Flarethorn — Transmog Set Guide

Flarethorn is a one-handed dagger of rare quality, added to World of Warcraft back in the original release of the game. Despite a name that evokes thorns and flame, the weapon's model is styled like a short hunting blade of the classic era: a wide blade with a raised "ridge," a plain metal guard and a wrapped grip. The item's icon is a leftover from the days when some daggers and spears shared common art assets.

By its stats this is an item for intellect specializations: the dagger carries intellect and stamina, along with small critical strike and versatility ratings. In combat use it suits mages, druids, priests, shamans, warlocks and summoners. The item level is 83, so it isn't used as a combat weapon in the Midnight expansion, and today the dagger is interesting purely as a transmog appearance.

Flarethorn is valuable first and foremost as an early classic dagger that fits neatly into looks themed around the era of the Eastern Kingdoms and the underground dwarven clans. Its appearance is austere and restrained, with no glow or magical effects, so it sits well in the "grounded" sets of rogues, hunters and any characters who wield daggers.

Flarethorn drops from a mini-boss of the "Ring of Law" event in the Blackrock Depths dungeon — a sprawling classic instance deep within Blackrock Mountain between the Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge.

• The dagger drops from Gorosh the Dervish — one of six random mini-bosses of the "Ring of Law" arena.
• The event begins when a character steps onto the round platform in the center of the arena. The herald, High Justice Grimstone, seals the exits and announces the start of the fight.
• After two waves of ordinary enemies, one mini-boss out of six possible appears in the arena: Gorosh the Dervish, Anub'shiah, Eviscerator, Grizzle, Hedrum the Creeper or Ok'thor the Breaker. Which one shows up is determined randomly on entry.
• If someone other than Gorosh appears in the "Ring of Law," Flarethorn won't drop on that run: you'll have to leave the dungeon, reset it and enter again.
• The drop chance of the dagger from Gorosh himself is low — about one percent per kill, so the appearance is collected through a series of repeated runs.
• There is no limit on re-clearing Blackrock Depths: the dungeon can be reset and re-entered until the needed mini-boss and the item itself drop.

How to reach the dungeon

The entrance to Blackrock Depths is located inside Blackrock Mountain itself, near the northern border of the Burning Steppes. The quickest route is a portal to the Burning Steppes or Searing Gorge from your faction's capital, followed by a climb up to the mountain entrance. Inside Blackrock Mountain you need to descend the chain into the Molten Span and head to the dungeon's eastern portal.

From the dungeon entrance to the "Ring of Law" the path is short: through the Detention Block and the Hall of the Law — the arena lies almost immediately after the first elite jailers. This is convenient for repeated resets: each new run takes literally a couple of minutes.

Flarethorn has no known color recolors with separate item IDs — it is a standalone model of the classic era. In the transmogrification collection this appearance is represented only by this dagger, so the item has no alternative source for the exact same model.

If you need a similar classic intellect dagger with a comparable silhouette from the same dungeon, take a look at the accompanying loot of Blackrock Depths:

All three daggers are obtained in the same dungeon, so in a single run you can hunt several appearances at once and avoid spending time on separate resets.

• Suits looks themed around the classic era of WoW: rough leather and chainmail sets, restrained colors without magical glows.
• Harmonizes with brown-and-bronze color gear, especially with plate and leather sets of the Dark Iron clan.
• Fitting as an off-hand for a mercenary rogue: the compact, simple blade looks like a working weapon rather than a ceremonial one.
• Pairs well with the underground Ironforge theme — the image of a dwarf scout, hunter or tracker tied to Blackrock Mountain.
• Contrasts with the bright magical sets of later expansions — a debatable but recognizable accent of a "modern mage with an archaic dagger."