How to Get Thunderfury in WoW Classic: Bindings, Elementium Bars and the Thunderaan Fight

"Did someone say Thunderfury?" Twenty years on, Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker is still the most famous sword in World of Warcraft Classic. It's the best threat weapon a tank can hold, its lightning proc chains through whole packs, and getting one means months of raiding, a lot of gold and a guild willing to help. Here's the full path, from the first Binding drop to the moment you hand the blade back to Highlord Demitrian.

This guide is written for Classic Era and Hardcore realms on patch 1.15.9. (Anniversary realms moved on to The Burning Crusade in February 2026.)

Quick answer

Requirements

• Both halves of the Bindings of the Windseeker. Baron Geddon drops the left half and Garr drops the right. Either one starts the chain, so it doesn't matter which you get first.
• Essence of the Firelord. Ragnaros drops it for you once you're on the right quest step.
• 10 Elementium Bars. Each bar takes 1 Elementium Ore, 10 Arcanite Bars, 1 Fiery Core and 3 Elemental Flux. For the full set, that's 10 Elementium Ore, 100 Arcanite Bars, 10 Fiery Cores and 30 Elemental Flux.
• Access to Blackwing Lair. Elementium Ore drops there, and it's also where a miner learns to smelt the bars.
• A raid group for the final fight. Thunderaan was designed as a 40-player outdoor encounter.

Step-by-step: the Thunderfury chain

1. Get your first Binding in Molten Core. Kill Garr and Baron Geddon every week and keep an eye on the loot. At only a few percent each, many guilds need dozens of clears before both halves show up for the same player.
2. Travel to Silithus. Go to the Ravaged Twilight Camp in the far northwestern corner of the zone and speak to Highlord Demitrian with a Binding in your bags. He hands you the Vessel of Rebirth.
3. Complete "Examine the Vessel." Use the Vessel, then turn the quest in to Demitrian. That unlocks the big one: "Thunderaan the Windseeker."
4. Get the Essence of the Firelord. With the quest active, kill Ragnaros. The Essence drops for the quest holder.
5. Collect the second Binding. Keep killing Garr and Geddon until the missing half drops.
6. Gather the Elementium Ore. It drops from Blackwing Technicians in Blackwing Lair. You need 10.
7. Teach someone to smelt Elementium. In Blackwing Lair, a Priest uses Mind Control on Master Elemental Shaper Krixix, found near Firemaw. While controlled, he can teach Smelt Elementium to a player with 300 Mining.
8. Prepare the Arcanite. Each Arcanite Bar is an Alchemy transmute from one Arcane Crystal and one Thorium Bar. One hundred bars means 100 crystals, 100 Thorium Bars and a lot of transmutes, so most guilds spread the work across several alchemists or buy from the Auction House.
9. Smelt the 10 Elementium Bars. Combine each Elementium Ore with 10 Arcanite Bars, a Fiery Core and 3 Elemental Flux. Fiery Cores drop in Molten Core.
10. Turn in "Thunderaan the Windseeker." Bring both Bindings, the Essence and the 10 bars to Demitrian. Have your raid assembled and buffed before you hand them in, because turning in the quest summons Prince Thunderaan right there in the camp.
11. Kill Thunderaan and loot the blade. Take the Dormant Wind Kissed Blade from his corpse. It starts the final quest, "Rise, Thunderfury!"
12. Hand the blade to Demitrian. He rewards you with Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.

The Thunderaan fight

Thunderaan has relatively little health for a 40-player boss, so a well-geared raid can bring fewer people. Three things matter:

• Chain Lightning jumps between players standing close together. Spread out, and keep casters and healers at maximum range.
• An area lightning attack hits players near him, which ranged players can mostly avoid by keeping their distance.
• Tendrils of Air is a knockback in front of him. The tank should face him away from the raid so nobody else gets thrown around.

On a Hardcore realm, treat the pull like any raid boss: everyone in position, buffed and ready before the quest is turned in.

Tips

• Plan the Arcanite early. The 100 Arcanite Bars are the slowest part of the chain for most guilds, so start the transmutes long before both Bindings drop.
• Buy bars if you can. If a miner on your realm already knows Smelt Elementium, paying them to craft is much easier than organizing a Mind Control in Blackwing Lair.
• Agree on priority first. Decide before anything drops who gets the Bindings, so the second half doesn't end up on a different player.
• Know what you're getting. The proc deals Nature damage to the target, jumps to more enemies, lowers their Nature resistance and slows their attack speed, which is why tanks prize it for threat.

Common mistakes

• Turning in the quest with no raid nearby. Thunderaan appears as soon as you hand in the materials.
• Killing Ragnaros before taking the quest. The Essence only drops for players on the right step, so pick up "Thunderaan the Windseeker" first.
• Following modern item names. Current-game databases list the bars as "Enchanted Elementium Bar" and the ore as "Elementium Ingot." In Classic Era, look for Elementium Bar and Elementium Ore.
• Underestimating the cost. 100 Arcanite Bars, 10 Fiery Cores and 30 Elemental Flux add up fast. Total the materials before the second Binding drops so the guild isn't caught short.