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Expeditions,
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“Baelok is one of the few vrykul that I’ve ever seen rise through the ranks, and that was mostly accomplished through sheer brutality. If your competition ends up dead, there’s far less to compete against. When you join battle with him, spread out from your companions and keep your distance as much as you reasonably can. He will not hesitate to steal your life force for himself, so you will need to hinder his ability to do so as much as possible.
You have my confidence. See to it that he dies.”
-Vereth the Cunning
Vereth the Cunning on the Rise of Suffering wants you to kill Baelok, the Rider of Blood.
(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: Vereth the Cunning — Rise of Suffering, Icecrown [54, 72]
Objective: Kill Baelok, the Rider of Blood.
Quick Facts
Preparation
| Ability | Effect | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Melee Attacks | Hits for ~1,600 on 20k armor. Slow swing speed but heavy hits. | Armor, defensive cooldowns, kiting between swings. |
| Draw Soul | Frontal cone Shadow damage (~4,000) that heals Baelok for the damage dealt. | Stay behind him or to his side. This is his most dangerous ability because it both hurts you and heals him. |
| Summon Dancing Runeblade | Summons a Dancing Runeblade that mirrors Blood Strike attacks. Lasts ~20 seconds. | Focus it down, CC it (stunnable, fearable, counts as undead for Holy Wrath/Turn Evil), or ignore it if your DPS is high enough to burn Baelok. |
| Death Grip | Pulls you into melee range. Deals minor Shadow damage. | Blink (Mage) or other gap-closers to reposition. Ranged classes need to account for this. |
Battle Strategy
Positioning is Everything
Dealing with the Dancing Runeblade
Group Strategy
| Class | Approach |
|---|---|
| Death Knight | Army of the Dead opener is very strong here. Army tanks Baelok and the Runeblade while you DPS. Use Dancing Rune Weapon (Blood) to match his. Death Strike for self-healing. Icebound Fortitude during Runeblade phases. |
| Paladin (Prot) | Straightforward. Turn Evil or Holy Wrath to CC the Runeblade (it’s undead). Consecration cleaves both targets. Sacred Shield + self-heals keep you up. One of the easier solo classes for this fight. |
| Paladin (Ret) | Open with Avenging Wrath for burst. Rotate defensives (Divine Protection, Lay on Hands). Kill or stun the Runeblade when it spawns. Heal during downtime. |
| Hunter | Tank pet (turtle/gorilla) with Mend Pet. Freezing Trap the Runeblade. Distracting Shot to manage aggro. Deterrence if pet drops low. |
| Warlock | Voidwalker or Felguard tanks. Keep Curse of Weakness up (important for reducing his melee). Health Funnel to sustain pet. Fear the Dancing Runeblade. Stay at max range to avoid Death Grip; position between 36-45 yards so Health Funnel reaches but you’re outside Grip range. |
| Mage | Hardest Rider for Mages due to Death Grip and fast add respawns. Clear area with AoE before pulling. Burn hard and fast. Save Blink for Death Grip recovery. Pet Nova to manage Runeblade. Bring potions. |
| Warrior (Prot) | Tank and spank with defensive cooldowns. The Runeblade is stunnable. Use Shield Wall and Last Stand for emergencies. Bandage during Runeblade downtime. |
| Druid (Feral) | Bear form, standard rotation. Shift to heal during quiet moments. Manageable fight for tank-geared ferals. |
| Shaman (Enhancement) | Burn hard with Fire Elemental + Feral Spirits. Save Maelstrom procs for Healing Wave. Food buff + Bone Witch runes help. |
Lore & Secrets
The Vrykul Who Rose Through Brutality
Baelok is the only vrykul among the three Riders. Rokir is a generic death knight, Sapph is a Darkfallen (undead blood elf), but Baelok is a vrykul who clawed his way up through sheer violence. As Vereth puts it: “Baelok is one of the few vrykul that I’ve ever seen rise through the ranks, and that was mostly accomplished through sheer brutality. If your competition ends up dead, there’s far less to compete against.”
He teaches Blood death knight abilities to the new adepts at Malykriss, paralleling Lord Thorval‘s role as the Blood instructor in Acherus: The Ebon Hold.
His combat dialogue reflects pure arrogance: “Fragile thing,” “Don’t stop now, I’ve almost broken a sweat,” and “Your blood is now mine.” His death line, “I know no death. I will… be back… for you…” suggests he expects to be raised again, though that never happens.
Vereth’s warning focuses on Baelok’s life-stealing abilities: “He will not hesitate to steal your life force for himself, so you will need to hinder his ability to do so as much as possible.” This directly maps to the Draw Soul mechanic, the fight’s central challenge.
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“Baelok is one of the few vrykul that I’ve ever seen rise through the ranks, and that was mostly accomplished through sheer brutality,” Vereth said. “If your competition ends up dead, there’s far less to compete against. When you join battle with him, spread out from your companions and keep your distance as much as you reasonably can. He will not hesitate to steal your life force for himself, so you will need to hinder his ability to do so as much as possible. You have my confidence. See to it that he dies.”
Baelok holds a forge on the ground level. Vrykul, and enormous even by the standard of that people, and he teaches blood to the adepts the way Rokir taught unholy and Sapph taught frost. Three of them, three disciplines, the whole of Acherus’s faculty rebuilt out here in the ice. That is what Vereth meant about heads.
“I’ve been waiting.”
Draw Soul reaches out in front of him and takes something out of you that is not blood, and he is healthier afterward. So the answer is to stand outside the cone, at range, exactly as instructed.
He has Death Grip. Whenever I got far enough away to be safe, he simply pulled me back.
He decides the distance and there is no arguing with him about it, and every exchange fed him a little of whatever it is he takes, and a runeblade of his own summoning worked my flank for twenty seconds at a time.
“Don’t stop now, I’ve almost broken a sweat.” He was enjoying it. He was the only one of the three who was.
He rose through the ranks by killing his own. At Jotunheim they sort them by contest and the losers are made into Vargul, and Baelok did not wait to be sorted. He removed the competition and presented himself as what remained.
He put a hand out for the grip once more and I was already inside it when it closed.
“I know no death. I will… be back… for you…”
“So he finally lost? Good to hear.” Vereth’s response when I returned was typically understated.
Finally. He has been waiting a long time for somebody to do that and he never once said so until it was done. Three heads. The beast bled.
Three instructors dead in a fortress that was supposed to raise an order loyal for good, and the man who had organised all of it had a personal reason for wanting the last name on the list, which is the one thing Vereth had not yet mentioned about The Fate of Bloodbane.
