Pit of Saron Dungeon Guide

The Forge of Souls

Battered Hilt Quests

Pit of Saron

Halls of Reflection

Pit of Saron is the second of three dungeons in the Frozen Halls. These dungeons open with the Icecrown Citadel raid in Phase 4 of Wrath of the Lich King as the last dungeons of the expansion. Pit of Saron must be completed to continue the quest chain that unlocks the last wing of the Frozen Halls, Halls of Reflection.

These three dungeons were designed as catchup dungeons, with significantly better loot than you’ll find in other level 80 5-mans. The heroic versions also have a chance to drop the Battered Hilt/Battered Hilt, a tradeable item which starts a questline for a very strong epic weapon.

This guide will serve as a walkthrough for the Pit of Saron, including information about the trash, bosses, quests, achievements, and loot you’ll find inside. But first we’ll tell you how to unlock and enter the dungeon.

How to Enter Pit of Saron

Before you can enter Pit of Saron for the first time, you must unlock it by completing the quest Echoes of Tortured Souls/Echoes of Tortured Souls. This is part of a chain that starts with Inside the Frozen Citadel/Inside the Frozen Citadel and requires completing the Forge of Souls dungeon.

The easiest way to get to the Pit of Saron will be through the Dungeon Finder. In order to queue for the normal version of the instance, you will need to be at least level 80. For heroic, your gear’s average item level must be at least 180.

To get to the Pit of Saron entrance you’ll have to fly to Icecrown Citadel near the bottom of the Icecrown zone map. The Frozen Halls dungeon entrances are in the side of the fortress through a doorway that is accessible from one of the ramparts. You must be able to fly to reach this door on your own, but there is a summoning stone inside. There are no nearby flight paths so your best bet is to fly directly from Dalaran.

Pit of Saron is the third door on the left. You’ll have to click on the portcullis gate to pass through the dungeon portal.

You can also enter this dungeon directly from The Forge of Souls. There is a portal in the room with the last boss that will take you to the entrance of Pit of Saron as if you had walked through the gate.

Dungeon Preparation

The minimum level to enter Pit of Saron on normal mode is 78. You must be level 80 to enter heroic mode or to queue for either mode in the Dungeon Finder. The dungeon is designed for level 80 characters.

When you enter Pit of Saron, a short RP sequence will play out and either Lady Jaina Proudmoore or Lady Sylvanas Windrunner will appear. You will be able to turn in the quest you picked up in The Forge of Souls and start the next one in the chain. You’ll need to continue this questline if you want to unlock the final dungeon, Halls of Reflection.

You’ll follow the path to the right. If this is your first time in the dungeon and you’re on the quest, you’ll need to release the slaves you encounter along the way by clicking on their attached ball and chain. When you’ve released 15 slaves, you’ll go up the stairs toward the forge, where you’ll fight Forgemaster Garfrost. When he is defeated, Martin Victus or Gorkun Ironskull will appear and you’ll be able to pick up the next quest in the chain.

Continue around the central pit until you encounter Ick and Krick. Although it may look like you can skip these bosses, you’ll have to defeat them before the cave at the top of the hill will open. Defeat them and a short RP will play out, and then you’ll be able to start the gauntlet. Go up the hill and through the cave, killing enemies as you go. Inside the cave, be careful to run out of the large ice-blue circles on the ground. At the top another short RP will play out, and you’ll fight Scourgelord Tyrannus. One more RP sequence will play, and then you’ll be able to turn in your quest and pick up the quest for Halls of Reflection.

The portcullis at the back of this area will open and you’ll be able to take the portal inside to Halls of Reflection. This will place you just inside the entrance of that dungeon, so you can leave through its portal if you wish.

Pit of Saron Quests

• The Pit of Saron/The Pit of Saron
• The Path to the Citadel/The Path to the Citadel
• Deliverance from the Pit/Deliverance from the Pit

Pit of Saron Achievements

• Doesn’t Go to Eleven
• Don’t Look Up
• The Pit of Saron
• Heroic: The Pit of Saron

Trash Mobs

Trash mobs in Pit of Saron are either humanoid or undead with the exception of the Iceborn Proto-Drake and the Disturbed Glacial Revenant, the latter of which only appears in the heroic version of the instance.

Boss Encounters

There are three boss encounters in Pit of Saron: Forgemaster Garfrost, Ick and Krick, and Scourgelord Tyrannus. They must each be defeated before you will be able to progress through the dungeon and unlock the final wing of the Frozen Halls, Halls of Reflection.

Forgemaster Garfrost

Forgemaster Garfrost is an undead giant who patrols between the two forges on the eastern platform of the dungeon. He must be defeated to trigger the NPC strike team to continue through the dungeon, thus allowing you to progress to the final boss.

Abilities

• Permafrost: This debuff can stack up to 30 on everyone in your party, including pets, increasing the frost damage you take by 10% for each stack. It is a magic effect and can be dispelled.
• Throw Saronite: Forgemaster Garfrost will periodically throw a saronite boulder, which you can hide behind to line-of-sight the boss and drop your Permafrost stacks.
• Deep Freeze: The boss will put this on a random player, reducing their movement speed and eventually dealing a lot of damage if it isn’t dispelled.
• Chilling Wave: A cone attack with an incredibly long range (65 yards). Because of this ability, everyone but the tank should stay behind the boss.
• Thundering Stomp: A 2-second AOE stun that hits anyone who is in melee range. The boss casts this once at 66% health and once at 33% before running to his forge.
• Forge Frostborn Mace: At 66% and 33% health, the boss will run to his forge and cast this, increasing the frost damage he deals by 50% each time. On heroic mode, his damage will increase by 100% each time.

The Fight

Forgemaster Garfrost and his Wrathbone Siegesmiths are linked, so when you pull any one of them you will pull the rest. Focus down the adds at the start of the fight so you can give the boss your full attention.

The main mechanic of this fight is Permafrost, which puts a stacking debuff on everyone in the boss’s line of sight, including pets. This debuff does frost damage and also increases your frost damage taken by 10% for each stack. The debuff can be dispelled, but it is preferable to avoid getting stacks as much as possible since it will constantly be reapplied. The best way to do this is to break line of sight with the boss. It takes about 3 seconds for it to fall off. The tank will only be able to do this twice during the fight when the Forgemaster runs to his forge.

The Forgemaster will frequently Throw Saronite at a random player, chucking a giant boulder in their direction. Be sure to run out of the way when he does this, as the boulder deals a lot of damage and also knocks back anyone it hits. You can use the boulders left on the ground to hide from the boss and drop your stacks of Permafrost.

If you can dispel magic, keep an eye out for a second debuff, Deep Freeze, which will slow its target’s movement speed and cause them to take a large amount of damage when it expires. This debuff should always be removed if possible.

Everyone but the tank should stay behind the boss at all times to avoid Chilling Wave, a cone attack with a long 65 yard range.

At 66% and 33% health he will cast Thundering Stomp, stunning everyone within his melee range for 2 seconds. He’ll then run to his forge and use Forge Frostborn Mace, which will significantly increase his frost damage each time. This means that the damage going out will increase dramatically as the fight goes on. While he’s at his forge, everyone in the party, including the tank, should hide behind one of the saronite boulders to drop their Permafrost stacks. Be careful not to get hit by Chilling Wave while repositioning the boss after this phase.

When the boss is dead, some NPCs will appear nearby and you’ll be able to turn in your quest and start the next one.

Achievement

Doesn’t Go to Eleven: To earn this achievement, you must kill the boss before anyone in your party gets 11 stacks of the Permafrost debuff. Note that pets are also considered party members for this achievement. Anyone who can dispel magic effects can remove the debuff, so the easiest way to go about this is to stack up and have a priest use Mass Dispel. You can also drop stacks with immunity abilities like Divine Shield and Ice Block. Abilities like Deterrence and Anti-Magic Shell will prevent more stacks from accumulating while they’re up, and frost resistance can help you resist some stacks. You can also drop stacks by using a boulder to break line-of-sight with the boss, although the tank will only be able to do this when he runs to the forge. This achievement must be completed on heroic difficulty.

Ick and Krick

Ick and Krick are an undead gnome and plague eruptor who fight as a pair. You’ll find them north of the saronite quarry in the center of the map. They must be defeated to open the cave that leads to the last boss.

Abilities

• Toxic Waste: Krick throws these periodically at a random player, creating a bright green puddle that deals nature damage and lasts for 10 seconds.
• Pursuit: Ick will fixate on a random player for 12 seconds. During this time he will be immune to taunt and will only chase after his target. His movement speed is decreased by 50% while his damage is increased by 50% for the duration.
• Explosive Barrage: While Krick channels this over 18 seconds, Exploding Orbs will constantly spawn around the area. Each one will explode 3 seconds after it spawns, dealing arcane damage to anyone within 6 yards of it.
• Poison Nova: Ick will blast the area with nature damage and create a poison cloud that lasts 21 seconds and deals nature damage every 3 seconds to anyone within 15 yards of him. This spell has a 5 second cast time and does a lot of damage.
• Pustulant Flesh: Ick will poison a random player, dealing nature damage immediately and every 5 seconds for 10 seconds. This debuff can be removed with a poison dispel.

The Fight

You’ll find Ick and Krick in an area that is crawling with Plagueborn Horrors. It’s a good idea to clear the nearby trash before you start this fight, as you will be moving around quite a bit. The mobs patrol, so they can wander into your path if you’re not careful.

You will actually be fighting Ick, as Krick is riding around on Ick’s back and can’t be targeted. This fight is mainly about moving around to avoid taking damage. Move out of bright green Toxic Waste puddles, and move away from the boss when he casts Poison Nova. Poison Nova does huge upfront damage but has a 5 second cast, giving you plenty of time to escape. After the AOE goes off, it will leave behind a green poison cloud that you should also avoid.

During Explosive Barrage you will need to continuously move away from the Exploding Orbs that appear behind you, being mindful of other players’ Exploding Orbs as well.

When the boss casts Pursuit, the player he targets should run away from him. This shouldn’t be hard to do as his movement is slowed by 50%. Everyone else can continue attacking.

Ick will also throw some extra damage at random players with Pustulant Flesh. Anyone with a poison dispel can remove it, but you can also heal through it.

When Ick is killed the fight will end. Some RP will play out, and then you’ll be able to climb the hill to the east of these bosses and continue further into the dungeon.

Achievement

There are no achievements for this boss.

Scourgelord Tyrannus

Scourgelord Tyrannus is a death knight who flies atop his frostwyrm mount, Rimefang, on the northernmost platform in the dungeon. He can be reached through a cave that opens up after you defeat Ick and Krick. He must be defeated to complete the dungeon and is an objective for the Deliverance from the Pit/Deliverance from the Pit, which unlocks the final wing of the Frozen Halls, Halls of Reflection.

Abilities

Scourgelord Tyrannus

• Overlord’s Brand: This debuff causes any damage you do to also hit your tank, and any healing you do to also heal the boss. Anyone targeted with this ability should stop DPSing and only heal if they absolutely must.
• Unholy Power: When Tryannus casts this, he will gain 75% increased physical damage but he will move 50% slower, allowing your tank to kite him if the damage is too much to handle.
• Forceful Smash: This ability deals heavy damage and knocks the target back. The target should always be your tank, so try to keep them topped off and heal them up quickly after this goes off.
• Mark of Rimefang: Tyrannus will put this debuff on a random player, calling Rimefang to hit the target with his Hoarfrost attack (see below).

Rimefang

• Hoarfrost: When Tyrannus marks a player with Mark of Rimefang, Rimefang will cast this on them, dealing frost damage and stunning anyone within 8 yards of the target for 5 seconds. Players who receive the Mark of Rimefang should run away from the group to avoid hitting other players with this.
• Icy Blast: Rimefang will periodically swoop down and create a patch of ice on the ground that deals frost damage and reduces movement speed by 75%.

The Fight

After running up the hill and through the ice cave in the north of the dungeon, you’ll find Scourgelord Tyrannus hovering atop his frostywyrm mount, Rimefang. There will be some more RP (there’s quite a bit of it in this dungeon), and then the boss will hop down and his mount will fly away. You’ll be fighting Scourgelord Tyrannus alone, although Rimefang will occasionally swoop down to assist his master.

The first mechanic to understand in this fight is the Overlord’s Brand debuff, which causes any damage or healing you do to be mirrored. If you DPS the boss while you have the debuff, you’ll also do damage to your party’s tank. If you heal with the debuff, you’ll also heal the boss. It’s best to stop all DPS while you have this debuff and also avoid healing if possible. The boss also casts Forceful Smash periodically on the tank, dealing huge damage and knocking them back, so you’ll want to keep your tank’s health high.

When Tyrannus casts Unholy Power, he will gain 75% increased physical damage, which means you’ll either want to use some defensives and big heals or have your tank kite the boss. Luckily he also gets a 50% movement speed penalty, so kiting him should be doable. He can also be kited through the ice patches on the ground which will further slow his movement speed.

The ice patches are left by Rimefang’s Icy Blast, and players should avoid standing in them, because they slow movement significantly and also deal frost damage. Rimefang has one other ability, Hoarfrost, which he will cast on a player that Tyrannus targets with Mark of Rimefang. If you have the mark, you should run away from your teammates so they don’t get hit by the blast (which is unavoidable for the target). Hoarfrost deals frost damage to anyone standing within 8 yards of the marked player and also stuns them for 5 seconds.

When Scourgelord Tyrannus is killed, you’ll be treated to some more RP, after which you can turn in your quest and head to the Halls of Reflection through the portal to the north.

Achievement

Don’t Look Up: This achievement actually takes place in the gauntlet leading up to Scourgelord Tyrannus. To earn this achievement, everyone in your party must run out of the icy blue circles on the ground before they take damage. This achievement must be completed on heroic difficulty.

Pit of Saron Loot

• Normal
• Heroic

Item	Slot	Type	Drops From
Coffin Nail	Ranged	Wand	Trash
Titanium Links of Lore	Waist	Plate	Trash
Mantle of Tattered Feathers	Shoulder	Cloth	Trash
Plated Grips of Korth’azz	Hands	Plate	Trash
Unspeakable Secret	Two-Hand	Staff	Forgemaster Garfrost
Garfrost’s Two-Ton Hammer	Two-Hand	Mace	Forgemaster Garfrost
Ring of Carnelian and Bone	Finger	–	Forgemaster Garfrost
Polished Mirror Helm	Head	Mail	Forgemaster Garfrost
Ice-Steeped Sandals	Feet	Cloth	Forgemaster Garfrost
Flayer’s Black Belt	Waist	Leather	Forgemaster Garfrost
Krick’s Beetle Stabber	One-Hand	Dagger	Ick
Bent Gold Belt	Waist	Plate	Ick
Wristguards of Subterranean Moss	Wrists	Cloth	Ick
Scabrous Zombie Leather Belt	Waist	Mail	Ick
Black Dragonskin Breeches	Legs	Mail	Ick
Purloined Wedding Ring	Finger	–	Ick
Rimebane Rifle	Ranged	Gun	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Scourgelord’s Frigid Chestplate	Chest	Plate	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Shaggy Wyrmleather Leggings	Legs	Leather	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Painfully Sharp Choker	Neck	–	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Skeleton Lord’s Cranium	Head	Plate	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Gondria’s Spectral Bracer	Wrists	Mail	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Protector of Frigid Souls	Shield	Shield	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Rimewoven Silks	Legs	Cloth	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Cloak of the Fallen Cardinal	Back	–	Scourgelord Tyrannus

Item	Slot	Type	Drops From
Battered Hilt/Battered Hilt	–	Quest Item	Trash
Seven-Fingered Claws	Main Hand	Fist Weapon	Trash
Ghostly Wristwraps	Wrists	Leather	Trash
Unsharpened Ice Razor	One-Hand	Dagger	Trash
Surgeon’s Needle	Main Hand	Dagger	Forgemaster Garfrost
Barbed Ymirheim Choker	Neck	–	Forgemaster Garfrost
Legguards of the Frosty Depths	Legs	Plate	Forgemaster Garfrost
Malykriss Vambraces	Wrists	Plate	Forgemaster Garfrost
Spurned Val’kyr Shoulderguards	Shoulder	Mail	Forgemaster Garfrost
Shoulderplates of Frozen Blood	Shoulder	Plate	Forgemaster Garfrost
Ick’s Rotting Thumb	Trinket	–	Ick
Felglacier Bolter	Ranged	Crossbow	Ick
Braid of Salt and Fire	Waist	Cloth	Ick
Chewed Leather Wristguards	Wrist	Leather	Ick
Blackened Ghoul Skin Leggings	Legs	Mail	Ick
Ancient Polar Bear Hide	Chest	Cloth	Ick
Frozen Orb	–	Crafting Material	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Nevermelting Ice Crystal	Trinket	–	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Tyrannical Beheader	Two-Hand	Axe	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Rimefang’s Claw	One-Hand	Sword	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Fleshwerk Leggings	Legs	Leather	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Belt of Rotted Fingernails	Waist	Mail	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Band of Stained Souls	Finger	–	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Frost Wyrm Ribcage	Chest	Plate	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Engraved Gargoyle Femur	Two-Hand	Staff	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Mudslide Boots	Feet	Mail	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Rusty Frozen Fingerguards	Hands	Plate	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Icebound Bronze Cuirass	Chest	Plate	Scourgelord Tyrannus
Prelate’s Snowshoes	Feet	Cloth	Scourgelord Tyrannus