Droknar's Forge run

Definition:

The Droknar's Forge run, or more commonly "Droks run" (named for the town it aims for, Droknar's Forge), is the most well-known and popular run in the game, being the only way to get to the Southern Shiverpeaks without first ascending. This allows a player to skip nearly three quarters of the Prophecies campaign.

The run consists of travelling south from Beacon's Perch, passing through Lornar's Pass, Dreadnought's Drift, and Snake Dance, to reach the first and only outpost encountered in the run, Camp Rankor. From there, one must travel through Talus Chute to finally reach Droknar's Forge.

Maxed Armor
There are other ways to get max armor early in the game, besides running to Droknar's Forge. In the past, these ways were easier and cheaper than getting a Drok's Run, with the disadvantage that you will have to own one of the other Guild Wars campaigns to access those Continents. For all of these, you will need to have reached the town of Lion's Arch to unlock travel outside of Tyria.
 * For the Factions campaign: After you arrive in Cantha you will be on the docks outside of Kaineng Center. Inside Kaineng Center is an Armor Crafter that makes max armor. This is currently the easiest way to get max armor for characters from Tyria.
 * For the Nightfall campaign: After you arrive in Elona you will be in Kamadan. You may still find other players offering ferry service to the Consulate Docks area, which has a max armor crafter and storage. This ferry service may either be free or involve a fee. Ferrying involves joining the character offering the service on the quest The Time is Nigh, which is very short and deposits the party at the Consulate Docks.
 * For the Eye of the North expansion: The starting outpost of Boreal Station has an armor crafter that makes max armor.

Risk and Resources
Years ago, several parts of the Droknar's Run underwent major changes by ArenaNet's designers to greatly increase the difficulty of the run. For some builds, this was before a number of crucial expansion or PvE-Only skills or updates even existed. As a result, many builds were no longer able to complete the run. And many who could, only did so by teaming up as Dual Runners, which also caused the "running price" to greatly increase. Players wishing to circumvent the "Drok's Run" may need to acquire the following runs:
 * Similar changes could happen again at any time, as ArenaNet has consistently demonstrated both the capacity and the will to make sweeping changes to broad-areas of the game.
 * The run from Beacon's Perch to Droknar's Forge is long and very difficult due to deadly combinations and high concentrations of foes encountered. Due to its popularity, the Droks run is also a tempting target for scammers.
 * Players needing the Prophecies Elites (found in the Southern Shiverpeaks) that they have already captured on another character, can gain them instantly by obtaining Elite Tomes from other players in major trading towns, or from Hardmode Chests.
 * Lion's Arch to Sanctum Cay
 * Running Sanctum Cay Mission
 * Amnoon Oasis to "Desert Tour"

Reasons for the Drok's run
Lower level Players attempting to reach the Consulate Docks or Boreal Station (for the Max Armor) will still have to complete certain quests designed for much higher level characters in order to reach these destinations: Characters wishing to Capture many Prophecies-only Elite skills may choose to "get a run" to the Southern Shiverpeaks; in order to save a great deal of time or money otherwise spent traveling from Lion's Arch to the Crystal Desert, or spent buying Elite Tomes.
 * Tyrian or Canthan characters accessing Consulate Docks must complete Sunspears in Kryta or Sunspears in Cantha and may also need to complete A Land of Heroes; ...which may take longer than a run to Droknar's Forge (depending on party members).
 * Prophecies characters attempting to reach Boreal Station (and the Far Shiverpeaks area in-general) may need a runner themselves, or advanced running skills, in order to complete What Lies Beneath

Complete Walk-Through

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

Survivor Title
Due to the layout of Dreadnought's Drift, it would ordinarily be far too risky for a candidate for the Survivor Title Track to acquire a run to Droknar's Forge amidst a "pick up group" of other players also "receiving a run". This is because the Party is given only a matter of seconds to set up for an attack from a Stone Summit patrol that always spawns right above the zone's entrance and resurrection shrine. And in extreme cases, this patrol may include multiple Dolyak Masters and Stone Summit Heretics who strip your party's enchantments while stacking their own divine enchantments to insurmountable levels.