Blackfathom Deeps: WoW Forever Dungeon

Blackfathom Deeps is a flooded night elf temple taken over by the naga and the Twilight's Hammer cult, who worship the old god servant Aku'mai. It is the first dungeon both factions share as equals, with quests from Auberdine, Darnassus, Ironforge and Zoram'gar.

The run is long and has a lot of water. Murlocs and naga hold the first half, satyrs and cultists the second. The bosses are mostly simple; the big moments are Lady Sarevess with her guards, Twilight Lord Kelris, and the brazier event that opens the way to Aku'mai.

In WoW Forever the Dungeon Finder row starts at level 22. The October 1 notes list Blackfathom Deeps among the beta's open dungeons, and our beta cache already has Researching the Corruption, the Auberdine quest, with the same text as in Classic Era.

Clear order

1. Swim in and clear the first naga and murloc rooms. Ghamoo-ra, the giant turtle, sits in the first big room.
2. Lady Sarevess and her guards stand at the end of a naga hall. Geilhast, the murloc better known to players as Gelihast, sits at his shrine nearby.
3. Lorgus Jett walks the cultists' area; he is optional for most groups but needed for one Horde quest.
4. Old Serra'kis swims in a flooded room you have to cross. Fight him in the water or skip him.
5. Twilight Lord Kelris waits at the altar room. After he dies, light the four braziers at the altar of Aku'mai.
6. Kill the waves from the braziers. The door opens and Aku'mai waits in the pool beyond.

Group and preparation

• Swim speed and water breathing help. Warlocks bring Unending Breath, shamans Water Breathing; potions work too.
• Bring area damage for the brazier event. Waves come fast and stack if you light braziers too quickly.
• Watch your breath bar in the underwater sections. A player who drowns while chasing a loose mob is a common loss.
• Mages and warlocks have good crowd control on the cult casters and naga; plan one target per pull.
• Forever's new pairs change the water problem: an Alliance group can now bring a Dwarf Shaman with Water Breathing, and a Horde group can bring an Undead Paladin, whose race already has the longest breath in Classic Era thanks to Underwater Breathing. Forever redesigned every racial, so check yours before relying on it.

• The beta client gives the Blackfathom Deeps Dungeon Finder row a minimum level of 22; the Classic Era client (1.15.9.70003) leaves that row without a level. ^{[BETA-OBSERVED]}
• Researching the Corruption shows the same text, level and reward rules in our beta cache as in Classic Era, so at least that quest is unchanged. ^{[BETA-OBSERVED]}

Forever rules that apply to every dungeon

• Dungeon mob XP was cut and dungeon quest XP raised; the October 1 notes then cut the extra dungeon quest XP by 50%. Do the quests. ^{[REPORTED][OFFICIAL]}
• Dungeon boss unique drops are now blue, and BoP green and blue appearances go to every eligible looter. ^[OFFICIAL]
• Blizzard says ordinary mobs take about 10 to 15 seconds to kill and crowd control still matters in dungeons. ^[OFFICIAL]

Seen in the beta

These quests are in our WoW Forever beta quest cache and sort under this dungeon in the quest log. Levels, XP and reward counts are the client's own. Base XP comes from the client's quest XP table; the extra dungeon-quest XP Forever adds is granted by the server and is not in the client, so the real reward is higher. ^{[BETA-OBSERVED]}

Classic Era quests for this dungeon

Classic Era quests for this dungeon that are not in our beta cache yet. Forever has over 1,000 new quests and has changed dungeon quest XP, so treat this as the Classic baseline until each one shows up in the beta cache. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

Several of these quests finish inside the dungeon (Thaelrid, the Fathom Core and the sapphires), so they are cheap XP. Do not leave before the Darnassus and Zoram'gar items are in your bags.

Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

Encounter 1 of 7 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A giant turtle in the first big room. High armor, slow fight.

Abilities

Tactics

Clear the smaller turtles and murlocs around him, then tank him facing away from the group. Physical damage is slow on his armor; casters will out-damage melee here.

• Tank: Hold him away from the water's edge so melee have room.
• Healer: A long, steady fight; use your most efficient heal.
• DPS: Warriors and rogues should expect low numbers here. That is the armor, not you.

Encounter 2 of 7 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A naga priestess with two guards at the end of a hall.

Abilities

Tactics

Kill or crowd control her two guards first. Then spread out so Forked Lightning hits as few players as possible. She is a caster: line-of-sight pulls bring her into melee.

• Tank: Pull her around a corner into melee.
• Healer: Stand apart from the ranged players so lightning cannot fork to you.
• DPS: Guards first. Melee stay behind her.

Encounter 3 of 7 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A murloc leader with a shrine behind him. The client's encounter row spells him Geilhast; players know him as Gelihast. Comes with murlocs.

Abilities

Tactics

His room is full of murlocs. Pull them a few at a time before you engage him. When he dies, click his shrine for a short buff.

Encounter 4 of 7 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A Twilight cult shaman with a guard. In Classic Era he can stand in one of several spots.

Abilities

Tactics

Find where he stands this run and pull him away from nearby packs. Kill his guard first. He is the target for the Horde quest Allegiance to the Old Gods.

Encounter 5 of 7 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A giant shark that swims in a flooded room. The fight is underwater.

Abilities

Tactics

Fight him where you can surface quickly. Keep an eye on the breath bar; it is the real enemy here. If nobody has water breathing, many groups simply swim past him.

Encounter 6 of 7 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

The cult's leader, at the altar of Aku'mai. A caster fight.

Abilities

Tactics

Clear the cultists around the altar first. Then pull Kelris. His Mind Blasts cannot be interrupted, so the healer keeps everyone high; dispel sleep from the healer. His head is needed for the Darnassus quest Blackfathom Villainy.

• Tank: Pull him off the altar steps and around a pillar so he comes to you.
• Healer: If you are asleep, you cannot heal Mind Blast damage. Ask for the dispel before the pull.
• DPS: Burst him; a short fight means fewer Mind Blasts.

Encounter 7 of 7 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A three-headed hydra in the deepest pool, behind the brazier door.

Abilities

Tactics

First the braziers. There are four around the altar. Lighting each one starts a wave of adds: the first is small, later ones are bigger. Light one, kill the wave, rest, then light the next. When the fourth wave is dead, the door to Aku'mai opens.

Aku'mai herself is a tank and spank with two rules: move out of the poison clouds, and burst her through Frenzied Rage at the end. Her pool has a few adds around it; clear them before the pull.

• Tank: Hold her still so the clouds stay in one place.
• Healer: Keep mana for the end; Frenzied Rage is the spike.
• DPS: Move out of clouds before you finish a cast.

Not an encounter row in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. Not an encounter row in the beta client. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A water elemental summoned for the Horde quest Baron Aquanis, from the Strange Water Globe.

Tactics

A tank and spank. Only Horde groups on the quest summon him; the Strange Water Globe drops inside and starts the quest with Je'neu Sancrea.

• Blackfathom Deeps Dungeon Finder level: 0 in Era, 22 in Forever.

Rows in the Forever client's achievement table tied to this map:

• Aku'mai kills (Blackfathom Deeps)

Written and checked by TheWoWDB on October 5, 2026. Abilities and tactics describe how these fights work in Classic Era; the WoW Forever beta can change any of them, and Blizzard has said boss loot and stats were reworked. Nothing here is a drop rate or a timing we measured. Loot rows come from the Adventure Guide match further down the page; the beta client cannot say how often anything drops.