World of Warcraft Classic: 15 Best Quests

With the arrival of World of Warcraft Classic, longtime players can once again quest through the game’s original versions of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. The two continents have been restored to what they looked like before Deathwing reshaped the world with 2010’s Cataclysm expansion. Part of the Classic restoration includes the return of many classic quests that are no longer in the modern version of the game.

We thought it would be fun to take a closer look at some of our favorite quests from the original version of the game. Here are 15 of the most epic quest lines available in World of Warcraft Classic:

It’s a Secret to Everybody (Un’Goro Crater)

This hard-to-find quest line in Un’Goro Crater is Blizzard’s tribute to Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda franchise. To begin this quest, players exploring the zone must stumble upon a raft that has washed ashore. They’ll then be asked to find out who the raft might belong to. Eventually, players will encounter “Linken,” a male gnome dressed in green who is supposed to be a tribute to Link from the Zelda series, and discover that the wrecked raft is supposed to be the raft item that players could use in the original NES game.

Linken will task players with aiding him through a long line of quests, many of which include additional Zelda references. They’ll encounter WoW versions of some of Link’s classic weapons, and there’s even a quest to obtain a “Golden Flame,” which may be a reference to the Triforce.

Pamela’s Doll and the Battle of Darrowshire (Western and Eastern Plaguelands)

This long chain is actually two separate quest lines, but the first one leads into the other. Players will first encounter Pamela Redpath, an undead ghost girl in the Eastern Plaguelands, who seems to have lost her doll. She’s waiting for her family to return, but they never will. In order to help Pamela, you have to find the three pieces of her doll and put them back together.

After you help the little girl, you can move on to Pamela’s Aunt Marlene, who will start you on the Darrowshire quest line. Long story short, these two quest lines combine to form a story of redemption for Pamela’s father, Joseph Redpath, that really pulls at the heart strings. You’ll have to save Joseph’s soul after an epic battle in order for the spirit of his daughter to finally rest.

Sully Balloo (Wetlands)

This very hard to find quest is located in the water underneath the Thandol Span. Players who swim down there will find the body of Sully Balloo, a dwarven soldier who perished after an attack by the Dark Iron clan. Next to Sully’s body is a letter to his wife. After you deliver the letter, Sully’s wife Sara will send you forth to King Magni Bronzebeard in Ironforge, who orders a granite memorial be built in Balloo’s honor.

This quest line is touching enough on its own, but it takes on added significance when you realize this is Blizzard’s tribute to Union Major Sullivan Ballou, who is remembered for an eloquent letter he wrote to his wife Sarah shortly before dying in the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 during the American Civil War.

Mankrik’s Wife (The Barrens)

Well, we couldn’t very well make a WoW Classic quest list without including this one, could we? Chuck Norris jokes aside, The Barrens zone in Kalimdor is well-known for this quest, (technically called “Lost in Battle”), which tasks players with locating the remains of Mankrik’s unnamed wife.

Mankrik is a level 15 quest giver at the Crossroads. He knows his wife fell while fighting quillboars in battle, but isn’t sure where her body is now. He wants to find her so he can properly put her to rest. That’s where you come in.

The problem though, and the reason this quest is so well-known, is that most players back in the day couldn’t find her either, leading to the question, “Where’s Mankrik’s wife?” showing up repeatedly in Barrens general chat. The quest ends a bit sadly, as her body is only referred to as a “Beaten Corpse” once you find it. Blizzard would pay homage to this quest upon updating the game in the Cataclysm expansion, letting players know that Mankrik’s wife was named Olgra by creating a permanent monument and burial site for her.

Moist Towelettes (Dustwallow Marsh)

The quest “Stinky’s Escape” rewards a pretty unique item that will cleanse one “negative spell effect” with “the power of lemon.” You get a stack of six most towelettes from “Stinky Ignatz,” after saving him from a raptor attack in Dustwallow Marsh and following up with a couple additional quests. Ingnatz even rewards you further by sending you to a pretty fun party at the Blue Recluse in Stormwind. World of Warcraft is known for giving players a whole bevy of unique items over the years, but Blizzard finding a way to get those little wet napkins you get at nice restaurants into the game is pretty funny.

The Legend of Stalvan (Duskwood)

The original version of this quest line was removed from the game in Cataclysm and is definitely a favorite of many Vanilla players. In this quest, you’re asked to find out what happened to a tutor named Stalvan.

The quest is notable because it sends you through several of the early zones you’ve encountered as an Alliance player. You’ll need to go to the schoolhouse near the Deadmines in Westfall, the top floor of the Goldshire Inn, an out of the way location in Stormwind, the Logging Camp in Elywnn Forest and a variety of locations in Duskwood.

We won’t spoil the story for you, but it’s pretty good writing on Blizzard’s part, and rewards a large amount of XP for your efforts.

The Great Masquerade (Stormwind)

Both the Horde and the Alliance have a long quest chain to become attuned to Onyxia’s Lair, but the Alliance arguably has the more interesting of the two lines. After breaking Marshall Windsor out of his prison in the Blackrock Depths (“Jail Break!”), you will follow him to Stormwind, where he will reveal that Onyxia has secretly been standing next to Bolvar Fordragon and Anduin Wrynn the whole time.

Lady Katrana Prestor will show her true form, and many of the Stormwind guards will also turn into Dragonkin. Tiny little Anduin, just a boy at this time, is forced to flee from the room while you, Bolvar, and the remaining guards fight back Onyxia’s minions. The Great Masquerade is arguably one of the biggest plot twists in Classic, and it can be quite a shock for any low-level characters who are in Stormwind Keep when the event begins.

Green Hills of Stranglethorn (Stranglethorn Vale)

Some players might feel this quest is more of a pain in the behind than anything approaching an epic adventure, but it’s so iconic to the Classic leveling experience that we’re keeping it on this list. While adventuring in Stranglethorn Vale, you will encounter random pages of a book written by quest giver Hemet Nesingwary (anagram of Ernest Hemingway). The idea is to collect all 15 pages which combine to complete four chapters within Nesingwary’s famous book.

“WTB page # Green Hills” will be a common refrain in trade chat once the majority of the player base makes it to STV. Actually putting in the effort to find all of the pages (or buying them at the auction house) will reward a large amount of XP.

Paladin and Warlock Epic Mount Quests (Scholomance and Dire Maul)

Paladin and Warlocks get a pretty cool perk at level 40 in the from of a completely free mount that offers a 60 percent speed boost. It’s a nice way to save a chunk of gold compared to every other class on the way to 60.

It is at 60, however, where the real fun begins. Both Pallies and Locks can earn an epic mount for a full 100 percent speed boost, but this time, there’s quite a bit of work involved. Both classes will have to farm materials and run multiple dungeons before finally killing a special boss designed just for them. Paladins will ultimately have to fight a Death Knight boss in Scholomance. (Death Knights weren’t in WoW during the original game, so this boss’s appearance was a pretty cool addition at the time.) Warlocks will fight a special demon deep within Dire Maul after completing a variety of pretty cool demon-centered quests.

Actually, both Pallies and Locks have to go into Dire Maul to complete their mount quest chains, which means these mounts aren’t actually available on Classic at the moment. Blizzard will release Dire Maul when Phase 2 arrives.

Rhok’delar and Benediction (Hunter and Priest Epic Weapon Chains)

While Paladins and Warlocks get amazing quest lines to claim epic mounts, Hunters and Priests get equally cool quests to claim a weapon that’s designed just for them. Hunters and Priests will loot one of two special items off of Majordomo Executus in Molten Core to start their chain. The hunter line involves defeating four demons throughout Azeroth, while Priests must protect, heal, and cleanse peasants who are under attack.

All of the content is designed to really test just how good of a hunter or priest you really are. This is arguably a precursor to what Blizzard would do years later with Artifact Weapons and the challenges in the Mage Tower during Legion. These quests were removed from the game with Cataclysm so these weapons will likely be highly coveted during the early days of Classic.

The Fallen Hero of the Horde (Swamp of Sorrows)

This is one of the most extensive quest chains in all of WoW, and it will send you all over Azeroth. It’s also well-known for being especially well-written, and lore buffs or just those who enjoy Blizzard’s humorous writing will find a lot to like here. This quest chain ends with the player attempting to re-imprison a demon for all eternity, but the most notable moment for me is that you get to meet up with a bonafide Demon Hunter many years before they would become a playable class in Legion.

Saving Sharpbeak (Hinterlands)

The gryphon Sharpbeak has been kidnapped and is about to be sacrificed by some nasty trolls. Players will have sto make their way through a rough outdoor zone to find Sharpbeak’s cage and then defeat an outdoor boss that can be tough to solo depending on your class. The best moment though is at the very end, when Sharpbeak’s parents turn up out of nowhere to thank you for saving their child. Aww…

The Ancient Egg (Hinterlands)

This is another quest that starts in Hinterlands, but unlike Sharpbeak, it’s going to take you quite some time to finish it. The point of the quest line is to introduce players to Hakkar and the Zandalar Tribe, as it’s essentially a primer for the Zul’Gurub 20-man raid. The quest is considered to be quite epic because it takes you all over the land. Players will have to travel to the Hinterlands, Feralas, Zul’Farrak, the Temple of Atal’Hakkar, Eastern Plaguelands, Lower Blackrock Spire, Tanaris, and Stranglethorn Vale before it’s all said and done. Need us to repeat that?

Tirion Fordring and His Son (Western Plaguelands)

Tirion Fordring is now known as one of the most epic WoW characters of all-time. He used the Ashbringer to help players defeat the Lich King at the top of Icecrown Citadel, and then witnessed his old friend Bolvar Fordragon become the next Lich King in one of the most famous WoW cinematics ever. Fordring would die heroically on the Broken Shore at the start of the Legion expansion, but players can now interact with him again in a long and epic quest chain once they find him in Western Plaguelands.

Tirion is an outcast living in a cave when you first meet him. The quest chain sends you into the elite outdoor zone of Hearthglen to meet up with Taelan Fordring, Tirion’s son, who has joined the Scarlet Crusade. Players are able to convince Taelan to return to his father, but just as you are about to escape, Taelan is killed and Tirion weeps over his dead son’s body. It’s a powerful moment, and Tirion even says in-game that he will use this event to change his life. He will no longer be a hermit, instead forming the Argent Crusade.

This quest chain essentially puts Tirion on the path that will one day have him going toe to toe with The Lich King and surviving the encounter. For those who loved Tirion’s story in Wrath of the Lich King, this quest chain is the perfect prequel.

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The Scepter of the Shifting Sands (Silithus)

The name of the quest that actually opens this chain is “What Tomorrow Brings,” and can be started by talking to an NPC in Cenarion Hold in Silithus. This is the quest chain that will open the gates of Ahn’Qiraj once the Alliance and Horde complete the War Effort. It involves killing multiple raid bosses to loot items that can only be picked up by one person. The first player to obtain and use the Scepter of the Shifting Sands will ring a gong that officially starts the one-time only event that opens AQ. The lucky player who completes this quest line first will receive the Scarab Lord title and special black AQ mount, both of which are two of the rarest accomplishments in the game. It’s kind of a big deal.

Jason M. Gallagher is a freelance contributor. Read more of his work here.

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