Do you hear the roaring of the furnaces? The clang of steel on steel? The guttural shouts of Orcs forging instruments of war? That's the sound of Blackrock Foundry, calling out to you, adventurer! If you're looking to conquer one of Draenor's most iconic and formidable raids, whether for transmogs, achievements, or just the sheer thrill of it, you've come to the right place. This comprehensive guide will walk you through every molten step of the way. So, buckle up, sharpen your blades, and let's delve into the heart of the Iron Horde's war machine!
How to Do Blackrock Foundry: A Step-by-Step Guide
Blackrock Foundry (BRF) is a level 100 raid from the Warlords of Draenor expansion, featuring 10 bosses across four wings. While it was a challenging endeavor in its prime, it's now highly soloable for max-level characters, making it a popular choice for collectors and achievement hunters.
Step 1: Getting There and Setting Up
First things first, let's get you to the heart of the action!
Locating the Entrance
The Blackrock Foundry is located in Northern Gorgrond, Draenor.
- From your Garrison (Draenor): If you have your Garrison Hearthstone, this is often the quickest way. Once there, you can fly or mount directly to the entrance. The coordinates are approximately 51.4, 28.7.
- From Azeroth (e.g., Stormwind/Orgrimmar):
- Take the portal to the Blasted Lands.
- Walk through the Dark Portal to enter Draenor.
- Once in Draenor, fly or mount North to Gorgrond.
Choosing Your Difficulty
Blackrock Foundry offers four difficulties:
- Raid Finder (LFR): Easiest, typically for lore and very basic gear. Access via the LFR NPC in your Garrison.
- Normal: A step up, more mechanics.
- Heroic: Significantly harder, requiring more awareness.
- Mythic: The most challenging, with altered mechanics and the highest item level loot, including a chance for the rare Ironhoof Destroyer mount from Blackhand.
To change difficulties for Normal, Heroic, or Mythic, right-click your character portrait and go to "Raid Difficulty" under "Instance Options."
Preparing for the Raid
Even if solo, a little preparation goes a long way.
- Repair Mount: BRF is quite isolated, so a repair mount (like the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth or Grand Expedition Yak) is incredibly useful to avoid frequent trips back to town.
- Potions/Flasks (Optional): If your gear is on the lower side or you're pushing for a speed run, using a flask and combat potions can help.
- Clear Inventory: You'll be picking up a lot of transmog gear and gold!
Step 2: The Slagworks - Melting Down the Obstacles
This is the first wing, typically the easiest, and can be tackled in any order with the next two wings.
Boss 1: Gruul
- Strategy: Gruul is a straightforward tank-and-spank.
- Avoid Overhead Smash: He'll mark an area on the ground; move out of it.
- Manage Cave In: Red circles will appear on the ground. Step out of these quickly.
- Solo Tip: Just hit him hard. The damage from mechanics is usually negligible at higher levels.
Boss 2: Oregorger the Devourer
- Strategy: This fight has two phases.
- Phase 1 (Normal Combat):
- Interrupt Blackrock Barrage: While solo, this isn't crucial as the damage is low, but in a group, it prevents high raid damage.
- Avoid Retched Blackrock: Don't stand in the green puddles.
- Tanks: Swap on Acid Torrent (if in a group, due to a stacking debuff).
- Phase 2 (Rolling): Oregorger will roll around the room.
- Your goal is to destroy the Ore Crates to shorten this phase and create pathways.
- Stay out of his path! He never reverses direction, so you can generally predict his movement.
- Phase 1 (Normal Combat):
- Solo Tip: Focus on destroying the crates quickly in Phase 2. If you're highly geared, you might even push enough damage in Phase 1 to skip a significant portion of Phase 2.
Boss 3: The Blast Furnace
- Strategy: This is a multi-stage encounter that requires specific mechanics to progress.
- Phase 1: Dealing with the Furnace
- Kill Furnace Engineers for Bombs.
- Pick up the bombs and throw them at the Bellows on either side of the furnace (they have a health bar). You need to destroy both bellows.
- Important: While waiting for bombs, kill Security Guards and other adds that spawn to keep the room clear.
- Phase 2: Exposed Heat
- Once bellows are down, Heat Regulators and Primal Elementalists will appear.
- Kill the Slag Elementals that the Primal Elementalists summon. This will remove the shield from the Primal Elementalist.
- Then, kill the Primal Elementalists. Repeat this for all four. You need to kill all four Primal Elementalists within 10 seconds of each other for the "Ya, We've Got Time..." achievement.
- Phase 3: Core Activated
- The Heart of the Mountain (the boss) becomes active.
- This phase is mostly a burn phase. Avoid any lingering fiery ground effects.
- Phase 1: Dealing with the Furnace
- Solo Tip: In Phase 2, try to group the Primal Elementalists and burn them down quickly with AoE to meet the achievement requirement.
Step 3: The Black Forge - Forging Through Fire and Steel
This wing features bosses specializing in aggressive combat and environmental hazards.
Boss 4: Hans'gar and Franzok
- Strategy: These two ogres will constantly try to crush you.
- Avoid Searing Plates: Yellow squares will appear on the conveyor belts, indicating where the stamping presses will land. Move out of these zones immediately!
- Body Slam: Hans'gar will target players for a "Body Slam." If in a group, spread out. Solo, just avoid subsequent damage.
- Crippling Suplex: Franzok will periodically cast "Crippling Suplex" on the tank.
- Solo Tip: Your primary focus is avoiding the stamping presses. Keep moving and stay between the conveyor belts where it's safe.
Boss 5: Flamebender Ka'graz
- Strategy: A caster who commands fire and molten hounds.
- Avoid Firestream: A frontal cone attack.
- Deal with Cinder Wolves: She'll summon Cinder Wolves. One will be "Overheated" and needs to be tanked; the other needs to be kited to avoid being hit. Kill them quickly.
- Dodge Whirling Blaze: Fiery tornadoes will move around the room; avoid contact.
- Beware Firestorm: She casts a large AoE Firestorm. Find the safe spots within the circles.
- Solo Tip: Burn her down quickly. The mechanics become trivial with high damage output. Prioritize the Cinder Wolves when they appear.
Boss 6: Kromog
- Strategy: A large Gronn who is immobile but deadly.
- Avoid Slam: He'll slam the ground, creating ripples of damage.
- Beware Rune of Crushing: He marks areas for Grasping Earth hands to spawn. These hands will grab you and pull you in. If in a group, free yourself or have others destroy the hands.
- Deal with Stone Breath: A frontal cone.
- Solo Tip: At higher levels, you can often just stand in one spot and burst him down. If you get gripped by the Grasping Earth, use an ability to break free or just burst the hand down. For the "Would You Give Me a Hand?" achievement, you need to destroy 10 Grasping Earth hands within 5 seconds before defeating him. This might require some careful timing and potentially lower gear to allow enough hands to spawn.
Step 4: The Iron Assembly - Trains, Beasts, and Iron Power
This wing throws various challenges at you, from speeding trains to fearsome beasts.
Boss 7: Beastlord Darmac
- Strategy: Darmac fights alongside several beasts, mounting them throughout the fight.
- He'll start on foot and then mount one of three beasts: Cruelfang (tiger), Ironcrusher (gronn), and Dreadwing (bird).
- Each beast has unique abilities you need to manage:
- Cruelfang: Bleeds and charges.
- Ironcrusher: Ground slams and summons adds.
- Dreadwing: Summons more adds and has a fiery breath.
- Prioritize Prime Beasts when they spawn (the unmounted ones).
- Kill Heavy Spears that pin players (if in a group).
- Solo Tip: This fight becomes a race against time and adds. Burn Darmac and his mounted beast as quickly as possible. When he dismounts, kill the beast, and then quickly engage the next one he targets.
Boss 8: Operator Thogar
- Strategy: This fight takes place on a train yard, with trains constantly passing through.
- Avoid the Trains: This is the primary mechanic. Stay aware of the train doors and the tracks. Yellow lines will appear on the ground indicating where trains are coming.
- Deal with Adds: Various Iron Horde forces will disembark from the trains. Prioritize Firemenders (for interrupts) and Man-at-Arms.
- Manage Throw Grenade: Avoid standing in the grenaded areas.
- Solo Tip: This fight is all about spacial awareness. Do not get hit by a train! They are often an instant kill. Focus on burst damage on Thogar while staying in safe zones.
Boss 9: The Iron Maidens
- Strategy: Three Iron Horde commanders fighting simultaneously, eventually boarding a ship.
- Admiral Gar'an, Enforcer Sorka, and Marak the Blooded share a health pool.
- Interrupt Penetrating Shot (Gar'an).
- Avoid Blood Ritual (Marak).
- Manage Rapid Fire (Sorka).
- At certain health percentages, one of them will board a ship.
- One player (typically a tank in a group) needs to follow them onto the ship to interrupt a powerful ability and eventually pull them back down.
- While on the ship, other adds will spawn.
- For the "Be Quick or Be Dead" achievement, defeat all three within 10 seconds of each other.
- Solo Tip: This fight can be tricky solo. You'll likely need to burst them down quickly, ideally bringing them all low simultaneously before finishing them off. When one boards the ship, you'll need to jump onto the chain/platform to follow and kill the adds there, or simply wait until they come back down if your damage is high enough to survive.
Step 5: Blackhand's Crucible - The Final Confrontation
This is the final, epic encounter of Blackrock Foundry.
Boss 10: Warlord Blackhand
- Strategy: Blackhand is a multi-phase fight that takes place on different levels of the foundry.
- Phase 1: The Foundry Floor
- Avoid Slag Bombs: He throws bombs that leave fiery puddles.
- Dodge Falling Debris: Red circles will appear; move out.
- He will periodically Shatter the floor, causing you to fall to the next level.
- Phase 2: The Grate
- You'll land on a grate. More Slag Bombs and Falling Debris will occur.
- Manage Summon Slag Fissures: These create lines of fire across the grate.
- Eventually, he'll shatter this floor too, dropping you to the lowest level.
- Phase 3: The Crucible
- This is the final burn phase. He'll continue with bombs and debris.
- Avoid Impaled: He will periodically target a player and pin them to a wall. You need to break free or have allies free you. Solo, use a defensive cooldown or escape ability if you have one.
- For the "Ashes, Ashes..." achievement, catch 20 Falling Ashes before defeating him. This means standing in the red circles for Falling Debris to take damage, which can be challenging at higher levels if you one-shot him.
- Phase 1: The Foundry Floor
- Solo Tip: At max level, you can often outright burst Blackhand in Phase 1 before he can even transition. If he does transition, just keep hitting him and avoid the obvious red circles. The Ironhoof Destroyer mount has a low chance (around 4%) to drop from Blackhand on Mythic difficulty, making him a popular weekly farm target.
Congratulations, Raider!
You've successfully navigated the treacherous depths of Blackrock Foundry! Whether you came for the loot, the transmogs, the achievements, or simply the experience, you've conquered one of Draenor's most significant challenges. Remember to check your bags for any new gear, and don't forget to vendors for any unwanted items!
Blackrock Foundry FAQs
Here are 10 common questions about Blackrock Foundry, with quick answers:
How to Get to Blackrock Foundry?
Go to Gorgrond in Draenor. The entrance is at roughly 51.4, 28.7 on the map. You can travel via the Dark Portal in Blasted Lands or by using your Garrison Hearthstone if you have a Draenor garrison.
How to Change Difficulty in Blackrock Foundry?
Right-click your character portrait, select "Raid Difficulty," and choose Normal, Heroic, or Mythic from the dropdown menu. For LFR, you'll need to speak to the specific LFR NPC in your Garrison.
How to Solo Blackrock Foundry Effectively?
At maximum level (currently 70 in Dragonflight), most classes can easily solo Blackrock Foundry on any difficulty due to significant stat squishes and power creep. Focus on burst damage and understanding basic mechanics.
How to Get the Ironhoof Destroyer Mount?
The Ironhoof Destroyer mount has a rare chance to drop from the final boss, Blackhand, on Mythic difficulty only. It's a weekly farm.
How to Get Tier 17 Transmog Sets from Blackrock Foundry?
Tier 17 armor pieces drop as tokens from specific bosses: Kromog (Helm), Operator Thogar (Shoulders), Flamebender Ka'graz (Chest), The Iron Maidens (Gloves), and The Blast Furnace (Legs). Blackhand also drops a token that allows you to choose a Tier piece from a vendor. The color scheme of the transmog varies with difficulty.
How to Do the "Ya, We've Got Time..." Achievement in Blackrock Foundry?
On the Blast Furnace encounter, you need to defeat all four Primal Elementalists within 10 seconds of each other in Phase 2. Group them up and use powerful AoE abilities.
How to Do the "Would You Give Me a Hand?" Achievement in Blackrock Foundry?
For the Kromog fight, you must defeat 10 Grasping Earth hands within 5 seconds before defeating Kromog. This might require careful management of your damage to allow enough hands to spawn.
How to Do the "Be Quick or Be Dead" Achievement in Blackrock Foundry?
On the Iron Maidens encounter, you need to defeat all three bosses (Admiral Gar'an, Enforcer Sorka, and Marak the Blooded) within 10 seconds of each other. Bring their health down simultaneously and then burst them.
How to Do the "Ashes, Ashes..." Achievement in Blackrock Foundry?
For the Blackhand encounter, you need to "catch" (stand in) 20 Falling Ashes before defeating him. This means allowing the red circles from his Falling Debris ability to hit you, which can be difficult if you kill him too quickly.
How to Speed Run Blackrock Foundry for Gold/Transmog?
With a max-level character, focus on maximizing your damage and movement speed. Learn the quickest routes between bosses and prioritize ignoring non-essential trash mobs. Many bosses can be "one-shot" or quickly bursted down, significantly reducing the clear time.
