Scourge Invasion

The Scourge Invasion was a world event in Patch 1.11 that heralded the opening of Naxxramas, the citadel of the dreaded Kel'Thuzad.

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Several regions of Azeroth have come under attack by Scourge forces. Members of the Argent Dawn are already organizing a worldwide counter to the Scourge invasion, keeping an eye out for any necropolis sightings and passing on their information to all adventurers willing to aid them in their struggle.

With each victory against the Scourge, the defense grows stronger. As more and more invasion attempts are beaten back by the defenders, the Argent Dawn will be able to bestow increasingly more powerful blessings upon those fighting the invaders. If the mortal races focus on clearing the Scourge camps all over the world that have sprung up beneath each necropolis, perhaps the invasion can effectively be halted or even repelled. Those who wish to take up arms against the undead invaders should speak with a representative of the Argent Dawn to learn what regions need help and how the defense is holding up.

This event is intended for characters around level 60.

Necropolis invasions, Necrotic Runes and the Shards

During the Scourge Invasion, numerous high-level zones are under attack by one or two flying Necropoleis each. The zones under attack have purple skull markers on the continent-level maps. The zones that get attacked are Eastern Plaguelands, Burning Steppes, Blasted Lands, Tanaris, Azshara, and Winterspring. See A collection of maps showing possible spawnpoints for scourge forces

NPCs near Argent Dawn tents in the major cities will note where the Necropoleis are attacking, and how many are in each zone. There are also Necropoleis over the major cities. The ones over the major cities seem to be permanent but they only spawn low level scourge for the introductory quest.

Assaulting the Necropoli

The Necropoleis are accompanied by Necrotic Shards, which are visible on the ground near each of the flying citadels. These shards are always surrounded by a large number of undead. The undead are non-elite and grant 5 Argent Dawn reputation until the end of Honored, unlike normal undead. They yield Invader scourgestones if slain while having the Argent Dawn Commission activated.

The Shards near the undead are weakened as the undead are killed. When the strength of the shard reaches zero, four Cultist Engineers will appear and start to heal it. Each of these engineers can be "disrupted" through the use of eight Necrotic Runes. The Acolyte will then convert into a Shadow of Doom, which is a tough 61 elite mob. Upon its defeat, the Shadow of Doom will yield a Corrupter's Scourgestone, 50 reputation with the Argent Dawn, 30 Necrotic Runes, and has a chance to drop a chest piece of the Undead Slaying set. The drop rate on the chest isn't great. I've seen a drop rate of around 1 in 4 in the past, but currently have killed 15 in a row with no chest drop (none at all, not just my armour type).

Destroying all four Shadows of Doom will destroy the Necrotic Shard, heal nearby players for 10,000, grant them a powerful buff, and stop new Scourge from spawning there (at least for a short time).

Destroying all the Necrotic Shards attached to a Necropolis will destroy the Necropolis. Destroying all the Necropoleis in a zone will cause that zone to no longer be under attack. The Scourge will eventually deploy more Necropoleis however, so clearing a zone does not mean it is safe forever. (Please edit to report other effects of destroying shards and Necropoleis.)

Rewards

Marks of the Dawn

After a certain number of battles have been won on a server, additional rewards are available. After the battles have been completed a new NPC will spawn at Lights Hope Chapel and in your faction capital and will hand 3 of the item out for free!

Battles Won	NPC	Item	Bonus
50	Argent Dawn Initiate/ Paladin	Lesser Mark of the Dawn	1 Stamina for every 6 levels for 1 Hour (10 Stamina at 60)
100	Argent Dawn Cleric/ Crusader	Mark of the Dawn	1 Stamina for every 3 levels for 1 Hour (20 Stamina at 60)
150	Argent Dawn Priest/ Champion	Greater Mark of the Dawn	1 Stamina for every 2 levels for 1 Hour (30 Stamina at 60)

Necrotic Rune Turn-Ins

The undead have a chance to drop a Necrotic Rune. Commander Helleran at Light's Hope Chapel wants ten of these runes to complete the quest Under the Shadow; the remainder can also be turned in to the Argent Dawn Outfitter at Light's Hope Chapel or in camps in your faction capital city for various rewards:

• 30 runes: Any of the four Undead Slaying set item gloves
• 15 runes: A Major Mana or Healing Potion
• 10 runes: A Tabard of the Argent Dawn
• 8 runes: A Blessed Wizard Oil or a Consecrated Sharpening Stone

Mob Drops

Finally, three rare spawns can be found around the Shards that drop two to three Necrotic Runes as well as bracers of the Undead Slaying set. Like most rare spawns, they are not elite but are slightly higher level (61). These spawns appear roughly every fifteen minutes after engagement of Scourge in the area, and despawn about fifteen minutes later.

Letters from the Scourge

Non-elite undead around the Necrotic Shards will occasionally drop letters. There are six total, each of which starts a turn-in quest at the Keeper of the Rolls in Light's Hope Chapel for a small reward. Once the quest is started, the letters may be read. They contain well-written bits of lore, mainly related to the events in Warcraft 3.

A week after turning in a letter you will receive through the mail a message from the Keeper indicating an NPC that is mentioned in the original (quest) letter. This does not start a quest. The NPCs indicated become vendors that will sell you Freshly Squeezed Lemonade (2934 mana over 30 secs) and Friendship Bread (2148 health over 30 secs). There is no other reward, and the lemonade and bread are functionally equivalent to normal level 45 vendor food and drink, though while consuming them an animation of a cartoon heart is displayed above your character and a short, tinging sound will repeat. These vendors continue to sell these items after the Scourge Invasion ends. There is one vendor in each faction capital city as well as Booty Bay, Eastern Plaguelands, and Silithus.

Capital City Invasions

Aside from the Necropolis events outdoors, Scourge mobs will occasionally appear in Stormwind and Undercity. They spawn seemingly at random, causing city NPCs to yell for help. The most common are Flameshockers, level 55 mobs which do not hit very hard, but have a very large amount of health points. The city NPCs are capable of killing the Flameshockers on their own, but if a player or group chooses to tag them, they will receive 5 Argent Dawn rep (at Honored). Flameshockers can drop Necrotic Runes.

There are also groups of tougher elite mobs that periodically spawn in Stormwind and Undercity and attempt to get to the city leader, causing him/her to yell that he/she is under attack. (These do not pose an actual threat to racial leaders, they are easily able to defeat the creatures if they manage to reach them.) When all the mobs are defeated, the city leader will yell that they are safe, and a dead Necrotic Shard will spawn. The shard will give a quest to talk to an NPC at Light's Hope Chapel. Any player can receive this quest, even if they did not tag the mobs that spawned the shard.

All the mobs that spawn inside cities are yellow (passive) and do not attack players who haven't attacked them first. They also appear not to attack vital NPCs such as bankers and vendors. So, it would seem players who aren't interested in the city events are not threatened by them in any way, and can simply ignore them and go about their business.

New Bosses

There are also reports of Scourge agents showing up in Stratholme, Scholomance, Dire Maul, the Scarlet Monastery, Shadowfang Keep and Razorfen Downs. These new boss mobs can be idenitified by the glowing purple aura they have, similar to those of the invading Scourge outside the instances.

Balzaphon

Balzaphon is a lich that patrols the fountain courtyard to the left of the service entrance in Stratholme. Balzaphon uses many frost based abilities. He has been moved from his patrol route and now stands in a corner northeast of the fountain.

Lord Blackwood

Lord Blackwood resides in Scholomance. He is a large skeleton who attacks with both ranged bow attacks and heavy melee attacks.

Revanchion

Revanchion wanders the hallway behind Tendris Warpwood in Dire Maul.

Scorn

The lich Scorn appears in the graveyard portion of the The Scarlet Monastery once Bloodmage Thalnos is defeated.

Sever

The abomination Sever appears in Shadowfang Keep, along the corridor that runs parallel to the Great Hall and Kitchen. He is arguably the hardest boss in the instance.

Lady Falther'ess

Lady Falther'ess is a banshee and can be found in the slaughter pens area of Razorfen Downs.

The End of the Invasion

Early reports indicate that when 150 victories over the Necropoleis are won, the invasion ends. Realms that have already reached this point indicate that there is no way to turn in Necrotic Runes that you may still be holding at that point, and that there is no way to complete any of the remaining quests, even if their goals have been met. The new bosses in the instances are also removed.

Drysc promises in a post on the Blizzard forums:

We will be implementing something soon that will allow you to continue to turn in your remaining Necrotic Runes, so don't throw them away! After the celebrations subside the Argent Dawn will certainly want to continue commemorating those who fought valiantly to stave off the invasion.

There is no firm indication from Blizzard indicating whether or not the event will ever occur again. The closest thing to a hint is from Kisirani (on the concurrence of the fire festival and the Scourge Invasion), which indicates that it may be an annual event:

...but I'll look into getting the sun patched so it hits its highest point later next year. ;)

The insignia quests, and the insignia item drops, are still intact, as well as the Marks of the Dawn.

Insignia of the Dawn

Numerous collection quests for the Argent Dawn were added in Patch 1.11, but these are not actually part of the Scourge Invasion event. For details on these quests, see Argent Dawn.