In service of the Crusade: Foreman Marcrid

The Scarlet Crusade, a fanatical organization of human zealots, is one of the major enemy faction in World of Warcraft. From the Scarlet Monastery dungeon (the rarespawns of which we'll cover eventually), to Stratholme, to the Ashbringer story and all the way to Northrend, the Crusade have been there challenging players. It's safe to say that the Scarlet Crusade has been something of a classic part of WoW ever since its inception. Interestingly enough, there are a lot of rarespawns associated with the Scarlets, and it's high time we take a look at the first of them.

Without further ado, Foreman Marcrid.



Who is Foreman Marcrid, and where do I find him?

Foreman Marcrid is a rare mob human found in the Western Plaguelands in the Eastern Kingdoms.



Foreman Marcrid can be found around the Northridge Lumber Camp, straight north from the Ruins of Andorhal. The Crusade have set up a small lumber operation here, based around a sawmill, and Marcrid can usually be found either around the mill itself or at the small camp with tents straight west of the building. Marcrid does not wander around much, so he is fairly easy to locate if he is up.

Fighting Marcrid

Marcrid is not a threat if handled carefully. He is a typical melee mob, with a cleave and a strike ability that does extra damage. The main problem with fighting Marcrid is that at low health he will "call for help". People who have played since the days of classic WoW probably remember this enemy ability, which draws in every hostile mob in range. If you have not cleared the area around Marcrid before fighting him, you may find yourself swamped in enemies.



If you carefully remove the mobs surrounding the Foreman and then engage him, you should have little trouble defeating him. Interestingly, he does have a unique drop. Marcrid carries the blacksmith plans to Frostguard, an interesting sword with a very special look. Frostguard was first seen in the free bonus campaign to Warcraft III involving Rexxar, and thus has a bit of a pedigree to it. While the sword itself was not very useful even back in the day, it looks very neat, and makes for a cool (no pun intended) roleplaying accessory. Fortunately the plans are not Bind on Pickup, and can thus be sold and traded.



Marcrid's lore

There's no specific lore about Marcrid, but he's one of those rares where you can infer a lot from just his name and where he spawns. As mentioned earlier, the Northridge Lumber Mill is where you can find this guy. It would seem fairly clear from his title that he is the overseer of the operation, probably sent out from Hearthglen to harvest sufficient amounts of lumber for the Crusade's needs.



The lumber operation here is of sufficient concern to the nearby alliance and horde encampments that they seek to sabotage it in a memorable quest involving plagueland termites. Presumably Marcrid and his underlings are quite hardy and capable to have been given this mission, and as most Scarlet Crusaders they are likely quite cruel and show little remorse.



Finally, his possession of the unique blacksmithing plans imply to me that Marcrid is either a blacksmith himself (though he wields an axe like a lumberjack), or keeps it for some other reason. Maybe a relative of his was a blacksmith killed in the Third War, and Marcrid keeps the plans close to him for sentimental reasons? Interesting that the Warcraft III Frostguard appeared in the Kul Tiras section of the game, another faction of stubborn, reactionary humans...

In closing, Foreman Marcrid is a cool rare with lots going for him. Scarlet Crusade members tend to look cool and striking in their uniforms, and Marcrid looks every bit the Foreman he's supposed to be. He has a unique piece of loot, and fits in with the area he can be found in. With the Western Plaguelands undergoing massive changes in Cataclysm, track down this guy while you still can.

Until next time, keep your blacksmithing plans close to your heart.

~Dragonshade

The five-year glitch: Lord Maldazzar

Most people who play World of Warcraft have experienced glitches, those annoying bugs in the game that can ruin your plans completely. Sometimes it's unexpected server shutdowns, sometimes you fall through the world, or get stuck, or get a bugged mob. Today's rarespawn appears to have been continuously buggy since the release of the game, even up to the very day I write this. This is something of an accomplishment, considering how many people say they have reported this over five years.

Today's post is about Lord Maldazzar.



Chasing invisible mobs

Lord Maldazzar is a rare mob human found in the Western Plaguelands in the Eastern Kingdoms.



More specifically, Maldazzar spawns in Sorrow Hill, just east of Chillwind Point, the alliance flight point. Now actually finding Maldazzar in Sorrow Hill is something of a bother. You see, he often spawns underground.

Very often.



If it is not entirely clear from this picture, my hunter is standing right where Maldazzar is on my minimap. However, while I can target him, I cannot reach him or find line of sight to him. My pet can't find a path to him. There's no underground tunnel here at all, the Sorrow Hill crypt has no tunnels extending this far. This means that Maldazzar spawns under the ground for some reason.



Under normal conditions, I have seen Maldazzar stand by one of the open graves in the area. I believe that this is how he is "supposed" to spawn. However, sometimes this appears to bug out, placing him underground. The unfortunate thing is that while you cannot attack him, he may still aggro you if you are of a sufficiently low level, and will start spamming shadowbolts at you. This has been reported to cause the death of unprepared characters many times over the years, begging the question as to why this has not yet been fixed.

I took the screenshot of Maldazzar underground the same day this post is written, meaning that Lord Maldazzar has been spawning underground and sniping passing players for over five years now. Quite remarkable.

If you CAN find him...

Now, while the bug aspect of this mob is quite frustrating for those trying to kill, photograph or avoid him, sometimes Maldazzar does spawn correctly. When he fights fair, he is not a terribly dangerous foe.



He will primarily spam shadowbolts, as well as summon up to 3 rather weak skeletons to fight for him. Occasionally he will use drain life to try to recover health. He does, however, not hit that hard and does not have too much health, so downing him should be easy if you get to this point.



If defeated, Maldazzar yields the standard uncommon quality drop, as well as the possibility for an Invader's Scourgestone and a bonus of 50 reputation with the Argent Dawn. A nice little package if it hadn't been for the sheer buggyness of the mob.

Servant of the Scourge

Lord Maldazzar is a human, and as he still registers as a humanoid he has not yet transitioned to become an undead of the Scourge. His abilities and attire point to him being a necromancer or warlock, and his ostentatious title may indicate that he has some form of command position within the Scourge or the Cult of the Damned. Possibly he is an overseer of some form, or sent out from the nearby Scholomance. As he always seems to stand near an open grave or tomb, it always makes me think that he's busy examining the body within for reanimation, or possibly searching for something that was buried with a certain person.



His odd manner of dress, with a stylish black robe paired with a flamboyant red helmet makes him stick out visually. He also carries a black crystal staff resembling the classic Illusionary Rod design common in the old world. Sadly he does not drop any of these items as unique drops. His outfit is very similar to that of Maleki the Pallid and other necromancers in the Plaguelands, indicating a strong connection.



As a final note, the name "Lord Maldazzar" actually originates from Warcraft 3, where it was the name of a randomly generated Death Knight hero. As the World of Warcraft mob seems to be more of a necromancer (a caster at least), has no horse or runeblade, this may be pure coincidence. I also doubt a Death Knight of the Scourge would be overseeing minor grave robberies in the Plaguelands.

Lord Maldazzar is very memorable, unfortunately mostly due to his erratic spawn behavior. Still, he does look cool and has that air of mystery I like in a raremob, and for that I can forgive him the occasional ganking. Now if only Blizzard could fix him...

Until next time;
~Dragonshade