Breaking Off A Piece

Quest Giver: Yord “Calamity” Icebeard — inside Wintergarde Mausoleum [85, 50], Dragonblight

Turn In: Yord “Calamity” Icebeard — same location

Objective: Kill Necrolord X’avius, Necrolord Horus, and 15 Naxxramas Scourge inside the Mausoleum.

Walkthrough

Icebeard lays it out bluntly: “Just down the steps lies the gateway to damnation: Scourge as far as the eye can see and getting thicker with each passing moment.”

Two Scourge necrolords are emptying the crypts below, and you need to eliminate both of them plus 15 of their Naxxramas troops before the 7th Legion can push deeper toward Thel’zan.

All objectives are underground inside the Wintergarde Mausoleum. Head down the stairs from Icebeard’s position. The layout is straightforward:

• Necrolord Horus: In the side chamber to the left at the bottom of the stairs.
• Necrolord X’avius: In the side chamber to the right.
• Naxxramas Scourge (15 kills): Fill both chambers and the connecting hallway. Eligible mobs include Naxxramas Dreadguards, Naxxramas Shades, and Tattered Abominations. You’ll likely reach 15 kills naturally while clearing to the necrolords.

WARNING: Naxxramas Shade Blink Strike

The Shades have an ability that deals damage to anyone beyond 8 yards of them. This is the quest’s primary danger.

If you’re a ranged class standing at distance, Shades will constantly blink to you and hit for significant damage.

If other players are nearby (even not grouped), Shades will blink between targets unpredictably. This ability makes the quest notoriously frustrating for ranged classes and solo players.

Strategy: Stay close. Counterintuitively, melee range is safer than standing at range against Shades. Ranged classes should minimize their distance rather than kiting.

WARNING: Fast Respawn Rates

Mobs respawn within 30-60 seconds. Clear areas methodically and don’t linger. The Tattered Abominations near the necrolords respawn almost instantly after being killed. When engaging a necrolord, be prepared for adds to respawn mid-fight.

Necrolord Kill Strategy:

• Each necrolord is in a room with other Scourge mobs.
• Clear surrounding trash first, then engage the necrolord quickly before respawns.
• If overwhelmed, kite mobs up the stairs to the friendly 7th Legion gunners near Icebeard’s position. They will help kill anything you drag to them. Make sure to deal enough damage to get credit.
• You do NOT need to loot the necrolords. Kill credit registers on death, so if things go badly, you can kill and vanish/die without losing progress.

If you go too far past the side chambers, you’ll hit a room with plagued gnomes and Scourge scientists. That’s past where you need to be for the necrolords, though those mobs may count toward your 15-kill total.

Quick Facts

• Faction: Alliance only
• Quest Level: 73
• Chain Position: Standalone quest from Yord “Calamity” Icebeard (not part of the main 9-quest Thel’zan chain from Ambo Cash, but available in the same Mausoleum hub)
• Timing tip: Do this simultaneously with Plunderbeard Must Be Found! if both are available, since both take you deeper into the Mausoleum area.

Lore & Story Context

Clearing the Path to Thel’zan

Icebeard’s briefing: “Before we can breach the inner chamber to Thel’zan, we’ll need to take care of those two clowns and their Naxxramas cronies.”

The two necrolords are emptying the crypts of corpses and souls to hurl against the 7th Legion’s position. This quest is the grunt work of breaking through their defensive layer so Ambo Cash can push the offensive deeper.

The Naxxramas connection is significant. These aren’t generic Scourge. The dreadguards, shades, and abominations are Naxxramas forces, meaning Kel’Thuzad‘s elite troops deployed from the floating necropolis overhead.

They’re the same caliber of enemies players will eventually face in the Naxxramas raid at level 80.

Easter Egg: Kit Kat Bar

The quest name “Breaking Off A Piece” is a reference to the Kit Kat candy bar slogan: “Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar.”

Do Alongside

• Plunderbeard Must Be Found! — If available, both quests take you into the Mausoleum depths.

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