For 18 years, this item had to gather dust in your inventory, now it has a use again. A reward, just for the oldest veterans of World of Warcraft.
The Zaralek caverns are the newest area in World of Warcraft and the setting for the Patch 10.1 Embers of Neltharion. The themes in this area are not exactly fresh, but build on what began nearly 19 years ago with Onyxia and the Blackwing Lair (BWL).
As a little nod to this, Blizzard has included a treasure that you can only open if you possess an ancient item from “Vanilla”.
What kind of treasure is it? The “Blazing Shadowflame Chest” can be found in the Zaralek caverns at coordinates 28 / 48. It is directly next to a small lava stream and surrounded by dark shadowflame. It is this shadowflame that also prevents you from opening the chest because, when attempting to do so, you receive the message that the shadowflame is simply too strong.
Some veterans may now hear alarm bells, because the “Shadowflame” is a problem that existed back in Vanilla.
If you possess an Onyxia Scale Cloak, you can equip it and open the chest. This grants you the toy “Blazing Shadowflame Embers” – with it, you can envelop yourself in shadowflame for a while.
What kind of cloak is it? The “Onyxia Scale Cloak” was an important item during Vanilla WoW. In certain boss fights in “Blackwing Lair,” all tanks had to wear the cloak, and in later fights, it was best if the entire raid did too – as several bosses could use the dark “Shadowflame,” which made short work of all heroes that were not wearing such a cloak.
Since the materials were very limited – after all, Onyxia dropped only a few scales and 40 players needed the cloak – this significantly slowed down the progress of guilds back then. It was one of the first indirect “Attunement” requirements in World of Warcraft.
Many veterans from back then may still have the cloak somewhere in their bank.
Can you still obtain the cloak? Yes, you can. Leatherworkers can still craft the Onyxia Scale Cloak for you. However, since Patch 10.1, the materials for this cloak have significantly increased in price, and the cloak itself is currently fetching high prices at the auction house. The market will surely stabilize again – so if you’re not in a hurry, maybe wait a few more days or farm the materials yourself.
What do you think about moments like these, when very old things become relevant again? Cool and interesting, or just annoying to farm old materials again?
Really useful loot can currently be obtained from super easy dungeons.
