Northrend 5-mans. The design philosophy is less CC, more boss mechanics. Most pulls can be tank-and-spank with one or two interrupts. Bosses lean on positioning, target switching, and avoidable damage instead of “polymorph the warlock or wipe.”

Heroic gating

  • Level 80 required.
  • Honored with the dungeon’s faction to buy the heroic key/badge for the level 70 dungeon equivalents — this doesn’t apply to Northrend dungeons. WotLK heroics are unlocked automatically at 80, no key required, just queue Heroic via RDF.
  • Trial of the Champion, Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection are the post-launch 5-mans (patch 3.2 / 3.3) — drop higher item-level loot.

Borean Tundra & Howling Fjord — first stop

Utgarde Keep (UK)

  • Level range: 68–72 — Howling Fjord. Your first Northrend dungeon.
  • Bosses: Prince Keleseth, Skarvald & Dalronn, Ingvar the Plunderer.

Smooth opener. Mostly tank-and-spank.

  • Tank: Keleseth ice-traps a random player and spawns 3 skeletons — peel them off the trapped player. Skarvald & Dalronn is a two-boss simultaneously fight; one ghost, one physical, both alive until both dead. Tank both, group cleaves. Ingvar has two phases — humanoid and undead (he revives) — different fear/stun mechanics; Berserker Rage breaks fear.
  • DPS: Cleave both bosses on Skarvald + Dalronn. Bladestorm during Ingvar’s add wave between phases.
  • Loot (heroic): Plate Helm of the Great Wyrm (Ingvar HC — solid pre-raid tank helm), Royal Crest of Lordaeron (Keleseth HC — caster), Annhylde’s Ring (Ingvar HC — caster ring).

The Nexus (Nex)

  • Level range: 69–72 — Borean Tundra (Coldarra).
  • Bosses: Grand Magus Telestra, Anomalus, Ormorok the Tree-Shaper, Keristrasza.

Long-ish, four bosses in a circular layout.

  • Tank: Telestra splits into 3 elementals (fire/frost/arcane) at 50% HP — tank all three (they don’t hit hard), cleave; all three must die within 5 seconds or she revives. Anomalus spawns rifts that summon adds — ignore rifts, pure boss. Ormorok Tramples and spawns spike adds — move during Trample. Keristrasza ice-blocks the room — she enrages periodically.
  • DPS: On Telestra, stack DoTs / Bladestorm to AoE all three — equal damage = simultaneous death. On Keristrasza, break ice blocks immediately by moving (she ice-blocks players who stand still too long).
  • Loot (heroic): Stave of Shrouded Mysteries (Keristrasza HC — caster staff), Nexus War Champion’s Belt (warrior plate belt), Helm of the Ancient Tomes (caster).

Dragonblight & Grizzly Hills

Azjol-Nerub (AN)

  • Level range: 72–74 — Dragonblight. Short, three bosses.
  • Bosses: Krik’thir the Gatewatcher, Hadronox, Anub’arak.

Fast dungeon. Krik’thir has 3 spider lieutenants that you can pick off before pulling him.

  • Tank: Krik’thir has watching mobs that pulse damage if not aggro’d — pull them in waves, kill cleanly. Hadronox event is a defensive fight — adds (Anub’ar Drone, Champion, Crypt Fiend) climb up at you while a giant spider beneath holds them off. Tank stays at the top, AoE adds. Anub’arak burrows and Pound stuns — Shield Wall during pounds. He spawns scarabs at 75/50/25%.
  • DPS: Bladestorm the scarab waves on Anub’arak. On Hadronox, prioritize the Crypt Fiends (heal) > Champions > Drones.
  • Loot (heroic): Ring of Earthen Might (Anub’arak HC — tank ring), Spaulders of Surging Power (caster). Anub’arak HC is also a good emblem farm before raids.

Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom (OK)

  • Level range: 72–75 — Dragonblight (lower entrance, not the same as AN).
  • Bosses: Elder Nadox, Prince Taldaram, Jedoga Shadowseeker, Herald Volazj.

Cult-of-the-Damned theme. Volazj is the standout fight.

  • Tank: Nadox has Swarmer adds that buff him — kill adds, not boss. Taldaram Vanish + Embrace of the Vampyr (drains a player) — if you’re not the target, DPS the orbs he summons or break the channel. Jedoga flies up and one-shots an add as a sacrifice — interrupt the wrong one. Volazj does Insanity — sends each party member into their own dimension where the other 4 party members appear as enemies — kill the illusions in your dimension to escape.
  • DPS: Insanity is the boss check — must kill all 4 illusions before they kill you. Bladestorm clears them in seconds. Save it for that.
  • Loot (heroic): Spaulders of the Black Arrow (Volazj HC — leather, skip), Wraps of Quickening (cloth, skip). Mostly transmog and emblems.

Drak’Tharon Keep (DTK)

  • Level range: 73–76 — Grizzly Hills / Zul’Drak border.

  • Bosses: Trollgore, Novos the Summoner, King Dred, The Prophet Tharon’ja.

  • Tank: Trollgore stacks a buff per troll he eats — burn fast. Novos is invulnerable until you kill 4 channelers on the platform corners — DPS off-tank or all-AoE. King Dred spawns raptor adds — tank picks up, they hit hard if neglected. Tharon’ja transforms party into skeletons for phase 2 — you only have 3 abilities; use Decay Strike as primary.

  • DPS: Novos’s channelers are the priority — Bladestorm them. On Tharon’ja phase 2, you get a basic skeleton ability bar; just spam.

  • Loot (heroic): The Prophet’s Cudgel (Tharon’ja HC — Arms 2H mace), Sceptre of the Devourer (caster).

The Violet Hold (VH)

  • Level range: 73–76 — Dalaran (the city itself).
  • Bosses: Cyanigosa is the final, plus 2 random mini-bosses (out of 6 possible) chosen each run.

Wave defense fight — defend the prison through 18 waves of trash plus the 2 random + 1 final boss.

  • Tank: Stay at the central pillar. Adds spawn from 4 portal locations — call out the spawn and Charge → Thunder Clap → Cleave each. Save Shockwave for the boss waves. Random bosses each have one mechanic to know — Erekem (interrupt his Earth Shock), Ichoron (kill water bubbles fast), Lavanthor (move out of fire pool), Zuramat (kill void sentries), Moragg (face away — eye beams), Xevozz (interrupt orb sphere chain).
  • DPS: Bladestorm has a 1.5min CD — perfect for boss waves. Don’t waste it on trash. Cyanigosa does Mana Detonation if there’s mana around her — kill her fast or kite.
  • Loot (heroic): Tor’s Crest (warrior trinket from Cyanigosa HC — strong), Cyanigosa’s Ring (caster), Strapping Mountaineer’s Spaulders (mail).

Zul’Drak

Gundrak (Gun)

  • Level range: 76–79.
  • Bosses: Slad’ran, Drakkari Colossus, Moorabi, Gal’darah, plus Eck the Ferocious (heroic only, optional).

Tile-floor central hub with bosses on each branch.

  • Tank: Slad’ran spawns snake adds that wrap players (root) — break with Berserker Rage / interrupt his cast. Colossus has a phase-2 elemental form (after he dies once) — same fight, different DPS check. Moorabi transforms into a mammoth (massive damage); interrupt the transform cast with War Stomp / Pummel. Gal’darah transforms into a rhino, charges, and impales — face him sideways to the group, dodge charge.
  • DPS: Snake-add AoE on Slad’ran. Interrupt Moorabi’s transform every cast — if it goes off, expect a fast wipe. Bladestorm is excellent on Gal’darah’s between-phase adds.
  • Loot (heroic): Plate Belt of the Drakkari (Gal’darah HC — strong tank belt), Ouroboros Belt (caster), Egg-warming Blanket (cloth, skip).

Halls of Stone (HoS)

  • Level range: 76–79 — Storm Peaks.
  • Bosses: Krystallus, Maiden of Grief, Sjonnir the Ironshaper, plus Tribunal of Ages event.

Dungeon has a Tribunal escort event — you defend Brann Bronzebeard while he reads runes. Multiple add waves.

  • Tank: Krystallus has Stomp (knockback + party-wide damage) — back-to-wall. Maiden drops Shock of Sorrow AoE; spread out. Tribunal is the gauntlet — hold center, AoE adds for ~5 mins (4 phases). Don’t let Brann die. Sjonnir spawns iron sludge that combines into bigger adds — kill them while small.
  • DPS: Tribunal is Bladestorm heaven — big add waves, low movement. Save Recklessness for the third wave (hardest).
  • Loot (heroic): Brann’s Signet Ring (caster), Tor’s Hammer (Sjonnir HC — Arms 2H mace), Belt of Tasseled Lanterns (mail, skip).

Halls of Lightning (HoL)

  • Level range: 77–80.
  • Bosses: General Bjarngrim, Volkhan, Ionar, Loken.

Hardest of the Storm Peaks duo. Loken is the famous tank check.

  • Tank: Bjarngrim rotates between 3 stances (Defensive, Battle, Berserker) — he hits harder in Berserker; pop Shield Block. Volkhan spawns Molten Golems that explode if not killed; AoE them down before he shatters them. Ionar does Disperse (splits into 6 sparks across the room — they slowly converge on players) — DPS the sparks. Loken does Lightning Nova — pulsing AoE that scales with distance from him; stay melee (counter-intuitive, but the closer the better) and the damage is manageable. He also fears — Berserker Rage / War Stomp.
  • DPS: On Loken, stay glued to him. This is the #1 cause of HoL wipes. Don’t let his Pulsing Shockwave nova hit you from range. Bladestorm immune to fear, useful when he casts Lightning Nova, you keep doing damage.
  • Loot (heroic): Loken’s Lightning-Wreathed Mantle (caster), Tempered Saronite Helm (warrior tank helm — strong pre-raid), Spaulders of the Thunderlord (Bjarngrim HC — plate DPS).

Icecrown / Storm Peaks summit

The Oculus (Oc)

  • Level range: 76–79.
  • Bosses: Drakos the Interrogator, Varos Cloudstrider, Mage-Lord Urom, Ley-Guardian Eregos.

The dragon dungeon. After Drakos, the entire group mounts up on different colored drakes (red/green/amber) for the rest of the instance. Ground gameplay completely changes to drake combat.

  • Tank: Drakos is normal melee — knocks back, big slow. After him you’re on a drake.
    • Red Drake (tank): Threat-based, has Shield/Damage Reduction. Pick this.
    • Amber Drake (DPS): Heavy single-target damage.
    • Green Drake (heal): Heals allied drakes.
  • Drake combat: Varos has dragon adds; pick up adds with Red Drake’s threat ability. Urom teleports the group — dismount before his nuke or you die mounted. Eregos is the final dragon — phase-based, drakes work as a team.
  • DPS: If you’re DPSing, Amber drake’s Shock Lance during Stop-the-arcane-runes phase. Don’t go OOM on the long fights.
  • Loot (heroic): Reins of the Blue Drake / Reins of the Azure Drake — mount drops from Eregos HC (~3-5%; the major reason to farm Oculus). Annhylde’s Ring (caster).

Utgarde Pinnacle (UP)

  • Level range: 78–80. Significantly harder than UK.
  • Bosses: Svala Sorrowgrave, Gortok Palehoof, Skadi the Ruthless, King Ymiron.

One of the most-farmed dungeons because Skadi drops the Reins of the Blue Proto-Drake, the meta-achievement reward.

  • Tank: Svala ascends to a platform, drains a random player (sacrifice), then returns. Gortok Palehoof has 4 mini-bosses that spawn one at a time before him; tank rotates through. Skadi is the famous air phase — flies on a drake, harpoon spears spawn, players use harpoons to knock him off. After landing, ground phase is a normal fight + adds. Ymiron has 4 thrones — he activates one at a time, granting different effects; he also fears.
  • DPS: Skadi’s air phase: pick up harpoons quickly (3 hits to land him, then you have a brief window before he flies again — use cooldowns ground phase). Bladestorm on Palehoof’s adds and Ymiron’s add waves.
  • Loot (heroic): Justicebringer 3000 (caster wand), Webbed Death (caster). The big draw is Reins of the Blue Proto-Drake from the Glory of the Hero meta-achievement (uses UP HC’s “King’s Bane” achievement, among many).

The Culling of Stratholme (CoS)

  • Level range: 78–80 — Caverns of Time.
  • Bosses: Meathook, Salramm the Fleshcrafter, Chrono-Lord Epoch, Mal’Ganis. Plus the infinite event (Infinite Corruptor for the timed-run mount).

You play through Arthas’s purge of Stratholme. Long event-based dungeon — Arthas leads the group through 10 waves of zombies between bosses.

  • Tank: Each wave: Arthas calls a round, undead spawn from buildings, you AoE. Arthas helps DPS — let him tank some hits. Mal’Ganis is the final — does Sleep (random target unconscious for 8 sec), Vampiric Touch (drain), and a Carrion Swarm (frontal cone — sidestep).
  • DPS: Infinite Corruptor is a hidden timed boss — to spawn him, complete the dungeon in under 25 minutes, killing every wave fast. He drops the Bronze Drake mount (heroic only). This is a Bladestorm dungeon — every wave is an AoE pull.
  • Loot (heroic): Reins of the Bronze Drake (Infinite Corruptor — only on timed run), Justice’s Hand (Mal’Ganis HC — Arms 2H sword), Mal’Ganis’s Helmet (rare drop, plate).

Patch 3.2 — Trial of the Champion

Trial of the Champion (ToC 5)

  • Level range: 80 (Heroic = ilvl 213 loot).
  • Bosses: Grand Champions (4 random class champions, mounted then dismounted), Argent Confessor Paletress / Eadric the Pure (random), Black Knight.

Faction-flavored — Horde fights different champion roster than Alliance.

  • Tank: Grand Champions Phase 1: mounted joust mechanic — use the Argent Lance, shield charges to 3 stacks then ram. Phase 2: dismounted, 3 enemy champions all alive — kite the rogue (Bladestorm Whirlwind), tank the warrior, healer (priest/druid) as priority kill. Paletress summons a Memory of an old boss (random); kill memory before damage on her. Eadric does Radiance (eye-flash AoE damage if you face him); face away during cast. Black Knight has 3 phases (humanoid → skeleton → ghost) — kite ghost phase or burn through it.
  • DPS: Joust phase: ram only when shield on opponent breaks. Bladestorm is busted in this dungeon — great on champions, great on Black Knight’s ghoul phase 2.
  • Loot (heroic): Helmet of the Lower Citadel (warrior tank helm, strong pre-ICC), Tankard O’ Terror (caster trinket), Black Knight’s Crest trinket.

Patch 3.3 — Frozen Halls (ICC 5-mans)

The three patch-3.3 dungeons that gate-progressed before ICC raid release. They drop ilvl 219 (normal) / 232 (heroic) loot — raid-tier gear from 5-mans. Run them on every alt.

Forge of Souls (FoS)

  • Level range: 80.
  • Bosses: Bronjahm, Devourer of Souls.

Short, two bosses. Both heavy on movement.

  • Tank: Bronjahm does Corrupted Soul Fragments (orbs that float around, soulstorm phase) and Magic Bane (random target, big damage); he also fears — Berserker Rage. Devourer of Souls does Mirrored Soul (damage you deal goes to the boss too — stop attacking if pop’d on you), Phantom Blast (interrupt!), and Wailing Souls (rotating beam — circle around the boss).
  • DPS: Mirrored Soul = stop DPS for 8 sec or you kill yourself. On Wailing Souls, strafe around — Bladestorm runs through it.
  • Loot (heroic): Cudgel of Furious Justice (Bronjahm HC — Arms 1H mace, BiS-tier), Reaper of Dark Souls (Devourer HC — 2H scythe/polearm), Soulthief’s Braided Belt (caster).

Pit of Saron (PoS)

  • Level range: 80.
  • Bosses: Forgemaster Garfrost, Ick & Krick, Scourgelord Tyrannus.

Long with escort sections (Saurfang) and big trash pulls. Probably the most run heroic in 3.3.

  • Tank: Garfrost drops Saronite boulders the group hides behind to LoS his Permafrost (raid-wide damage); kite behind boulders, position yourself. Ick & Krick — Krick rides Ick; Ick has Pursuit (random target chase, he’s faster than you — run in a straight line) and Mighty Kick (1-shot frontal). Tyrannus is mounted on Rimefang (frost wyrm); ground tank Tyrannus, DPS deals with Rimefang’s frost patches.
  • DPS: On Ick, whoever is “Pursued” by name in chat must run away — Ick chases, hits massively if he catches. On Tyrannus, interrupt Overlord’s Brand (it reflects damage). Bladestorm on the gauntlet.
  • Loot (heroic): Cloak of Many Skins (caster), Cuffs of Frost-Bound Souls (cloth), Tyrannical Beheader (Tyrannus HC — 2H axe, BiS-tier Arms weapon pre-ICC).

Halls of Reflection (HoR)

  • Level range: 80. The hardest 5-man in the game for a fresh tank.
  • Bosses: Falric, Marwyn, Lich King escape.

Wave-defense + boss + escape gauntlet. 8 waves of trash, each ending with adds, then bosses Falric → Marwyn → Lich King chase phase.

  • Tank: Falric/Marwyn intro — stand near Jaina/Sylvanas, hold the line as 8 waves of named adds spawn. The named adds include Soul Reaver (knocks back, hits hard), Soulguard Bloodmage (heal — kill first), Phantom Mage (channels frostbolt), Phantom Hallucination (rogue-style, vanish/ambush). Falric does Fear + adds, Marwyn does Corrupt Flesh (heavy DoT — dispel via Berserker Rage doesn’t work, healer must spam). Lich King phase: he’s invulnerable, you run while he chases; ice walls slow him. Don’t engage, just sprint with the NPC.
  • DPS: Kill priority: Bloodmages > Phantom Mages > Hallucinations > Soul Reavers. Bladestorm on every wave — 3 charges in 1.5 min is enough. On the LK chase, DPS the ice walls — 4 walls between safe spots; they have HP, party shreds them.
  • Loot (heroic): Citadel Enforcer’s Claymore (Marwyn HC — 2H sword, literal BiS pre-ICC for Arms), Bone Fever Gauntlets (warrior plate hands), Royal Crest of Lordaeron (caster).

Strategy: which dungeons to farm at 80

Pre-raid BiS sources for warriors (the short list):

SlotItemSource
HelmHelmet of the Lower CitadelToC 5 HC
NeckSkull-shaped CoinPit of Saron HC quest reward
ShouldersTempered Mercurial PauldronsWorld drop / crafted
CloakBloodbane’s ResolveForge of Souls HC
ChestBreastplate of the Solemn CouncilWyrmrest Accord rep
WristBracers of ReverenceHalls of Reflection HC
HandsBone Fever GauntletsHalls of Reflection HC
BeltBelt of the Glacial WandererWorld drop / crafted
LegsPillars of MightCrafted
FeetSabatons of the Endless HuntTrial of the Champion HC
RingRing of Earthen MightAzjol-Nerub HC
TrinketBlack HeartTrial of the Champion HC
TrinketGlyph of IndomitabilityTriumph emblems vendor
1H WeaponCudgel of Furious JusticeForge of Souls HC
ShieldBulwark of Smouldering SteelTriumph emblems vendor
RangedBouldercrag’s War HornSons of Hodir rep

Routine dungeon farm priority:

  1. Forge of Souls / Pit of Saron / Halls of Reflection HC — emblems + raid-tier loot.
  2. Trial of the Champion HC — trinket + helm + boots.
  3. Random Heroic (RDF) for the 2 Frost Emblems daily bonus.
  4. Utgarde Pinnacle / Halls of Lightning HC — stragglers for Glory of the Hero meta if going for the Red Proto-Drake.

That’s the loop. Cap your weekly Frost Emblems via the random heroic queue, fill in slots from FoS/PoS/HoR, and you’ll be raid-ready for ICC in a couple of weeks of casual play.