TBC Anniversary Heroic Dungeons: Keys, Rep, Routes, Oct 22 Nerf

Quick summary

• Five reputation keys open all 15 heroics. Every player in the group needs the key for that dungeon cluster.
• Keys need Revered today and Honored from October 22. Blizzard's Zul'Aman notes lower the requirement and set every heroic to its "final, reduced difficulty state" that day.
• Some heroics need a second key for the door. Shattered Halls, Shadow Labyrinth and Arcatraz need a door key or a Rogue.
• The daily heroic quest from Wind Trader Zhareem in Shattrath awards 2 Badges of Justice on top of the dungeon's own drops.

Get the right key for each dungeon

Key	Faction and current standing	Quartermaster area	Heroics it opens
Flamewrought Key	Honor Hold (Alliance) or Thrallmar (Horde), Revered	Hellfire Peninsula	Hellfire Ramparts, The Blood Furnace, The Shattered Halls
Reservoir Key	Cenarion Expedition, Revered	Cenarion Refuge, Zangarmarsh	The Slave Pens, The Underbog, The Steamvault
Auchenai Key	Lower City, Revered	Lower City, Shattrath	Mana-Tombs, Auchenai Crypts, Sethekk Halls, Shadow Labyrinth
Warpforged Key	The Sha'tar, Revered	Terrace of Light, Shattrath	The Mechanar, The Botanica, The Arcatraz
Key of Time	Keepers of Time, Revered	Caverns of Time, Tanaris	Old Hillsbrad Foothills, The Black Morass

Know what changes on October 22

Rule	Now	From Oct 22 (Blizzard)
Key standing	Revered	Honored
Heroic tuning	Original, harder tuning	"Final, reduced difficulty state"
Other badge sources	Heroic bosses only in Phase 3 (our badge guide, Wowhead)	Also Kazzak, Doomwalker, and every boss in Karazhan, Gruul, Magtheridon, Serpentshrine, Tempest Keep and Zul'Aman
G'eras badge vendor	Current stock	"More powerful wares," including Nether Vortex
Primal Nether	Soulbound	No longer soulbound
Hyjal and Black Temple	Need attunement (heroic Slave Pens and Arcatraz are steps)	No attunement needed

That last row matters if you were running heroics for the Black Temple and Hyjal attunement. Warcraft Tavern lists heroic Slave Pens for the Serpentshrine step and heroic Arcatraz for Black Temple. After October 22 you won't need those runs to enter.

Decide whether to grind Revered or wait

Your situation	What to do	Why
Already Honored, close to Revered	Finish Revered now	You get 9 extra days of heroic badges and loot
Just hit 70, barely Friendly	Get to Honored, then wait	Honored is all you'll need from Oct 22, and the dungeons get easier
An alt on an account that has the key	Buy the Communal key and get the alt to Friendly	—
A group needing heroic Arcatraz for BT attunement	Do it only if you raid before Oct 22	Blizzard removes the attunement on Oct 22
Farming Primal Nether to sell or craft	Wait for Oct 22, or plan to use it yourself	It stops being soulbound on Oct 22, so it can be traded

Reach the standing fast

Faction	Watch out for
Honor Hold / Thrallmar	Save the zone quests so the last stretch isn't a long grind
Cenarion Expedition	Normal Slave Pens and Underbog stop giving reputation at Honored
Lower City	Mana-Tombs gives Consortium reputation, not Lower City
The Sha'tar	Tempest Keep needs flying. A summon from inside works if two players are already there.
Keepers of Time	Finish the Caverns of Time story first

From October 22, Honored is enough, so most characters reach it just by questing the zone and running the Normal dungeons. Our leveling guide covers the dungeon stops.

Unlock keys for alts

1. Get Revered on one character and buy the normal key.
2. Buy the Communal Pouch from the same quartermaster and open it.
3. Mail the key to the alt.
4. Get the alt to level 70 and Friendly with that faction.

Open the locked doors

Dungeon	Who needs it
The Shattered Halls	One player with the Shattered Halls Key (quest chain from the Normal dungeon, or a Rogue can pick the lock)
Shadow Labyrinth	One player with the Shadow Labyrinth Key (drops from Talon King Ikiss in Sethekk Halls)
The Arcatraz	One player with the Key to the Arcatraz (the Mechanar/Botanica quest chain, or a Rogue can pick the lock)
The Black Morass	The portal unlocks for your whole account, but everyone still needs the Key of Time for heroic

Rank the 15 heroics by difficulty

Tier	Dungeons
Accessible	Slave Pens, Mechanar, Underbog
Moderate	Ramparts, Steamvault, Auchenai Crypts, Sethekk Halls, Botanica, Old Hillsbrad
Demanding	Blood Furnace, Mana-Tombs, Shattered Halls, Shadow Labyrinth, Black Morass, Arcatraz

Start with Slave Pens, Mechanar and Underbog. Add Ramparts once the group handles boss damage, then Steamvault and Botanica. Leave the Demanding six until the tank, healer and crowd control are steady.

Bring two reliable crowd controls, a short interrupt, a defensive dispel, and a purge or Spellsteal. Crowd control on humanoids matters most in Shattered Halls, Shadow Labyrinth and the Tempest Keep wings. Bring food, potions and reagents. Our consumables guide covers the ones that carry over from raiding.

Why a full clear still pays

Every heroic boss gives a Badge of Justice, so a full clear always pays something. In Phase 3, heroic bosses can also drop dungeon-specific epic gems, with no published drop rate (via our badge guide). Our badge guide covers what to buy with them.

If you're returning, on an alt, or catching up

• Returning for Zul'Aman? If you're Honored with a faction, wait for October 22 and buy the key then. Our Zul'Aman prep guide covers the rest of the patch.
• On an alt? Use the Communal key and get to Friendly. Do the door-key chains once per character that needs them.
• Short on time? Our TBC Anniversary hub lists FullBoosts' service categories. The professions page covers what Primal Nether crafts.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, TBC Anniversary dungeon services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Blizzard's End User License Agreement before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

FAQ

What reputation do you need for TBC Anniversary heroic keys?

Revered until October 22, then Honored. Blizzard's Zul'Aman notes lower the requirement that day.

Does everyone in the group need the heroic key?

Yes.

Do alts have to grind Revered again?

No.

Are heroics getting easier?

Yes. From October 22, Blizzard sets all heroics to their final, reduced difficulty.

How many Badges of Justice does a heroic give?

One Badge of Justice per boss (3–5 per run) plus 2 from the daily heroic quest.

Is Magisters' Terrace heroic available?

Not yet. It comes with the Sunwell phase and is unlocked by quests, not a reputation key (Warcraft Tavern).