Stratholme

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Stratholme is a level 55-62 instance in the northern part of Eastern Plaguelands. Recommended player level is 57+. There are multiple ways that this instance can be approached. Each method takes a different amount of time.


It actually has two entrances - one (the front) is in the northwestern end of the zone, and the other (the back, or service gate) is just east of Plaguewood. The service gate entrance requires the Key to the City, which drops off of Magistrate Barthilas inside the instance.


As one might guess, the instance is effectively split into two halves, which I'll refer to here as the Scarlet side and the Scourge side. (I welcome any suggestions for better designations. --Teiran)


External Guides and Maps

Annotated Map of Undead Side from gameamp.com
Map of whole instance from worldofwar

Quests

Alliance

None

Horde

61 The Scarlet Oracle, Demetria Horde Eastern Plaguelands Nathanos Blightcaller <Champion of the Banshee Queen> Eastern Plaguelands or or 8550 XP


62 Ramstein Horde Stratholme Nathanos Blightcaller <Champion of the Banshee Queen> Eastern Plaguelands or 7050 XP

This is the final quest in a long chain that begins with Sylvanas sending you to talk to Nathanos Blightcaller. You will have to complete some prerequisites in EPL that include killing two elites outside the instance (Duskwing and Borelgore).

Neutral

53 (60) Of Love and Family - This quest is a continuation of the Fordring series. It is obtained from Artist Renfray in the Western Plaguelands. The object needed is found in the Scarlet Bastion.


55 (61) The Archivist - This quest is obtained from Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff in the Eastern Plaguelands. The objective of the quest is to kill the Archivist and burn his room. The Archivist can be found in the Scarlet Bastion.


55 (61) Houses of the Holy - This quest is obtained from Leonid Barthalomew the Revered in Eastern Plaguelands. The objective is to collect Holy water from chests scattered around the instance. These items can be collected while part of a raid group. The possible rewards are the cloth Crown of the Penitent, or the Band of the Penitent ring plus healing/mana potions.

55 (61) The Flesh Does Not Lie - This quest is obtained from Betina Bigglezink in Eastern Plaguelands. The required objects drop from undead inside the instance.

55 (61) The Great Fras Siabi - This quest is obtained from Smokey LaRue in Eastern Plaguelands. The reward is Smokey's Lighter, a trinket that does 125 fire damage like a flamethrower.


58 (61) The Active Agent - This quest is obtained from Betina Bigglezink in Eastern Plaguelands. The reward is the Seal of the Dawn trinket (+81 Atk Power when fighting undead).


57 (62) Above and Beyond - This quest is obtained from Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff in Eastern Plaguelands. The object of this quest is to kill Baron Rivendare and bring his head back to Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff.

62 Cap of the Scarlet Savant Horde and Alliance Winterspring Malyfous's Catalogue Winterspring

62 Breastplate of Bloodthirst Horde and Alliance Winterspring Malyfous's Catalogue Winterspring


62 Leggings of Arcana Horde and Alliance Winterspring Malyfous's Catalogue Winterspring

62 Breastplate of the Chromatic Flight Horde and Alliance Western Plaguelands Catalogue of the Wayward Western Plaguelands

61 Sweet Serenity Horde and Alliance Blacksmithing Lilith the Lithe Winterspring 8550 XP

61 Corruption Horde and Alliance Blacksmithing Seril Scourgebane Winterspring 8550 XP

Bosses

Hearthsinger Forresten (57+ undead)


The Unforgiven (57+ undead)


Postmaster Malown (60+ undead)


Cannon Master Willey (60+ humanoid)


Archivist Galford (60+ humanoid)


Grand Crusader Dathrohan (62+ humanoid)

Balnazzar (62+ demon)


Timmy the Cruel (58+ undead)


Stonespine (60+ undead; rare spawn)


Baroness Anastari (59+ undead)


Nerub'enkan (60+ undead)


Maleki the Pallid (61+ humanoid)


Magistrate Barthilas (58+ undead)


Ramstein the Gorger (61+ undead)


Baron Rivendare (62+ undead)

Item List

Cloth


Leather


Mail


Plate


Weapon/Shield/Ranged


Jewlery


Misc


Walkthrough

The Scarlet side, despite nominally being the 'first' half, is very time-consuming. I would estimate that it takes about two and a half hours to complete, and that the zone respawn is one and a half hours. What follows is a walkthrough from the front instance portal to the end of the Scarlet Bastion.


The first few pulls on the Scarlet side consist of ~3 elite zombies, all melee, and ~4-5 non-elite skeletons, evenly split between casters and melee. Upon dying, the zombies will reanimate; if not killed quickly, they will explode and do ~800 AoE damage. You'll also probably see clickable Supply Crates on either side of the street; some of these contain supplies such as potions and scrolls, not to mention the quest item Stratholme Holy Water. Others contain lots of plagued rats/maggots/insects that you'll want to AoE down. In fact, you'll be seeing a lot of plagued AoE fodder if you get too close to the sides of the street, as the pests seem to be proximity-triggered spawns. Be wary of all barrels and crates in Stratholme. (Note that dwarves can use their Find Treasure racial ability to identify which crates are 'good.')


Monsters other than the zombies and skeletons include various forms of ghouls (Plague Ghouls, 57+) and abominations (Patchwork Horrors, 58+). These wander around and are not linked to the zombie/skeleton groups, so they can and should be pulled singly. The abominations here, like those outside the instance, have knockback.


Also of note are the non-aggro Spectral Citizens that wander the streets. To free them, you'll need the Egan's Blaster quest item. Otherwise, avoid damaging them, as they pose no threat to you. Turn left at the first intersection to proceed onward, where you'll again have the choice of going left or right. Going left here brings you to a cul-de-sac where the Stratholme Courier (57+) spawns. If you kill the Courier, he'll drop keys to open three of the five postboxes scattered throughout Stratholme. If you go right instead, you'll see an open gate. This is one of Stratholme's many gate traps--once somebody clears the gate threshold, it will drop, and mass AoE fodder will pour in from a side passage. It is possible to fake the gate out by crossing and re-crossing the threshold, but if it goes wrong, keep in mind that the gate blocks LoS and will thus prevent healing.


Once you pass the gate trap, you'll see another fork in the road. Hearthsinger Forresten (57+, initially non-aggro) often spawns in this area. If you proceed left, you should see a large raised iron gate--this is your goal. The pulls in this area remain the same as those at the entrance. Once you make it to the gate, you'll see the first signs of life in Stratholme--an imposing barrier of Scarlet Crusaders standing amongst some boxes and crates.


From here on out, you will be dealing mainly with humanoids. It's standard procedure to sheep pull from this point onward; this is because each pull consists of 3-4 Scarlets--two melee and one to two casters. Kill the melees first (they have the annoying ability to charge in combat), then turn your attention to the sheep and have a mage Counterspell to force the mob to try and melee. The entire section pulls this way.


Clear the courtyard and make your way to the door of the Bastion; it requires the Scarlet Key from Scarlet Monastery, but can be lockpicked. Go through the short entrance hall and hang a left. Welcome to the Scarlet Bastion!


Systematically begin clearing the pulls as described above. Be advised that when you clear a room, a Scarlet Crusader will yell something about the Scourge breaking in--this means that you should expect undead adds (non-elite skeletons) from the rear. If your group knows they're coming, they'll be easy to dispatch. Of note in the first real hall: a patrol of two Scarlet Conjurors comes all the way to the end, and may aggro you while you're in the entrance hall if you're not careful. At the far end of the hall, in a side room to the left, is Malor the Zealous (60+), who drops nothing of note.


Eventually you'll come to a hall with two locked doors--the door to the Hoard at the near end, and the door to the Hall of the High Command at the far end. The Hoard is home to Cannon Master Willey (60+) and resembles the Barracks in SM. Trash mobs include Scarlet Defenders (paladin NPC's, 58-59+) and Scarlet Priests, in mixed groups of (you guessed it) 3-4. The Scarlet Hammersmith (60+) also spawns here from some blacksmithing plans on a table.


At the end of this section is Cannon Master Willey (60+ humanoid), flanked by two cannons pointing down toward the end of the hall. Don't worry, he won't be using these cannons--but you will! Leave someone in charge of cannon duty while the rest of the party rushes Willey. At intervals during the fight, ranged adds will appear behind the party at the end of the hall. Whoever is on cannon duty must click the piles of cannonballs around Willey to obtain ammunition for the cannon, and then load and fire at the adds. If your cannoneer is diligent in spotting adds, they should never come into play during the fight. Willey himself is a strictly melee boss who shouldn't pose much of a problem. His drops include the Master Cannoneer Boots (plate boots, +21 sta, +10 str), Shadowcraft Spaulders (rogue set leather shoulders), Cannonball Runner (trinket), the plans to the crafted dagger Heartseeker, and Willey's Portable Howitzer (gun).


Once you've killed Willey, return to the main hall and hang left to avoid aggro from the mobs standing in the hall. You may notice a new type of mob here, one wielding a staff in one hand and a glowing orange sword in the other--this is a Crimson Battle Mage. Much like player mages, they can deal massive AoE damage in the form of Arcane Explosion and Blast Wave. (more)


Congratulations, you've reached the final hall of the Scarlet Bastion. Keep doing what you've been doing. Once you clear the far pull, a group of four Scarlets will filter in from the right--if you've been careful enough to stay back, they won't aggro immediately, and you can treat them the same as any other pull. Dispatch them and turn your attention to the side room on the left; this is the room of Archivist Galford (60+), quest objective of The Archivist. Kill him and burn his archive to complete the quest. On the right wall of this room, you'll find a painting of twin moons; this is the painting, "Of Love and Family," that Artist Renfray in Caer Darrow sends you to recover and bring back to Tirion Fordring as part of that quest line.


Turn around and look across the hall. Sitting on the Crimson Throne is Grand Crusader Dathrohan (62+), the final boss of the Scarlet side. Don't be intimidated; he has strong physical attacks, but he's by himself and doesn't summon any adds. That's the good news. The bad news is that he's really a dreadlord. At some point, Dathrohan will transform into the mighty, and much larger, Balnazzar (62+); he may also regenerate all his health. Balnazzar hits hard in melee and can AoE fear. [I need to figure out what his special abilities are.]


Eventually he will die. If you've already completed and turned in The Archivist, you'll be able to loot Balnazzar's head to deliver to Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff at Light's Hope Chapel. Drops include Demonshear (53.9 dps 2h sword), Star of Mystaria (necklace), Wyrmtongue Shoulders (+23 agi, +10 sta leather shoulders), Crown of Tyranny (mail helm; +20 sta, -10 spi, +40 atk pwr, +1% crit), Gift of the Elven Magi (41.3 dps dagger).


You'll have to exit the Scarlet Bastion to continue, but you'll notice that it's been overrun with undead. You'll have to fight your way out through about a dozen spawns of 1-2 elite ghouls and non-elite skeletons. Once outside, you'll see a ghoul doing laps around the front courtyard of the Bastion; this is Timmy the Cruel (58+). Other than his yelling "TIMMY!" there's nothing special about him. Drops include the Grimgore Noose (cloth belt), The Cruel Hand of Timmy (40.1 dps 1h mace), Vambraces of the Sadist (plate bracers; +7 sta, +6 spi, +2% chance to hit; +1% crit).


[more to come, including directions on obtaining the Key to the City from this point]


---


The Scourge side of Stratholme effectively begins at the back instance portal. Every mob you'll meet from the service gate entrance all the way through to the Baron (with the exception of Thuzadin Necromancers and Shadowcasters) will be undead. It's imperative that your priest be judicious with shackles, and that you help the priest by leaving shackled targets alone. While your mages won't be using Polymorph quite as often as they did on the Scarlet side, the aforementioned Necromancers and Shadowcasters are humanoid and therefore can be sheeped. Additionally, the Scourge side is full of casters that are pull-resistant, so mages' Counterspell ability will be useful for dragging these mobs back to the group.


You need the Key to the City to unlock the gate protecting the back instance portal. Once inside the instance, you'll still need the Key to unlock various other gates--including the service gate itself. If you leave the gate closed and look on the other side, you'll see the same pull that greeted you at the front instance portal: ~3 elite zombies, ~4-5 non-elite skeletons. You may also see Magistrate Barthilas hanging out just beyond the first pull. When you unlock the gate, though, Barthilas will run away. Don't worry, you'll see him again later.


The first open area after the service gate consists of three of these pulls, at which point someone with the Key will have to open the gate straight ahead at the far end. Go down the passageway and proceed to the right, using the Key to open the gate there. This is the Gauntlet, arguably the most difficult part of Stratholme.


The Gauntlet has five main mob types: 1) Crypt Walkers (59+) and Crypt Beasts (60+); 2) Rockwing Gargoyles (57-58+) and Rockwing Screechers (58-59+); 3) Wailing Banshees (58+); 4) Plague Ghouls (57-58+), Ghoul Raveners (58-59+) and Fleshflayer Ghouls (60+); 5) Thuzadin Shadowcasters (58-60+) and Thuzadin Necromancers (59-61+). Of these, only the ghouls and the Rockwing Gargoyles will immediately attempt to melee the party--the other mobs all have some sort of ranged attack that could cause problems when pulling. Be especially careful of the Rockwing Screechers, which have the ability to AoE fear the party; if surrounding mobs haven't been cleared, this can easily result in a wipe.


To proceed on from the Gauntlet, you'll have to clear three towers. On the map to which we've linked, the towers are marked 3 (Nerub'enkan), 4 (Baroness Anastari), and 5 (Maleki the Pallid). Each has a boss parked in front of its door, and clearing each tower involves killing the boss, entering the tower, and killing the six acolytes within. Once you accomplish this, you'll hear a zonewide yell along the lines of "Thuzadin Acolyte yells: An Ash'ari Crystal has fallen!..." This is the signal that the tower has been 'cleared.' Be warned that if a tower is left alone for too long, its crystal will be re-summoned, and you'll have to go back and kill the acolytes again to re-clear it.


If you're entering the Gauntlet from the service gate area, you'll be facing east. In front of you, past a gamut of mobs, one of the three towers should be visible--this is location (4), the tower of the banshee Baroness Anastari (59+ undead). Clear to her tower, taking special care to watch for the fast-moving, and fast-respawning, gargoyle patrols. Anastari herself has two noteworthy attacks: her Banshee Wail is twice as powerful as those of the non-named banshee in Stratholme, and she has the ability to possess a party member and turn him or her against the rest of the group for two minutes or until the group can kill the possessed person. Sometimes Anastari will leave the body of the possessed person before he or she actually dies--this is the ideal outcome, next to not being possessed at all. There is little to say about the fight itself; simply beat on her when she isn't possessing someone, and hope for the best if she tries her banshee tricks. Her blue drops are the Dreadmist Sandals and the Banshee Finger (59.7 dps frost-based wand).


At location (3) is the tower of Nerub'enkan (60+ undead), a boss Crypt Lord. He behaves in much the same way as other Crypt Lord-type mobs in Stratholme--he can web you and summon tiny crypt scarabs--but Nerub'enkan hits harder. Still, the fight against him is fairly straightforward. His blue drops include the Beaststalker's Boots (hunter set mail boots) and the Husk of Nerub'enkan (shield).

(more to be added later)

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