Dire Maul North - Tribute Run

[Shadowwolf]

In the interest of possibly re-kindling the Dire Maul instance for people to run again, and to answer the questions of how to do a "Tribute Run" I thought I would post a guide. While im no expert in WoW, I thought i'd share my experience and know-how with those of you who have never had the pleasure of a Tribute Run.

The trick with this instance is to take your time, manage the mobs and aggro, and dont rush. You will be rewarded with 5 Blue drops (3 off the king and 2 in the cache) and some really really nice buffs if you are successful.

For starters, you will need to get a few materials together before starting the run which are relatively commonplace. Some you may need to enlist the assistance of fellow guild members with the required professions.

Trap Repair

• [wowitem]Frost Oil[/wowitem]x1
• [wowitem]Thorium Widget[/wowitem]x1



Gordok Ogre Suit

• [wowitem]Bolt of Runecloth[/wowitem]x4 (can be made by a tailor out of [wowitem]runecloth[/wowitem]x20)
• [wowitem]Rugged Leather[/wowitem]x8
• [wowitem]Ogre Tannin[/wowitem]x1 (this is gotten inside DM North during the run)
• [wowitem]Rune Thread[/wowitem]x2

If you happen to have a tailor in your group, the mats required for the Ogre Suit are slightly reduced. I believe its only 1 [wowitem]Rune Thread[/wowitem] and 4 [wowitem]Rugged Leather[/wowitem]. This is possible because the goblin inside being held captive will teach the tailor the pattern if he/she is level 300 skill. If you dont have a tailor with you, dont worry you dont need one as I'll explain later.

Group Composition:
You will need a fair amount of crowd control in your group. A Mage is helpful as they can sheep targets. A Rogue could also be helpful with sap but there are a few locations where this cant be used on account of dogs. Also a hunter with Ice Trap is helpful in crowd control. A Warlock can also come in handy for banish once you get inside the inner area of DM North past the courtyard. Additionally, you will need a healer. This could be a druid, paladin or priest, but whomever you have on healing duty will have thier hands full and will need to do nothing but heal as the Ogres hit very hard (800+ dmg a hit when they enrage).

We were able to accomplish a successful run with the following classes:

• Rogue
• Druid
• Mage
• Mage
• Hunter

You'll notice the lack of any plate wearers. Thats right, no tank. Koth was the druid on this run and all he did was heal. Thingiebob was our rogue and he played the role of tank with the assistance of Vestemave's pet. If you have good crowd control and ample DPS, you can compensate for lack of a "tank" by keeping the mobs controlled, watching your pulls, and getting them down as fast as possible. With 2 mages for sheeps, sap and ice trap, we were able to take 4 groups 1 at a time which is the largest group you will have to fight at any time inside DM North. There are dog groups and non-elite insect groups that you will face but you can generally AOE them down very quickly.

Important Information:
For a Tribute Run to be successful, you can NOT kill any named mobs inside the instance. There are a total of 6 not including the king. If any of these mobs die, you will need to reset the instance and start again. You may be asking right about now why. Well, the answer is simple. They can't pay you tribute as the new kings if they are dead. Each named boss inside DM once you down the king will give you something. One gives another quest for blue rewards for Dire Maul West, 3 others give wonderful 2hr long buffs and 1 will give you some nice alchoholic drinks. At the same token, trust me when I tell you none of these bosses with the exception of 1 drop anything worthwhile that you would be missing.

Also, there is a chest in the center courtyard that contains the [wowitem]Gordok Courtyard Key[/wowitem]. Whomever loots this chest for the key to open the inner door CANNOT die or leave the instance or the key will vanish and you will need to reset the instance. It is very important that once you loot the key, you open the inner door as quickly as possible and safely as possible.

Inside the inner area of DM North are roaming "Eye of Kilrogg's". If you dont kill them ASAP, they will summon 2 level 61 elite Voidwalkers your way and trust me when I tell you they are not fun. These eyes will respawn every 30min roughly, so make sure you keep an eye out because it will most likely take you longer then that to make your way through the inner area to the king especially if this is your first time running this or people in your group are going for the first time. The Eyes dont have much health and 1 or 2 shots of a ranged spell or attack will take them out.

[Shadowwolf]

Starting the Instance:

As soon as you enter, there is an Ogre that patrols every 5 minutes or so from the right side, and walks over to the stairs. Once he is by the stairs, make sure no other patrols lurk about, and pull him into the corridor where the zone in is. DO NOT fight out in the open area. There is a pat that walks around with 2 dogs and if they see you its going to be highly unpleasant.

Once you make that first pull, you will be needing to clear your way going left. I would highly suggest waiting for the 1 Ogre patrol with 2 dogs to show up by the entrance and take care of him before you move onward.

To the left is a group of Ogres, generally some melee and mages mixed. This group can range in size from 3 to 4. There is 1 ogre that travels between them and a group behind the large rock blocking the left side of the walkway. Depending on how much crowd control you have would determine if you could take all 4 or wait for pat to walk behind the rock.

Once you take out the stationary group and the 1 traveling pat, there is another Ogre & Dog patrol that comes from the right. Pull him back to behind that large rock and fight him as it will give you more room to work.

Once the dog patrol is down, there is a group of another 4 Ogres in front of you. Unfortunately there is none that walks away so you will need to take all 4. Be careful not to fight right where they stand as there are many more dog patrols roaming the top platform near them, as well as a group of ogres to the left inside a little corridor. Pull this group behind the rock to fight also for safety sake.

A note about the mages in DM North, they use both fire and ice spells. Its pretty random which ones they will cast and they also have an AOE fire spell that does a good amount of damage at thier disposal.

You should now be at the second room thats slightly raised with a square raised platform in the center. This is where things get tricky and timing needs to be spot on.

Directly ahead of you is an ogre and 3 dogs that stands at the left corner of the raised area. Pull him and his dogs down below the small elevation keeping a lookout for the dog patrol that als roams the area.

After you kill the ogre and 3 dogs, wait for the dog patrol to make its way to you. It can come from the left or the right side. Take them out before continuing.

Around the left corner of the elevated area are 2 mage ogres. You will want to take out those 2 next.

Heading to the left once you go up the small ramp, down the left side are 2 ogres standing in front of the ramp to the center platform. You will want to pull these 2 all the way back to the corner you just killed the mages at. This is because Guard Fengus patrols the area they stand in and you cant afford him to aggro.

Once you kill the 2 guards, wait for Fengus to make his patrol down to that area. He will walk down to the far corner, then turn around and walk back up to the raised platform. When he does, you have about 5-10 minutes before he gets back.

Once Fengus returns to the upper area, have whomever is pulling run to the far left corner and pull the 2 mages there all the way back again. You will have to lose Line of Sight to get them to run all the way back. Theres some pillars you can stand behind to do this.

After taking out the group of 2 mages in the far corner, there is another ogre and 3 dogs on the far corner to the right. Again, pull that group all the way back to your fighting corner and take them out. Make sure to watch out for Fengus as he will patrol that area as well from the other direction.

After clearing the mobs up the left side and to the right, you will need to send someone up to get the key in the center of the raised platform. If you have someone able to stealth (Rogue or Druid) then send them up so you can avoid having to clear any more mobs. If not, then you will need to clear some of the mobs on the upper platform to make room for getting the key. Make sure to keep an eye out for Fengus, and pull them all down to the first corner where you fought all the other groups.

[Shadowwolf]

Once you have the key, your group is going to need to run down the left side and follow it around to the inner area doorway. Make sure you keep an eye out for Fengus as he walks down each ramp from the upper platform and each side of the platform has one. If you time it right and have a hunter that can mark him and watch the minimap for his location, you can make it to the inner door and open it before he makes his way back.

Inside the Inner Chamber:

This is where it gets slightly easier, but still rough. As you enter the inner area, you will have to keep a lookout for the "Eye's of Kilrogg" as mentioned earlier. One will be patroling close to the door as soon as you enter.

Once you take that out, down the ramp you will encounter 2 sets of ogres. Each set will usually be 1 warlock, his doomguard minion and 1 warrior ogre. If you have a warlock with you and a mage, the best bet is to sheep the lock and banish the minion while you take out the warrior. The ogre warlocks have nasty shadowbolts and can banish players for 20-30 seconds. Saving them for last is probably the best bet. The minions are relatively easy to kill, they are non elites and dont hit for much. The AOE they cast tho can do about 150-200dmg a tick, so try to take them out as soon as possible if you dont have the ability to banish them.

At the end of the hallway, there will be a group of insects. Its best to pull these into the hallway and AOE them.

Once you deal with the insects, enter the main room but stay back towards the hallway entrance. This is where timing and careful plannng are needed again. Another named patrols the area up ahead. Guard Slip'kik. Also, the second "Eye of Kilrogg" patrols in that area. So careful planning and timing is needed.

Straight ahead against the wall is a group of ogres. Generally its 2 warlocks and thier minions. You are going to need to pull them all back towards the hallway you came into. Wait for Slip'kik to walk by and start heading back. After he leaves you will have about 2-3 minutes to pull the ogres back to you. The best bet is for whomever is pulling to run back into the hallway until the ogres come away from the path Slip'kik follows. I would highly suggest not sheeping or freezing the mobs until they are back by the hallway as if they happen to break early and Slip'kik is near, it will ruin it for you.

Once you take out the group of locks, whomever has the [wowitem]Thorium Widget[/wowitem] and [wowitem]Frost Oil[/wowitem] will need to repair the trap that is off to the left on the floor. Your best bet is to wait for Slip'kik to make his patrol and start heading back, then go use the trap. Its a channeled opening so it takes a few minutes. Once you fix the trap, fall back to the hallway entrance and wait for Slip'kik to walk into it. He will freeze once he does, getting him out of your hair.

If you have ever run DM North regularly, you will notice a goblin standing off to the right of the room. DO NOT free him yet even if you have the [wowitem]Gordok Shackle Key[/wowitem]. This is the guy who will be making your ogre suit and if you free him, you wont be able to make it unless you have a tailor with you who knows the pattern already. Generally what I like to do is wait to free him till after you kill the king. Since you all will be walking back that way, it is easier and should someone not get anything off the king or in the cache, he might drop a pattern they need or at the very least some supplies.

[Shadowwolf]

After Slip'kik is frozen, you will need to clear your way to the Captain Komcrush. Moving up the ramp, keep a lookout after you clear each group of ogres for a small little basket looking object against the wall. That is the [wowitem]Ogre Tannin[/wowitem] you need for the suit. This item is BOP, so make sure if you have a tailor in the group, they are the one to loot it. In order for them to learn the ogre suit pattern, they need to be the one to talk to the goblin. Be ready for a fight once the [wowitem]Ogre Tannin[/wowitem] is looted as a mob will spawn.

Once you clear your way to the door at the top of the steps, whomever has the [wowitem]Gordok Courtyard Key[/wowitem] will need to open the door. Inside the hallway is a group of 4 ogres, pull them out to the door and fight.

Once you clear that ogre group, you will need to have your suit made. Have the tailor, or whomever has all the mats go back down and talk to the goblin. I would highly suggest you go as a group in case the "Eye of Kilrogg" has respawned. Once you have the suit made, head back upstairs.

Pick the person whos going to wear the suit. It doesnt matter who it is, but the suit isnt BOP so it can be passed to anyone to wear. The rest of the party stand in the shadowy sides of the hallway right before where Captain Komcrush stands. Put the suit on, and go talk to the Komcrush. Youre going to tell him some story about Fengus calling him a Gnoll lover and he storms off to go beat up Fengus. Be sure not to put on the suit early and make sure all the mobs before Komcrush are clear as the suit only lasts 10 minutes and if you die its gone.

Once he runs off, you are free to clear your way to the king. I would highly suggest you clear the whole courtyard area. Its safer and will give you needed room for when you fight the king.

Once you are ready to start the king battle, you will need to have someone either offtank Cho'Rush the Observer or kite him away from the king, however DO NOT kill him. If he dies, the tribute run fails. You need to keep him busy though as he will try to heal the king during battle if he has a chance. What we did was counterspelled when he tried to cast a heal and kept kiting him away while we took down the king.

Once the king is dead, Cho'Rush the Observer will become friendly and break off his attack and a new ogre will appear named Mizzle the Crafty. Make sure everyone in the party talks to Mizzle for the king buff. If they dont, then the ogres in DM North will still be hostile to them. Also, make sure someone talks to Mizzle a second time to get the tribute cache. It will appear as a coffer next to him.

Once you distribute loot, run back down and free the goblin if you have the key and havent already, and make sure to run back throughout all of DM North and talk to all the named bosses. Dont forget about the guard at the bottom of the lower courtyard where you came in. He gives a nice 15% hp buff. Make sure to get all the buffs and quests before leaving the instance. Once you leave the instance, the king buff is gone and the ogres are hostile again. Before leaving, if anyone needs to visit the Library, this would be the best time as theres nothing to clear.

If you pull all this off you will be rewarded with some really nice items and fantastic 2h buffs. Its hard work, requires lots of teamwork, but its great practice and fun as its more then how other instances run where you kill anything in sight. This one requires some planning and precision which makes it interesting in my opinion.

Best of luck to anyone who tries and I hope this write up helps.

[un4]

...and 1 will give you some nice alchoholic drinks

I am so there!

Lovely looking guide, Shadow

[voctovian]

One thing to add, there are two doors that are locked in the run.  The Outer door is opened with [wowitem]Gordok Courtyard Key[/wowitem] as Shadow has noted.  The inner door (the one to the chamber with the King) is locked.  The key for this door drops off one of the named mobs so you have only 3 options on a Tribute run:

-Have a rogue pickpocket the key or use pick locks to open the door
-Use a [wowitem]Powerful Seaforium Charge[/wowitem] if you have an engineer
-Use a [wowitem]Truesilver skeleton key[/wowitem] if there is a blacksmith in the group.

Note, suposedly the outer door can be picked (300 required), I havent verified this though, only 200 or so lockpicking is required for the inner door.

If you dont have a rogue in the group, the skeleton key is the least expensive alternative

Good luck

[voctovian]

As a side note, we were able to do this last night with less crowd control and AOE than I would have expected.  We ran with

Warrior (Tymber)
Hunter (Tyban)
Hunter (Muhr)
Priest (Tankgrl)
Paladin (Voctovian)

I was healing, with Tankgrl helping as needed.  Although a mage or warlock to sheep or charm would have probably made it easier, we were able to complete the run.  Probably because of the high DPS and traps, it actually worked really well.

Yeah Twilight!!