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1.	The Defias Brotherhood
2.	The Defias Brotherhood

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Comment by 8828

When you aggro him two stealthed elites come out to attack the party as well. Make sure to take out these first because he summons more of them. Have an off-tank (paladin, shaman, druid, or extra warrior) ready to pick up the ones he summons so they don't destroy your healer.

Comment by 6984

Horde can do Deadmines too... Shamans are possible

Vancleef isn't too hard if done well. You'll have encountered harder bosses and areas in the instance, such as the large tauren captain who stuns, and the upper deck with Cookie and his friends. Apart from the rogues, he isn't too hard to kill. Just be prepared.
A mage can polymorph one, a rogue can sap one. Make sure your party is on the deck, as standing below can mean you can't cast as your target is not in view. The tank should attack Vancleef, with DPS backup. Perhaps get one party member to run around, with the 2 bodyguards following, while the other 4 bring down the boss. When VC is dead, it is easy to mop up the others.
A party of about level 20+ should not find killing this too difficult, provided your party is well-balanced (tank, healer, DPS) and can co-operate well.

Vancleef drops some really good loot, such as the famed Cruel Barb, a green polearm, and other good loot. He also drops a letter, starting a very large quest series which leads onto a reward - The Seal of Wrynn, a ring which will last you until about level 50!

Be sure to do this quest, whatever race you are. These items will last you for many levels. Even if you're horde, don't be put off, you can still get to DM if you're careful. Sadly, you can't do the quest.

Comment by starkill

When you finally get all the way through Deadmines and you get to VanCleef be sure to watch out for his guards they will easy take you down because theres like four of them and then on top theres VanCleef. so all im trying to say is watch out and keep healling and eventually you'll be victoryious.

Comment by 5463

If you get in too deep when you're fighting VanCleef, or just on the ship in general, there is a sanctuary that you can get to and wait for everything to retreat so you can regroup. There is a large wheel-like thing on the side of the ship about half-way up (you can't miss it). Jump in top of it, and nothing in this area can get to you; even the caster-pirates will run back and forth, and eventually give up.

Comment by 121804

Deadmines is a good dungeon for high level characters switching to enchanting. I soloed with a 37 holy paladin and got my enchanting from 30 to 80 in less than an hour (that includes using the dust to enchant stuff).

Comment by 102269

I really do recommend taking down VC first while your tank gathers aggro from the guards that he summons. If done right this is quick and rather easy, just make sure that your healers keep your tanks alive.

Comment by 162579

Should this be treated as a dungeon or can this be done as a solo quest.
And if a dungeon, how do I go about organising a team?
I'm only a lvl 20 mage and I've never done a dungeon before, so I'm a little clueless at the moment.

Comment by 114441

If you haven't done an instance before then I definatly recommend getting a full group of tank, healer, dps. If you're experianced you can probably manage it solo although as a mage I'm not sure how. Pet classes and classes with lots of "oh ^&*!" buttons (rogues, paladins) would be the best soloers.

Comment by 174953

where i can find him??? (vancleef)

Comment by sammi75

you´re wrong palas and rogues aren´t best soloers i would say hunter/pala/warlock cause of pet and at 70 best getting a mage booster for this instance cause of the aoe spam VanCleef 1hited by lvl 70 hunter(bad geared) aimed+arcane shot at same time only 2 guards always pull 2 next boss

Comment by 206623

Gryan Stoutmantle reminisces about this quest in Grizzly Hills.

<name>! I hardly recognized you in your new outfit. Still have that tunic... or did you take the chausses... or was it the staff? I can't recall, it was so long ago...

Comment by dreadblood

and when you finish this q he yells "all hail <your name> defender of the people!"

Comment by Cakins

I got extrememly confused durring this quest, I couldn't figure out how to finish it, so if anyone else is wondering, after you kill the messenger, go to the Defias Traitor infront of the tower on Sentinel Hill; he will let you finish the quest.

Comment by mayoff

Counts for Loremaster of EK.

Comment by Thottbot

The gun powder is right befor you get to the cannon. When your going towards cannon look to right to see 2 miners ( i think ) and the gun powder on floor.

Comment by Thottbot

for all u people who are extremely naive

5 quest total for deadmines

1.VC quest from defias brotherhood- links to another quest into stockades

2.red silk bandanas quest - from person on top of the tower of westfall in sentinal hill

3.goblin in dwarven district rear in stormwind giving u underground assault

4.thistnistles badge from dwarf in the bar right of the southern entrance in dwarven district

5.collecting memory miner union cards (pick up from purple area before instance from the undead) get it from thistnistle guy at dwarven district, same guy

these are all 5 quests i took with me, i did the last 4, vc i went back to do wen i had a better group. take all 5 with u wen u do it

Comment by Thottbot

There are two thing I have to add:

1. Right after the shredder room, at the left hand side mini branch, there is possibly a rare spawn, miner johnson, who can drop a shield warrior/paladin will kill for at this level.

2. On the top level of the ship, there is a group of three including 1 caster, 1 melee and captain greenskin. It is advised that you stay clear of them when clearing the lower levels. Greenskin will drop emberstone staff, which is perfect for any caster until illusionary rod.

Comment by Thottbot

I've wiped on this one many times, if your group is clueless you will all die. Found my chi with 2 pally's 2 rogues and a mage. All between lvl 20-26. Everyone knew what they were doing, took it down in less than 30 min.

Comment by Thottbot

There seem to be a lot of questions about level. It's usually not a good idea to go in without everyone being in the 20s, but if everyone knows what they're doing you can take in a lower level player. I did deadmines once with a level 15 priest and a really good group, and it went fine. We had to work to protect that priest. You just draw a LOT of aggro if your level is that low. I'd wait since you can't use the quest reward gear until level 20something anyway. The skills you get at level 20 will also help you survive this instance.

Other than folks at level 20 often not knowing what they're doing, the hardest part of this instance for me has been people leaving before it's done. I did one runthrough with a level 60 and have gone through with 3 other groups of level low-20s. Each time, those groups have had to quit because 2 people left. Twice, we were on the deck of the ship SO close to finishing when the second person left. There is no way to win the Van Cleef fight with just 3 level-appropriate players.

I think a lot of folks don't know this takes a couple hours, and that it would be smart to get people to commit to finishing up front. Not saying it isn't still fun to run 90% of the instance and quit - it's really entertaining, with casters, an ogre, goblins, and pirates - and for Horde I think it's worth the swim to Westfall just to do an instance that's more fun than WC or SFK. But for Alliance, it can be frustrating to put in a whole evening and not get those great rewards (my mage used Staff of Westfall well into the 30s) because somebody just decides, "g2g" and logs out.

Comment by Thottbot

I've done this many a different way.

I've done it with me (as a lvl 23 Warrior) and four Druids, two of whihc spec'd in healing.

I've done me and another lvl 54 Warrior who was bored enough to take me through.

I've mostly recently done it with another 24 Warrior and a 31 Hunter, with a tiger pet.

(2x Cruel Barb, ftw.)

Comment by Thottbot

I think a maijor problem is people not chooseing good group members. dont pick up unless you have to. chances are they wont roll they always need it, and some dont even know how to roll. also, make sure you play as a team. make sure to have a well equipped group.
i recomend a 20+ warrior, 20+ priest, 19+ warlock, 19+ mage, and 19+ druid or shaman, for backup Rez if your priest for some reason dies. WHICH IT SHOULDENT! but i have done this with out a warrior or a mage. i did it with a pally, rogue, druid, priest, and me a hunter. so just make sure to stick to gether, dont pull what you cant handel. DONT LEAVE! roll loot. and it shouldent take too long.

Comment by Thottbot

Once you pick up the gun powder there will be a 16-17 elite that comes, so be ready, then go up to the cannon, right click and it will fire. Once it is fire smite will say check out that noise and that is when 2-3 pirates come out.

IF YOU ARE GETTING RUN THROUGH!
there is a goblin on the right side of the dock that level 20-70 do not aggro while running so the have to go get him or else you will probably die!

Comment by Thottbot

I've seen a few people talking about to remember to look behind you from time to time because a patrol comes. Whenever you kill a boss it comes so don't rush ahead once your killed the boss, wait for a minute and kill the patrol then go ahead.

Comment by Thottbot

killed vancleef with 4 other low 20's with no problem. the problem however is that he never dropped his head that is required for the quest. noone in our group got it. we got the "unsent letter", but no head. anyone else have this problem?

Comment by Thottbot

If you did not get the head to drop none of your group had completed the other required quests. Before you go, look at your quest list. If you do not have a quest that says to bring in his head, it will not drop. I have done this quests with three chara's of my own and run 6 or so other low lvls through and never had it not drop when it was suppose to.

Comment by Thottbot

I solo this place for the hell of it now.. but if u are anywhere near level 25, this place is a piece of cake. Van Cleef is in the last room where the pirate ship is. Just make sure you don't attack from the ramp at the very top before you get on the main deck or you'll get a mob coming after you.

Best recommendation is find guys that are hanging around at Sentinel Hill that'll run ya through it.. its good money and plenty of nice drops. My level is constantly soloing it for extra silver.

Lvl 52 Warrior
Petrocleus

Comment by Thottbot

where do you start this quest, where is the guy.. ohh yea the person who said lv 15 got hammer is the big cyclops guy lv 19 (elite)

Thanks...

Comment by Thottbot

Lovest level to Solo Deadmines?

I'm Human Warlock lvl 36. Is it possible to do it?

Comment by Thottbot

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get a group for the Deadmines? There are almost no people around the level need, about 18-20. Everyone is either between 1-10, or 65-70. Either way, Van Cleef isn't to hard. He summons five allies in the fight, and they can be tough to kill. Have a warrior use Retaliation, so he can take them all on. Be sure your healer is very powerful.

Comment by Thottbot

With a group of 24s no healer would be sufficient tbh

Comment by Allakhazam

ok, this instance is fun as heck, i've done it about 6 times.

there are several doors you go thru to proceed to the next portion, each door is brotected by a boss.

Ogre, sneed and his shredder machine, a Big goblin.

the ogre is easy, just hack and slash.

the shredder machine is simple also, just remember, sneed jump out of machine when it dies, he is hidden within the graphics of the dead shredder, so if ya getting hit, pull him out of the graphics of the dead machine.

goblin will have a few buddies with him, healer be on the ball.

the main thing to remember about the doors, when ya proceed thru them, 3 defilias spawn behind ya, wizards, taskmaster. So as you start fighting into the next section, watch your backs.

when ya get into the pirate area, the first RAMP you get to will have a tauren, SMITE. he has some invisible rogues with him (3), the key to this fight will be your main tank tanking the Bull, with everyone else killing the rogues. When you get Smite down to about 75%, he stunns everyone and if the rogues are NOT dead, they will get free shots at ya for about 8-10 seconds (this can kill most lower lvl 20's).

once all the rogues dead, everyone focus on Smite.

Another named on the way up is the captain, he is a goblin, and has an posse of 3-4 with him, again, have MT focus on captain while everyone else kills the adds.

when Ya get to VC himself, he has 3-4 invised rogues with him, MT on VC, everyone else on the rogues. Someone should keep an eye on your primary healer and be prepaired to pull 2-3 rogues off the healer (or heal the healer).

about halfway thru the fight, 2-3 more rogues apear and assist VC, so everyone but MT off VC and kill the rogues again. when they all dead, everyone back on VC.

if someone dies AND someone loots VC, KEEP THE LOOT BOX OPEN until the rezzed person can loot (if they need the head)

Comment by Allakhazam

24 warr, 23 hnter, 19 rogue, 20 mage, 21 priest.

crowd control very important. hunter must mark the warrior's target, hunter's pet must offtank one add, hunter must offtank another, mage must sheep, everyone has to be smart and keep the priest alive. pulls are 3 and four at a time.

we got VC and battle-looted the quest items, then wiped out to his goons :) that's plenty good enuf: pack up and go home, job completed.

I will go back and help others. It was my fifth try. Group was lower-level than my others, just better performers. The battle is very difficult.

Comment by Allakhazam

If you're having second thoughts, brush them aside. You only need at least 1 paladin w/rez, 1 extra healer (druid/priest) and the rest can be Warriors/Hunters. At least a group of 4 with levels in the average of 21, with those below being able to either put out spells or tank to a point.

In this Quest the hardest things to do are keeping your party healed, and watching agro. Let your Hunter/Druid pull one at a time. Then let your tanks (Warrior/Paladin/Druid) keep them busy while the rest beat the holy heck outta what comes your way.

Parties get wiped out because they either rushed in and aggro'd a 3 or more people mob at once, or did not keep an eye on the life of their companions.

This quest is QUITE worthwhile in items/XP/and silver. Just have some good help :)

Comment by Allakhazam

is there anyway to do this quest solo? is it that impossible to make it on lv21?

Comment by Allakhazam

Contrary to what some people have said, last night my party killed VC, and only the party leader got the letter and the head. I had the quest as well, but didn't get anything (the quest is still in my log).

Comment by Allakhazam

This quest is horrible. I don't understand how they could say that escorting the Defias traitor to the dungeon is a group quest, but not this. I tried it twice, and the first time was with a level 40 and level 30, with me as level 17. It took us an hour to get halfway through the cave before we gave up. The second time, I did this as level 19, by following a level 50, level 42, and two level 27's. I was ok on my own in the beginning, but once you get deeper in, the enemies get more elite and it's impossible to kill them alone. I completed it the second time around. All in all, it took about 45 minutes to complete it. What's stupid is, Vancleef was probably the easiest thing to kill out of everything. But I got a really cool staff and LOADS of XP :)

Comment by Allakhazam

I just finished it, but I am wondering, if I don't hand the head in can I keep coming back into the instance? I would like to try to get some better drops.

Comment by Allakhazam

when you reach teh top where VC is if you are a caster/ranged attacker stand on the cannons that are to the left of the ramp up there. this realy helped when i was healing. it's also fun to have a ranged attacker have agro while on the canon. then thay just stand at the ege of the boat even if someone else is attacking

Comment by Allakhazam

whats a good lvl for a pally to try this solo, also since i'm a newb does anyone know what the best spells/abilities for a pally to use
thanks

Comment by Allakhazam

Wasn't till i decided to twink my 19 rogue that I found out i would need this tunic. Now i'm halfway to level 20, what's the experience gained for getting VC's head, so I can know if it's worth it to get it, my current tunic is 89 armor, 4 agility and 3 stamina, not as good but almost as good as the 92 armor, 5 stamina and 11 agility of the westfall. I don't think it's worth the loss of twinking on the BG at 19, but if I could only know how much experience the quest gives, then perhaps I could do it. I know the end quest is 260, but about how much on average do you gain on the way there?

Edited, Jun 8th 2007 10:56am by tbarcequine

Comment by Allakhazam

is this a chain quest or not?

Comment by Allakhazam

this is quest is ridiculous when you attempt as a lvl 25 or below even when your in a group..best advice is to get ur guild which hopefully has some nice level 35+ and just hide behind them :)

Comment by Allakhazam

I tried getting getting the quest from Stoutmantle, but he does give it to me. I did all the previos Defias Brotherhood quests....he just doesnt talk to me anymore. If some1 can tell me what im doing wrong, welcome :D

Comment by Allakhazam

tried to solo this as a 20 druid.

i got through the instance part until the part with the big locked door (i had been prowling in cat form the whole way in). The 19 elite guard did 250 damage to me and killed me in one big hit :P

Comment by Allakhazam

anyone know if this quest is grey by lvl 29?

Comment by Allakhazam

I just soled this quest as a lvl 33 night elf hunter. This is a very long and hard quest. As a hunter, you have to use the pet wisely. I also found that the feign death spell of hunter is extremely useful. It is very easy to get in a situation where 5 or 6 elites are attacking you and your pet. In such cases, I found that it is better to let the pet die and feign death myself. Then, when all the mob go back to their original positions, I get up, revive my pet and continue again. I used the feign death even after killing VC. When I was fighting VC, four other adds came out. My pet and I killed VC and 2 of the adds and we were near dying. So, I took VC's head and feigned death. The two remaining adds killed my pet and subsided. I then got up and revived my pet and killed the two adds for good measure. One thing to note is that after killing VC, you dont have to go back all the way or hearthstone back. After killing VC, look for an alternate path out. There is an entrance visible if you just look around the top level. You just have to jump down and go through that entrance. It will take you out of the instance. And you get out of the mine in dagger hills which is pretty close to sentinel hill. I just used my mount and didnt kill anyone after killing VC and his adds.

One advise for hunters who want to solo this - Make sure you have enough arrows (atleast 2000) when you start. You are going to need most of them.

Comment by Allakhazam

Its not so hard did it on my 3rd try with a level 26 Hunter, 21 and 22 Warrrior, 18 Paladin(me), and one level 17 Hunter. Didn't even die once on the final run.

Just watch the aggro, think before you rush in, and don't do anything stupid and you'll be fine.

Comment by Allakhazam

I tried getting getting the qeust from Stoutmantle, but he does give it to me. I did all the previos Defias Brotherhood quests....he just dont talk to me anymore. If some1 can tell me whta im doing wrogn, welcome :D

Comment by Allakhazam

This quest is easily do able

did it at a low level and again as a 28 rogue and 24 priest....

didn't die once

didn't take long

*hint* jump on the big wheel on the side of teh ship where VC is, if u get in trouble

Comment by Allakhazam

Soloing:
LVL 30 Rouge in LVL 30 greens and blues, this is an easy instance.
36+ for all other classes to solo, maybe hunts and mages can get away w/ it earlier

Comment by Allakhazam

blu

Edited, Nov 22nd 2006 12:57pm by Sewgoth

Comment by Allakhazam

i have a lvl 65 mage mm8 with enchanting 300 and is going thro dm with me and will give me all good drops greens+ im gettin 1x crul barb blackend defias and ive got a shadowfang enchanted for firey wepon enchant crulbarb lifestealing and the boddy like 100health but the best 1s

SwiftSlash Bronzebeard lvl 19twink

Comment by Allakhazam

.. I will be a lev 20 by the time I get there. And I have a voidwalker, and a Nimp as pets I can call.. Wouls it still be to hard for me? { Dang I want that staff! } :)

Comment by Allakhazam

Van Cleef is on top of the pirate ship, at the end of the instance. Just be careful when you're getting to Van Cleef because he has a couple of invisible rogues to help him out.

Comment by Allakhazam

This is a great instance and quest. We did it twice the other night. Upgraded my 2h Axe on the first run. 2nd time through I upgraded my axe *again* and got the Defias chestpiece - 2 blue items in one trip. The Defias chestpiece is better than the leather chest reward for killing Van Cleef.

Comment by Allakhazam

This quest is so not worth it.

I've tried it 3 times now and still haven't managed to kill VC. I've only even managed to make it to him once.

Our first group: Rog23, Pal22, Pal20, Warrior21, Mage22
Third group: Rog23, Pal22, Warlock24, Mage21, Hunter23
Second group: Rog23, Hunter29, Warrior32, Warrior25, Mage22

It just plain isn't possible. I've heard tails of level 30+ (full groups) wiped out. This quest clearly isn't possible at the suggested level and there's absolutely no way to do it before level 30. Save your time and effort. Come back at level 60.

Comment by Allakhazam

Question Question! What level is VC, and how far is he past the section with the fire throwing goblins? What level is VC? And what level are the rogues around him? Answer please?

Comment by Allakhazam

My first instance, was quite fun as well. Easily completed the instance with the following group:-
-Level 24 Mage
-Level 24 Paladin
-Level 28 Paladin
-Level 26 Warrior

Only had a few deaths in the whole instance, and that was only because of people getting ridiculous pulls that could quite easily have wiped us all out. The Foundary was handled brilliantly in my opinion, never got a pull of more than 2.

Comment by Allakhazam

I LOVE THIS INSTANCE! I've only been in it three times (made it through only two times) and I say its pretty worth the money and the experience. Last time I went, I had three bags filled with green weapons by the time we got to VC. First time I went, I was a level 18 Druid. I went with a bunch of 22+ guys, except the only other healer was a level 24 Druid. When we got on the pirate ship, both of us got killed. That sucked. The second time I went, we had a level 43 Pally take us through, but obviously, that Pally didn't have much experience in the Deadmines, and got all of us low-levels wiped. Good thing Pallies can rez... The last time I went, I went with a 32 mage and a few 20-ish ppl. I was level 21. WE KICKED @$$! It was so fun.

Comment by Allakhazam

Any chance a lvl 30 mage can do this alone or do I need a second?

Comment by Allakhazam

i got help from a high level 50+..killed him fast...i could have all the items and i earned something of 3 gold of that.

Comment by Allakhazam

isn't possible to do this quest solo? is it that impossible to do it on lv21?

Comment by Allakhazam

Once you have done all the quests for Gryan Stoutmantle at Sentinal Hill turn around from were he is standing and you will see a Defias Traitor standing near by, do the quest for him were you need to escort him into the hideout, isn't hard if heaps of people are at Moonbrook killing the Defias. Once you get him to the door to the hideout you will complete the quest, then go back to Stoutmantle and talk to him to get the reward 1000+ exp at level 20 and then he will have a new quest for you, which is this one.

Enjoy and happy hunting.

Comment by Allakhazam

I'd also like to have people hold off from looting VC if there are any dead party members. I had died and the body was looted while I was away. By the time I returned, nothin'.

Comment by Allakhazam

Just finished this quest after my 6th attempt at it, 2nd today, no matter how many times i do it i never get frustrated cause its lots of fun. I admit it was much easier since i got my taskmaster axe.

Comment by Allakhazam

took him out with a group of 4... i was the only one over lvl 20. i tanked and we took out his entire fleet. worth it for the rare item and xp. worst part by far was the goblin section. bring someone who can sheep.

Comment by Allakhazam

well last night i a lvl15 druid,lvl17 hunter,lvl 24 rogue and a lvl38 druid call manticore same guild as mine the thriteen apostles!he rawks man helping us to pass the deadmines only die once and when we reach the ship i had to go if i stay down we sure kill VC sob had to do again!

Comment by Allakhazam

This quests blows

Comment by Allakhazam

I just completed for the first time yesterday, not as complicated as I thought and I easily completed it with a

21 hunter (me)
19 mage
18 warrior
20 priest

and we picked up a 26 warrior halfway through

its not that bad thogh I was pulling the wholee time and though I have decent gear for my lvl I only came close to dying on the bosses but Kitty on the other hand(my tank buddy) died 3 times but I just rez him feed him and fight him

Comment by Allakhazam

where i can find him? the VC?

Comment by Allakhazam

It really isnt that hard... and for all of the low levels... just try to find a nice lvl 60 who isnt busy and they will help you run it. I did this instance when i was lvl 12 with help from a 58 pally. Good drops and good quest rewards. *Best Drops* : Sneed: Glinid: Cpt. Greenskin: Mr. Smite: VC:

*Hint* If you are 15 or below get a pally so they can rez you. They are definitly faster than priests but slower than warriors, but warriors cant rez.

Comment by Allakhazam

This quest is long. You probably need a five person group around lvl 20. My group barely made it, and we were 20-19-23-23-21.
make sure to have a couple hours to play...

Comment by Allakhazam

im a lvl 21 druid. should i go solo or wit a group? im pretty good with feral combat.
pls reply

Comment by Allakhazam

2 Preist = healer and rezer
1 Paladin = Auras
1 Warlock = tank with blue guy
1 Warrior = Dmg efficiancy

If the preist u are playing with has healing and rez (probly does) then replace 1 preist with a mage
1 Mage = SPLASH dmg

Comment by Allakhazam

I ran this with a group all under 20...Its more of a time thing...You need to go in slow...Pull carefully and make sure you have one rez person and keep them safe...the rest is a breeze...

Comment by Allakhazam

As a Rogue, using instant poison and a couple of greater healing potions, you can stealth-solo this around 33, at least I did. Can solo it and kill everything at 35+ if your gear is updated, you have pots for emergency, and use vanish at VC, you can walk out with anywhere from 3-8g worth of drops. Not hard. I've been testing soling this since I hit 28ish or so. The more you do it, the easier it gets.
I'm a combat/assassaination Rogue with a agi/stam/str gear if that helps. Have fun, I love this place!

Comment by Allakhazam

Im lvl 29 and i never bothered to do the quest until now...but im afraid of lvling. I have just 1.2kxp to spare...is that enough to do this last and final quest without lvling? Help me!...plz

Comment by Allakhazam

I have a question if you are grouping with other people doing the same quest does that mean that only one guy can have his head after you defeat VC?

Comment by Allakhazam

Once you kill VC you get a letter that says it starts a quest and so i dont where to go to start it does anyone here know?

Comment by Allakhazam

Finshed This Quest with LVL 18 Human Paladin with a friendly Rogue.

Comment by Allakhazam

tried this quest today it is long and it is challenging i didnt even finish it because we exited the instance because of a trick portal

Comment by Allakhazam

how long does it take?

Comment by Allakhazam

With my 31 Priest (13 disc/9 holy), I was able to solo all the way up to VanCleef, but thus far I am unable to survive that fight. I was able to get him to 50% health, but when the second set of adds show up, I run OOM before I can get much further.

I'm thinking that maybe with a well-fed bonus, minor mana oil, elixirs of fortitude and agility, and a greater mana potion instead of the normal mana potion, I may have enough mana to burn Van Cleef down before the adds take me out. Maybe even some EZ-Thro Dynamite II, just for the extra damage.

Essentially, I'm thinking:
PW:Shield, drink something for 3 seconds to get back to FM.
Pull Blackguard with Holy Fire.
Psychic Scream.
Mind Blast.
PW:Shield.
Holy Fire.
Dynamite. Hopefully, that will drop first Blackguard.
Renew.
Mind Blast second Blackguard.
Psychic Scream.
Holy Fire.
PW:Shield.
Mind Blast.
Hopefully a wand shot or two would finish second Blackguard.
At this point, I'd probably have 50% HP, and probably 20% mana, so I'd hit the greater mana potion, and just try to burn VanCleef down, cycling Holy Fire, Mind Blast, and PW:Shield, and hitting Psychic Scream when the 50% adds come.

I'm still not sure I can pull it off, so I'm just trying to figure out if there are any other tools at my disposal as a solo 31 Priest that's not using Shadow.

Comment by Allakhazam

Tried this last night, and one of our members had to leave halfway through. We still handled the entire zone with ease until getting to VC. We didn't even kill one of the three and all of us got killed. I was the lowest member at 22, and we even had a 29 Rogue with us. We thought the battle would be a bit easier, obviously.

So my question is, what is a good tactic for defeating these guys?

Comment by Allakhazam

What level do you have to be to solo this Instance? Anybody do it yet?

Comment by Allakhazam

It goes fast with lvl 60 and 20 rogue stealthrun

Comment by Allakhazam

Do you have to be there to do this or can you be chilling at the entrance while a 60 rogue/druid kills VC?

Comment by Allakhazam

First of all if u want to do this quest try at least to have 5 players of level 20+ or two players of level 30-39,once your 40,its as easy as taking candy from a kid but when you are 20-29, always have at least one healer(shaman,druid,paladin,priest) and try to have a Rogue with u they help a lot.On the way there the most dangerous guys are:"Mr.Smite"(Sub Boss) and with some luck you can always find "Cookie", a level 20 elite that is the ship's cook and can give u (with luck) some pretty good items.Cookie wanders around so he won't always be at the same place.Tips:First, for Mr.Smite, he will be waiting at sort of entrance that bringsyou up the pirate boat and he will be guarded by an ivisible rogue but watch out!Every time u bring him down to a certain amount of life, he will stomp u and run to his chest for better weapons while u guys are stunned.So the trick is for the healer(s) or casters to get as far as possible so his stomp wont reach u and the casters continue firing their spell while the healer(s) heal the guys who are missing life while Mr.Smith continues his chit-chat.After an amount of time Mr.Smith will probably be dead by then.Also, dont go for the rogue, just finish Mr.Smith off and then just kill him 'cause M.rSmith will do much more damage.Now if u meet Cookie on the way there and u guys are 5 then its ok but if he attacks maybe 2 of you who are 20-29(unless if both of u are 28-29) then he might be easy to bring down a lot of life but at point, Cookie will run away and come back with some level 19-20 elites and they will probably kill u so the best thing to do is to either have a Hunter to stun him, a Paladin to stun him, a Warrior to War Stomp or a Mage to freeze him, then hes easy to kill, one of the best items he can give to u is a blue wand so if your a caster, you might want to try to kill him.After you continue killing guys until u get to the top of the pirate boat where you will meet VanCleef in a sort of cabin.The first thing u need to do is get to full health and mana then the strongest tank of the group goes straight at VanCleff while the others go for the two invisible guards that are surrounding him(Rogues watch out 'cause VanCleef isn't affected by either Sap or Cheap Shot so don't try it) and the healer(s) heal the guy the guy attacking VanCleef and occasionally the guys attacking the Rogues if they are losing too much life and then once the two Rogues are done, everybody goes for VanCleef and after he loses and amount of life, two rogues will come again so you redo life the last time:The tank goes for VanCleef and the rest go for the 2 Rogues and the healer(s) heals the guy attacking VanCleef and the others occasionally(try not to heal too much unless you have a lot of mana or else you will run out) and then its back to all killing VanCleef.After that he'll probably be dead and to be too disapointed if he gives you guys something you dont like 'cause there are a lot of possibilities(check it out on this site just type in The Defias Brotherhood and next to one of them will be written VanCleef's name and then click on it and they will show you a whole list of all the drops that VanCleef makes.)To go back out you should Hearthstone back home instead of doing the whole way back.Extra Tip:This is good if your doing the quest Underground Assault givin by Shoni The Shinlent in the Dwarven District in Stormwind and The Defias Brotherhood given by Gryan Stoutmantle for the Gnoam SpreckleSprocket you need to retrieve for Shoni The Shilent will be in a goblin who is in a robot all you need to do is destroy it and then loot it(it will be on the way to getting to VanCleef in a goblin room.)

Comment by Allakhazam

Just finished this quest last night. I found it to be very worth the work. We breezed through it last night and put on a near flawless performance with no deaths at all.

25 priest, 25 mage, 21 druid, 21 rogue, 21 hunter

As the druid, I was the tank for the big fights. For everything except the bosses I was in cat form and we just dps'd everything till it died. When we aproached the bosses I would pull the boss with fairefire, switch to bear form and tank him while the rest of the group kills the goons.

I pulled the mobs when we got to the boat. Using fairy fire is very effective to pull small groups and predebuffs the mob being pulled.

Tubby: wait for him to walk away from his guards, then pull, you'll single him every time. After he dies, deal with his guards.

Shredder: Pull all guards before attempting the Shredder. For the guards at the far door, wait for the Shredder to path back up the ramp. Once all the guards are cleared you pull the Shredder and beat it down. When he dies the operator pops out and you have to kill him too.

Engineer Room: Clear around the cog all the goblins, when you get to the door the boss is acompanied by 2 guards. One of the guards can be pulled away from the Boss adn the other guard. Pull him and kill him. When engaging the Boss, you can either sheep the guard and kill the boss, or just kill the guard while the Tank occupies the boss.

First Mate: Once the dock is cleared it's very important how you pull the first mate and his rogue buddies. The tank will inch up till he agro's the stealthed rogues, this will also pull the first mate. The mobs on the deck will not agro! We had a mage so one rogue got turned into a sheep. The Tank should always stay on the main boss. The rest of the party needs to kill the remaining rogue, then kill the sheep, then dps the Boss. For the first mate he will stun the party 2 during the fight. As far as I can see it is not resistable, but he runs back to his chest and pulls some stuff out. Nothing big, just some dramatics, when you're unstunned keep dpsing him down.

Clearing the ship: Clearing the first deck is basically the same as clearing the rest of the instance zone. Once you get to the first ramp, everyone stays on the first deck while the puller brings the mobs down to the group. If you try and crawl up to the top deck, then once you get to the first grp on the top, you will agro the captain any all the other mobs on the ship. If you pull them indivdually then you'll be fine. I waited till the captain rounded the back of the ship, not sure if it makes a difference and I didn't want to take that chance :)

Captain: Once the top deck is cleared, everyone can move up the ramps and along the deck to where the ent to the deck is. You can pull the captain or inch up to him the way you did with the first mate. Either way you pull him you'll get his two guards with him. Tank him the same way you tanked the first mate.

VanCleef: VanCleef is located in the main cabin. You can see him if you peer in, but don't get too close until you're ready for him. You'll pull VC the same way you pulled the First Mate, he will have two rogue guards materialize when he's agro'd. Deal with them the same way you dealt with the First Mate's rogues. WARNING: shortly into the fight 2 more rogues will show up! We had the first two rogues dead before the second ones showed up so it wasn't a big deal, just a little surprise. We finished VC off before dealing with the rogues. But you can continue having the tank hold off VC while the rest of the group finishes the rogues. The Hunter's pet off tanked one of the new rogues so it wasn't on the priest.

It's important that you have a tank who can taunt so that the boss doesn't pull off and start pounding down the rest of the party. With a decent tank and a compitent healer, there should be no problems keeping everyone alive during the boss fights. We wiped the first night we tried just as the instance was respawning so we didn't attempt it again, but the second night we went in we used this strategy and came out of it feeling it was very easily done.

Hope this helps!

Jonais 22 Druid Darkspear
Kishan 13 Hunter Doomhammer

Comment by Allakhazam

Just a heads up to folks who die before you get VAn Cleef's head. I went in as a lvl 19 mage, 20 war, 22 warlock, 29 paladin, and a 31 mage. We beat van cleef - but we got wiped out by his minions. Note - Polymorph really helped alot when used on the minions while the party fought VC.

But here's the main thing - if you fought VC and defeat him, yet not everyone gets the head - His Average respawn can be 30 minutes to 1 hour for his respawn. My group wasnt sure about his respawn, so I stayed back to see if he would at all. I repeat dont leave if you have the time, cause he will respawn.

Comment by Allakhazam

My group's method for VC himself way simple, kill him. All we did was get all the members to focus on VC, kill him, loot the head and jump off the boat. Watch out tho, if you jump off the left side (the side you didnt come up on), there's a named murloc in the water who'll probably take you out.

-Rkor, 30 hunter, Draenor

Comment by Allakhazam

how long does it take

Comment by Allakhazam

I don't know about pirates, but Van Cleef and his rogues sure can swim. I did the instance last night solo with my level 33 paladin and killed everyone but haven't managed to kill Van Cleef (those blasted rogues got me in the end). So I took it from the beginning with the help of a level 43 warrior and done the whole instance in less than 20 mins I think :)

Comment by Allakhazam

i started soloing this instance when i was lvl 36 , i never died , till i was playing around and an through the whole boat and aggrod everything for fun. . all u need to do is just keep using pet , and have track huminoids to see if patrol is coming

Comment by Allakhazam

this instance is most fun when you have a well balanced group around the lvls of 20-23 any higher or lower and its to slow going or not enough of a fight. for soloing (i have soled with druid pally rogue and hunter) i would wait till you are about lvl 36-40 depending on class and if you are a cloth class then i would wait longer..unless twinked. but this is one of the most fun instances and a good learning exp for the newer players. Lots of cloth cash and items that you can sell/DE.

Comment by Allakhazam

What level is this soloable as a warlock, I tried soloing it today as a lvl 40 and got killed at the shredder. Too much health for me :(.

Comment by Allakhazam

im a lvl 29 twink warior and i can solo it right up until you blow the doors open with the cannon... and i dont get xp at all... oh and i got a lvl 19 twink rouge and i wanted to know if you actualy have to be lvl 22 to get the stuff or is it recomended?

Comment by Allakhazam

I did it with a 17 Rouge and a group of 22+, the trick is TAKE YOUR TIME don't rush through and pull everything. Just stay focused and work together and it's not that hard.

Bringing someone who can res is extremely helpful too, you'll want to protect this person well. Trust me, getting 3/4 of the way into the instance and getting killed, and having to run back through the whole instance to get back to your party is a real pain.

Comment by Allakhazam

Shouldn't take your group more than an hour and a half to do this entire instance. I'll lay out some working strategies as best I can.

In the corridors, which is most of the zone, you just need to watch what/how you pull. I've pulled the entire dungeon as a level 22 Hunter and never gotten more than one add. You really need someone with a ranged attack to pull. If it's a caster who shouldn't be tanking, they need to use their lowest level spell to pull with, so they don't cause much initial aggro. If it HAS to be a paladin or druid, then they need to pull the mob and back up quite a bit. Runners in here will get you adds, which cause wipes.

The first boss is an ogre. He walks up and down a path. If you've never done this before, watch him a couple times, and pull him when he's farthest from the door to avoid adds. There is a patrol after him, which will need to be neutralized before going through teh door.

The next boss is the Shredder, and it's pilot (Sneed?). This is fairly simple, as the shredder also has a set path. Pull him just as he begins walking up the hill, but make sure all the goblins around the wood are dead. The second and final patrol is here.

Next, you go down another corridor and into the Foundry. This is where most groups wipe. It is IMPERATIVE that your puller pay attention to the pathing of the goblins. Often they won't follow, but instead they will begin shooting. You will have to back out of their gun range to force them away from their friends to prevent adds. A single add in this area is difficult for a low level group, and can cause a wipe quite quickly. Also, the goblins in this area seem to have a high aggro range. Gilnik? is the boss of this area, over next to the door. He's not really too tough.

Next up is another corridor which ends with a cannon pointed at the door. You'll need blasting powder from a room nearby to activate the cannon. This leads to the docks. The docks are easy until you get to the ramp leading up to the ship. There will be 2 stealthed rogues at the bottom of the ramp, and Smite, the Tauren, at the top. The main tank should engage Smite at the wide area before the turn to the plank, while the rest of the group deals with the rogues even further back. The healer should be at maximum range from the warrior to avoid Smite's stun. The reason for being farther away from the ramp is so that Smite will have to cover distance to run to his chest to switch his weapons, allowing more time for the stun to wear off. Once the rogues are dealt with, the rest of the group can engage Smite.

At the top of the ramp, going right will lead to Captain Greenskin and Van Cleef. Going left will lead to Cookie, the murlock cook, and the exit. Just keep pulling slowly and keep the mobs being engaged far enough away from any potential adds. Once you reach the top platform, watch out for Greenskin. He patrols the top deck where VC is, but he will assist mobs on the platform below, so wait on him to patrol around to the other side before pulling. Once everything else is dead, pull Greenskin when he reaches the plank which leads to the top deck. He usually has 2 or 3 mobs linked to him, so this fight can be rough. Once Greenskin is down, it's time for VC.

VC has 2 rogue friends who will assist him in the fight. When he reaches half life, 2 more will spawn. Use the same strategy as with Smite, with the MT on VC while the rest of the group deals with the adds. VC doesn't have an AOE stun like Smite though, but he's tougher and has more DPS, so the healer will likely need to keep attention on the MT. As a 22 Hunter, I was able to use my pet to tank VC while I healed it, while the rest of the group dealt with the adds. This helped the healer both on mana and on aggro, though in the end the pet finally died when I ran OOM, and VC proceeded to kill me. The group succeeded in finishing him off, and a rez later and we headed for the zone.

Experience really helps a lot here. Once you reach the docks, if a wipe seems imminent, jump in the water, as the pirates can't swim. Ironic, ain't it?

Edited, Thu Apr 21 00:15:18 2005

Comment by Allakhazam

Best thing to do if ya wnt to do it lower lvl ask a high lvl player hus hanging around to run u throught or a friend hus in a group

Comment by Allakhazam

Completed this instance with my buddy. Two Paladins. I was level 26 and he was level 18. I was the hitter and he was support. Waas difficult at times to get through because his level 18 arse kept aggro'ing but we soon figured out everything. VanCleef was a major disappointment in the fight and the minibosses were lacking, although Mr Smite was crazy. :)

Basic Strategy through the entire thing, level 18 healslave and stun. Level 26 Seal of Command, Stun, Judgement combo. Have the level 18 stay far behind. Just in healing range. We talked through the entire instance so communication is really important. Once we kill Mr Smite, I recorded the rest with Fraps. :)

Comment by Allakhazam

solo'd all the way to VC as a 29 NE hunter with a lvl 29 ghost saber pet.
forgot about the extra rogues he has with him....oh well at least i got to him muhahahaha...

Comment by Allakhazam

Warrior to tank, Druid to of heal / of tank, Mage for Poly and Good DMG, Priest to Heal, and perhaps a rogue ;) ( Never likes paladins, they tend to steal aggro from the tank too much. ) Just take it slow ( Especially at Foundry ), And you`l make it easily :)

Comment by Allakhazam

I'm a 27 NE hunter, when should i be able to solo it?

Comment by Allakhazam

I did this instance with a small group of three (21rogue (me) 20warrior and 26 druid) we made it all the way to VC, we killed him but ran away from his rogues.
But i didnt have the quest back then, now im lvl 24rogue and have the quest. Should i kepp the westfall tunic or should i try to find something better?

(i think +11agility is pretty good for rogues, no?

Comment by Allakhazam

I went through the deadmines with a level 70 warrior and I am a level 25 rogue.
I let him kill everything and collected the bounty.
Seemed easy to me..

Comment by Allakhazam

This was a lot harder than I expected. Make sure you heed the previous advice and have a few hrs to spare. My group did it with me lvl 18 Pal, 19 War, 19 Rogue....AND 40 Mage. It was crazy, but way fun. My additional advice: make sure you have lots of space in your inventory, so you won't have to drop needed stuff because you will get lots of cool stuff.

Comment by Allakhazam

When my group killed VC and we found this really nice Armor on him and lotted for it. What was stupid was that i got a tie lot with another guy, and another person which got a lower number than us just walks up and loots the armor from us. Blizzard should fix something stupid like this.

Comment by Allakhazam

This QUEST is easily done...if u have a lvl 30+, a healer, and a tank, its is VEY DOABLE...VERY....and is recomemded not to try to solo until ur lvl 40ish...if ur a pally do it at lvl 35 and see how u go...might make it...i'd still say lvl 40 for priest soz...not powerful enough...even though u have better healing...And dont know how u didnt finish it becuse that portal is end potal at ship...VC is at the top and to get to "trick portal" u need to go that way first...NOOB

Comment by Allakhazam

it has been said that the first mate's stuns are not resistable... maybe so.. but i have found a way around that... if you stun him first.. and beat him throuth the health that he would stun you... he will not... he will just go to his chest for the next weapon.. and you can get in crazy hits and damage for free.

i have done this on four seperate occasions so it is repeatable and wasnt a fluke.

Comment by Allakhazam

same here i can not get quest anywhere did all the brotherhood kill quests and cann not get another quest from anyone at tower? where do i get vc quest now?

Comment by Allakhazam

Revisited the Deadmines as a level 33 Retribution Paladin. Solo'd it fine. Just watch your pulls. Too many and it doesn't matter how many protection-heal's you have.

I can run through most of the DM with Seal of Command on and kill the Defias Miners, the goblins would have to be the hardest part. Lots of good drops to sell at the AC or to DE. :) Made it to VC, didn't even bother killing his lackies because he'd just respawn them. If you don't kill the lackies, than VC doesn't respawn any more than two. They were weak afterwards though because of my Retribution Aura but if you find yourself in a bind, switch off to Concentration Aura and heal yourself and don't forget that Judging with Command deals double damage when the target is stunned. :)

Comment by Allakhazam

Doing this quest first introduced me to the Dead Mines. It was fun going through and getting TONS of awsome armor and weapons and stuff.

Comment by Sipder2

How to complete The Defias Brotherhood part 7:

accept quest /way 56,28, 47,56
create or find group to Deadmines Dungeon
kill Edwin VanCleef (deadmines boss) for drop Head of VanCleef
return quest /way 56,28, 47,56

Video guide: https://youtu.be/PJn7JJXMD2g

Comment by deadpacman

Hopefully you didn't skip through the quest text throughout this quest chain. It was, and still is, a simple but marvellous story in which it is ponderous if the adventurers truly were the heroes for slaying VanCleef, despite his trespasses. Here's a rundown of what transpired throughout the quest chain:

Gryan Stoutmantle of Westfall learns that a faction calling themselves the Defias Brotherhood is responsible for driving the people of Westfall from their homes. He tasks the player to seek the aid of Wiley the Black in Lakeshire - a rogue who owes Stoutmantle a favor.

Wiley complies with the request for information, and has the player return a note to Stoutmantle. The note states that the Brotherhood is larger than previously thought, and that the Kobolds and Gnolls of Westfall are also part of the conspiracy. They have hired Goblins to produce the mechanical harvest golems seen throughout Westfall. The note also states that they have an underground network from Booty Bay as far as Stormwind Keep, and that they are working on a weapon of mass destruction. It also mentions the name "Stonemasons."

Upon returning the note to Stoutmantle, he ponders if Wiley mentioning the Stonemasons was a slip of tongue, and perhaps they are connected to the Brotherhood. He asks the player to speak to Matthias Shaw of SI:7 for more information.

Shaw writes a report for Stoutmantle which details what he knows about the Stonemasons. In the report, it is revealed that the Stonemasons Guild was responsible for rebuilding Stormwind after the First War. Their leader was Edwin VanCleef (also of note is that Baros Alexston, the current Stormwind City Architect, was also a former member). The nobles of Stormwind, however, refused to pay the Stonemasons for their service - the guild was left bankrupt and largely forgotten by the city's corrupt officials. Shaw states that he was a close personal friend of VanCleef for much of his life, and that if he is behind the Brotherhood, the situation is more grave than even he thought.

Stoutmantle then seeks confirmation that the leader of the Brotherhood is in fact VanCleef. He tasks the player with waylaying a Defias messenger spotted travelling between the Jangolode Mine and Moonbrook. The messenger was carrying a cryptic letter that was signed by VanCleef.

While retrieving proof of VanCleef's role in the Brotherhood, Stoutmantle and his men captured a thief attempting to steal a wagon who also happened to be a memeber of the Brotherhood. In exchange for his life, the thief claims that he will reveal the location of the Brotherhood's hideout; Stoutmantle has the player escort the thief and it is revealed that the Brotherhood's den of operations is a vast underground tunnel network, beginning under the village of Moonbrook, known as the Deadmines.

The final task is to enter the Deadmines and slay VanCleef once and for all. Once complete, a letter may be recovered from his body, which sparks further hints of a conspiracy of corruption within Stormwind and begins the Stockades quest chain.

Comment by Toroid

You need to complete the People's miltia series in order to get this quest. The quest chain can start without it though.

Comment by Lunaeros

On the quest, when I exited the instance and went to turn in I noticed no head. I thought maybe I forgot to loot, but I got the Unsent Letter, so I must have. Head drop is not 100%, even if you're on the quest. Might have to do multiple runs for this one.

Links

The Defias Brotherhood

Kill Edwin VanCleef and bring his head to Gryan Stoutmantle.

	Head of VanCleef (1)

Description

There is but one task left for you to complete. Edwin VanCleef must be assassinated. While it saddens me to condemn any man to a death sentence, it is for the greater good of the people of Westfall that VanCleef is laid to rest once and for all. Bring me the villain's head once the deed is done.

Progress

Completion

Rewards

You will be able to choose one of these rewards:

	Chausses of Westfall		Tunic of Westfall
	Staff of Westfall

You will also receive:

	Tunic of Westfall		Staff of Westfall
	Chausses of Westfall

Gains

Upon completion of this quest you will gain:

500 reputation with Stormwind

See if you've already completed this by typing:

/run print(C_QuestLog.IsQuestFlaggedCompleted(166))

The Defias Brotherhood

Description

Progress

Completion

Rewards

Gains

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