Murloc — the amphibious fish-folk of WoW Classic

◆Who are the murlocs

Murlocs are amphibious humanoids about the size of a gnome: bulging fish eyes, a wide mouth full of triangular teeth, scales, webbed limbs and a crest of bright spiny fins on the back. Their colouring depends on the tribe, from brown and silver to blue, green and orange. Murlocs are equally at home in water and on land, so their huts always stand right at the water's edge.

In Vanilla murlocs are not one army but many independent tribes. Every camp has melee fighters (warriors, hunters, raiders), netters who root their target, and oracles who cast lightning and heal their kin. Murlocs speak Nerglish, a gurgling language they share with the makrura.

Warcraft III-era lore describes murlocs as a people slowly moving from the sea coasts inland into Lordaeron and Azeroth, to fresh-water lakes and rivers — hence their camps on the lakes of Elwynn Forest and Redridge. Murloc origins are not revealed in 1.12; theories linking them to the gorloc and to ancient deep powers appeared in much later sources.

◆"Mrgl-mrgl": the murloc cry and meme

The signature murloc sound is its aggro battle cry: the game files spell it "Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle!", and players shorten it to "mrgl-mrgl" or "mrglgl". Murlocs were voiced by Blizzard sound designer Tracy W. Bush.

• According to the developers on the BlizzCast podcast (episode 12, 2009), the murloc sound was nearly cut several times during WoW development because of complaints, but after it was replaced the whole team asked for the original back.
• In the same episode Blizzard explained that murlocs date back to Warcraft III: an artist needed more neutral monsters and recoloured the ghoul model.
• On April 1, 2005 Blizzard jokingly replaced every avatar on the US WoW forums with murlocs, with the murloc cry playing in the background.
• The first murloc pet is Murky from the Blue Murloc Egg: codes for it were handed out to BlizzCon 2005 attendees.

Blue Murloc EggBinds when picked upUniqueUse: Right Click to summon and dismiss your Murky.

Where murlocs live: tribes by zone in 1.12

Murlocs appear on most coasts of both continents. Levels are taken from Classic Era (1.12) data:

Read more about the starting camps in Elwynn Forest, Westfall, Wetlands, Darkshore and Redridge Mountains.

◆Named and rare murlocs of 1.12.1

Murkdeep does not just stand around: to summon him you approach the campfire between the huts south of Auberdine. First coastrunners come out of the sea, then a pair of stronger murlocs, and only then Murkdeep himself — which is why the quest is meant for a group.

There is no murloc named "Grillok" in Vanilla — that name belongs to a fel orc from The Burning Crusade.

Murloc dungeon bosses

• Cookie — the Defias Brotherhood ship's cook in the Deadmines, a level 20 elite murloc and the dungeon's only optional boss. He splashes acid and heals himself with his cooking, and drops the Cookie's Tenderizer mace and the Cookie's Stirring Rod wand.
• Gelihast — a level 26 elite murloc in Blackfathom Deeps, leader of the Blindlight tribe. He fights with two blades and throws nets; after his death you can activate the altar that grants Blessing of Blackfathom. He also drops the 10-slot Murloc Skin Bag.
• Mutanus the Devourer — a colossal albino murloc born of the druid Naralex's nightmare and the final boss of the Wailing Caverns. He appears at the end of the Disciple of Naralex escort and sleeps, fears and stuns the group.

Cookie's Stirring RodBinds when picked upRangedWand20 - 38 Arcane DamageSpeed 1.30(22.31 damage per second)Durability 50 / 50Requires Level 17Murloc Skin BagUnique10 Slot BagMutant Scale BreastplateBinds when picked upChestMail211 Armor+13 Strength+5 StaminaDurability 120 / 120Requires Level 23Deep Fathom RingBinds when picked upUniqueFinger+3 Stamina+3 Intellect+6 SpiritRequires Level 21

Murloc loot: cooking and leatherworking

Murlocs cannot be skinned — they are humanoids — but they drop useful materials:

• Murloc Eye — for Westfall Stew (Salma Saldean's quest at the Saldean farm);
• Murloc Fin — for Murloc Fin Soup; the recipe is a reward from the Selling Fish quest in Redridge;
• Slimy Murloc Scale and Thick Murloc Scale — for the leather Murloc Scale Belt, Breastplate and Bracers.

Murloc Fin SoupRequires Level 15Use: Restores 552 health over 24 sec. Must remain seated while eating. If you spend at least 10 seconds eating you will become well fed and gain 6 Stamina and Spirit for 15 min.Slimy Murloc ScaleMax Stack: 10Murloc Scale BreastplateBinds when equippedChestLeather76 Armor+5 Strength+3 AgilityDurability 70 / 70Requires Level 14

Kitchen recipes are covered in Cooking.

Murloc quests in WoW Classic

Zone routes are in the Westfall, Elwynn Forest and Wetlands leveling guides.

◆How to farm murlocs on WowX5 x5

1. Approach the camp from its edge and pick off lone murlocs on the shore without walking into the middle of the huts.
2. Kill the oracle first: it heals its neighbours and casts lightning.
3. If a murloc runs, stop it with a stun or snare or finish it at range — otherwise it brings back two or three friends.
4. Against netters keep your distance or switch to the netter right away.
5. At x5 the murlocs of Westfall and Darkshore are an excellent source of experience and cooking Fins at levels 11–20.

◆Related articles

• Bestiary of Azeroth
• Sea creatures of Azeroth
• Makrura
• Naga
• Deadmines
• Blackfathom Deeps
• Wailing Caverns

Want to hear the legendary "mrgl-mrgl" yourself? Create a character on WowX5 x5 and head to the nearest coast.