Beyond the Terrace: Exploring the Sunwell Hidden Inside the Magisters Terrace

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During the final preparations to lay siege to the Sunwell and stop Kil’Jaeden from being summoned into Azeroth, the Shattered Sun Offensive sent players into the Magisters Terrace overlooking the Sunwell to defeat the risen corpse of Kael’Thas Sunstrider.

Magisters Terrace
Man, the Magisters get all the nice terraces!

After defeating the second boss of the dungeon, players pass through a small balcony overlooking the Sunwell Plateau. While invisible walls are in place to prevent eager champions from jumping the fence and taking the fight to Kil’Jaeden early, Kael’Thas never foresaw that ten years later, his Demon Hunter allies would join the Alliance and Horde and be able to double-jump their way to freedom.

magisters terrace sunwell
Pretty big oversight on his part.

Using the method showcased in the video above, Demon Hunters can leap from the balcony in a mad dash to end the Burning Crusade expansion here and now (or to just explore the surrounding island).

Magisters Terrace M'uruGliding straight forward leads us to the Terrace of the Sun. Demons patrol the area like in the Sunwell raid, but they are unattackable and cannot be targeted. Additionally, climbing the final ramp to the Sunwell leads us to M’uru, the second to last boss. Like the other NPCs, he is unkillable.

magisters terrace gate
Doesn’t look that secure to be honest.

Passage into previous parts of the raid is blocked by Rohendor, the Second Gate, a leftover relic of the original system by which the final three bosses of the raid were gated off via a series of progression quests. High invisible walls also prevent us from escaping the terrace, so log out for a few minutes and you’ll be teleported back to the start and can escape again.

dead scar magisters terrace
No wonder the scourge got in.

magisters terrace pitTravelling to the Dead Scar at the southern tip of the island reveals that the end of the Sunwell building hasn’t been rendered. This is because the Magisters Terrace dungeon uses the version of the Sunwell that appears in the raid, and not the one that players see on the live version of the Isle of Quel’danas.

dead scar magisters terraceViewing the scar from the other side of the building reveals that only the sections of stonework visible from inside the raid have been rendered, as players are unable to pass beyond the wall of fire in the Brutallus arena and head through the archway.

magisters terrace
Something’s not quite right…

magisters terraceReturning to the northern end of the island, where we normally find the entrance to the Magisters Terrace dungeon, we’re greeted by only the balcony of the terrace. This is because the dungeon is much larger than it appears to be on the uninstanced map, requiring blizzard to stretch the actual dungeon out over the water. The balcony is the only part rendered to be visible from the outside because it’s the only part of the dungeon where players actually leave the building.

magisters terrace bridge
That’s one way to stop people from attacking your fortress.

dawnstar village magisters terraceHeading down into The Dawning Square several things are out of place; most notably the bridge to the Sunwell raid entrance is missing. Continuing into the Dawnstar Village, one building is sunken into the ground with a thin pool of water covering the floor, while the other floats several feet in the air.

magisters terrace sunwell
Anybody home?

magisters terrace sunwell gateEntering the Sunwell the raid is barren of NPCs, but all of the decorative items like benches and lamps are still present. As we travel through the vacant walkways and corridors, we come across another gate blocking our progression. However, there is a way to climb up the scaffolding outside of the building and explore higher up the plateau, this method has also been laid out in the video above.

magisters terrace sunwell plateau scaffolding
You guys might want to do something about that hole.

Climbing to the highest reachable point in the Sunwell Plateau raid, we can look down over the entirety of the Isle of Quel’Danas. In the distance we can see the Magisters Terrace dungeon, complete with Kael’Thas wondering where the hell that adventurer who he’s supposed to fight is. Closer to us, the Sunwell sprawls below, including the gated off and normally unreachable final chamber. At our current height, we’re above the invisible wall blocking entry into the chamber, and can glide down into it.

sunwell magisters terrace
Guys you’re in the wrong instance.

Gliding down into the chamber, we’re greeted by Anveena in her bubble, as well as the three Eredar summoning Kil’Jaeden into Azeroth. Like the demons on the Terrace of the Sun, the Eredar are unattackable so we unfortunately can’t find out if killing them summons Kil’Jaeden.

The Magisters Terrace is a spectacular example of how a dungeon can be larger than it appears, so it’s only fitting that it holds not only an island, but an entire raid inside it. So whether you’re an avid explorer, or you’re just really excited to stop the Burning Crusade, the Isle of Quel’Danas inside the Magisters Terrace is well worth the visit.

 

 

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Ever since I started playing World of Warcraft back in 2009, I've loved hunting for hidden items, secret areas, and unanswered mysteries in the game. The goal of Hidden Azeroth is to combine all the things I've found into one place so that other players can learn about and explore them as well. I hope you enjoy!

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