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Elemental Unrest
The subject of this article or section was part of the Elemental Unrest, a world event that heralded the beginning of the earth-shattering Cataclysm.
CataclysmOrgrimmarElementalInvasion

Fire elementals attacking Orgrimmar as part of the pre-Cataclysm event.

The Elemental Unrest is a world event that heralds the Cataclysm. The event leads up to elementals attacking Stormwind, Orgrimmar, Ironforge, and Thunder Bluff. If players can defeat these elementals and free trapped citizens within their entire city, they will be granted access to two special boss encounters. Until the name Elemental Unrest was used by a Blizzard employee on the official forums[1], the community generally referred to this event as the Elemental Invasion. This alternative name persists in the community, however, and is used by many other fan sites to refer to the same event.

The event is currently in its fourth and final phase, making it possible for players to complete all parts of the event including leading quest chains, defending against the invasions and hunting elementals to seek the Inv enchant voidsphere [Tripping the Rifts] feat of strength. It is not yet clear how long the event will run, but it is probable that it will end no later than when the Shattering takes place.

Event progression
Date Event
8 December 2009 Prelude: Rare Earthquakes begin on Azeroth.
12 October 2010 Earthquakes increase in intensity and frequency. Magni Bronzebeard and Thrall call meetings in Stormwind Keep and Grommash Hold respectively.
1 November 2010 Phase 1: Twilight's Hammer cultists appear in cities, elementals begin invading questing zones. Quests are available from Stormwind and Orgrimmar.
8 November 2010 Phase 2: Additional quests from Earthen Ring NPCs are available.
12 November 2010 Phase 3: Further additional quests are available. The Twilight's Hammer cultists infiltrate both Stormwind and Orgrimmar and are preparing to summon forth elementals to raze the cities.
15 November 2010 Phase 4: The event climaxes with elemental invasions against Stormwind, Ironforge, Orgimmmar and Thunder Bluff. The event bosses are available upon successful city defenses.

Prelude

Meeting at Stormwind Keep

The Alliance leaders meet at Stormwind Keep.

Starting with the release of Patch 3.3.0 (8th of December 2009 for US realms), earthquakes begin in Azeroth.[2] They are very infrequent and of mild intensity. Many players failed to notice they were even occurring.

Starting with the release of Patch 4.0.1 (12th of October 2010 for US Realms) the random earthquakes begin to occur more frequently and with much greater intensity. They now have an accompanying sound effect and are very obvious when they occur. In response, the faction leaders of the Alliance and Horde have gathered in Stormwind and Orgrimmar respectively to deal with this turn of events. Gavan Grayfeather stands at the entrance of Stormwind Keep's Throne Room.

On 16th of October 2010 the earthquakes have longer durations. Whenever there are earthquakes near the Orgrimmar or Stormwind Auction houses, or the bank in Ironforge, dust comes down from the ceilings.

On 27th of October the earthquakes become more frequent.

Phase 1

This phase was released on the 1st of November, 2010. The day the phase started, Zarhym stated "There are four stages of the event. We're on the first."[3]

The following changes are made to the world:

Alliance

Horde

General

Rifts have begun to form randomly in all questing zones, spawning elementals; the spawn timers are erratic, and not tied to the beginning of the hour. The first phase of the quest chains are now active. Earthquakes are now felt around the world, and not just in capital cities. Doom-preaching cultists and mysterious devices have appeared in Orgrimmar and Stormwind.

To obtain the Feat of Strength Inv enchant voidsphere [Tripping the Rifts], players must obtain a buff from each type of elemental portal that spawns in Kalimdor, Eastern Kingdoms, Outland and Northrend (Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind). Players do not have to kill rifts of their level to qualify for the achievement. The daily quests Hammering It Out and A Natural Occurrence are obtained from the mysterious devices left after the portals have been defeated. Player level must be within typical honor/experience granting range to receive the quest.

See B [5-80] Prophecies Of Doom to begin the quest chains.

For a full list of Elemental Rift spawn locations, see Money achievement Tripping the Rifts.

Phase 2

This phase was released on the 8 November 2010 and simply opened up a few more quests in Orgrimmar, Stormwind and Ironforge.

NPCs

New quests

Optional Alliance-only breadcrumb: A [80] What's Shaking in Ironforge

Phase 3

This was phase released on 12 November 2010.[4]

NPCs

Quests

  1. B [80] Show Me Your Papers
  2. B [80] Arrest the Infiltrators
  3. B [80] Back Under Cover
  4. B [80] I Said the Words...

Side quest:

Phase 4

This phase was released on 15 November 2010.[5] The elemental rifts in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms now spawn with very high frequency, about every 10-15 minutes.

Preparing for the invasion

Before every invasion event starts, city guards will yell, warning players and citizens about incoming danger. At this time, players are instructed to grab barricades/sandbags from stockpiles around their major city and place them in regions directed by a red arrow. Low-level players and those unwilling to defend the city are advised to evacuate via one of many evacuation portals throughout the city that will teleport players outside the city limits. Although low-level players are able to participate in the event, the invading elementals have area of affect attacks that will likely instantly kill less powerful players if they are caught in them. When all barricades are placed or 5 minutes have elapsed, the battle against the invasion begins.

Combating the invasion

CataclysmThunderBluffInvasion

Viewing a city's map during an invasion will display all the districts and which are still under attack by elementals or need citizens freed.

When the attack begins, all NPCs and interact-able objects within the city will despawn. This means flight masters, signposts, fires, mailboxes, bankers, auctioneers, trainers, questgivers, and more will be inaccessible for the duration of the attack. In Stormwind and Ironforge, the Deeprun Tram cannot be entered. City guards will be replaced with level 80 versions (regular city guards are level 75), and additional guards will spawn at key choke points. Boxes containing [Sandbags] (Stormwind), [Wind Breaks] (Thunder Bluff), [Fortifications] (Ironforge), or [Barricades] (Orgrimmar) will appear throughout the city as well. Players are instructed to place the barriers where marked until all barriers are in place. When placed, the barriers become physical obstacles to both players and NPCs. While in the city, information at the top of the screen tells you how many barriers remain to be placed. Placing a barrier will grant you the First Responder buff, which increases your movement speed by 20% for 1 minute, stacks up to 5 times.

In Orgrimmar, Warden Gartok Ragefist, his Detained Cultists, and the captured in the Ring of Valor remain in place.
In Orgrimmar, Earthcaller Torunscar relocates to the entrance of the Valley of Strength. He acts as an Earthen Ring Defender.
In Orgrimmar, Blood Guard Kang holds his position guarding the southern entrance to the city.
In Thunder Bluff, Arch Druid Hamuul Runetotem stands guard at the southwestern lift to warn approaching players of the danger they would face.
In Thunder Bluff, Maruut Stonebinder appears in center of Middle Rise. He acts as an Earthen Ring Defender.

Earthen Ring Defenders also spawn through the city. Speaking to one of them, players can obtain an [Earthen Ring Unbinding Totem]. Each city also provides an avenue of rapid escape in the form of Evacuation Portal maintained throughout the city by Orgrimmar Mages (among the first orc mages seen before Cataclysm) in Orgrimmar, Forsaken Mages (undead) in Thunder Bluff, Ironforge Mages (among the first dwarf mages that aren't Dark Iron dwarves seen before Cataclysm) in Ironforge, and Stormwind City Mages (human) in Stormwind. These Evacuation Portals can be used to teleport directly outside the main entrance to the city, which is advisable for those too low level to survive the attack or those only interested in commerce and/or training. Orgrimmar Citizens, Thunder Bluff Citizens, Ironforge Citizens, and Stormwind Citizens will periodically spawn in buildings of their respective cities and run to the main entrance. Alliance and Horde heroes will appear in some districts as well.

During the invasion, Stormwind and Thunder Bluff are hit by powerful rainstorms as they are invaded by Air and Water elementals. Orgrimmar and Ironforge are set ablaze as they are invaded by Fire and Earth elementals. During the initial phase, the elementals will attack any player, or city defender in range. When all barriers are in place, the second phase of the invasion begins.

The elementals spawn from Elemental Rifts in each of the major districts of the cities. Every elemental has about 320,000 HP and every rift will spawn elementals until 32 are destroyed. As with elemental rifts outside the cities, only kills in which a player participates will count for damaging the rift (guards cannot close the rifts by themselves). During this phase, the elementals are passive to players unless attacked; however, their area of effect abilities are still hazardous to nearby players and can one-shot lower-level characters. Numerous Trapped Citizens are in need of rescue within the attacked districts and must be freed using the [Earthen Ring Unbinding Totem]. Freeing citizens will also grant the First Responder buff. Players must clear the city of every rift and rescue every citizen within an hour in order to win the event.

On the top of the screen, the player can see how many districts in the city are still under attack, how many rifts remain in the current district, and how many civilians remain trapped in the current district. The zone map will also display flags in the districts that haven't been cleared yet and Horde/Alliance symbols in the ones that have.

After players defeat 32 elementals surrounding a rift, the rift will close and a buff will be applied to all nearby players within line of sight:

Elemental Faction Buff gained
Alliance Horde
Fire Ironforge Orgrimmar Inv summerfest firespirit [Fire Powered]
Earth Inv elemental mote earth01 [Earth Powered]
Water Stormwind Thunder Bluff Inv elemental mote water01 [Water Powered]
Wind Inv elemental mote air01 [Wind Powered]

These buffs do count for Money achievement Tripping the Rifts.

Summary of Invasion

These tables are very incomplete and should be updated as more information is collected. Some numbers may be higher than recorded.

Ironforge

49 [Fortifications] to be placed.
District # of Elemental Rifts # of Trapped Citizens Hero
The Commons 2 47 or more King Magni Bronzebeard
Hall of Explorers 3 20 or more
The Great Forge 2 or more 48 or more
Mystic Ward 2 30 or more Muradin Bronzebeard
Military Ward 2 30 or more High Tinker Mekkatorque
The Forlorn Cavern 1 21 or more

Orgrimmar

58 [Barricades] to be placed.
District # of Elemental Rifts # of Trapped Citizens Hero
Cleft of Shadow 1 or more 12 or more
The Drag 2 or more 14 or more
Valley of Honor 3 or more 26 or more Rexxar
Valley of Spirits 2 14 or more Vol'jin
Valley of Strength 3 32 or more Garrosh Hellscream
Valley of Wisdom 2 3 or more

Stormwind City

District # of Elemental Rifts # of Trapped Citizens Hero
Trade District 3 ?? King Varian Wrynn
Mage Quarter 2 ?? Lady Jaina Proudmoore
Stormwind Harbor 3 ??
Cathedral Square 3 ?? Archbishop Benedictus
Old Town 2 ??
The Park 2 ??
Dwarven District 2 ??

Thunder Bluff

District # of Elemental Rifts # of Trapped Citizens Hero
Elder Rise 2 or more 8 or more
Hunter Rise 2 or more ?? Aponi Brightmane
Spirit Rise 2 or more 36 Baine Bloodhoof
Thunder Bluff 7 77 Cairne Bloodhoof
Pools of Vision 1 16
Quotes
  • all Wind Breaks in place: Cairne Bloodhoof yells: Elemental rifts have opened up around the city. We need to shut them down now! Evacuate all non-combat ready citizens. Make sure they get to safety!
  • fighting near another player: Aponi Brightmane yells: Keep pressing the fight, <name>!
  • Hunter's Rise secure: Aponi Brightmane]We have secured the Hunter's Rise! All invaders have been repelled and the evacuation has been completed!
  • failure: Maruut Stonebinder yells: Enough! The Earthen Ring will temporarily stop the invasion. But be warned, the elementals will return!

Tips

  • Unlike other phased events such as Battle for the Undercity, Operation: Gnomeregan, or Zalazane's Fall, players are not buffed into invulnerability against these powerful mobs. Those attempting to assault a rift on their own or with a few players without a healer present should only attack one elemental at a time and eat before attacking another.
  • Bring an unbinding totem provided by the Earthen Ring Defenders. If allies get trapped by an elemental, they must be freed or healed immediately else they might die within the time of the prison's stun.
  • The elementals' prisons are cast in a frontal AoE cone. It has a very short range, so it is possible to avoid it by simply running away during the cast.
  • Racial leader NPCs can't be killed by the elementals. They will remain at 1 HP and continue fighting. Other hero NPCs can die during the attacks, but will respawn later.
Battle for Stormwind

Stormwind Harbor under attack by elementals

After the invasion

If an hour has elapsed since the start of the event, Earthen Ring Defenders will intervene and suddenly halt the invasion, removing all elementals from the city. However, players will not benefit and will have to wait until the next event occurs.

If players successfully secure a major city, portals to special boss encounters open up for thirty minutes. Immediately upon victory, the city leader will lead a counter attack, running directly into the portals. The NPCs and objects then respawn and the city continues to function as normal until the next attack. (The city leader also appears at his normal spot in addition to his appearance in the dungeon.) These encounters are also available via the Dungeon Finder for the same period of time. Inside, players find the leader of the city that has been secured and one boss representing the elementals that have been banished:

The leader offers a non-repeatable quest to kill the boss and then report back to the capital city with news. However, the boss can be killed as often as desired during the thirty minute window for a chance at item level 251 epic loot.

Item Spec Dropped by Slot Type
Inv bracer 28 [Twilight Offering Bands] Tank Kai'ju Gahz'rilla Wrist Plate
Inv shield 66 [Barrier of the Earth Princess] Tank Crown Princess Theradras Off-Hand Shield
Inv chest plate23 [Salamander Skin] Tank Grand Ambassador Flamelash Chest Plate
Inv belt 44b [Girdle of Oblation] Healer Kai'ju Gahz'rilla Belt Plate
Inv chest cloth 65 [Earth Bride's Gown] Healer Crown Princess Theradras Chest Cloth
Inv spiritshard 02 [Pendant of Burning Spirits] Healer Grand Ambassador Flamelash Neck
Inv boots leather01 [Flamewaker's Treads] Healer Grand Ambassador Flamelash Feet Leather
Inv pants mail 09 [Sacrificial Mail] Physical DPS (Agility) Kai'ju Gahz'rilla Legs Mail
Inv jewelry ring 26 [Old Gods' Blessing] Physical DPS (Strength) Kai'ju Gahz'rilla Finger
Inv jewelry necklace 22 [Amulet of the Centauri] Physical DPS (Agility) Crown Princess Theradras Neck
Inv jewelry ring 12 [Sulfuron's Favor] Physical DPS (Agility) Grand Ambassador Flamelash Finger
Inv jewelry necklace 33 [Flamelash Amulet] Physical DPS (Strength) Grand Ambassador Flamelash Neck
Inv misc cape 02 [Cloak of Mocking Winds] Physical DPS (Agility) Prince Sarsarun Back
Inv chest leather 23 [Pulmonary Casing] Physical DPS (Agility) Prince Sarsarun Chest Leather
Inv chest plate23 [Tectonic Plate] Physical DPS (Strength) Crown Princess Theradras Chest Plate
Inv jewelry ring ahnqiraj 02 [Ring of the Three-Headed Beast] Spell DPS Kai'ju Gahz'rilla Finger
Inv misc cape 06 [Zaetar's Deathshroud] Spell DPS Crown Princess Theradras Back
Inv boots cloth 03 [Sandfury Sandals] Spell DPS Prince Sarsarun Feet Cloth
Inv jewelry necklace 39 [Amulet of Evil Winds] Spell DPS Prince Sarsarun Neck
Inv bracer 60 [Sul'lithuz Scale Bracers] Spell DPS Prince Sarsarun Wrist Mail

Quests

Quests which follow the invasion of a city:

Videos

Patches and hotfixes

  • Cataclysm Patch 4.0.1 (2010-10-12): Added.
    Phase 1 activated on 1 November 2010. Phase 2 activated on 8 November 2010. Phase 3 activated on 12 November 2010. Phase 4 activated on 15 November 2010.

References

 
  1. ^ Zarhym 2010-11-03. The Impending Cataclysm.
  2. ^ Kody 2009-12-28. Cataclysm pre-launch event starting?. World of Raids. Retrieved on 2009-12-30.
  3. ^ Zarhym 2010-11-01. Problem with Elemental Invasion. Archived from the original on 2010-11-01. Retrieved on 2010-11-13.
  4. ^ Zarhym 2010-11-13. Phase 3 of the Elemental Invasion. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved on 2010-11-13.
  5. ^ Blizzard Entertainment 2010-11-16. The Invasion Has Begun. Archived from the original on 2010-11-16.
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