Patch 3.3: Official Shadowmourne preview
by Michael Sacco 
Nov 17th 2009 at 1:45PM
In their official preview of the weapon, Blizzard fleshes out its backstory as the Ebon Blade's premier anti-Arthas weapon. Forged from the hardened blood of Yogg-Saron, empowered with the souls of the deceased, encased in ice from Arthas' own Frozen Throne, the axe is intended to be a true match for Frostmourne. But at what cost?
Blizzard has yet to reveal the weapon's stats, but the soul-stealing proc on it is pretty neat. Here's hoping it's not too much of a pain to craft.
Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.Filed under: Patches, News items, Lore
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Snufer Nov 17th 2009 1:53PM
WoW I really hope you can actually aquire Shadowmourne in-Game! It will be and honor for my clothie to be Whirlwinded to death by it!
Mordockk Nov 17th 2009 2:00PM
it can, and you will be.
Lykofos Nov 17th 2009 2:15PM
Yes, your clothie will find themselves on the wrong end of this big choppa whether it's wielded by a Death Knight, Warrior, Paladin or (/shudder) Hunters and Shamans. Any class that can use 2h Axes has (depending your luck and your DKP or Brown Nose Level with your Guild Master) a shot at this Legendary. Yes, Hunters are "cleared" to use it, however it's stats are more in line for those melee classes that like to swing big 2 handed axes (Arms Warriors, Ret Paladins, Death Knights).
Arbitor Nov 17th 2009 4:24PM
Nope, after spending quite a while on mmo-champ and wowhead-ptr, I have figured out how to get Shadowmourne.
NOTE: This is not speculation, this is FACT, if you don't believe me coz I can't think of a decent way to prove this is how right now then your're gonna look silly in 3.3 ;)
The Sacred and the Corrupt (From Darion Morgraine at the entrance to ICC)
Travel to north-eastern Dragonblight to the cave that contains Arthas's old hammer, Light's Vengeance.
Once there Arthas himself will appear from behind a rock (ZOMG!!!! :O) and freeze you, only to mock you about how he knew you were coming and can't belive how much of a noob you are for coming alone.
His grand champion Vargul is then summoned and tasked with destroying you with an army of the dead, filling the cave with Ghouls and skeletons. (They are slightly weaker than normal level 80 mobs, fyi).
You must then fight through the mosh pit of undead (Thank god they wont all aggro on you at once unless you touch them) and reach the hammer.
After picking it up you feel the power of a lost kingdom of the light flow through you, destroying the undead and challenging the Vargul champion to fisticuffs.
Upon destroying him, you triumphantly throw the hammer over you shoulder, and make your way back to Icecrown.
But your not done yet.
Inside Icecrown Citadel Primordial Saronite can be found presumably from bosses and rare zone drops.
It will take 15 Chunks of Primordial Saronite for the quest, as these will form the blade of the weapon.
Lastly (yup, what did ya think you were just gonna mash the saronite pieces together with a holy hammer? ^_^) your're gonna need some acidic zombie blood from Rotface and Festergut.
Take down those 2, take your quest item and return to Darion.
Shadow's Edge
Simple talk, receive reward and complete quest, as your weapon: Shadow's Edge has now been crafted!
Shadow's Edge is assumed to be an iLvl 264 (ICC 10hardmode and 25norm) axe, with stats relevant to that iLvl.
A Feast of Souls
For your weapon to truly become a vessel of intense darkness, you must sate it hunger for life with 1000 souls of the deceased.
Basically, kill 1000 mobs (bosses count too!) and absorb their souls (done automatically after the kill).
After your blade's thirst for evil has been quenched, head back to darion.
Unholy Infusion
Its gonna take a lot more than just the crafting power of a legendary hammer, the black blood of Yogg-Saron, the extremely deadly acidic blood of two of the Lich king's most horrible abominations and 1000 souls of the undead to craft this baby.
Nope, your gonna need some evil elemental magic infused onto the blade.
Lets start with Doctor Putricide.
It is currently unknown what must actually be done for this part of the chain, but it is assumed from the quest text that you are going to have to take a bottle of unholy plague slime to the face, survive and then destroy the mad-doctor during his encounter, at the end of the plagueworks wing of ICC.
Blood Infusion
This time its off to the crimson halls to face against Ana'thel, the queen of the San'alyn.
again it is currently unknown what exactly has to be done during this part of the quest during her encounter, although it is heavily implied from the quest text and her abilities that your will have to gain the essence of the blood queen from her.
Although the dark magic of Shadowmourne will subvert the magical effect, rather than buffing you like it normally would, the essence of the blood queen will cause Shadow's Edge to drain the blood of it wielder, should you survive, defeat the blood queen ad return to darion.
Frost Infusion
For the final infusion on your unholy weapon of darkness, you will square off against Sindragosa, queen of the Frost brood and end boss of the Frostwing Halls wing.
Simply take damage from 4 of her frost breath (frontal cone aoe) and survive, then proceed to destroy her.
For tips on surviving her frost breaths, see my post under this quest on ptr.wowhead.com, look for ladysinestra ;)
Lastly, once again, head back to darion.
The Splintered Throne
Ahh another splinter farming quest, old school raiders will remember this one (or you just went ulduar "for teh mace") as it has you farming 45 Shadowfrost Shards that will only drop from bosses in 25norm/25hardmode Icc.
Lore time!! These are the shattered pieces of the frozen throne from way back when Arthas smashed it open to retrieve Ner'zhul's spirit infused armour from within.
Apparently, Arthas doesn't mind stepping on glass, and hasn't tidied up much.
For the very LAST TIME, take these shards back to darion. (Huzzah!)
Shadowmourne!
This is it, your fight against impossible odds (you did an awful lot of standing in the fire during the "Infusion" quests didn't you?) has finally yielded its reward, probably the most powerful axe in the game until Cataclysm lands.
Enjoy it!
Take it, use it in the Arthas kill quest follow-up to this (Yields 25g btw) and have fun!!
P.S. Probably the longest comment EVA on wow.com, I give full rights to Wow.com to print a version of this on the main page or something, or even just use the info to write their own version of the guide.
I wish everyone the best of luck in getting this truly amazing (ok its got good stats and is unique lets leave it at that) weapon!!
Arbitor Nov 17th 2009 4:29PM
P.S.S.
Sorry about all the typo's, its late and it was a LONG guide. ;)
Nick Nov 17th 2009 1:56PM
Siiiiiggghhh... I wish I could be a hardcore Raider...
Damn age requirements, damn gear requirements, damn SKILL requirements...
V Magius Nov 17th 2009 2:51PM
Age - change guilds or don't tell anyone your age. If you act maturely and play well, no one will care how old you are. You could be the best player in the run at age 5, or worst player at age 30.
Gear - This is Ok within reason. You don't want to be a plate class with nothing but cloth greens and no enchants/gems. As long as your gear is appropriate for you class/level/raid, you are ok. Otherwise, find some better people to run with.
Skill - Learn not to suck at your class or in a group. If you can be a team player and use most of your abilities correctly, you're good. There are a lot of rules for each member of the team. Learn them and love them.
Basically, do what you can to improve the quality of players in your guild constructively. Otherwise, jump ship and find people who you can click with.
Nicknin10do Nov 17th 2009 3:21PM
Well, on the skill side, most guilds require you to know every single inch of every singe instance. Me, for example, I have yet to do even half of the heroics in Wrath let alone any raids. Yes, there are videos and websites that can help with that, but I am the kind of person who really needs to be hands on in that type of environment, and with that no one ever wants a "noob" who has never run it to slow them down.
It's pretty much a circle of fail imo.
RedGuard Nov 17th 2009 6:33PM
I know what you mean Nick. :)
usmcbradley2003 Nov 17th 2009 1:57PM
Would be so awesome if it whispered randomly to you. Walking through Cal telling you to kill your friends. it could make you crazy and see people as horrible monsters that need to be cleansed. Oh the ideas
Mordockk Nov 17th 2009 1:58PM
meep
Tirrimas Nov 17th 2009 1:59PM
Val'anyr, all over again.
Rob Nov 17th 2009 2:01PM
Kinda seems like you have to kill YS to farm its mats, and somehow acquire ice from Arthas's tomb. This would be a nice incentive for raids to push through to YS, who most have skipped due to the lack of good loot. Maybe now that UD will drop EoT (maybe even boost it to 2x EoT per boss?)
TERU Nov 23rd 2009 11:45PM
Learn to read fool. All of the major mats will be attainable in ICC, with some minor mats coming from the long quest line that will accompany this Axe. The shards come from Arthas' THRONE not his Tomb, Souls are collected by killing a certain number and different types of thrash in ICC, the Saronite I presume will be random drops (atiesh/thunderfury) from either bosses, trash nodes or some combination of the three.
Joshua Ochs Nov 17th 2009 2:09PM
"Here's hoping it's not too much of a pain to craft"
It requires the Blood of Yogg Saron and ice from Arthas' throne.
Nah, that'll be a walk in the park.
styopa Nov 17th 2009 2:10PM
I'd love to see Blizz go back to the vanilla route of some powerful enchanted items bearing a COST....this would be the perfect place for it. There were a few in Vanilla, but it was never a concept they went very far with.
350 dps
+200 STR
-150 STA
Or how about "Each time you land the killing blow, your soul is slightly corrupted, you suffer a 5 min debuff costing you +20% Energy/Rage/Mana for all your abilities"
Hated Weapon: every time you land a blow with it, it costs you 1 reputation from a random faction.
Soulbound: weapon can't be gotten rid of. Throw it away, sell it (for $0), bank it, it reappears in your main hand slot when you start combat. Some long, involved quest to remove it.
Or best: Cursed Berserking Weapon...really awesome stats, but the chance on hit to send you into a berserk fury, essentially a continual whirlwind attack that can damage friends. Alternately you could just kill the lowest-armored party member. :)
Phil Nov 17th 2009 3:33PM
Dude the whining that would ensue if they did that would be insane and something I doubt they would want to deal with.
t0xic Nov 17th 2009 2:24PM
"I'd love to see Blizz go back to the vanilla route of some powerful enchanted items bearing a COST....this would be the perfect place for it. There were a few in Vanilla, but it was never a concept they went very far with."
I think the problem with this concept is that dps would sell their soul for raw damage stats and zero survivability. If Blizz made a 2H axe itemized with 1,000 strength, 0 stamina, and -5,000 armor there would be a very long line waiting for it.
The problem is that dps doesn't care about survivability. They let the healers worry about that.
Ves Nov 17th 2009 2:34PM
"With a tight grip on the blade that he traded his life for, Arthas ravaged the kingdom of Lordaeron and broke free from the control of the Burning Legion."
Maybe I'm interpreting the lore incorrectly, but since when was Arthas ever under the control of the Burning Legion?
slartibart Nov 17th 2009 2:41PM
Since before he put the helm on, and became merged with Nerz'hul.
Yes, Nerz'hul was resisting and subverting the burning crusade the whole time, but before this, they were both under the thrall of the BC. Who do you think created the scourge in the first place?