Naxxramas



Naxxramas was originally a 40-man raid instance floating above the Eastern Plaguelands. It was a massive necropolis and had the unquestionable honor of serving as the seat of one of the Lich King's most powerful officers, the dreaded lich Kel'Thuzad.

The instance was regarded as the most difficult before the release of Burning Crusade, and should not be attempted at level 60 without at least 40 well-equipped (preferably Tier 2 or Tier 2.5 armor) players. Naxxramas was also the home of many of the most powerful items of the pre-BC era, and 60+ quests with rewards such as [Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian] and all Tier 3 items available in the game. The dungeon was added in patch 1.11, making it the last non-expansion instance added to the core game as well as the last 40 man instance.

The move is claimed by some to not be a retcon, but a progression of the storyline. Naxxramas was indeed in the Eastern Plaguelands, but after Kel'Thuzad's phylactery was given to the treacherous Father Inigo Montoy, the lich was able to revive himself and make the transition along with his fortress.

Gaining entry
To enter Naxxramas, you had to be attuned through the Argent Dawn by completing [60] The Dread Citadel - Naxxramas, whose cost varied based on reputation level.

Attunement costs
If you choose to become exalted with the Argent Dawn, you can complete the attunement for free; however, this requires a great deal of work. The reputation reward for the entrance quest is 1000 rep for a character currently Honored or Revered.

For more information on the Naxxramas attunement quest or the Argent Dawn, see the following resources:
 * Argent Dawn Reputation Grinds

Teleport spire
The teleport spire in the middle of the was the only way into Naxxramas. After becoming attuned, one must step onto the runic circle in the center of the spire to teleport into Naxxramas' center chamber.

Structure
Naxxramas is structured like a giant wheel. Players enter at the center of the Necropolis, and then choose one of four wings to progress through:

Abomination Wing

 * This wing is filled with abominations, of course. It is likely to be the most physically intensive wing, as abominations are known to hit rather hard. The Slimes there deal heavy nature damage, too. The final boss is the "Frankenstein's Monster"-esque Thaddius.

Plague Wing

 * In this wing players will have to deal with various diseases. Creatures known to populate this wing include bats, gargoyles, bog beasts, oozes, and Ghouls. The final boss is Loatheb, some sort of fungal monster.

Spider Wing

 * This wing contains loads of spiders, as well as Nerubians and few acolytes. The final boss is Maexxna, the giant spider.

Deathknight Wing

 * This wing is loaded with death knights, known for their combination of powerful shadow magic and raw melee skills. The final bosses are the Four Horsemen. One of the Four Horsemen is Highlord Mograine, who has an important role in the Ashbringer storyline, which should be obtainable after you acquire the Corrupted Ashbringer from Mograine. The Four Horsemen were considered the hardest bosses in the instance until Kel'Thuzad.

Frostwyrm Lair

 * Once the final bosses of the four wings are defeated, players will gain access to the final "wing" of Naxxramas, in which they will encounter the frost wyrm Sapphiron, and the lich Kel'Thuzad.

Progress
Each boss drops a different quest token for Tier 3 sets. Each boss and its drops are listed in the boss section below.

On the wall of each boss chamber and various places are some Frozen Rune objects, which requires a Word of Thawing (a tradeable drop from trash mobs) to defrost. Defrosting a Frozen Rune yields a number (4-6) of tradeable blue "Frozen Rune" items that are used in crafting frost resistance gear. Frozen Runes are also consumables, behaving like Greater Fire Protection potions (1500-2500 fire damage absorbed for 1 hour). Due to the high quality and projected need as reagents for the craftable Frost Resist recipes, it is not advisable to use these runes as consumables.

You have to beat the last boss in each wing to progress. Once you beat all four wings, you get a chance to fight Sapphiron. After you beat Sapphiron you may challenge Kel'Thuzad.

Encounters and bosses
Naxxramas floating above the Plaguewood Interior of Naxxramas Below is the full list of bosses (in parentheses are the Tier 3 armor part the boss drops quest item for).

There are fifteen boss encounters in Naxxramas.

Resistances
All sorts of undead monstrosities roam the halls of Naxxramas. The dread citadel Naxxramas.

Nature
The beginning parts of 3 of the 4 wings (Plague, Spider, and Abomination) are rich in Nature damage.

Frost
Players will need a lot of frost resistance to fight the final bosses in Naxxramas. Kel'Thuzad is a lich, but does not require a lot of frost resistance to defeat him. The Sapphiron encounter requires a very significant amount of Frost Resistance (150-200), but is NOT frost-based like Ragnaros is fire-based. Frost resistance gear has proven to be rather scarce thus far, luckily, the Argent Dawn has made available several armor patterns that provide considerable frost resistance and bosses in Naxxramas drop very high quality epic frost resistance pieces.

Shadow
Shadow is the third major resistance required. Death Knights and Necromancers use powerful shadow magic, and Kel'Thuzad has a few shadow spells as well. The final boss in the Plague wing, Loatheb (original), uses shadow based damage also. Shadow resist gear can be found scattered throughout various instances, so this shouldn't be a problem.

Fire
Certain boss encounters need some fire resistance, like Grand Widow Faerlina and the Four Horsemen.