Dire Maul Dire Maul is a three - wing instance found in northcentral Feralas . It was once a proud Highborne city called Eldre ' Thalas , but now lies in ruins , overrun by ogre s , satyrs , and undead . Only a tiny remnant of the original Highborne population remains in the form of a murderous sect called the Shen ' dralar . The enemy level range is 36 to 52 , but it was once one of the highest - level pre - " " instances before having its level range reduced with Patch 4 . 0 . 3a . Dire Maul was designed for parties of five , and characters must be at least level 31 to enter the Warpwood Quarter or 37 to enter the Capital Gardens or Gordok Commons . Geography and Layout . Dire Maul contains three wings in two instances . The wings are known as Dire Maul East , West and North . The West and North wings are contained in a single instance , and are connected via The Athenaeum . At the center of Dire Maul , connecting the three wings , is an open plaza populated by ogres and containing a special PvP arena . This arena , consisting of a rectangular pit with entrances and exits on the east and west sides , is similar to the Gurubashi Arena in Stranglethorn Vale , in that " free for all " PvP combat is permitted within its confines . Every six hours , a rare mob spawns in the arena ( Skarr the Unbreakable , The Razza or Mushgog ) . These mobs drop BoE blue items . The entrances to the Capital Gardens ( Dire Maul West ) and the Gordok Commons ( Dire Maul North ) are unlocked as of Cataclysm ( previously locked and could only be opened with the , with a or , a rogue with Lockpicking of 300 or higher ; also by a Blacksmith who has either , or ) . The Crescent Key could be obtained by killing the imp Pusillin in Dire Maul East . In addition to permitting access to the other wings of the instance , the Crescent Key allowed characters to enter the Capital Gardens ( Dire Maul East ) via a short - cut at the Lariss Pavillion , located immediately north of Camp Mojache . Warpwood Quarter . Warpwood Quarter ( aka Dire Maul East ) has been taken over by the nefarious Alzzin the Wildshaper , a satyr who has corrupted the Fruit of Fertility tree so that it produces vile . Alzzin has attracted all manner of corrupted plant life , satyrs , mages and demons to his cause . The entire district is overgrown with crazed plant life . Dire Maul East is considered the easiest of the three wings and requires no key to enter . Capital Gardens . Capital Gardens ( a . k . a Dire Maul West ) is haunted by the ghost s and skeletons of deceased Highborne , and is home to a variety of arcane creatures , including ancients and mana surge s . Yet the most notable resident of Dire Maul West is Immol ' thar , a demon imprisoned on this plane by Prince Tortheldrin . Millennia ago , the Prince , aided by his Shen ' dralar loyalists , constructed five mystical pylons to bind Immol ' thar so that they could siphon his energy to sustain their immortality . Warlocks must go to this prison and summon their dreadsteed for the quest . Tendris Warpwood , a corrupted Ancient of War , also resides in Dire Maul West . Alliance paladins must slay him as part of the quest in order to obtain their charger . In addition , Tendris Warpwood also guards the door leading from Dire Maul West into Immol ' thar ' s prison , where players can also access The Athenaeum . Gordok Commons . Gordok Commons ( a . k . a Dire Maul North ) is considered the hardest , or , at the very least , the most interesting and unusual , wing of Dire Maul . The district is now occupied by a tribe of ogres known as the Gordok . Dire Maul is unique in that parties adventuring there have a choice . They may , in the traditional fashion , kill all the various bosses in the instance for some guaranteed rare drops , or they can use a series of crafting , questing and sneaking tasks to perform a " tribute run . " In a tribute run the characters only kill King Gordok , ruler of the Gordok tribe , while keeping the other bosses alive . As a reward for sparing the lives of the other instance bosses , the characters receive higher quality , though fewer , rare drops from a tribute chest . In addition , the Gordok proclaim the characters as kings , which grants access to a variety of two - hour buffs and the quest . Cataclysm . Dire Maul was lowered to a level 36 - 52 dungeon in Cataclysm . Quests . " Feathermoon Stronghold " " Camp Mojache " " Feralas " " Dire Maul " " Moonglade " " Libram Quests " - Lorekeeper Lydros will give you these quests if you have completed " Elven Legends " already " Class Quests " " Class Book Quests " - each starts with a rare drop book , leading to each class ' version of the Royal Seal of Eldre ' Thalas . Some tips for doing Dire Maul in just one visit : Notable Loot NPC . From a combination of bosses , you can collect the majority of the pre - MC ' do - it - yourself ' armor sets : Loot . See Dire Maul loot . Resources . Herbs Ore Notes , Tips , & Additional Info . World of Warcraft : The Comic . In , Dire Maul is featured prominently as the location of the Crimson Ring ' s annual championship gladiator matches . The gladiatorial games begins with individual single combat matches and which every gladiator team can survive the individual trials intact can advance to team combat matches to vie for the team championship . It is presumed that members of the teams who were unable to advance to team combat matches continue to fight in single combat matches to vie for the single combat championship ( such as Bloodeye Redfist ) . Rehgar Earthfury ' s team , consisting of an amnesic Varian Wrynn , Broll Bearmantle , and Valeera Sanguinar , claimed victory over the previous year ' s team champions : Giago , Two - Heads , and Brlee ( members of the Gordunni Clan of Ancient Draenor ) .