Stockade Dungeon Guide: The Stormwind Prison Bosses and Quests for Levels 23–29

The Stockade is the smallest dungeon in the game and, for an Alliance character in the mid-twenties, one of the most efficient. The prisoners of Stormwind have broken out of their cells, and five of their ringleaders now hold the corridors. There are no puzzles, no long walk and no swimming: you step off a canal bridge in the capital and you are at the door. The value lies in the quests, which are handed out across half the Eastern Kingdoms and all end here. This stockade dungeon guide lists those quests, walks the prison in a sensible order and gives honest times for a group of five at level 23–29 on a vanilla-era realm such as WoW Forever.

Where and what you need

Levels. The prisoners range from the low twenties to around 26, and the rare boss is a little higher. A group at 23 manages it; at 25 it is quick. Above 30 the experience is barely worth the trip, but the quests still pay.

Group. One tank, one healer and three damage dealers is ideal, though the corridors are so short that a group of four strong players often finishes. The danger is not the bosses but the number of prisoners who join a fight from open cells.

Getting there. The prison stands on Stormwind's canals, behind a guarded gate with Warden Thelwater outside. Any city guard will mark it on your map. Because it sits inside the capital, you can repair, restock and turn in Stormwind quests in minutes, which no other dungeon of this level allows.

Quests. Collect these before you go, because together they turn a half-hour run into several levels of rewards: Quell the Uprising from Warden Thelwater at the gate; The Color of Blood from Nikova Raskol in Old Town; What Comes Around... from Guard Berton in Lakeshire; Crime and Punishment from Councilman Millstipe in Darkshire; and The Fury Runs Deep from Motley Garmason at Dun Modr in the Wetlands. If you killed VanCleef in the Deadmines, the letter he carries leads to The Stockade Riots and Bazil Thredd.

Gear. Nothing special. Bring food and water; once a cell block wakes up there is no break between pulls.

The route

The numbers follow a sensible sweep from the entrance corridor through each cell block.

1. The entrance corridor. A long hall full of prisoners in open cells. Clear it slowly; it is where most groups wipe, because cells on both sides pull together.
2. Targorr the Dread. The orc prisoner holds the first side wing. He is a plain melee boss who enrages at low health; his head is for Guard Berton.
3. Kam Deepfury. The dwarf in the next wing. He hits hard and blocks often, but has no tricks; kill him for The Fury Runs Deep.
4. Hamhock. An ogre in the middle block who casts chain lightning and works himself into a bloodlust. Keep the group spread out and focus him down.
5. Bazil Thredd. The Defias leader stands in the deepest corridor with his gang. Clear the nearby cells before the pull, and keep his head if you have The Stockade Riots.
6. Dextren Ward. A human murderer who fears and stuns. Have a tremor totem or a fear ward ready if you can; his hand finishes Crime and Punishment.
7. Bruegal Ironknuckle. A rare spawn who only appears sometimes in a far corner. If he is up, kill him for a chance at a blue; if not, nothing is lost.
8. The way out. Walk back through the cleared halls, collecting any Red Wool Bandanas you still need for Nikova.

What you get

Quest	Objective inside	Turn in at
Quell the Uprising	Kill a set number of each prisoner type	Warden Thelwater, at the gate
The Color of Blood	Red Wool Bandanas from the Defias prisoners	Nikova Raskol, Old Town
What Comes Around...	Targorr the Dread's head	Guard Berton, Lakeshire
Crime and Punishment	Dextren Ward's hand	Councilman Millstipe, Darkshire
The Fury Runs Deep	Kam Deepfury's head	Motley Garmason, Dun Modr
The Stockade Riots	Bazil Thredd's head	Warden Thelwater, then onward in the chain

Time it takes

A group that knows the prison clears every boss in roughly 25–40 minutes. A first run with careless pulls in the entrance corridor can take an hour, but there is no long walk to make up after a wipe, because the graveyard is in the city.

The turn-ins take longer than the run. Lakeshire, Darkshire and Dun Modr are in three different zones, so a full tour adds roughly 40–60 minutes of flying and riding. Counting both, the Stockade is worth roughly a level for a character of 25, mostly from quest experience and the gear rewards that come with it.

Tips

• Gather all five quests before the first pull; the prison is too short to run twice for a missed one.
• Pull the entrance corridor one cell at a time, because the prisoners chain into each other.
• Interrupt Hamhock whenever he starts a cast; his lightning jumps between players.
• Keep a fear answer for Dextren Ward, or fight him with your backs to a wall.
• Loot every Defias prisoner, since the bandanas drop only from them.
• Do the Stockade on the same evening as Duskwood quests, because Darkshire sits on the way.

Running it with ForeverBot

Open the Dungeons section and choose The Stockade in the list for your level. Start leads you to the prison gate in Stormwind; the pulls inside are yours, because ForeverBot does not play the dungeon. The more useful work happens around the run: in the Leveling section, Pick guide by level and zone and Accept (from guide) help collect the quests in Lakeshire and Darkshire, and From / To plots the ride to Dun Modr.

Tick Repair at vendors and Buy food and water before you set off. The Deadmines guide covers the dungeon that comes just before this one, and the 20–30 leveling route shows where these quest hubs fit into your levels. Every section comes with every plan; see plans and pricing.

FAQ

What level should I be for the Stockade?

Level 24 or 25 for the whole group is the comfortable start. A group at 22 can manage if it pulls carefully, but Hamhock and Dextren Ward will hurt. Above 30 the kills give little experience, though the quest rewards are still worth collecting if you never did them.

Can Horde players enter the Stockade?

Only by fighting through Stormwind, which means city guards and Alliance players at every turn. There is no Horde quest inside. At this level, Horde characters are far better served by Shadowfang Keep or Razorfen Kraul.

Why are the Stockade quests spread so far apart?

Each prisoner committed his crime in a different place, so the people who want justice live in Redridge, Duskwood and the Wetlands. That is why the quests feel scattered. The good news is that every one of those zones is on a normal Alliance leveling path, so the turn-ins fit into quests you are doing anyway.