A common passtime in World of Warcraft is soloing old content, in order to acquire gear for transmogrification, as well as mounts or pets. World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth has brought the level cap up to 120, meaning Warlords of Dreanor’s level 100 raids are now solo-able.

This guide gives you a brief rundown of everything you need to know about soloing Blackrock Foundry, including strategy tips for each boss. It also details the loot and the mount you can acquire for your trouble.

What Is The History Of Blackrock Foundry?

Blackrock Foundry is the ancestral home of the Blackrock Orcs, one of the first orcish clans to use fel magic and the strongest faction within the Old Horde.

These days the great foundry is occupied by Warlord Blackhand, who has filled it with his minions, ready and willing to churn out weapons day and night to arm the Iron Horde.

Massive giants captured by the Thunderlord heat the forges, while flamebenders imbue the ore. Master engineers then shape it into weapons, which will be used to raze Azeroth, unless you can stop them.

What Is The Raid?

Blackrock Foundry is the second raid of the Warlords of Dreanor expansion. It has four difficulties, LFR (25 Man), Normal (10-30), Heroic (10-30) and Mythic (20). It drops level 650-695 gear, including Tier 17. Blackhand also has a 5% chance to drop a mount, the Ironhoof destroyer, in mythic mode.

To get to Blackrock Foundry, head over to Northern Gorgrond, in Draenor. Blackrock Foundry entrance is at 51.4, 28.7. Its closest flight master is Arcanist Windlebop, who is located at the neutral flight point between Everbloom Wilds and Highpass.

The instance is comprised of four separate wings, containing ten bosses in total. The first three wings have three bosses each, and can be taken down in any order, before opening the fourth, which contains Blackhand, the final boss.

Blackrock Foundry itself is quite isolated and doesn’t have repair vendors nearby, so a repair mount will serve you well here. It’s also worth taking a decent supply of any potions or flasks you want, especially if you have lower Item Level gear.

Can You Solo Blackrock Foundry?

Yes. Blackrock Foundry is currently solo-able up to Mythic level. However, as with all dungeons and raids, your class and gear level will affect your likelihood of success, especially at higher difficulty levels. There are also a few mechanics you need to be aware of, which could spell disaster if you go in unprepared.

If you want to attempt a solo run of Blackrock Foundry here is a guide for all the bosses, based on Heroic difficulty encounters.

Slagworks

Gruul is a very basic encounter; simply hit him. He’s pretty easy to solo; just watch out for the rock falls, which you will see marked out a second before they drop.

Oregorger the Devourer is another quick fight, although he deals more damage than Gruul. He will also drop lava pools at his feet, so make sure you aren’t stood in them.

The Blast Furnace is also relatively easy to do, but is a longer encounter and requires you to know the specific steps to follow.

The first is to blow up the bellows on either side of the furnace, which you can see in the image above. This can be done with bombs, which drop from the Furnace Engineers.

After the bellows are gone the boss will spawn, protected by four mobs.

You need to destroy their shields, so you can dispose of them. To destroy the shields, kill the Slag Elementals, then the Primal Elementalists. Repeat this four times in order to reach the boss, who is then an easy target.

The Black Forge

Hans’gar & Franzok are simple enough to defeat, but this encounter can still be a pain, due to the mechanics. You will need to keep moving and avoid the plates which slam down. Their future position is shown by yellow squares on the conveyor, just before they land.

Flamebender Ka’Graz is yet another simple fight, with just a few obstacles to avoid. This time it’s the whirling blades and fireballs you need to watch out for.

Kromog, despite being a self-proclaimed legend of the mountain, isn’t too much of a challenge; especially since he doesn’t move. However, he does have quite a few things to throw at you. Keep an eye on the floor, and move from anything that isn’t friendly.

Iron Assembly

Beastlord Darmac will cycle through a range of mounts during the fight. Target his mount to force him to swap. Target him only when he’s on the ground. The biggest challenge here is the spears that he throws, as this mechanic is deadly solo.

You cannot escape the spears on your own, so you should just avoid them at all costs.

Operator Thogar is another simple fight. Just make sure you avoid the trains by keeping an eye on the doors. Some of the trains will also drop off adds, but these are easy enough to dispose of with an area-of-effect attack.

The fight against the Iron Maidens is one of the trickier encounters in the instance. The bosses deal a reasonable amount of damage and move around a lot. Admiral Gar’an can be especially annoying as she places turrets around the room. At some point in the fight, one may jump to the ship; you can follow or stay.

Blackhand’s Crucible

Blackhand is the final boss in this raid. He has zero special mechanics; just avoid the bombs he throws and hit him. The floor will break apart as his health deteriorates and you will fall through it a couple of times. It won’t harm you so just keep going.

If you prefer to watch a video run through, you can find a simple one for Blackrock Foundry Heroic on Adapted’s YouTube channel.

What Loot Do You Get In Blackrock Foundry?

The main gear in Blackrock Foundry is the Tier 17 set. The helm drops from Kromag, the shoulder from Operator Thogar, and the chest from Flamebender Ka’Graz. You can get the gloves from the Iron Maidens and finally the legs from the Blast Furnace.

If you want to know the iLevels of loot, LFR mode drops 650, Normal 665, Heroic 680 and Mythic 695. A full loot list is available on wowhead.

As well as Tier 17, you can also find capes, trinkets, necklaces and rings, as well as several weapons. If you can solo Mythic mode, then Blackhand has a 5% chance of dropping an Ironhoof Destroyer.

Overall Blackrock Foundry is one of the more interesting instances to farm. The rewards are good and the mechanics keep you on your toes but are still manageable as a solo player. Good luck on your journey!