Assault by Ground

Quest Giver (Alliance): Skybreaker Squad Leader — Glacier east of Ymirheim, Icecrown (near Ground Commander Koup)

Quest Giver (Horde): Kor’kron Squad Leader — Glacier north of Ymirheim, Icecrown (near Ground Commander Xutjja)

Turn In (Alliance): Ground Commander Koup [62.6, 51.3]

Turn In (Horde): Ground Commander Xutjja [58.3, 46.1]

Objective: Escort your faction’s troops to the gates of Ymirheim. At least 4 of 6 NPCs must survive.

Quick Facts

• Type: Daily
• Level: 80
• Prerequisite: Joining the Assault
• Pairs With: Blood of the Chosen, Assault by Air, Slaves to Saronite, King of the Mountain

Walkthrough

Accept and Wait for Preparations

• The squad leader is at the ground staging area near your faction’s ground commander, not on the airship. Speak to them to accept the quest.
• After accepting, you may need to wait for the squad to finish preparing. The squad leader will say something like “We’re still making preparations” until they’re ready. Wait times vary and can range from a couple of minutes to longer if another player recently triggered the event. If the wait exceeds 5 minutes, do Assault by Air or King of the Mountain first and return.
• Important: There are multiple Skybreaker/Kor’kron Squad Leaders in the area. Make sure you’re speaking to the right one (the one who gave you the quest).

Escort the Squad

• When ready, speak to the squad leader to begin. You’ll be joined by 6 NPC soldiers.
• The squad moves quickly up the pass toward Ymirheim’s gates. Along the way, roughly 4 packs of Ymirheim Defenders (about 5 per pack) will ambush the group, plus one lone mob near the gate.
• At least 4 of 6 NPCs must survive to complete the quest. The NPCs do decent damage but do not regenerate health between fights, so damage accumulates.

Combat Tips

• Kill enemies quickly. The faster vrykul die, the less total damage your NPCs take across the escort.
• AoE abilities are very effective for grabbing threat off the NPCs early in each ambush.
• Healers can use bandages on the NPCs between fights to keep them topped off.
• The NPCs move fast. This is not a typical slow escort quest. Stay ahead or right with the group so you don’t fall behind.

Efficiency Tips

• Pick up Blood of the Chosen before starting. Every Ymirjar vrykul killed during the escort counts toward its 20-kill requirement, as long as you deal enough damage to get credit. Tag each pack with damage early so you don’t lose credit to the NPC soldiers.
• If another player is already running the escort, you can join their run and both get credit. Alternatively, you can wait at the gates and receive completion credit when their squad arrives.
• After the escort reaches the gates, you turn in to your ground commander back at the glacier staging area, not to the squad leader.

Lore Context

The Ymirjar are not ordinary vrykul. They are an elite warrior caste created by King Ymiron who earned their rank by winning the ascension trials at Valhalas in Jotunheim. Vrykul who pass become Ymirjar warriors (male) or Val’kyr (female). Those who fail become Vargul, lesser undead.

The quest text’s emphasis on how “far more vicious” these vrykul are compared to any others the players have faced reflects this lore.

Ymirheim sits atop Icecrown’s saronite mines, making it strategically vital. The settlement guards the Scourge’s primary saronite supply, the corrupted metal used to forge everything from Icecrown Citadel’s walls to the Lich King’s armor.

Cross-Expansion Connections

The Ymirjar in Icecrown Citadel

• The Ymirjar you fight during this escort appear as elite trash and mini-boss enemies in the Icecrown Citadel raid. Ymirjar Frostbinders, Battle-Maidens, and Deathbringers guard the raid’s corridors. Players who spent time fighting them at Ymirheim’s gates will recognize them inside the Citadel.

Vrykul Culture in Legion

• The vrykul storyline that begins in Howling Fjord and culminates in Icecrown’s Ymirjar was massively expanded in Legion’s Stormheim zone. Stormheim introduced the Halls of Valor (the vrykul afterlife for worthy warriors), Helheim (for the damned), and revealed that Odyn created the original Val’kyr long before the Lich King copied the design. King Ymiron himself returned as “Ymiron, the Fallen King” in the Maw of Souls dungeon, damned by Helya for betraying the titans.

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