What’s the Matter with the Transmatter?

Quest Giver: Mordle Cogspinner, Fizzcrank Airstrip

Turn In: Mordle Cogspinner

Objective: Collect 15 Fizzcrank Spare Parts

Quick Facts

• Chain Position: Quest 1 of 4 in the Transmatter chain
• Next: Check in With Bixie

Prerequisites

This quest only becomes available after completing The Mechagnomes. You must listen to Fizzcrank Fullthrottle’s tale (inside the small building with the elevator at Fizzcrank Airstrip), then speak to Jinky Wingnut outside. Once that’s done, Mordle Cogspinner and several other NPCs will offer quests.

Walkthrough

Fizzcrank Spare Parts are scattered across three areas east of the airstrip:

• The Scalding Pools (northern geothermal area)
• The Geyser Fields (central area with the pumping station)
• Fizzcrank Pumping Station (the structure itself)

The parts appear as small clickable objects on the ground near wreckage, debris, and broken machinery. The heaviest concentration is around [60, 21] in the Scalding Pools area.

Collect all 15 and return to Mordle Cogspinner.

Efficiency: Combine with Re-Cursive

This quest overlaps perfectly with Re-Cursive, which requires using the Re-Cursive Transmatter Injection on 6 Fizzcrank Mechagnome corpses in the same area. Pick up both quests before heading out to complete them simultaneously.

While You’re There: The Ultrasonic Screwdriver

Any mechagnome or mechanical enemy in the pools can drop The Ultrasonic Screwdriver, a quest-starting item. Turn it into Crafty Wobblesprocket at the airstrip. The followup quest rewards a usable version of the screwdriver that helps with questing in this area. Watch your loot window while farming spare parts.

Navigating the Area

The Geyser Fields are patrolled by Sentry-bot 57-K units that will call out warnings when they detect you, potentially alerting nearby enemies. They announce your presence with race-specific alerts like “Attention all units, human inside the perimeter!” and “Warning: human incursion detected!”

Be mindful of patrol patterns when gathering parts near groups of enemies.

Lore Context

The “transmatter” Mordle references is the gnomish teleportation device at Fizzcrank Airstrip. The quest text hints at past problems: “I’d hate to see another accident…” suggesting previous teleporter mishaps.

Mordle is trying to get both the outgoing teleport and incoming “transmatter ports” aligned, and needs salvaged parts from the pumping station the mechagnomes now control.

Easter Egg: Quest Title

The quest title “What’s the Matter with the Transmatter?” is a playful pun on classic sci-fi terminology. “Transmatter” has been used in science fiction since the mid-20th century to describe matter transmission (teleportation) devices.

Harry Harrison’s novels used “transmatters,” and the term appears throughout sci-fi literature alongside variations like “transmat” (used in Doctor Who). The gnomes’ casual adoption of this terminology fits their genre-savvy engineering culture.

Horde Equivalent

Horde players complete Cleaning Up the Pools, given by Iron Eyes at Taunka’le Village. Same objective (15 Fizzcrank Spare Parts), but with a very different perspective. The taunka view the gnomish machinery as pollution: “The gnomes, who care nothing for the land, have polluted it with their machinery. I want you to pick up any spare parts that you come across. Return them to me here. I will see to it that they are properly disposed of before we leave this place for good.”

This cultural clash, gnomish utilitarianism versus taunka environmental stewardship, provides an interesting contrast in how the two factions view the same situation.

Explore Borean Tundra’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Borean Tundra Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.