Utgarde Keep Review By Dylan Fogle
Published on Ugly Goblin blog at http://uglygoblin.com/wow/utgarde-keep/ 11/20/2008 (Republished here as Ugly Goblin seems to have fallen off the internet…)
The impervious fortress of the savage Vrykul, Utgarde Keep (UK) stands among the cliffs of Daggercap Bay in the Howling Fjord region of Northrend. Stretching deep into the earth, the long thought abandoned stronghold has recently become very active with Proto-Drakes, Vrykul and Scourge with the introduction of the new continent Northrend. Utgarde Keep is the first five-toon dungeon in the Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK) expansion for World of Warcraft. The dungeon is designed as a “starter dungeon” for players new to Northrend and WotLK.
Choosing your group
Finding a group for Utgarde Keep shouldn’t be hard, plenty of new Death Knights and old level 70+ toons will be eager to run the dungeon. The quests and mobs are laid out in a very easy to understand linear progression. You will need a tank that understands the basics of single and area of effect (AoE) trash mob tanking. The whole instance can be done with no crowd control (CC), but it does make it easier on the tank if you have a Hunter or Mage for CC. Most of the trash mobs are in groups of two or three, with the occasional four-pull towards the end. You will also NEED a great healer that can deal with all of your group’s noob mistakes, because you will probably be running with a pick-up group (PUG). Your healer should be decently geared and know how to heal a group. The characters you choose to group with to PUG Utgarde Keep does not really matter. As long as you have five players that understand their roles – and have a good attitude – you should be able to roll right through Utgarde Keep and get some decent loot.
Quests
Utgarde Keep presents you with quests that may lead to your first gear upgrades since Outlands. The quest rewards are not meant to last until you reach the level cap, currently at level eighty, but will definitely help you make your way to end-game raiding. Quests can be picked up in Vengeance Landing and inside the dungeon. Completing the quests should not be a challenge for any group successfully completing the instance. Between quests and experience (XP) from mobs, Utgarde Keep is good for three to four bars of XP per run at level seventy.
Trash Mobs
Trash mobs and bosses are designed to be easy and challenging at the same time. If your group takes its time to learn the layout of enemies in the dungeon you should have few problems completing the instance. Most trash pulls can be AoE tanked without much trouble. The boss fights are mostly “Tank and Spank” with a few details thrown in to make it fun.
Prince Keleseth
The first boss, Prince Keleseth, is the Scourge overlord of Howling Fjord and the ambassador to the Vrykul. Keleseth should be AoE tanked and all damage per second players (dps) and healers should stand with the tank directly in front of the boss. The Prince has two abilities that need to be dealt with – Ice Tomb and Skeleton adds – both of which can be AoE’d out of nicely. Keleseth drops Keleseth’s Blade of Evocation – Dagger, Reinforced Velvet Helm – cloth helm and Dragon Stabler’s Gauntlets – mail gloves.
Skarvald the Constructor
The second boss, Skarvald the Constructor and Dalronn the Controller, are Vrykul bosses with a fight similar to Romulo and Julianne in Karazhan. The bosses will aggro together and must die very close to the same time or a spirit version of the boss appears. Spirit versions have the same attacks yet can not be targeted, they live until the other boss is dead. The plan I have used successfully is attacking Skarvald until he is at 15% hit points, then everyone attacks Dalronn until he is dead, then destroy Skarvald. He will randomly charge a party member so everyone should be close to the tank to keep the boss close at hand and easy to deal with. If he runs, don’t chase. Skarvald will drop Chestplate of the Northern Lights – plate chest, Skarvald’s Dragonskin Habergeon – leather chest or the Arm Blade of Augelmir – fist weapon.
Ingvar the Plunderer
The last boss Ingvar the Plunderer directs the attacks on Valgarde from the balcony over the waterfall in Daggercap Bay. Ingvar can be a tough fight the first time through, expect to wipe at least the first few times through if no one has any experience with this fight. This fight is in two phases, with first phase while Ingvar is alive and the second phase after he dies. Phase one is relatively easy, make sure all melee dps stays behind the boss and the tank ducks out of his smash and roar. I have found it easiest for the tank to just take a few steps forward as he is casting and you can get out of the cone of effect nicely. After Ingvar dies he is resurrected and his attacks are much tougher, no longer can the tank get out of their way. The dark roar will silence the school of any spells being cast, so don’t cast during dark roar. Also be sure to get out of the way of the big spinning axe. If everyone pays attention this fight can be easy, or very hard and full of wipes with careless mistakes. Ingvar drops Holistic Patchwork Breeches – leather legs, Overlaid Chain Spaulders – mail shoulders and Ingvar’s Monolithic Cleaver – two-hand axe.
Opinion
For being designed as a “starter dungeon” I think Utgarde Keep is very fun and challenging. This dungeon will be run many times by many people getting easy experience points and loot. The Forge of Hate is one of my favorite places in all of Azeroth. It is very fun to kill the forge workers and shutdown the bellowing flames. Take your time on your first runs and enjoy the setting and the challenge provided. When your team is ready and rolling good, I have heard “this dungeon can be chain pulled in twelve minutes”. Anyone on Gnomeregan want to start an Utgarde Keep speed team?
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