Riding the Red Rocket

Quest Giver (Horde): General Gorlok — Venture Bay Lighthouse, Grizzly Hills [14.8, 86.5]

Objective: Fuel a torpedo with Element 115 and ride it into the enemy faction’s lumber ship.

Quick Facts

• Type: Daily PvP quest (bonus lighthouse quest)
• Prerequisite: Your faction must currently control the Venture Bay Lighthouse. The quest giver only spawns when your faction holds it.
• Rewards: 10 Venture Coins, 20,750 XP, 5g 60s (15g 56s at level 80)
• Achievement: Counts toward Grizzly Hills PvP Daily completion.
• Pairs With: Do Seeking Solvent first or alongside, since both require Element 115 from the same ship.

Walkthrough

Step 1: Check Lighthouse Control

• This quest is only available when your faction holds the Venture Bay Lighthouse island. Commander Howser (Alliance) or General Gorlok (Horde) will be standing near the lighthouse when your side has control. If the enemy faction holds it, you’ll need to recapture the lighthouse first by standing near it while PvP-flagged (flying doesn’t count).

Step 2: Gather Element 115

• Head to the Venture Company ship at [16.4, 80.3]. It’s the middle ship of the three docked vessels.
• Enter the cabin and go to the back room. The Element 115 canisters are inside. The item doesn’t sparkle, so watch for your cursor to change.
• Picking it up applies the same movement debuff as in Seeking Solvent: no speed increases, +35% damage taken, stealth/invisibility blocked. Your mount will still work but at crawling speed. The item has a limited duration (roughly 3 minutes) before it destabilizes, so move with purpose.

Step 3: Get to the Rockets

• Head to the dock behind the lighthouse at approximately [13.7, 89.0]. The red rockets (torpedoes) are at the end of a small pier past the lighthouse, NOT on the main docks.
• Known issue: Rockets sometimes fail to appear due to long respawn timers or after the lighthouse recently changed hands. If no rockets are present, try waiting a few minutes. If they still don’t spawn, abandon and reacquire the quest.

Step 4: Ride the Torpedo

• Interact with a red rocket to mount it. You become a vehicle passenger. The rocket moves forward automatically at a constant speed; you can only steer left and right.
• Use keyboard arrow keys to steer. Mouse steering is unreliable and can disorient the camera. Keyboard controls are far more consistent.
• Any contact with floating ice or icebergs will destroy the rocket, forcing you to swim back, grab more Element 115, and start over. This is the main source of frustration.

Step 5: Navigate to the Target

• Alliance target: The Horde lumber ship is northwest of the lighthouse. It’s the smaller ship with a crane and Horde flags, NOT the large ship visible on the minimap. Confirmed location is around [10, 79].
• Horde target: The Alliance lumber boat is northeast of the lighthouse.
• Recommended route: Steer the rocket out to sea first, making a wide U-turn to approach the target ship from open water. Going directly is almost impossible due to icebergs blocking the straight path. Think of it as a large arc: go out, curve around, come back toward the ship. Scout the route manually before getting the fuel so you have a plan.

Step 6: Hit the Ship

• This is the trickiest part and is commonly buggy. The ship has wooden “X” marks on it at multiple points.
• Aim for the rudder (the stern/back of the ship). It looks like a cog with teeth. This is the most reliable hit point. Hitting the bow or middle of the ship often causes the rocket to glide underneath without registering.
• Critical camera tip: Before impact, angle your camera upward (look up). This raises the rocket’s trajectory and prevents it from dipping below the ship’s waterline. Looking up keeps you at the right height for a registered hit.
• On a successful hit, the ship explodes, you’re launched into the air and given a parachute buff.

Troubleshooting

• Ship explodes but no quest credit: This is the most common bug. Usually caused by the rocket passing under the hull instead of detonating against it. Always aim for the rudder and angle your camera upward before impact. Removing the fuel buff (clicking it off) at the moment of impact can give credit. You can also press the “exit vehicle” button on impact. Try these as workarounds if standard hits aren’t registering.
• Death Knights: Disable Path of Frost before attempting the torpedo ride.
• Rocket explodes mid-water with nothing nearby: Known occasional bug. The rocket sometimes detonates randomly. Just try again.
• Rockets not spawning: Long respawn timer, especially after a lighthouse ownership change. Wait or return later.
• Dying in waters after hitting an iceberg: The nearest graveyard may be in Dragonblight. Be aware of this if you wipe out far from shore.

Efficiency Tips

• Grab Element 115 for both this quest and Seeking Solvent/Always Seeking Solvent at the same time if you can. They use the same item from the same ship. However, Element 115 is Unique (you can only carry one), so you’ll need to turn in Seeking Solvent first, then grab another canister for this quest.
• Scout the torpedo route before picking up Element 115. Fly out to the target ship, identify the iceberg layout, and plan your arc. The debuff timer starts ticking as soon as you loot the canister, so don’t waste time figuring out navigation while the clock runs.
• This quest is worth doing when available. It awards 10 Venture Coins (same as the other dailies) for a few minutes of work, assuming you don’t hit too many icebergs.

Lore & Secrets

Easter Egg: Kaiten Torpedo

• There is a historical parallel to the Kaiten, a human-piloted torpedo used by the Japanese Navy during World War II. The Kaiten was essentially a rocket-propelled, manned explosive ridden directly into enemy ships. The quest’s mechanics are a surprisingly close match.

Easter Egg: Element 115

• As covered in the Seeking Solvent guide, Element 115 references both real-world UFO conspiracy claims by Bob Lazar and Elerium-115 from the X-COM franchise. Using alien-adjacent rocket fuel to power a suicide torpedo adds an extra layer of absurdity fitting for Venture Bay’s goblin-engineering theme.

Easter Egg: Wowhead Logo

• The red rocket torpedoes themselves bear a strong resemblance to the Wowhead logo/mascot.