- For the creature who attacks the villages, see Shade of the Horseman.
|
The subject of this article or section is part of Hallow's End, a seasonal event that lasts two weeks. Once the event has run its course, this will no longer be available until next year, but there are no guarantees. |
During Hallow's End, the Headless Horseman is a summoned elite boss spawned in the Pumpkin Shrine in the middle of the Forlorn Cloister in The Graveyard, a special seasonal instance of the Scarlet Monastery. Additionally, his shade attacks Horde and Alliance villages at various times throughout the event.
The Horseman was once a knight of the Silver Hand, but is now cursed. He is of the belief that he is alive, while those who face him are dead. When defeated, he is revealed as Thomas Thomson (aka Sir Thomas).
After using the Dungeon Finder and entering the graveyard, click on the Pumpkin Shrine to summon him. Each character can summon the horseman once per day.
In Mists of Pandaria[]
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found.
As of Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Mists of Pandaria, players need to be a minimum of level 89,[citation needed] which is a break from tradition, to queue for the dungeon. Usually characters of many levels can participate, with some looking forward to doing this each year on lower level characters to decorate them and get unique items. The Headless Horseman can no longer be reached without using Dungeon Finder as he appears in a special instance separate from the regular versions of the Scarlet Monastery instances.
Attacks and abilities[]
- Phase 1
- Basic Melee
- [Horseman's Cleave]ω τ ϖ: Standard cleave.
- Phase 2
- [Conflagration]ω τ ϖ: Lose 10% health per second and run around uncontrolled for 5 seconds.
- [Conflagrated Weapon]ω τ ϖ
- Phase 3
- Other
Strategy[]
Pumpkin Shrine
The Headless Horseman encounter is a three phase fight.
Phase one[]
The Horseman makes his entrance and engages whoever lit the candle. The tank should taunt immediately if they did not start the event. Watch out for Cleave and DPS him down.
At 1% the horseman will go immune, toss his head, walk around disoriented, and occasionally use a Whirlwind attack. The Head of the Horseman will become an active target while the body heals to 100%. All DPS should have a target macro for Head of the Horseman. After the party damages the head to about 60%, or the body heals to 100%, the head will rejoin the body and the next phase begins.
Phase two[]
When the Horseman rejoins with his head, he targets the player with the highest threat. This is the same as phase one except he will randomly cast Conflagration on a random party member (not the tank). You can use a PvP Trinket to remove the Conflagration. Healers and ranged DPS should be alert to the location of both tank and Conflagration target; steer clear of these.
Phase two ends if the head reaches about 30% health, or when the body heals to 100%.
Phase three[]
The Horseman does not use Conflagration in Phase Three. Eventually he will toss four Pulsing Pumpkins, which sprout Pumpkin Fiends after several seconds, and they will completely heal. The pumpkins have around 10k health and the Fiends will crit cloth wearers for 1k. The fastest course of action seems to be having the tank stand in the middle of the pumpkins with focus abilities at the ready. The rest of the party continues DPS on the Horseman until his head is tossed. If the party has low DPS, a second or even third wave of Pulsing Pumpkins can be spawned before the head is tossed.
Tanking the Horseman on the steps to the underground area will cause all the spawns to land very close to the boss. This should make it very easy for the tank to pick them all up.
Once the Head of the Horseman dies, the Headless Horseman has been defeated, and the remaining pumpkins will die. If you don't kill the Head of the Horseman before the Horseman heals to 100%, Phase Three will repeat, meaning you have to nuke the Horseman again to get him to toss his head.
Phase 3 notes[]
- Having a Paladin or Death Knight tank makes this Phase much easier due to Consecration or Death and Decay. The rest of the party hugs the tank, inside the spell's range, allowing the tank to pick up the Fiends, thereafter the DPS can burn these down.
- The key to the Headless Horseman is to find and DPS down the head as fast as possible when it is off the Horseman. The head does no damage so all DPS should feel free to unload on it. The macro "
/target Head of" helps with this, as it allows you to pick up the head almost as soon as it detaches. To make certain that the macro does not inadvertently target the Headless Horseman, you can use "/targetexact Head of the Horseman".
Quotes[]
- On Start
- (Player) says: Horseman rise...
- (Player) says: Your time is nigh...
- (Player) says: You felt death once...
- (Player) says: Now, know demise!
- Headless Horseman: It is over, your search is done. Let fate choose now, the righteous one. [emits a horrifying guffaw]
- Lost Head
- (Head of the Horseman) Get over here, you idiot!
- (Head of the Horseman) I am over here, you fool of a body!
- Rejoined
- Here's my body, fit and pure! Now, your blackened souls I'll cure!
- Conflagration
- Harken, cur! Tis you I spurn! Now feel... the burn!
- Sprouting Pumpkins
- Soldiers arise, stand and fight! Bring victory at last to this fallen knight!
- Horseman Death
- This end have I reached before. What new adventure lies in store?
- Player Death
- Your body lies beaten, battered and broken. Let my curse be your own, fate has spoken.
Loot[]
Headless Horseman loot:
- 3-6 [Weighted Jack-o'-Lantern] 40%
|
In addition, everyone in the party gets 5 
[Tricky Treats] after every kill. You will also receive a [Loot-Filled Pumpkin] the first time you kill him each day.
Pre-Mists loot[]
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found.
For historical purposes, these items were only available prior to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Mists of Pandaria.
- Level 85
- The Horseman's Signet
- Band of Ghoulish Glee
- Seal of the Petrified Pumpkin
- Wicked Witch's Ring
- Level 80
2007/2008 loot table[]
For historical purposes, these items were only available during the 2007 and 2008 events.
Notes[]
- When the Horseman was introduced in 2007, making multiple attempts required resetting the instance each time and creating multiple instance IDs, running up against the 5 instances per hour rule. In 2008, the event was changed so that resetting the instance was no longer required.
- In Hallow's End 2010, there was a bug in Patch 4.0.1 which would cause the game to freeze upon hovering the mouse over the pumpkin. A similar case was occurring in Ulduar.
Media[]
Videos[]
- Old
 Prot Pally Solo |
 Headless Horseman Kill Paladin Tank
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Headless Horseman Kill Mage | Rogue Demonstration |
|---|---|
 |
|
Patch changes[]
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Patch 8.0.1 (13-Aug-2018): Level, loot updated for level 120 characters (ilvl 335 after stat squish).
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Patch 5.0.4 (28-August-2012): Level, loot updated for level 90 characters.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found./Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Patch 4.0.1 (12-Oct-2010): Level, loot updated for level 85 characters.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Inlinegfx/img_link_data.json' not found. Patch 3.2.2 (2009-09-22): "I posted this a while back, but the Headless Horseman is indeed level 80." (Source)