All we got to see of the gleaming city of Dalaran back in the day was a giant purple dome. This eventually changed with Wrath of the Lich King, but we never got to see its full splendor in Alterac Valley. In World of Warcraft: Forever, the magocratic municipality is fully open to visitors… provided they’re Alliance.
Nonetheless, the City of Daloran dungeon can be cleared by either faction, and it’s a doozy. Starting you off down in the sewers, you’ll make your way up onto its hallowed streets, clearing multiple bosses (and a fair share of trash) in the process. Here, we break down everything you’ll need to successfully navigate CoD, including how to get there, attunement steps, quests, major encounters, and more. We were clearing the instance comfortably at level 30 during the beta, so this stands as our recommended point of entry.
How to get to City of Dalaran
The City of Dalaran is located to the north of Hillsbrad in the Alterac Mountains. The dungeon’s entrance is a sewage pipe on the outer side of the northern wall, which leads out onto Lordamere Lake.
There are a couple of routes to the dungeon, and which one you take largely depends on whether you’re Alliance or Horde. If you’re the former, either fly or take a ship into Southshore, Hillsbrad Foothills, before heading north-west through the zone, up into Dalaran.
For the latter, the most efficient route is to fly to The Sepulcher and head east to Lordamere Lake. Once you reach The Decrepit Ferry, swim south-east to the dungeon entrance. If you’re over in Kalimdor, simply take the zeppelin from Orgrimmar and run down to the lake from the Undercity. While you can run up from Hillsbrad, which is tempting considering where your attunement chain takes you (more on that in a moment), you’ll have to carefully navigate the max-level Kirin Tor guards patrolling the entrance to Dalaran proper.
City of Dalaran Attunement
Before you can enter the dungeon, you’ll first need to get attuned. Well, one person in your group does, at least, as you’re going to need the Dalaran Sewer Key to crack open the pipe and get in.
Unsurprisingly, the Alliance has a much easier time. You’ll first need to go and speak to Emissary Jacques in Southshore, Hillsbrad Foothills (48.3, 60). He’ll give you ‘An Alarming Request,’ which has you report to the Image of Archmage Modera, who’ll hand over the key once you accept ‘Heart of Disruption.’
Likewise, Modera will also cough up the goods for the Horde, though you’ll need to jump through a few more hoops. First, make your way to Tarren Mill, Hillsbrad Foothills, where Magus Wordeen Voidglare (61.6, 20.75) has some work for you. Complete ‘Prison Break In,’ ‘Key to the City,’ ‘Stone Tokens,’ and ‘Dalaran Patrols,’ before he’ll send you to Modera as the objective of ‘Blood in the Streets.’ It’s a bit of a slog, but XP is XP, especially in Forever where questing is OP. Snap up ‘Heart of Disruption’ from Modera, and the key’s yours.
City of Dalaran Map
The City of Dalaran is split into two sections. You’ll initially enter through the sewer, making your way through Cantrips & Crows, before crossing over to the other side via The Underbelly. It’s then a case of following the waterway up, with your group spilling out onto the streets of the city itself.
While the two bosses available in the sewers are fought in a set order, the city itself is free-flowing. This means you can tackle the six remaining encounters as you please, in non-linear fashion. We’d recommend facing down your first major foe in Krasus Landing, which is directly to the right of where your party pops out. Next head into The Violet Hold, before crossing through the central Runeweaver Square. There are a couple of bosses stashed away in the backstreets that are easily missed, so see them away before turning your attention to the grand finale atop The Violet Citadel.
City of Dalaran Quests
Both Alliance and Horde have three faction-exclusive quests apiece. We’ve already mentioned Heart of Disruption, which is offered to players from both. The endpoints and rewards differ, however. Full stat rundowns of reward gear can be found in the loot section of this guide.
Alliance Quests
| Quest | Start location | Info | Rewards |
| A Green Sample | Shylamiir, The Park, Stormwind (31.5, 63) |
Collect a Fel Infused Blossom for Shylamiir.
Level 24, Shareable |
9,400 XP One of: Vine Pruner’s Cloak or Thorn Protecting Girdle. |
| Heart of Disruption | Image of Archmage Modera, outside City of Dalaran entrance, Alterac Mountains (68.54, 45.17) |
Collect the Arcane Mote for the Image of Archmage Modera.
Prerequisite: Complete ‘An Alarming Request,’ given by Emissary Jacques in Southshore, Hillsbrad Foothills |
9,400 XP One of: Spellguard Pauldrons, Renewing Footpads, or Defender of Dalaran 100 Kirin Tor Reputation |
| Power Overwhelming | High Sorcerer Andromath, The Mage Quarter, Stormwind (48.9, 87.75) |
Slay the Arcanic Enigma.
Level 24, Shareable |
9,400 XP One Gold One of: Violet Sash or Runebound Gloves |
| Starving Arcane | Image of Archmage Modera, outside City of Dalaran entrance, Alterac Mountains (68.54, 45.17) |
Defeat eight Seeking Remnants, eight Saturated Remnants, and eight Mana Echoes.
Prerequisite: Complete ‘An Alarming Request,’ given by Emissary Jacques in Southshore, Hillsbrad Foothills |
9,400 XP One of: Fallen Guard’s Pendant or Arcane Infused Rod |
Most of the Alliance quests are pretty straightforward. For Heart of Disruption, don’t forget to loot the Shade of the Archmage at the end of the dungeon to nab the mote. This dropped first time on both toons we ran CoD on, so it should be a guaranteed pickup, though the sample size is too small to tell for sure. As for A Green Sample, Fel Infused Blossoms are found around the central park area — just make sure you fell the Fel Ancient first. Power Overwhelming, meanwhile, is self-explanatory.
The only quest that’s slightly annoying is Starving Arcane. There aren’t actually enough of all three mobs in the dungeon to complete it in one run, but the XP and chance at snagging more blues are well worth a second bite at the cherry.
Horde Quests
| Quest | Start location | Info | Rewards |
| Heart of Disruption | Image of Archmage Modera, outside City of Dalaran entrance, Alterac Mountains (68.54, 45.17) |
Collect the Arcane Mote for Magus Wordeen Voidglare in Tarren Mill.
Prerequisite: Complete ‘Blood in the Streets,’ given by Magus Wordeen Voidglare, Tarren Mill, Hillsbrad Foothills |
9,400 XP One of: Battle Spaulders, Enchanted Sandals, or Striking Staff |
| Opportunistic Education | Rexxie Copperclutch, City of Dalaran | Collect The Founding of Dalaran for Rexxie.
Level 24, Shareable |
9,400 XP One of: Solid Gold Band or Larcenist’s Belt |
| Source of Power | Doctor Martin Felben, The Apothecarium, Undercity (47, 74.2) |
Collect six Cracked Sentry Cores for Doctor Felben.
Level 24, Shareable |
9.400 XP One of: Unstable Power Core or Construct Cloak |
| The Grave Knight | Melisara, Tarren Mill, Hillsbrad Foothills (62.6, 20.6) |
Slay Atrexis the Grave Knight.
Level 24, Shareable |
9,400 XP One Gold One of: Gravewalker Boots or Undead Knight’s Bracers |
As noted above, completing Heart of Darkness should be a simple case of killing the Shade of the Archmage and yoinking the mote. Opportunistic Education kicks off as soon as you enter the dungeon. Have a quick word with Rexxie Copperclutch who’s behind the bars directly to the right of the entrance pipe to get the ball rolling. Once you’ve cleared through to the Violet Citadel, head into the building (The Silver Enclave) to the left of it, as if you’re looking at its staircase. Continue up into the Atrium of Fortune, and then ascend the stairs to the bookcases stationed behind the mage statue. One of said cases can be interacted with, yielding The Founding of Dalaran.
Source of Power, like Starving Arcane for the Alliance, will require multiple runs, owing to the fact that there aren’t nearly enough Fragmented Sentries in CoD for everyone to get their fill of cores. Fortunately, this annoyance is counteracted by The Grave Knight, in which you simply have to kill off Atrexis the Grave Knight. Lovely stuff.
City of Dalaran Bosses
There are eight City of Dalaran Bosses: Atrexis the Grave Knight, Lyn the Ignored, Arcane Anomaly, Mana Devourer, Fel Ancient, Unstable Sentinel, Arcanic Enigma, and Shade of the Archmage. Some of these bosses are immune to Arcane damage, so prepare accordingly.
Lyn actually comes with his own mini-attunement, requiring the Tome of Dalaran to summon him. To retrieve this, first head into Shadowfang Keep and run the instance to its conclusion. Then, after defeating Archmage Arugal, pick up the Black Tome from the table next to where he spawned. Now, head to the Ambermill Town Hall (63.4, 64.3). Inside, on the desk at the back you’ll find a blue crystal that, when interacted with, will transform the Black Tome into the Tome of Dalaran.
With the tome in-hand, head to the north-eastern-most room in the sewers after defeating Atrexis, and activate it while standing on the ritual glyph on the ground. After a short delay, Lyn will appear. This can be quite an awkward room to clear out beforehand, so pull from one side at a time, before snagging the last couple of mobs at the back.
Atrexis the Grave Knight
Getting to Atrexis can be quite awkward, as you’ll want to carefully pull at least two of the Kirin Tor Necromancers near him before getting to the main course. The boss moves from necro to necro, so there’s apt opportunity to grab a couple of them as his aggro radius is hilariously low.
Atrexis is a bear tank’s dream. He summons plenty of skeletons (as does the remaining necromancer he’ll bring with him) that can be swiped away at, but this also makes it a dangerous game for damage dealers who are trigger-happy with their own AoE. Go too hard too early, and suddenly you’ll have mobs all over you, causing the encounter to devolve into chaos (we may have had a small Blizzard incident). Take it slow, and you’ll be fine.
As for notable abilities, Atrexis can can Thrash for extra attacks, amp himself or one of his skellies with Unholy Frenzy for extra attack speed, and land some hefty hits with Strike. Healers, keep your tank topped up — they’re going to need it. Atrexis can also Disarm his target, causing them to drop their weapon.
Lyn the Ignored
Lyn, like Atrexis, has the means to summon skeletons, so don’t assume he’ll be alone for long when the fight kicks off. He also packs a considerable punch, with Shadow Bolt Volley dishing out DPS to your entire squad. Even worse, you can also do plenty of damage to yourself if you’re inflicted with Curse of Thorns, which gives a 50% chance of self-inflicted pain with each attack — this should be dispelled ASAP.
Arcane Anomaly
At first, Arcane Anomaly may seem fairly unassuming. It initially dishes out an Arcane Bolt or two, which isn’t much to write home about. However, it also earns the award for the coolest City of Dalaran boss mechanic. Focus Blast is an arena-length beam that it channels while slowly spinning either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Get away from this or your health will get zapped real quick. Big beam, heck yeah.
Mana Devourer
The next boss you’ll likely come across is Mana Devourer. We’d recommend pulling the mobs to the right of the doorway you enter through for safety, though nothing else in the room will need to be cleared (unless for quest purposes).
The encounter itself is a sprint, rather than a marathon. Living up to its name, the Mana Devourer will sap the group’s mana (and deal a chunk of damage) with Debilitate, and applies DoTs through Drain Vitality. As such, damage dealers will be earning their loot here, as the fight gets worse the longer it drags on.
Fel Ancient
Fel Ancient may just look like a big, glowy tree, but it’s arguably the flashiest encounter in City of Dalaran. It also comes with a nasty combo, locking down a teammate with Entangle, before casting Fel Timbers. This ability deals damage and creates a poisonous pool beneath you, which will continuously hurt those standing in it. Fortunately, there’s a visual indicator — a bright green root that spirals towards the target — that offers ample opportunity to avoid it, provided you aren’t rooted. Abilities that cleanse movement impediments are ace here.
Unstable Sentinel
Unstable Sentinel is a pretty simple encounter, though you will need to watch out for its powerful AoE Malfunction attack. This continuously deals damage to players in a wide area, which is a healer’s worst nightmare. The good news is the wind-up can be interrupted, so keep the boss CC’d and you’re good to go.
Arcanic Enigma
Arcanic Enigma and the gang — the gang being two meddlesome Mana Phantoms that will eat away at their target’s mana — is a mini-marathon. The boss can polymorph a squaddie with Manamorph, and will AoE silence players close to it. What’s more, it will spawn in Arcane Manalings, making for a real party.
The plan of attack here is to get rid of the phantoms first, before turning your attention to the boss. It will spawn manalings as fast as you can kill them, so have your tank take aggro and deal with them after the big guy’s down.
Shade of the Archmage
The grand finale of City of Dalaran (depending on the order you clear the bosses in) is the Shade of the Archmage. To open up this encounter, speak to Archmage Modera on the stairs of The Violet Citadel. She’ll crack open a portal, leading you to the spire. The fight begins as soon as you enter the room at the citadel’s peak, so prepare youselves appropriately beforehand.
The shade, like the Arcane Anomaly, is a big fan of Arcane Bolt, but there’s way more where that came from. He also packs Arcane Explosion, which requires ranged DPS to keep their distance, and Bounding Mana. This is a powerful orb that is sent towards a player, before returning to the Archmage. If you’re targeted by this, move if you don’t want to take a double-dipping of damage.
If all of that wasn’t enough, the Archmage will Mass Polymorph everyone in the room when he’s out of mana, taking the opportunity to use Evocation to top himself back up. The polymorph isn’t much of an issue in the sense that he won’t sling spells at your sheepish selves while channeling Evocation, and if you have the means to get out of it, you can continue your assault.
City of Dalaran Loot
Alliance Quest Rewards
| Item | Type | Stats | Quest |
| Thorn Protecting Girdle | Mail belt (Waist) | 122 Armor +8 Stamina Equip: +12 Attack Power. Equip: +9 Attack Power against Elementals. |
A Green Sample |
| Vine Pruner’s Cloak | Cloak (Back) | 24 Armor +6 Stamina Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to five. Equip: Increases damage done to Elementals by magical spells and effects by up to five. |
A Green Sample |
| Defender of Dalaran | Two-handed mace (Main Hand) | 82-124 Damage 3.30 Speed (31.21 DPS) +9 Strength +13 Stamina +9 Intellect |
Heart of Disruption |
| Renewing Footpads | Leather boots (Feet) | 78 Armor +5 Stamina +11 Intellect Equip: Increases healing done by up to 11 and damage done by up to four for all magical spells and effects. |
Heart of Disruption |
| Spellguard Pauldrons | Mail pauldrons (Shoulder) | 178 Armor +4 Strength +11 Stamina +7 Intellect |
Heart of Disruption |
| Runebound Gloves | Leather gloves (Hands) | 64 Armor +7 Stamina +4 Spirit Equip: +12 Attack Power. |
Power Overwhelming |
| Violet Sash | Cloth belt (Waist) | 27 Armor +9 Intellect Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to six. |
Power Overwhelming |
| Arcane Infused Rod | Rod (Off-hand) | Equip: Increases damage done by Arcane spells and effects by up to 11. | Starving Arcane |
| Fallen Guard’s Pendant | Necklace (Neck) | +3 Strength +7 Arcane Resistance |
Starving Arcane |
Horde Quest Rewards
| Item | Type | Stats | Quest |
| Battle Spaulders | Mail pauldrons (Shoulder) | 178 Armor +4 Strength +11 Stamina +7 Spirit |
Heart of Disruption |
| Enchanted Sandals | Cloth boots (Feet) | 36 Armor +10 Stamina +50 Armor Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to nine. |
Heart of Disruption |
| Striking Staff | Two-handed staff (Main Hand) | 77-117 Damage 3.10 Speed (31.29 DPS) +9 Strength +6 Stamina +14 Intellect |
Heart of Disruption |
| Larcenist’s Belt | Leather belt (Waist) | 58 Armor +6 Agility +8 Stamina |
Opportunistic Education |
| Solid Gold Band | Ring (Finger) | +5 Spirit Equip: Increases healing done by up to 11 and damage done by up to four for all magical spells and effects. |
Opportunistic Education |
| Construct Cloak | Cloak (Back) | 24 Armor +5 Strength +5 Spirit |
Source of Power |
| Unstable Power Core | Wand (Ranged) | 35-66 Arcane Damage 1.70 Speed (29.71 DPS) +4 Stamina |
Source of Power |
| Gravewalker Boots | Leather boots (Feet) | 71 Armor +5 Agility +7 Stamina +5 Spirit |
The Grave Knight |
| Undead Knight’s Bracers | Mail bracers (Wrist) | 95 Armor +3 Strength +6 Stamina +3 Intellect |
The Grave Knight |
Boss Loot
| Item | Type | Stats | Boss |
| Bonebinder’s Signet | Ring (Finger) | +5 Strength +6 Spirit +40 Armor |
Atrexis the Grave Knight |
| Gravespike Repeater | Crossbow (Ranged) | 28-43 Damage 2.30 Speed (15.43 DPS) Equip: +8 Attack Power. Equip: +9 Attack Power against Humanoids. |
Atrexis the Grave Knight |
| Graveweave Bindings | Cloth bracers (Wrist) | 21 Armor +6 Strength Restores +2 Mana per five seconds. Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to five. |
Atrexis the Grave Knight |
| Bonepile Gaze | Shield (Off-hand) | 718 Armor 15 Block +5 Strength +5 Stamina +8 Block Value |
Lyn the Ignored |
| Cartilage Shapers | Leather gloves (Hands) | 68 Armor +9 Agility +8 Spirit Equip: Increased Skinning +4. |
Lyn the Ignored |
| Tendonscraper Dagger | Dagger (Main Hand) | 16-30 Damage 1.60 Speed (14.38 DPS) +5 Stamina Restores +8 Health per five seconds. Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 36. |
Lyn the Ignored |
| Ephemeral Grips | Cloth gloves (Hands) | 31 Armor +7 Stamina +7 Intellect |
Arcane Anomaly |
| Mana-Warped Chain Shirt | Mail chest (Armor) | 225 Armor +12 Strength +8 Stamina Restores +3 Mana per five seconds. |
Arcane Anomaly |
| Runemender’s Seal | Ring (Finger) | +4 Stamina +7 Spirit Equip: Increases healing done by up to nine and damage done by up to three for all magical spells and effects. |
Arcane Anomaly |
| Manascale Treads | Mail boots (Feet) | 157 Armor +7 Strength +7 Intellect Equip: Improves your chance to get a critical strike by 0.5%. |
Mana Devourer |
| Slitherwrap Girdle | Leather belt (Waist) | 61 Armor +9 Agility +6 Stamina Equip: When struck in combat, drain two Mana from the attacker. (100ms cooldown.) |
Mana Devourer |
| Spine of the Devourer | Two-handed staff (Main Hand) | 59-90 Damage 3.60 Speed (20.69 DPS) +14 Stamina +3 Spell Penetration Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to 36. |
Mana Devourer |
| Blightleaf Rope | Cloth belt (Waist) | 28 Armor +10 Intellect Restores +5 Health per five seconds. Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to seven. |
Fel Ancient |
| Felbough Arm | Two-handed polearm (Main Hand) | 69-104 Damage 3.00 Speed (28.83 DPS) +10 Agility +9 Nature Resistance Equip: Improves your chance to hit by 1.0%. |
Fel Ancient |
| Garb of Fallen Felbark | Leather chest (Armor) | 110 Armor +9 Agility +7 Stamina +13 Intellect |
Fel Ancient |
| Blueprint: Spinning Wheel | Blueprint | Use: Teaches you hot to place a Spinning Wheel at a campsite. Requires Tailoring (140). |
Unstable Sentinel |
| Guardian’s Dualblade | Two-handed axe (Main Hand) | 78-117 Damage 3.50 Speed (27.86 DPS) Equip: When damaged, has a chance to grant you 1,080 Armor for 12 seconds. (Proc chance: 33%, one minute cooldown.) |
Unstable Sentinel |
| Refractory Scaleguards | Mail trousers (Legs) | 199 Armor +12 Strength +100 Armor +5 Arcane Resistance |
Unstable Sentinel |
| Unstable Crystalline Shoulderpads | Leather pauldrons (Shoulder) | 81 Armor +9 Agility +6 Stamina Restores +2 Mana per five seconds. |
Unstable Sentinel |
| Drape of Shifting Energy | Cloak (Back) | 24 Armor +7 Spirit Equip: +12 Attack Power. |
Arcanic Enigma |
| Violet Sorcerer’s Robes | Cloth armor (Chest) | 49 Armor +15 Intellect Equip: Increases damage and healing done by magical spells and effects by up to nine. Equip: When damaged, has a chance to reduce threat level on all enemies by a small amount for ten seconds. (Proc chance: 5%.) Violet Sorecer’s Vestments set piece. |
Arcanic Enigma |
| Wand of Mana Concentration | Wand (Ranged) | 37-69 Arcane Damage 1.70 Speed (31.18 DPS) +4 Intellect Restores +2 Mana per five seconds. |
Arcanic Enigma |
| Blueprint: Arcane Salvager | Blueprint | Use: Teaches you how to place an Arcane Salvager at a campsite. Requires Enchanting (140). |
Shade of the Archmage |
| Archmagister’s Faceted Pendant | Necklace (Neck) | +6 Intellect Equip: +12 Attack Power. Use: Increase experience gained from slaying Undead by 10% for five minutes. (Six hours cooldown.) |
Shade of the Archmage |
| Ponderous Orb | Orb (Off-hand) | +2 Intellect +8 Spirit Equip: Increases healing done by up to 11 and damage done by up to four for all magical spells and effects. |
Shade of the Archmage |
| Violet Sorcerer’s Mantle | Cloth pauldrons (Shoulder) | 38 Armor +9 Intellect +4 Spell Penetration Violet Sorcerer’s Vestments set piece. |
Shade of the Archmage |
With all of this info in-mind, you’re now ready to work your dungeoneering magic on the City of Dalaran. If, at this point, you’re getting the urge to start leveling an alt or two, we’ve got full guides for the Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, and Excavation Site: Wetlands that provide the perfect refresher for drops, strats, and more.
