City of Dalaran
Both access chains, faction quests, the current eight-encounter beta route, Lyn's hidden summon, boss tactics and reported Dalaran loot.
Researched from public sources, not tested in game.
In this guide
Preparation checklist
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At a glance
Forever-only dungeon, group of five. Location: Dalaran in the Alterac Mountains, with an entry through the sewers. The announced planning band is 28-33; a first party near the upper 20s or level 30 should allow an hour or more for access, quests and unfamiliar bosses. Quest eligibility beginning at 24 is not a recommendation to tank the full run at that level.
The dungeon is open in the beta, with seven ordinary encounters plus the optional summoned Lyn the Ignored. The Mana Elemental quest target appears in the current route as Arcanic Enigma; check Power Overwhelming's credit after that encounter.
This guide uses public beta sources checked on 17 October, not an in-game test by GetWoWGuides. Routes, abilities and rewards may change between builds.
Get access before assembling at the gate
One player with a Dalaran Sewer Key can open the gate for the group. Every player still needs the proper personal quest stages to earn their rewards. The key is supplied when the relevant access stage is accepted, before killing a dungeon boss.
Alliance
Take An Alarming Request from Emissary Jacques in Southshore's town hall, then speak to Image of Archmage Modera near Dalaran and accept Heart of Disruption for the key. Use the Cantrips & Crows sewer route and gated pipe to reach the portal. Confirm the current quest-giver location before running through the city.
Horde
The earlier Key to the City and Dalaran Patrols stages are listed from level 30, even though Heart of Disruption itself is listed from 24. Plan a personal key-chain trip at 30; a younger character using a companion's gate opening still cannot skip their own quest prerequisites.
- Visit Magus Wordeen Voidglare in Tarren Mill. Follow Key to the City, with Prison Break In and other internment-camp quests available alongside it.
- At Lordamere Internment Camp, complete the named-enemy objectives and inspect the Warden's Footlocker upstairs near Kegan Darkmar for the Grimy Key objective.
- Return to Tarren Mill and accept Dalaran Patrols. The current Wowhead Forever objective lists 6 Dalaran Summoners and 8 Elemental Slaves. Older Classic material lists 12 Slaves, so follow the current Forever quest counter if the build changes.
- Return for Blood in the Streets, then deliver it to Image of Archmage Modera and accept Heart of Disruption to receive the sewer key.
- Use the exterior sewer approach near Lordamere Lake and the northwest side of Dalaran. Blizzard's current notes say Horde is hostile in open-world Dalaran even after this chain. The key preserves dungeon access, not free travel through the Alliance city's guards.
Do not confuse this quest called Key to the City with Stratholme's unrelated key of the same name.
Quests to pick up first
Alliance
- A Green Sample, Shylamiir in Stormwind's Park: collect a Fel Infused Blossom from the central garden. Pick up the quest before travelling north and inspect the garden while clearing its enemies.
- Power Overwhelming, High Sorcerer Andromath in Stormwind's Mage Quarter: defeat the Mana Elemental, documented as Arcanic Enigma in current walkthroughs. Check the objective after the kill.
- Starving Arcane, Archmage Modera near Dalaran: kill 8 Seeking Remnants, 8 Saturated Remnants and 8 Mana Echoes. Check all three counters before the final portal.
- Heart of Disruption, Image of Archmage Modera after An Alarming Request: collect the Arcane Mote from the final Shade encounter and follow the Alliance turn-in in your log.
Horde
- The Grave Knight, Melisara in Tarren Mill: defeat Atrexis the Grave Knight.
- Source of Power, Doctor Martin Felben in Undercity's Apothecarium: collect 6 Cracked Sentry Cores from eligible constructs.
- Opportunistic Education, Rexxie Copperclutch near the sewer entrance: collect The Founding of Dalaran. Public beta reports place it at the back of the Silver Enclave library, in the building to your left when facing the main tower stairs. Inspect the book's label and check your own objective before leaving the library.
- Heart of Disruption, Image of Archmage Modera after Blood in the Streets: collect the Arcane Mote, then return to Magus Wordeen Voidglare in Tarren Mill for the Horde chain.
Keep the book and blossom objectives tracked while clearing, and confirm each quest holder's collection before taking the final portal. Finish your personal access stages before relying on shared dungeon quests.
Prepare Lyn's optional summon
Loot the Black Tome from the alchemy table up the rear stairs in Archmage Arugal's room in Shadowfang Keep. Use it at the Ambermill Leyline Focus in Silverpine Forest, around 63.4, 64.3, inside the town hall beside Archmage Ataeric, to make the Tome of Dalaran. Bring it into this dungeon. After Atrexis, continue straight into the small room before taking the right-hand ramp toward Arcane Anomaly. Clear the room, then use the tome at its purple summoning circle. A party without the tome can finish the normal dungeon but cannot simply click Lyn into existence.
The run
The first section is the sewer; the rest opens into city districts. The order below groups nearby encounters and puts the final Shade last, but most city bosses do not require one rigid middle order.
Sewers
Fallen Mages should be pulled around corners; Kirin Tor Necromancers need interrupts or early kills before Raise Dead accumulates skeletons. Watch the tank during Unholy Frenzy and kill loose adds before they reach the healer.
- Atrexis the Grave Knight: clear nearby necromancers from his patrol path before engaging. The tank gathers summoned skeletons and keeps the boss away from uncleared packs. Damage dealers kill dangerous adds and interrupt casts where possible. The healer prepares for heavy melee bursts and the tank's Disarm. Horde checks The Grave Knight after the kill.
- Lyn the Ignored, optional: summon only with the whole group at full resources. Remove Curse of Thorns so attackers do not damage themselves, gather the skeletons he raises and keep the party healthy through Shadow Bolt Volley. The tank holds the boss while damage dealers prevent adds from overrunning the healer.
City districts
Mana Phantoms cast Mana Burn and deserve immediate interrupts. Phantasms' Reflection Field can reflect spells, so stop casting into a shielded target until it is safely removed or expires. Fragmented Sentries have a frontal attack; Seeking Remnants can detect stealth. Some arcane creatures resist or are immune to Arcane damage, so have another school available rather than spending all mana on an immune target.
- Arcane Anomaly, Krasus' Landing: clear room to move and keep the tank healed through Arcane Bolt and melee hits. Watch Focal Blast's sweeping beam, move clear of its path promptly and avoid stepping into the enemies at the platform edges. Do not stand still and treat the channel as ordinary tank damage.
- Arcanic Enigma, garden/bank area: kill or control the two Mana Phantoms first, stopping Mana Burn. Dispel Manamorph as a magic effect if possible, keep the healer outside close-range Silence and gather the summoned Manalings. Alliance checks Power Overwhelming here.
- Unstable Sentinel, trade area: clear nearby Angry Tomes before pulling. Face Arcing Smash away from the party. When Malfunction starts, melee and the tank move out as the cast permits, and ranged/healer stay beyond its reported 25-yard damage radius. Return after the pulses finish; use a valid stun to prevent the cast if available, rather than assuming a late interrupt always works.
- Fel Ancient, central city: speak to Grindle Firespark to lower its barrier when the group is ready. Move out of Fel Timbers' green ground effects. Entangle roots and damages players; use an appropriate root break, Freedom or dispel if someone is trapped in a pool, and heal that overlap first. Do not spread so far that a rooted player is out of healing range.
- Mana Devourer, Violet Hold area: clear the entire surrounding room before the pull, because surviving enemies can join. Start with full mana, heal the tank through Drain Vitality and use damage cooldowns to shorten the party-wide Debilitate mana drain. A long fight can exhaust the healer even when the initial hits look manageable.
Shade of the Archmage
Speak to Archmage Modera near the keep to access the portal to the Purple Parlor after completing the city route. Check collection objectives before leaving for the final encounter.
The Shade casts strong Arcane Bolts on the tank. Keep ranged beyond 20 yards where possible for Arcane Explosion, and avoid the outbound and returning Bounding Mana sphere. The tank moves the boss away from the sphere's origin/path while maintaining healer line of sight. When his mana empties, expect Mass Polymorph followed by Evocation and another spell cycle; do not assume the fight is over because the mana bar reaches zero. Stay inside the encounter area to avoid a reset, then loot the Arcane Mote for Heart of Disruption.
Loot worth staying for
Recent beta walkthroughs list these examples. They are a planning list, not guaranteed drops or final item stats.
- Atrexis: Gravespike Repeater, Graveweave Bindings and Bonebinder's Signet.
- Lyn: Tendonscraper Dagger, Cartilage Shapers and Bonepile Gaze.
- Arcane Anomaly: Runemender's Seal is a Spirit/healing ring; other choices include Ephemeral Grips and Mana-Warped Chain Shirt.
- Arcanic Enigma: Wand of Mana Concentration, Violet Sorcerer's Robes and Drape of Shifting Energy.
- Unstable Sentinel: Guardian's Dualblade is a two-hand axe, alongside Refractory Scaleguards and Unstable Crystalline Shoulderpads.
- Fel Ancient: Felbough Arm, Garb of Fallen Felbark and Blightleaf Rope.
- Mana Devourer: Spine of the Devourer, Manascale Treads and Slitherwrap Girdle.
- Shade: Ponderous Orb is an off-hand with Spirit and healing bonuses; other drops include Violet Sorcerer's Mantle and Archmagister's Faceted Pendant.
- Camping blueprints: Spinning Wheel from Unstable Sentinel requires Tailoring 140; Arcane Salvager from the Shade requires Enchanting 140. Tell the party if either is a profession target.
Compare current quest rewards by role and trained weapon skill, and check every collector's item before leaving.
Tips
- Prepare the access chain and optional tome before recruiting a full clear. Neither task is solved by reaching a locked sewer gate with five people.
- Assign interrupts for Mana Burn and Raise Dead, and tell the party who can remove magic control and curses. Save recovery resources for Mana Devourer and the Shade.
- Horde must use the exterior approach carefully. Completing the key quest does not make open-world city guards friendly under the current notes.