Quick Facts

Series

1.	The Sacred and the Corrupt
2.	Shadow's Edge
3.	A Feast of Souls
4.	Unholy Infusion
5.	Blood Infusion
6.	Frost Infusion
7.	The Splintered Throne
8.	Shadowmourne...
9.	The Lich King's Last Stand

Screenshots

Videos

Comments

Comment by 82808

Similar to collectiong pieces of Atiesh / Val'Anyr, except that this quest line is much longer than only this, and much more fun than just farming.

Comment by Iruxos

I think the shadowfrost crystals are quest items that only people doing The Splintered Throne can loot from the bosses inside the 25man ICC.

Comment by foxbuster

Oh wait. Another splinter farming quest? Must be for a legendary weapon.
Blizzard can't do anything different? I'm starting to ponder that originality ended at TBC IMO.

BTW: If Arthas wrecked the throne, shouldn't the pieces lie nearby the final floor of the instance? Or they have a idclip command to waltz through the floor?

Comment by 307339

This is the first time though that you have a quest beforehand to collect shards, instead of the other way around where shards drop and you must form an object to start the quest to obtain a legendary. The latter (for the atiesh and val'anyr) forced you to choose someone to collect the shards.

Since this is a quest, will shards only drop if someone in the raid has the quest? Since its a quest, can multiple people loot the quest item when it drops off a boss? Typically it would seem like you could, but since it's a legendary it doesn't make much sense that basically every paladin/dk/warrior in your guild will get it at the exact same time.

Comment by Elfhippie

Is it just me or are the shards not BoP

Comment by Ifridge

They're quest items, they can't be traded to begin with.

Comment by unckle

The text is quite clear - "held only by the Lich King's most powerful servants" - so the item will drop from every boss in ICC , totaling 11 Shadowfrost Shards ( 13 if each of the 3 princes drop one )

A hardcore guild will have to give at least 5 weeks for each of their members who are on the quest ( considering full clearing of ICC each week , after all of ICC is open for raiding )

edit : downrate all u want .... but it won't change the fact that each boss can drop one on normal 25 and that each boss WILL drop on on heroic 25 ...

Comment by funkymillah

These are actually Legendary and not epic:

source: http://www.wowarmory.com/item-info.xml?i=50274

Drop source and rate are currently unknown.

Comment by WoWmasta101

Does anyone know for sure if the raid leader/master looter has to give the shard to you or can you just loot it right off the boss and multiple people get it?

Comment by 425384

Shadowmourne is already so much harder to get (than other legendaries such as val'anyr, or the "lolol I'm lucky and I instantly got a 1% drop chance legendary" ones for example) as it is, with the gated instance and all the quests you need to do before you can even begin gathering shards... And you'll need 60 of these. It seems like it would be total overkill if these weren't lootable by multiple people on the quest.

I sure hope everyone who has the quest will be able to see and loot these instead of just one person. It would sure be nice to be able to get a few of our other top melee dps progressing in the chain as well, instead of just me. Wouldn't want to feel like I'm abusing my power as an officer now would I :p

Comment by 39172

http://db.mmo-champion.com/q/24548/the-splintered-throne/
http://db.mmo-champion.com/i/50274/shadowfrost-shard/
Seems like you will only need 50x SF-Shards, and its still q Q-Item :P .

Comment by 146138

They are binds when picked up, meaning scrubs won't likely get (60) Shadowfrost Shards with ease.

Comment by nenadnesha15

No1 really answered the question is that if everyone who has the quest can loot the shards or that it's a drop that only 1 person can get per boss?

Comment by Athene

Question on Blizz forums: Primordial saronite isn't really the issue, it's the shadowfrost shards where the big question lies.
Blue post: This shouldn't require a ton of planning except for perhaps deciding who is going for the weapon first.

Comment by 460103

Arthas will most like drop one 100% of the time, like Yogg always drops a Fragment of Val'anyr.

Everything posted by blues so far indicates that it will operate exactly like Val'anyr or Atiesh. Just be longer and harder to complete. And justly so, as it will drop the best weapon available until Cataclysm comes out.

As to the comment about guilds not wanting to "Waste" Saronite on Night's Edge, after buying recipes and crafting a few hold-over pieces until Heroic loot is available, what else is there to spend it on? Next week our guild will have two Nights Edge's and I wouldn't doubt if we did one a week until we ran out of guild Saronite, as not many people are requesting the craftables right now.

Comment by 435913

My guild has 3 people going after this already, 2 warriors and a DK (me). One of the warriors already has Shadow's Edge and about 500 souls killed. Myself and the other warrior both have around 10 saronite each and the other 3 quest items needed to complete the first part.

Since Sindragosa won't be available for another 2 weeks or more, and we haven't downed Putricide or Lana'thel on 25 man yet, I have a feeling that we're all going to be bottlenecked on this part of the quest.

Personally, I really despise these quests that make a guild "choose" who gets the legendary, and this one is the worst of them all considering you have to acquire 25 saronite and go through months of clearing content just to get to the point where the choice takes effect. I'm sure this weapon will destroy more than a few guilds due to drama...

Would it really be so bad to have 2, 3 or even 4 people per top-guild running around with this, instead of just one? It would still be just as hard to obtain, with the only difference being everyone on this part of the quest could loot a shard if one dropped.

Comment by Nordigo

Sort of an interesting lorenerdy note - this is the first time I've seen in-game anyone acknowledging that Ner'zhul was part of the Lich King. Just about everyone calls and curses the Lich King as Arthas, altough IIRC it is said that once Arthas donned the armor, both ceased to exist and become one entity, the Lich King. The Christie Golden novel went to further detail on explaining how he became this one entity - how personalities of Arthas and Ner'zhul ceased to exist.

Well, I thought it was interesting at least. And if anyone can prove me wrong on this, if this is indeed the first time Ner'zhul is mentioned in conjuction with the Lich King in WoW, please do.

Comment by Siton

Same goes for me, my guild has a retri paladin with Shadow's Edge and 500 souls whilst i'm collecting Primordial Saronites. We've both clearly marked that he will get the first one and then we're focusing on mine.

However, the Light's Vengeance retrieval was an epic quest in itself with all those kablaming ghouls.

Comment by 197753

I see everyone mentioning quest item this, quest item that blah blah, but when you actually highlight the item it doesn't specify that it's a quest item like it normally does. So does that mean it's possible to give the shards to someone else?

Comment by 15299

Lich King does NOT have a 100% chance to drop a shard... at least not on normal difficulty.

Comment by Netharian

Do i need to wear the the weapon while i gather the shards or its needed on the quest?

Comment by VegaSera

How about we just smack the frozen throne with shadow's edge and see if it breaks off a few shards? :D

Comment by Wreaker

Maybe if you ask to a mage and a warlock combine their powers you can get some of this shards. /bad joke facepalm

Comment by 128534

In response to my question if it was mandatory to have Shadow's Edge equipped while having this quest (as DK i prefer dw frost on most fights nowadays):

Game Master (GM) Response:

Thank you for contacting the World of Warcraft Game Master Department.

To get the shards to drop you just need the quest and Shadow's Edge equipped.

If you need further assistance, <cut>

I'm going to escalate this, seeing the posts above say something different. Stay tuned!

Edit:

After escalating the ticket 3 times, the first GM was wrong - it is NOT necessary to have Shadow's Edge equipped while on the quest, having it in your bags is enough

Comment by tarunloko

Shadowfrost Shards may only be obtained in the 25 person difficulty setting.

No they only drop in 25 man

Comment by 468951

Did they up the drop rate of these? we got one on every boss but Professor. Not that Im complaining.

Comment by 553587

can u get them even if u dont start the quest

Comment by 482057

when the Shard drops on a boss, will the loot master be available to pick it up
- or will the person on the quest, get it when he loot the dead boss ?

Comment by 184741

How is the drop rate affected by having two people on the quest? Are the chances better? Do multiple shards drop? Anyone know?

Comment by 639315

In order to get the shards to drop, do you need to have shadow's edge equipped? I currently have a 277 weapon that is better for my dps but I still carry shadow's edge in my bags. Does it matter?

edit: Nvm! Just scrolled up. Thanks wowhead.

Comment by 293055

Hey just a question,

Does anyone know if you can collect shards before you get this quest? If you were to have shadow's edge equiped, but i'm still on my 1000 creatures that you have to kill in ICC, can the lootmaster give you the shards ?

Arigato

Comment by 644116

Oo the marks are legendry and with collecting 50 u can get shadowmourn....it means u farmed 50 golds after selling shadowmourn :)

Comment by 644116

Can we loot Shards regardless of master loot? or master looter can give it to any one he want?

Comment by DarkKnightX

Master Looter must give you shards. While I suspect that they are treated in the same manner that the Fester/Rot Bloods are handled, I don't think anyone wants to take a chance. I don't!

Comment by 332911

I heard from a friend that come cata they are going too drop it too 10 shard's? Anyone else hear anything like this?

Comment by Nysam

I asked few minutes ago and yes, you still need 50 shards for this quest!
Only nerfed quest in this chain is the souls one.

Comment by echomateria

I hope they do drop this to 10, like the rumors, sometime in the near future.

It is almost impossible to gather 50 of these anymore.

Unless you have 24 slaves who would do an outdated raid just to help you, again and again, for 5-10 weeks...

Comment by Vitaminess

Ow... such a boring quest

Comment by 681550

Information on the drop rate: All normal bosses on 25 man have a 25-50% change to drop it, all bosses on heroic 25 man have a 51-100% chance to drop it. This includes the Lich King. On average I would say it takes 7-10 weeks to get the required shards.

Comment by 54981

I can confirm that you do not need shadows edge equipped to get the shards to drop. So feel free to use your OP weapons to down bosses faster.

Comment by Aeverix

Do you have to have the item Shadow's Edge equipped to obtain these shards?

Comment by Raipdecay

Does anyone know if they have changed the drop chance on these Shards. I just got my quest to collect the shards and with Draenor right around the corner i don't want to be stuck with this quest and all my 90-100 quests.

Comment by madmurdock

Since the recent patch 25 mode isnt a problem anymore (~~besides ship ofcourse~~; Edit: ok, that scales like crazy now. Fight is over before the frost mage is coming).

Is there a drop rate difference between normal and heroic mode? I dont care about the other items and just want the shards (of course i set LK to heroic mode because of the mount). So can i solo this at normal mode and still have the same drop chance for the shards or do i have to spend a bit more time and set it to heroic?

Comment by spirely

on average, i get 5-7 shards each run on 25HC, so this part takes some time

Comment by 44705

In case someone is starting this now in 2015 and want some basic rundown of the current status for the quest:

* You don't need Shadow's Edge equipped to get these drops. I had mine in the bags but shards dropped just fine weekly.
* Killing 11/12 (skipping the healing dragon) bosses in ICC 25 HC I had these drops weekly:
Week 1: 8 - so total 8/50
Week 2: 6 - 14/50
Week 3: 6 - 20/50
Week 4: 5 - 25/50
Week 5: 9 - 34/50
Week 6: 7 - 41/50
Week 7: 8 - 49/50
Week 8: 50th/final shard dropped on 2nd boss

Might be interesting to note: When I completed the quest I got the Shadowmourne personal achivement, but the Shadowmourne - Guild version achivement didn't show up until I had relogged (and even then it didn't pop up so everyone could see, it was just showing as completed in the daily guild news and the guild achivement page).

Comment by xCoyote

-You don't need the weapon to be equipped
-Got mine after 8 weeks (11/12 Bosses every week on HM)
Drops; Week 1-8:
5-5-7-7-7-7-5-last 3

Good luck to everyone.

Comment by todiwan

Just reporting my progress on this quest.

On the first week, I did all the other Shadowmourne quests leading up to this one, which left me with only the Lich King left, and I got 1 shard from him. So...

Week 1: 1/50
Week 2: 12/50 (I got very lucky)
Week 3: 19/50
Week 4: About to go do it now, I'll edit it.

Comment by vitor210

Its not a 100% drop unfortunatly :/ first 5 bosses all dropped so i thought it was a garanteed drop. Next 3 didn't :( FML :(

Comment by Nyter

As a warrior, it's easy to do the healing dragon with Legion bandages. Heal it to 100%, wait for the recently bandaged to be over while you kill adds, then one more tick from a 2nd bandaid and its done.

Comment by rikolana

I started this quest at 2017 12. 20.
I had to do the blood infusion and the frost infuse beforehand. I'll keep updating this post how many shadowfrost shard do i get / week.
1. Week - 4
2. Week - 11
3. Week - 6
4. Week - 6

Comment by 1818331

Started it in 7.3.5.

Week 1: I got 3 shards (one was from L.K.)
Week 2: 5 shards (42 left to go..)

Comment by Illidana

Just did a heroic 25M run and had 0 shards drop. Next time, I'm going to have Shadow's Edge equipped, just for good measure. I'm currently at 23/50 Shadowfrost Shards, smh.

Comment by Zamino

I really hope that i was not just lucky with RNG when i just did this and got 11 shards in one 25 man heroic.
Could they have made it drop more?
*edit*
It was just luck, did it again and only got 6.

Comment by FeldrickWorg

I'll go ahead and weigh in on how long it took me on my DK. Did this during BfA patch 8.3
Did it on Heroic and skipped the Valithria Dreamwalker encounter.

Week 1: 7 shards (7/50)
Week 2: 6 shards (13/50)
Week 3: 5 shards (18/50)
Week 4: 6 shards (24/50)
Week 5: 5 shards (29/50)
Week 6: 8 shards (37/50)
Week 7: 5 shards (42/50)
Week 8: 6 shards (48/50)
Week 9: 2 shards (Complete)

In conclusion expect to take about 8-9 weeks to complete it. Seems that 5-6 shards a week is the average. Had i not skipped the Dreamwalker encounter, i would've most likely had it a week earlier. Being a Paladin would be advantageous since you can heal Valithria, which will give you an extra boss for a potential shard drop. I guess you could also do that encounter with the Pump-Action Bandage Gun from Legion Engineering or the Consecrated Flame HoA essence.

Comment by ArtMotion

Did it today (2020.08.26) on my UH DK, getting 8 shards at the first run. Just to make sure, I also equipped Shadow's Edge and had the quest active in the quest log.
Professor Putricide, Valithria Dreamwalker, Sindragosa and the Lich King - decided to NOT drop a shard at all.

Comment by Gus1968

Full clear on H25 and got 3 shards - (Will) Be Waiting a Long Time for This indeed...

Comment by Jeolene

As of today, I am 46/50 and it has only been four weeks. It seems these drops are very consistent, which is nice compared to the fragments from Ulduar that MIGHT drop once or twice in the entire raid.

The first week was clearing for Blood Infusion, ran the last few bosses and since then, I think the most that didn't drop a shard were two in one run. Still, if you did all 12 bosses and every boss dropped a shard, it would take you five weeks and I'm going on five weeks having killed 11 bosses (can't do Valithria since I have no way to heal her).

Comment by SirianAlKetesh

Start of farming today
9/50 + Invincible's Reins

Comment by Roxlox

The droprate is very random, only got 6 shards this entire run.

Comment by Roysan

8 shards HC run, did not kill Dreamwalker. got 7 last week. 48/50

Comment by zauriak

I think i've had the worst rng luck in 9.1.5 I started it near the end of October and now it's December just 2 weeks left until the new year

1 week: 3
2: week 7
3: week 6
4: week 5
5: week 5
6: week 4
7: week 7
8: week 3
9: week 6
10: week 3

So In total of 49 shards until now.
Will not get the last shard until 29th Dec.

I remember doing this back in the wod days when i was on a different realm and it took me under 7 weeks to get it done.
Good luck to those who are still farming it or want to farm it. Just think positive but be prepeared for disappointment too.

Comment by Androktasiai

I'm seeing a few folks talk about problems soloing Val for shard farm runs. A major thing to note for those new to Val: in Heroic mode, she takes damage every 1-2 seconds, which means you can't use bandages. You can maybe get a tick or so in, tops before the cast is interrupted and she's debuffed.

There's hope, though: in Heroic, your friend is the pump-action bandage gun. It's an older item so it takes a lot of casts, but as it's instant there's nothing to interrupt it. My first time it took me about 1/2 to 2/3 of the gun's charges with some failure to control zombie explosions and suppressors. Done cleanly I expect you could do it on half the gun tops.

She IS annoying to solo on Heroic as a non-pally so I blame no one for skipping her, but if you're feeling determined, this is a way to do it and get some extra shards.

(I don't know if the Heart of Azeroth method works, but I'll give it a shot next week before I buy another stack of bandages.)

Comment by Hirundo28

You do NOT need to have Shadow's Edge equipped for the Shadowfrost Shards to drop.

Comment by Cirall

Finally done with Shadowmourne. and only took 7 weeks xD :D
First 3 weeks were SPICY.
Did all bosses including the green dragon

Shadowfrost shard drops every week
Week 1 - 9
Week 2 - 8
Week 3 - 10
Week 4 - 5
Week 5 - 4
Week 6 - 7
Week 7 - 7

Comment by Steezy123

10.0.7 Seems to have lowered the droprate by a lot.. Had to kill 7 bosses on 25 HC just to get my first of the week :/

Comment by FlayOnDarkIron

My weekly totals ended up being 7, 8, 7, 8, 8, 10, 2.

My best week being by far being the current patch. I don't think the droprates were changed at all.

Comment by conroc

ICC Runs:
Week 1: 7 Total: 7
Week 2: 5 Total: 12
Week 3: 7 Total: 19
Week 4: 6 Total: 25
Week 5: 4 Total: 29
Week 6: 6 Total: 35
Week 7: 6 Total: 41
Week 8: 5 Total: 46
Week 9: 4 Total: 50 (got it before killing the lich king)

I did this on a warrior so I skipped the green dragon boss every week. GL it's a grind!

Comment by mjattywow

If you vendored your Shadow's Edge, get a new one before handing in this quest

The next quest (Empowerment) requires it, but the dialogue option to request a new one is bugged out upon turning in this quest.

Source: https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/23143

Comment by Kittylaroux

I only get 4-5 shards per run... I'll never finish that quest...

Comment by detour211

They really need to change the drop rates for this nastyness :( 6-11 weeks depending on your luck is insane. I'm on week 5 and I only have half the shards.

Comment by Pipnar

The one week I got significantly less (Week 4) I forgot to talk to Hellscream and disable the raid buff. I'm not sure if it actually has any impact on the drop rate but I would disable it just to be sure.
Also done on a paladin so I cleared every boss.

Week 1 (Only LK): 1
Total: 1
Week 2 (All): 8
Total: 9
Week 3 (All): 8
Total: 17
Week 4 (All): 5
Total: 22
Week 5 (All): 9
Total: 31
Week 6 (All): 8
Total: 39
Week 7 (All): 7
Total: 46
Week 8 (All): 4 (Finished before LK)
Total: 50

Comment by Shinchib

Took me 7 weeks to complete:
W1 - 0/1
W2 - 9/12
W3 - 9/12
W4 - 9/12
W5 - 9/12
W6 - 7/12
W7 - 6/9

Links

The Splintered Throne

Highlord Darion Mograine wants you to collect 50 Shadowfrost Shards.

Shadowfrost Shards may only be obtained in the 25 person difficulty setting.

	Shadowfrost Shard (50)

Description

The Lich King's throne once served as his prison. Kil'jaeden himself crafted the vessel of icy crystals from the twisting nether, its sole purpose to hold Ner'zhul's vengeful spirit.

When Arthas struck the crystal with Frostmourne, he released Ner'zhul's soul, allowing it to merge with his own. Splinters from that impact are now scattered throughout the citadel.

I shall require those shards, held only by the Lich King's most powerful servants, to seal the power contained in your blade.

Progress

Completion

Rewards

You will receive:

Gains

Upon completion of this quest you will gain:

350 reputation with The Ashen Verdict

See if you've already completed this by typing:

/run print(C_QuestLog.IsQuestFlaggedCompleted(24548))

Guides

A Guide for Obtainable Feats of Strength Obtaining Legendary Items Shadowmourne: A Guide to the Creation of Frostmourne's Sister Blade