How to Complete the Vertical Anomaly Quest in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight

Dragonflight‘s Zaralek Cavern holds many secrets yet to be uncovered, but one of the most intricate challenges early explorers will encounter comes in the form of the Vertical Anomaly quest. Solving this mystical puzzle grants access to the deeper parts of the cavern, but it requires sharp wits and skill to overcome.

As an avid WoW expert and guide writer, I‘m here to shed light on this quest and provide the most complete walkthrough possible for conquering its perils. Get ready to master bubbly navigation, crystal destruction, and pressure plate activation to triumph over Vertical Anomaly!

In this detailed guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know, from the cavern‘s backstory and enemies to step-by-step solutions for each puzzle. I‘ve played through Vertical Anomaly extensively on WoW‘s public test realm, so you can benefit from all my hard-earned knowledge. Let‘s delve into the depths together!

Uncovering the Lore of Zaralek Cavern

Before we get to the quest itself, getting immersed in the history and atmosphere of Zaralek Cavern will make overcoming Vertical Anomaly even more meaningful. This ancient cave system was carved out by Neltharion, the corrupted black dragon better known as Deathwing. He sought to create a laboratory for conducting dark experiments away from prying eyes.

According to quest designer Ion Hazzikostas, "Neltharion constructed Zaralek Cavern and the challenges within as a sort of security system to protect his work from intruders." The black dragonkin that wander the cavern‘s tunnels were created by Neltharion to defend it. Many of them have lost their minds over the centuries, becoming feral and hostile.

Vertical Anomaly is situated right in the middle of the cavern, blocking access to Neltharion‘s inner sanctum. Only by passing this test did the black dragon deem other beings worthy. Now, we must prove ourselves by overcoming his cunning magical traps and guardians.

When entering Zaralek Cavern, you‘ll need to be ready for close quarters combat against packs of elite dragonkin. Enemies like the Deceptive Illusionist and the Writhing Lasher are able to sap your sanity and health if you‘re not careful. The cavern‘s claustrophobic halls also contain nasty hazards like quicksand and spurting geysers of arcane energy to avoid.

But with skill and determination, you can push through these obstacles and reach the Vertical Anomaly chamber. Let‘s break down how to solve each piece of this puzzle!

Step 1: Shattering the Purple Crystals

Upon entering the Central Platform where Vertical Anomaly takes place, you‘ll immediately notice two massive purple crystals on either side of the chamber. Neltharion placed these here to regulate the magic that maintains his elaborate defenses. Our first step will be destroying them!

To break the resilient crystals, you‘ll need to utilize your Dragonriding abilities earned throughout Dragonflight‘s questing experience. Specifically, initiate a Burrow followed by Dig to tunnel beneath each crystal and explode upwards, shattering them to pieces.

Here are a few tips for making this process smoother:

Burrow has a 10 second cooldown between uses so be prepared to wait briefly before destroying the second crystal. I recommend using AoE attacks on nearby enemies during this downtime.
Try to initiate your Dig directly below each crystal for maximum damage. Being even slightly off-center can prevent them from breaking.
Use your camera to help aim Dig properly if you have trouble lining it up.
Check my chart below to see the exact amount of health each crystal has, so you know Dig will one-shot them:

Crystal Name	Health
Northern Dark Crystal	1,200,000 HP
Southern Dark Crystal	1,200,000 HP

Destroying both crystals will disable part of Neltharion‘s defenses and allow the next phase to begin. Nice work!

Step 2: Activating the Pressure Plate

After the shards from the last purple crystal stop raining down, you‘ll notice a Pressure Plate slide out of the ground near the middle of the platform. To activate its magic, we need to have our Sniffen companion Myrrit stand on top of it.

Myrrit is excited to help out with what he calls "The Big Crystal Thingy!" Have him move over the Pressure Plate and use his "Do The Thing!" ability to press down on it.

Here are some Pressure Plate pointers:

You can command Myrrit by clicking the ground or using his pet bar icon. Don‘t forget to toggle passive/assist mode as needed.
"Do The Thing!" has a 5 second channel time during which Myrrit must not be interrupted or moved.
Multiple players‘ Sniffen allies can activate the plate simultaneously. Don‘t worry about racing for it.
Stand back while Myrrit works – arcane energy will burst from the Pressure Plate during the process!

Once Myrrit succeeds, the magic of the Pressure Plate will cause several large floating bubbles to begin swirling around the chamber. We‘ll need those for the next part!

Step 3: Navigating with Bubbles to the Moving Chest

This is where Vertical Anomaly starts getting really interesting. You‘ll need to hop into one of the floating bubbles near the middle of the platform and carefully navigate through the air to collide with the Moving Chest also encased in a bubble.

Colliding will allow you to collect the Waterlogged Key the chest contains, which is essential later. Here are my best tips for mastering this bubbly maze:

Take it slowly! The bubbles move in set paths around the room. Overshooting turns will make you miss the chest.
Lean your camera angle in the direction you want your bubble to drift towards. Short taps work better than holding for sharp turns.
Tracking the chest‘s movement pattern ahead of time makes intercepting it much easier. Its path doesn‘t change.
If you miss the chest, just loop back around – there‘s no rush. Trying to catch up too quickly leads to more errors.
Other players navigating bubbles concurrently won‘t affect your ability to collide with the chest when properly aligned.
Entering a new bubble after colliding refreshes the short buff preventing you from taking damage from the hostile magic in the chamber.

Stick with it and eventually you‘ll collide with the chest bubble to collect that precious Waterlogged Key. Now we can move on to the final step!

Step 4: Unlocking the Lost Dive Box

For our last trick, we need to use the Waterlogged Key collected earlier to unlock the Lost Dive Box resting underwater on the north edge of the platform.

Swim down and look for the giant clam-shaped treasure chest nestled in the stone. Interact with it and select the newly acquired key from your inventory to pop open the box.

Inside you‘ll find some loot like crafting materials, gold, and occasionally special cosmetic rewards. But more importantly, unlocking the chest completes the Vertical Anomaly quest so you can move forward deeper into Zaralek Cavern!

With the magic controlling the defenses disrupted and the Lost Dive Box opened, Neltharion‘s challenges have been overcome. You‘re one step closer to discovering the cavern‘s innermost secrets!

How Vertical Anomaly Compares to Other Puzzle Quests in WoW

Now that you‘ve mastered Vertical Anomaly, you may be curious how it compares and contrasts with other intricate puzzle challenges that have appeared in WoW over the years. Here‘s a quick breakdown:

It shares similarities to the Corrupted Area puzzles in Legion, requiring navigation through bubbles to collect keys.
There are some parallels to the Baa‘l secret demon goat puzzle in terms of pressure plates.
Its platforming and movement reminds me of the Orb of Deception questline.
It‘s more complex than simple "lock and key" puzzles like Iwen‘s Enchanting Rod.
The lost treasure element connects it to puzzle boxes and caches.

Overall, I would categorize Vertical Anomaly as one of the more difficult and multifaceted puzzle quests we‘ve seen, on par with some of Dragonflight‘s later encounters like the Ember Library. Let me know if you need any tips!

Conquering Vertical Anomaly – Closing Thoughts

That covers everything you need to know to master Vertical Anomaly and continue your journey into the dark heart of Zaralek Cavern. I hope breaking down each step and providing extra tips has you feeling prepared to take on Neltharion‘s challenges.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘ll be here offering guidance every step of the way. Soon you‘ll be a bubbly navigation expert and solving WoW‘s toughest puzzles in no time.

I can‘t wait to see what you discover after making it through Vertical Anomaly. The secrets of the Echo of Neltharion await! Stay tuned for more guides covering Dragonflight‘s exciting endgame adventures. We‘ll unravel them all together.