To unlock Dark Iron Dwarves in current retail World of Warcraft, you need an Alliance character at level 40 and must complete the Dark Iron recruitment questline from the Stormwind Embassy. You no longer need Exalted reputation with the 7th Legion, and the old Battle for Azeroth reputation grind has been removed.
The current recruitment chain takes you through a series of Dark Iron scenarios and quests beginning with Blackrock Depths.
| Requirement | Current retail WoW |
|---|---|
| Faction | Alliance |
| Character level to unlock | 40 |
| 7th Legion Exalted | No longer required |
| Ready for War | No longer required under the simplified Allied Race unlock system |
| Recruitment questline | Required |
| New Dark Iron starting level | 10 |
Current retail quest data and Warcraft Wiki document the simplified level-40 recruitment path. Some older Wowhead guide text still shows the pre-change Ready for War requirement, so be careful when following older Allied Race guides.
How to unlock Dark Iron Dwarves
- Log in on an Alliance character level 40 or higher.
- Go to the Stormwind Embassy.
- Start the Dark Iron recruitment path. The first Dark Iron quest is Blackrock Depths.
- Complete the recruitment scenarios and quests.
- Finish Dark Iron Dwarves to earn the Allied Races: Dark Iron Dwarf achievement.
- You can then create a Dark Iron Dwarf from the character-creation screen.
Dark Iron Dwarf recruitment questline
The current quest sequence is:
- Blackrock Depths
- The MOTHERLODE!!: Ironfoe
- Molten Core
- Firelands
- Forged in Fire an’ Flame
- Dark Iron Dwarves
The quests use scenarios and older locations to tell the story of repairing the Black Anvil and formally bringing the Dark Iron into the Alliance.
Do you still need Ready for War?
No, not under the current simplified Allied Race unlock system.
Dark Iron Dwarves originally required Battle for Azeroth’s Ready for War achievement plus reputation with the 7th Legion. Blizzard later removed the reputation and achievement restrictions from the older Allied Race unlocks, leaving the level requirement and recruitment scenario.
This is the single biggest correction to the old version of this guide.
Where do you start the quest?
Go to the Stormwind Embassy in Stormwind City on an eligible Alliance character.
The Dark Iron recruitment chain uses Aysa Cloudsinger and Moira Thaurissan. The first Dark Iron-specific quest, Blackrock Depths, sends you to speak with Moira and begin the scenario.
What if the quest is not showing?
Check these points:
- Your character is Alliance.
- Your character is level 40 or higher.
- You have not already completed the recruitment chain on the account.
- Check the Stormwind Embassy for A Choice of Allies or the Dark Iron recruitment option.
- Check whether the first quest is already in your quest log.
If you are returning after many expansions, the Stormwind Embassy is a better starting point than trying to reconstruct the old Battle for Azeroth War Campaign.
What level do Dark Iron Dwarves start at?
Allied Race characters now begin at level 10. The old version of this article said level 20, which was correct before the Shadowlands-era level squish but is no longer current.
What classes can Dark Iron Dwarves be?
Dark Iron Dwarves can currently be:
- Death Knight
- Hunter
- Mage
- Monk
- Paladin
- Priest
- Rogue
- Shaman
- Warlock
- Warrior
Dark Iron Dwarf racial abilities
The most distinctive racial is Fireblood, which removes several harmful effect types and temporarily increases your primary stat based on the effects removed.
Dark Iron Dwarves also have:
- Dungeon Delver for extra indoor movement speed;
- Forged in Flames for physical-damage reduction;
- Mass Production for Blacksmithing benefits; and
- Mole Machine, which unlocks a network of race-specific travel destinations as you discover them.
How do you get Dark Iron Heritage Armor?
The Heritage of the Dark Iron achievement currently requires leveling a newly created Dark Iron Dwarf to level 50 without disqualifying character-service shortcuts such as a Character Boost, Race Change or Faction Change.
Completing it unlocks the Dark Iron Heritage Armor cosmetic set.
Do you get a mount for unlocking them?
Yes. Completing the recruitment unlock also awards the Dark Iron Core Hound mount and the Tabard of the Dark Iron.
Are Dark Iron Dwarves worth unlocking?
The unlock is now short enough that there is little reason not to do it if you like the race. Fireblood can be useful, Mole Machine is one of the game’s more distinctive racial travel abilities, and the recruitment scenario is a compact piece of dwarven story content.
The more important point is that you no longer need to grind old 7th Legion reputation or complete a large Battle for Azeroth campaign first.
Quick answer
Use a level-40-or-higher Alliance character, go to the Stormwind Embassy and complete the Dark Iron recruitment questline beginning with Blackrock Depths. After finishing the chain, Dark Iron Dwarves become available on the character-creation screen and start at level 10.
