The Drowned City in WoW Forever: Entrance, Quests and Bosses

The Drowned City is WoW Forever's level 35–40 dungeon, an open-air troll city that has risen from the sea off Stranglethorn Vale. In Blizzard's dungeon overview, "Trolls and naga now roam the city, while a nearby pirate ship appears to have met a very unfortunate end. Dive below the water to find the entrance, then watch the open-air dungeon change around you as mist and rain build into a full storm before the final confrontation."

The beta stopped at level 30, so no one had cleared The Drowned City before launch. This page gathers what is known: the entrance, every quest found in the game data, the bosses seen in Blizzard's demo and how to prepare. We mark where sources disagree, and we will update it once groups reach 35.

The Drowned City at a glance

Level range	35–40 (Blizzard)
Group size	5 players
Location	Off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale, west of Grom'gol
Entrance	Underwater cave (the Sunken Hollow), around 21.4, 27.9
Confirmed bosses	Zul'Alai, Var'Taka, Zin'aka, Captain Dreadrise (BlizzCon demo)
Enemies	Trolls, Brinescale naga, pirates
Quests found	3–5 depending on source; mostly or entirely Horde
Abbreviation	DC

Where is The Drowned City entrance?

Blizzard places it "off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale, west of Grom'gol." Warcraft Tavern's guide gives the detail. The entrance is underwater at about 21.4, 27.9 on the Stranglethorn map. Swim past the Vile Reef to the Sunken Hollow, near the island with the water elementals, and look for a cavern with a large tablet beside it. Zockify adds that naga guard the area around the portal, so gather the group before diving.

Inside, you come out of the cave and climb a hill to the ruins. Warcraft Tavern describes a large central area with a pool in the middle and smaller side sections that hold more bosses. The island is Gillijim's Isle, which existed in the original alpha but never made it into the released game.

Getting there as Horde

Take the zeppelin from Orgrimmar or the Undercity to Grom'gol Base Camp, the closest town to the dungeon. Zockify reports that the dungeon quests most likely start at Grom'gol, so pick them up before you swim out.

Getting there as Alliance

Fly to Booty Bay and work north along the west coast, or come south through Duskwood and the Rebel Camp. Grom'gol's guards are hostile, so swim offshore past the base camp rather than along the beach.

Preparing for the dive

The entrance is underwater, so bring extra breath for the whole group:

• Undead have a longer underwater breath timer as a racial.
• Warlocks can cast Unending Breath on party members.
• Shamans can cast Water Breathing.
• Anyone can drink an Elixir of Water Breathing, an Alchemy potion.

A note from WoW Forever Builds: game client data shows creatures in every Forever dungeon dealing 1.2 times their normal melee and spell damage, with unchanged health. That is datamined, not announced, but it is a good reason to bring a real tank and healer rather than five DPS.

The Drowned City quests

Sources disagree on the quests. All of them are based on game data, not on someone running the dungeon:

Quest	Faction	Level	Objective	Rewards (reported)
Enemies in the Water (pre-quest)	Horde	req. 30	Kill Brinescale Skirmishers in the old troll ruins off the coast, collect 10 Brinescale Tridents	—
The Only Good Brinescale…	Horde	38	Kill Var'Taka, leader of the Brinescale naga	1g 30s; Tidesoaked Leggings or Naga Priestess's Mantle; Darkspear Trolls and Orgrimmar reputation
Locating the Lost City (pre-quest)	Horde	req. 30	Lead-in to the tablet quest	—
The Drowned City	Horde	40	Use the hide and charcoal you're given to take rubbings of the four Tablets of I'lalai	Darkspear Trolls and Orgrimmar reputation
Ancient Gurubashi Idol	Horde	40	Not published in full	1g; Earthen Ring and Darkspear Trolls reputation
Magics of the Drowned City	Alliance?	40	Not published	—
Take Two With Water	Alliance?	40	Not published	—

Notes on the sources:

• Zockify found seven Horde quests in the beta client, three inside the dungeon and four lead-ins, all needing level 30 and all shareable. It found no Alliance quests. It suggests the quest giver is likely Kin'weelay at Grom'gol, and that the city may be the lost troll city of I'lalai.
• WoW Forever Builds reads the live client and also lists only Horde quests: three of them, rewarding Darkspear Trolls, Orgrimmar and Earthen Ring reputation. It notes a one-day lockout entry for the dungeon in the client. Blizzard hasn't said how it is used.
• Forever vs Classic and Warcraft Tavern list Magics of the Drowned City and Take Two With Water as Alliance quests.

Practical advice: as Horde, stop at Grom'gol first and pick up everything there. Don't delete the hide and charcoal, because you need them inside. As Alliance, check Booty Bay and the Stranglethorn quest hubs for the two possible Alliance quests. If they aren't there, run the dungeon for kill XP and loot only.

The Drowned City bosses

Warcraft Tavern confirmed four bosses from Blizzard's BlizzCon demo:

1. Zul'Alai, a troll.
2. Var'Taka, leader of the Brinescale naga and the target of The Only Good Brinescale…
3. Zin'aka. WoW Forever Guides describes it as an optional level-45 shark.
4. Captain Dreadrise, presumably from the wrecked pirate ship.

WoW Forever Guides also lists Gill, Min'loth the Serpent and a Deathless Marrow / Primeval Elemental encounter from NPC records. Blizzard says a storm builds through the run before the final fight, which may make one of these the last boss. None of these extra names has been confirmed in a live run, so treat them as possible encounters.

Loot to watch for

The quest rewards in the table above are the only confirmed items. WoW Forever Guides reports a trinket called Heart of the Primeval from the elemental encounter. Full boss loot tables aren't published yet.

Should you run The Drowned City?

For Horde, almost certainly. Grom'gol is right next door, the quests pay gold, reputation and gear, and Blizzard raised dungeon kill XP by about 20% on 8 October, according to the beta development notes. The same notes show that dungeon quests lost half their extra bonus XP on 1 October, so you aren't missing a huge quest reward if you skip it.

For Alliance, it depends on whether the Alliance quests exist at launch. Without quests it is a long trip for kill XP and loot. Questing in Stranglethorn or the new Riverglades, which covers the mid-30s to mid-40s for both factions, may be better use of the evening. Our dungeon vs questing guide explains the trade-off.

Next in level order is Krol'dok Stronghold (40–45) inside the Riverglades. Before it comes the City of Dalaran (28–33). The full list is in our WoW Forever dungeons guide, and the RestedXP Dungeon Guide page explains how RestedXP's dungeon route handles quest pickups.

Compare it with the free options in our RestedXP review, or see how the RestedXP discount code is applied.

Frequently asked questions

What level is The Drowned City in WoW Forever?

Blizzard lists The Drowned City for levels 35–40. Its quests in the beta data require level 30 and are level 38–40, so aim to enter at 37–38 with the quests in your log.

Where is The Drowned City entrance?

Off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale, west of Grom'gol, according to Blizzard. The entrance is underwater: Warcraft Tavern places it around 21.4, 27.9 on the Stranglethorn map, past the Vile Reef, in a cave called the Sunken Hollow with a large tablet beside it.

How many bosses are in The Drowned City?

Four were confirmed from Blizzard's demo: Zul'Alai, Var'Taka, Zin'aka and Captain Dreadrise. Fan databases list more boss names from the client data, but nobody had cleared the dungeon before launch, so the final count is unconfirmed.

Does The Drowned City have Alliance quests?

Unclear. One database lists two Alliance quests, Magics of the Drowned City and Take Two With Water. Two others that read the newer client say every quest found so far is Horde-only. Check for Alliance quest givers in Stranglethorn and Booty Bay at launch.

Do I need water breathing for The Drowned City?

You have to dive to reach the entrance, so extra breath helps. Undead have a longer breath timer, Warlocks have Unending Breath, Shamans have Water Breathing, and Elixirs of Water Breathing work for anyone.