Ah, the Blackrock Foundry! A true titan of Warlords of Draenor, teeming with fiery metal, formidable foes, and some truly epic transmog and mount opportunities. Whether you're a seasoned veteran looking to relive the glory days or a curious newcomer eager to explore past content, getting to and conquering Blackrock Foundry is a rewarding experience.
Let's dive in, shall we? Are you ready to forge your path through the heart of the Iron Horde's war machine?
How to Get to Blackrock Foundry Raid: A Comprehensive Guide
Blackrock Foundry is located in the northern reaches of Gorgrond, on the world of Draenor. As a raid from the Warlords of Draenor expansion, the primary hurdle is reaching Draenor itself, and then navigating to the specific zone. Don't worry, we'll break it down step-by-step.
Step 1: Establish Your Presence in Draenor
Our first task is to open the gateway to a shattered world. Before you can even think about the Blackrock Foundry, you need to have access to Draenor. For newer players or those returning after a long hiatus, this involves starting the Warlords of Draenor questline.
Sub-heading: The Draenor Campaign Kick-off
- For Alliance Players:
- Head to the Blasted Lands in the Eastern Kingdoms.
- Look for the quest "The Dark Portal" (or a similar introductory quest) near the Dark Portal itself. This quest will lead you through a series of events that culminate in you venturing through the portal to Draenor.
- For Horde Players:
- Travel to the Blasted Lands in the Eastern Kingdoms.
- Similar to the Alliance, seek out the quest "The Dark Portal" to begin your journey across the sea of stars to Draenor.
Once you complete the initial scenarios, you'll arrive in your faction's respective starting zone in Draenor: Shadowmoon Valley for Alliance, and Frostfire Ridge for Horde.
Sub-heading: Setting Up Your Garrison
While not strictly necessary for entering Blackrock Foundry, establishing your Garrison is a core part of the Warlords of Draenor experience and will provide you with a convenient hearthstone location on Draenor. Follow the initial quests in your Draenor starting zone, and you'll quickly be directed to establish your Garrison.
Step 2: Journeying to Gorgrond
With Draenor at your fingertips, it's time to pinpoint our destination: Gorgrond.
Sub-heading: Navigating Draenor's Zones
From your Garrison, you'll need to travel north to the zone of Gorgrond.
- On Foot/Ground Mount: This is the most straightforward method. Open your map (M key) and plot a course from your Garrison to Gorgrond. Follow the roads and pathways. Be aware that Draenor is a large continent, and it might take a few minutes of travel.
- Flight Paths: As you quest through Draenor, you'll unlock various flight paths. If you've already explored Gorgrond previously, you can simply fly directly to a flight master there. The closest flight path to Blackrock Foundry is often Arcanist Windlebop, located at the neutral flight point between Everbloom Wilds and Highpass. This will significantly cut down on travel time.
Step 3: Locating the Blackrock Foundry Entrance
We're closing in on the heart of Blackhand's operations! Once you're in Gorgrond, the Blackrock Foundry entrance is relatively easy to find, as it's a massive, imposing structure.
Sub-heading: Specific Coordinates and Visual Cues
- Coordinates: Head to 51.4, 28.7 on your map in northern Gorgrond. Many players find it helpful to use an addon like TomTom for precise coordinate navigation.
- Visual Landmark: The entrance itself is a colossal industrial gate built directly into the mountainside. You can't miss its dark, metal facade and the tell-tale presence of other players (or lack thereof, if you're soloing in off-peak hours). It will look like a giant fortress of iron and fire.
Sub-heading: The Meeting Stone
Just outside the entrance to Blackrock Foundry, you'll find the raid's Meeting Stone. This is where you would traditionally summon other raid members if you were in a group. For solo players, it simply serves as another confirmation that you're in the right place. The meeting stone is typically around coordinates 51.7, 29.0.
Step 4: Entering the Raid and Choosing Your Difficulty
The gates are before you, the sounds of industry echoing from within. It's time to step inside.
Sub-heading: Interacting with the Entrance Portal
Walk up to the massive gate entrance. You'll see a green mist or glow, indicating it's an instance portal. Right-click on it to bring up the difficulty selection menu.
Sub-heading: Understanding Raid Difficulties
Blackrock Foundry, like most modern raids, offers several difficulty settings:
- Raid Finder (LFR): This is the easiest difficulty, designed for casual players and offers a scaled-down experience. It's often broken into smaller wings. Great for seeing the story or getting basic transmogs.
- Normal: The standard difficulty, requiring a more coordinated group.
- Heroic: A step up in challenge from Normal, with increased boss health and more demanding mechanics.
- Mythic: The hardest difficulty, designed for highly coordinated and skilled raid groups. This is where you'll find the highest item level gear and, notably, the Ironhoof Destroyer mount with a low chance from Blackhand.
For solo farming (transmog, achievements, mount): Most players will opt for Mythic difficulty to maximize their chances at the Ironhoof Destroyer mount from Blackhand, as it has a higher chance there and often guarantees two set tokens. Even at current max levels, you'll likely massively outscale the content and be able to one-shot most bosses, even on Mythic.
Step 5: Navigating Blackrock Foundry (Solo Considerations)
You're in! Now, to conquer Blackhand's domain. Blackrock Foundry is comprised of four distinct wings, which can generally be tackled in any order before the final wing.
Sub-heading: The Three Wings (Initial Path)
The first three wings contain three bosses each and can be completed in any order:
- Slagworks: Home to Gruul, Oregorger, and Blast Furnace.
- The Black Forge: Features Hans'gar & Franzok, Flamebender Ka'graz, and Kromog.
- Iron Assembly: Where you'll face Beastlord Darmac, Operator Thogar, and The Iron Maidens.
For solo players, you generally just run through, pull everything, and AoE it down. However, a few bosses might have minor mechanics that, if ignored, can still wipe you even at max level due to specific debuffs or environmental hazards.
Sub-heading: The Final Confrontation: Blackhand's Crucible
Once all bosses in the first three wings are defeated, the path to Blackhand's Crucible will open. This is the final wing, leading to the ultimate showdown with Warlord Blackhand himself.
Sub-heading: Key Boss Soloing Tips (Mythic)
While most bosses will fall in seconds, here are a few quick notes on potentially tricky encounters for solo players, especially on Mythic:
- Blast Furnace: This encounter requires you to interact with environmental objects (bellows) and kill specific adds to activate the boss. Don't just tunnel the main boss area; pay attention to the room. You'll need to break shields on adds by killing Slag Elementals.
- Operator Thogar: The primary mechanic here is avoiding the trains. They are still lethal! Pay attention to the track signals and move out of the way.
- Iron Maidens: These three bosses share a health pool. Be prepared for them to jump to a ship later in the fight. You can follow them or stay on the ground.
- Blackhand: Even now, he has some "forced" phases where he throws you around or the floor breaks. These aren't lethal, but you'll need to move to the next platform. Just keep doing damage!
Step 6: Claiming Your Rewards!
The foundry is silenced, Blackhand defeated. Now, for the spoils!
Blackrock Foundry offers a plethora of rewards:
- Transmogrification Gear (Tier 17): This raid drops the iconic Tier 17 armor sets for each class, providing unique and stylish appearances. Each difficulty (LFR, Normal, Heroic, Mythic) has slightly different visual tints for the gear.
- Weapons: A variety of unique and often visually impressive weapons drop from the bosses.
- The Ironhoof Destroyer (Mythic Blackhand): This highly sought-after mount has a low chance to drop from Warlord Blackhand on Mythic difficulty. Many players run this raid weekly specifically for this mount.
- Achievements: Numerous achievements are tied to completing bosses, specific mechanics, and the raid itself across different difficulties.
Remember that old raids have "legacy damage" scaling, meaning you'll deal significantly increased damage and take reduced damage, making soloing a breeze for most max-level characters.
10 Related FAQ Questions:
How to get to Blackrock Foundry as Alliance?
To get to Blackrock Foundry as Alliance, first travel to the Blasted Lands in Eastern Kingdoms, take the "Dark Portal" quest to begin the Warlords of Draenor campaign, and then fly or ride north from your Draenor Garrison to Gorgrond, where the raid entrance is located at coordinates 51.4, 28.7.
How to get to Blackrock Foundry as Horde?
To get to Blackrock Foundry as Horde, first travel to the Blasted Lands in Eastern Kingdoms, take the "Dark Portal" quest to begin the Warlords of Draenor campaign, and then fly or ride north from your Draenor Garrison to Gorgrond, where the raid entrance is located at coordinates 51.4, 28.7.
How to solo Blackrock Foundry?
To solo Blackrock Foundry, ensure you are a high-level character (ideally max level or close to it) to benefit from legacy damage scaling, then follow the travel steps to Gorgrond and enter on Mythic difficulty to maximize transmog and mount drop chances, as most bosses will be easily defeated.
How to unlock Blackrock Foundry?
Blackrock Foundry is automatically unlocked once you progress through the introductory Warlords of Draenor questline that takes you to Draenor. There are no specific pre-quests within Draenor to unlock the raid itself; you just need to reach the zone of Gorgrond.
How to get the Ironhoof Destroyer mount?
To get the Ironhoof Destroyer mount, you must defeat Warlord Blackhand, the final boss of Blackrock Foundry, on Mythic difficulty. The mount has a low chance to drop from him.
How to check my raid lockout for Blackrock Foundry?
You can check your raid lockout by opening your Social tab (O key by default), navigating to the "Raid" tab, and then clicking on "Raid Info" or "Raid Lockouts" to see which raids you are locked to for the current week.
How to get Tier 17 transmog from Blackrock Foundry?
To get Tier 17 transmog from Blackrock Foundry, simply clear the raid on any difficulty. Different difficulties offer different color variations of the set. Mythic difficulty provides the highest item level and often guarantees set tokens from Blackhand.
How to skip bosses in Blackrock Foundry?
In Blackrock Foundry, the initial three wings (Slagworks, The Black Forge, Iron Assembly) can be cleared in any order. However, you must defeat all bosses in these three wings before the path to the final boss, Blackhand, opens up. There are no skips for individual bosses within the wings themselves.
How to find the exact entrance coordinates for Blackrock Foundry?
The exact entrance coordinates for Blackrock Foundry are approximately 51.4, 28.7 in the Gorgrond zone of Draenor. You can see your current coordinates on your map if you have an addon that displays them, or by hovering your mouse over the map.
How to get back to Draenor if I left?
To get back to Draenor if you left, the easiest way is to use your Garrison Hearthstone (if you set it to your Garrison), or use the Ashran portal found in the main faction cities (Stormwind for Alliance, Orgrimmar for Horde). If you haven't unlocked these, you might need to redo the "Dark Portal" quest from the Blasted Lands.
