The Champion’s Call!

Quest Giver: Shifty Vickers — The Underbelly, Dalaran

Objective: Travel to the Amphitheater of Anguish in Zul’Drak and speak to Gurgthock.

Quick Facts

• Quest Level: 77
• Chain Position: Breadcrumb leading into the 6-quest Amphitheater of Anguish series
• Pairs With: Any trip to Dalaran. Grab this before heading to Zul’Drak.

Walkthrough

Find Shifty Vickers

• Shifty Vickers is a goblin who wanders the Underbelly (Dalaran’s sewer system), so he won’t always be in the same spot.
• Access the Underbelly through the entrance near the Violet Citadel staircase, or drop through the well near [48, 32]. Multiple entry points exist around the city.
• He’s a fight promoter pitching Gurgthock’s latest venture. Accept the quest and head out.

Travel to the Amphitheater

• Head to the Amphitheater of Anguish at [47, 57] in Zul’Drak, northeast of the Argent Stand.
• Speak to Gurgthock on the platform above the arena to turn in the quest and begin the chain.

Efficiency Tips

• This is a breadcrumb quest. You can skip it and go straight to Gurgthock at the Amphitheater, but picking it up first counts toward The Empire of Zul’Drak (100 quests). If you’re chasing the zone achievement, don’t skip it.
• The Amphitheater chain is a group quest series (suggested 5 players). The fights scale up in difficulty across six bosses, starting with the jormungar Yggdras and ending with the vrykul champion Vladof the Butcher. Round up a group before starting.
• Completing the Ring of Blood in Nagrand (TBC) is not required. The chains are separate.
• The Amphitheater rewards some of the best weapons available at level 77, so it’s worth doing as soon as you can assemble a group.

Lore Context

Shifty’s pitch references Gurgthock and his troll bodyguard Wodin running the Ring of Blood in Outland.

The Amphitheater of Anguish is the WotLK continuation of that tradition, a format Blizzard has revisited in every expansion since (Crucible of Carnage in Cataclysm, Arena of Annihilation in Mists, and onward through Dragonflight’s Field of Ferocity).

The quest text’s reference to a “fight club” ties into the achievement, The First Rule of Ring of Blood is You Don’t Talk About Ring of Blood, a nod to the 1999 film.

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