WoW 8.1: Assault on Zuldazar (Horde)
by Magistrate - 6 years ago show comments
We’re returning today to another open world zone Assault in Battle for Azeroth. Zone-wide Assaults return in Tides of Vengeance similar to Legion invasions. Kul Tiras and Zandalar feature timed events where you must push back against NPCs of the opposing faction for gear, rep, Service Medals, and experience rewards. In this post, we look at the Alliance Assault on Zuldazar, where the player defends as the Horde.
- Miss other Alliance or Horde Assault reviews? We’ve got you covered!
- Some of this is recap of the overall Assault system. Simply skip to the Zuldazar Assault section if you already know the basics!
BFA Assault Overview & Rewards
- The game focuses on one of the six BFA zones at a time.
- Horde or Alliance can do the Assault regardless of whose continent it occurs on.
- Horde defend in Horde zones and attack in Alliance zones.
- Alliance defend in Alliance zones and attack in Horde zones.
- These Assaults are not wpvp in nature unless you have War Mode on.
- New Horde or Alliance mobs, rares, and World Quests spawn with new quest mechanics.
- Complete 4 Assault World Quests to move to the next stage of your faction’s defense.
- Complete the 4 World Quests and defeat or defend in the name of your faction for rewards:
- Up to 370 ilvl gear cache.
- XP: Great for gearing and leveling alts 110-120!
- Reputation with 7th Legion or the Honorbound, as well as the participating zone’s major reputation (Zandalari Empire for Horde in Zuldazar).
- 7th Legion or Honorbound Service Medals, a new currency in 8.1.
- Azerite Power.
- War Mode will grant you Conquest Points for completing Assaults.
Zuldazar Assault
High Warlord Crommush continues to drive the defense of new Horde territories in this Assault. The Zuldazar Assault World Quests occur mostly on the eastern half of the zone, clustered like all other BFA Assaults. There is variation in World Quest spawns and availability in each Assault, so you won’t always run the same quests.
Some Possible World Quests
They Love Iron: This mission pits Horde players against the recently recruited (well, made playable) Dark Iron Dwarves and their war machines. You will first speak with Kaz the Shrieker, who hooks you up with a set of acid-spewing Goren. These Goren will both assist you in carrying out the requisite Dark Iron kills, as well as infesting the required number of mole machines. If your Goren die or are used on a mole machine, you must wait until you’re out of combat for them to respawn around you. Note: the quest area has a very high mob concentration, so take care in what you aggro on the way in and out.
Wrath of the Ravasaur: It’s been a while since we’ve seen some Gronk love. Head to Warbeast Kraal to speak with him and receive his blessing. With two Ravasaurs at your side, you’ll drop down into the nearby ravine to take out Alliance Void Elves corrupting his kin. You must collect Void Elf heads as proof of your work–a lot of weight to carry around on your own, but I guess that’s nothing new for WoW.
Crate n’ Barrel: Pick up your personal Extra Buff Peon to gather supply crates with you around the quest POI. They spawn relatively slowly, so it might take a while to find them. Alliance mobs will also slowly spawn, but they’re pretty far apart, and they’re both weak and easy to avoid. Sadly missing: your peon complaining about doing work while you carelessly heap on crates.
Short for an Orc: Local Dwarf Eric Quietfist has cleverly disguised himself as an Orc to carry out whatever his plans are. Whatever the case, the mask doesn’t fool Lady Liadrin, and she orders you to take him out. Approach the “friendly” unit and unmask him to begin a rarespawn fight. Shank is his special melee move, and Poisoned Knife Throw is his ranged attack. Neither is interruptable, but that’s all there is to this encounter. Kill and complete.
Receding Treeline: To the north, this quest will pit you against not one, but two rarespawns simultaneously. Ancient Defender uses Earthen Breath, a frontal aoe attack, Bramble Ball, a ranged single-target attack (interruptable), and Massive Stomp, a wide aoe stun. The Night Elf Jessibelle casts a Swiftness buff on herself (interruptable/purgable/spellstealable), Wrapping Vines, a massive aoe snare, and Wrath on loop. Most players will probably want a small team for this pair until gear outstrips them a bit more.
Assault the Alliance Ship
After you’ve completed 4 Assault World Quests, you’ll head down to to mount a Trained Pterrordax and fly up to the Alliance airship. Here, you just have to release 8 Horde soldiers from cages scattered across the ship levels and sabotage two engine points at the bottom level. There will be various mobs to kill throughout the craft, but you can stealth or avoid them if you want.
Note: for at least my playthrough, the quest marked NPC Captain Townsworth was not a target; however, he spawns right where you get on and off your Pterrordax, so you’ll probably have to kill him, regardless. His only real move is an uninterruptable one called Cannon Barrage, which sends cannon fire to surrounding marked areas.
And that’s it! After sabotaging the ship, return to Zuldazar and hand in at the docks for loot, rep, Honorbound Service Medals, and any other rewards you qualify for from the list at the top of the post.
Zuldazar Assault Footage
Don’t miss the rest of our patch 8.1: Tides of Vengeance coverage! Questions, comments, or corrections? Feel free to drop them below or @BlizzPro!