Alright, adventurer! So, you're looking to dive into the fiery depths of Blackrock Foundry and conquer the mighty Blast Furnace? Excellent choice! This Warlords of Draenor raid offers fantastic transmog, challenging encounters (even solo at higher levels!), and a chance to relive some epic moments from WoW history. But before you can face the Heart of the Mountain, you need to know how to get there.
Consider this your ultimate, step-by-step guide to reaching the Blast Furnace in Blackrock Foundry. Grab your most formidable gear, stock up on potions, and let's get started!
The Journey Begins: Getting to Blackrock Foundry
The Blast Furnace is the third boss within the "Slagworks" wing of Blackrock Foundry. But first, you need to get to the raid itself! Blackrock Foundry is located in the zone of Gorgrond, on the world of Draenor.
Step 1: Reach Draenor – Your Gateway to the Iron Horde's Power
"So, you want to see the Iron Horde's true might? Prove your worth by reaching Draenor first! Have you established your Garrison, or are you still pondering how to cross the Dark Portal?"
The easiest way to get to Draenor depends on whether you're a new player or have previously ventured into the Warlords of Draenor content.
- Sub-heading: For Fresh Adventurers (or those new to WoD)
- The Tanaan Jungle Questline: If you've never been to Draenor, you'll need to start the Warlords of Draenor introductory questline. This typically begins with a quest from your faction's capital city (Stormwind for Alliance, Orgrimmar for Horde) that leads you through the Blasted Lands and into the Dark Portal to Tanaan Jungle. Complete this initial quest chain, and it will eventually lead you to establish your Garrison in Draenor.
- Sub-heading: For Seasoned Draenor Veterans
- Garrison Hearthstone: If you've already established your Garrison, simply use your Garrison Hearthstone to teleport directly there. This is by far the quickest method.
- Portal from Stormwind/Orgrimmar: In the Mage Tower (Stormwind) or Valley of Strength (Orgrimmar), there's a portal to Ashran (your faction's main hub in Draenor). From Ashran, you can then fly or ride to Gorgrond.
- Dark Portal (Blasted Lands): You can always fly to the Blasted Lands in the Eastern Kingdoms and use the Dark Portal there to enter Tanaan Jungle, then proceed to Gorgrond. This is often the longest route.
Step 2: Navigate to Gorgrond – The Heart of the Foundry
"Draenor is a vast and untamed land, but the whispers of the forge draw you closer to Gorgrond. Can you feel the heat of the Blackrock before you even arrive?"
Once you're on Draenor:
- Sub-heading: From Your Garrison
- Flight Path: If you've unlocked the flight paths in Gorgrond, simply fly directly to a flight point near Blackrock Foundry. The closest flight path is Arcanist Windlebop, which is a neutral flight point.
- Mount Up! If you don't have the flight path, hop on your favorite ground or flying mount and head north. Gorgrond is directly north of Frostfire Ridge (Horde Garrison) and northwest of Shadowmoon Valley (Alliance Garrison).
- Sub-heading: From Ashran (Warspear/Stormshield)
- Flight Path/Mount: From your faction's hub in Ashran, take a flight path to Gorgrond, or mount up and ride. You'll generally head north/northeast to reach the zone.
Step 3: Locating the Blackrock Foundry Entrance
"The colossal gates of Blackrock Foundry loom before you, a testament to the Iron Horde's ambition. Are you ready to breach their defenses and face what lies within?"
The entrance to Blackrock Foundry is a massive industrial gate built into the mountains in northern Gorgrond.
- Coordinates: Head to approximately 51.4, 28.7 on your map in Gorgrond. This is the precise location of the raid entrance.
- Visual Cues: Look for the immense, dark, metallic structures and the smoky plumes rising into the sky. It's hard to miss once you're in the right area. The entrance itself is a large, foreboding gate.
Entering the Foundry: Making Your Way to the Blast Furnace
Once inside Blackrock Foundry, you'll find it's a sprawling complex. The Blast Furnace is not the first boss; you'll need to defeat two others before reaching it.
Step 4: Choose Your Difficulty – Tailor the Challenge
"Before you charge in, consider the challenge ahead. Do you seek glory in Mythic, or a casual stroll through history?"
Blackrock Foundry offers several difficulties:
- Raid Finder (LFR): Easiest, typically for larger, uncoordinated groups.
- Normal: A step up, can be soloed by higher-level characters.
- Heroic: More challenging, also soloable at high levels with good gear.
- Mythic: The most challenging difficulty, designed for 20 players, but can be soloed by very well-geared max-level characters. This is often chosen by mount farmers.
You can select your desired difficulty by right-clicking on your character portrait and choosing "Raid Difficulty" before entering. For solo runs to the Blast Furnace, Normal, Heroic, or even Mythic are viable depending on your gear and class.
Step 5: Clear the Way Through the Slagworks – Gruul and Oregorger
"The path to the Blast Furnace is guarded by formidable foes. Prepare for a fiery introduction!"
The Blast Furnace is located in the first wing, The Slagworks. You'll need to defeat the first two bosses in this wing:
- Sub-heading: Boss 1: Gruul
- Gruul is a straightforward encounter. At higher levels, you'll likely melt him in seconds. He has a few abilities like Overhead Smash and Cave In, but they are easily ignored or out-geared. Just focus on dishing out damage and he'll fall quickly.
- Sub-heading: Boss 2: Oregorger
- Oregorger is a rolling menace. He has two phases:
- Phase 1 (Tank & Spank): You'll mostly just attack him. Watch out for Acid Torrent (a tank debuff) and Explosive Shard (aoe).
- Phase 2 (Rolling Chaos): Oregorger will turn into a ball and roll around the room, smashing crates. You need to avoid his rolling path at all costs, as he deals heavy damage. Destroy the crates he leaves behind to clear pathways. At max level, you can often push enough damage to skip or minimize this phase.
- Oregorger is a rolling menace. He has two phases:
Step 6: Approaching the Blast Furnace – The Forge's Heart
"Beyond the rolling fury of Oregorger lies the true heart of this infernal factory. Can you feel the immense heat radiating from the Blast Furnace?"
After defeating Oregorger, continue deeper into the Slagworks. You'll find a path that leads directly to the Blast Furnace encounter. It's a large, multi-stage fight with many adds, but at higher levels, much of it can be cheesed or power-through.
Conquering the Blast Furnace: Your Step-by-Step Strategy
The Blast Furnace fight is unique and involves manipulating environmental elements before the main boss appears.
"The Blast Furnace: a true test of strategic thinking, even for a seasoned solo adventurer. Are you ready to dismantle the Iron Horde's most powerful forge?"
Step 7: Phase 1: Dismantling the Engine – Destroying Bellows
This initial phase focuses on destroying two Bellows on either side of the main furnace.
- Sub-heading: Dealing with Furnace Engineers and Bombs
- Identify Engineers: Throughout this phase, Furnace Engineers will spawn. These are your primary targets.
- Collect Bombs: When you kill a Furnace Engineer, they will drop a bomb. You need to pick up these bombs.
- Target Bellows: There are two large Bellows, one on each side of the room. You'll see their health bars. Once you have a bomb, target a Bellow and use the bomb ability. This will deal significant damage to the Bellow.
- Repeat: Keep killing engineers, picking up bombs, and throwing them at the Bellows until both are destroyed. Be mindful of other adds that spawn, like Slag Elementals and Primal Elementalists, as they can interfere. At max level, your damage output should make this relatively quick.
Step 8: Phase 2: Eliminating the Guards – Weakening the Core
Once the Bellows are destroyed, the Heart of the Mountain (the main Blast Furnace core) will become active, but it's protected by four Security Guards.
- Sub-heading: Cracking Their Shields
- The Security Guards have powerful shields that make them largely immune to damage. To break their shields, you need to follow a specific process:
- Kill Slag Elementals: Focus down any Slag Elementals that spawn.
- Kill Primal Elementalists: After a Slag Elemental is defeated, a Primal Elementalist will become vulnerable. Kill this elementalist quickly.
- Shield Reduction: Each time you successfully kill a Primal Elementalist, one of the Security Guards' shields will be significantly weakened or removed.
- Repeat: You'll need to repeat this process four times to fully disable the shields of all four Security Guards. Once a guard's shield is down, you can start damaging them directly.
- The Security Guards have powerful shields that make them largely immune to damage. To break their shields, you need to follow a specific process:
Step 9: Phase 3: The Final Burn – Defeating the Heart of the Mountain
With all the Security Guards dealt with, the Blast Furnace's Heart of the Mountain becomes fully vulnerable.
- Sub-heading: Unleash Your Full Power!
- This is typically a straightforward burn phase. At high levels, you should be able to annihilate the Heart of the Mountain quickly.
- No Complex Mechanics (for solo): While in a raid group there are additional mechanics to manage (such as Heat and Tempered debuffs, and Melt zones), when soloing at a significantly higher level than the raid content, your raw damage output will often allow you to ignore these mechanics entirely and simply DPS the boss down.
Congratulations, adventurer! You have successfully navigated the treacherous Blackrock Foundry and dismantled the mighty Blast Furnace. Enjoy your loot and the satisfaction of a job well done!
Frequently Asked Questions about Blackrock Foundry and Blast Furnace
Here are 10 common "How to" questions related to Blackrock Foundry and the Blast Furnace, with quick answers:
How to get to Blackrock Foundry from Stormwind? You can take the portal to Ashran (Stormshield) from the Mage Tower in Stormwind, then fly or ride north to Gorgrond, and then to the raid entrance at 51.4, 28.7. Alternatively, use your Garrison Hearthstone if you have a Garrison in Draenor.
How to get to Blackrock Foundry from Orgrimmar? Take the portal to Ashran (Warspear) from the Valley of Strength in Orgrimmar, then fly or ride north to Gorgrond, and then to the raid entrance at 51.4, 28.7. Alternatively, use your Garrison Hearthstone if you have a Garrison in Draenor.
How to solo Blackrock Foundry? At max level (currently 70 in Dragonflight), Blackrock Foundry is easily soloable on Normal and Heroic difficulties. Mythic is also soloable by most well-geared classes. The key is high damage output to skip mechanics.
How to reset Blackrock Foundry? To reset a raid instance, simply exit the raid, right-click your character portrait, go to "Raid Difficulty," and select "Reset All Instances." This will reset all raid instances you are currently in.
How to get the Ironhoof Destroyer mount from Blackrock Foundry? The Ironhoof Destroyer mount has a small chance to drop from the final boss, Blackhand, on Mythic difficulty only. You'll need to defeat Gruul, Oregorger, Blast Furnace, and all other bosses to reach Blackhand.
How to skip bosses in Blackrock Foundry? Generally, you cannot skip bosses in Blackrock Foundry if you intend to progress through the wings and reach the final boss. However, if you are only farming specific bosses (like Blast Furnace for its transmog), you only need to defeat the bosses that precede it in that specific wing.
How to unlock Blackrock Foundry? There is no special "unlock" or attunement quest for Blackrock Foundry. If you can get to Draenor and then to the raid entrance in Gorgrond, you can enter.
How to get to the Slagworks wing in Blackrock Foundry? The Slagworks is the first wing you enter in Blackrock Foundry. Once inside the main entrance, you'll naturally progress into the Slagworks, which contains Gruul, Oregorger, and the Blast Furnace.
How to deal with the Blast Furnace adds when soloing? At higher levels, your raw damage output will often allow you to quickly dispatch Furnace Engineers, Slag Elementals, and Primal Elementalists before they become a significant threat. Focus on killing the Engineers for bombs, then the Elementals to break the Security Guards' shields.
How to find the Blackrock Foundry entrance coordinates? The entrance to Blackrock Foundry is located at approximately 51.4, 28.7 in the northern part of Gorgrond, Draenor.
