The Drowned City WoW Forever Dungeon Guide

the-drowned-city Boss Image
Jurdi
Last Updated: 15th Nov, 2026

Introduction

Hey everyone, and welcome to Method's guide for the Drowned City Dungeon in World of Warcraft: Forever. In this guide we’ll be going over all trash, bosses, loot, and quests for this dungeon.

Level Range
35-40
Recommended Level
Clear Time
30-40 mins
Estimated Full Run
Boss Count
6-8
Boss Encounters
Location
Stranglethorn Vale
Zone

The Drowned City Location

The Drowned is located south of the Haunted Isle in Stranglethorn Vale, with the dungeon portal actually being deep within the ocean.

This dungeon hosts the trolls of the lost city of I'lalai, where they, along with the invading Saltseer Pirates, are not too happy with you and your party's intrusion.

Drowned City Location WoW Forever

The Drowned City Dungeon Quests

There are five quests for both Horde and Alliance for the Drowned City in WoW Forever.

Quest Level Location

Magics of the Drowned City

(leads to The Web of Magic for quest item rewards)

30 Loremaster Dibbs - Southshore, Hillsbrad Foothills

(Starts with The Second Rebellion and Bad Medicine. Completing Troll Witchery will direct players to Loremaster Dibbs in Southshore for this quest)

Take Two With Water

(leads to Findings for the Explorer's League for quest item rewards)

30

Loremaster Dibbs - Southshore, Hillsbrad Foothills

(Starts with The Second Rebellion and Bad Medicine. Completing Troll Witchery will direct players to Loremaster Dibbs in Southshore for this quest)

Ancient Gurubashi Secrets 34 Archmage Timear - Dalaran, Alterac Mountains
Shady Saltseers 34 Krazek - Booty Bay, Stranglethorn Vale
The Saltseer Captain 34 Krazek - Booty Bay, Stranglethorn Vale
Quest Level Location
The Drowned City 30 Kin'weelay - Grom'gol, Stranglethorn Vale
(Starts with The Vile Reef from Kin'weelay)
The Only Good Brinescale... 30 Commander Aggro'gosh - Grom'gol, Stranglethorn Vale
(Starts with The Vile Reef from Kin'weelay)
Ancient Gurubashi Idol 28 Mazu'kon - Skywatcher plateau, Mulgore
Shady Saltseers 34 Krazek - Booty Bay, Stranglethorn Vale
The Saltseer Captain 34 Krazek - Booty Bay, Stranglethorn Vale

The Drowned City Dungeon Map

the drowned city wow forever dungeon map top layerthe drowned city wow forever dungeon map atal byzal

Maps created by Santiago Reyes.

The Drowned City Important Trash

The dungeon primarily has Undead and Humanoids, along with some mobs having deadly abilities. There is a handful of diseases and curses here, and along with that, an underwater section. We recommend brining a Warlock or Shaman to your party for their underwater breathing buffs: Water Breathing and Unending Breath.

Makrura Snapper

  • Will apply Sunder Armor on their target. Make sure to not continue pulling other trash mobs with high stacks of this debuff, especially Chasm Crawlers!

Chasm Crawlers

  • Deal VERY powerful physical auto attacks, come in packs of 2-3.
  • Apply Muscle Tear to the primary threat target, reducing strength and dealing instant damage.

Risen Sentry

Important Icon
  • Come in packs of 3-4, and will Shield Charge members who are 8 or more yards away, knocking them back.
  • Players should stack up to negate Shield Charge from happening, as it could accidentally push them into other trash packs.

Profane Necromancer

Important Icon

Brinescale Sorceress

  • Will attempt to Fear targets. Interrupt and stun this cast, as you do not want a player to get feared into other trash packs.
  • Will cast Frostbolt on the primary threat target.

Brinescale Explorer

  • Will apply Poisonous Stab to the primary threat target, dispel this debuff ASAP, as it not only deals ticking damage, but also significantly reduces attack and movement speed.

Saltseer Coronor

These are the most powerful of the Saltseer Pirates found within the dungeon. Focus these first over others.

  • Will deal a very powerful Chain Lightning that can be interrupted.
  • Will attempt to heal themselves and their allies with Healing Wave.

If limited on interrupts, focus primarily on Healing Wave and Chain Lightning.

The Drowned City Bosses

The Drowned City has 6 bosses with 2 potential Rare Spawn bosses. These bosse are primarily Humanoid type bosses, with some having very powerful mechanics and abilities.

Zul'Alai

Zul'Alai is the first boss of the Drowned City and deals powerful physical damage. He'll cast Monstrous Slam, stunning those nearby for 3 seconds. Players can move out before this cast finishes, as the boss remains stagnant when casting.

He'll hit the tank with Rotted Strike, an instant attack dealing damage to all nearby and slowing their movement and attack speed. Priest's can dispel the slowing effect and Paladins can use Blessing Of Freedom. Healers and ranged should out-range this ability.

At 30%, he'll cast Undying Oath, increasing attack speed by 30% and healing himself over time until defeated. Use defensive cooldowns if possible, and any attack speed slows like a Warrior's Thunder Clap. It's not a long fight, but the damage is intense on the tank!

Var'Taka

This boss is accompanied by two Brinescale Priestess adds, that can heal themselves or the boss. You can either use crowd-control to remove them temporarily from the encounter, or focus them down first to take them out fast.

The boss himself has two abilities: Harpoon, and Cleave. Var'Taka will pick a random target to Harpoon them, dealing instant damage and pulling them to the boss. For the Cleave, simply have the tank face the boss away from the rest of the party to avoid anyone else but the tank to eat that damage.

Be careful as you engage this encounter, as there are trash mob packs on the left and right that you can accidentally pull. You can use the pillars by the staircase to Line-of-Sight the Brinescale Priestesses and have the encounter take place in a safer spot. Once the Brinescale Priestesses are taken out, this is a fairly easy encounter.


Once the encounter is over, click on the Glowing Pearl to partially weaken the Barrier to Deathless Marrow's room.

Primeval Elemental

This boss is located underneath the Deep Archives. Players can find this bosses room by entering the water in this area. When you find the Undying Offerings you are in the bosses chamber. To summon the boss, slay all the offerings.


Primeval Elemental is a very easy boss with two mechanics your party really won't notice: Waterbolt and Freeze Water. Waterbolt is cast on the primary threat target, and Freeze Water deals damage to everyone and slows their attack, casting, and movement speed.

The only challenge here is to make sure you don't run out of breath, if you are getting close, swim directly above you as there is an opening above water. If you brought a Shaman or Warlock, then this mechanic is negated with their water-breathing buffs: Water Breathing and Unending Breath.

Captain Dreadrise

Captain Dreadrise patrols near the crashed ship, so be careful when clearing out trash as you do not want to engage him early or with other trash packs. Once you have a secure spot to pull, start the encounter.

The boss only has two abilities: Embrine and Waterbolt Volley. Embrine will trap a player in an Abyssal Bubble that needs to be killed by players before that player drowns.

Waterbolt Volley deals damage to all players, but this can be interrupted. Interrupt his casts and break out players in Abyssal Bubbles and this fight will be simple!


Once the encounter is over, click on the Glowing Pearl to partially weaken the Barrier to Deathless Marrow's room.

Deathless Marrow

Deathless Marrow is one of the more difficult encounters players will face in WoW: Forever dungeons.

This boss's main mechanic is balancing never-ending waves of adds while taking down the boss. The boss himself only has one ability: Bloodbolt. They will summon Deathless Guardians and Deathless Sorcerers, and when summoned, players should take out the Guardians first as they stun players with a powerful Shield Slam.

We recommend taking down the first wave of adds ASAP and then full sending all damage on the boss, ignoring the rest of the incoming adds. However, if they start to get overwheliming, using AoE Fear abilities such as Intimidating Shout/ Psychic Scream or individual crowd-controls like Polymorph will greatly help.

Min'loth The Serpent

Min'loth The Serpent is the final encounter of the dungeon and has two phases: a Troll phase and Serpent phase.


In Phase 1, the boss will hit the primary threat target with Drench, dealing powerful instant damage. When approaching low HP, he'll channel Deluge, dealing AoE damage to all party members.

The healer needs to make sure the tank is topped back to full health in between Drench casts, and then divvy up heals as Deluge is going out. Health Potions and Healthstones can be very helpful here! Once the boss reaches 1% HP in Phase 1, he'll enter his Serpent Phase and start Phase 2 at 100% HP


In Phase 2, Min'loth now has an AoE Poison Bolt Volley, dealing powerful ticking poison damage. Anyone who can dispel this needs to do so ASAP over damaging the boss. He'll also pick a random target to Fear, so bringing a Shaman to drop Tremor Totem will negate this mechanic. This fight ends when Min'oth reaches 0% HP in Phase 2.'

Important: Once defeated, travel to the nearby ship wreckage, as a treasure chest with additional loot awaits you!

Umbra (Rare Spawn)

Umbra is a potential Rare Spawn Boss that players can find in The Drowned City in the Deep Archives area. Umbra only applies a Rend to the primary threat target, and is accompanied by 5-6 Saltscale Muckdwellers that also apply Rend.

This encounter is not difficult, simply AoE down all the adds and then take down the boss. Make sure there's no additional trash packs nearby.

Gill (Rare Spawn)

Gill is a Rare Spawn Boss that only has one mechanic: Throw Dynamite. He will appear on the right side of the center area of the dungeon as players approach the Deep Archives. Heal through the bomb damage or simply move from where he's going to throw them, and take this boss down.

The Drowned City Dungeon Loot

Zul'Alai Loot

The loot table below shows all drops from Zul'Alai in The Drowned City.

Type Item Boss
Mail Wrist Berserker Shackles Zul'Alai
Leather Wrist Oathbound Bracers Zul'Alai
Axe One-Hand Bloodslash Axe Zul'Alai

Var'Taka Loot

The loot table below shows all drops from Var'Taka in The Drowned City.

Type Item Boss
Polearm Two-Hand Harpoon of Command Var'Taka
Leather Legs Brinebelly Leggings Var'Taka
Back Priestess Cloak Var'Taka

Captain Dreadrise Loot

The loot table below shows all drops from Captain Dreadrise in The Drowned City.

Type Item Boss
Cloth Waist Briny Sash Captain Dreadrise
Sword Main Hand Dreadfrost Saber Captain Dreadrise
Gun Ranged Frosty Blunderbuss Captain Dreadrise

Deathless Marrow Loot

The loot table below shows all drops from Deathless Marrow in The Drowned City.

Type Item Boss
Staff Two-Hand Bloodspine Staff Deathless Marrow
Finger Knucklebone Ring Deathless Marrow
Mail Shoulder Viscera Spaulders Deathless Marrow

Primeval Elemental Loot

The loot table below shows all drops from Primeval Elemental in The Drowned City.

Type Item Boss
Trinket Heart of the Primeval Primeval Elemental
Cloth Chest Robe of the Drowned Primeval Elemental
Back Waterlogged Burial Shroud Primeval Elemental

Min'loth the Serpent Loot

The loot table below shows all drops from Min'loth the Serpent in The Drowned City.

Type Item Boss
Leather Hands Ritual-Binder's Gloves Min'loth the Serpent
Mail Head Serpentbane Crown Min'loth the Serpent
Shield Shield Maw of Min'loth Min'loth the Serpent

Umbra (Rare) Loot

The loot table below shows all drops from Umbra (Rare) in The Drowned City.

Type Item Boss
Cloth Hands Deep-Dweller's Grips Umbra (Rare)
Mail Waist Umbral Scaled Belt Umbra (Rare)

Gill (Rare) Loot

The loot table below shows all drops from Gill (Rare) in The Drowned City.

Type Item Boss
Dagger Main Hand Tidebound Dagger Gill (Rare)
Trinket Gill's Gills Gill (Rare)