22.08.2022
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WotLK Zones – What Northrend places are there?
Leveling up in a new expansion is always a journey. During your leveling you visit all the key places of the new
continent,
learn the story, and gear up for Heroic dungeons and other starter activities. WotLK is no exception here – it's
just that
it's not really new, it's new-old. For those of you craving a nostalgia trip, this might be even better! So
let's
take a closer look at places you're about to visit as you step off your ship/zeppelin to Northrend.
1. Borean Tundra
Levels: 68-72
Factions: Valiance Expedition (Alliance), Warsong Offensive (Horde), Taunka
(Horde), Kalu'ak, Kirin Tor
Dungeons: Nexus, Oculus
Raids: Eye of Eternity (AKA The Eye)
Borean Tundea is one of 2 starter zones of the expansion. After seeing that
servers can barely handle a crowd of people emerging into the starter zone at the beginning of the Burning
Crusade expansion, the developers decided to divide that crowd in two. One of the flows went to the westernmost
zone which is Borean Tundra. As with all zones in WotLK, it's full of interesting stories and incredible vistas,
so enjoy your stay there. Horde players will help the pre-warchief Garrosh Hellscream with establishing a
fortified base for further operations. Alliance players won't have notable celebrities on their side there, but
they will pursue a similar goal nonetheless. You will meet the walrus people of Kalu'ak, dragonkins of Nexus,
and several wizards from Kirin Tor. The Nexus island is where you can start your dungeon run in the dungeons of
Nexus and Oculus (hated by many for its dragon riding) and the raid of the Eye of Eternity.
2. Howling Fjord
Levels: 68-72
Factions: Explorers' League (Alliance), Valiance Expedition
(Alliance), Hand of Vengeance (Horde), Taunka (Horde)
Dungeons: Utgarde Keep, Utgarde Pinnacle
Raids: no raids
Raids: no raids
Another starter zone, it's full of character introduction quests and beautiful
fjords. You will meet vrykuls here and fight their champions inside the dungeons of Utgarde Keep and Utgarde
Pinnacle. And all that to a beautiful Nordic music. Horde players will enjoy undead aesthetics, bat flying,
and elevators (undeads must have brought them from the OG Undecity). Alliance players will have a most
picturesque boat trip in the game just on their way to the first quest hub and meet prehistoric dwarves and
humans (that's vrykuls again).
This zone is not only beautiful, it's also not very crowded: most players come
to Borean Tundra since it has ships/zeppelins from Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Also there's the Eye raid. The
Fjord doesn't have a raid and it takes traveling to either Undercity or Wetlands for Horde/Alliance players
respectively to get there. It's not very convenient, hence there are fewer people there and more chances to
complete quests faster.
3. Dragonblight
Levels: 71-75
Factions: Wyrmrest Accord, Kalu'ak, Valiance Expedition (Alliance),
Warsong Offensive (Horde), Hand of Vengeance (Horde), Kirin Tor
Dungeons: Azjol-Nerub, Ahn'kahet: The old kingdom
Raids: Naxxramas, Obsidian sanctum, Ruby sanctum
Raids: Naxxramas, Obsidian sanctum, Ruby sanctum
Dragonblight is one of the most important zones of Northrend in all regards.
It's essential for the story since it has the Wyrmrest Temple, the Wrathgate, Azjol-Nerub, Naxxramas, and so
much more. Some of the characters you first meet there become essential for WoW lore and we might see lots
of them coming back to the forefront in Dragonflight. You can spend entire 4 levels doing quests and
dungeons here and there'll still be some stuff left to do, since there are so many different storylines.
It's also an important hight-level hub: it's located in the middle of the
continent and serves as a bridge between its East and West coasts. It has 2 dungeons and 3 raids, so there will
always be people gathering beside entrances and doing some PvP skirmishes, so take care. In patches 3.1, 3.2,
and 3.3 it will be less relevant but at the beginning of the expansion it has the potential of being the most
populated place in the game after, perhaps, Dalaran.
4. Grizzly Hills
Levels: 73-75
Factions: Taunka (Horde), Warsong Offensive (Horde), Valiance
Expedition (Alliance)
Dungeons: Drak'tharon keep
Raids: no raids
Raids: no raids
Grizzly Hills is probably the peak beauty of Northrend. Everything about it is
amazing yet this zone is not very populated. Mostly because it has no dungeons (Drak'tharon is partially
located in Zul'Drak), raids, and important factions. So you'll mostly find people leveling up there.
However, some aesthetics enjoyers choose this place for chilling while looking for a group or chatting with
friends. Its nature and music can help anyone feel better. It also has exciting quests about worgens and
stone dwarves, as well as some not exactly successful PvP event in the middle. It looks like Blizzard tried
putting some outdoor PvP there in the manner they had done it in TBC but something wasn't right about it.
People mostly cared about Wintergrasp in this regard, not Grizzly Hills.
5. Zul'Drak
Levels: 74-76
Factions: Argent Crusade
Dungeons: Drak'tharon keep, Gundrak
Raids: no raids
Raids: no raids
Zul'drak is a pretty grim place with not too many quests, but they have some
Argent Crusade quest line and completing them is recommended for anyone looking to improve reputation with
that faction. Another selling point is dungeons: Drak'tharon and Gundrak both have trollish aesthetics and
can be a great experience for you if you're into trolls.
6. Sholazar Basin
Levels: 76-78
Factions: Frenzyheart Tribe, Oracles
Dungeons: no dungeons
Raids: no raids
Raids: no raids
Sholazar Basin is an unexpected change of environment. It's a wild green
jungle that you would hardly expect to find in such a cold place as Northrend. It has 2 warring factions of
Frenzyheart Tribe (mini gnolls) and Oracles (toads with fangs). They are not exactly essential for getting
some raiding equipment but still have some useful stuff to buy. The zone also has some titan-related
stories, so you might be interested in checking that out too. Apart from that there's not too much to see
here – however, it's a good rival to Grizzly Hills in terms of a chill location. It also has beautiful
sights and music.
7. Crystalsong Forest
Levels: 77-80
Factions: none
Dungeons: none
Raids: none
Raids: none
Not exactly a regular questing zone, the Forest is more of a "place under
Dalaran". It has a couple of quest lines for those in need of XP, but hardly more than that. Oh well, it
also has some resources to farm for miners and herbalists too, so expect to see lots of them there. If
you're on a PvP realm, take care. Other than that, it's the place where you will access Dalaran for the
first time from. Make sure to check Dalarn's flightmaster ASAP after that to never have the necessity of
visiting Crystalsong Forest again. It's not bad, just not quite relevant.
8. Dalaran
Levels: any
Factions: Kirin Tor, Silver Covenant (Alliance), Sunreavers (Horde)
Dungeons: Violet hold
Raids: no raids
Raids: no raids
Dalaran is the neutral capital of Northrend. That is, for both factions.
Expect to see it daily as you hit 80 level – it's the biggest hub of the continent, so all the raid- and
dungeon-related repeating quests can be found here. It's also quite a laggy place, so lots of people prefer
chilling somewhere else, like in Grizzly Hills or Sholazar Basin.
9. Storm Peaks
Levels: 77-80
Factions: Sons of Hodir, Frostborn (Alliance), Explorers' League
(Alliance), Warsong Offensive (Horde)
Dungeons: Halls of stone, Halls of lightning
Raids: Ulduar
Raids: Ulduar
Storm Peaks are not quite easy to navigate without a flying mount. These are
mountains after all, and quite high ones. So take that into consideration and try purchasing Cold Weather
Flying somewhere at level 77. It will cost about 1'000 gold. In the mountains you will find lots of new
information about titans and visit the dungeons of Halls of stone and Halls of lightning, beating some of
titan-related guys. Later in the expansion, at patch 3.1, you will find lots of people chilling around the
Ulduar raid. Other than that, there are lots of miners here, as well as dragon hunters: there's the time
lost proto drake rare NPC flying around in the zone and killing it gets you a similar mount that is deemed
very valuable.
10. Icecrown
Levels: 77-80
Factions: Argent Crusade, Knights of the Ebon Blade, Ashen Verdict,
Warsong Offensive (Horde)
Dungeons: Trial of the champion, Forge of souls, Pit of Saron, Halls
of reflection
Raids: Trial of the crusader, Icecrown citadel
Raids: Trial of the crusader, Icecrown citadel
Icecrown is the number 1 place in Northrend in terms of story. This is where
the most important stuff is going on. Lots of Arthas- and Scourge-related quest lines, as well as the
crusader tournament quest hub starting with patch 3.2. It will be very populated starting with that time –
until then there won't be much to do, since it has no dungeons and no raids at the beginning of the
expansion. However, it will get 4 dungeons and 2 raids later on!
Also, getting Cold Weather Flying is recommended for this zone. It's not really
pedestrian-friendly, so expect either constantly looking for ways around obstacles, or spending a thousand gold
coins on the Northrend flying.
11. Wintergrasp
Levels: 77-80
Factions: none
Dungeons: no dungeons
Raids: Vault of Archavon
Raids: Vault of Archavon
Wintergrasp is not a leveling zone at all. It's an open world full-scale PvP
place where Alliance and Horde have insane battles every couple of hours. After a battle ends, the winning
factions gets the privilege of visiting the local raid, Vault of Archavon, where you can get the
current-tier items as well as a mammoth mount. It's all fun and all, but back in the day you really needed a
strong computer and stable connection to enjoy it, since there were so many people there. Let's hope that
this time Blizzard have managed to optimize the place better.
***
So those were the eleven zones you will visit on your journey across Northrend. It
will take days at best to get your character to 80 level there. If you're not in a hurry, it's alright. Just enjoy
the ride. But if you are not a fan of leveling up, you can speed up the process with our power leveling service. Have your
character leveled up by our pro in no time and at an affordable price! If you want some custom help, or just want to
learn more about the Northrend zones or out power leveling solution, feel free to contact us!
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