World of Warcraft Dungeons
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The Stockade
Recommended Levels: 25 - 32
Location: Alliance Only, Azeroth, Stormwind, next to Mage Quarter
Inhabitants: Assorted Elite Defias humanoids. No magic users to speak of.
Notable Bosses: Targorr the Dread (1), Kam Deepfury (2), Hamhock (3), Dextren Ward (4), Bazil Thredd (5) (main boss)
Notable Loot: It's a prison, so not a lot. Iron Knuckles, Jimmied Handcuffs , Prison Shank - other daggers, wrist armor, fist weapons may drop, as befits a jail.
Total Running Time at Level: 45 mn - 1.5 hours
Preparation Needed: Minimal. Stormwind is right outside, and the dungeon run is short.
Quests Obtained At: Stormwind (2), Deadmines (1), Lakeshire (1), Darkshire (1), Dun Modr (1). You'll need a party to get that last one completed.
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The Stockade is a small, fast dungeon in the heart of Stormwind. It is a simple T layout, with the main boss on the right side, and sub-bosses to the center (needed for one quest) and to the far left (another quest). Between you and the target will be hallways populated by patrolling rioters, and jail cells populated by various Defias convicts on either side. If you avoid every single jail cell (which is possible by sticking to the middle of the hallway), you could potentially finish this dungeon in 30 minutes. This would make it a great and frequent dungeon for adventurers in the 25-level range, if it wasn't for the fact that it's rather boring. It's simply a repetative hallway-room-hallway setup with no surprises, no interactivity, and no memorable characters.
Being in the middle of Stormwind is both a curse and a blessing. Finding a group is actually more difficult, as the town is full of people all working at cross-purposes - your plea for help will get easily lost in the hubbub. Once set, however, you can easily stock supplies, get to the entrance, and head inside with almost zero preparation.
There's very little to say in addition to the map above. You will proceed down the middle, take out target 1. Turn to the right (if you have that quest, or others in your party do), and take out target 2. Backtrack towards the ultimate target (5), taking out (2) if someone has that quest - chances are he'll come out anyway, unlike the other convicts who are just chilling inside their cells. After Thredd is down, backtrack to the entrance.
Items of note
- All the side rooms contain prisoners who will respawn through your stay. They do not aggro easily and can be bypassed throughout the Stockade (exception noted above).
- The other notable exception to this is Bazil. Upon gaining his attention, several bodyguards will pour from the side rooms - while I have heard that it is possible to avoid them, I have not myself seen it done. It is highly recommended that you clear the side rooms first.
- There is a bug (personal experience, not rumour) whereupon slaying Bazil, and being in return slain by his guards, the party returns to find the last room completely empty, of enemies and corpses alike - this renders the ultimate quest un-completable. Again, I highly recommend clearing the side rooms so this doesn't happen to you ....
Background
The Stockade is a "high security prison" in the heart of Stormwind - and we know how that goes. Following on from the Deadmines story arc, this is the place where many of Van Cleef's cronies, thugs and other friends went when captured. If you have completed that dungeon, you will have at least one quest to start you off here. Unsurprisingly, quite a few people out in the world have an unhealthy obsession with terminating people who have done them wrong - so they send you to go in and target specific convicts. One particular bloodthirsty wench wants 10 Defias bandanas from you - that's 10 murdered prisoners (ok, ok, so they attack you first anyway - except the ones in the cells. Hmm...). Finally, the warden notifies you that the prison is in a state of riot which you must go in and quell by taking out the ringleader (Bazil). The quest chain continues for several more steps, tying the Deadmines and Stockade closer together, but that is beyond the scope of this dungeon overview.
First you're the deadly tax collector (in Deadmines), and now you're the royal prison cleaner. It's quite obvious the Alliance adventurers get all the glamorous jobs ....