Quick Facts

Storyline
Lorewalking: Arthas Lorewalking: The Prince Who Would Be King A Prince's Duty The Forgotten Tale The Truth Shall Set Us Free Parting Thoughts Frostmourne Cavern Lorewalking: No King Rules Forever Ascent of the Lich King O' Thanagor

Screenshots

Videos

Comments

Comment by Guadah

Stuck at Witness the ascent of the Lich King. I completed this stage, but then it didn't transfer me to Jana to explore. Now I can't speak with Terenas again to complete this stage. Cho doesn't correct the issue, and abandoning the quest doesn't fix the issue either.

Comment by ElviraBanks

It was impossible to complete Halls of Reflection. I could not keep aggro off Jainia when trying to escape. She dies then I die. Mobs have too much health, and my pet kept getting one-shotted. I finally made it to the top but the last group was too much to handle. Let me know if anyone completes it.

Comment by Kalila

Do halls of reflection quest line to be able to go to the dungeon before starting this! It appears there's no simple way to get out of it if you can't. I went out on a toon that had never done WotLK content and that was a mistake. You cannot zone into the dungeon to complete this quest without having done the quest to get in the dungeon. Pretty much stuck as Arthas in Icecrown until there's way to get out of this weird softlock.

Comment by Apestomped

for people stuck unable to enter the halls of reflection. you need to turn the dungeon difficulty to normal then hit "ask a question" to talk with loremaster cho again, the level scaling is broken and wont let you enter heroic for some reason

Comment by RyanABXY

now live, it didn't give me the "Ascent of the Lich King" initially, I had to talk to Cho again and it came up when resumed

Comment by xufoxpikmin

Can't progress past "Witness the ascent of the Lich King"

Comment by urbanraven

At first had trouble with Ascent of the Lich King. Abandoned quest, set instance difficulty to Normal. Ascent of the Lich King worked. The next part with Jaina worked fine, too. But when I got to the spot where, as the Lich King you fight the large group near the throne, no credit when done and no indication of what to do next. Abandoned quest and took me all the way back to Ascent of the Lich king, which now no longer works no matter what I do. I've disabled addons, abandoned quest and restart. No go. I give up. >:(

Comment by geekySmurfer

Many issues with this getting stuck but I finally figured it out. If you get stuck leave. Change the dungeon difficulty to anything else and reenter. It should clear any issues up. Hope that helps.

Comment by BigMary

FOR ASCENT: I ran down the hill until I was kicked out of Arthas form, then walked back towards the stairs. When I was popped back into Arthas for the quest to kill the people on the stairs popped.

Comment by Frozenhades

As of 6/18 at 4pm PST, all of the bugs have been fixed it seems. I logged in, there was a 300MB update, restarted the LK Lorewalking from the beginning, and was able to complete it from start to finish w/o issue. I have ran through it on two alts, no issues there either.

Anyone still having issues at this point, may need to restart the Lorewalking scenario from the beginning. You shouldn't have any issues after that.

Comment by radienlee

Warning! Don't log out during this quest.... I logged out before talking to Cho, and when i logged back in it put me in the middle of the ocean south of Northrend and then released me at the graveyard in Westfall. it gave 60 seconds of rez sickness.

Comment by Pralaya

So I didn't play during Wrath (Im a Cata baby) does Terenas Menethil II really show up and revive people during the Raid If you played current, don't remember that happening during any of my MAAY MANY MANY Many Invincible runs.

Comment by Nulgar

Cho paints picking up Frostmourne as a turning point for Arthas, while he was already on the path to villainy at this point, at least since the Culling of Stratholme.

Comment by datgrl

You really don't have to do much in this scenario. Fight the mobs, do not engage Arthas/Lich King. Just follow along and make sure at the end/final confrontation, you stand by and let the ship make the cave in. Then speak with Jaina. Don't board the ship and take the portal.

Comment by xenolithix

After running through this on a couple toons (farming mog from the boxes) for the first time I had an error of "Transfer Aborted: Instance not found" when attempting to enter the portion after HoR. If this happens to you, what worked for me was taking the portal to Dalaran from the airship at the end of the instance, logging out, back in, summoning Cho, and THEN asking for the teleport. Nothing else prior to relogging worked.

Comment by SmellApple

I'm currently stuck in the ascent stage, and I have not yet found a way to resolve the issue. I do, however, appreciate the nothingness I am beginning to feel when killing his loved ones. Truly authentic!

Comment by EmmaScarletx

I am unable to pass the stage where you kill the memories etc by the ICC staircase. :D
But then after a few attempts...
Ive tried changing the difficulty to normal and others - nothing.
Ive tried to "Start Over" - the game just freezes, crashes and when i relog, i am dead in some random place.
Same thing when i try to "Continue" now ^^ i literally cant do anything about it anymore lmao

Comment by PoeticDiscord

Got it on the fith attempt. For the fifth attempt I waited until the next day. I figured maybe the daily reset might solve some problems. Since my issues revolved around the Jaina section of the story, I did a few things differently. During the Halls of Reflection section I did not leave with her early, I killed all 10 waves of undead and the two mini bosses marwyn and falric (figuring maybe I had to complete each stage off the story entirely). When looting the mini bosses, you're offered a quest, O'Thanagor, Make sure to accept it, you need it to complete the final quest and get your toy. After leaving the tunnel, just hang out with Jaina and wait for that section of story to complete. Cho appears and I was finally able to continue the storyline as the Lich King up on the Throne, killing 25 heroes and then being defeated by them. Back to Dornogal and completed the final quests and got my toy. I'm glad I never have to do that again.

I did set both Raid and Dungeon difficulty to Normal. Not sure if necessary, but some people suggested it might be. Obviously it didn't hurt since I completed the event.

Good luck to everyone else.

Comment by MsBrightside

DO NOT BOARD THE SHIP or use portal (as I did) - you will stuck, unable to complete the quest

Comment by dafyed

Currently stuck on Witness the Wrath of the Lich King on an alt account, when I attempt to teleport to the quest area, I receive an error message saying that the War Within expansion is required to proceed with lorewalking.

Warning to those attempting this on an account without the latest expansion.

Comment by auryunderground

During the quest, players can ask Lorewalker Cho to explain a little more about the lore surrounding Arthas. For those who didn't see this was an option, I've recorded the responses below:

Default Flavor Dialogue:

The story of Arthas is one of tragedy and caution. He was the best his people had to offer, and that set him on a path which destroyed both the future king and his kingdom...

Icecrown Citadel

Once, this place was only the site of the Frozen Throne--the prison that encased the Lich King. Yet as the Lich King's power and influence expanded, his Scourge armies built fortresses and structures throughout Northrend... the greatest of these being Icecrown Citadel.

Crafted from saronite, the dark fortess is as large as a city. It housed only the most evil, malevolent, and dedicated of the Scourge. Those who served the Lich King utterly would find their home there as the last line of defense between the Lich King, and whoever would dare darken his door.

-
The Lich King

Arthas Menethil may be the Lich King we are familiar with on Azeroth, but he was not the first. Kil'jaeden the Deceiver, second in command of the Burning Legion, originally crafted the Lich King from the spirit of the orc shaman Ner'zhul. Why? To raise an undead army on Azeroth, thus weakening its inhabitants in preparation for the Burning Legion's invasion.

Imprisoned in a block of ice with the Helm of Domination, the Lich King hurtled to Azeroth, crashing in the icy wastes of Northrend. Yet Ner'zhul did not wish to remain in his frozen prison forever. Thus he worked to free himself, choosing a champion who would wield Frostmourne, ascend the Frozen Throne, and eventually take the Helm of Domination for his own...

-
The story Lorewalker Cho tells during the quest:

Lorewalker Cho says: Frostmourne changed Arthas. No longer was he a paladin of the Light, but a knight in the service of Death.
Lorewalker Cho says: But the people of Lordaeron were none the wiser. His homecoming was met with roses and ringing bells.
Lorewalker Cho says: It ended with betrayal and blood.

Lorewalker Cho says: For a man who had lived so strongly, had loved and fought so fearlessly...
Lorewalker Cho says: Arthas had fallen as far as he once climbed.
Lorewalker Cho says: Returning to Northrend, Arthas continued his descent into damnation... and his ascent to the Frozen Throne.

Lorewalker Cho says: Was Arthas truly gone? Did only the Lich King remain? It is not for me to say.
Lorewalker Cho says: But Jaina Proudmoore refused to lose hope that the man she once loved was truly lost.

Lorewalker Cho says: In the glacial mountains of Icecrown, Jaina braved the Lich King's sanctum on a desperate quest for the truth.

Lorewalker Cho says: Like thunder after lightning, the anguish that the Lich King left in his wake caught up to him in the end.
Lorewalker Cho says: From atop the Frozen Throne, he wielded his cursed blade and set his final plan into motion.
Lorewalker Cho says: To secure his invincible army, Arthas sought to extinguish the light of Azeroth's heroes and raise them into darkness.

Lorewalker Cho says: Thank you for listening to my tale, friend.

Comment by Znrknd

I'm going to post this comment under each Lorewalking quest and the related items, so people can see some information and find someone else that had that same issue if they look it up, as I found nothing when I tried to research it. I had this issue with every Lorewalking quest, but the comment was written specifically about "The Blade's Downfall" in Lorewalking: Xal'atath. This is one of the most bugged out questlines I have ever done in this game, and that is saying a lot.

My quest was so bugged out that I couldn't progress no matter what. At the final stage of the questline, whereupon you need to "confront Xal'atath" in Ny'alotha, the door was permanently shut for me as I had been forcefully disconnected while inside the room, on the platform.
It was the same thing that happens when you are a Druid and you turn too quickly while holding left+right click in Flight Form, an anti-botting measure, I think?

Anyway, yeah, it was completely and utterly bricked. Even redoing the entire scenario didn't help! The door was still locked.
I put in a ticket and over the course of 18 seperate "representatives" of Blizzard's Customer Service GMs (which has long since stopped existing, it seems) I managed to get it resolved by reporting the bug on all of my characters, as those staff members did absolutely nothing to help. Nothing at all. I am utterly CONVINCED it was AI generated, as their responses kept tripping over themselves, quoting the wrong quests, and even getting the game I was reporting from wrong!
I was so astounded with the sheer audacity of it that I simply had to just keep asking them more and more questions about *WHY* they were unable to simply teleport my character, or change the flags in my quest progression that were clearly still indicating that I was stuck inside the instance and on the platform which closed the door behind me.

To list the problems, the GMs:
-Referred to me as "Nephalem" from Diablo, when I was reporting from a WoW character about a WoW bug
-Linked me the quest "The Lich King's Last Stand" from WRATH OF THE LICH KING? From Icecrown Citadel? Here's the link they sent me!
-Told me to reset my user interfact a total of 13 times, each member of staff said it after I clarified in each message I had already done that, several times, and freshly installed the game on A DIFFERENT COMPUTER and it was still happening! Reading the previous replies, or my reply to each ticket clearly stating the issue and the fixes I had tried, and even my Framestack data and error logs. Too much work, I suppose.
-Used generative AI to answer my questions. I was skeptical and had to make sure I wasn't being paranoid or that they were just using template responses so I made sure to ask questions that would out it as AI, like asking very specific things you'd need to play the game to know, rather than just googling. It just made things up! It completely lied about the answer to my questions and somehow then said I should try logging in and travelling to Azys Lla which is from FFXIV? Huh?

That was just a whole ordeal. Basically, you shouldn't even bother trying to put in tickets for things anymore as it is so apparent that the entire team of quality assurance and GMs is a skeleton crew, and not able to actually assist. I asked them "genuinely, what are we as customers meant to do? If even you cannot help, are we just meant to put in bug reports, be patient and expect it to one day, eventually, be fixed enough to complete? I am paying for this, and I can't even play my character as the character unstuck feature doesn't even work!" and the response completely ignored me, referred to me as a Nephalem from Diablo and thanked me for playing Hearthstone for 10 years and that they valued me as a customer. Alright. If you did, you'd probably have at least gotten the game correct, not once, but twice did you fail that.

Anyway... If you don't get stuck there now, you probably have me to thank in part, I think! Such an incredibly specific bug, I'd be amazed if anyone else had managed to make that occur.

Comment by boozymacadam

I see this quest is still bugged and I'm stuck in combat unable to abandon quest. Had to jump off a cliff to just go back to the beginning. Where is the QA?

Also, don't get ahead of Jaina in the Halls of Reflection or it will bug out...

I so regret picking up this quest.

Comment by Xuper

Not possible on my Free Account , I get this Error during "Witness the Wrath of the Lich King"

You Must have expansion (The War Within) installed to access this area

Comment by Cuffouis

Another batch of recycled bug-ridden quests that nobody asked for.

Lorewalking: Blade's Bane
Echo of Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire

Lorewalking: Ethereal Wisdom
K'aresh Memory Crystal

Lorewalking: The Lich King
Royal Visage

On the brighter side, the toys actually do look pretty cool.

Comment by Darthias

Gotta love how this retcons things by having Arthas say the lines:

"You no longer need...to sacrifice for your people."

"You no longer....need to bear the weight of your crown."

"I've taken care....of everything."

When it wasn't Arthas who spoke the lines originally, but in fact it was Frostmourne (or more accurately the Lich King speaking through Frostmourne) speaking directly into Arthas' mind.

Comment by Gluck101

People pay money for this buggy rubbish ... wow

Comment by Kapira

Make sure to stick close to Jaina during the chase in HoR, and wait until the undead reach her to kill them. I made the mistake of sticking near Arthas and not only did the mobs teleport to Jaina and nearly kill her before I caught back up, but he got stuck and wouldn't keep walking and I had to re-do the whole dungeon (after jumping off the cliff to drop combat so I could summon Cho and leave).

Comment by Charlio4444

I don't currently have the expansion but I managed to get all the way up to 'Help Jana Investigate the Halls of Reflection' and I seem to be stuck now.
It looks like the Lich King got 'stuck' at about the second barrier. He kept sending mobs at us which bugged out a bit (they were spawning right on top of Jana and weren't hittable for a few seconds), and now we've passed the final barrier and absolutely nothing is happening.
Worth noting I'm way over-levelled so maybe I killed everything too quick and he got stuck because of it? I've tried logging back out and back in, talking to Cho doesn't work (keep getting the message 'you can't do that right now'.

Comment by FellishBeast

Don't know why people downvoted Darthias. He's 100% correct that this lorewalking quest mistakenly has Arthas saying the lines Frostmourne says in the WC3 cinematic.

"You no longer need to sacrifice for your people. You know longer need to bear the weight of your crown. I've taken care of everything." Is what Frostmourne says to Arthas before he kills his father.

Comment by violetta

interestingly players will accompany Jaina during Halls of Reflection regardless of faction. in the actual dungeon Jaina only accompanies Alliance players while Horde work with Sylvanas

Comment by twanmans

Do not click the portal on the ship ! You must wait for the Lorewalker.

Links

Lorewalking: No King Rules Forever

Listen to the story of the Lich King.

	Talk to Cho (1)
	Learn about the Lich King's betrayal (1)
	Talk to Cho (1)
	Witness the ascent of the Lich King (1)
	Talk to Cho (1)
	Help Jaina investigate the Halls of Reflection (1)
	Talk to Cho (1)
	Witness the Wrath of the Lich King (1)
	Complete "O'Thanagor" (1)

Description

What makes a king? Is it his crown? Is it the sharpness of his sword? The coldness of his heart? Perhaps the undying servitude of his people? Just as it is difficult to say when a sapling becomes a tree, or a mountain becomes a hill, so too is it difficult to know when exactly Arthas Menethil passed into memory, and the Lich King was born. Where do we draw the line between man and monster?

Completion

Rewards

You will receive:

	Lorewalker's Crate of Memorabilia		Lorewalker's Notes: The Lich King
	Royal Visage		Valorstones
	Weathered Undermine Crest		Weathered Ethereal Crest

Gains

Upon completion of this quest you will gain:

See if you've already completed this by typing:

/run print(C_QuestLog.IsQuestFlaggedCompleted(85885))

Guides

Lorewalking Overview