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Trial of the Champion
Champion, CC5, ToC, ToC5
Trial of the Champion loading screen
Location Argent Tournament Grounds, Icecrown
End boss IconSmall Undead Male The Black Knight
Instance info
Type Instance
Advised level 80
Player limit 5
Crusaders' Coliseum
Trial of the Champion (5)
Alliance Alliance
Deathstalker Visceri
Eressea Dawnsinger
Mokra the Skullcrusher
Runok Wildmane
Zul'tore

Horde Horde
Ambrose Boltspark
Colosos
Jacob Alerius
Jaelyne Evensong
Lana Stouthammer
Neutral Neutral
Argent Confessor Paletress
Eadric the Pure
The Black Knight

Trial of the Crusader & Trial of the Grand Crusader (10/25)
Beasts of Northrend
Lord Jaraxxus
Faction Champions
Twin Val'kyr
Anub'arak
Trial of the Champion bosses

The Trial of the Champion bosses

Trial of the Champion is a 5-player dungeon in the Crusaders' Coliseum. It involves three encounters, each of which rewards a Ability paladin artofwar [Champion's Seal] in Heroic mode.

Start the event by speaking with Arelas Brightstar or Jaeren Sunsworn in the center of the coliseum once the party is mounted atop their Argent Warhorses.

Every loot item which drops in both Normal and Heroic modes of this dungeon is of epic quality. The loot for Normal mode equals or surpasses 10-man Naxxramas drops in some slots. The loot for Heroic mode equals or surpasses 10-man Ulduar drops in some slots. Its difficulty should not be underestimated: Trial of the Champion is by no means a "get epics quick" scheme for under-geared players.

Background[]

Dungeon Journal[]

Clouds blankets the skies of Icecrown and heroes gather beneath battle-worn banners in preparation for the coming storm. They say that even the darkest cloud has a silver lining. It is hope that drives the men and women of the Argent Crusade: hope that the Light will see them through these trying times, hope that good will triumph over evil, hope that a hero blessed by the Light will come forth to put an end to the Lich King's dark reign.

Bosses[]

The dungeon progresses in a linear fashion, but with a different encounter set based on the player's faction:

The first encounter pits the player's party against three champions of the opposite faction:

Alliance champions Horde champions Equivalent player class
IconSmall Gnome Male Ambrose Boltspark IconSmall BloodElf Female Eressea Dawnsinger Mage
IconSmall Draenei Male Colosos IconSmall Tauren Male Runok Wildmane Shaman
IconSmall NightElf Female Jaelyne Evensong IconSmall Troll Male Zul'tore Hunter
IconSmall Dwarf Female Lana Stouthammer IconSmall Undead Male Deathstalker Visceri Rogue
IconSmall Human Male Marshal Jacob Alerius IconSmall Orc Male Mokra the Skullcrusher Warrior

The second encounter is three packs of three trash mobs, followed by one of either:

Finally, all parties will face the 'surprise' encounter of:

Grand Champions Encounter[]

This encounter is done on the Argent Warhorse. To mount the warhorse the player must have a lance equipped. Lances can be found at the entrance of the Dungeon. The encounter starts with some Role Play with the herald introducing the players and the Champions. As of Patch 3.2.2, if everyone in the group has seen the event since said patch, you have an option to skip the event. The fight consists of 4 "packs".

The first three packs can be considered "trash" and consist of three groups of three mounted mobs of the race of the three representing Factions. The fourth pack are the three Champions.

The trash is handled easily by focusing on one mob at the time (mark them out). If all 5 players can charge in on the same initial target, it should go down quickly after if not already at the 5th charge because of javelins throws (2) of the first chargers. Try and focus on the same second target and the trash mobs should go down pretty easy. Make sure you keep up your shield (3 stacks) at all time during this encounter. Note that, if your mount is killed and you are dismounted, you can obtain a fresh mount provided you stay alive long enough to reach one. Positioning yourself near a fresh mount when you're about to be dismounted helps.

When the three trash packs are down, the three Champions will attack your group. Basically this is the same deal: all focus on one target and they should go down. The difference is that they have more health and use more shields than the trash.

Note that when you take down a Champion, he will try to get back on one of the mounts on the outside. You can prevent him from doing that by simply running over him with your mount. All three Champions must be downed at the same time before you can engage the Champions in normal combat. To do this agree on one person to stand on the first downed Champion, so he gets knocked down the moment he tries to get up (just standing still on a Champion is enough to knock them down again). Same goes for the second Champion.

Once all three are down, you are going to be dismounted. The champions will walk to their gate and reset. Now, equip your normal weapon again (important) and engage the Champions.

None of the Champions are susceptible to any form of Crowd Control, except stuns and silence effects such as a Priest's Ability priest silence [Silence] or a Mage's Spell frost iceshock [Improved Counterspell].

By and large, the following order should be followed to ensure a smooth victory;

  1. Lana Stouthammer/Deathstalker Visceri - poison clouds and a stacking DoT can make her/him the most dangerous champion; a druid using Abolish Poison or a Poison Cleansing Totem mitigates this significantly.
  2. Colosos/Runok Wildmane - his heals aren't especially potent but can still draw things out longer than desired. Having a mage, Shadow Priest, or any other class who can interrupt focus them and smack their Lesser Healing Wave when they see it can help a lot.
  3. Melee heavy group; Marshal Jacob Alerius/Mokra the Skullcrusher - Bladestorm can make swift work of a melee-heavy group, especially on heroic, and especially if the Rogue is also present.
  4. Ranged/Clothie-heavy group; Jaelyne Evensong/Zul'tore - their arrows hit hard and fast and unless they're controlled quickly by the tank, they can destroy your healer before anyone can react.
  5. Ambrose Boltspark/Eressea Dawnsinger - the least dangerous of the lot, save maybe for their Polymorph if the group is using a non-druid tank. Having a Mage or S.Priest focus on them and interrupt their Fireball will render them largely harmless.

Argent Champion Encounter[]

The next phase will feature three trash packs, followed by one of either Argent Confessor Paletress or Eadric the Pure. The trash packs consist of one Argent Priestess, one Argent Lightwielder and one Argent Monk each. On the whole, the kill order should be Priestess > Lightwielder > Monk - on heroic mode, the Monk will channel a spell that reduces cast and attack times by 70% when he is 'killed'. This shield, and the effect, can be broken by Spell arcane massdispel [Mass Dispel] or Ability warrior shatteringthrow [Shattering Throw].

Once all three trash packs are dealt with, the boss (whichever one you ended up with) will become hostile and attack.

Eadric the Pure[]

Eadric the Pure needs to be controlled quickly as his passive buff, "Vengeance", causes his attacks to crit quite often, and he can quickly kill a healer or ranged DPS if the tank isn't quick enough picking him up. Once engaged it is a relatively simple tank-and-spank encounter. He will make use of two moves during the fight;

  • Radiance: Announced by a Raid Warning - as per instruction, if you "shield your eyes" (turn to face away from him), you will remain unaffected by the spell. Anybody facing him when the spell goes off will be interrupted and subject to a 4 second stun effect. Tank and any melee can most easily step forwards through him, stepping back at the end of the cast.
If the stunned person, or someone else in the group, removes the stun in time (it is a magical effect so Spell nature nullifydisease [Dispel Magic] and Spell holy purify [Cleanse] will do the job, as will PvP trinkets or the Human racial, Spell shadow charm [Will to Survive]), then the targeted player will instead catch the hammer and be able to throw it back at him with button 1 on their action bar.
The hammer only lasts for 4-5 seconds before vanishing if not used, so careful timing is required on heroic mode to ensure the hammer deals the killing blow. Reducing him to ~5% health and then stopping all DPS to wait for the next hammer is the easiest way to do this.
If the stun is not cleared, the targeted player will take upwards of 15k damage.

Once reduced to 1 health, Eadric will run to the center of the arena, place his loot chest, and then flee.

Argent Confessor Paletress[]

Once hostile, she will begin casting Spell holy searinglight [Holy Fire] and Holy Smite at random party members; both of these, as well as her rather powerful Spell holy renew [Renew], can be counterspelled and interrupted, so do so when possible. Her Renew can also be dispelled from her or her summoned add, and since it ticks for 15-20k, it's advisable to do so.

When she is first reduced to 50% she will knockback and stun all party members and summon an add, "Memory of X" - where X is a randomly selected boss from seemingly anywhere in the game, including Ignis the Furnace Master, Edwin VanCleef, Hogger, Lady Vashj and others.

Regardless of what the add may resemble it will have only a few basic attacks; a magical debuff (+90% cast times), a party-wide Fear (which can be resisted through Spell nature ancestralguardian [Berserker Rage] or Spell holy excorcism [Fear Ward], or removed through trinkets/spells/racials, but cannot be interrupted during the casting) and melee attacks.

Once summoned, all DPS should focus on killing the add and ignore Paletress, as she will throw up a shield protecting her from harm and returning 25-50% of all damage dealt to her to the caster. This shield will vanish when the add is slain and she can then be defeated.

Note that even whilst shielded, moves such as Taunt, Spell nature shamanrage [Dark Command], Ability physical taunt [Growl] (from a Druid) and Spell deathknight strangulate [Death Grip] will still work to direct her focus at the tank for a short while, which can help keep damage away from the rest of the group.

As with Eadric the Pure, once reduced to 1 hp, she will run to the center of the arena, place her loot cache, and leave.

The Black Knight[]

When the party asks their herald to begin the fight after Eadric or Paletress are defeated, he will point to the edge of the arena and state "Wait... what's that, up in the rafters?"

A short RolePlay session will begin where the Black Knight, atop a Ability mount undeadhorse [Bone Gryphon], flies into the arena, kills the Herald (Arelas Brightstar for Alliance or Jaeren Sunsworn for Horde) for ruining his "grand entrance" and engages the party in a three-phase fight. In the first two phases he will have one or more Ghoul pets - be aware that these can all use Explode much like the ability given to players affected by Spell shadow deadofnight [Raise Ally], and on heroic mode this damage can be quite devastating.

Through the first two phases, he will lay the standard Death Knight diseases (Spell deathknight frostfever [Frost Fever] and Spell deathknight bloodplague [Blood Plague]) on his target, as well as spawning Ability deathknight desecratedground [Desecrated Ground] periodically. The damage from this is ignorable with a good group but a slightly less geared group may wish to drag him out of it to minimise the amount of stress-related hair-loss inflicted on the healer.

Phase 1: The Black Knight (Forsaken)

In Phase 1, the Black Knight, returned from the dead, appears as a Forsaken in his old armour. He will raise the body of the slain Herald from the dead as a Ghoul which will also engage the party; the tank must be aware of this to pick him up so he doesn't kill your healer. The Ghoul is not elite, and a solid melee DPS can easily 'tank' him if needed - but all DPS should focus on it to kill it fast enough that it does not explode, especially if you want the heroic-only achievement, Money achievement I've Had Worse. Once the Ghoul is defeated, the party can then kill the Black Knight. Hm, that seemed too easy... oh, never mind, he's getting up again!

Phase 2: The Black Knight (Skeleton)

This guy doesn't know when to give up. In Phase 2, the Black Knight will rise as a Skeleton and instantly spawn an Spell deathknight armyofthedead [Army of the Dead]. There are two strategies here.

  • If your group is mostly single-target DPS, the tank can kite the boss around the arena with the ghouls in tow; so long as he keeps a hold of them; and thus avoid anyone being hit by Ghoul Explosion.
  • If the group has a couple of good AoErs (mages, warlocks, shadow priests, warriors with cleave/whirlwind spam, rogues, etc.) then the tank can gather the lot and have the AoE shred through them before any have a chance to explode.

You can kill either the Black Knight or the Army first, but if you kill him first, all the remaining ghouls will explode after a short time all together, so it's advisable to AoE them down, especially if you're going for the achievement.

Once the Army of the Dead is dealt with and the Black Knight is dead once again, you're on to phase 3.

Phase 3: The Black Knight (Wraith)

Third time's the charm - the Black Knight gets back to his... er, ghostly remnants of feet and comes at you a final time. There are no adds to deal with in this final phase, but he will constantly deal damage to all party members, so spells like Spell holy powerwordbarrier [Divine Sacrifice] or Spell holy sealofsacrifice [Hand of Sacrifice] will help the party or a single, particularly fragile, party member alive. One party member will also be afflicted by "Marked for Death" - the healer MUST keep their eyes open here as Marked for Death will increase their magical damage taken by 200% and this can very quickly result in their death if not watched for. Other than that, it is a tank-and-spank fight. When slain this third and final time, he stays dead, and you can collect your loot from the blackened orb he leaves behind like any other Wraith. Note, if the Spell shadow shadowfiend [Desecration] effect from Phase 2 is still present when he resurrects, move out of it quickly, as it will lay you to waste in very short order when coupled with Marked for Death. If you have a Priest, Druid or Shaman healer, the easiest way to get through this phase is often to have all party members gather as close to the boss as possible and have the healer chain-cast group heals such as Spell holy prayerofhealing02 [Prayer of Healing], Spell nature healingwavegreater [Chain Heal] or Ability druid flourish [Wild Growth], with the occasional focused heal for whoever's afflicted with Marked for Death.

Loot[]

Normal mode[]

Champion's Cache Description
Inv belt 26 [Belt of Fierce Competition] Leather melee
Inv bracer 33 [Bindings of the Wicked] Cloth +hit
Inv helmet 134 [Helm of the Bested Gallant] Plate +spell power
Inv pants plate 30 [Legguards of Abandoned Fealty] Plate +defense
Inv boots leather01 [Scale Boots of the Outlander] Mail physical
Inv belt 11 [Binding of the Tranquil Glade] Leather caster
Eadric's Cache Description Confessor's Cache Description
Inv misc gem bloodstone 03 [Tears of the Vanquished] Healer Trinket Inv misc gem bloodstone 03 [Tears of the Vanquished] Healer Trinket
Inv misc rune 09 [Abyssal Rune] Caster Trinket Inv misc rune 09 [Abyssal Rune] Caster Trinket
Inv shoulder 105 [Mantle of Gnarled Overgrowth] Leather caster Inv jewelry necklace 32 [Brilliant Hailstone Amulet] Necklace caster
Inv gauntlets 68 [Gloves of the Argent Fanatic] Leather melee Inv gauntlets 68 [Gloves of the Argent Fanatic] Leather melee
Inv pants leather 27 [Leggings of Brazen Trespass] Leather melee Inv bracer 23b [Wristguards of Ceaseless Regret] Mail physical
Inv chest mail 03 [Carapace of Grim Visions] Mail caster Inv chest mail 03 [Carapace of Grim Visions] Mail caster
Inv belt 08 [Belt of the Churning Blaze] Cloth +hit Inv belt 08 [Belt of the Churning Blaze] Cloth +hit
Inv pants cloth 27 [Leggings of the Haggard Apprentice] Cloth Inv pants cloth 27 [Leggings of the Haggard Apprentice] Cloth
Inv jewelry ring 64 [Signet of Purity] Ring caster Inv helmet 141 [Gaze of the Somber Keeper] Leather caster
Inv chest plate 25 [Breastplate of the Imperial Joust] Plate melee Inv chest plate 25 [Breastplate of the Imperial Joust] Plate melee
Inv boots plate 11 [Greaves of the Grand Paladin] Plate caster Inv belt 48 [The Confessor's Binding] Cloth
Inv gauntlets 75 [Gauntlets of the Stouthearted Crusader] Plate melee Inv gauntlets 72 [Mercy's Hold] Plate tank
Inv boots plate 11 [Boots of Heartfelt Repentance] Plate tank
The Black Knight Description
Inv misc gem bloodstone 02 [The Black Heart] Tank Trinket
Inv misc gem bloodstone 03 [Tears of the Vanquished] Healer Trinket
Inv misc rune 09 [Abyssal Rune] Caster Trinket
Inv belt 28 [Girdle of the Pallid Knight] Plate +defense
Inv belt 23 [Belt of Merciless Cruelty] Mail physical
Inv belt 50 [Girdle of Arrogant Downfall] Plate melee
Inv helmet 134 [Helm of the Violent Fray] Plate melee
Inv pants plate 24 [Leggings of the Bloodless Knight] Mail caster
Inv gauntlets 61 [Handwraps of Surrendered Hope] Cloth
Inv shoulder 31 [Mantle of Inconsolable Fear] Cloth
Inv shoulder 105 [Shoulderpads of the Infamous Knave] Leather melee
Inv jewelry ring 79 [Uruka's Band of Zeal] Ring melee
Inv misc cape 20 [Drape of the Undefeated] Cloak melee

Heroic mode[]

On heroic mode, each encounter includes an Spell holy summonchampion [Emblem of Triumph] and a Ability paladin artofwar [Champion's Seal].

Champion's Cache Description
Inv chest mail 06 [Chestguard of the Ravenous Fiend] Mail physical
Inv axe 76 [Edge of Ruin] Two handed axe
Inv pants leather 23 [Leggings of the Snowy Bramble] Leather caster
Inv jewelry ring 60 [Mark of the Relentless] Ring +defense
Inv shoulder 102 [Pauldrons of the Deafening Gale] Mail caster
Inv boots mail 01 [Treads of Dismal Fortune] Leather melee
Eadric's Cache Description Confessor's Cache Description
Inv bracer 22b [Armbands of the Wary Lookout] Leather melee Inv bracer 22b [Armbands of the Wary Lookout] Leather melee
Inv boots leather01 [Barkhide Treads] Leather caster Inv jewelry ring 44 [Sinner's Confession] Ring caster
Inv sword 142 [Peacekeeper Blade] Sword tank Inv sword 142 [Peacekeeper Blade] Sword tank
Inv mace 100 [Aledar's Battlestar] Mace melee Inv boots plate 11 [Plated Greaves of Providence] Plate melee
Inv helmet 134 [Helm of the Crestfallen Challenger] Plate tank Inv helmet 134 [Helm of the Crestfallen Challenger] Plate tank
Inv gauntlets 74 [Gloves of Dismal Fortune] Leather caster Inv gauntlets 74 [Gloves of Dismal Fortune] Leather caster
Inv pants plate 26 [Legplates of the Argent Armistice] Plate healer Inv shoulder 98 [Regal Aurous Shoulderplates] Plate tank
Inv pants plate 27 [Legplates of Relentless Onslaught] Plate melee Inv pants plate 27 [Legplates of Relentless Onslaught] Plate melee
Inv jewelry necklace 36 [Ancient Pendant of Arathor] Necklace melee Inv jewelry necklace 36 [Ancient Pendant of Arathor] Necklace melee
Inv shoulder 98 [Majestic Silversmith Shoulderplates] Plate melee Inv belt 51 [Trueheart Girdle] Plate healer
Inv mace 102 [Mariel's Sorrow] Mace caster Inv weapon halberd16 [Marrowstrike] Polearm
Inv misc cape 18 [Kurisu's Indecision] Cloak caster Inv shoulder 102 [Pauldrons of Concealed Loathing] Mail physical
The Black Knight Description
Inv weapon rifle 34 [True-Aim Long Rifle] Gun DPS
Inv jewelry necklace 31 [Symbol of Redemption] Necklace healer
Inv jewelry necklace 29 [The Warlord's Depravity] Necklace tank
Inv weapon shortblade 96 [Spectral Kris] Dagger caster
Inv gauntlets 73 [Gloves of the Dark Exile] Mail physical
Inv gauntlets 77a [Gauntlets of Revelation] Plate healer
Inv bracer 07 [Vambraces of Unholy Command] Plate melee
Inv helmet 141 [Mask of Distant Memory] Leather melee
Inv helmet 133 [Gaze of the Unknown] Cloth +hit
Inv chest cloth 68 [Embrace of Madness] Cloth
Inv boots cloth 22 [Boots of the Crackling Flame] Cloth +hit
Inv belt 49 [Girdle of the Dauntless Conqueror] Mail caster

Achievements[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Patch changes[]

  • Wrath-Logo-Small Patch 3.2.2 (2009-09-22): "We've fixed this in patch 3.2.2. You should no longer feel obliged to zone out to reset their positions." (Source) In the 5-player Trial of the Champion (normal and heroic dungeon), the transition from mounted to hand-to-hand combat has been changed.
  • Wrath-Logo-Small Patch 3.2.0 (2009-08-04): Added.

See also[]

External links[]

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