Tripping the Rifts

The subject of this article or section was part of the Elemental Unrest, a world event that heralded the beginning of the earth-shattering Cataclysm. Once the world event has run its course, this will no longer be available.

Achievement Completed

Previous: Operation: Gnomeregan, Zalazane's Fall, Gilneas civil war
Next: Invasion of Gilneas, Alliance-Horde War (Cataclysm)
Elemental Invasion
Place: Ironforge, Orgrimmar, Stormwind, Thunder Bluff
Outcome: Successful defense grants access to two of Cho'gall's four lieutenants.
Combatants
Horde Mulgore Durotar Horde Adventurers Alliance Kingdom of Ironforge Kingdom of Stormwind Alliance Adventurers Earthen Ring Earthen Ring Defenders	Twilight's Hammer clan Rumbling Earth Elemental Searing Fire Elemental Turbulent Wind Elemental Rippling Water Elemental
Commanders
Garrosh Hellscream Cairne Bloodhoof Varian Wrynn General Marcus Jonathan Magni Bronzebeard Commander Cragfist Earthen Ring's commanders	Cho'gall Grand Ambassador Flamelash† Crown Princess Theradras† Kai'ju Gahz'rilla† Prince Sarsarun†
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Tripping the Rifts was an achievement only obtainable during the Cataclysm launch event. Players must destroy one of each elemental rift in order to get the achievement. [1][2] [3]

Rift Locations

WARNING: The elemental rifts around the lake by Altar of Rhunok and Zim'torga in Zul'drak, Northrend, do not count towards this achievement.

Earth

Rumbling Elementals can be found at the Earth Elemental Rifts. Note: Rumbling Elementals are immune to nature magic.

Zone	Subzone	Coordinates	Level Range	Note
Loch Modan	Mo'grosh Stronghold	[63, 25]	10-20
	Ironband's Excavation Site	[66.6, 73.0]	10-20	South of the tents.
	Thelsamar		10-20
	Silver Stream Mine	[37, 17]	10-20
Redridge Mountains	Alther's Mill		15-25
	Lakeshire	[29.6, 49.1]	15-25	Right in front of the larger dock.
Stonetalon Mountains	Charred Vale	[31.6, 61.0]	14-30
	Sishir Canyon		14-30	Near the road
	Sun Rock Retreat	[48, 60]	14-30
Desolace	Ethel Rethor	[42.2, 34.7]	30-40
	Kodo Graveyard		30-40	Between Mannoroc Coven and Kodo Graveyard.
	Nijel's Point	[66.8, 10.3]	30-40
	Sar'theris Strand		30-40
	Shadowprey Village	[29, 78]	30-40	South of town.
Alterac Mountains	Dalaran Crater		30-40	To the southeast.
	Growless Cave	[39.7, 69.9]	30-40	AKA Flame of Uzel. To the southeast.
	The Uplands	[53.0, 31.2]	30-40
Badlands	Dustbowl	[24.8, 55.7]	30-40
	Kargath	[4.2, 48.7]	30-40
	Mirage Flats	[31.0, 66.0]	30-40
	The Maker's Terrace	[47.7, 12.8]	30-40	Just west of the meeting stone.
Azshara	Forlorn Ridge	[21.2, 77.9]	45-55	To the southwest ("Alliance entrance").
	Haldarr Encampment	[19.2, 64.3]	45-55	Satyr camp
	Lake Mennar		45-55	On the eastern side.
	Ruins of Eldarath	[30.2, 58.2]	45-55	Ruins of Eldarath
	Ursolan	[46.2, 23.1]	45-55	Timbermaw camp
Western Plaguelands	Dalson's Tears	[43, 54]	51-58	West of farm
	Felstone Field	[35.6, 58.3]	51-58
	The Writhing Haunt	[51.6, 65.8]	51-58	Just North of the field
	Gahrron's Withering	[59.8, 59.8]	51-58	To the west.
	The Weeping Cave	[65.6, 41.3]	51-58	North of the new flight master.
Burning Steppes	Dreadmaul Rock	[83, 58]	50-58	Between Dreadmaul Rock and Morgan's Vigil.
	Pillar of Ash	[46, 52]	50-58
	Terror Wing Path	[83, 29]	50-58
Silithus	Cenarion Hold		55-60	Towards the Swarming Pillar.
	Hive'Ashi	[47.6, 20.3]	55-60	Northeastern edge.
	Hive'Regal	[48.3, 79.7]	55-60	Western edge.
	Staghelm Point	[61.0, 16.1]	55-60	To the northwest.
Nagrand	Ancestral Grounds	[26, 61]	64-67
	Burning Blade Ruins	[74.6, 69.6]	64-67
	Garadar		64-67
	Laughing Skull Ruins	[48.2, 23.3]	64-67
	Nesingwary Safari	[72.2, 40.8]	64-67
	Telaar		64-67
	Warmaul Hill	[25.8, 21.1]	64-67
	Windyreed Village		64-67
Blade's Edge Mountains	Grishnath		65-68
	Sylvanaar		65-68
	Veil Vekh		65-68
	Thunderlord Stronghold	[51, 57]	65-68
Howling Fjord	Derelict Strand	[80, 39]	68-72
	Ember Clutch	[40.9, 53.9]	68-72
	New Agamand	[53.7, 67.8]	68-72
	Skorn	[44.7, 31.4]	68-72
	Westguard Keep	[31.1, 46.8]	68-72
	Wyrmskull Village	[59.2, 51.6]	68-72
Grizzly Hills	Drakil'jin Ruins	[72.6, 23.5]	73-80	Northeast corner.
	Drak'atal Passage	[45.5, 27.0]	73-80
	Rage Fang Shrine	[53.1, 55.2]	73-80
	Zeb'Halak	[16, 36]	73-80
Storm Peaks	Brunnhildar Village	[44.6, 73.9]	76-80
	Inventor's Library	[36.7, 43.6]	76-80
	Snowblind Hills	[35.4, 82.5]	76-80	First Gnoll camp west of K3.
	Valkyrion	[25.8, 62.1]	76-80

Fire

Searing Elementals can be found at the Fire Elemental Rifts. Note: Searing Elementals are immune to fire magic.

Zone	Subzone	Coordinates	Level Range	Note
The Barrens	Bael Modan		7-30	North of Bael Modan.
	Blackthorn Ridge	[43.4, 82.5]	7-30
	Camp Taurajo		7-30
	The Crossroads	[52, 30]	7-30
	Ratchet		7-30
	The Sludge Fen		7-30
	Southern Gold Road	[45, 89]	7-30	Between Razorfen Downs and Razorfen Kraul.
	Stagnant Oasis		7-30
	The Dry Hills	[40.2, 15.9]	7-30
	The Forgotten Pool	[44.3, 21.9]	7-30
	Thorn Hill	[55.1, 26.0]	7-30
Westfall	Furlbrow's Pumpkin Patch	[53, 19]	10-20
	Gold Coast Quarry	[32, 38]	10-20
	Longshore	[34, 32]	10-20	On the cliffs above the coastline.
	The Molsen Farm	[44.1, 34.6]	10-20
	Moonbrook	[45, 68]	10-20
	Saldean's Farm	[59.4, 29.4]	10-20	East of the road.
	Sentinel Hill	[55, 50]	10-20
Ashenvale	Astranaar	[36.6, 51.2]	18-30
	Dor'Danil Barrow Den	[72, 72]	18-30
	Lake Falathim	[19.1, 41.0]	18-30	Northwest corner.
	Splintertree Post	[72, 68]	18-30	Outside the entrance, by the gaurds.
	The Shady Nook	[62, 61]	18-30
	The Zoram Strand	[15, 20]	18-30
	Warsong Lumber Camp	[86, 57]	18-30
Dustwallow Marsh	Brackenwall Village		35-45	Just outside the west entrance.
	The Quagmire	[46.3, 50.5]	35-45	Just south of the entrance to Direhorn Post.
	Shady Rest Inn	[29.8, 45.1]	35-45
	Theramore		35-45	Inside near the armory.
	Witch Hill		35-45	To the north.
The Hinterlands	Featherbeard's Hovel		40-50
	The Overlook Cliffs		40-50	On the beach, near the trail that leads up to the cliffs
Searing Gorge	The Cauldron	[55.4, 45.2]	45-50	Dirt section
	Grimesilt Digsite	[63, 62]	45-50	South of the excavation site
	Blackrock Mountain	[32.3, 72.8]	45-50	At the base of the stairs to Blackrock Mountain
Blasted Lands	Dark Portal	[59.1, 43.7]	45-55	To the north.
	Dreadmaul Hold	[46.8, 19.8]	45-55
	Dreadmaul Post	[46.9, 41.0]	45-55
	Nethergarde Keep	[61.4, 20.6]	45-55
	Serpent's Coil	[56.3, 30.5]	45-55	To the west.
	The Tainted Scar	[45.7, 49.6]	45-55	At the entrance.
Winterspring	Everlook	[62, 34]	55-60	North.
	Frostsaber Rock	[50, 14]	55-60	To the south.
	Ice Thistle Hills	[65.4, 42.3]	55-60	Southeast of Everlook
	Lake Kel'Theril	[52.9, 41.6]	55-60
	Starfall Village	[53, 24]	55-60	To the north.
Hellfire Peninsula	Dark Portal		58-63
	Fallen Sky Ridge	[18, 39]	58-63
	Falcon Watch	[26, 60]	58-63
	Honor Hold		58-63
	The Path of Glory	[58, 48]	58-63
	Sha'naari Wastes		58-63
	Thrallmar	[54, 37]	58-63
	Valley of Bones	[60, 71]	58-63	Just to the south.
	Zeth'Gor	[67, 74]	58-63	In front of fort.
	Spinebreaker Pass	[71, 67]	58-63	Next to Zeth'Gor
	Mag'har Post	[34, 27]	58-63	North-east part
	Northern Rampart	[47, 45]	58-63	Eastern side
	Southern Rampart	[45.1, 58.4]	58-63	West of the wall
Zul'Drak	Altar of Har'koa	[62.0, 66.0]	74-77
	Altar of Rhunok	[57.9, 34.7]	74-77	To the east.
	Heb'Drakkar	[65.3, 53.6]	74-77
	Rageclaw Den	[35.8, 80.6]	74-77
	Reliquary of Pain	[32.1, 45.9]	74-77	To the east.
	Thrym's End	[16.2, 60.6]	74-77
	Zeramas	[21.9, 79.4]	74-77	To the south.

Water

Surging Elementals can be found at the Water Elemental Rifts. Note: Surging Elementals are immune to frost magic.

Zone	Subzone	Coordinates	Level Range	Note
Bloodmyst Isle	Axxarien		10-20
	Amberweb Pass	[22.4, 36.8]	10-20
Silverpine Forest	Ambermill		10-20	To the north.
	Dead Field		10-20	West towards the shore.
	The Shining Strand	[59, 16]	10-20
	Deep Elem Mine	[55, 52]	10-20	Right near the entrance.
	Sepulcher	[51, 43]	10-20	South of the fork in the road east of town.
	Shadowfang Keep		10-20	To the east.
Ghostlands	Dawnstar Spire	[77.8, 18.0]	9-21
Wetlands	Black Channel Marsh	[23.7, 50.5]	20-30	Near the mountains.
	Bluegill Marsh	[16.8, 28.4]	20-30	Near the shore, between the two wrecked ships.
	Direforge Hill	[60.3, 31.2]	20-30	Between the Green Belt and Direforge Hill.
	Ironbeard's Tomb	[42.8, 28.8]	20-30
	Menethil Harbor	[9.5, 55.1]	20-30	Near the front gate.
	Sundown Marsh	[16.8, 28.4]	20-30	On the shore near the Lost Fleet.
Thousand Needles	Darkcloud Pinnacle	[32.9, 25.6]	25-35
	Freewind Post	[60, 54]	25-35	East of Freewind Post, by the road.
	Mirage Raceway	[79.1, 66.9]	25-35	South of Weazel's Crater.
	Mirage Raceway	[87.1, 61.9]	25-35	East of the northern edge of the track; north of a kodo skeleton.
	Rustmaul Digsite	[71.6, 85.5]	25-35	Southwestern Shimmering Flats, near some silithid.
	Tahonda Ruins	[78.7, 86.9]	25-35	Beyond the southern edge of the Mirage Raceway.
Stranglethorn Vale	Booty Bay	[32, 72]	30-45	Between the entrance and the Wild Shore.
	Grom'gol Base Camp		30-45
	Kurzen's Compound		30-45
	Nesingwary's Expedition		30-45	West of the camp.
Swamp of Sorrows	Harborage	[28.4, 39.3]	35-45	To the south.
	Splinterspear Junction	[15, 49]	35-45
	Stagalbog	[77, 68]	35-45
	Stagalbog Cave	[68, 76]	35-45
	Stonard	[45.1, 53.5]	35-45
Tanaris	Dunemaul Compound		40-50
	Gadgetzan	[48.7, 27.3]	40-50	West of town.
	Gadgetzan	[52.1, 31.2]	40-50	South of town.
	Gadgetzan	[53.4, 25.0]	40-50	Northeast of town.
	Gaping Chasm		40-50
	Lost Rigger Cove		40-50
	Sandsorrow Watch	[41.4, 23.7]	40-50	West of town, SE of Zul Farak
	Thistleshrub Valley		40-50
	Waterspring Field	[59.0, 39.0]	40-50
	Waterspring Field	[63.1, 30.5]	45
Un'goro Crater	Fire Plume Ridge	[51.4, 40.4]	48-59	Centre of crater, north side
	Ironstone Plateau	[66.4, 37.1]	48-59	West of Ironstone Plateau, north of the stream and pond.
	Lakkari Tar Pits	[47.1, 21.0]	48-59	To the north.
	Marshlands		48-59	Southeast.
	Terror Run	[41.5, 63.7]	48-59	Near the abandoned camp in SW Un'Goro Crater, beyond the northeast edge of the Terror Run
	Terror Run	[31.4, 72.2]	48-59	Southwest.
Zangarmarsh	Ango'rosh Grounds		60-66
	Bloodscale Grounds	[62, 40]	60-66
	Feralfen Village		60-66
	Funggor Cavern		60-66	On road leading to Terokkar Forest.
	Orebor Harborage		60-66
	Swamprat Post	[82, 57]	60-66
	Zabra'jin		60-66
Shadowmoon Valley	Eclipse Point		67-70
	Legion Hold		67-70
	Ruins of Baa'ri	[56, 35]	67-70
	Shadowmoon Village		67-70
Dragonblight	Agmar's Hammer		71-80
	Moonrest Gardens	[18.1, 59.6]	77-80
	New Hearthglen		71-80
	Ruby Dragonshrine	[48.8, 50.9]	71-80	Southeast.
	Scarlet Point	[75.2, 27.9]	71-80	Near Frostmourne Cavern.
	Wintergarde Keep	[79.3, 49.3]	71-80
Icecrown	Deathspeaker's Watch	[60.4, 21.9]	77-80
	Sindragosa's Fall	[72.2, 39.5]	77-80
Hrothgar's Landing	Hrothgar's Landing	[57.3, 19.4]	77-80	Northern Section.

Wind

Gusting Elementals can be found at the Wind Elemental Rifts. Note: Gusting Elementals are immune to nature magic.

Zone	Subzone	Coordinates	Level Range	Note
Darkshore	Auberdine		10-20
	Long Wash	[36.7, 51.8]	10-20	South of Auberdine, on the shore.
	Bashal'Aran	[47.7, 36.6]	10-20	By the eastern edge of the ruins.
	Grove of the Ancients	[42.6, 78.8]	10-20
Hillsbrad Foothills	Nethander Stead	[61.2, 65.9]	20-30
	Southpoint Tower	[25.0, 52.0]	20-30
	Southshore	[49.8, 58.5]	20-30
	Tarren Mill	[60.9, 21.6]	20-30
Duskwood	Addle's Stead	[25, 68]	18-30
	Darkshire	[74.7, 47.1]	18-30	Right in the middle of the city, by the fountain.
	Raven Hill	[20.0, 52.7]	18-30
	The Rotting Orchard	[62.8, 69.6]	18-30
	The Yorgen Farmstead	[49.2, 74.2]	18-30
Arathi Highlands	Circle of West Binding	[26.7, 38.5]	30-40	To the south east.
	Hammerfall		30-40
	Boulderfist Hall	[52.5, 75.9]	35
	Witherbark Village	[63.5, 72.1]	35
	Boulder'gor	[36.9, 42.2]	35
	Refuge Pointe	[49, 45]	30-40	Refuge Pointe North exit (ramp). Many Alliance guards present (and attacking the elementals)
	Stromgarde Keep	[23.4, 48.7]	30-40	Just off of the road northwest of Stromgarde Keep, before crossing the river.
Feralas	Dire Maul		45-50	At the entrance.
	Feathermoon Stronghold		45-50	To the southwest.
	Forgotten Coast		45-50	Near the dock.
	Rage Scar Hold	[50, 31]	45-50	The area below.
	Ruins of Solarsal		45-50	"Flame of Samha"
Felwood	Deadwood Village	[48.8, 89.4]	48-55
	Felpaw Village	[62.6, 10.8]	48-55	By the southeast corner of the lake.
	Shatter Scar Vale		48-55	Southern craters.
Eastern Plaguelands	Corin's Crossing		53-60	To the south.
	Crown Guard Tower	[32.1, 69.2]	53-60
	Darrowshire	[36.1, 80.7]	53-60
	Eastwall Tower	[60.6, 45.5]	53-60
	Northpass Tower	[52.3, 22.7]	53-60
	Undercroft		53-60
Terokkar Forest	Allerian Stronghold		62-65
	Bone Wastes	[39, 61]	62-65	East of the Refugee Caravan
	Cenarion Thicket	[45, 22]	62-65
	Firewing Point	[72.1, 36.1]	62-65
	Stonebreaker Hold	[49, 46]	62-65
	Tuurem	[52, 28]	62-65
	Veil Shienor	[59, 25]	62-65
Netherstorm	Area 52		67-70
	Arklon Ruins		67-70
	Manaforge Ultris		67-70	South near the bridge.
Borean Tundra	Coldrock Quarry	[51.0, 36.2]	68-80
	Flood Plains	[79.8, 33.7]	68-80
	Geyser Fields	[62.9, 24.7]	68-80
	Magmoth	[55.3, 15.8]	68-80	West end of the Fizzcrank Airstrip.
	Riplash Strand	[51.3, 72.6]	68-80
Sholazar Basin	Death's Hand Encampment	[55.9, 42.4]	76-80
	Glimmering Pillar		76-80
	Kartak's Hold	[25, 82]	76-80
	Mosswalker Village	[77, 52]	76-80
	River's Heart	[45, 64]	76-80	To the south on the east bank of the river.
	Sapphire Hive	[61, 77]	76-80
	Savage Thicket	[48.1, 25.4]	76-80
Crystalsong Forest	Ruins of Shandaral	[73, 62]	78-80

Continent maps

Note that the coordinates displayed on the maps are for the continent, not for the zone in which the spawn locations can be found.

On the maps below, represents Earth, represents Fire, represents Water, and represents Wind Rifts.

Locations in Kalimdor

Locations in Eastern Kingdoms

Locations in Outland

Locations in Northrend

Details

This is the limited time event achievement added for the Cataclysm Pre-release Events.

EVENT WENT LIVE NOVEMBER 1st, 2010

To get this achievement, whether you are Alliance or Horde you need to have had at least one each of the buffs ( Fire, Water, Earth, Wind) since the event began on November 1, 2010.

These buffs are not required to be active at the same time.

You obtain one of the buffs when you take part in sealing an elemental rift.

These buffs last an hour unless dispelled.

You can have all the buffs active at the same time.

You will be able to loot Mysterious Objects (Daily) if and only if the zone is level appropriate for your character.

Extra Details

Rifts will be appearing all over the game world. This includes Northrend AND Outland.

Elemental Rifts lose health when one of their elemental creatures is killed. If the rift has 10 Health, killing 10 of the elementals it spawns will kill/close it.

These Elemental Rifts are level specific in relation to the item they drop. So, for example, all level 80 characters will have to kill rifts in Northrend locations to get the daily quest item that spawns when the rift dies, while level 60 characters can kill rifts in Silithus, Western Plaguelands, or other level appropriate zones that spawn rifts.

If you are not in a area specific to your characters level when a rift appears then, even if your character does see the rift, the rift will disappear as your character approaches that particular Elemental Rift.

Rifts have a 60 minute respawn timer and a 10 minute despawn timer (i.e. if not killed within this time from appearing, it goes away for an hour).

Rift Loot

Each time a rift closes, it leaves behind a loot-able floating item called Mysterious Device. If your character level is appropriate to the area then the Mysterious Device gives a daily quest called Hammering It Out that rewards some XP and/or gold.

Buff Details:

Earth Powered - Each melee attack, ranged attack, harmful spell or healing spell has a chance to heal you for 2% of your maximum health.

Fire Powered - Each melee attack, ranged attack or harmful spell has a chance of engulfing the target in flames, dealing X damage over 15 sec (scales with level). Stacks 5 times.

Water Powered - Each melee attack, ranged attack, harmful spell or healing spell has a chance to increase your Energy, Rage, Mana or Runic Power gain by 15%.

Wind Powered - Each melee attack, ranged attack, harmful spell or healing spell has a chance to increase your haste rating by X for 10 sec.

- WoWHead poster: tmptfate on 07/15/2010 (Patch 3.3.5) http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=4887#.

Videos

Notes

The name is a reference to the television show "Tripping the Rift".

Patches

• / Patch 4.0.1 (12-Oct-2010): Added
  

Attribution

This article uses material from the "Tripping the Rifts" article on Wowpedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.