WoW Cataclysm Classic Blackrock Caverns guide: Boss tactics, loot, Heroic & more

Nestled among the sprawling Blackrock Mountain complex is the Blackrock Caverns, a dungeon that distills much of the very best World of Warcraft has to offer. As a creation of Deathwing, there is plenty to fear in its halls. Here’s everything you need to know to conquer them.

There are five bosses in total across the dungeon and though it isn’t the toughest Cataclysm has to offer, there’s still a solid challenge, particularly on Heroic. It is also one of the earliest accessible dungeons during the leveling experience from 80-85.

For the first level or two after hitting 80, it’s well worth simply farming Blackrock Caverns runs to gain experience quickly. This is particularly true in the immediate aftermath of the expansion’s launch, as competition for quests is high and dungeon queue times are exceptionally short.

Blackrock Caverns Dungeon entrance location

Blackrock Caverns is relatively easy to find, nestled towards the top of Blackrock Mountain. The mountain itself is situated in the Searing Gorge, just over the border with the Burning Steppes. Many players will come to the dungeon naturally during the quest: This Can Only Mean One Thing, which can be picked up from Pip Quickwit in the Circle of Cinders in Mount Hyjal.

Boss encounters guide

Boss One: Rom’ogg Bonecrusher

Rom’ogg Bonecrusher is the first major foe that you’ll face heading into Blackrock Caverns. Patrolling around a large chamber well-populated by NPCs, it’s worth following his direction of travel and taking out as many of the adds as possible before engaging the boss.

Rom’ogg has one major play that groups need to look out for when fighting. Periodically, he will cast Chains of Woe, an ability that drags players toward the boss and freezes them in place. This is all a setup for The Skullcracker, a huge AoE cleave that will one-shot most characters leveling in the dungeon.

To prevent this from happening, simply attack the chains and DPS through them. Once they have disappeared, run out of the area of effect to avoid the major attack, and it should be relatively straightforward from there.

The only other ability to watch out for is Quake. This causes Rom’ogg to smash the ground, damaging everyone in the area again. Quake also has a secondary damaging effect where the fissures it leaves behind rupture, doing major damage. Make sure to avoid the cracks.

Boss Two: Corla, Herald of Twilight

Of all the bosses in Blackrock Caverns, Corla is one of the easiest to burn down. Having said that, the adds can be difficult to manage if not approached correctly and it’s a fight that can quickly overcome a group before they have a chance to respond.

Essentially, two Twilight Zealots surround the boss, channeling energy in order to turn into Drakonids. The main goal is to stop them from doing this and burn them down while keeping Corla busy.

One player needs to step into each purple beam of energy to stop the Zealots from reaching 100 stacks. When the player reaches 80, step out of the beam and wait for the debuff to fall off, then go again. Rinse and repeat this while damaging the Zealots until they are dead, then turn your attention to the boss.

As soon as the fight starts, the major Corla ability to look out for is Dark Command which causes a random player to flee for up to four seconds. It’s essential to interrupt this in a fight where each player plays an essential role in ensuring things don’t get out of hand. Do this and it should be a fairly easy win.

Boss Three: Karsh Steelbender

Karsh Steelbender is a boss fight that is defined by the Tank role. With efficient use of movement and awareness of his major mechanic, it can become relatively trivial. Having said that, there are one-shot risks and high-damage abilities that groups will need to look out for.

At the start of the fight, Steelbender casts Quicksilver Armor, which reduces all incoming damage on the boss by 99%. It is up to the tank to lead him through the molten metal pouring out in the room to turn this into Superheated Quicksilver Armor, which gives 5% additional damage, stacking further the longer the boss is in the stream.

Counterintuitively, the Tank doesn’t want the boss to persistently stand in the molten metal. Instead, the Tank should run through the molten metal when the buff has a few seconds remaining. This keeps the stacks at a minimum without allowing it to expire.

If it does expire, the grates on the floor let out huge damage that will one-shot everyone standing in its path. Make sure not to stand on those if Superheated Quicksilver Armor is about to run out. Well-geared groups should be able to do it in one phase, but others may need more.

In that case, the boss will spawn fire elemental adds that just need to be kited while restacking the boss. It’s also important to note that these leave behind lava pools when killed, which will also add stacks to the boss if he is kited through it.

Boss Four: Beauty

Beauty is definitely the most comfortable fight in the dungeon unless you find killing enormous, molten dogs morally challenging. Beauty is surrounded by her pups, and it’s relatively easy to pull individual mobs, so taking them out separately is an option.

The major thing to note is this: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD RUNTY BE ATTACKED AND KILLED. If you do, Beauty will go into a frenzy and berserk the entire party, making it very difficult to take down the main boss.

If fighting the group as a whole, CC the pups as much as possible. DPS doesn’t have too many mechanics to worry about from there and should focus on burning down the adds and then the boss. Healers just need to focus on keeping the Tank alive through Beauty’s potent single-target attacks.

Boss Five: Ascendant Lord Obsidius

Ascendant Lord Obsidius is a fairly easy fight made all the more awkward by the additional enemies in the room. The Shadows of Obsidius can be a real pain, so the best thing to do is for one DPS character to kite them around the room ad nauseam.

They have the special Twitchy effect, which causes them to attack the most recent threat rather than the highest. This makes them spectacularly annoying at times but uniquely easy to kite for even the most lackadaisical player.

The main ability to watch out from Obsidius himself is Thunderclap. This is a lengthy AoE slow that will affect the Tank with regularity, so make sure to have someone on hand who can remove the debuff easily. The other is Twilight Corruption, which deals significant damage over time to a random player. Simply healing through it is the best play here.

From there, it’s simply a case of burning down the boss and completing the dungeon in the process.

Dungeon gear drops & loot

Ascendant Lord Obsidius

• Amber Messenger
• Carrier Wave Pendant
• Clutches of Dying Light
• Crepuscular Shield
• Kyrstel Mantle
• Raz’s Pauldrons
• Twitching Shadows
• Willowy Crown
• Witching Hourglass

Beauty

• Beauty’s Chew Toy
• Beauty’s Favorite Bone
• Beauty’s Plate
• Beauty’s Silken Ribbon
• Kibble

Corla, Herald of Twilight

• Armbands of Change
• Corla’s Baton
• Grace of the Herald
• Renouncer’s Cowl
• Signet of Transformation

Karsh Steelbender

• Bracers of Cooled Anger
• Burned Gatherings
• Heat Wave Leggings
• Quicksilver Amulet
• Steelbender’s Masterpiece

Rom’ogg Bonecrusher

• Inquisition Robes
• Manacles of Pain
• Shield of the Iron Maiden
• Skullcracker Ring
• Torturer’s Mercy

Heroic Blackrock Caverns dungeon guide

Rom’ogg Bonecrusher: Bonecrusher’s Quake ability spawns an Angered Earth creature at the location of each living player on Heroic difficulty. Tanks need to pick these up quickly so that they can be burned down as a group.

Corla, Herald of Twilight: The only difference to this fight on Heroic difficulty is that three Twilight Zealots spawn instead of two. It isn’t a major difference, but it does make managing damage a little more tricky.

Karsh Steelbender: The major difference in this encounter is the damage output by Karsh Steelbender’s AoE attacks. In addition, three non-elite adds spawn as soon as Superheated Quicksilver Armor wears off.

Beauty: All of Beauty’s outgoing damage is heightened on Heroic difficulty, but there aren’t many changes to the way the boss behaves. All pups will also aggro with the boss, though there are only two on this difficulty, so be aware that you will be dealing with them all at once.

Ascendant Lord Obsidius: The only major mechanical difference is that Obsidius will fight alongside three Shadows of Obsidius, as opposed to the usual two.

Grim Batol | Halls of Origination | Lost City of Tol’vir | Stonecore | Throne of the Tides