Call of the Scarab Micro-Holiday Guide (Jan 21 - 23)

By perculia Updated: 2018/02/22

Call of the Scarab

On this date, the Scarab Gong was rung, opening the gates of Ahn'Qiraj. Represent your faction by gathering supplies or by slaying Twilight and Qiraji forces. The winning faction gets to fly their banner next to the Scarab Gong for the rest of the year!

great sourceNew to 2018Ruby Qiraji Resonating CrystalSapphire Qiraji Resonating CrystalRed Qiraji Resonating CrystalAbyssal CrestZetherosCraigupdated version of SilithusRhonormuVideo Preview of the EventAcquiring CommendationsAlliance Qiraji CommendationHorde Qiraji Commendation

Turn in 20 meat for 20 Commendations.

World Quests award between 100-140 Commendations.

Defeating Abyssal Dukes grants a quest for 200 Commendations

Defeating Abyssal High Council grants a quest for 500 Commendations

World Quests

Lesser Wind Stones: Defeating Templars at Lesser Wind Stones - 150

Ahn'Qiraj: C'Thun: Defeating C'Thun in Temple of Ahn'Qiraj - 100

The Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj: Ossirian: Defeating Ossirian the Unscarred in Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj - 150

Silithyst: Collecting Silithyst - 100

The Colossus of Ashi, The Colossus of Regal, The Colossus of Zora: Defeating mobs like Colossus of Ashi which were only part of the AQ Opening Event - 150

Cenarion CircleAhn'Qiraj: C'ThunBrood of NozdormuTwilight Cultist CampsTwilight AvengerTwilight StonecallerTwilight GeolordTwilight Master

There are four places to find Twilight Cultists: Twilight's Run Cave, Twilight Outpost, Twilight Post, and Twilight Base Camp.

These mobs can drop Encrypted Twilight Text and pieces of the Twilight Cultist Armor: Twilight Cultist Robe, Twilight Cultist Mantle, Twilight Cultist Cowl. This is personal loot.

Good news on the armor: each piece now stacks! When you summon an elemental at the Windstone, you only lose one armor buff instead of all three as well.

Lesser Wind Stone requires all three Twilight Cultist buffs. You can summon a Crimson Templar, Hoary Templar, or Azure Templar which can be defeated solo. These all drop an Abyssal Crest for everyone in the group, and can also be tossed around to friends.

Wind Stone requires all three Twilight Cultist buffs and Twilight Cultist Medallion of Station. You can summon a The Duke of Fathoms, The Duke of Zephyrs, The Duke of Cynders, or The Duke of Shards which can be defeated in a small group.
Related quests: Cinder of Cynders, Pearl of Fathoms, Salt of Shards, Song of Zephyrs. These bosses drop an item which starts a turn-in quest for 200 Commendations.

Greater Wind StoneTwilight Cultist Medallion of StationTwilight Cultist Ring of LordshipBaron KazumHigh Marshal WhirlaxisLord SkwolPrince Skaldrenox

Related quests: Coreforged Sigil of Skaldrenox, Diamondine Sigil of Kazum, Glimmering Sigil of Whirlaxis, Tidal Sigil of Skwol. These bosses drop an item which starts a turn-in quest for 500 Commendations.

Twilight Cultist Medallion of StationTwilight Cultist Ring of LordshipAbyssal CrestGathering SuppliesThe Alliance Needs Roast Raptor!Master Sergeant FizzleboltWarlord Gorchuk

Sandworm Meat from Silithus zone mobs

Crunchy Spider Leg from level 20-30 mobs

Chilled Meat from Wrath Beasts

Crocolisk Tail from Cataclysm beasts

Raw Tiger Steak from Pandaria beasts

Raw Clefthoof Meat from Draenor Beasts

Lean Shank from Legion Beasts

Crocolisk TailsAhn'Qiraj Loot GuideThe Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj: OssirianAhn'Qiraj: C'Thunloot guide to Ahn'Qiraj

Ahn'Qiraj Loot Overview - Click Here!

Event History

This event commemorates one of the most memorable times in WoW: the server-wide effort to unlock the gates of Ahn'Qiraj.

One person on each server completed an elaborate questline to bang the gong and open the gates: you can read about all the requirements on the Veteran of the Shifting Sands page. For a brief overview, there were three different shards which were scattered around Azeroth:
Red Shard: Complete a speed run of Blackwing Lair (Nefarius's Corruption) after grinding out Brood of Nozdormu reputation (The Path of the Righteous).

Blue Shard: Acquire 500 Pound Chicken by completing Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerok Chops, acquire Draconic for Dummies pages around the world in The Only Prescription, farm goggles in Scrying Goggles? No Problem!, and create an expensive Arcanite Buoy to summon The Wrath of Neptulon. This part of the chain is narrated by colorful characters like Azuregos and Narain Soothfancy.

Green Shard: Defeat the four Green Dragon World Bosses (The Nightmare's Corruption) and complete an epic event to save Nighthaven from Eranikus (The Nightmare Manifests).

Black Qiraji Resonating CrystalBang a Gong!Teebu's Blazing LongswordColossal Bag of LootEncrypted Twilight TextPrincess HuhuranLieutenant General AndorovGeneral RajaxxPlans: Obsidian Mail TunicPlans: Jagged Obsidian ShieldBand of Unending LifeTemple of Ahn'QirajRuins of Ahn'QirajRuins of Ahn'QirajGeneral RajaxxBuru the GorgerOssirian the UnscarredTemple of Ahn'QirajBattleguard SarturaFankriss the UnyieldingPrincess HuhuranTwin EmpsC'ThunSharpened Silithid FemurThe Burrower's Shelltransmog setsTemple of Ahn'QirajResonating CrystalWhy? Because It's Red

On this day, many years ago, a hero by the name of Kalahad rang the Scarab Gong, opening the gates to Ahn'Qiraj and beginning a war the likes of which Kalimdor had never seen.

Today we celebrate the heroics of those past adventurers by returning to Silithus and walking in their footsteps.

What's more: this is a competition between the Horde and Alliance. Whichever group can earn more credits over the next 24 hours earns the right to fly their flag next to the gong for the rest of the year.

How can I help the war effort?

Disrupt the Twilight's Hammer camps, and strike at their Abyssal High Council!

Slay the mighty silithid colossi that dwell in each of the three large silithid hives.

Gather silithyst, a valuable red spice, for our faction.

Venture into Ahn'Qiraj itself and deal with the qiraji and old god menaces that dwell inside!

Even adventurers that prefer not to fight can participate by donating war supplies, in the form of meat, to our cause.

Why are the items you sell so expensive?

Yes, both the Medallion of Station and the Ring of Lordship are expensive - far too expensive for any one person to purchase on their own.

I suggest you team up with other adventurers and select a champion. Only one medallion or ring is required to summon the high-ranking members of the Abyssal Council - but many heroes will be required to defeat them.

Good luck.

Blizzard

On January 23, 2006, a bloody war was triggered by a simple sound: the banging of a gong. No rallying fanfare, no bloodthirsty yell; just an eerie silence. Those long, uneasy seconds of dread. The calm before the storm. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder before the Scarab Wall, no one could have predicted what would happen—an epic ten-hour battle that claimed the lives of thousands of Azeroth’s bravest—or fully comprehended the effect it would have.
Action First, Faction SecondThat’s not to say the battle at the gates of Ahn’Qiraj came as a surprise. When the menace of C’Thun turned into an urgent threat, leaders across the world pored over plans and forged unlikely connections as pressure mounted. Both factions knew war was coming and personal glory was a hubris no-one could risk. Any notion that one army could defeat General Rajaxx and his colossal battalion was soon abandoned as fantasy.It was a unique time: scattered armies with varying allegiances were thrown together and faction pride was put aside. Let’s be clear: the battle at Ahn’Qiraj was won purely on the principle “united we stand, divided we fall.”
Warmongering vs. Gold HungeringThis uneasy alliance was not without its critics. Some showed their disapproval by shunning the war effort altogether, but others expressed opposition through acts of aggression. Rogue elements on both sides, unwilling to stomach this perceived betrayal of their faction, did not sit idle. Just as neutral auction houses became a tool for factions to share resources, they also became virtual battlegrounds. Crucial resources were picked up for next-to-nothing and sold on for personal gain. As with all wars, those who profit aren’t always the brave.The sheer scale of that war effort is almost unimaginable when we live in a time of extended storage and fast mail. But back then, backpacks and cloth stacks were smaller. Getting precious resources gathered, sorted, and sent took many hours. And it took several weeks to source bandages, food, and equipment—resources that were in high demand and would soon dwindle.
The Importance of RemembranceThere are parallels with current events that are impossible to ignore: once more, we Azerothians stand united against the Burning Legion as they wreak havoc across the Broken Isles. We attempt to put aside a complex, bitter history in order defeat a common enemy. We eye each other suspiciously, even as we fight side by side.We would do well, in these dark times, to remember the courage and spirit of those who were there at the Gates of Ahn’Qiraj. We must have long memories if we’re to make quick work of the demon forces we now face.From January 21–23 we ask that you join us as we remember the fallen and celebrate the victory. All of Azeroth are invited to a special holiday, ‘Call of the Scarab,’ where we will gather to perform acts of remembrance and share our factions’ pride.
Were you there? Share your memories with us in the comments below.

Comments

Comment by Grimsayer

Mount duration is 1 week. If they got added to your mount tab and were only usable during the event I'd go and get them. But if they're just like the Hallows End brooms, as awesome as they look I don't think ill bother doing the event.

Comment by Thoorin

This is absolutely ridiculous. "Rememberance"? Maybe all of one RP guild on the EU RP cluster might be interested in that.

Good job forgetting all that player effort back then was actually directed at accessing latest content and thus gaining new, better gear - you didn't put your back to it, your realm had NO access to the latest raid, and there was no 'cross realm groups' to get around that.

And I am supposed to put away meaningful activities aside in order to spend time questing in the middle of nowhere for... what? For nothing? If they offered all the old rewards, like the loot bags off mobs with distinct items for mog AND use, I'd go. If the mount was permanent, I'd go and grind a thousand of them badges. But with no rewards and with retarded consumable in place of a mount... no, not interested. Go bugger off Blizzard.

Comment by Mithendriel

Remember the days when they had mounts that were usable everywhere, and then similar ones that were limited? Like there were two types of brooms for Hallow's End. Miss those days.

Comment by Telos954

The rewards are meh, and the lack of anything really new or interesting makes me think that this was another of those 'lets recycle old content instead of making something new" situations.

Comment by 1826575

Actually the drop rate of Qiraji Battle Tanks seems to be highly increased in this event. I got them instantly from the trash after killing boss The Twin Emperors from Temple of Ahn'Qiraj. Even got the Red Qiraji Battle Tank and got achievement Why? Because It's Red which normally have 1,5% to drop from trash. Tried to kill the trash more after that and the drops of those mounts where about 30% at least.

Comment by Ascar

The most amazing and memorable thing about the event was the shear mass of players in Silithus, when the gong was rang. You couldn't imagine how many players a server had until basically every single one of them was cramped into the same little area around the gong and the server could barely handle it.

Comment by MrocznyEwaporatr

I believe they did this to show new players how bad classic WoW was.

Comment by Garmheim

If you choose to do the supply quests for the Call of the Scarab micro-holiday I have some advice:

You can most easily farm Crockolisk Tails on the rivers north and northwest of and immediately under the reservoir dam at Ramkahen in Uldum. The drop rate from those crockolisks is nearly 1 per but diminishes as you move south. The drop rate at the river delta below the Lost City of the Tolvir is very low.

Farming Sandworm Meat is pretty obvious but the sandworms north of Cenarion Hold and east of Hive Ashi aren't worth farming. The drop rate is very low.

The best location for farming Chilled Meat is in Borean Tundrea among the reindeer south of the Temple of En'Kilah and east of Taunkali Village. And while we are discussing Borean Tundra, the quickest route for Horde players to Silithus, provided you have done the quest line in Sholazar Basin, is to take the zeppelin from Orgrimmar to Borean Tundra, farm your Chilled Meat and then fly to the Waygate in the south of Sholazar Basin near the Borean Tundra border. The Waygate will take you to Un'Goro Crater from which it's a short flight or ride to Silithus. If you have not done that quest line in Sholazar Basin, I would suggest that you look it up. It begins with the quest Force of Nature given by Pilot Vic at the plane landing in River's Heart in Sholazar Basin and includes 12 more quests that, at Level 110 should go very quickly. The Waygate is a portal available to anyone, Alliance or Horde, who has completed the quest line and, given the importance of Silithus in the coming expansion, would be a very convenient shortcut to have.

Farming Raw Tiger Steaks is easiest on Windward Isle off the east coast of The Jade Forest. The island is southeast od Sri-La Village and northeast of The Arboretum.

Farming Clefthoof Meat is easiest in Draenor-Nagrand along the west side of the river flowing from the Throne of the Elements and south of the Ring of Blood, just a short hop across the sea from your garrison.

I haven't needed Crunchy Spider Legs for anything in years but I suspect that the best drop rates will be in the spider areas of Ashenvale and Stonetalon Mountains.

Comment by othothomas

This is also a great source of experience for alts in their 50s or higher.

How does this compare to questing or a dungeon run? Is it worth the flight to get there on lower alts?

Call of the Scarab Micro-Holiday Guide (Jan 21 - 23)

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