TheWoWDBIf you don't see the boats right away in the quest area, shoot the canons around close to shore. You might have to wait for them to make their way to shore, the boats might be invisible but eventually you will hit one. If you turn on "Track Quest POI's" (click the magnifying glass on your minimap), it will highlight the area where the boats path to shore - this will help you better guess where you might be able to shoot the boats if they aren't visible to you.
Tried to do this quest today on my druid and everything went fine until I got up to 8/10 boats sunk.
I tried the other canons and I shot a couple dozen cannonballs but nothing seemed to happen so I decided to restart the game to see if that helped. I can't confirm that restarting the game helped because I did not see any boats at first after logging in, but after shooting the cannon some more I did find one of the spots to hit (where the "invisible" boats come to rest after spawning and making their way to shore).
The only approved screenshot included here at the moment only shows a side shot of a cannon and you can't see where the relevant boats are in the picture. I submitted a screenshot that I took when the boats re-spawned and came to rest after making their way to shore -- that picture should help give you an idea where the 'invisible' boats end up, so you can hit them with your cannon and hopefully get some more to spawn. Good luck!
Quest
Run Out the Guns
A World of Warcraft quest in Southern Barrens. Facts and objectives from the current retail game data.
The highest voted Wowhead comments for this page. They are community notes, not TheWoWDB comments.
It's kinda like Battleship. You can't see 'em...but those bastards are out there.
Confirmed. The boats do not visually spawn when first started, however, they are there invisible. Once I shot one, by shooting between two boats on left, the boats started spawning.
Quest facts
Check whether you have already completed this quest
in-game: /run print(C_QuestLog.IsQuestFlaggedCompleted(24939))
Requirements
Read from the Blizzard quest API.
What to do
Carronader's Waistband, 
Northwatch Bracers, Carronader's Belt, 10g 50s, 4,100 XPDescription
We've got the hardware but not the manpower, {name}. Man one of the carronades on the shore here and take out those incoming boats!
Where to go
Pins are the quest’s own POI points from the current retail client, projected onto the in-game zone map. The game marks one blob as the quest’s turn-in; the rest are objective areas. Points that fall outside a map’s window are dropped rather than guessed at.
Objective areaObjective areaObjective areaObjective areaObjective areaObjective areaIn-game waypoint: /way #199 70.8 42.8
Coordinates
- Objective area (centre of the marked area)Southern Barrens 70.1, 43.9
/way #199 70.1 43.9 - Objective areaSouthern Barrens 68.6, 44.5
/way #199 68.6 44.5
Map coordinates of the pins above. An area the client draws as a shape is given by the centre of its points.
Nearby on the Southern Barrens map
- Desecrate this Fire! about 1,600 yards
- Honor the Flame about 2,130 yards
Quests whose map markers the client places closest to this one on Southern Barrens, nearest first. Distances are straight lines between the markers.
Getting there
Alliance flight points closest to the quest’s first objective area marker on Southern Barrens:
- Northwatch Hold, Southern Barrens
- Ratchet, Northern Barrens
- Fort Triumph, Southern Barrens
Straight-line distances in yards between the quest’s own map markers (QuestPOI) and the client’s flight-point positions (TaxiNodes); flight paths and terrain are not modelled.
Community notes from Wowhead · 23 comments
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Choose one of these rewards:
Other quests on the Southern Barrens map
Reward details
Pick one of these
Reputation: Stormwind +250
One of the last bastions of human power, this Alliance capital is ruled by the young but wise king, Anduin Wrynn.
Reputation group: Alliance.
Other quests in Southern Barrens that reward Stormwind reputation: Running the Gauntlet (+250), Breaking the Siege (+250), Report to Aubrey (+75), Repel Boarders! (+250), The Guns of Northwatch (+75), Langridge Shot (+250).
Item facts are the current retail client’s (ItemSparse); the specialisations for a pick-one item are the ones the Blizzard quest API lists; faction and currency text is the client’s own. Lowest listed price = the US commodity auction house now.
Storyline
Southern Barrens
Part 6 of 89.
Previous: The Guns of Northwatch · Next: Langridge Shot
- 1Running the Gauntlet
- 2Breaking the Siege
- 3Futile Resistance
- 4Repel Boarders!
- 5The Guns of Northwatch
- 6Run Out the Guns
- 7Langridge Shot
- 8Re-Take the Courtyard
- 9Back in the Fight
- 10Lifting the Siege
- 11Silencing Rageroar
- 12Teegan's People
Showing steps 1 to 12 of 89.
Storyline order is the client’s own QuestLine data from the current retail build.
Where this quest fits
Before this quest
Taken from the storyline's own step order.
- The Guns of Northwatch
Captain Fisher signaled us from below. The Horde fleet is landing shore parties? We can't let them flank us from the beach. I've already sent two of my best gunners down there to defend the beach head. Talk to Cannoneer Smythe down on the shore.
After this quest
Taken from the storyline's own step order.
- Langridge Shot
<class>! Thank the Light - they've practically driven us back to the docks. The courtyard is overrun! We're out of canister shot and the orcs are getting ready for an assault up the hill. We need to improvise some scatter-shot, and fast.
Also counted by Southern Barrens Quests
Its criteria name 22 quests; others include:
- Sowing a Solution
- The Nightmare Scar
- Echoes of Agamaggan
- The Disturbed Earth
- Lifting the Siege
- Silencing Rageroar
- Teegan's People
- Scavenged
The storyline at a glance
Southern Barrens has 89 steps, from Running the Gauntlet to Sabotage!.
Maps its steps are placed on (steps per map): Southern Barrens (88), Northern Barrens (1).
Steps of this storyline count toward:
Other storylines on the Southern Barrens map
- Northern Barrens
- Battle Pet Tamers
Steps, storylines and map placement from the client’s QuestLine, prerequisite and QuestPOI data; neighbouring quest text is Blizzard’s own (quest API), shortened to its opening sentences.
Achievements
Completing this quest counts toward this achievement.
- Southern Barrens Quests: its criteria name 22 quests, this one included.