Filling the Cages

Objective: Use the Bounty Hunter’s Cage on a Drakkari troll that’s been stunned by Budd.

Quick Facts

• Level: 74
• Location: Ruins of Drak’Zin, south of Granite Springs [14, 61]
• Unlocks: Truce? (begins the Drakuru deception chain)
• Provided Item: Bounty Hunter’s Cage

Walkthrough

Step 1: Pick Up Budd

• Budd is inside the easternmost tent at Granite Springs [16, 48]. He’s a human wearing a Flimsy Male Troll Mask, which is how he “mingles” with the local trolls.
• Right-click Budd to have him follow you. He follows for 10 minutes before despawning.
• Critical: Budd functions as a pet. He takes up your pet slot, meaning Hunters lose their pet, Warlocks lose their minion, and Death Knights lose their ghoul for the duration. You’ll get them back after.
• Set Budd to Passive or Defensive immediately. He defaults to Aggressive, which means he’ll charge any wolf or serpent you pass. He has roughly 1,500 HP and dies in 2-3 hits.

Step 2: Travel to the Ruins of Drak’Zin

• Head southwest to the Ruins of Drak’Zin around [14, 61]. Follow the path southeast from camp and take it down to the ruins. This route has fewer wolves than cutting straight south through the forest.
• Do NOT go north to Zeb’Halak. The trolls there are undead and cannot be caged. The quest targets are the living Drakkari at Drak’Zin to the south.
• Budd can keep pace with an epic ground mount, so mount up and ride. Just watch that he doesn’t path around a tree and fall behind.

Step 3: Sap and Cage

• Find an isolated Drakkari troll (Warriors and Shamans both work; there’s no mob specifically called “Ice Troll”).
• Do NOT attack the troll. The troll must be out of combat.
• Use the “Tag Troll” ability on Budd’s pet bar (the sap-looking icon). If your pet bar is hidden by addons like Bartender, use Ctrl+4 as a keyboard shortcut. If that doesn’t work, try /reload to force the UI to refresh.
• Budd sneaks up and saps the troll. ZZZ’s appear above its head.
• Immediately run into melee range and use the Bounty Hunter’s Cage from your inventory on the sapped troll. Done.
• Budd despawns after the sap, whether it succeeds or fails, so you only get one shot per trip.

Common Pitfalls

• Getting aggro interrupts the cage. If anything hits you while you’re using the cage, it breaks. Clear nearby serpents and wandering trolls before sending Budd in.
• Budd saps the nearest troll, not your target. Make sure only one troll is in range when you trigger his ability. If there’s a troll shaman hiding behind a ruin wall, Budd may sap that one instead.
• If Budd dies or despawns, you have to go back to Granite Springs [16, 48] and pick him up again.

Efficiency Tips

• Scout first. Before picking up Budd, ride down to Drak’Zin and clear a path. Kill wolves on the route and scout for an isolated troll. Then go back, grab Budd, and execute cleanly.
• Approach from the west. Coming into the ruins from the western edge gives you the best angle to find a solo troll near the outer buildings without aggroing groups deeper in.
• Warlocks/Hunters: You can heal Budd with Health Funnel or Mend Pet to keep him alive during the trip if something aggros.
• Paladins: Turn off Crusader Aura. Budd can’t keep up with the extra movement speed and will fall behind and despawn.

Lore Context

Budd and Samir’s crew are bounty hunters who previously operated in the Ghostlands near Zul’Aman.

Samir says Budd’s “condition” (wearing a troll mask and apparently being addled enough to pass as one) lets him approach trolls undetected. The reward item names all reference captivity and enslavement (Grinder of Reverse Emancipation, Yoke Slasher, Spike of Renounced Autonomy, Sword of the Caged Mind), fitting the quest’s morally gray “selling trolls to the highest bidder” premise.

Completing this quest unlocks Truce?, where you meet the caged troll prisoner Drakuru, one of WotLK’s most memorable questline villains. He appears helpful, but his storyline spanning Grizzly Hills and Zul’Drak is one of the expansion’s best deceptions.