Scarlet Monastery: ArmoryClassic dungeon

Scarlet Monastery: Armory – Guide for WoW Forever

The Armory is the wing of the Scarlet Monastery where the Crusade trains its fighters. As in Classic (not confirmed for Forever), most groups make it their third stop after the Graveyard and the Library. Only a single boss waits at the end: Herod. Per the game data, the minimum level for the whole monastery is 30. Our page shows a guideline of level 32 to 42; that is the Classic value, and Forever may differ. Worth knowing for planning: the two big monastery quests send you into three wings, so it pays to combine Library, Armory and Cathedral in one evening.

Approach

The monastery sits at the north-eastern tip of Tirisfal Glades. For the Horde the trip is short: ride north-east from the Undercity to the monastery grounds. For the Alliance it is a long way through Horde territory. The Alliance quest chain ends in Southshore in the Hillsbrad Foothills, and from there you head north. Whether and where there are flight paths nearby is not documented for Forever. On the PvP ruleset, expect resistance in Tirisfal Glades.

One point is still open: in Classic the door to the Armory and the Cathedral is locked. You open it with "The Scarlet Key", which Arcanist Doan drops in the Library, or a rogue picks the lock. The key still exists in the Forever client. Whether the door is still locked in Forever, we do not know. New in the client is also a "Scarlet Keyring"; what it is for, we do not know yet. The safe option for your first run is to bring the key from the Library or a rogue in the group.

Quests

Pick up the quests before you set out:

• Into the Scarlet Monastery (Horde, level 42, from 33): from Varimathras in the Undercity (56.3, 92.2). You are to kill four leaders of the Crusade: Herod, Houndmaster Loksey (Library), Scarlet Commander Mograine and High Inquisitor Whitemane (both Cathedral). Your choice of reward is Sword of Omen, Prophetic Cane or Dragon's Blood Necklace, plus reputation with Undercity.
• In the Name of the Light (Alliance, level 40, from 34): from Raleigh the Devout in Southshore (Hillsbrad Foothills 51.5, 58.4), with the same four targets. Your choice is Sword of Serenity, Bonebiter, Black Menace or Orb of Lorica, plus reputation with Stormwind. A chain comes first: "Brother Anton" starts in Stormwind City (52.6, 43.2) and sends you to Nijel's Point in Desolace. There you kill Undead Ravagers in "Down the Scarlet Path". With the second "Down the Scarlet Path" you bring Brother Anton's Letter of Commendation to Raleigh.
• Hearts of Zeal (Horde, level 33, from 30): Master Apothecary Faranell in the Undercity (48.8, 69.3) wants 20 Hearts of Zeal. Per our data, several kinds of enemies in the monastery carry them. Which kind stands in which wing is not in our data. Simply take the quest along into every wing.

Both main quests can be shared within the group. In Forever, dungeon quests give less bonus XP, but the enemies in the dungeon give more. A full run is therefore worth it even without the quest.

The way through the Armory

The Armory consists mostly of long corridors and training rooms full of Crusaders who fight in melee. As in Classic (not confirmed for Forever), many enemies come in small groups. Some go into a frenzy when their health is low. Pull group by group and keep the corridors behind you clear so that no patrol hits you from behind.

Boss: Herod

As in Classic (not confirmed for Forever), Herod waits in the great hall at the end of the wing, fights with a heavy two-handed axe and whirls around from time to time. That hits every melee fighter near him hard. The tank stays put; all other melee step back a few paces for that moment. When his health drops, Herod becomes enraged and hits harder. Save your cooldowns for the end and heal the tank with special care then. After Herod dies, in Classic a wave of weak recruits storms into the hall. Stay close together and use area damage instead of spreading out.

Loot

Dungeon loot is reworked in Forever. What exactly Herod drops is not in our data yet. What is certain in our data are the quest rewards. Their stats are not in our data yet; check them in game after launch:

• Tank and melee: Bonebiter (two-handed axe) for two-handed fighters, Sword of Serenity or Sword of Omen (both one-handed swords) for one-handed fighters.
• Rogues and dagger users: Black Menace (dagger, Alliance).
• Healers and casters: Prophetic Cane (Horde) and Orb of Lorica (Alliance), both off-hand items.
• For everyone: Dragon's Blood Necklace (Horde).

Tips for tank, healer and damage

Tank: Pull carefully in the corridors and position yourself so the enemies come to you. Turn Herod away from the group and stand still while he whirls, so that he does not run through the group. After his death, gather the recruits on you so the damage dealers can hit them together.

Healer: Drink between groups. The many melee enemies wear the tank down. During the whirl, melee players take damage too, but most of the healing goes to the tank, especially at the end when Herod becomes enraged.

Damage: Melee watch for the whirl and step out briefly. Ranged have it easier and can deal damage throughout. Area damage is worth it for the wave after the boss. Kill enemy casters first or interrupt them.

Group

One tank, one healer and three damage dealers is the proven setup. Because Herod deals a lot of melee damage, a group with several ranged players helps. For "In the Name of the Light" or "Into the Scarlet Monastery", ideally take all three wings in one evening: first the Library for Loksey (and for the key), then the Armory for Herod, finally the Cathedral.