Vault of Archavon

Vault of Archavon is a raid dungeon found in Wintergrasp Fortress. Players may only enter the dungeon while their faction controls Wintergrasp. Notably, up to the release of Warlords of Draenor, all bosses in this instance granted honorable kills. 10 minutes before the battle for Wintergrasp starts, any boss who is not currently in combat turns to stone and cannot be fought again until after the battle is over.

Overlooking the frozen plains of the Great Dragonblight and the inhospitable wastes of Borean Tundra lies a region known to the denizens of Northrend as Wintergrasp. Seated atop a high plateau, Wintergrasp has remained undisturbed for ages, its icy winds howling unheard amongst the ancient titan fortifications that dot the landscape. The fortress with its domed watchtowers guards the entrance to the Vault of Archavon, which contains titan relics of untold power, protected by ancient giants. It is their task to protect the artifacts, and they are bitter about the intrusion by both sides.

However, an abundance of elemental materials and its strategically important titan fortifications are making Wintergrasp the focus of a vicious tug-of-war between the Horde and the Alliance. And then there are the persistent rumors of an ancient titan vault beneath Wintergrasp's keep. One can only marvel at the thought of what treasures may be waiting there...

During his journey to collect information and find a way to defeat the Old Gods, Wrathion came to the Vault to find answers. However, although there was a lot of material to study, the giants who made it their home were less than cordial when he arrived, still furious after their previous encounters with the adventurers from both factions.

The bosses of the Vault of Archavon drop a random assortment of gear in a similar style as classic World of Warcraft before the expansions. Class-specific pieces can drop for both the PvE and PvP sets. The loot can be all PvP, PvE, or a mix of the two. The loot is completely random and is not impacted by the raid makeup, so it is advantageous to bring a variety of class/spec makeups to increase the likelihood that someone can actually use the drops.

It should be noted that the PvP gear cannot be disenchanted but the PvE can. It should also be noted that should a group to wipe, depending on how long it takes to get the group reassembled some members may be flagged for PvP while others are not. This is because the watchers are all PvP flagged, having all members manually flag will prevent members from accidentally not having certain buffs when the fights start.

In addition to the noted loot, all four bosses of the instance have a rare chance to drop the Reins of the Grand Black War Mammoth on either 10-player or 25-player mode.

The "Earth, Wind, and Fire" achievement is currently the most difficult achievement for this instance. Even though it only awards and has no associated title reward, this was intentional according to a Blizzard official.

As of patch 4.0.1, the Warders in the hall leading to have been removed.

• Things to remember with the trash:
• Melee DPS should run out before Whirl is cast or take very high damage.
• Ranged DPS should run out of cast Rock Falls.
• The off-tank should taunt when the main tank has been Shield Crushed.

Caveau d'Archavon