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Comment by Tyrsenus

Beating Captain Skyshatter is was one of the more difficult (and frustrating) tasks ~~you'll~~ you would have to face solo in World of Warcraft.

Comment by 133472

While this race is definitely overrated in terms of difficulty (I won within 10 tries), it will be much more difficult after level 70 due to the changes in functionality of the Riding Crop. If you've leveled past 70 and you have not yet done this achievement, I would recommend that you start working on getting a 310% mount instead, with https://www.wowhead.com/wotlk/achievement=2145 being the easiest (although also lengthiest) way to do so.

Comment by 220379

Can this achievement be obtained if Skyshatter is beaten prior Patch 3.0.2?

Comment by 266155

You can easily complete this quest/achievement if you are a tailor with the Magnificent Flying Carpet. Since the carpet is considered a vehicle, you do not get dismounted when the meteors hit you, thus allowing you to simply follow along with Captain Skyshatter on his route.

Comment by Gnomespwn

Kinda easy to do being a druid. Since fireballs don't put you in combat... Just assign some button to shift FAST into bird form (I used "E") and enjoy an easy mode ride ;)

Comment by Jeeo

This achievement is not that difficult. All you have to do is learn the route and then fly AHEAD of Captain Skyshatter. Yes he will gain on you during straight flights but any place there is a corner you can just cut the corner to regain your lead. You'll never get hit by his fireball spam by being in front of him.

Comment by 71624

Any 310% mount you have will get transformed into a 280% Netherdrake once you hit the island. With the 'removal' of trinkets past level 70, there are now no other ways to 'cheat' this other than mount auras.

Comment by 334559

Finally got this a few hours ago, only took about 6 hours of straight dying to achieve. All I can say is, "Practice makes perfect!" :) Did it at 80 with all my gear off to prevent an enormous repair bill. Learn his route, try to keep your distance but not too far away (if you aren't able to stay ahead of him that is), and set your zoom as far out as you possibly can, as well as hide your interface. Helped me a ton. Biggest problem I had was being tired, frustrated, and talking on vent x.x Stay away from those three things and you should get it with no problem. Good Luck! :)

Comment by 336575

Tried the methods described in comments 5 or so times, usually failing within 30 seconds due to the chaos of the fire. Tried it by the one method possible to avoid them and got it on the second try.

Here's a strategy that will allow you to make progress from attempt to attempt, rather than relying on luck:

The idea is to keep ahead of him for most of the race. When he lifts off from the runway, he'll make a long 180 back to it. This gives you an easy opportunity to gain a lead on him right from the start. From this point on, travel in the same direction as him with your camera turned on him. When he starts turning, make a sharper cut in that direction (often times the turn keys will suffice - if they don't and you fall behind, remember to make a sharper or earlier cut at that point on next attempt).

Once you get used to the route he takes, it should become fairly easy to get to the point where he first returns over the Dragonmaw camp. Shortly after this, he'll fly up fairly high over a mountain and likely overtake you. Let him - just avoid the fire as he passes. At this point he'll fly around fairly sporadically, dropping fire all over the place. As long as you stay below and a decent bit behind him, they should be easy to avoid since he does not go very far in any direction. After this he'll make a short route back to base and you'll have your achievement.

Tips:
- Hide your interface.
- If you watch the head of his drake, you'll be able to see very clearly when/where he's turning.
- Stay roughly on the same level as him, unless you're anticipating a decline/incline on his part.
- He'll often hit himself with his fire. If you're ahead of him, briefly pause to avoid going too far.
- If he starts to catch up to you, he'll probably hit himself. If he does not, go under him as he passes (to avoid fire) and look to cut his next turn to regain a lead.
- If you get hit while ahead of him, there's a good chance he hit himself too - mount back up and keep at it unless you get the fail message.
- Keep your camera at max range (there's an option to allow your camera to extend even further back), and check in front of you every now and then to avoid running into an obstruction.
- Eat a jam sandwhich.

Comment by Ozberk

I've finally manage to defeat him after several attempts without any speed buffs/trinkets. The tactics mentioned above are similar to one I've used during the race but below some tactics that might help you as well:

- I've turned off my UI and zoomed to FPS view rather than max distance. This gives you clear view without any obstacles including yourself.
- Rather than using forward key to proceed I used strafe keys instead. This gave me the advantage of tracking him even if I'm ahead of him.
- The positioning is hard to explain but I'll try to do my best. Suppose that Skyshatterer is going East to West. You need to position yourself slightly south west of him facing north. You should also stay slightly above to avoid meteors as well but also be careful when he makes quick dives so the distance between you stay same. To proceed you should use your strafe keys in this scenario "q" key or "right click a" which is suitable for you. It may seem to be hard on initial tries but if you can get used to this this positioning and moving will give you huge advantage.
- When he ignites himself, if you're behind him try to close the distance or if possible go ahead of him about 15-20 yards and stop. If you're ahead of him immediately stop and re-position yourself to the optimum position again.
- During his dives or climbs try to keep the level but also watch for meteors. If you come too close you risk getting hit by meteors if you can't keep up the level difference you'll risk losing him. Knowing the path and learning when he dives or climbs helps a lot.
- This was suggested couple of times but it is still crucial: Remove all your armor before starting the race to avoid ridiculous amounts of repair costs.

Hope this helps..
Cheers

Comment by halmas4

a good tip would be to use some of the noggenfoger elixir to make you smaller...it is obtained from a npc in tanaris and greatly increases both the dodging factor and the amount of screen you can see so you dont lose track of the captain.

Comment by 183831

This is the most frustrating quest I have ever tried to complete.

It's so buggy! He gets hit by his own stupid fireballs, and frequently doubles back and then it fails.

I HATE THIS STUPID QUEST.

=[

Comment by 401655

The feeling you get when you beat him. Wow.

You really need to do the race enough to where you can predict where he's going.
Another booster (it may sound odd but it worked for me) is to actually listen to Danger Zone.

Also I noticed all the other people you race are derived from Top Gun.
(Mulveric = Maveric, Ichman = Iceman Etc.)

Comment by Wed1

Personally, i think flying ahead of him is a bigger pain in the ass than behind him. He is just too buggy and he gets hit by his own flames so randomly that it's really hard not to fail the quest all the time by flying too far ahead.
The most useful thing to do is drink noggenfogger elixer. Being small really helps dodging, and actually makes it possible to beat him while flying behind him.

Also, memorise his route, that way you can always fly in the inside of his circle, and that makes it possible to catch up with him big time in the corners, which is necessary, because he flies too fast to just keep up with him. Secondly, fly a tiny bit below him (never above him) because then you have more time to dodge the meteors, then if you fly above him.

Besides that, be very lucky, don't give up, and put some nice music on, this is gonna take very long :p

Comment by Hezkezl

If a druid has a 310% speed mount, our flight form gets 'upgraded' to 310% as well. While every other 310% speed mount in the game gets reverted to 280% when you fly close enough to the Netherwing people to get the Dragonmaw Illusion, druids keep the same 310% speed. I just tested it out there and my speed didn't change when I got the Illusion buff.

Comment by 376263

Though i solo'd this myself after wasting lousy 15 minutes, i found out there is a simpler way of doing it when i was watching my friend doing it...

These are my tips!

1) I have figured that Captain skyshatter's meteor will only hit the closest 'party member'
2) find a druid friend...if you don't have one.../sigh...just try solo it ain't that hard even w/o those carpet/flight form anyway.
3) Put a raid mark like blue square (since meteor is red i find it the best)
4) tell your druid friend...go flight form and chase the drake like madman....get hit if neccesary, just re-flight form and tag him asap...for the person that's doing the quest...just make sure you stay farther away then your friend from the captain and his meteor won't even annoy you a bit -_-;;;

Csin - Balnazzar EU

Comment by 457301

IF u are a dk you dont have to find a paladin but just go Unholly and get On a Pale Horse

Comment by 376340

Skyshatter is much harder to get than the others (who are all pretty much level-70 appropriate cake). The main problem you'll find is that without the ability to equip a riding crop, it'll look like you're doing fine and you'll suddenly fail it because you are "too far away". Having a 310 mount doesn't matter and the magic carpet now acts completely like a regular mount and you no longer "surf" your mount or get a "magic carpet buff"; you immediately go to a 280 netherdrake. The best way to get this one done is to take off your armor and get in a party (more people to take the flaming balls). Your party should include 5 people for optimal "soaking" and include a pally (for crusader) and druid (they can shift into flight-form even if they are knocked-off by a flaming ball). Then you just follow him, avoiding the balls at all costs. But, good luck finding 4 other people who want to help you do this, be prepared to tip or bribe lol. Nogginfogger is also a good idea, as it makes you smaller and therefore harder to hit. Be prepared to fill your bag as you'll need to take several Nogginfoggers to get the tiny-buff you are looking for.

Bth, this achievement is wickedly unfair in the sense that it is a "solo quest" which pretty much is impossible without being in a group or having the advantage of being a DK, Druid, or Pally. I'm really surprised Blizzard hasn't nerfed it! Good luck!

Comment by 472320

Finally got this. This one depends so much on your way of flying, how you choose to control your mount, etc... you may have to teach yourself a different way (IE pressing both mouse buttons, arrows, letters, spacebar).

It needs to be stated, again, don't forget to take your gear off, unless you really want to spend money on unnecessary repairs.

Above all, the two things you seem to need the most of is patience, and luck. I got knocked off many times seemingly out of thin air, and waiting for him to take off is trying (to say the least). Good luck.

Comment by Veren

Having just done this solo as a priest, the method I finally found that worked for me was to strafe the entire route (flying sideways; the Q and E keys by default). Stay at near max distance and far to his side rather than ahead of him.

The key to making it work is making sure you are always on the side that he will be turning to next; if his next turn is to the left, make sure you're on his left side.

If done correctly, Skyshatter stays constantly in your sight and you can always keep a check on when he doubles back or hits himself with his fire. You can also keep a pretty good distance from him which makes you much less likely to get hit by the meteors yourself. Most importantly, it helps you make the most of cutting corners when he turns without getting too far away from him. Definitely takes some practice to get used to his route and figure out when you need to be on which side, but very doable no matter what class you are!

Comment by mixter

just stand 15 feet away, 4-5 feet to a side and his meteors will often hit him, and not you

hope it helps

Comment by 38707

Completed this on my first attempt tonight with my rogue. Solo with no buffs of any kind. It was incredibly easy, I actually had a harder time with the race prior to this one. The trick is to fly above and slightly ahead of him and just look down so you can make sure to stop and avoid the rocks when he bombs himself.

Comment by jprich

Patch 3.3 made it so that you cannot be knocked off your flying mount. Awww yeah.

Comment by Sarklord

since 3.3 its cake....he doesnt knock you off the mount......only be awrae that if u get hit several times in a row he will crush you to the ground and die due to fall damage...........not a challenge anymore.
not bugued anymore, if it really was. he does exactly the same prior to 3.3.

Comment by 509148

if ur a druid it can be quite easy if u get knocked off ur mount just click flight form.

Comment by Spacecat

One time he hit himself, making him stand still. I didn't know that he could do that, so I accidently flew straight ahead and failed the quest. Be warned!

Comment by Soreleyn

I found these "Racing" quests fairly easy to complete, once I read the comments on here.

I found it the easiest to just fly high above each of them, trying to avoid the stuff they threw. I did not hide the ui, and I zoomed out as far as possible. This worked the best for me, doing these lying in bed with my mouse on the mattress ;)

It surely has gotten much easier, as you only get knocked back a bit if something hits you, so I never actually got dismounted during any of these.

Comment by twistedtwilight

Pro tip: from the time you take off till the time he lands is the exact SAME amount of time Danger Zone plays out.

Comment by xepla

I was able to complete this quest after about 4 failed attempts . This was probably much more difficult when it was possible to be knocked off your mount. Kudos to those who actually managed it back then.

My advice:
1. Learn the flight path on your first couple of tries.
2. Cut corners at every possible opportunity. Doing this without losing him is related to knowing his flight path -- that is, when and in which directions he will be turning.
3. Zoom out as far as you can. Remove your UI with alt+Z. Disable resource sucking addons. Do everything possible to reduce your lag.
4. Begin the race a bit ahead of him, and try to stay a little ahead.
5. Mark him with a Skull icon and concentrate on following and tracking that. This will simplify the learning process and make him easier to see.
6. STAY FOCUSED.
7. Play "Danger Zone"

Comment by alfonzzo

note that his bombs can still knock you out of flight form, so druids should ride a normal flying mount for this.

Comment by Dragoniel

It's a shame... Newbies will never understand what kind of achievement it was to beat captain Skyshatter prior to knockback and Skyshatter speed changes. What was once considered amongst the hardest achievements in the game, is now nothing but a shadow of former self.

I have 3 characters with netherdrakes, got them before the patch. I never managed to beat the captain - for days I've tried and tried and failed. And today, on my new alt... beaten all them pilots in one go, been hit twice, and not even on skyshatter.

It's a shame, really.

Comment by 92125

I have seen several posts up top about him not flying faster than 280% now. I don't know if I am just lagging a little bit (which I highly doubt I am), but he seems to definitely still fly faster than any Artisan flying mount. I have been trying to get this achievement for a little bit now, and I keep losing because he gets too far ahead on the parts where we are mostly just flying straight, and there are no corners than I can cut to close the gap.

Comment by Likkan

It may be a unnecessary move but i found out the head/back spike your Netherdrake got can be used to aim theyr missiles to backfire them.

And yea i agree on the former posts...Poor Skyshatter was the good likely hardest event ingame.

And toggle friendly health bars aswell for the tricky Wing Commanders.

Comment by greg098

This achievement is very hard. I felt like ripping my hair out trying to do this. Even with the nerf, it's still very annoying. One day I tried like 40 times to beat him and never did. Today I went back and did it in 3 tries. Was he nerfed more? I think so!

Comment by rzzr

I found it easier not to use Alt Z as then the raid icon disapeared. Eat some tracking food and this will allow you to see him in your mini map (hunter's need not bother). You have to cut corners at 80 as the riding whip doesn't work and so if you stick with him he will lose you on the straight bits (he definately flies faster than 280%).
The most important corners to cut at the start are when he flies of the end of the runway and does a loop back, you need to be up with him when he flies back over the runway. As he heads away from the island before turning left you need to cut that corner as much as possible or you will lose him on the straight bit after that.
Seeing him in the mini map helps enormously because if you cut the corner too tight you will fail. Expect to spend some time on this quest, it took me about 10-15 times.

Comment by dadadumdums

my advice:
learn the route
be ahead of him if possible

Comment by 619897

It's child's play! Really, it is! Literally...

I did well with all of them but struggled with Mulveric badly, he kept hiding among the crystals and being on a much smaller mount it made him difficult to spot again if he ducked out of line of sight behind a crystal, rock outcrop or another passing drake for a second. I also found his lightning attacks oddly blinding, especially when he hit himself and I was a bit too close. Shyshatter seemed easy in comparison, my first run through with him I got as far as to slowly and uncontrollably drift to the ground from being hit by a final bombardment of his fireballs as he vanished by the entrance of the runway right at the end... (sigh). I needed a brain-break by this stage and when I took it, the achievement was reached.

What worked for me...

1. <Alt+Z> clear the screen.
2. Fly on his inner wing as much as possible (eg: if you see him turning left, get on his left side)
3. Stay calm and focused, and if you don't have a copy of Danger Zone, sing/hum it... yes it does work! The speed and turns actually do indeed seem to flow with the music.
4. Be a hunter with Beastmastery spec and have it build to give you the 10% extra speed when mounted - I not only kept up with him on the straights but in the turns actually had to stop a few times and let him catch up to me!
5. Don't have a toddler trying to tug at your arm for attention as you're nearing the last turn to the runway.
6. When it starts to frustrate you, take a break - and let your 10 yr old son who has never flown a WoW mount before let alone done the previous quests have a (supervised) try just for fun with the belief that he can't do any worse than you... It took him one test run to learn the controls and know what to expect, one quitted run because some smuck player tried to fly alongside and distracted him too much, and then he took one serious shot at it and got it.

Skyshatter's reputation was just shattered by a kid.

Comment by 616168

do i need to be at any sort of rep level before i can get this quest?

Comment by AwScz

Super annoying quest. Few advice from my side:

- Get a flying mount speed boost (talent, aura, items).
- Always be ahead of the captain. A lighting strike is usually game over.
- Create a macro to further zoom out the camera: /console cameraDistanceMaxZoomFactor 3.34
- Memorize the flight path with repeated attempts.
- Patience

Links

Skyshattered

Defeat Captain Skyshatter in the Dragonmaw race on Netherwing Ledge.

Skyshattered

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