Sunwell Plateau

The Sunwell Plateau is a raid instance located on the Isle of Quel'Danas north of Silvermoon City.

Background
Nearly seven thousand years ago, the Highborne were exiled from Kalimdor for refusing to give up arcane magic. Led by Dath'Remar Sunstrider, these elves founded their own kingdom of Quel'Thalas. For millennia the mystical pool of energy known as the Sunwell fueled the potent magic of the exiled high elves. Now, the remnants of this ancient fountain have become the Burning Legion's latest target as the demons prepare to summon their commander, Kil'jaeden, with the Sunwell's energy.

Heroes from Shattrath City have joined under the banner of the Shattered Sun Offensive, endeavoring to crush the Legion's invasion before it becomes insurmountable. More combatants join the Offensive every day, but the might of the Legion cannot be easily suppressed. Fierce demonic servants guard the Sunwell Plateau, attacking anyone who interferes with their proceedings. As the time of Kil'jaeden's arrival draws near, Azeroth's heroes have one final chance to save their world from blistering devastation.

Shattered Sun Offensive invaded Quel'Danas and waged war against the Legion, delaying Kael'thas' spellwork. Adventurers of the Alliance infiltrated the Sunwell Plateau and fought against Legion demons, Sunfury elves, and felblood elves. They also rescued and defeated prisoners such as the blue dragon Kalecgos, controlled by the nathrezim Sathrovarr, and the naaru M'uru. Entering the Sunwell chamber, Kil'jaeden rose from a rift in the Sunwell's depths before the Alliance's eyes. They fought hard, but it was eventually Anveena Teague who turned the tide. She sacrificed herself, using her remaining energy against the demon lord. The Alliance then managed to banish the weakened Kil'jaeden and close the gateway. The Sunwell laid tainted again, threatening to corrupt blood elves once more. Although Lor'themar Theron considered destroying the corrupted Sunwell, another solution presented itself. Velen had arrived to the halls, paying respects to the fallen naaru M'uru. However, he sensed in its heart a glimmer of power, so he used it to cleanse the Sunwell, transforming it into a font of Holy Light and arcane magic. In the wake of Kil'jaeden's fall, a lot of powerful artifacts were found and stored.

As with Quel'Danas, the plateau was eventually taken by the sin'dorei. They allowed high elves to make pilgrimages to the site of the Sunwell.

Geography
The instance contains both outdoor areas and building interiors, and inside the final building the Sunwell itself.

Loot
The Sunwell Plateau is tuned for Tier 6-geared players and the gear that drops from the first three bosses are additional Tier 6 items (boots, belt, and bracers), and non-set epics as well.

Achievements

 * Sunwell Plateau (achievement)
 * Sunwell Plateau Guild Run
 * Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury (achievement)

Attunement
The instance was open to players right from the start of patch 2.4, but the last 3 bosses were only available as each gate - which blocked the next boss encounter - opened over a set period of time on all servers. (Although this happened on maintenance day, so the US had an apparent one day advantage over the EU servers) The first gate was opened on 8 April 2008 in the US, two weeks after the patch went live. The second gate opened after weekly maintenance on April 29, 2008. The third and final gate was opened on May 20, 2008 on US realms. The difficulty of the instance was set at the first 3 bosses being on par with Tier 6 encounters, and then the last three and increasing from each.

Quel'delar
During the Quel'Delar quest chain players are visiting a heavily phased version of Sunwell Plateau once again.
 * Sunwell Guardian
 * Grand Magister Rommath
 * Lor'themar Theron
 * Sunwell Honor Guard
 * Blood Elf Pilgrim
 * High Elf Pilgrim
 * Young Pilgrim
 * Lady Liadrin
 * Chamberlain Galiros
 * Captain Auric Sunchaser

The Sunwell - Nightborne scenario

 * Sunwell Spellbreaker
 * Sunwell Warden
 * Sunwell Magus

Notes and trivia

 * When exactly the Plateau complex was constructed is unknown, and there are conflicting sources:
 * The site of the Sunwell was first seen in Warcraft III. The Fall of Silvermoon mission has the Sunwell in the center of Silvermoon City, despite the fact that the Sunwell Grove was present on maps.
 * In Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, Sylvanas Windrunner sent Tel'kor to the Sunwell Plateau, and it mentions that Arthas managed to mention the plateau, but it doesn't elaborate on any structures except for the Sunwell pool itself.
 * The Fury of the Sunwell trailer, showing the Sunwell before and during the Third War, is in an open space.
 * The Sunwell Trilogy depicts Dar'khan killing his colleagues and Sunwell's destruction during the Third War by Dar'Khan, with some structures around the Sunwell. The third part shows the Sunwell area as a crater, with some structures further away.
 * Blood of the Highborne mentions that Dar'Khan killed the magisters of the Convocation of Silvermoon in the Sunwell Plateau, but it doesn't elaborate on any structures. Later, when Kael and his companions were working their magic to destroy the corrupted Sunwell, no structures were mentioned either; instead, they were in an open area with rain pouring on the elves, undead, trolls, and ground around the Sunwell.
 * The overall structure of the raid itself implies that the Scourge fought through multiple gates to reach the Sunwell, or that (perhaps less likely) the blood elf forces loyal to the Burning Legion magically built the walls over the Dead Scar, which caused them to instantly decay.
 * In Reforged, the map is completely overhauled from its Warcraft III version and shows one gate and otherwise open space with trees around the Sunwell.
 * The Heritage of the Sin'dorei, that depicts the events of Blood of the Highborne (Kael destroying the corrupted Sunwell), occurs in the Sunwell Plateau raid map.
 * Nearly every mob in the instance has the Sunwell Radiance buff, increasing melee hit by 5% and reducing opposing chance to dodge by 20%.
 * A scripted event will occur after Kil'jaeden's defeat.
 * There is a Scrying Orb found on a balcony in the Magisters' Terrace past the second boss that gives a sneak peek of the nearby Sunwell Plateau raid.
 * See also Sunwell Plateau guild progression.
 * The architecture of the Sunwell Plateau is comparable to that of Silvermoon City.
 * Before Wrath of the Lich King came out, less than one percent of the playerbase actually experienced Sunwell.