| The Violet Hold | |
|---|---|
| VH | |
 The Violet Hold loading graphic | |
| Location | Dalaran |
| End boss |
 Cyanigosa |
| Advised level | 75-77 |
| Player limit | 5 |
| Key | [The Violet Hold Key] |
- For the Legion version, see Assault on Violet Hold.
The Violet Hold bosses
The Violet Hold (previously known as dungeons of Dalaran[1][2]) is a prison complex located in Dalaran. It is the third instance to be located within the bounds of a capital city (after the Stormwind Stockade and Orgrimmar's Ragefire Chasm). The quest Quest:Discretion is Key (Neutral), obtained from Rhonin at level 75, introduces the player to the dungeon.
This dungeon used to be to the southeast of Silverpine Forest and to the north east of the Dalaran Crater,[1] but was moved with the city to Northrend, then later moved again with the city to the Broken Isles.
Removed
The quest Discretion is Key grants you 
[The Violet Hold Key] which is required to unlock the door to the instance. You can enter without the key so long as someone opens the door for you. The quest itself does not need to be completed in order to keep the key.
History
During the Third War.
Among the ornate spires and enchanted streets of Dalaran, the great Violet Hold stands as a testament to the glory of the city's rulers, the Kirin Tor. Yet within its mighty walls, a dark truth awaits.[3]
Filled with row upon row of deadly inmates, the hold has long been used to restrain threats to Dalaran.[3]
The Third War
When Arthas (after he became a Death Knight) and his Scourge razed Dalaran in search for the Book of Medivh, he and Kel'thuzad discovered some creatures which the Kirin Tor had, according to Kel'thuzad, "caged for studying". Although no sources confirm it, this might have been an early version of the Violet Hold.
During the aftermath of the Third War, Lord Garithos caught the blood elves - led by Prince Kael'thas - consorting with Lady Vashj, and forging a desperate alliance with her naga. Garithos branded him a traitor and threw him in a magical cell in the dungeons underneath the city of Dalaran. Kael found himself confined in the prison until Vashj broke him out, during their escape they put to rest the souls of four archmagi: Antonidas, Conjurus Rex, Fordred Aran and Landazar. Similar to Arthas and Kel'thuzad, they also found a furbolg and an ogre, which were experiments of the wizards of Dalaran and let them loose upon Garithos' guards. They also fought against some trapped undead and rescued the rest of the prisoner blood elves. Finally Kael'thas and the rescued blood elves killed Jailor Kassan, an old friend of Kael'thas, who guarded the exit to escape.[4]
After Kael'thas' escape the prison was diligently watched over by the Kirin Tor and it had enjoyed stability for many years… until now.[3]
Warcraft Mage
Template:Manga-section Sometime after Dalaran was moved to Northrend but before the Alliance and Horde forces had arrived to reinforce the city. During a Blue Dragon attack on the city lead by Malygos, Rhonin sends a young mage named Aodhan to the Violet Hold to meet with another mage. However the mage isn't at the Violet hold, but Aodhan hears a voice telling him to come to the Violet Hold. It turns out the voice was his Uncle Crevan, who had been stripped of his powers and put into a cell by the Kirin Tor. Later, after recovering the Spellbook of Argaleus which had restored Crevan's power, the spellbook let him free many of the prisoners from the cells.
Crevan, a Mage hunter in the serve of Malygos hoped that releasing the prisoners in the Violet Hold would distract the other mages long enough for Crevan to cause the Dalaran to crash. Crevan briefly traps Aodhan in one of the Violet Hold cells promising to come back later. Aodhan manages to free himself from the cell, and to stop some of the prisoners from escaping.[5]
Wrath of the Lich King
In a sudden, violent assault, Malygos has unleashed his blue dragonflight upon Dalaran, hungry to reclaim arcane dominance over Azeroth. Utilizing a massive crack in the Violet Hold's roof, agents of the Dragon Aspect have begun pouring through portals within the prison, testing its integrity and risking the safety of everyone outside its walls.[3]
Overwhelmed by the audacious attack, the Kirin Tor has called upon heroes of the Horde and Alliance for assistance, seeking to put a swift end to the invasion. As brave adventurers rush to aid Dalaran, rumors circulate about the escalating ferocity of the battle.[3]
Violet Hold defenders seeking a brief respite from the ongoing offensive warn that the dungeon's vile inmates have begun escaping from their cells due to Malygos' reckless actions. And that, the guards caution, is only the beginning.[3]
So critical is his quest to destroy Dalaran, Malygos has sent Cyanigosa, one of his most powerful lieutenants, to ensure victory and guarantee that the city is destroyed, along with any who dare defend it.[3]
As the onslaught continues to chip away at the Violet Hold's defenses, only the brave souls protecting the prison stand between the continued existence of Dalaran and the city's utter annihilation.[3]
The shivarra Alizabal was imprisoned here, not long after corrupt magi summoned her, but despite arcane wards restricting her powers, her influence alone caused her guards to murder one another in sudden fits of rage. Therefore she was transfered to Baradin Hold prior to the Cataclysm.
Dungeon Journal
Among the ornate spires and enchanted streets of Dalaran, a dark presence stirs within the mighty walls of the Violet Hold. Long used to restrain threats to the city, the tower holds row upon row of deadly inmates, and it has been diligently watched over by the Kirin Tor. However, a sudden assult has tested the integrity of the hold, putting at risk the safety of everyone outside the prison's walls.
Landfall
After Jaina Proudmoore expelled the Sunreavers from Dalaran, she imprisoned a number of blood elves in the hold (mostly those who were willing to surrender, the bewildered civilians on the surface, and the elves who did not escape the city with Grand Magister Rommath). Archmage Aethas Sunreaver informed the Thalassian leadership of their people's presence in the Violet Hold following his own return to Silvermoon City.
Jaina is now holding the detained Sunreavers as prisoners of war. Lor'themar Theron, sovereign ruler of Quel'Thalas, has publicly demanded their release.
Walkthrough
Instance map
As you enter, Kirin Tor prison guards are fending off invaders of the blue dragonflight. Under orders from Malygos, the blue dragonflight are using magical portals to enter the hold in an attempt to enter the city by breaking through the hold's defenses.
When you talk to Lieutenant Sinclari, she will use the Defense Control Crystal near the doors to kill all the mobs in the hold and leave with the guards, closing the doors behind him. Your group is left on their own to defend the hold.
Similar to the Black Morass instance, there will be 18 portals opening one after another. These portals spawn either a portal guardian which continuously spawns non-elite adds from the portal or a squad of elite dragonkin who do not spawn adds. Killing the guardian or the squad closes the portal. You must keep the spawns off the door, so that they don't break through. On the 6th and 12th portal, an unattackable dragonkin will spawn and open up one of the magically sealed prison cells, each containing a different boss. After you defeat the boss, you will get a small break to catch your breath before the event continues.
The most challenging portal trash spawn are the squads of elite dragonkin, which emerge in groups of 3-4. The champions have a knock-back ability, so tanking with your back against a wall is preferable. This is especially true since sorcerers are ranged and will not follow the tank backward, creating a potential aggro problem. For this reason, sorcerers should be downed first, and also because they will target random party members with arcane barrages.
The squads of elite dragonkin are especially difficult for the tank when they emerge from a portal in the middle of the balcony. Two mobs will run one way and two will run the other way, taking different staircases down to the dungeon's main floor. The ideal response is to be at the portal when they spawn, and establish aggro before they split. If you cannot be there in time, establish quick aggro on one side of the split group. Then, charge to one of the mobs on the other side, followed by taunt or ranged attack on the other mob. Alternatively, you can wait for them to meet again at the stairs near the instance door, but dps and heals should be alerted to wait.
On the 18th portal, you will fight Cyanigosa, the blue dragon in charge of the assault on the prison.
On Heroic, it awards approximately 1300 reputation.
Upon Death, one must fight through all waves, including the bosses, again. However, in Heroic mode, bosses that have already been defeated are replaced by mobs that are the same but differently named, and provide only 250 Reputation and no loot. In Regular, bosses which have to be fought again will drop loot normally. If only a single player or two dies without a wipe, they may simply enter the instance again as a ghost and speak with Sinclari outside the doors of the prison; she'll teleport the player inside the doors.
- Note: if you are having trouble downing the mobs, there are Defense Control Crystals located on the walls around the room. Activating one of these crystals will damage all the mobs in the room, killing all but bosses or portal keepers. Each crystal can be used only once.
Dungeon Denizens
Arakkoa (three, Erekem and two guards)- Blue dragon (one, Cyanigosa)
- Azure dragonspawn
- Blue drakonids
- Core hound (one, Lavanthor)
- Darkhounds
- Ethereal (one, Xevozz)
- File:IconSmall FloatingEye.gif Observer (one, Moragg)
- Humans (NPC's)
- Rats (critters)
- Spiders (critters)
- Void lord (one, Zuramat)
- Voidwraiths
- Water elementals
- Water revenant (one, Ichoron)
Bosses
You will encounter three bosses in this dungeon, the first two being randomly selected out of this list of bosses:
- Erekem - Captured arakkoa
- File:IconSmall FloatingEye.gif Moragg - Captured observer
- Ichoron - Captured water revenant
- Xevozz - Captured ethereal
- Lavanthor - Captured core hound
- Zuramat the Obliterator - Captured void lord
Finally, you will always face 
Cyanigosa as the 3rd boss.
| Bosses | Mobs | NPCs |
|---|---|---|
|
First two bosses random |
Loot
- Main article: Violet Hold loot
Quests
- [77D] Containment
Achievements
[The Violet Hold]- [Heroic: The Violet Hold]
- [Heroic: The Violet Hold Guild Run]
- [Defenseless]
- [Dehydration]
- [Lockdown!]
- [A Void Dance]
Fishing
Unique items fished up from the waters of Violet Hold (outside the instance):
- [Rusty Prison Key]
- [Shimmering Minnow]
- [Slippery Eel]
- [Bloated Slippery Eel] (Quest item)
- [Half Empty Bottle of Prison Moonshine]
- [Half Full Bottle of Prison Moonshine]
- [Partially Rusted File]
- [Bloodied Prison Shank]
Videos
Notes
- In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, it was an underground dungeon, with Kael'thas being nearly in the deepest part of it. In World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, it is now an above-ground building. The city may have been rebuilt with a different layout before it was moved to Northrend, the Warcraft III map may have failed to show what the dungeon looked like from an outside view (if it had one at the time), Kael'thas may have escaped through what is now the Underbelly, or some combination of the above.
Patch changes
- Patch 3.3.2 (2010-02-01): The time between a boss being defeated and a new portal opening has been decreased.
References
- ^ a b
- ^ The Violet Hold (English) (HTML). Wrath Dungeons. Blizzard Entertainment Inc.. Retrieved on 2009-03-17. “This prison has been diligently watched over by the Kirin Tor, and even the blood elf Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider found himself confined there after forging a desperate alliance with the naga. Although he managed to escape captivity with the help of Lady Vashj, the prison has otherwise enjoyed stability for many years… until now.”
- ^ a b c d e f g h The Violet Hold (English) (HTML). Wrath Dungeons. Blizzard Entertainment Inc.. Retrieved on 2009-03-17.
- ^ "Curse of the Blood Elves: The Dungeons of Dalaran", Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard Entertainment.
- ^ Mage
External links
World of Strats Violet Hold instance guide
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