Dire Maul North Strategy

The strategy to complete most Dire Maul north side runs is to obtain a full tribute award. This walkthrough will follow that path.

First these are the things you need before you start. You need 1 Thorium Widget and 1 Frost Oil to repair the trap. You need 4 bolts of runecloth (made from 20 runecloth by a tailor), 8 rugged leather, 2 rune thread. If you have a tailor with the ogre suit recipe you only need 2 bolts of runecloth, 4 rugged leather and 1 rune thread. Also you will need the inner sanctum key or a rogue with enough lockpicking skill. Someone please add the required skill to lockpick the inner sanctum You can get the inner sanctum key off Guard Mol'Dar the first guard in the courtyard then reset the instance for maximum tribute.

The path I take is like this. We zone in and first work on the patrols. One will be a single brute that patrols up to the courtyard ramp and over to the southeast corner. Another is a patrol of an ogre and 2 dogs that patrols all the way around the courtyard and also goes down the ramps into the courtyard as well. With those 2 patrols out of the way we head west (left) from the hallway you zone in at and pull the large group there. It is usually 4 ogres, although I have seen it spawn a smaller group. There is a patrol that walks close and you need to wait for it to leave or else risk another add. With that group down we wait and grab the patrol that walks nearby as well. Then I follow the courtyard wall west till the edge and follow the wall north about halfway up the courtyard there is a group of an ogre and some dogs. Pull that to make room to pull the 3 ogres to the west.

After you pull the group of 3 ogres to the west the objective is to run up the ramp and across the courtyard. Stop in the middle, loot the key from the box, and run down the other ramp and through the courtyard door. Don't rush up to it at first, there are many patrols that can foul things up. Start by grabbing the ogre and dogs to the north of the ramp. With them gone start killing patrols and working your way to the top of the ramp. At the top of the ramp look for how Guard Fengus patrols. Wait for him to path down the south ramp to give your group the largest opportunity to run across. With him patrolling the southern path you should run across, take the key from the box and run down the west ramp and through the courtyard door using the key you just received.

Now you are inside the warlock section. You need to watch for Wandering eye of killrogs. They will summon 2 tough demons if you give them the chance so if you see one destroy it fast. In fact after zoning in before the first pull you should just wait and watch for the wandering eye and kill it before it causes any problems. With it out of the way you can start the first easy pull. You can solo pull the reaver here with a body pull. With him dead you can take the warlock easily. If possible CC the warlock and kill the non-elite pet first. The pet can AoE stun so healers should stand a bit away. After that continue moving down, being able to CC the warlocks so you can kill their pets will be a big help in this section. At the bottom of this ramp is a very easy aoe pull of bugs. After this you get to a big room with the broken trap. First off just wait for the eye and kill it when it patrols close enough. With the eye gone you need to repair that trap to get the guard out of the way. You have two choices here. If you have a priest they can mind soothe the ogres and you can repair the trap then back off and let the guard walk into it. If you do not have a priest pull the 2 warlocks really far back so that the guard will not add in when he patrols back.

With the warlocks cleared and the guard trapped you can safely talk to Knot. If you have a key you will not want to release him quite yet. First you should get your ogre suit (if you have a tailor that can make it you won't need to do the quest). To make the ogre suit you will need the ingredients you brought in plus some ogre tannin that could spawn in the box knot leaves behind or from the basket up ahead. If you still need the tannin just wait on saving him till you get it in a bit. Next you need to get to the ramp above your head. Go west and then south to the base of the ramp. Go up the ramp clearing the ogre groups in the way. Up the first ramp is a group of ogres standing near a fire. Clear them to get at the tannin basket and take the tannin you need for the ogre suit. Only one tannin can be taken and it is BoP so make sure someone who has the rest of the suit ingredients gets it.

With your new ogre suit made you need to get to the captain to fool him. It is best to not put on the suit till you are at the captain since it is a one time use and only lasts for 10 minutes. At the top of the ramp 2 reavers will guard a door to the inner sanctum. Use the key from the first guard or a rogue to get past this door (a Large Seaforium Charge will also work). Through this door there are 3 ogres. Pull the nearest reaver and he should come solo with a level 60 pulling. With him clear the other 2 shouldn't pose any problem. Now you need to wear that ogre suit and get rid of the captain. He will run off to the courtyard letting you lead your "prisoners" in to see the king (Note: Ensure that you talk to the captain before the rest of your group enters his aggro range. He will attack anyone not in the ogre suit until you have talked to him).

The large room the king is in is the next task to clear. Be aware there is a patrol of 3 dogs. Pull it when you get a chance. You will want to pull the ogre groups you find here far away as the captains cast fear and that can cause you to run into more mobs if you aren't carefull. Also there is a large group of dogs in the center. While dogs are non-elite they hit very hard so AoE can be a bit difficult to use if you go that route. Destroy them however you choose. Once you have this room cleared (ignore the gordok spirits) you can proceed with the king.

The king is an interesting fight if you want maximum tribute. For the best tribute you need to keep Cho'rush the Observer alive. He spawns as a random class, I've seen mage, priest and shaman so far. The healing classes are dangerous because he can heal the king. The mage is tough because he can counterspell your healer. The strategy I've always used is to have me (a mage) kite Cho'rush far away from the group so he doesn't interfere with the fight at all. I can handle myself against him just fine without heals. I use a lot of rank 1 frostbolt, cone of cold and frost nova and blink for emergencies. If needed I can bandage a little, but I usually hold up just fine with mana shield. Counterspell is a great way to get aggro on him fast at the start of the fight as well. I've heard a rogue can tank him pretty well also while the rest of the group fights the king. I imagine many classes could keep him occupied just fine. At low health the observer will rejoin the fight even if you pulled him away, hopefully the fight is over by the time he returns to the king.

With the king dead and the observer alive the observer will run and call for Mizzle. Talk to mizzle to receive your tribute and be named the new king of the gorduk. A lot of great stuff can drop from the tribute, including stuff you cannot get by just killing the bosses. As the new king you can talk to the ogres you left alive and receive buffs, quests and beer from them. Also as a bonus you can zone out causing you to lose the king buff then zone back in and kill all the ogre bosses you skipped (except slip'kik stuck in the ice block). This way you can get even more rewards.

It seems that the boss drops are much worse if you did a tribute run. This was a recent change, you can still get some drops from them but it may not be worth the time.