If He Cannot Be Turned

Quest Giver: Baron Sliver – The Shadow Vault, Icecrown [44, 25]

Turn In: Thassarian aboard The Skybreaker (Alliance)/Koltira Deathweaver aboard Orgrim’s Hammer (Horde)

Objective: Defeat General Lightsbane inside the Shadow Vault.

Quick Facts

• Chain Position: 4 of 5 in the Shadow Vault capture chain (It’s All Fun and Games → I Have an Idea, But First… → Free Your Mind → If He Cannot Be Turned → The Shadow Vault)
• Unlocks: Turning in this quest enables the Duchess Mynx, the Ebon Blade quartermaster, a flight path, and new quest givers at the Shadow Vault

Walkthrough

Getting to the Weapons Rack

• Enter the Shadow Vault building through the large door near Baron Sliver at approximately [43, 24]. You can fly your mount inside to skip the trash mobs on the ground floor.
• Head straight to the back of the room. The Weapons Rack is a sparkling interactive object by the northern runeforge at approximately [44.7, 19.8].

The Fight

• Click the Weapons Rack to summon General Lightsbane, a level 80 elite death knight with roughly 65,000 HP.
• Vile, Lady Nightswood, and The Leaper (the three NPCs you freed in the previous quest) arrive to fight alongside you. Vile arrives a few seconds late and taunts as often as he can, but he carries only about 8,000 health and will not last. Burn hard before he shows so the taunt lands on a General who is already hurting.
• Lightsbane casts Death and Decay, a ground-targeted AoE that deals shadow damage over time. Move out of the red circle when you see it.
• Beyond Death and Decay, Lightsbane hits relatively softly (around 600 damage on cloth). You can solo this at level 77 without difficulty. Let your NPC allies build threat if you’re squishy, then pile on damage.
• Undead CC works on him: Shackle Undead, Turn Undead, and similar abilities can be used if you need breathing room.

Important: Stay Alive for the Kill

• You must be alive when Lightsbane dies to receive credit. If you die and the NPCs finish him off without you, you will not get completion. If your health gets low, use defensive cooldowns, kite away from Death and Decay, or let the NPCs hold aggro while you heal up.

Turning In

• After killing Lightsbane, fly back to your faction’s airship. For Horde, Koltira is aboard Orgrim’s Hammer. For Alliance, Thassarian is aboard The Skybreaker.
• Horde tip: If you can’t find Orgrim’s Hammer, hearth to Dalaran and speak to Sky-Reaver Klum near the flight path. He’ll fly you directly to the ship.
• Alliance tip: Similarly, check for the Skybreaker flight NPC in Dalaran if the ship is hard to locate.
• Do not return to the Dragonblight versions of Thassarian/Koltira. The turn-in is specifically to the Icecrown airship versions.

Lore Context

Baron Sliver explains that death knights like General Lightsbane are held on “too tight of a leash” to be turned from the Lich King’s will through the Sovereign Rod alone. Unlike Vile, Lady Nightswood, and The Leaper (lesser Scourge who could be broken free), Lightsbane must simply be destroyed.

This reflects a hierarchy within the Scourge where more powerful servants have stronger mental chains binding them.

Once Lightsbane falls, the Shadow Vault is fully under Ebon Blade control, and the next quest formally establishes it as a friendly hub.

Easter Egg

• The quest name is a Star Wars: Return of the Jedi reference. Emperor Palpatine tells Luke Skywalker: “If he cannot be turned, he will be destroyed.”

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