Stratholme Service Entrance

The city of Stratholme (pronounced ˈstrathːhɔlm ) was the northernmost and second most populous city of the kingdom of Lordaeron, and is the city where the Order of the Silver Hand was founded. Today, Stratholme is the Scourge's capital in Lordaeron. The mad Prince Arthas ravaged Stratholme in the Third War and the undead moved in soon after. Stratholme burns to this day.

The service entrace is found at Eastwall Gate.

History

 * Once the jewel of northern Lordaeron, the city of Stratholme is where Prince Arthas turned against his mentor, Uther Lightbringer, and slaughtered hundreds of his own subjects who were believed to have contracted the dreaded plague of undeath. Arthas' downward spiral and ultimate surrender to the Lich King soon followed.


 * The broken, burning city came to be a haven for the undead Scourge, who gathered behind Stratholme's massive watchtowers and iron gates. In years past, both champions of the Light and zealots of the Scarlet Crusade ventured into Stratholme to battle these monstrosities - and, almost to a man, they failed. Now, these former champions of humanity stand resurrected, bolstering the Scourge further. If they are not sealed in their lair, the forces of undeath, led by the death knight Lord Aurius Rivendare and the dreadlord Balnazzar, will soon boil forth to ravage Lordaeron once again.

Dungeon - Disable the Ziggurats

 * Destroy the Ash'ari Crystals to disable the ziggurats and gain access to the Slaughterhouse.
 * Ash'ari Crystals destroyed (3)
 * Baroness Anastari defeated
 * Maleki the Pallid defeated
 * Nerub'enkan defeated

Dungeon denizens

 * Abominations
 * Banshees
 * Crypt fiends
 * Death knights (one, Lord Aurius Rivendare)
 * Gargoyles
 * Ghouls
 * s
 * Skeletal warriors
 * Skeletons
 * Wights (one, Magistrate Barthilas)
 * Wraiths
 * Zombies

Summary
To get to Lord Aurius Rivendare, the 3 Ash'ari Crystals must be toppled. These Crystals are guarded by 3 of the bosses: Baroness Anastari, Nerub'enkan and Maleki the Pallid. Kill them, and all five Thuzadin Acolytes inside the ziggurats they guard, and the Crystals will be toppled, allowing you entry to Slaughter Square where Lord Rivendare awaits.

Once you clear out all the abomination trash in Slaughter Square where the Slaughter House stands, Aurius will send out Ramstein the Gorger to kill the group. After Ramstein, two waves of trash, Mindless Undead and Black Guard Sentry, must be killed to unlock Lord Rivendare's room, to which he challenges the players to take him on.

The Black Guard Swordsmith is triggered by clicking on some blacksmithing plans on the floor to the right of the stairs of the First Ziggurat. Baroness Anastari is at the top of the stairs.

Quests

 * Liquid Gold
 * Argent Reinforcements
 * Man Against Abomination
 * Weapons for War
 * Lord Aurius Rivendare (quest)

Trivia

 * There is a raid instance portal at Slaughter Square. This was intended to lead to Naxxramas, similar to the Molten Core entrance from Blackrock Depths. Carefully using a flying mount to approach Stratholme from the outside shows that an old version of the necropolis is still flying near Slaughter Square. The portal can be seen during the event before Rivendare, when lesser undead are brought in from the area. If you delay, the area will close and you will become stuck. The tunnel leads to an abandoned place where an invisible necropolis is, which can be seen with a model viewer.