Hall of Thanes as Horde, Ruins of Lordaeron as Alliance — the long way in

Hall of Thanes (levels 13–18) is under Ironforge. Ruins of Lordaeron (levels 15–20) is in the ruins above the Undercity. Each is built as one side's dungeon and sits in that side's capital. Sources disagree on whether that makes Hall of Thanes Alliance-only — see the next step.

Warcraft Tavern puts it plainly: the Alliance walk into Hall of Thanes, and the Horde "must use a few shenanigans to reach its gates". Ruins of Lordaeron is the mirror image — easy for the Horde, "a long and intricate journey" for the Alliance.

Both are five-player. For Ruins of Lordaeron, guides suggest going a little later than the bracket opens: All Things How recommends 17–20, and most of its quests need level 16 to start.

The rest of this page is the route each way. The levels are on the dungeon order page.

This is the thing to check first, because it can waste the whole trip.

warcraft.wiki.gg says Hall of Thanes has to be unlocked with quests, starting with Underground Map in Dun Morogh, and lists Old Ironforge Incursion as its key. Icy Veins marks that key quest Alliance only. Put those two together and a Horde character may not be able to open the door at all — but no source says so outright.

Method adds that people have speculated about a secret Horde quest that opens a teleporter, and that they have found no such quest.

So: before five people walk across the Eastern Kingdoms, get one Horde character to the entrance and see whether it lets them in. We will update this page as soon as a source says either way.

Method's route starts in the Undercity and goes Silverpine Forest, Hillsbrad Foothills, Arathi Highlands, Wetlands, Loch Modan, Dun Morogh — five zones of Alliance country before you reach the gates.

The entrance is not outside the city. It is inside Ironforge: from the Great Forge, face the High Seat where King Magni stands, walk into the throne room and turn left to a spiderweb-covered passage at 43.5, 52.0. Warcraft Tavern's warning is that it will be "difficult" for the Horde, "especially at the appropriate level range". The city sits on lava on the way down, and falling in kills you.

Your ruleset changes the trip. On the PvP ruleset you are flagged automatically in enemy zones, so every Alliance player you pass can attack you. On Normal, Roleplaying and Hardcore you are only flagged if you flag yourself. That is about players: no source we found says how Ironforge's guards treat a Horde visitor, so do not assume they will ignore you.

There is no group finder that teleports you, and meeting stones do not summon. The one way to bring someone to a dungeon is a warlock's Ritual of Summoning, which needs two more party members standing there to help.

So the plan is: a warlock and two others make the trip; they summon the last two. That saves two people the walk, and only works if a warlock is in the group — which is worth deciding when you form it, not when you are halfway through the Wetlands.

The catch for this dungeon: the three who go first have to stand at the gate, and the gate is inside Ironforge. Post the run on the board with "warlock wanted" if you do not have one.

Hall of Thanes has five quests. Method says the Horde can do two of them. Icy Veins says three of the five are Alliance-only; the two its quest table leaves without that mark are An Ancient Grudge and Important Heirlooms. Warcraft Tavern's guide says the Horde have no quests inside at all — so the sources disagree.

Either way, a Horde run here is for the loot and the experience of the kills, not for a quest log. Weigh that against the trip.

Forever adds boat routes, and one of them is the Alliance's way in: a three-stop Menethil Harbor – Southshore – Auberdine route. Blizzard announced the new routes at BlizzCon.

Method's version of the trip: from Stormwind Harbor take the boat to Auberdine, take the Auberdine boat to Menethil Harbor, and stay on board — it goes on to Southshore. From Southshore in Hillsbrad Foothills it is a walk "all the way to Tirisfal".

The last stretch is Forsaken country, and the same flagging rule applies as for the Horde in Ironforge: automatic on the PvP ruleset, your choice on the others.

Stormwind has a portal to Dalaran — the Skydome Portal in the Wizard's Sanctum — but only Skyborne characters can use it. Method calls it "a much faster shortcut" to Ruins of Lordaeron for an Alliance Skyborne.

That matters for the summon plan below: if your warlock is not Skyborne but one of the other two is, they still help by getting there first.

The portal is inside the ruins on the way toward the Undercity elevators, on the eastern side of the main courtyard — step into the ruins and look left. In other words, it is on the front step of a Horde capital.

The summoning rule is the same as for the Horde in Ironforge: a warlock plus two others at the gate, then the last two are summoned in. Three people crossing Tirisfal is a smaller target than five.

Ruins of Lordaeron has six Horde quests and four Alliance ones. All four Alliance quests start inside the dungeon — from Captain Truman, from items you loot, or from a letter near where Rath'mael spawns — so you do not need to visit anyone first.

One turns in back home: Crest of Lordaeron goes to Lady Dena Kennedy in Stormwind. And Remember That I Love You starts from a letter by the graveyard, near where Rath'mael spawns; Icy Veins' quest table marks it as not sharable, so each player has to find the letter themselves.

• Whether a Horde character can enter Hall of Thanes at all, given the key quest is marked Alliance-only. The single most useful thing anyone could test.
• How city guards treat the other faction at either entrance.
• Whether a warlock can summon into an enemy capital. Our source says summons bring players "to the dungeon's gate"; it says nothing about whose city the gate is in.

These come from beta, and the beta is where they will be answered.