War stories, articles & game guides
Gamer
Tribute
2026
Expeditions,
War Stories &
Culture
War stories, articles & game guides
Gamer
Tribute
2026
Expeditions,
War Stories &
Culture
“Reports of a powerful zombie at the death gate have reached my ears, Warrior. We cannot allow a potential threat such as this to go unchallenged. Any information you are able to glean from engaging it will be better than what we know now.
Go to the western chamber of the gate and find this creature. Fight him, and find a weakness we might exploit.”
-Thassarian
Thassarian aboard the Skybreaker wants you to kill Coprous the Defiled at Mord’rethar.
Suggested players: 5
You will be able to choose one of these rewards:
You will also receive:
Upon completion of this quest you will gain:
Quest Giver (Alliance): Thassarian — The Skybreaker, Icecrown
Quest Giver (Horde): Koltira Deathweaver — Orgrim’s Hammer, Icecrown
Objective: Kill Coprous the Defiled at Mord’rethar: The Death Gate and return to your quest giver.
Quick Facts
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Flesh giant (elite) |
| Health | ~100,000 HP |
| Melee Damage | ~3,500 on plate, ~4,000-5,000 on leather/cloth |
| Ability 1: Acid Geyser | Channeled AoE. Deals 1,425-1,575 Nature damage per second for 8 seconds to the target and all nearby enemies. Can be avoided by breaking line of sight behind the pillars in his chamber. |
| Ability 2: Knockdown | Stuns the target for 2 seconds. |
| Vulnerable to CC | Can be snared, trapped, rooted, shackled (Shackle Undead), and feared (Turn Evil). Not immune to stuns. |
Walkthrough
Getting There
The Fight
| Class/Spec | Strategy | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Death Knight (any spec) | Face-tank, Death Strike through damage. Use Icebound Fortitude during Acid Geyser if you can’t reach a pillar. Blood DKs can essentially ignore mechanics. | Easier solo. |
| Paladin (Retribution) | DPS rotation with Hammer of Justice and Holy Wrath stuns for healing windows. Repentance for longer breaks (mana regen via Divine Plea during Repentance). Turn Evil works as a fear. LoS Acid Geyser behind pillars, self-heal with instant Flash of Light procs. | 5+ minute fight but very manageable. Bubble for emergencies. |
| Paladin (Protection) | Spell Reflect Acid Geyser. Shield Block and standard mitigation for melee. Self-heal as needed. | Prot warriors can also Spell Reflect (see Warrior). |
| Warrior (Protection) | Spell Reflect the Acid Geyser for massive reflected damage. Shield Block, Enraged Regeneration, and Last Stand. One potion may be needed. | Spell Reflect is the standout trick here. |
| Hunter (any spec) | Kite around the pillars. Pet for extra DPS, not tanking. LoS Acid Geyser. He can be trapped (Frost Trap) and snared (Concussive Shot). Mend Pet if pet takes hits. Bandage during LoS windows. | Very clean kite fight. May need a few bandages. |
| Warlock (any spec) | Voidwalker or Felguard tanks. Keep DoTs up, Health Funnel pet. During Acid Geyser, move pet behind pillar or accept the damage and heal through. | Standard pet-tank approach. |
| Mage (Frost) | Root, Frostbolt kite, Deep Freeze on procs. Blink behind pillars for Acid Geyser. Mirror Image for extra DPS. | Harder at 78, comfortable at 80. |
| Druid (Balance) | Root with Entangling Roots, DoT with Moonfire and Insect Swarm, LoS Acid Geyser. Entire fight can be done with just DoTs ticking while kiting around pillars. Nature’s Grasp for emergency roots. | Endurance fight. Very safe if patient. |
| Druid (Feral) | Bear form for mitigation. Bash to interrupt Acid Geyser when possible. Nature’s Grasp then shift to caster for healing. | Doable. |
| Priest (any spec) | Shackle Undead works on Coprous. Shackle, DoT, DPS, re-shackle when it breaks. LoS Acid Geyser. Shield for Knockdown windows. | Shackle trivializes this fight completely. |
| Shaman (Elemental) | Standard ranged nuke with self-heals. LoS Acid Geyser. | Straightforward ranged approach. |
| Rogue | Cheap Shot opener, Evasion for melee windows, Kidney Shot to interrupt Acid Geyser. Kite around pillars as needed. Vanish to reset if things go wrong. | Doable but tight. Bring bandages and potions. |
Efficiency Tips
Lore Context
Thassarian describes Coprous as a “powerful zombie,” but the quest text reveals a more specific interest: he wants you to fight the creature so that when the Alliance/Horde armies arrive to storm the gate, they’ll already have intelligence on what they’re facing.
This is reconnaissance through combat, not extermination. The turn-in dialogue confirms this: Thassarian plans to study the Pustulant Spines (from Against the Giants) and the intelligence gathered from this fight to develop tactics for the eventual assault on Mord’rethar.
Explore Icecrown’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Icecrown Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.
Vikstone's War Journal“Reports of a powerful zombie at the death gate have reached my ears,” Thassarian said. “We cannot allow a potential threat such as this to go unchallenged. Any information you are able to glean from engaging it will be better than what we know now. Go to the western chamber of the gate and find this creature. Fight him, and find a weakness we might exploit.”
He did not say kill it.
Five of us went into the western building. Wopak had his shield up before we cleared the doorway. Natea kept to the back with the Light ready. Freakuout’s runeblade put a cold on the air, and Jartal laid totems as we advanced, one every twenty feet, marking our way back out in case we needed it in a hurry.
We heard Coprous before we saw him. Wet, heavy, unhurried.
He came out of the dark filling the corridor wall to wall, and I have seen a great many abominations and this one had been built by somebody who was trying.
I took the first blow on the Titansteel Shield Wall and it moved me three feet with my boots locked. Wopak came in on the far flank before it could follow up. That is the whole of what two shields are for: it cannot commit to either of us without opening itself to the other, and a thing that big does not turn quickly enough to solve that problem.
Then the floor opened under us.
Acid comes up out of the ground where he wants it. Eight seconds, near enough, of everything in that circle burning at once, and the first spray took my legs and started on the plate. Jartal’s healing caught it a heartbeat behind and the two of them ran even for a while, damage and mending, neither gaining.
Then he put his fist through my guard and I was on the floor for two seconds that I do not remember. Freakuout stood over me while I was down. His runeblade opened the gut and the frost went into it, and by the time the world came back Wopak was still upright because Natea had not stopped working since we entered the room.
I got up inside its reach and stayed there. Wopak was doing the identical thing on the other side, both of us working the joints because that is where a thing like that is only thread.
The last geyser came up with all five of us standing in it. We stayed. Backing out of that circle meant giving up the seams.
Coprous came apart at the shoulder first and then everywhere.
Wopak sat down on the thing’s chest and spat. “Ugly bastard.”
Thassarian had the spines and now he had a corpse to reason from, and what he wanted next was not another kill but a controlled experiment, which is roughly how a death knight describes Basic Chemistry.
