WoW Newbie Quest Guide – Dwarf/Gnome, Loch Modan

You should have arrived here from Dun Morogh, through the south pass, with the Stout to Kadrell quest. At the guard tower just inside Loch Modan, stop to collect two quests: Captain Rugelfuss – The Trogg Threat, and Mountaineer Cobbleflint – In Defense of the King’s Lands. You can complete these quests now, on the way to Thelsamar, but I prefer to set my hearthstone and the flight path as soon as possible, so… keep on the road north to:

Thelsamar

Run around the town picking up quests, and find Kadrell walking around on the main street. Go to the inn and register with the inn keeper, and find the gryphon master up the ridge south of the town; Brock Stoneseeker – Honor Students, will send you to him if you need reminding. You will also have: Mountaineer Kadrell – Rat Catching, and Vidra Hearthstone – Thelsamar Blood Sausage (cooking).

Opportunities for Travel

You can get the easy travel quests out of the way first: Brock Stoneseeker – Honor Students, which sends you to the gryphon master and then to Ironforge, and back again. Before you go, run to the north tower (Algaz Station) for Mountaineer Kadrell – Mountaineer Stormpike’s Task. Collect Mountaineer Stormpike – Filthy Paws. Stormpike will send you to Stormwind, which can be reached easily from Ironforge by the Deeprun Tram. Make sure you pick up the flight path while you are there. The next logical step of this quest series is in Goldshire, in Elwynn Forest: Smith Argus – Elmore’s Task, which will send you back to Algaz Station.

If you have taken blacksmithing, in Ironforge you may be able to pick up: Tormus Deepforge – Supplying the Front (blacksmithing). You have to make 6 each of two different smithed items, each of which requires 6 copper bars – so be aware that you will need 72 copper ore to fulfil this quest, making it one of the most expensive possible. I did this quest; it took 3 hours, including farming the ore and delivery. The exp and faction rewards were relatively small, and the only item reward is plans for a copper chain vest; no cash is given. There’s a follow on quest to make and deliver to Redbridge Mountains, which probably requires 50+ blacksmithing skill.

Alternatively, you can wait until you have more reason to visit Ironforge, at which point there will be more available quests to pick up from there.

West side of the Loch

First step is to go to one or both of the two tunnel rat mines, north of Thelsamar (this is the Silver Stream Mine) and northwest, to kill kobolds. On the way, look out for spiders, bears and boars to kill. Tunnel rats will be 10 or 11, beasts 10-12. Boars are commoner towards the lake, to the east.

Then go back to the guard tower and kill troggs, either in the small camp west of Thelsamar, or a little north and east of the guard tower, down the side turn to the east, in Stonesplinter Valley.

When you return to the Valley of the Kings, you will be given: Mountaineer Gravelgaw – In Defense of the King’s Lands. You can go deeper in to Stonesplinter Valley for these mobs, or combine with Bingle’s tools quest (below), as the same mobs needed for this and the next In Defense quest are on the islands where the tools are; however, the spawn rate makes these quests excessive hard for their level. Leave them for now.

Now is time to go back to the Silver Stream Mine, and this time go inside to try for the items for Filthy Paws; kobolds here are 10-15, with a fast respawn. This is a significant step up in difficulty from the last quest, and you may want to grind exp for a level or two first. A good spot for this is south of Grizzlepaw Ridge (the southwest of the loch), where you can kill 11-14 bears, 14-15 boars, and 13-14 spiders. See below for a couple of run around quests that may also help.

A box of miner’s gear should spawn right by the entrance; this is guarded by two 12-13 kobolds, so it may be possible to get all the items right here. You can sneak around from the north side of the mine to the entrance possibly without any other fighting. In the deepest chamber is Grizlak, a 15 elite, with a few level 14 guards, and a probable chest. There is plenty of linen and veins of ore.

Ironforge

By this point you will be about midway through level 13. If you make a side trip to Ironforge, you can collect Gnoarn – Find Bingles. Gnoarn is in Tinkertown, and Bingles is standing at the side of the Loch, to the SE. If you are level 13, you can pick up in Thelsamar: Jern Hornhelm – Ironband’s Excavation. When you find Bingles, you can also collect Prospector Ironband – Excavation Progress Report, which has to go back to Jern Hormhelm in Thelsamar, and Jern wants you to report back to Ironforge. Bingles – Missing Supplies: Bingles wants his tools, which are on the northmost island in the Loch, and the small island to the west of it. This quest is currently very hard to complete, because of the respawn rate of the troggs (which has been lowered in a subsequent patch, I must check it out).

Mountaineer Wallbang – In Defense of the King’s Lands 15

Not done:

Captain Rugelfuss – In Defense of the King’s Lands 17

Supplying Ironband’s Excavation

If you choose to follow the Resupplying the Excavation sequence, you should be aware that when you approach the powder wagon at the south of the lake, you will be attacked by three level 10s. these can easily be dealt with at level 13 by the approach of killing one, then running away, recover, and repeat. In fact, you don’t even need to do this, as the quest is completed even if you don’t kill them – think of it as a hint of what is to come.

The next quest in the series is: Miran – Protecting the Shipment, which is an escort quest. Based on my experiences with other escort quests, these will involves waves of multiple mobs, and are effectively impossible without assistance, so I skipped over it; however, this one isn’t so bad. This stage involves escorting Miran to the excavation site. He will aggro anything aggressive along the way, usually one or two spiders, and you should help him. Just as he reaches the site, he will pause, and be attacked by two level 14 Dark Iron dwarves. This is pretty easy if you are 14 or higher, or in a group.

Farstrider Lodge

The hard part is getting here. Just go east from the excavation site, dodging bears and buzzards. The entrance is at the back of the lodge, and you need to go around the north side to get there.

The first quest to do it: Marek Ironheart – Crocolisk Hunting. Leave Daryl’s quests until you can give them your undivided attention, as they are timed. The crocs are on the east shore near Bingles, but are in profusion on the two southern islands in the loch. If you can’t see any on the shore, check in the water first.

Now for Daryl. Daryl the Youngling – A Hunter’s Boast. Kill a few buzzards in 15 minutes; this is very easy, and can be done at a lower level (I did it at 15 with a priest). The biards are all close to the lodge. Next is: Daryl the Youngling – A Hunter’s Challenge. This is a little harder; note that he wants elder boars, not any other type, which are on the east shore, roughly north of Bingles. Watch out for bears.

Ironband’s Excavation

Magnar Fellhew – Gathering Idols. This is pretty easy, provided you stay at the edges and pick off troggs. Mostly 18-20, I think. If you go deep in, there is at least one spot where you can potentially pull a lot of troggs by just standing in the wrong spot.

The Stonewrought Dam

In the middle of the dam to the north you will find: Chief Engineer Hinderweir VII – A Dark Threat Looms. The start isn’t too bad – at the east side of the dam, to the east of the ramp, are two dark iron dwarves, both level 17. Kill them, and check the barrel they were guarding. However, the next stage sends you on the long run to Dun Modr, in the far north side of the Wetlands, and back to Hindenweir. That’s not too bad, although you are probably too low still to pick up the Dun Algaz quest to kill in the pass, which would make the trip a little more rewarding. But the next stage requires you to kill in the north east of Loch Modan; the spider and crocolisks are no problem. However, the mo’grosh crystal is a rare drop from the level 17-20 elite ogres. I think I cleared the entire area at least once before finding one. This is not a solo feasible task while this is still a worthwhile quest; a group is a must. You should combine this with Magistrate Bluntnose – Mercenaries. You are almost certain to complete Mercenaries before you find a crystal; Bluntnose is in Thelsamar, one of the houses set back from the village street.

Once you have the items, for the next part just jump into the lake where Hindenweir is standing; the barrel you need to defuse is at the base of the dam close to there, possibly a little to the east. I wasn’t bothered by the thrashodons or loch frenzies that were in the area.

Leaving Loch Modan

The logical progression from Loch Modan is into The Wetlands, by the Dun Algaz tower (north west of Loch Modan). If you run short of quests or appropriate mobs at any point, consider Darkshore, Westfall, or, if you are 15+, Redridge Mountains. At the higher end, if you don’t like the thought of the Wetlands, both Ashenvale and Duskwood are good for 20+.

Vyrin Swiftwind – The Head of Ol’Sooty 15 (level 20 elite)

Professions

Mining: Thelsamar
Herbalism, Alchemy: Thelsamar

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