Kick ‘Em While They’re Down

Objective: Defeat 15 Horde units or players at Blue Sky Logging Grounds.

Quick Facts

• Type: Daily PvP quest (Alliance only)
• Level: 74
• Horde Equivalent: Keep ‘Em on Their Heels (from Commander Bargok)
• PvP Warning: You are flagged for PvP as long as this quest is in your log.
• Achievement: Counts toward Grizzled Veteran.

Walkthrough

Sergeant Hartsman is located at the Alliance camp on the eastern side of Blue Sky Logging Grounds, along the path between Grizzlemaw and the logging grounds. From Amberpine Lodge, head northwest.

After picking up the quest, head southeast downhill to the central island between the two rivers. Kill 15 Horde units (Conquest Hold NPCs) or enemy players. The mobs here are plentiful and this completes quickly. Return to Sergeant Hartsman to turn in.

Do Alongside

Blue Sky Logging Grounds has four Alliance dailies that all take place in the same area between the two rivers. Grab all four before heading down to the island:

• Life or Death — Use Renewing Bandage on Wounded Westfall Infantry in the same combat zone.
• Pieces Parts — Collect Grooved Cogs, Notched Sprockets, and High Tension Springs from the ground in the same area.
• Shredder Repair (from Synipus) — Pick up broken-down shredders and drive them back to camp.

All four quests PvP-flag you and overlap on the same island. Do them as one efficient loop: kill Horde NPCs for this quest, bandage wounded friendlies for Life or Death, grab shredder parts off the ground for Pieces Parts, and hop in a shredder when you spot one.

Easter Egg: Full Metal Jacket

Sergeant Hartsman’s name is a reference to Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, the infamous drill instructor from Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), played by R. Lee Ermey. Several other WoW NPCs share this reference: Sergeant Hartman, Sergeant Ermey, Lieutenant Emry, and Gunny.

Lore Context

The quest text paints a grim picture. Hartsman tells you that many Alliance soldiers are dead or dying, and the bulk of Alliance forces are bogged down at Venture Bay. Blue Sky Logging Grounds is essentially an undermanned secondary front, with Hartsman and his troops holding on by their fingernails.

The Horde mirror quest from Commander Bargok tells an almost identical story from the opposite side, with Bargok saying his reinforcements are also tied up at Venture Bay. Both factions are stretched thin, fighting over logging resources while their main forces are committed elsewhere.

Blue Sky Logging Grounds is a former Venture Company operation that both factions are fighting over. Players can ride timber logs downstream from here to Venture Bay, connecting the two PvP hubs.