Restoring the Battered Hilt and Obtaining Quel’delar

wotlk battered hilt quest guide

wotlk frozen halls dungeons forge of souls icon

The Forge of Souls

battered hilt icon

Battered Hilt Quests

wotlk frozen halls dungeons pit of saron icon

Pit of Saron

wotlk frozen halls dungeons halls of reflection icon

Halls of Reflection

The Wow Alliance CrestBattered Hilt/Battered Hilt is a tradeable item that starts a questline for a very strong epic weapon known as Quel’Delar. Completing the questline allows you to reforge Quel’Delar into one of seven different weapons. These weapons are item level 251, so they are stronger than any pre-Icecrown Citadel weapons except for those from 25-man Heroic Trial of the Crusader.

The hilt itself is a random drop that has a low chance to be looted from any trash in the heroic versions of the three Frozen Halls dungeons: The Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection. The hilt is BOE and can be traded or sold on the Auction House.

The questline can only be completed once per character, and your choice of weapon is permanent. Completing the questline also rewards the achievement The Sword in the Skull.

This guide will serve as a walkthrough for how to complete the Battered Hilt quest chain and choose your reward. We’ll also give you a little background about the sword and its place in the Wrath of the Lich King story.

Battered Hilt Quest Rewards

This quest chain can only be completed once per character, so choose your reward carefully! The weapon type you get depends upon your class. If your class can wield swords, you will have to choose one of the four sword options. If your class can’t use swords, you’ll have your choice of three maces.

Swords

Maces

You’ll also earn the achievement The Sword in the Skull for completing the questline.

wotlk battered hilt quest achievement

Quel’Delar Lore

Quel’Delar is a prismatic sword that was forged by the ancient night elves with the aid of the five dragon aspects. It is the sister blade of Quel’Serrar, which is now obtainable in the game as Gleaming Quel’Serrar and Burnished Quel’Serrar, both dropped by Onyxia. While its sibling stayed with the night elves, Quel’Delar was passed down to the quel’dorei, the high elves, who eventually used it against the Scourge when they invaded Quel’Thalas.

The weapon became a symbol of the elves’ opposition to the Lich King and his undead army, but it was lost in the last attempt to invade Icecrown and defeat the Lich King. The elves wish to see Quel’Delar restored to its former glory and used to help end the Scourge threat once and for all.

Below you can read the full text of an article posted by Blizzard just prior to the original release of the Quel’Delar questline.

In ages past the great Dragon Aspects worked alongside the night elves to forge powerful prismatic blades that could be used to thwart any evil that came into the world. They would become known as the blades of Quel’Serrar. One of these blades, which had become lost in time, was recently unearthed again by brave heroes of Azeroth. Now rediscovered, Quel’Serrar is revered once more as a mighty tool of raw power.

Its sister blade, however, has not been seen for many years…

The sword known as Quel’Delar was held by the group of kaldorei who would eventually become the high elves, and it was handed down from generation to generation. Most recently Quel’Delar was wielded by the valiant high elven warrior Thalorien Dawnseeker. Thalorien fought tirelessly in the Troll Wars to defend his beloved home of Silvermoon, the Sunwell, and all of Quel’Thalas. When the Scourge swept through the lands during the Third War, Thalorien was among the last lines of defense for the Sunwell. Despite the sword’s power, he was ultimately slain by the overwhelming might of Arthas and his legendary runeblade, Frostmourne. Quel’Delar was thought to be lost forever.

Following the destruction of their homeland, the determined blood elves began to regroup and rebuild. It was during this time that the battle-hardened warrior Lana’thel stumbled upon Quel’Delar, and soon afterward the greatest opportunity to use the blade presented itself: Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider raised an army and combined forces with Illidan Stormrage, who led them north to Icecrown on a mission to destroy the Lich King. Lana’thel readily followed her prince with one thought in mind — revenge against the Scourge — but only tragedy awaited her.

In the icy hills of Northrend, Arthas ultimately defeated Illidan and Kael’thas, and the expedition’s few survivors were scattered across the frozen wastes. One by one the Lich King sought out those who had challenged him, and Lana’thel found herself cornered. Using Quel’Delar, she struck at him with all her might… but Frostmourne’s evil powers overwhelmed her. Through his blade, the Lich King chose Lana’thel to serve him in undeath as queen of the San’layn, a group responsible for overseeing the Scourge’s operations across Azeroth.

Queen Lana’thel eagerly carried out her new duties, but every time she looked at her blade, maddening anger would swell within her as she remembered her former life. She could not afford such distractions, and with a scream that echoed throughout Icecrown, she shattered Quel’Delar and flung the fractured pieces as far as she could.

Now…

The champions of the Alliance and the Horde who confront the Lich King’s armies have but a slim chance of finding the pieces of this fabled blade. If they succeed, the heroes can embark on an epic adventure to re-forge Quel’Delar. They will require the strongest materials and a source of great power to make this shattered blade into the fearsome weapon it once was. Several classes can use Quel’Delar, and the sword can fit several different play styles. For any class that is unable to wield it, however, the Sunreaver blood elves and the Silver Covenant high elves will gladly take this relic of their history in exchange for a usable weapon.

The search begins soon…

How to Farm the Battered Hilt

The Wow Alliance CrestBattered Hilt/Battered Hilt has a low (~1%) chance to drop from any trash in the heroic versions of The Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection. Note that you won’t be able to enter Pit of Saron and Halls of Reflection for the first time until you progress through the quest chain that begins in The Forge of Souls.

Technically you can only run each heroic dungeon once per day, but if you don’t kill any bosses, you can reset the instance and all the trash will respawn. That works out nicely since the Battered Hilt only drops from trash anyway. You just need a group that is willing to farm trash and not kill any bosses.

Pit of Saron is the best option for farming since it has the most trash. Most of the mobs that can drop the hilt can be killed without fighting any bosses. Just loop around the quarry and gather them up group by group, then run out and reset.

If you can’t get a group together exclusively for trash farming, you can try your luck at clearing all three dungeons and ask your party not to skip any trash. This will lock you out of each dungeon for the day.

Battered Hilt Quests

Reforging Quel’Delar requires completing 13 quests that will take you to Icecrown, Wyrmrest Temple, Dalaran, and Isle of Quel’Danas, as well as leading you back through the Frozen Halls dungeons. The quests are divided up by faction.

Here is the entire Quel’Delar quest chain for Alliance players:

  1. The Battered Hilt
  2. What The Dragons Know
  3. The Sunreaver Plan
  4. A Suitable Disguise
  5. A Meeting With The Magister
  6. Return to Caladis Brightspear
  7. Reforging The Sword
  8. Tempering The Blade
  9. The Halls Of Reflection
  10. Journey To The Sunwell
  11. Thalorien Dawnseeker
  12. One of the following, depending on your class:
  13. One of the following, depending on your class:

We’ll provide a brief walkthrough of each quest below.

The Battered Hilt

You can pick up this quest by right-clicking the Battered Hilt in your bags. It will direct you to speak with Caladis Brightspear, who can be found at Quel’Delar’s Rest just south of the Argent Tournament Grounds in Icecrown.

wotlk battered hilt quest queldelars rest map
wotlk battered hilt quest caladis brightspear location

What The Dragons Know

This quest will send you to speak with Krasus, Consort of the Queen, atop Wyrmrest Temple in Dragonblight. You can stick around to watch a short conversation between the dragons, but you don’t have to. You’ll then have to head to the upper level of the Silver Enclave in Dalaran and speak with Arcanist Tybalin.

wotlk battered hilt quest krasus map
wotlk battered hilt quest krasus location
wotlk battered hilt quest arcanist tybalin map
wotlk battered hilt quest arcanist tybalin location

The Sunreaver Plan

This quest sends you to the Dalaran Underbelly to find a Sunreaver Agent in the cavern on the north end of the map. Kill the agent and loot the Sunreaver Orders, then return to Arcanist Tybalin in the Silver Enclave.

wotlk battered hilt quest sunreaver agent map
wotlk battered hilt quest sunreaver agent location

A Suitable Disguise

For this quest, you’ll need to head to The Threads of Fate, the tailoring shop in Dalaran. Go up the stairs and you’ll find Shandy Glossgleam with his water elemental, Aquanos. He’ll put you to work doing some laundry – just click on the sparkling piles of clothes as he instructs you to add them to the wash. When you’re done, you’ll be able to click on a bag of Clean Laundry next to the tub, which will net you a Borrowed Tabard. Return to Arcanist Tybalin in the Silver Enclave once more.

wotlk battered hilt quest shandy glossgleam map
wotlk battered hilt quest shandy glossgleam location

A Meeting With The Magister

The arcanist will place an enchantment on you that lasts for five minutes and allows you to enter the Sunreaver’s Sanctuary, the Horde area in Dalaran. Go there and enter the inn. You’ll find Magister Hathorel in the main room. Speak with him to acquire the Ancient Dragonforged Blades, then return again to Arcanist Tybalin in the Silver Enclave.

wotlk battered hilt quest magister hathorel map
wotlk battered hilt quest magister hathorel location

Return to Caladis Brightspear

Head back to Caladis Brightspear at Quel’Delar’s Rest south of the Argent Tournament Grounds in Icecrown. You’ll witness a scene involving Blood-Queen Lana’thel, one of Arthas’s servants and a boss in Icecrown Citadel. She’ll give some background on the weapon and why it now lies shattered. The Silver Covenant will now task you with reforging it.

Reforging The Sword

Reforging the sword takes you back to the Frozen Halls dungeons, starting with Pit of Saron. These quests can be done on either normal or heroic mode, so don’t worry if you were already locked to the heroic version.

You’ll need to gather 5 Infused Saronite Bars from the piles around the quarry. There are some that can be picked up near the entrance without pulling any mobs, but you will need a party for the other half of this step, which requires killing Forgemaster Garfrost to loot The Forgemaster’s Hammer. When you’ve done this, approach one of the forges nearby and right-click on his hammer in your inventory. This will net you a Reforged Quel’Delar, which you can bring back to Caladis Brightspear, who has moved to the hallway that leads to the Frozen Halls dungeon entrances.

wotlk battered hilt quest saronite bars
wotlk battered hilt quest forge

Tempering The Blade

Next you’ll return to The Forge of Souls, where you’ll have to clear the entire dungeon in order to access the Crucible of Souls, which is a fiery brazier right behind the last boss, Devourer of Souls. You could actually enter an instance that has already been cleared for this quest, as all you need is the object behind the boss. Approach the crucible and click on the Reforged Quel’Delar in your bags to get a Tempered Quel’Delar, which you can bring back to Caladis Brightspear outside the instance.

wotlk battered hilt quest crucible of souls

The Halls Of Reflection

For this quest, you’ll enter the Halls of Reflection, but don’t start the dungeon by speaking to the NPC. Instead, approach Frostmourne in the center of the room, and Quel’Delar will fly out of your bags and attack you. Depending on your gear and class, you may be able to solo this. If you fail to defeat the sword, it will be waiting for you the next time you enter the instance. Defeat it and you’ll get a Subdued Quel’Delar, which you can return to Caladis Brightspear near the entrance to the dungeon.

Journey To The Sunwell

This quest sends you to the Isle of Quel’Danas, where you must speak with Halduron Brightwing just outside the entrance to the Sunwell raid. The easiest way to get to the Isle of Quel’Danas is by portal: take the portal to Shattrath in your faction’s area of Dalaran, and from there you can take a portal directly to the isle.

wotlk battered hilt quest isle of quel'danas portal
wotlk battered hilt quest sunwell map

Thalorien Dawnseeker

Now you’ll seek the blessing of Quel’Delar’s former owner, Thalorien Dawnseeker, who was killed in the Scourge invasion. His remains can be found in the Dead Scar on the southern part of the island. You’ll have to fight some mobs here, but nothing too challenging. Speak with Thalorian and you’ll get a Tempered Quel’Delar to bring back to Halduron Brightwing at the Sunwell entrance.

wotlk battered hilt quest thalorien dawnseeker map
wotlk battered hilt quest thalorien dawnseeker location

The Purification of Quel’Delar (sword) / The Purification of Quel’Delar (mace)

For this quest you’ll enter the Sunwell, but not through the raid entrance. Instead, speak with a Warden of the Sunwell by the entrance to be teleported inside a solo version of the instance. Run down the ramp and enter the glowing room. Click on the Tempered Quel’Delar in your bag, and you’ll receive a Restored Quel’Delar. Take this back to Quel’Delar’s Rest in Icecrown to deliver it to Caladis Brightspear.

A Victory For The Silver Covenant (sword) / A Victory For The Silver Covenant (mace)

This final quest sends you to hand in your Restored Quel’Delar and receive your chosen weapon in return. The weapon you receive, and where you go to get it, depends on your class.

Druids, priests, and shamans can’t use swords, so they will be sent to Justicar Mariel Trueheart in the Argent Tournament Grounds to receive a mace.

All other classes will be sent to Vereesa Windrunner in the Violet Citadel in Dalaran to receive a sword.

wotlk battered hilt quest justicar mariel trueheart map
wotlk battered hilt quest justicar mariel trueheart location
wotlk battered hilt quest vereesa windrunner map
wotlk battered hilt quest vereesa windrunner location

Here is the entire Quel’Delar quest chain for Horde players:

  1. The Battered Hilt
  2. What The Dragons Know
  3. The Silver Covenant’s Scheme
  4. A Suitable Disguise
  5. An Audience With The Arcanist
  6. Return To Myralion Sunblaze
  7. Reforging The Sword
  8. Tempering The Blade
  9. The Halls Of Reflection
  10. Journey To The Sunwell
  11. Thalorien Dawnseeker
  12. One of the following, depending on your class and race:
  13. One of the following, depending on your class and race:

We’ll provide a brief walkthrough of each quest below.

The Battered Hilt

You can pick up this quest by right-clicking the Battered Hilt in your bags. It will direct you to speak with Myralion Sunblaze, who can be found just south of the Argent Tournament Grounds in Icecrown.

wotlk battered hilt quest queldelars rest map
wotlk battered hilt quest myralion sunblaze location

What The Dragons Know

This quest will send you to speak with Krasus, Consort of the Queen, atop Wyrmrest Temple in Dragonblight. You can stick around to watch a short conversation between the dragons, but you don’t have to. You’ll then have to head to the inn inside the Sunreaver’s Sanctuary in Dalaran and speak with Magister Hathorel.

wotlk battered hilt quest krasus map
wotlk battered hilt quest krasus location
wotlk battered hilt quest magister hathorel map
wotlk battered hilt quest magister hathorel location

The Silver Covenant’s Scheme

This quest sends you to the Dalaran Underbelly to find a Silver Covenant Agent at the bar in the Cantrips and Crows Tavern. Kill the agent and loot the Silver Covenant Orders, then return to Magister Hathorel in the Sunreaver’s Sanctuary.

wotlk battered hilt quest silver covenant agent map
wotlk battered hilt quest silver covenant agent location

A Suitable Disguise

For this quest, you’ll need to head to The Threads of Fate, the tailoring shop in Dalaran. Go up the stairs and you’ll find Shandy Glossgleam with his water elemental, Aquanos. He’ll put you to work doing some laundry – just click on the sparkling piles of clothes as he instructs you to add them to the wash. When you’re done, you’ll be able to click on a bag of Clean Laundry next to the tub, which will net you a Borrowed Tabard. Return to Magister Hathorel in the Sunreaver’s Sanctuary once more.

wotlk battered hilt quest shandy glossgleam map
wotlk battered hilt quest shandy glossgleam location

An Audience With The Arcanist

The magister will place an enchantment on you that lasts for five minutes and allows you to enter the Silver Enclave, the Alliance area in Dalaran. Go there and go up the stairs to the upper level. You’ll find Arcanist Tybalin in a room with a lot of bookshelves on the wall. Speak with him to acquire the Ancient Dragonforged Blades, then return again to Magister Hathorel in the Sunreaver’s Sanctuary.

wotlk battered hilt quest arcanist tybalin map
wotlk battered hilt quest arcanist tybalin location

Return To Myralion Sunblaze

Head back to Myralion Sunblaze at Quel’Delar’s Rest south of the Argent Tournament Grounds in Icecrown. You’ll witness a scene involving Blood-Queen Lana’thel, one of Arthas’s servants and a boss in Icecrown Citadel. She’ll give some background on the weapon and why it now lies shattered. The Sunreavers will now task you with reforging it.

Reforging The Sword

Reforging the sword takes you back to the Frozen Halls dungeons, starting with Pit of Saron. These quests can be done on either normal or heroic mode, so don’t worry if you were already locked to the heroic version.

You’ll need to gather 5 Infused Saronite Bars from the piles around the quarry. There are some that can be picked up near the entrance without pulling any mobs, but you will need a party for the other half of this step, which requires killing Forgemaster Garfrost to loot The Forgemaster’s Hammer. When you’ve done this, approach one of the forges nearby and right-click on his hammer in your inventory. This will net you a Reforged Quel’Delar, which you can bring back to Myralion Sunblaze, who has moved to the hallway that leads to the Frozen Halls dungeon entrances.

wotlk battered hilt quest saronite bars
wotlk battered hilt quest forge

Tempering The Blade

Next you’ll return to The Forge of Souls, where you’ll have to clear the entire dungeon in order to access the Crucible of Souls, which is a fiery brazier right behind the last boss, Devourer of Souls. You could actually enter an instance that has already been cleared for this quest, as all you need is the object behind the boss. Approach the crucible and click on the Reforged Quel’Delar in your bags to get a Tempered Quel’Delar, which you can bring back to Myralion Sunblaze outside the instance.

wotlk battered hilt quest crucible of souls

The Halls Of Reflection

For this quest, you’ll enter the Halls of Reflection, but don’t start the dungeon by speaking to the NPC. Instead, approach Frostmourne in the center of the room, and Quel’Delar will fly out of your bags and attack you. Depending on your gear and class, you may be able to solo this. If you fail to defeat the sword, it will be waiting for you the next time you enter the instance. Defeat it and you’ll get a Subdued Quel’Delar, which you can return to Myralion Sunblaze near the entrance to the dungeon.

Journey To The Sunwell

This quest sends you to the Isle of Quel’Danas, where you must speak with Halduron Brightwing just outside the entrance to the Sunwell raid. The easiest way to get to the Isle of Quel’Danas is by portal: take the portal to Shattrath in your faction’s area of Dalaran, and from there you can take a portal directly to the isle.

wotlk battered hilt quest isle of quel'danas portal
wotlk battered hilt quest sunwell map

Thalorien Dawnseeker

Now you’ll seek the blessing of Quel’Delar’s former owner, Thalorien Dawnseeker, who was killed in the Scourge invasion. His remains can be found in the Dead Scar on the southern part of the island. You’ll have to fight some mobs here, but nothing too challenging. Speak with Thalorian and you’ll get a Tempered Quel’Delar to bring back to Halduron Brightwing at the Sunwell entrance.

wotlk battered hilt quest thalorien dawnseeker map
wotlk battered hilt quest thalorien dawnseeker location

The Purification of Quel’Delar

This quest is slightly different based on your class and race, but plays out the same regardless. Here are the different versions of the quest for Horde:

For this quest you’ll enter the Sunwell, but not through the raid entrance. Instead, speak with a Warden of the Sunwell by the entrance to be teleported inside a solo version of the instance. Run down the ramp and enter the glowing room. Click on the Tempered Quel’Delar in your bag, and you’ll receive a Restored Quel’Delar. Take this back to Quel’Delar’s Rest in Icecrown to deliver it to Myralion Sunblaze.

A Victory for the Sunreavers

Again this quest will be slightly different based on your class and race. Here are the different versions of the quest for Horde:

This final quest sends you to hand in your Restored Quel’Delar and receive your chosen weapon in return. The weapon you receive, and where you go to get it, depends on your class. There are different versions of the quests for blood elves, but they don’t affect your reward.

Druids, priests, and shamans can’t use swords, so they will be sent to Justicar Mariel Trueheart in the Argent Tournament Grounds to receive a mace.

All other classes will be sent to Vereesa Windrunner in the Violet Citadel in Dalaran to receive a sword.

wotlk battered hilt quest justicar mariel trueheart map
wotlk battered hilt quest justicar mariel trueheart location
wotlk battered hilt quest vereesa windrunner map
wotlk battered hilt quest vereesa windrunner location

 

About the Author

Luxrah

I've been playing World of Warcraft on and off since vanilla, usually as a healer or caster and often as a guild leader. I play both retail and classic. I also love RPGs, sandboxes, and sims.
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