Kick, What Kick?

Quest Giver: Drostan — Nesingwary Base Camp, Sholazar Basin [27.1, 59.9]

Objective: Using the RJR Rifle, shoot the apple off Lucky Wilhelm‘s head.

Quick Facts

• Prerequisites: Venture Co. Misadventure and Wipe That Grin Off His Face
• Rewards: RJR Rifle (you keep it)
• Follow-up: The Great Hunter’s Challenge (kill 60 game animals)

Walkthrough

• Equip the RJR Rifle provided by Drostan. It goes into your ranged weapon slot (or relic slot for classes without ranged weapons like Paladins, Shamans, and Death Knights). No weapon skill is required.
• Target Lucky Wilhelm (the gnome standing nearby with an apple on his head) and fire. You can right-click the equipped rifle on your character panel or drag the rifle icon to your action bar and click it.
• Hitting the apple is RNG-based. It may take anywhere from 1 to 12+ shots, regardless of your gear or skill. Just keep firing.
• Don’t forget to re-equip your original ranged weapon or relic after completing the quest! The rifle disappears from your equipment, leaving the slot empty.

What Happens When You Miss

• The quest title is ironic: there is absolutely some kick to the rifle, and missing triggers entertaining reactions:
  • Lucky Wilhelm will complain about injuries to his ear, mustache, or pride. Drostan dismisses each complaint with quips like “Bah, it’s an improvement” and “Calm down, lad, it’s just birdshot!”
  • Stray shots can hit nearby Sholazar Tickbirds hovering in the area. When this happens, Crunchy (Debaar’s pet crocolisk from back at camp) rushes over to eat the dead bird.
  • The player character can also get knocked onto their back from the recoil.
• When you finally hit the apple, Wilhelm simply says: “Good shot!”

Pro Tip: Quest Order Matters

• Pick up this quest immediately after turning in Wipe That Grin Off His Face, but before heading out to do the Mastery hunting quests (Dreadsaber, Rhino, Crocolisk).
• The reason: completing Kick, What Kick? unlocks The Great Hunter’s Challenge, which requires you to kill 60 game animals in a race against Drostan. All Mastery chain kills count toward this total. If you start the Mastery quests first, you waste those kills. Get the Challenge active, then head out to hunt.

Easter Eggs

• William Tell (Swiss Legend). The quest is a direct homage to the William Tell legend, the famous Swiss folk hero forced to shoot an apple off his son’s head with a crossbow. “Wilhelm” is the German form of “William,” making “Lucky Wilhelm” essentially “Lucky William.”
• The Wilhelm Scream (Film Sound Effect). The name “Wilhelm” also references the Wilhelm Scream, cinema’s most famous stock sound effect, used in over 400 films including every Star Wars and Indiana Jones movie. The original Wilhelm Scream was recorded for the 1951 film Distant Drums for a scene where a soldier is bitten by an alligator. The crocolisk connection is likely intentional: Crunchy (an alligator-like creature) rushing over to eat dead tickbirds when you miss your shot mirrors the original context of the scream.
• Drostan’s Running Commentary. Drostan doubles as your competitor in the follow-up quest, The Great Hunter’s Challenge. While you’re out hunting 60 animals, he periodically announces his own kill count via zone-wide yells (“That’s my 25th kill. How far behind are you now?”), trash-talks you (“My mother could hunt faster than you!”), and even takes naps when he’s ahead. The player always wins by 2 kills (60 vs. his 58), suggesting Drostan lets you win to keep morale up at camp.

Lore Context

Drostan is a dwarf marksman at Nesingwary’s camp who serves as the expedition’s shooting instructor. His challenge to you frames Nesingwary’s operation as more than just a hunting expedition; it’s a competitive sport culture where marksmanship and kill counts are points of pride.

The fact that the “test” starts by shooting at a gnome with an apple on his head tells you everything about how seriously (or not) these hunters take safety protocols.

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