Frostmourne ( Warcraft III ) Frostmourne was the final battle between Prince Arthas Menethil and the dreadlord , Mal ' Ganis . It was the climax of Arthas ' pursuit of the dreadlord in his quest for vengeance against Mal ' Ganis ' acts against the people of Lordaeron . It would see Arthas taking up the accursed runeblade , Frostmourne at the expense of his own soul and drive his cold , hungry , and exhausted forces to certain death while using the cursed sword ' s power to vanquish Mal ' Ganis ' forces and eventually the dreadlord himself . While Arthas was in his search for the runeblade , Captain Falric bravely defended the Alliance base . Critters . Surrounded . Muradin angrily confronts Arthas over his betrayal of the mercenaries and his lies to his men . Arthas coldly retorts that Muradin never saw what Mal ' Ganis did to his homeland . Suddenly , the undead appear on all sides . Mal ' Ganis calls out to Arthas and taunts him that the journey ends here with Arthas ' doom . The Alliance troops rush to defend the base , however , both Arthas and Muradin realize that they are outnumbered and completely surrounded . Arthas asks Muradin to help him find the runeblade Frostmourne . The sword ' s power might give them the edge they need to win this battle . Muradin , although hesitant , agrees . Arthas takes a small force of knights and riflemen with him , leaving the Captain behind to oversee the base ' s defenses . Arthas and his men enter a nearby Waygate which transports them to the vault of Frostmourne . Claiming Frostmourne . Arthas and Muradin battle through a number of vicious creatures - both living and undead to reach the Frostmourne . Finally , they arrive at the entrance to Frostmourne ' s chamber , where they find a powerful undead Guardian and its minions blocking the way . The Guardian warns Arthas to turn back , but Arthas refuses and engages the Guardian in battle . After a long and difficult fight which leaves only Arthas and Muradin standing , the Guardian is defeated . In its dying moments , the Guardian again warns Arthas to turn back before it ' s too late . Arthas asks the Guardian if it ' s still trying to protect the sword . The Guardian gives an ominous reply : It is trying to protect " him " from the sword . Arthas ignores this warning and enters Frostmourne ' s chamber . Arthas and Muradin approach Frostmourne which is held on a frozen pedestal . Arthas goes to claim the sword , but Muradin notices an inscription on the pedestal : " Whomsoever takes up this blade shall wield power eternal . Just as the blade rends flesh , so must power scar the spirit . " Muradin realizes the sword is cursed , but Arthas replies that he would bear any curse to save his people . Muradin tries one last time to reason with Arthas , telling him to forget his quest and go home . Arthas , however , will let nothing stop him from getting his revenge on Mal ' Ganis . Arthas calls out to the spirits of the chamber and promises to pay any price if they will grant him the power to save his people . A sinister whisper answers and suddenly the pedestal explodes , releasing Frostmourne . A piece of frozen shrapnel hits Muradin , seemingly killing him . Arthas , completely unmoved by his friend ' s demise , tosses aside his paladin warhammer and picks up the blade . Arthas ' s Vengeance . Now in possession of Frostmourne , Arthas returns to his base where the Captain is desperately trying to hold off the undead . Arthas rallies his remaining men and leads a counterattack against Mal ' Ganis . Despite suffering heavy casualties , the Alliance forces storm Mal ' Ganis ' s base and proceed to raze it building by building . Frostmourne proves to be an incredibly powerful weapon and Arthas single - handedly slays countless undead with it . Finally , Arthas stands victorious over the ruins of Mal ' Ganis ' s base . Mal ' Ganis reveals himself to Arthas . The dreadlord compliments Arthas on claiming Frostmourne at the expense of his comrades ' lives - just as the Dark Lord of the Dead foretold . Arthas declares that he hears only the voice of Frostmourne . Mal ' Ganis replies that Arthas hears the voice of the Dark Lord , who speaks through Frostmourne . The dreadlord then mockingly asks what the Dark Lord tells Arthas now . Frostmourne ' s sinister whispering is heard again . After a moment , Arthas answers that the Dark Lord ( Lich King ) tells him that the time for his vengeance has come . Mal ' Ganis is shocked by this statement but is unable to defend himself in time . Arthas vanquishes the dreadlord with one strike from Frostmourne . Having achieved his vengeance , Arthas abandons his remaining men and wanders off into the frozen wastelands of Northrend where he loses the rest of his sanity to Frostmourne ' s dark voice . Aftermath . Although Arthas achieved his victory over Mal ' Ganis , he had sold his soul to the Lich King . Thus the Lich King gained his most powerful servant ever . Arthas became the first of the Lich King ' s Death Knight s . Upon returning home , Arthas murdered his own father and allowed the Scourge to devour the rest of Lordaeron . Ultimately , Arthas ' s quest to save his people ended with their destruction by his own hand . Guide . You start with Arthas and the hunting team searching for Frostmourne . Stop for one minute and focus on your base , get some more troops to defend . Go with Arthas , keep spamming Holy Light on your troops to prevent anyone from dying in the hunt so you can face each and every monster guarding the cave . As you get Frostmourne , Arthas should be returning at the base , where the troops are heavily defending . Make some troops and go kill the spiders right near your base , surrounding a gold mine . It is not advised to use that gold mine unless in a terrible need of gold , as Mal ' Ganis will often come there . Mal ' Ganis ' acolytes will go to the north Gold Mine , get some troops to guard that . With the northern gold mine safe , you can get no more than 5 peons to work there . Focus on the main base . Create a barracks there as well , and make lots of Ranged Dps such as Riflemen . Mal ' Ganis ' aids are a minor problem , and you should only defend your base and just focus on the dreadlord ' s main camp . Get a team of 10 riflemen and 5 footmen , go to attack and remember to keep Arthas at your side . The gargoyles are small problem when having ranged dps , and you can also cast Holy Light on them for a small mana fee . Destroy the guarding ziggurats which puts the undead in troubles , then clear that basement from all the undead , following the advices written . The " Deaths " of Muradin and Mal ' Ganis . Although Muradin appeared to have been killed when Frostmourne was released , it has been revealed in Wrath of the Lich King that he was merely rendered unconscious . However , when Muradin awoke he had no recollection of what had happened or even who he was . Soon after , he was taken in by the nearby frost dwarves . Likewise , Mal ' Ganis was seemingly killed by Arthas . However , Wrath of the Lich King also revealed that Mal ' Ganis survived Arthas ' s attack , but was severely weakened and forced into hiding . Mal ' Ganis is currently possessing the body of Barean Westwind and is plotting to exact his revenge upon the Lich King .