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The ICC has entered a long farm phase, and while everyone is busy grinding, they are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the next phase, P4, which features the most classic raid, the Icecrown Citadel (ICC).
When mentioning ICC, one cannot overlook a particular item: the Shadowmourne, the legendary two-handed axe that dominates ICC and the entire expansion, providing an absolutely explosive output capability, far superior to the healing hammer from Ulduar.
If you play a melee class, I suggest you seriously consider these three questions:
Should I craft it?
For whom should I craft it?
How do I craft it?
01
Should I craft it?
First of all, in terms of improvement, the Shadowmourne provides a significant boost,with an increase of 1500-1800 DPS (based on 277 Tomb Raider + 264 Shadow Edge), while the Will of the Necropolis only offers a 600-800 DPS increase. Therefore, the Shadowmourne is highly beneficial, but the crafting cycle is relatively long and cannot be compared to normal equipment. If you primarily play a melee plate class, then crafting the Shadowmourne is definitely worth it;
Secondly,the cost in terms of gold will be substantial, especially in the initial two rounds, where competition for spots in the raid is fierce, and the materials are quite expensive at the beginning of the expansion.The overall cost of crafting a Shadowmourne can reach up to ten times that of a legendary hammer; moreover, there are many high-output classes in ICC, and competition for gear is very intense, so you need to have a considerable budget set aside for other gear, which places a high demand on your wallet;
Finally, once crafted,you will need to continue contributing to your team. If the team helps you craft the Shadowmourne, you must also provide equivalent DPS to contribute, and your attendance must be guaranteed, which is something you must be aware of.
02
For whom should I craft it?
As we all know, the Shadowmourne can be used byFury Warriors, Retribution Paladins, and Death Knights. So, for whom should it be crafted?
Fury Warriors must craft it, Retribution Paladins can choose, and Death Knights should think twice
ForFury Warriors, the absolute value of the Shadowmourne’s improvement is the highest, with a DPS increase of up to 30%. The Shadowmourne combined with a full set of heroic gear will undoubtedly dominate the charts; whereas forRetribution Paladins, it is well known that the most important items in ICC are the three-piece set: 2T10, the flask, and the Shadowmourne, which together provide significant boosts; for Death Knights, it can be crafted, but unless you are a “true love” player, there is no compelling reason to do so. Two-handed Unholy performance is average, and Blood DK is not considered BIS gear. In the Asia server, a top-tier BIS group once forced a Shadowmourne on a DK with the Silver Sword.
Looking solely at the demand for improvement, the difference between Paladins and Warriors is not significant, but Warriors suffer because they cannot gather other gear as quickly as Retribution Paladins. The latter might get their 2T10 in the second week and dominate by the fifth week with a complete set.
In contrast, during the same period, Warriors are still struggling to complete their gear… By the time they are ready to shine, it will already be the farm phase, and by then, both Feral Druids and Mages will have risen, lacking the unique dominance that Retribution Paladins enjoy during the progression phase.
Therefore, both Fury Warriors and Retribution Paladins can craft it, but if you want to push the limits of the Shadowmourne, then Fury Warriors are the best choice. However, if you want to dominate early on, Retribution Paladins have a slight advantage.
Additionally, Retribution Paladins face less competition for gear; for example, only Retribution Paladins need the SP, but Fury Warriors have many competitors for their gear, with Rogues and Hunters eyeing them closely. The difficulty of acquiring other gear is also completely different.So if you ask me who to craft it for, I would recommend crafting it for a Retribution Paladin, as who knows how long we can play the classic server, right?
03
How do I craft it?
As for how to craft it, we must discuss the Shadowmourne legendary quest line.
01
Initial Preparations
1. Ashen Verdict Reputation
You must reach Friendly reputation to accept the initial quest. Therefore, after ICC opens, you need to join a small monster group to farm reputation immediately; otherwise, relying solely on the raid will require you to reach the Professor’s area to unlock Friendly status, and by the time you accept the quest, you will be behind.
2. Material Collection
The first step of the quest line requires a large amount of materials, some of which can be prepared before entering the raid to kill bosses, including the following:
(1) Vengeance of the Light *1
This requires you to accept the quest and kill the elite mob “Fallen Guardian of Light” in the Frostmourne Cavern (coordinates 50.8, 3.7) in the Dragonblight to obtain the hammer.
(2) Primordial Saronite *25
This material depends on your financial strength or grinding ability. It can be exchanged for Frost emblems (23 emblems) or for the Plague Stones from the P4 Gamma dungeon (12 stones). Due to low initial yield, the price can range from 2000G to 5000G each. It is recommended to grind the Gamma five-man dungeon after P4 opens to quickly gather 25 Primordial Saronite, or if you have the gold, just buy it from the auction house.
02
Legendary Quest Line
Step 1: Crafting the Shadow Edge, Quest “The Holy and the Fallen”
This step requires you to be Friendly with the Ashen Verdict to accept it, located at the waiting area at the entrance of the instance. This step mainly involves submitting materials, which include:
Vengeance of the Light *1 (as mentioned above, obtained by killing mobs);
Primordial Saronite *25 (requires a large amount of gold to purchase);
Acidic Blood of Rotface *1 and Acidic Blood of Festergut *1, these two drop only after killing Rotface and Festergut in the Professor’s area of ICC, and only one set drops, so they are generally assigned to the first person to obtain the Shadowmourne in the first week, and they are usually given for free (quest line essentials);
After submitting these four items, you will complete the first step of the quest and receive a purple weapon, the Shadow Edge.
Step 2: The Feast of Souls
This step requires you to equip the Shadow Edge and kill 1000 undead in ICC (it is said that now, after optimization, only 333 are needed). You can quickly complete this with a small monster group or normally participate in a raid while collecting fragments, as you will need to collect fragments for several weeks. Be sure to equip the Shadow Edge; don’t forget to equip it while killing…
Step 3: The Trilogy Challenge
Infusing Evil (Professor Putricide)
Steps: After the boss engages, click on the potion on the laboratory table, and you will transform into an Abomination and gain a new skill: “Shadow Infusion”. This skill requires 100 energy to use, which you gain by absorbing the green liquid on the ground. Once your energy is full, use “Shadow Infusion” to charge your Shadow Edge. Finally, when the boss fight enters phase 3, release the Abomination state, and you will have a “Shadow Infusion” buff lasting 6 minutes in the upper right corner. Kill Professor Putricide while under this buff to complete the task.
Infusing Blood (Queen Lana’thel)
Steps: During the fight with Queen Lana’thel, stay with the main tank, and other players should not move. Wait to be bitten by the queen to gain the “Blood Mirror” debuff. The whole team will then engage in battle, and after 1 minute of having the “Blood Mirror”, you will transform. After transforming, bite three people within 10 seconds, and finally kill the boss to complete the task. Remember, you cannot die during this process, or the quest will fail.
Infusing Frost (Sindragosa)
Steps: During the fight with Sindragosa, eat the boss’s “Frost Breath” skill four times, then defeat the boss to complete the task. Be sure to equip frost resistance gear and avoid getting cleaved, and pray that the ice doesn’t target you.
Step 4: Collecting Shadow Fragments (50 pieces)
The original quest line required the collection of fragments to begin dropping only after the trilogy, and even the drop rate from a single boss in 25-man heroic ICC was less than 20%, averaging 12-16 weeks to collect 50 pieces!
But! The classic server has improved this!
First, the drop rate for both 25-man normal and heroic modes is around 50%; secondly, the final bosses in each zone will definitely drop: Saurfang, Queen Lana’thel, Professor Putricide, Sindragosa, and the Lich King (the five gatekeeper bosses) will each drop 1 piece every time. A full clear group can reliably obtain 5 pieces per week, and with the additional 50% drop rate from other bosses, the expected value per cooldown is 8-9 pieces; most importantly, the quest line restrictions have been removed, allowing you to collect fragments simultaneously with the previous quests! The first cooldown can start buying fragments, which means that a Shadowmourne could potentially be obtained in just 6 weeks. Of course, the initial fragments may also be priced sky-high, with 10,000 gold per piece not being a dream.
Once you have collected all the fragments, you can craft the Shadowmourne!
So, for all the melee powerhouses competing for DPS, are you ready?
·END·