World of Warcraft: The Inner Sanctum Quest Guide (Shrine of Akir)
Where to pick up the level 12 quest, the route up through the Sanctum of Storms, and what completing it pays out.
Where to pick up the level 12 quest, the route up through the Sanctum of Storms, and what completing it pays out.
by Sehaj Padda
The Inner Sanctum is a short but fight-heavy quest at the Shrine of Akir on Zephras Isle. The objective sounds simple — link up with Valennia Stormfist inside the inner sanctum — but the sanctum is packed with Al’Aketh defenders, and Valennia is sitting at the top of a tall spiral ramp rather than anywhere near the entrance.
Quick answer: Take the quest from Hyusaa Quickbreeze outside the Shrine of Akir, enter the Sanctum of Storms, climb the spiral stone ramp to the top platform, and talk to Valennia Stormfist to turn it in.
The Inner Sanctum quest details
Detail
Value
Quest level
12
Required level
7
Start NPC
Hyusaa Quickbreeze
End NPC
Valennia Stormfist
Zone
Zephras Isle (Shrine of Akir)
Sharable
Yes
Added in
Patch 1.60.1
Everything happens inside one zone, so there is no travel step and no item to collect. The whole quest is a movement problem with mobs in the way.
Route to Valennia Stormfist inside the Sanctum of Storms
Find the quest giver at the bottom of the temple steps at the Shrine of Akir and accept The Inner Sanctum. The objective text points you at Valennia Stormfist, and the tracker will not give you a precise pin inside the building, so read the route below before you run in.
Climb the large stone staircase into the shrine and head for the archway that leads into the Sanctum of Storms. Passing through it flags the subzone discovery, which is a useful confirmation that you are in the right building.
Step into the interior chamber. Al’Aketh Honor Guards and Al’Aketh Skypriests are stationed around the central elevated structure, and they will pull as soon as you walk into their patrol lines.
Work around the back of the central structure rather than straight through the middle. The walkway entrance that starts the climb sits behind it, and clearing the Honor Guard stationed there gives you room to line up the ramp.
Push through the chamber toward the upper path. You do not need to kill everything here — dodging attacks and keeping moving toward the ramp works fine if your health is holding up.
Follow the spiraling stone ramp up along the perimeter wall. Skypriests target you with lightning as you climb, so expect chip damage the whole way rather than one big burst.
Clear the Windshaper Shaman and Al’Aketh Skypriest packs blocking the upper ring, plus any Honor Guard on the walkway. These are the fights that are hard to skip, since the path narrows and they sit directly on it.
Continue along the upper tier to the top platform. Valennia Stormfist, the Peacekeeper Captain, is slumped against the wall beside an elemental companion. Interact with her and select Complete Quest.
Valennia is wounded, not hostile, and there is no boss fight at the top — if you are searching for something to kill on the final platform, you have already finished the hard part.
Enemies between the entrance and the top platform
Al’Aketh Honor Guard — melee defenders near the entrance, behind the central structure, and on the upper walkway.
Al’Aketh Skypriest — casters that throw lightning at you while you climb the ramp.
Windshaper Shaman — grouped with Skypriests on the upper ring, directly on the route.
Rewards and the follow-up quest
Reward
Amount
Experience
910
Windshapers reputation
50
High Order reputation
50
Handing in at Valennia also opens the next step in the chain, Confront Luethura, which you can accept from her on the spot. There is no need to run back down to the quest giver outside.
How to confirm the quest is complete
The turn-in itself is the clearest signal. You get the experience and reputation gains immediately, The Inner Sanctum drops out of your quest log, and Confront Luethura appears in its place. If you want a hard check on an alt or after a disconnect, run this in chat and look for a true result.
Because the quest is sharable, anyone in your group who is at least level 7 can pick it up from you at the entrance and turn it in at the same NPC, which makes the climb through the Al’Aketh packs considerably less painful the second time around.
