WOW Zone:The Deadmines  

The Deadmines (commonly abbreviated as VC after the final boss of the instance), once a prosperous source of precious metals and ores for Stormwind, are no longer in control of the Alliance. The most elite of the Defias Brotherhood operate within its dank walls, and it would be very difficult to take them on by yourself. I would suggest a minimum of AT LEAST level 18, though you should really be 21+ to have a chance at the instanced portion, and the majority of your party 22 or 23+ to have a good shot at the final boss. Now, there are two sections to this dungeon.

The first area, called the dungeon portion, non-instance area, or various other things, is public. You'll find that the enemies here are not too difficult, mostly comprised of Defias Diggers and Workers. These poor grunts are not elite and can be defeated by level 18 or 19 players with little difficulty. However, you'll soon run into Elite Defias, including Defias Watchmen, Overseers, and Conjurers, as well as higher-leveled enemies in side-tunnels and more remote pockets of the mine. You cannot solo these until you are near the mid-20s, and even then, two or three at a time is suicide...soloing this first section of the mines is not advisable until you are a very cautious and smart level 30 - 35.

As you make your way through the non-instanced portion of the mine, you're bound to spot a purple-toned area. This area is cursed and populated by undead miners. You can complete the "Oh Brother..." and "Collecting Memories" quests here, NOT in the instance! The undead here include Skeletal Miners, Undead Dynamiters and Undead Excavators, all around level of 17 or 18 elites. They can inflict some nasty effects on you, so pay close attention to your weakened state after battles. Near the end of the circling undead mine tunnels, you'll find Foreman Thistlenettle. Try to clear the immediate area of regular Undead, then go for the Foreman, who is a little more challenging and elite at a level of 19/20. This whole area is a good measure of how you will do in the Instance.

The Instance itself can be found at the west end of the mine. The map changes as you go up and down "floors", so exact directions are complicated. Head south until the purple section of the mine appears on your map, then head west. You'll spot the blue instance portal a bit below you. Jump off the bridge or ledge, make sure any attacking miners and Defias are killed so no emergencies occur before entering the Instance, and jump into the portal!

It's time for the Instance. This area is NOT public. Only you and your party will appear here, so there will be no interference from anyone not in your group. Also, if you die here, you must run all the way from Sentinel Hill to the portal again (if you cannot be revived / raised / rez'd by a party member). You will automatically respawn in the first room of the Instance. Your way to the party will most likely be clear, but patrols may have re-spawned. If your way is blocked by a patrol of elite Defias, have your party work their way backwards through the Instance to clear a path for you.

You begin in a safe room. A little further on ahead will be Defias Miners, which are basically fodder if your party is over level 20. The real problems in this first area will be the patrolling Defias Overseers, Defias Wizards, and Defias Taskmasters. The Overseers are melee, the Wizards use magic, and the Taskmasters run around like ninnies while using ranged guns. They'll be in the level 17-19 Elite range. Your party can probably handle an Elite and a Miner, but anything more and you have a problem, so try to make smart pulls and make effective use of your crowd control.

You will eventually reach a huge door. Open it. Inside is the Foreman of the mines, Rhahk'Zor. He is a huge Ogre with two elite Defias close by that will assist him if directly assaulted. Try to pull Rhahk'Zor when he's distanced from these elites, so you can focus your damage output on him. He's fairly easy but can pack quite a punch, so keep your melee healed during the fight. Once he's down, clean up his room. You'll probably have to fight the two elite henchmen in there at the same time, so prepare for that, and perhaps get a sheep off on one of them if anyone in your party has it handy.

You'll emerge from the boss's room in a split tunnel. However, before engaging the enemies in here, stay put for a while. Heal, eat, buff, or whatever you need. Eventually, a patrol of walking Defias will come from BEHIND you, from the areas you've already cleared. Take them out (you'll have to fight two or three elites at once most likely) or risk having them attack you when you're already engaged with the enemies in the tunnels. Once they're gone, move on.

The split to the left leads to a dead end, but occasionally a named mob elite called Miner Johnson appears within regular miners. He has nice drops, so kill the poor sot. He is around level 18 or 19. The right split leads you past more miners and patrolling Defias elites, and eventually to another large door. Open it, and be careful.

In this room is where the Goblins, allied with the Defias, create tools and machinery and ship parts for them. The overseer of this room is a goblin called Sneed...who is in that huge machine called a Shredder. You want to pull him AFTER you clear every other Goblin in the room. Use smart pulling techniques to eliminate the Goblin Woodcarvers in the room. There is one behind the stacks of wood in front of you when you enter and another near the exit door. There are two or three goblins in the same area as the Shredder is. Wait until Sneed pilots his Shredder up onto that hill in the back, then pull the Goblins there. Once all the Goblins are dead, rest up, then get Sneed's Shredder. However, after defeating the Shredder, Sneed himself will leap out of it and attack.

In this next small curve of rock tunnel, you'll see Defias Strip Miners have replaced the standard Miners. However, they work basically the same, and are still party fodder. You still need to look out for the patrolling Defias, including Defias Evokers, and also realize that Goblins are now working the mines as well. Reach the next big door and open it.

This next room is basically one huge smelter. Firstly, stick to the left wall all the way down, and stick even harder against it on the bottom floor. There are two types of enemies here. The "easy" ones are the Goblin Craftsmen, who are basic melee attackers. However, the Goblin Engineers are dangerous. Although their levels remain in the 18/19 range, they not only attack from a distance, making pulls a lot more annoying, but they deploy a robotic pet that acts as a second mob. So realize that if you accidentally pull two Goblin Engineers, that's 4 separate mobs beating on your party. Single every Goblin out! Remember the ones on the central platform too. You want to clear out some of the Goblins on the circular walkway around the central smelter platform, but eventually, you want to kill those there too. As you approach the exit door, take care to avoid provoking Gilnid, the Smelter and an elite boss Goblin (level 19/20) until all his workers are taken care of. He is nothing to worry about once you have him on his own, as long as your party is in their 20s.

This next patrol is important because A) It is composed of THREE Defias elites and B) It takes a long time for them to head down that ramp. So take a break, look for chests, eat and drink, or anything else. I, personally, like to start a dance party. Eventually, the patrol reaches you, and you can dispatch them. Just don't underestimate them, since they're three in number.

Once they're taken care of, move on. You'll find that the next large door is locked. You'll need to use the cannon to blow the door, but first you'll need gunpowder. You can find it in a nook near the cannon. Now, if anyone in your group can lockpick, they can lockpick the door to enter the next area unnoticed. If you use the cannon to blast open the door, you'll have to deal with two or three elites.

These are the Defias Pirate and Defias Squallshaper, both level 19/20. The Defias Pirate also sends out a parrot called a Defias Companion.

Now, prepare for a warm welcome to the Defias' pirate ship. They're preparing to blast through the rock wall and sail out into the sea with all the stuff they've stolen from Elwynn Forest and Westfall, but your party will put a stop to that. Fight your way down the dock, selectively defeating Defias elites. Once you reach the ramp heading up to the ship, have your party stand back. The next boss has a war-stomp style attack that will stun your party while he runs back to an unopenable chest. If you're too close to the chest, he'll have time to retrieve a weapon from the chest and start attacking again while you're still stunned. Now, send your tank up to Mr. Smite and attract his attention.

Take out his henchmen first. If Smite uses his stomp and stuns the group, that's 10 free seconds of damage for him and his henchmen. So have the tank catch Smite's hate, then work on the henchmen. Once they die, focus on Mr. Smite.

Pull the Defias elites and Goblin Shipbuilders on the bow of the ship first, so your party has free access to the ramp and "path split". Once you've killed them, take the left path around the other side of the ship, i.e. the side facing a rock wall and not towards the docks you just fought through. Dispatch Defias, but be careful, because a little further on ahead is a level 20 Murloc elite called Cookie, the ship's cook. Isolate her, and defeat her. If your warriors know Hamstring, or if your casters can freeze, use it early and often. Cookie decides to flee early in the fight, and is very fast.

Make a mental note of that ramp reaching to what looks like a cave. That's the back exit to the Instance. Once you can't go ahead any further, turn around and run back to the bow of the ship, and this time take the other side.

Now, cautiously work your way up the ramps and platforms. When you reach the top deck, stick to the left to avoid Captain Greenskin and his posse. Once the deck is clear, position your group at the foot of the ramp leading to the central area of the deck. Now grab Greenskin, a level 21 elite Goblin. He brings two friends, dispatch them at your own discretion. He's not too tough. Any 21+ party can take care of him. once the deck is clear, position yourself up against the wall facing that dark doorway into the small room, but don't get too close. Inside is the final boss, Edwin VanCleef, the Defias Kingpin. I would recommended everyone be at level 22 or above.

Firstly, get your party healed and ready. Apply buffs. Eat food, drink potions. Edwin VanCleef will come out with two Defias Blackguard, level 20 elites in their own right. You MUST kill them before Van Cleef! Your tank will be almost overwhelmed by Van Cleef's quick, powerful attacks, and with two added elites attacking him, he's as good as dead. Have him keep VanCleef's attention, but quickly shift focus to the two Defias Blackguards. They should go down relatively easy if the party focuses on one, then the other. If you do not kill these Blackguards, VanCleef will summon an extra two halfway through the fight. If you have the quest activated, you can loot his head. If this is your first time slaying him, you can loot a quest item letter.

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