Deadmines: WoW Forever Dungeon

The Deadmines is the first real dungeon for most Alliance characters and the end of the Westfall story. The Defias Brotherhood has turned the old Moonbrook mines into a shipyard, and the run ends on their juggernaut in a hidden cove. It is linear: one path, three locked gates, one ship.

The run is long for its level. Expect a lot of humanoid trash in packs of two and three, goblin engineers who run for help, and a final ship with mobs on every deck. Most wipes come from pulling two packs at once in the narrow tunnels, or from the Defias Blackguards that stand stealthed on the ship.

In WoW Forever the Dungeon Finder row starts at level 16, and Blizzard has said dungeon quests now give much more of the XP than the mobs do. That makes the Westfall and Stormwind quest pickups more important than they were in Classic: arrive with them, or the run gives far less than it should.

Clear order

1. Clear the entry tunnel to Rhahk'Zor in the first open room. Killing him opens the first gate.
2. Miner Johnson, when he is up, is in the tunnels past Rhahk'Zor's door.
3. Follow the mine down to the lumber area and Sneed's Shredder. Kill the Shredder, then Sneed. The second gate opens.
4. Take the path into the foundry and kill Gilnid the Smelter on the upper level. The third gate opens.
5. Fire the cannon at the big iron door to blast into Ironclad Cove. Mr. Smite comes to meet you.
6. Clear the dock and board the ship. Captain Greenskin is on the middle deck and Cookie is in the galley area.
7. Finish on the top deck: VanCleef and his Blackguards.

Group and preparation

• A tank, a healer and three damage dealers. A warrior or a paladin tank both work; a druid at this level has bear form but few tools, so pull smaller.
• Bring a way to stop runners. Goblins and Defias at low health flee and pull the next pack.
• Mages: Sheep is your best tool here. Most pulls are humanoids, so Polymorph one and kill the rest.

• The beta client gives the Deadmines Dungeon Finder row a minimum level of 16; the Classic Era client (1.15.9.70003) leaves that row without a level. ^{[BETA-OBSERVED]}
• Encounter rows the Classic Era client does not have: Miner Johnson. A new encounter row is not proof of a new fight; it can be an old rare promoted to a tracked encounter. ^{[BETA-OBSERVED]}
• The October 1 notes say the dungeon quest "Destruction in Deadmines" now sorts correctly in the quest log under this dungeon. That quest name is not a Classic Era quest, so the Deadmines has at least one new Forever quest. ^[OFFICIAL]
• Miner Johnson, a Classic Era rare in the mine tunnels, has its own encounter row in the beta client. In Classic he was optional and did not always spawn. ^{[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]

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]}

Pick up every Stormwind quest before you go: the Dwarven District pair and Shoni's quest are easy to miss and they finish inside the same run.

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

Encounter 1 of 8 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

An ogre foreman with two Defias Watchmen. He hits hard and does little else. The gear check for the run.

Abilities

Tactics

Pull him out of the room so the Defias around the edges stay put. Kill or control his two Watchmen, then tank and spank him. If your tank is under level, use Sunder or Devotion Aura early and let the damage dealers wait for a few threat hits.

• Tank: Face him away from the group and keep defensive cooldowns for the end.
• Healer: This is a pure tank-healing check. Do not overheal early and run dry.
• DPS: Melee from behind. There is nothing to interrupt.

Encounter 2 of 8 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

Sneed fights in his Shredder first. When the Shredder dies, Sneed climbs out and fights on foot.

Abilities

Tactics

Clear the lumber mill floor first, including the goblins on the walkways, or they join in. Then pull the Shredder to the tank. When it dies, Sneed pops out with a sliver of health left. Burst him down before he can run.

• Tank: Hold the Shredder still in the middle of the cleared floor.
• Healer: Stand out of fear range behind a pillar if you can.
• DPS: Switch to Sneed the moment he appears.

Encounter 3 of 8 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A Classic Era rare in the tunnels past Rhahk'Zor's door. The Forever client tracks him as an encounter.

Tactics

He is a plain melee mob with no mechanic worth planning for, and an easy kill if he is up. Pull him back into a cleared tunnel so the miners around him do not join. Whether he always spawns in Forever is not confirmed.

Encounter 4 of 8 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

Gilnid the Smelter stands on a raised platform in the foundry with goblin workers around him.

Abilities

Tactics

The foundry fills with Goblin Craftsmen and Engineers. Clear every one of them on the way up the ramps before you touch Gilnid. Pulled alone, he is simple. Pulled with workers, the goblins run and bring the rest of the room.

• Tank: Pull him off the platform edge so nobody gets knocked into the room below.
• DPS: Watch for goblin runners first, the boss second.

Encounter 5 of 8 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

A goblin captain on the ship with a Defias Squallshaper, a Defias Pirate and a Defias Companion.

Abilities

Tactics

Kill or crowd control his crew first, the Squallshaper before the rest, then Greenskin. Fight him where you stand on the deck, away from the rail, so nobody falls off and pulls the cove.

Encounter 6 of 8 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

VanCleef's first mate. He meets you on the dock after the cannon blows the door, and he changes weapons twice.

Abilities

Tactics

Clear the pirates on the dock first; he is called down when the door blows, so do not dawdle at the cannon. When he stomps and walks away, do not chase him into the next pack. Let him come back. The last phase with the hammer is where tanks die; a Shield Wall or a healer cooldown belongs there.

• Tank: Pick him back up after each swap; the stomp drops your threat lead.
• Healer: Top the tank during each swap pause.
• DPS: Stop damage briefly after a swap until the tank has threat again.

Encounter 7 of 8 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

The ship's murloc cook. He heals himself by eating his own cooking.

Abilities

Tactics

A short fight if someone interrupts the heal. Shield Bash, Kick, Earth Shock, Counterspell and Pummel all work. Without interrupts, focus all damage at once rather than spreading it.

Encounter 8 of 8 in the beta client. Classic Era mechanics; Forever beta unconfirmed. ^{[CLASSIC ERA]}

The leader of the Defias Brotherhood, on the top deck with his Blackguards.

Abilities

Tactics

Clear the top deck carefully; stealthed Blackguards on the ship are the real danger. Then pull VanCleef. Keep everyone close so the adds he calls land on the tank's area, not on the healer. When adds appear, a mage sheeps one, the tank picks up the rest with AoE threat, and the damage dealers decide early whether to kill adds or finish the boss. Below about a fifth of his health, finishing VanCleef usually ends it fastest.

His head starts "The Defias Brotherhood" final turn-in, and the letter he drops starts the Stockade chain in Stormwind.

• Tank: Hold him in the middle of the deck so adds come to you.
• Healer: Stand close to the tank, not at the back of the deck where Blackguards come from.
• DPS: Pick a plan for the adds before the pull and stick to it.

• 1 encounter not in Era: Miner Johnson.
• Deadmines Dungeon Finder level: 0 in Era, 16 in Forever.

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

• Edwin VanCleef Kills (Deadmines)

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.