Apocalypse

For other uses, see Apocalypse (disambiguation).

Apocalypse is the artifact used by unholy death knights in World of Warcraft: Legion.

Source[]

This item is a quest reward from [10-45] The Dark Riders.

Description[]

Artifact reveal[]

Vampiric demons known as nathrezim forged this ancient sword, which brings with it violence, plagues, and death. Apocalypse soon earned a horrific reputation in the hands of a Tirisgarde mage who couldn't control its destructive energies. In time the sword was seized by the malevolent Dark Riders: servants of Medivh, the corrupted Guardian of Tirisfal. They hid the blade in the catacombs under his home, the tower of Karazhan.^[1]

In-game description[]

An ancient blade crafted by the Nathrezim which spreads plague, death and violence in its wake, Apocalypse is a powerful tool of destruction. The blade was wielded by the Tirisgarde before it fell into the hands of the Dark Riders. Now the only way to find it is to hunt down the riders to their secret lair.^[2]

Artifact lore[]

Main article: Libram of the Dead

Most stories about the Burning Legion speak of countless demons stampeding over worlds, but the cunning nathrezim know that brute force is not only way to conquer an enemy. One lie can break an alliance. One drop of poison can cripple a giant. One disease can reduce a great city to a graveyard. The nathrezim blade called Apocalypse has accomplished all of these things. It holds the power to spread plagues, incite wars, and turn ally against ally. In the right hands, this weapon has singlehandedly brought entire civilizations crashing down before the Legion's army ever began their invasion.

History[]

Apocalypse has been forged and reforged by countless nathrezim over their centuries in the Burning Legion. Every time the blade changed hands, its new owner would infuse it with additional plagues and maledictions and hone it further into a weapon of unspeakable evil and innumerable crimes. Eventually, it fell into the hands of Kathra'natir during the Legion's invasion of Navane. The cunning dreadlord infiltrated Navane's united forces, manipulating them into turning against each other and letting Apocalypse's dark magic to inflame their hatreds of each other until, in a single bloody night, Navane's armies slaughtered each other.

Thousands of years ago, reckless wizards in Dalaran inadvertently tore holes in the fabric of reality. Kathra'natir entered Azeroth through one such hole, and quickly set about repeating his work in Navane among the mages of Dalaran, creating magical plagues to sweep through the city. This time, though, he was found out by Alodi, the Guardian of Tirisfal, who defeated and banished the dreadlord. Apocalypse remained left behind, however. Alodi recognized the blade's dark nature, and the terrible influence it attempted to assert over him, and wished it destroyed. The rest of the Council of Tirisfal, however, chose to instead lock it away in their vault.

Millennia later, when the Guardian Aegwynn found herself losing the battle against the Legion, the Council began to unearth many of their long-sealed relics to aid in the fight. Apocalypse was given to a mage named Laith Sha'ol, and it quickly poisoned his mind, driving him to terrible deeds. In Laith's hands, Apocalypse left a wake of death, famine, and pestilence across the realms. Aegwynn eventually learned of Laith's actions and confronted him. When he unleashed the sword's power against her, she used a spell to break its hold over him. Suddenly overcome with the horrors he had wrought under its influence, he dropped the sword and fled. When Aegwynn proved unable to destroy the blade, she sealed it away in the Badlands.

Years later, Laith's son, Ariden, ran afoul of Aegwynn's son, the Guardian Medivh. Medivh cursed Ariden and his companions to act as his servants, compelling them to seek out powerful artifacts and bring them to Karazhan. Owing to his father's history, Ariden felt especially drawn toward one artifact in particular: Apocalypse. After he unearthed it, he continued to wield it as he and his Dark Riders continued to hunt relics and artifacts over the years.

During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the Deathlord of the Ebon Blade sought to wield Apocalypse against the Burning Legion. They tracked it to the catacombs beneath Karazhan, where they confronted Ariden himself. Upon Ariden's defeat, his father's spirit appeared and told him the curse was lifted. Ariden died, and the Deathlord turned the accursed blade against its creators. Once the Burning Legion had been defeated, they expended Apocalypse's power to purge the corruption from the Sword of Sargeras. What became of the sword afterwards is unknown.

Artifact traits[]

Base[]

Ability	Ranks	Linked powers
[Apocalypse]	1	Feast of Souls
[Armies of the Damned]	1	Plaguebearer; Scourge the Unbeliever
[Deadliest Coil]	4	Gravitational Pull; Unholy Endurance
[Deadly Durability]	4	Double Doom; Gravitational Pull; Plaguebearer
[Double Doom]	1	Deadly Durability
[Eternal Agony]	4	Feast of Souls; Scourge the Unbeliever; The Darkest Crusade
[Feast of Souls]	1	Apocalypse; Eternal Agony; Rotten Touch
[Fleshsearer]	1	None
[Gravitational Pull]	1	Deadliest Coil; Deadly Durability
[Plaguebearer]	4	Armies of the Damned; Deadly Durability; Rotten Touch
[Portal to the Underworld]	1	Runic Tattoos; The Darkest Crusade
[Rotten Touch]	4	Feast of Souls; Plaguebearer; Runic Tattoos
[Runic Tattoos]	4	Portal to the Underworld; Rotten Touch; Scourge of Worlds
[Scourge of Worlds]	1	Runic Tatoos; The Darkest Crusade
[Scourge the Unbeliever]	4	Armies of the Damned; Eternal Agony; Unholy Endurance
[The Darkest Crusade]	4	Eternal Agony; Portal to the Underworld; Scourge of Worlds
[The Shambler]	1	Unholy Endurance
[Unholy Endurance]	4	Deadliest Coil; Scourge the Unbeliever; The Shambler

Empowered[]

Ability	Ranks
[Cunning of the Ebon Blade]	1
[Lash of Shadows]	4
[Death's Harbinger]	1
[Black Claws]	1
[Concordance of the Legionfall]	50

Appearances[]

Classic

Achievement: [Fighting with Style: Classic]


This is the default appearance	Recover one of the Pillars of Creation	Recover [Light's Heart] [10-45] Light's Charge	Complete the first major Campaign effort with your order [10-45] A Personal Request

Upgraded: Unholy War

Achievement: [Fighting with Style: Upgraded]


Complete the death knight Order Campaign [Forged for Battle]	Unlock every artifact trait [Power Realized]	Research the full history of the artifact [Part of History]	Obtain eight rare archeological finds [This Side Up]

Valorous: Herald of Pestilence

Achievement: [Fighting with Style: Valorous]


Complete the Balance of Power questline [Improving on History]	Kill eight world bosses [Unleashed Monstrosities]	Complete a Mythic Mode Dungeon using a level 15 keystone [Keystone Master]	Earn the achievement [Glory of the Legion Hero]

War-torn: Faminebearer

Achievement: [Fighting with Style: War-torn]/ [Fighting with Style: War-torn]


Participate in Player vs. Player combat and reach [Honor Level 10]	Reach [Honor Level 30]	Reach [Honor Level 50]	Reach [Honor Level 80]

Challenging: Death's Deliverance

Achievement: [Fighting with Style: Challenging]


Complete the Imp Mother Challenge questline	Defeat Heroic Kiljaeden after unlocking a Challenge artifact appearance	Win 10 rated battlegrounds after unlocking a Challenge artifact appearance	Defeat all Legion dungeon bosses after unlocking a challenge artifact appearance

Hidden: Bone Reaper

Achievement: [Fighting with Style: Hidden]


Acquire [The Bonereaper's Hook]	Complete 30 Legion dungeons after unlocking a Hidden artifact appearance	Complete 200 World Quests after unlocking a Hidden artifact appearance	Kill 1,000 enemy players after unlocking a Hidden artifact appearance