World of Warcraft: History and Geography of Razorfen Downs

Razorfen Downs are the ancestral burial grounds of the quilboar, nestled amid huge brambles that spread from the north of Thousand Needles, into a small section to the south of Southern Barrens (where they are called Razorfen Kraul) and partially into Mulgore. The Scourge have taken over much of the downs, and infest the burial grounds with the reawakened dead. The enemy level range is 40-50. It is also known as RFD, not to be confused with RFK or BFD.

Entrance

The instance entrance itself lies in the depths of the bramble overgrowth in northern Thousand Needles[47, 23] though without a flying mount, it is accessed via the skull of what seems to be a huge quilboar near the meeting stone,[53, 25] rumoured to be the corpse of Agamaggan from which the brambles supposedly sprang.

History

Crafted from the same mighty vines as Razorfen Kraul, Razorfen Downs is the traditional capital city of the quilboar race. The sprawling, thorn-ridden labyrinth houses a veritable army of loyal quilboar as well as their high priests - the Death's Head tribe. Recently, however, a looming shadow has fallen over the crude den. Agents of the undead Scourge - led by the lich, Amnennar the Coldbringer - have taken control over the quilboar race and turned the maze of thorns into a bastion of undead might. Now the quilboar fight a desperate battle to reclaim their beloved city before Amnennar spreads his control across the Barrens.

In Cataclysm

Razorfen Downs and its environs were added to Thousand Needles in Cataclysm; as such, a rear entrance from Thousand Needles was added roughly northeast of Darkcloud Pinnacle. It also had its level range increased to 40-50.

General notes

Razorfen Downs has a more menacing atmosphere than many lower level instances before it due to the presence of the Scourge. Loot here is valuable and useful but you can expect a workout in order to get it. If you are between levels 40-50, have a group of people you trust, a couple hours or so to spare and are looking for a more intense fight than what you will normally experience below level 50, chances are you will enjoy this instance.

As a result of being taken over by the Scourge, the mobs populating Razorfen Downs are predominantly undead. The priest ability Shackle Undead shines here as a staple form of crowd control. The earlier quilboar mob groups usually consist of one humanoid caster (Geomancer or Necromancer) and several undead tanks (Withered Warriors and Reavers). Another strategy is to have the priest Mind Control the Death's Head Necromancer and use the mob's version of Shackle Undead against the nearby undead tanks just before the caster dies. The group only needs to worry about interrupting the Mind Control battle.

Also of note are the various patrols of weak skeletons and non-elite mobs in the Spiral of Thorns. These can easily be taken care of with AoE. Be sure to communicate your intent with the group when pulling mobs and shield your AoEers appropriately.

In Tuten'kash's chamber, or "the gong room," there are mobs straight ahead to the right and left. The sharp angle of the left wall may obscure your vision of these mobs, so either scout ahead or remember to tackle this left mob group first. Pulling the right mob group without handling the left may result in adds and eventually a wipe.

Deeper into the dungeon (the Spiral of Thorns), the mobs change to a banshee and skeleton type. The banshees are casters with silence, so plan your anti-caster attack accordingly. Further in still are skeletal summoners who, if allowed to cast, will summon non-elite shadowcasters to attack you.

Close to the entrance of the Spiral of Thorns, you may come across what looks like a passable shortcut, but is not.

It is possible to take the right fork (toward the banshee/skeleton types) and deal with that side first before heading for the left fork and the quilboar types. This means you will fight Glutton first followed by Amnennar the Coldbringer, which may be desirable if time is a significant factor.

Dungeon denizens

Abominations (one, Glutton)

Boars

Crypt fiends

Ghouls

Humans (one, Henry Stern)

Liches (one, Amnennar the Coldbringer)

Mage Ogres (one, Sah'rhee)

Quilboar

Rats (critters)

Red dragons (one, Belnistrasz)

Roaches (critters)

Skeletal warriors

Skeletons

Wraiths

Zombies

Mobs

Outside the instance:

Death's Head Cultist: Shadowbolt, Curse of Blood (Increases physical damage taken.) and Death and Decay (AoE shadow damage spell, channeled)

Razorfen Battleguard: Slam (knockdown)

Razorfen Thornweaver: Thorns Aura (Similar to Thorns) and Entangling Roots

The Death's Head Clan:

Death's Head Geomancer: Fireball, Slow and Flame Spike (AoE fire spell)

Death's Head Necromancer: Bone Armor (Shields the caster for a certain amount of damage.), Shadowbolt and Cripple (Movement speed reduced by 40%. Time between melee and ranged attacks increased by 45%. Lasts 20 sec.)

Undead Quilboar:

Withered Spearhide: Shoot, Diseased Shot (- 27 Strength and -27 Agility. Lasts 5 mins), Infected Spine (Damage taken increased by 8) and Enrage.

Withered Quilguard: Enrage

Withered Warrior: Enrage

Withered Reaver: Cleave

Withered Battle Boar: non-elite

Battle Boar Horror: non-elite

Scourge Agents:

Splinterbone Warrior: Sunder Armor

Splinterbone Centurion: Thunderclap, non-elite

Splinterbone Skeleton: non-elite, patrols

Splinterbone Captain: Backhand (Knockdown), Battle Shout

Skeletal Summoner: Lightning Bolt, Curse of Weakness and Summon Skeletons

Skeletal Frostweaver: Frostbolt

Skeletal Shadowcaster: Shadowbolt

Freezing Spirit: Frost Nova, Chilling Touch (Time between attacks increased by 43%. Movement speed reduced by 50%.)

Frozen Soul: Silence (AoE Silence)

Thorn Eater Ghoul: Ravenous Claw (Drains health from the target, transferring it to the caster.), Ghoul Rot (Chance to hit reduced by 10%. Lasts 10 mins) and Sunder Armor

Bosses

Amnennar the Coldbringer (Final)

Glutton

Mordresh Fire Eye

Tuten'kash

Plaguemaw the Rotting (Summoned)

Ragglesnout (Rare)

Resources

Arthas' Tears

Goldthorn

Grave Moss

Notes

As of October 2017, Wowhead does not appear to reflect update that happened with Warlords-Logo-Small Warlords of Draenor.