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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Exploring the World of Warcraft
by Lesley Smith 
Apr 17th 2009 at 8:00AM
So when I rolled my druid, the day before the expansion hit, I was determined to see as much as this beautifully crafted world as I could. Yes, I essentially had a death wish. I was exploring Outland with an honour guard of my guildies at level 10 (and hearthed in Shattrath), I ran through the Arathi Highlands at level thirty, swam through Un'Goro Crater in my forties and was pushing the boundaries of Shattrath by my fifties.
However along the way I found some amazing places: the crystal filled cave at Marshal's Refuge, the boughs where the Dragons of Nightmare can occasionally be found, the first time you run into Azuregos in Azshara, the Twin Colossals of Feralas -- well the eastern one at any rate. Then when I got my flying mount I really started exploring properly.Nagrand alone is full of nooks and crannies and I adore the beauty of Crystalsong Forest.
So come on, readers, I want to know if you've explored all the hidden places of Azeroth and Outland. Do you have any favourites? You do? Great, be sure to tell us about them in the comments box.
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
Neyssa Apr 17th 2009 8:46AM
In Northrend, my favorite place is the view tower in Dalaran. You can see the buzzing city, and at the same time, the menacing Icecrown. I like how you teleport up there, there are some npcs walking around, it just feels real :).
In Azeroth: my first character was alliance, and I made the same trip you mention – backwards, from Darnassus to Stormwind. Had no idea about how long it takes, how to get there, and I made like 20 screenshots on the way – My little lvl15 druid at the gates of Ironforge! When I rerolled Horde, I fell in love with Orgrimmar.
Yeah, I am a city person :) In real life as well as in Wow… My lock and me enjoy other people and life rather than peaceful nature around :)
Pexxle -=SilverHand (RP)=- Apr 17th 2009 9:45AM
Yes but its always good to get away from it all then, comeback to the hustle and bustle.
WoWie Zowie Apr 17th 2009 8:45AM
shrine of the fallen warrior at night
Alphasim Apr 17th 2009 8:46AM
I've seen most everything for the first time through the eyes of my human paladin (now level 77), and my favorites are Stranglethorn Vale, Westfall, The Shimmering Flats, Nagrand, Grizzly Hills and Howling Fjord. My main is as much a spelunker as he is a paladin; always looking for some out-of-the-way place to crawl, hop, or fall into.
My only toon I rolled before my pally was a tauren hunter (who I still play occasionally), who introduced me to my all-time favorite zone: Mulgore. I love Mulgore. But around level 11 I had to leave Mulgore, and the next stop was... yeah. The Barrens isn't a bad place, to me (I like fields, prairies, and deserts, personally), just way too big. One place I hated was Durotar. That was a nightmarish zone to me, and I've never gotten a troll or orc high enough to leave there because of it.
However, my first trip into Duskwood, with the Night Watch on the lookout for a certain something was an eerie sensation that I'll always remember. Good o'l Duskwood.
Gristor Apr 17th 2009 10:12AM
In the good old days when I started playing n (and I still didn't know how it all worked) I looked at Duskwood's riverside from Elwyn's and thougth... That dark forest might be full of Horde enemies ready to attack us at any moment... I had never seen a hordie yet and the feeling was the same as when I played pen & paper RPGs... Great.
Briggs Apr 17th 2009 8:47AM
Favorite places to visit?
I always make a point of dropping by the hut of Chel the Baby Eater, I mean.. Chel the Orphan Matron. It's in the northerns mountains of Nagrand, west of the Elemental Plateau. There's a Troll woman (CANNIBALS) who has a whole bunch of babies from different races there. If you look closely, you'll find baby sized bones in pots and cages around the area.
Before it was blocked off, the Room of the Upside Down Sinners was awesome. It was hidden in the crypt behind Karazhan. It was a room with dozens of corpses chained to the floor and floating underwater.
I'll also never forget the first time I made it to the Ironforge Airport. It was awesome to sit up there and watch the little battle between the trolls and dwarves.
The campsite above the waterfall between Burning Steppes and Elwynn Forest is also a great place to hang out when you're looking for something relaxing. Or if you want a LOT of Peacebloom. The little school of fish up there for some reason drops Peacebloom when you fish from it.
I also remember the first time I walked through the Dark Portal during the TBC beta. I remember just being awestruck by the sky in Hellfire and took probably thirty screenshots just of that sky.
Similarly, the first time I walked into Nagrand I was sold. That, I decided, would be where my character would retire to should she ever decide to hang up her gun and quit the adventuring life.
sidusnare Apr 17th 2009 8:48AM
I am a mage as well, from the start it was all about the exploring.
Even at the incredible noob stage, I ran from SW to IF, dieing a lot, not knowing about the deeprun tram, but I probably would have run it anyway to see what was in between. You get some strange reactions at lvl10 in the burning steppes.
I've been behind SW and seen the lone house with a dock, before someone put a harbour there (actually that might still be there, its far enough north, anyone know?). The IF peak with its memorial and the IF airport was fun. Teldrassil base jumping was always fun, Look ma! No slow fall! Athstetically Nagrand is my favourite zone.
One of the first things I did when 3.1 hit was get a guildie to group with me so I could run into Ulduar and see what I could see.
I have yet to get under IF or see "developers island" but I have a feeling that takes breaking a few rules that I don't care to break.
Kendras Apr 17th 2009 8:56AM
And the dock north of SW is still there, it has a Booty Bay vendor there with two body guards. I jumped under SW once and ended up running to him by accident. (Patch 3.0)
Kendras Apr 17th 2009 8:54AM
Always loved taking a bunch of guildies up Mount Ironforge and onto the top of The Gates of Ironforge, mind you, we were playing Horde, so it was fun when we got to the airport. From there we generally threw ourselves off using varieties of Slow Fall and had a good time as the Alliance who saw us chased us to Karanos.
Namy Apr 17th 2009 7:49PM
I was really impressed the first time I went into the Caverns of Time with all those people frozen in history. That was a fun place to explore.
I quite liked discovering the spooky old village of Darkshire. It was so creepy after the bright sun and farms of Westafall. Then wandering down the road and ending up in the colourful jungles of Stranglethorn Vale! Very unexpected :)
Swurds Apr 17th 2009 8:56AM
My first dungeon at level 10 was Deadmines. it started out as a cave, the went deeper and deeper. Thieves, Sorcerers, Goblins, Ogres impeded my groups path.... then came the oncoming horde of Pirates in the hidden cove.
Yes... I thought I was in a cooler version of the Goonies. And no Dungeon or place has ever facsinated me as much as that place.
Wulfkin Apr 17th 2009 8:57AM
I personally *love* the barrens. Something about it really clicked with me both times I rolled an Orc character. Its something about the music and the wide open plains, and the real feeling that you are a newcomer trying to make his way in untamed land. For my Shaman, this was the perfect environment to get in touch with nature and the earth.
Hiwa Apr 17th 2009 9:03AM
There's a little hidden grove in Duskwood behind that tower where the mage is. It's lovely and secluded and a perfect spot for skinny dipping :D
And oh yes, how well I remember the gauntlet of death running from Menethil to IF when I was a lvl 16 rogue. Every crocolisk in a 10 mile radius smelled noobie blood and was waiting by the side of the road for me.
Arcticwolf Apr 17th 2009 9:00AM
The floating "islands" at the southern end of Nagrand were my favourite place in TBC. As soon as I got flying I was all through there exploring, finding places to hide amongst the scattered trees... somewhere to relax.
Still looking for that special somewhere in Wrath. Any floating islands (excepting Dalaran) that I can vege out on?
daxaar Apr 17th 2009 9:05AM
I remember fondly taking my first toon (lvl 10ish Gnome mage) on the tram from IF to SW. I'd only been playing the game a week or so and distinctly remember that weird feeling of being too far from home. Sounds pathetic but for me I think that's what got me initially hooked.
The other exploration high points for me were the nice feeling of finishing up Azeroth in Winterspring before heading into Outland. Winterspring gave me this feeling of having gone full circle from Dun Morogh.
And finally, having been a late comer to the game (started 18 months ago) finally reaching this "fabled" city of Shattrath I'd heard so much about and hearing that soothing tune of A'dal.
I could go on but think I've bored you all enough already :-)
Chares Apr 17th 2009 9:12AM
Alot of nice responses from places but Im surprised that no one has mentioned the beauty of the second half of Maraduan.
So there you are going through a bog standard dungeon, through long dark corridors and open caves when suddenly......giant waterfalls, bright sun and a glorious jump down into the lake below! I was amazed when I first saw its beauty and was followed up with a nice sceny with the princess, with the water pouring down the walls.
One amazing exploration moment!
Myria Apr 17th 2009 9:11AM
http://www.pinktoque.com/2006/09/wow-easter-egg-explorations/
The only thing I'd add to that is the Orphanage (or food resource, depending on your guess as to what's going on) in the mountains of Nagrand and the seemingly out-of-place boat on a rock floating on the edge of Netherstorm.
thisrabbit Apr 17th 2009 9:16AM
around lvl 30-something i wasn't aware that there were places you could get to that you weren't allowed to. i only knew at that point that there were these neat places that you could see from FP gryphons that i wanted to see from the ground. & i also figured that since they were hard to get to, there must be Something Special there, right? well, the views have definitely been Something Special - from IF Airport, to the Troll Bowl (btwn Moonglade & Felwood/Winterspring), to the little campsite in Azshara. & i love just finding the little hidden places - the exploration is so much of my love for the game.
Kiltreiser Apr 17th 2009 9:14AM
My fave remains Stranglethorn Vale, although I still refer to it as 'Nam to this day. It was truly wild and the first zone that presented a proper challenge since I took my first toon there a few levels too early :)
Great quests and an immersive atmosphere, especially when you get a monsoon...
Saphix Apr 17th 2009 9:16AM
Well I've seen alot of nice things, but what I really like is how the caverns of time looked pre-bc. It was really an amazing sight and blew me away, the huge hour glass in the middle and all the colors.
Another of those nice places has to be the Dancing Troll village or above the waterfall at Northshire Abbey. And the most amazing I've seen is with chaining Eagle Eye, is atop of Mount Hyjal, Archimonde's skeleton hanging at the World Tree.