Droknar's Forge run

Description
The Droknar's Forge run, or more commonly Drok's Run, is the most popular run in the game. Named after its destination, Droknar's Forge, the route is the only way to get to the Southern Shiverpeaks without going through the laborious process of Ascension, skipping nearly three quarters of the Prophecies campaign.

The run begins at Beacon's Perch, passing south through Lornar's Pass, Dreadnought's Drift, and Snake Dance, to reach the first and only outpost encountered in the run, Camp Rankor. The route continues through Talus Chute to finally reach Droknar's Forge.

Reasons for choosing to get run to Droknar's Forge
Players who get a Drok's run for their characters are typically interested in one of the following:
 * Skipping nearly three-quarters of the Prophecies campaign;
 * Purchasing max armor early in the campaign;
 * Saving time and/or money in capturing Prophecies-only Elite skills (instead of using Elite Tomes, which is not always possible).

Reasons against choosing to get run to Droknar's Forge
There are compelling reasons why players choose against getting runs to Drok's:
 * For those owning other campaigns, there are easier-to-reach places offering max armor;
 * The run is costly;
 * The run can be risky to Survivor characters;
 * And, of course, some feel that buying a run works against experiencing the game that ANet went to such trouble to design.

Alternative routes to Max Armor
There are other ways for Prophecies characters to get max armor early in the game, besides running to Droknar's Forge. (Characters from other campaigns will have access to max armor long before they might be able to reach Drok's.)
 * First travel to Lion's Arch to unlock travel outside of Tyria.
 * The fastest route, for those who own Nightfall, is to take Sunspears in Kryta to reach Kamadan. From there, characters can follow the quest line or purchase a Ferry to Consulate Docks, which offers an Armor crafter.
 * Those who own Factions may unlock travel to Kaineng Center (e.g. through Mhenlo's Request). KC includes a few NPCs crafting max armor;
 * Those who unlock the Eye of the North expansion via What Lies Beneath will reach Boreal Station, which offers an armor crafter.

Each of these shortcuts brings their own risks. However, they are typically faster and cheaper than buying a run to Drok's.

Nerfs and Buffs
Over the years, ANet has made it more difficult to travel between Beacon's Perch and Droknar's Forge. Skills have been changed, foes have been buffed, patrols have been altered, and obstacles have been added &mdash; each with the goal of increasing the risk to shortcut the main quest line in Prophecies. On the whole, superior runners have met this challenge by getting better, some reaching Drok's in less than 15 minutes.

Risk to Survivors
The Drok's run can be risky to characters attempting to reach the title of Survivor. After crossing into Dreadnought's Drift from Lornar's Pass, the party has only a brief period of time to move to a safe area (away from the portal) before a Stone Summit patrol passes by. This group includes Stone Summit Heretics that will strip protective enchantments from the Survivor candidate. Those players who choose to get their characters run should be sure that both party members and the runner know about the candidacy and that everyone can be trusted to take appropriate actions to prevent the relevant character's death.

Alternatives to Drok's Run
Alternatively, players might consider a series of somewhat cheaper (and less-risky) runs:
 * Lion's Arch to Sanctum Cay &mdash; nearly any character with heroes can walk this route.
 * Running Sanctum Cay Mission &mdash; also easy with heroes.
 * Amnoon Oasis to "Desert Tour" &mdash; this also unlocks all the desert outposts.

Complete Walk-Through

 * For an exhaustive guide on Performing the Droks Run, see Beacon's Perch to Droknar's Forge