So Far, So Bad

Quest Giver: Stefan Vadu — Ebon Watch, Zul’Drak [14, 73]

Objective: Return to Overlord Drakuru and complete his task (It Rolls Downhill), AND secretly use the Diluting Additive on 5 Blight Cauldrons at the Reliquary of Pain.

Quick Facts

• Level: 75
• Location: Voltarus/Reliquary of Pain, Zul’Drak
• Chain Position: Step 6 of the Drakuru infiltration chain (following Infiltrating Voltarus).
• Next Quest: Hazardous Materials

Walkthrough

This quest establishes the rhythm that defines the rest of the Voltarus chain: Stefan gives you the parent quest with a secret sabotage objective, you teleport into Voltarus to get Drakuru’s sub-quest, complete both objectives in the Reliquary of Pain, turn in Drakuru’s task to him, then report back to Stefan. You’re playing both sides.

Understanding the Structure

So Far, So Bad has two tracked objectives:

• “Drakuru’s task complete” — Go to Drakuru in Voltarus, accept his sub-quest It Rolls Downhill, complete it, and turn it in to him.
• “Blight Cauldrons diluted (5)” — Stefan’s secret assignment. Use the Diluting Additive on 5 Blight Cauldrons in the Reliquary of Pain while you’re down there doing Drakuru’s work.

You can complete both objectives in any order during the same trip.

Step 1: Get Drakuru’s Sub-Quest

Activate your disguise, travel to the Reliquary of Pain [~28, 45], teleport into Voltarus, and speak to Drakuru.

He’ll offer It Rolls Downhill, which requires you to use the Scepter of Suggestion to mind-control Blight Geists and command them to harvest 7 Blight Crystals from the pools around the Reliquary of Pain. (See the It Rolls Downhill quest page for detailed mechanics on the pet control system.)

Step 2: Dilute 5 Blight Cauldrons (Stefan’s Secret Mission)

While you’re in the Reliquary of Pain area working on It Rolls Downhill, right-click the Diluting Additive near any Blight Cauldron. These are found on wheeled plague wagons around the perimeter of the Reliquary of Pain. Confirmed coordinates:

• [31, 44] (two cauldrons here, one on a wagon and one on the ground)
• [31, 45]
• [27, 46]
• [29, 47]

Critical: Diluting a cauldron spawns Alarmed Blightguards who can see through your disguise. They appear a few seconds after you finish the throw animation. Strategies for handling this:

• Throw and run. Use the additive from range, then immediately move away before the Blightguards spawn. They’ll spawn at the cauldron, not on top of you.
• Flying mount method. If you have Cold Weather Flying: land near a cauldron, break disguise by mounting (or just drop disguise), throw the additive, then mount up and fly away before the Blightguards reach you. The cauldron dilution does NOT require your disguise to be active.
• You can reuse the same cauldron. If you find a safe spot near one, you can dilute it multiple times rather than hunting for five different cauldrons.
• Hunters: Feign Death works without breaking your disguise, making this trivial.
• Rogues and Feral Druids: Do NOT use stealth in this area. Stealthing spawns Blightguards who will attack you.

Step 3: Turn In Drakuru’s Task

After completing It Rolls Downhill and diluting 5 cauldrons, teleport back into Voltarus and turn in It Rolls Downhill to Drakuru. This marks the “Drakuru’s task complete” objective as done.

Step 4: Report to Stefan

Teleport back down to the Reliquary of Pain (exit pad is down the ramp from the entry pad) and blow Stefan’s Horn to summon him.

Turn in So Far, So Bad to Stefan for your rewards. His completion text reflects growing confidence in the operation: “Nice work! Diluting those cauldrons will not only save lives, it will slow the growth of the Scourge in this region.”

Lore Context

This quest perfectly captures the double agent framework. Stefan tells you to “do whatever you must to appear sincere” while secretly sabotaging the Scourge’s blight production.

Every trip to Voltarus now serves two masters: you do Drakuru’s dirty work to maintain trust, then undermine him on Stefan’s behalf. The tension of this dual loyalty escalates with each step of the chain.

The blight cauldrons are critical to the Scourge war effort in Zul’Drak. The Drakkari trolls are being converted into Scourge forces using this blight, so neutralizing the cauldrons has a real strategic impact. Stefan frames it plainly: “It should neutralize the scourging agent and render the batch useless.”

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.