wide), kill The Blast Furnace, Flamebender Ka'graz, and the Iron Maidens to collect their respective "Embers of the Mountain."
- Tip for Soloing: Blackrock Foundry is largely soloable on Normal and Heroic difficulty by most max-level characters. Mythic might pose a challenge for some classes, especially specific mechanics like the Iron Maidens. Be prepared for potential wipes on certain bosses if you're undergeared or unfamiliar with the mechanics.
- Return to Goraluk Anvilcrack: Once you have all four Embers of the Mountain, return to Goraluk Anvilcrack inside Blackrock Foundry and turn in the quest.
- The Reward: Upon completion, you will be granted the ability to skip the initial bosses of Blackrock Foundry and go directly to Blackhand! This skip is now permanently unlocked for all your characters on that specific difficulty due to the Warbound system.
Step 3: Utilizing the Blackrock Foundry Skip
Now that you've unlocked the skip, it's time to put it to good use!
Sub-heading: Activating the Skip
- Enter Blackrock Foundry on the desired difficulty.
- Head towards the central platform: As soon as you enter, proceed straight ahead towards the large, circular central platform.
- Locate the Blackrock Artifacts: On either side of the gate leading to Blackhand's area, you will now see interactable objects – these are the Blackrock Artifacts.
- Click an Artifact: Simply click on one of these artifacts. The gate will lower, the flames will dissipate, and the path to Blackhand will be open! You can now bypass all the preceding bosses and head straight for the final encounter.
Sub-heading: Sharing the Skip (Optional, and mostly for older patches)
- While the skip is now Warbound (account-wide) in current WoW, historically, there was a method to "share" the skip with other characters or group members in the same raid instance. This method is largely obsolete for personal farming due to the Warbound change, but for historical context or if anything changes in the future, it involved:
- Having the character with the skip enter the raid and activate it.
- Having other characters (or the group leader) enter the raid after the skip is activated.
- This would allow the entire group to proceed to Blackhand.
- However, with the Warbound system, simply having the skip unlocked on your account for that difficulty means any of your characters can activate it.
Step 4: The Blackhand Encounter (Brief Overview for Solo Farming)
You've made it to Blackhand! Now, for the final confrontation.
Sub-heading: Key Mechanics to Watch Out For
- Phase 1: Slag and Mines: Blackhand will throw mines and create slag puddles on the ground. Avoid standing in these! Movement is key.
- Phase 2: The Grinder and Knockbacks: This is often the trickiest phase for soloing. Blackhand will knock you up onto upper levels. If you are the only player down below and get knocked up, he will often reset the fight.
- Strategy: Try to position Blackhand near a wall or a corner of the arena so that when he knocks you back, you don't get flung too far or off the platform, preventing a reset. Burn him down quickly in this phase if possible.
- Phase 3: Breaking Floor and Final Stand: The floor will start breaking apart as his health dwindles, causing you to fall to lower levels. Don't panic; this is intended. Just keep moving and damaging him.
- Overall: At max level, Blackhand is very soloable on Normal, Heroic, and even Mythic difficulty with decent gear. The main challenge remains the knockback mechanic in Phase 2 on Mythic, which can cause a reset if not handled properly.
FAQs: Your Burning Questions Answered!
How to get to Blackrock Foundry?
You can get to Blackrock Foundry by traveling to Gorgrond in Draenor, typically via the Ashran portal in your capital city, then heading to coordinates 51.4, 28.7.
How to start the Blackrock Foundry skip quest?
The quest to unlock the skip, "Sigil of the Black Hand," is given by Goraluk Anvilcrack inside Blackrock Foundry, usually found south of the Iron Maidens area.
How to collect Embers of the Mountain for the skip quest?
You collect Embers of the Mountain by defeating The Blast Furnace, Flamebender Ka'graz, and the Iron Maidens. You can get one ember from each boss per week per difficulty.
How to activate the Blackrock Foundry skip once unlocked?
After completing "Sigil of the Black Hand," simply enter Blackrock Foundry on the difficulty you unlocked, and click one of the Blackrock Artifacts located on either side of the gate leading to Blackhand's platform.
How to know if the Blackrock Foundry skip is account-wide?
Yes, the Blackrock Foundry skip quests are now Warbound (account-wide). Once you complete the quest on one character for a specific difficulty, all your characters can use the skip on that difficulty.
How to solo Blackrock Foundry?
Blackrock Foundry is largely soloable by max-level characters on Normal, Heroic, and even Mythic difficulties. Focus on avoiding mechanics, especially Blackhand's knockbacks in Phase 2 on Mythic, which can reset the fight.
How to get the Ironhoof Destroyer mount?
The Ironhoof Destroyer mount has a low chance (around 5%) to drop from Mythic Blackhand. The skip is invaluable for farming this mount quickly each week.
How to reset a raid instance in WoW?
To reset a raid instance, right-click your character portrait, go to "Raid Difficulty," and then select "Reset All Instances." This will reset all non-locked raid instances for you.
How to deal with the Iron Maidens solo in BRF?
The Iron Maidens can be tricky solo. Prioritize killing Admiral Gar'an first. If they jump to the ship, you may need to follow them quickly to prevent a wipe or use high burst damage to finish them before they execute complex mechanics.
How to check raid lockouts in WoW?
You can check your raid lockouts by opening your Social panel (default key 'O'), navigating to the "Raid" tab, and then clicking on "Raid Info." This will show you your current raid lockouts for the week.
