A nice guide to DM (Dire Maul, not Deadmines!)

**Cush** · 05-27-2006

Id like to give credit to all the people who taught me the ways of DM, and all those who helped me better understand the complex workings of this place, along with class roles for this long expanse of a dungeon in Argent Dawn server:

For East Side DM:

Zabusa

Volwraith

Yraplemoon

Colwyn

Uwpawnez

Ashwipy

Tenthan

Tholin

For North Side (Tribute) DM:

Zabusa

Volwraith

Ashwipy

Nisme

Colwyn

For West Side DM:

Iruliandae

Grennon

Volwraith

Axenus

Metabo

Elroy

Cerak

Khaless

Tholin

I realize that I have forgotten some people who helped me to understand the inner workings of DM, but forgive me, as I have done many runs, and all the names have escaped me.

Sections:

I. Overview of DM
A. East Side
1. Boss Listing
2. Suggested Groups
B. North Side
1. Goal of Tribute
2. Needed Materials
3. Suggested Groups
C. West Side
1. Boss Listing
2. Suggested Groups
II. East Side
A. Hydrospawn
1. Entering DM east
2. The Shortest Yard
3. Big and Wet- Yeah, that�s how we like it (Boss Fight Hydrospawn)
B. Zevrim Thornhoof
1. After the Pool Party� Drying Off
2. Your Very Own Hellcaster Barbeque
3. The Demon Who Wanted to Be An Aztec� A Mid-Life Identity Crisis of Gigantic Proportions (Boss Fight: Zevrim Thornhoof )
C. Lethtendris
1. Still Got the Jitters? Jump Off A Cliff
2. ANOTHER Tunnel� The Development of Claustrophobia
3. Uber Warlock, or Rabid Spider Man Fan? You Decide (Boss Fight: Lethtendris )
D. Azzlin the Wildshaper
1. The Longest Yard
2. Old Man Tree Foot� Finally Free of His Thorn Hoof
3. Hmmm... Batcave Anyone?
4. Thought You Had Problems? The Man With Three Faces (Boss Fight: Azzlin the Wildshaper)
E. Bonuses: things to look out for
1. Pusillin , the Single Most Annoying Demon To Ever Walk Out Of the Void!
2. Warpwood Pod: the Single Most Useful Trap You�ll Ever See

III. North Side (Tribute)
A. A Warning to All Trigger Happy Adventurers: Gordoks Are Your Friends
1. A Broken Trap , the Shame of All Gordok Kind!
2. Learn to Mingle, and How To Party: Get Your Very Own Gordok Ogre Suit!!!
B. Entering DM North
1. Don�t Have A Rogue?? Don�t Say I Didn�t Warn You
2. Path To The Second Key: A Study On How Not To Get Caught
a. Warning: Let The Inebriated Sleep Drunkenly, Don�t Bother Stomper Kreeg
C. The Dungeon Crawl, Up to The Throne
1. I Have My Eye On You: Psychotic Warlock Minon On the Loose Wandering Eye of Kilrogg
2. Give a Gordok Cold Feet!: Setting the Broken Trap
3. Give the Goblin His Due: Fetch Him Some Ogre Tannin
4. Partying Hard in The One and Only Gordok Ogre Suit
D. At The Throne: Stage Your Very Own Coup De�Tant
1. The One and Only Boss Fight: A Struggle For the Ogre Throne With King Gordok
2. Collecting Gordok Tribute
E. Bonuses
1. Poor �Lil �Ol Goblin, Think Twice Before You Free Knot!
2. Warpwood Pod: the Single Most Useful Trap You�ll Ever See

IV. West Side
A. The First Pylon: A Study of Banishing and Mana Burn
1. Elemental-Be-Gone: A Guide To Warlock Usage
2. The First Pull: The Mana Burn Deep Fryer
B. Tendris Warpwood
1. Avoiding Old Man Ironbark Protector
2. Horse Trapped Inside a Tree? One Thing You Wouldn�t Suspect of Tendris Warpwood
C.��Next Two Pylons: Hip Deep in Undead
1. Peekaboo! Eldreth Phantasm Detection: Part II of the DareDeviledEgg Guide to Warlock Usage
2.You Better Start Believing In Ghost Stories, Squishy, You�re In One!
3.Highbourne: They Don�t Like Death, Do They?
4.Second Pylon, Same as the First, But Simpler.
5.A Quick Trip to a Second Hidden Patrol
6. Shen�dralar Ancient , One of the Best Quests Ever
7. Third Pylon, Bet You�re Starting To Get Real Tired Of This, Aren�t You?
a. The Price�s Woman, She�s So Mean, Can�t Blame the Prince For Killing Her: A Mob to Watch Out For Illyanna Ravenoak
D. The Prison of Immol�thar
1.A Long Drop, Then A Tunnel
2.The Elementals From Heck, and Back
3.Last Two Pylons
a. Monstrosity You Say? They Don�t Look Too Bad: A Mob to Look Out For, Residual Monstrosity
4.Entering the Arena: Another Use for a Rogue
5.He�s Watching You, 1000 Eyes At A Time (Boss Fight: Immol�thar )
E. The Library
1.Holy Repair Shop, Batman!
2.Elven Legends: So That�s Where He Is!!! Too Bad He�s Dead
3.Leroy Brown�s Big Bad Brother: Prince Tortheldrin
4.You Thought Gordok Tribute Was Good? Check Out This Crap

V. More To Come...

That is all the sections I have at the moment. Plan on adding a DM Challenge group and run strategy later on, as well as strategies to take on The Razza and other such Maul Arena bosses at a later time, but as for now, I already have my hands full. Enjoy the guide, and use it well!

Overview of DM:

Dire Maul, as you all probably know, and for those of you that do not, is a level 55 through 60 set of instances, made up of three sections: DM East, North (also commonly referred to as Tribute), and West. Each DM side gets progressively more difficult (in my opinion) and by the time you hit West side, you should have a good idea of what a big raid group is like, in that you will have to know you class fluently, and be able to take orders almost instantly during the course of a battle. My guide is put forth as a potential learning tool, as you might want to analyze some of the steps and decisions I have put forward, improving on them or using them to put together an entire new strategy I have not thought of. Whatever your purpose, I hope you find this guide of some use.

East Side:

Bosses:
Hydrospawn
Zevrim Thornhoof
Lethtendris
Azzlin the Wildshaper
Pusillin

Suggested Groups:

Balanced:
1 Rogue
1 Hunter
1 Priest/Druid
1 Warrior/Paladin
1 Paladin/Warlock

Longevity:
2 Warrior
1 Warlock
1 Paladin
1 Druid/Priest

Speed:
2 Rogue
1 Warlock
1 Warrior
1 Priest

The Eastern side of DM is known for the notoriously short time in which all bosses can be killed and looted, and as a result, or perhaps for that reason Blizzard decided to give most of these bosses only one drop at a time, Azzlin the Wildshaper being the exception. Take note that while Pusillin is listed among the bosses, he is not part of the short boss path; in fact, he usually takes more time than two of the boss runs, and does not drop anything spectacular.

North Side

Bosses:
King Gordok

Needed Materials for a Successful Tribute Run:

Both sets of materials can be found in their respective quest descriptions:

A Broken Trap

Gordok Ogre Suit

Suggested Groups:

Balanced:
1 Warlock
1 Rogue
1 Druid/Priest
1 Paladin/Warrior
1 Hunter

Longevity:
2 Warlock
1 Rogue
1 Priest
1 Warrior

Speed:
2 Rogue
1 Mage
1 Priest
1 Warrior

The North side of DM is a transitional difficulty between East and West. Mobs are often manageable. The main focus of this dungeon crawl is avoiding enemies, and since there are several locked doors, it is wise to bring a Rogue with a 300 skill level in lock picking along, so as to not lessen your tribute (more on that later), which the instance is sometimes named after. One last thing to remember is to not kill any named mobs besides the King Gordok, no matter how tempting it may seem.

West Side:

Bosses:

Tendris Warpwood
Illyanna Ravenoak
Immol�thar
Prince Tortheldrin
Magister Kalendris

I realize I do not have the Magister listed under my guide section, but I have yet to find a group willing to go past the Prince

Suggested groups:

Balanced:
1 Rogue
1 Warlock
1 Warrior
1 Priest/Druid
1 Mage/Paladin

Longevity:
1 Rogue
1 Warlock
2 Warrior
1 Priest

Speed:
1 Warlock
2 Rogue
1 Warrior
1 Priest

Challenge:
2 Warrior
1 Paladin
1 Druid
1 Rogue

*I�m more familiar with West side as of this moment, and being such, I thought of the most difficult (and successful) group I have had as of yet to put the Challenge group together, but I will not write down the strategies we used until the rest of my guide is posted.*

West side is, in my opinion, the most difficult side of Dire Maul in that there are much more nasty surprises lying in wait for the unsuspecting five man including, but not limited to: invisible patrols, mobs with AOE silence, mobs with a significant amount of mana burn. There are however, strong compensations for running west side, among them is a quest which gives a reward of 2g70s (not 100% sure on sp amount) and a reward of either Bonecrusher, Backwood Helm, or Sedge Boots; all of which are very good PvP gear, and if you are not able to use any of the above, the Bonecrusher sells for a fair amount.

((Please forgive my lack of directions in North, South, East, or West format, will fix these after guide is completely finished))

II. East Side

A. Hydrospawn

1. Entering DM east:

When your group first enters the instance, there will be a warpood patrol mob in front of you, ignore it. When it goes away, quickly go to the ledge to your left (Note: if you wish to kill Pusillin , right click him and go down to the quotation mark that says �What? What game?�) to the rock protruding from the surface of the floor, and jump off, aiming to hit the wall.

With luck, or good aim, you will hit the ledge of the wall. Be careful to keep as close as you can, because I have been on many a run when the player seems to slide off. If any player (excluding rogues, they can stealth) falls off of the wall, it would probably be a wise decision to go down with them, as there is usually a death lasher, or some other such elemental waiting close to the wall, and a patrol of three warpwoods.

Make your way along the wall in the opposite direction of which you came. Be wary of the patrols, they come at either the first or second hill. Once you reach the end of the wall, go along it to the other end, there will be an entrance to a room, go into it.

2. The Shortest Yard:

You may have been unpleasantly surprised to find that there was a stealthed patrol. Do not fear, with a group of five, you should easily overcome the demon. Once the demon is gone, or you have ascertained that there is, in fact, no demon whatsoever, go out of the doorway in the wall to your left.

Hug the wall to your right side, and be aware that there many be another stealthed patrol. If you are suddenly afflicted with entangling roots, a poison, or several small elementals, don�t panic. You have not pulled a stray mob, you just ran too close to a Warpwood Pod.

When you run into a rock, and you can see a shallow pool behind a slightly extending wall, stop. Inside the pool is your first boss.

3. Big and Wet- Yeah, that�s how we like it (Boss Fight Hydrospawn)

((Okay, now you know about rabbits? Those little furry things that multiply faster than boredom in a second grade math class? Well, this boss is like a water elemental rabbit... a big, wet rabbit.))
Fingon, run 5 of east side

This boss is cake, really. Cake, that is, if you are mindful of two things: Hydrospawn has an AOE knockback spell, and as you begin to hack him to pieces, drops of smaller elementals solidify on the ground, to form a total of three elementals.

Always fight to the north or south of Hydrospawn, otherwise, he may knock you into a group of three elites, or a Hellcaster with his imp posse. The spawned elementalsdo not deal too much damage, the greatest threat that they represent is the interruption of healing spells, so have a hunter, paladin, a warlock�s voidwalker, or the off tank warrior pull them, and focus on bringing Hydrospawn down, as he should be in loot mode quite quickly.

B. Zevrim Thornhoof
1. After the Pool Party� Drying Off

That�s right, you just beat your first boss. What did it take you? Five minutes? I bet your feeling pretty darn smug right now. Well, now its time to be sneaky again.

Go to the other end of the pool, jump onto the ledge. Run along the edge to your right, until you reach the passage between the two walls. Go through the passage, and go to your right again. You should be facing a wall a small distance in front of you.

Go to the wall, and jump on the ledge, but be careful you don�t aggro any mobs. Turn left, and go along the ledge until you reach an entrance to a ramp leading into a tunnel that spirals upward, but hug the wall, and make sure you only go to the right side of the ramp and into the tunnel for a few feet, as there is a camp of about three demons to your left that can be pulled on accident if you are not careful.

Going up the tunnel, there is always one or two of those stealthed demons, but they are not any real problem, once you reach the exit of the tunnel, stop, and take in your surroundings: a Hellcaster and surrounding little demons, and a big nasty looking named to your left.

2. Your Very Own Hellcaster Barbeque

((Note: this section does not need to be cleared, but I would recommend it just to be safe))

There is a Hellcaster standing in front of you, staring back at you from the exit of the tunnel. Despite the very mean sounding name, and the fact that he is much bigger than his fellow demons, fret not, for in truth he is a squishy. If you have a rogue there, he can most likely hold the Hellcaster in a status lock until your group is done with the non elites (also kind of squishy themselves) by just spamming kick and kidney shot.

Keep to this strategy, and you should have the Hellcaster and crew down in no time flat.

3. The Demon Who Wanted to Be An Aztec� A Mid-Life Identity Crisis of Gigantic Proportions (Boss Fight: Zevrim Thornhoof )

((You know what they say about people being born behind their times? Well, this guy is something like that.))
Fingon run seven of east side

This boss encounter is something to look out for.

The one ability this boss has which generally induces a wipe is the ability to sacrifice any player onto his altar. What I mean by sacrifice, is that he puts the player in chains, effectively immobilizing the character, and deals massive damage while draining life at the same time. It is wise to heal the player who is currently being sacrificed.

The reason I recommended that the Hellcaster is eliminated was to give your group room to move around, more specifically, for the caster types to stay away from Thornhoof�s evil, evil sacrificing ability.

Other than that, the only thing that might give you trouble is his ability to slap DOTs on every meleeing player instantly, before giving one his specific attention.

Keep these things in mind, and you will most likely finish Zevrim with at least one healer intact.

C. Lethtendris

1. Still Got the Jitters? Jump Off A Cliff

Well, actually, not a cliff, more like an elevated ledge... but yeah.

After your somewhat epic battle with that red furred demon, face south, and go to the left hand corner, drop to the floor right beneath you.

It may help to turn around and walk off the edge, as you want to remain as close to the wall as you possibly can, for now.

2. ANOTHER Tunnel� The Development of Claustrophobia

Now that you�re all safely at the ground level, if you face south, there will be a group of three demons. No problem, really. If you�re worried, have a warlock banish one of them.

After the troublesome threesome is gone, hug the wall to your left and go into the tunnel. There usually is a stealthed mob here, so be prepared.

At the top of the tunnel, there will be a ramp, go up the ramp, but wait till all your mana, etc. is charged before going into the square.

3. Uber Warlock, or Rabid Spider Man Fan? You Decide (Boss Fight: Lethtendris )

((Well, the first time I killed her, I found a piece of web. I was like WOAH, and then out of the shadows, I swear, some guy came swinging on a rope and tried to take it from me.))
Fingon, run 3 of east side

Lethtendris is perhaps the easiest boss to handle, even with her minon. Both Lethtendris and her minon can be stunned, and since her minon can deal sizeable amounts of AOE damage, it is usually best to keep Lethtendris incapacitated while you take out her minon.

No really nasty surprises, just a simple boss who deals a sizeable amount of shadow damage, you might want to put an aura or blessing of shadow resistance on, just to be safe. She should e down with no casualties of any kind fairly quickly.

D. Azzlin the Wildshaper

1. The Longest Yard

Now that you have Lethtendris out of the way, head back down the tunnel, kill the Hellcaster and his posse, go across the pool, and head back to the entrance of the way you came when fighting hydrospawn.

2. Old Man Tree Foot� Finally Free of His Thorn Hoof

This is where having a rogue or a druid comes in handy. If you have either of the classes, have the rogue or the druid head up the stone pathway until they see Ironbark The Redeemed. Have them click the speech bubble, and come back to the rest of the group, who is waiting at the entrance to Hydrospawn�s area.

If you do not have either of those above classes, you will have to clear a few patrols to reach him, but it should be no big deal.

Quickly hug the wall towards your right in a northern direction, and be aware that there are two patrols that are masked by the foliage of the eastern wall so be alert. After you have reached the end of the eastern wall, you will see a door to your left, go in it, but watch out for yet another patrol.

3. Hmmm... Batcave Anyone?

No, this is not an area labeled as the batcave, but that is just what I call it. Go through the tunnel that the door leads to, and you will find yourself in a big circular enclosure, with a ledge right in front of you.

Go up to the ledge, and if you keep to your left, there will be a rock. Mount the ledge by jumping onto the rock, and you should be able to get down just fine.

At the bottom, there will be flower groups of 1 elite and 2 to 3 lesser flowers. Dispatch these quickly and keep a lookout for a wandering ancient protector patrol.

4. Thought You Had Problems? The Man With Three Faces (Boss Fight: Azzlin the Wildshaper)

((Demons, trees, and wolves, oh my!))
Fingon, run 8 of east side

This is it, the final boss of east side. He has two things to look out for.

One of them being, as his name suggests, his ability to change shapes. The cycle of demon form, tree form, and wolf form is a timed thing, so at least its constant. The demon form is a spellcaster, the tree is a tank, and the wolf is a nasty rogue type thing that deals out some heavy damage.

The other thing to look out for is that about 3/4 of the way through his life, he will summon about 6 to7 non elites to pester you. They usually take so long in getting there, though, that if you just keep up the fire on Azzlin, he should be dead with plenty of time to spare for his little demon minons.

After you kill the final boss, notice that there is suddenly a hole in the wall? Go through it, it�s a shorter way out, and there are usually 3 to 4 rich thorium veins waiting to be mined.

That is East side, should not have taken you too overly long.

E. Bonuses: things to look out for

1. Pusillin , the Single Most Annoying Demon To Ever Walk Out Of the Void!

Unless you have a rogue with high enough lockpicking, you will need to kill him to access the rest of the instances, for he drops the Crescent Key, a darn useful trinket if I ever saw one.

Okay, when you first walk into the instance, there will be a green named demon. Look friendly? Don�t be deceived, you�ll desperately want to have his blood stained all over you very soon.

Go up to the little imp, and you�ll see he has a speech bubble, right click him, and you�ll see a response of �Game? What game?� or some other similar thing. Click the response, and you will see him dash off south. You�ll have to clear many groups and patrols of plant like elementals to get to him. Talk to him, and the little imp will run off in again, which is where you begin to get really irritated.

When you have chased him several times, and he has reached the eastern wall, go up to him, talk it out again, and he�ll go to the tunnel to your right, no matter how fast he has seemed to disappear, that is where he goes.

At the end of the tunnel, remember to go straight, there will be a room full of flowers and demons, and you�ll see your tormentor not very far in. When you talk to him again, your character issues a very satisfying �DIE!� at which point it is usually beneficial to sigh with pleasure, or laugh, I did both.

Whichever action you chose, you find to your extreme displeasure that Pusillin has ran away yet again! Never fear, this is the last and final time you will have to chase him. Once you have followed him up the ramp, make sure your party is all rested and ready, then you shall utter a last �Prepare to meet your maker!!!� after which Pusillin will blow up to a much bigger size, summon five demons, and fail to put up a very good match against all the pent up rage you are most likely feeling against him now. Pusillin is vulnerable to stun and any other status effect, excepting banish/enslavement, which you want to throw at him, and his litle imps are extremely squishy.

Complete this, and you should have the crescent key in anywhere between 1/1� hours. Such a pain.

2. Warpwood Pod: the Single Most Useful Trap You�ll Ever See

Now, you�ve probably been wondering about all those little pods on the ground that either erupt in poison, spout little flower elementals, or bust out an entangling root on you, haven�t you?

Well, its not so bad as they seem. The Warpwood pods, I believe, are timed: stand next to one too long, and that�s when it get you. But if you manage to get up to it quick enough to open it, you will be rewarded with the extremely useful Thornling Seed.

Such seeds are useful in taking away the attention of adds, and deal 100 AOE damage every three seconds when fully grown. Good luck looting them.