5 creepy Outland locations for roleplaying evil misdeeds
by Anne Stickney 
Jan 21st 2012 at 2:00PM
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. In World of Warcraft, that player is you! Each week, Anne Stickney brings you All the World's a Stage with helpful hints, tips and tricks on the art of roleplay in WoW.
It is really odd to see videos of the "old" Outland -- but keep in mind, this wasn't really Outland at all. It was a development area that wasn't accessible to players, and people managed to glitch their way into it. What's really weird about these areas is that despite their age, you can see areas that look hauntingly similar to what we got with The Burning Crusade's release.
Speaking of Outland, it was once known as Draenor, whole and complete just like Azeroth, but the land was shattered due to Ner'zhul's attempts to open dimensional portals across the land. However, Draenor was a dark place even before that moment, home to betrayal, manipulation, treachery. Needless to say, Outland is teeming with raw, evil energy -- and perfect for a villain looking for somewhere to siphon all the power he could ever desire.
It is really odd to see videos of the "old" Outland -- but keep in mind, this wasn't really Outland at all. It was a development area that wasn't accessible to players, and people managed to glitch their way into it. What's really weird about these areas is that despite their age, you can see areas that look hauntingly similar to what we got with The Burning Crusade's release.
Speaking of Outland, it was once known as Draenor, whole and complete just like Azeroth, but the land was shattered due to Ner'zhul's attempts to open dimensional portals across the land. However, Draenor was a dark place even before that moment, home to betrayal, manipulation, treachery. Needless to say, Outland is teeming with raw, evil energy -- and perfect for a villain looking for somewhere to siphon all the power he could ever desire.
Because these areas are for evil deeds, all are surrounded by evil mobs. While most mobs will happily ignore level 85 players, low-level players may find a less than pleasant reception. That said, it would be highly recommended that low-level villains stick to finding some crazy, evil places in Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms, rather than trying to find a spot in Outland.
Hidden within the northeastern corner of Blade's Edge is the altar known as Vim'gol's Circle, a place of hidden power and the home of the ogre Vim'gol the Vile. Vim'gol trained one of several
monstrous gronn that still walk the paths of Blade's Edge, and his grimoire is required as part of a quest. Because this is a quest location, you may occasionally see a random leveling player looking to summon and kill Vim'gol the Vile, but otherwise, your evil villains should be able to perform whatever dark rituals they'd like without interruption.Located at coordinates 78,29 in Blade's Edge, this location is tucked into a corner, just off the road from Blade's Edge into Netherstorm. It features a suitably dark and fiery ritual circle as well as an altar -- and being the home of Vim'gol the Vile, it's a suitable place of power for any dark activities. However, you'll want to be careful if you're roleplaying here; the flame circles around the main ritual circle will summon Vim'gol to life if your player stands in them. Originally, it took five players (one for each circle), but these days, you only need to stand in one of these flame circles to summon Vim'gol for questing. It's convenient for questing, but if you just want to use this location for performing some evil deeds ... not so much (although it would definitely offer a nasty surprise to anyone who tried to foil your plans!).
4. Soulgrinder's Barrow
There's another spot in Blade's Edge ripe for villainous misdeeds as well. Remember Vim'gol and how he trained one of the gronn? This is the home of that gronn, Skulloc Soulgrinder. Skulloc is 
nowhere to be seen, however, and he won't be seen unless someone on the quest happens by to summon him. You cannot summon Skulloc without performing a ritual and killing a lot of ghosts, so you don't have to worry about your villain inadvertently making Skulloc appear. Skulloc is monstrously powerful in his own right, and the altar of the Soulgrinder is a great place to mess around with dark and evil rituals and misdeeds.
Located at coordinates 59,23 in Blade's Edge, the Soulgrinder's Barrow is smack in the middle of a lot of ogre activity. None of them actively patrol the Barrow itself, however. And if you're in the mood to do a little questing, you can make sure none of them pester you by completing the chain of quests that involve killing Vim'gol and Skulloc. At the end of the chain, all ogres in Blade's Edge will go neutral. In order to do this, talk to the ogre Grok in Shattrath City -- he'll give you a quest that will start the chain.
nowhere to be seen, however, and he won't be seen unless someone on the quest happens by to summon him. You cannot summon Skulloc without performing a ritual and killing a lot of ghosts, so you don't have to worry about your villain inadvertently making Skulloc appear. Skulloc is monstrously powerful in his own right, and the altar of the Soulgrinder is a great place to mess around with dark and evil rituals and misdeeds.Located at coordinates 59,23 in Blade's Edge, the Soulgrinder's Barrow is smack in the middle of a lot of ogre activity. None of them actively patrol the Barrow itself, however. And if you're in the mood to do a little questing, you can make sure none of them pester you by completing the chain of quests that involve killing Vim'gol and Skulloc. At the end of the chain, all ogres in Blade's Edge will go neutral. In order to do this, talk to the ogre Grok in Shattrath City -- he'll give you a quest that will start the chain.
3. Twilight Ridge
Nagrand may feature some exquisite scenery, but it's also the home to one of the most evil locations in Outland. The Twilight Ridge contains one of four different portals used once upon a time by Magtheridon to pull in demons from the Twisting Nether that he could then
control. The portal itself is no longer functional -- likely the destruction of Draenor had quite a bit to do with that -- but there's a ton of cultists swarming this area who are trying to channel power back into the defunct portal, likely to bring more of the Burning Legion swarming through it.Sounds pretty nasty, right? Well, there's more to it than just that. On a series of floating islands that have broken away from the mainland are statues that look just like the ones that border the original Dark Portal. You can see one of the statues above, but you can't really get a good judgment of its size until you fly out there and take a look for yourself. They are absolutely huge -- and the eyes blazing in the darkened stone hoods give these statues and this location a sense of impending doom like none other. If there were ever an out-of-the-way place for an evil ritual, this is totally it.
Located at coordinates 8,45 in Nagrand, the Twilight Ridge requires a flying mount to get to. While the defunct portal and the areas around it are swarming with cultists, the islands and the statues have no NPCs or mobs, so your evil character has no potential interruptions to worry about.
2. Terokk's Rest
Would your villain character like to try his hand at harnessing the power of a god? This location may be right up his alley. Located high above the rest of Terokkar Forest, the city of Skettis is 
the home of the Arakkoa, a race of humanoid birds that are completely native to Outland. Terokk is their god, and he is said to have built the city of Skettis with his own claws. Unfortunately, Terokk is not a benevolent god, and much like Hakkar over in Azeroth, Terokk had his priests routinely sacrifice the lowly members of the arakkoa to dark powers. Terokk's legacy continues on today, and while you may find a friendly arakkoa or two wandering Outland, most are hostile to both Alliance and Horde and busy continuing Terokk's legacy of evil.
Terrokk's Rest is located on an island in the center of Skettis, and this area is a quest location for those who are working on the quest to summon and then defeat Terokk himself. However, there aren't many players working on this content these days, so you shouldn't have to contend with Terokk's spirit suddenly showing up. The arakkoa on the island rarely patrol into the summoning circle, so you shouldn't have to worry about hostile mobs.
Located at coordinates 65,78 in Terokkar Forest, this location is only accessible by flying mount. You'll want to watch it while you're flying in -- there are plenty of giant kairi birds flying around, and they will aggro on flying players.
the home of the Arakkoa, a race of humanoid birds that are completely native to Outland. Terokk is their god, and he is said to have built the city of Skettis with his own claws. Unfortunately, Terokk is not a benevolent god, and much like Hakkar over in Azeroth, Terokk had his priests routinely sacrifice the lowly members of the arakkoa to dark powers. Terokk's legacy continues on today, and while you may find a friendly arakkoa or two wandering Outland, most are hostile to both Alliance and Horde and busy continuing Terokk's legacy of evil.Terrokk's Rest is located on an island in the center of Skettis, and this area is a quest location for those who are working on the quest to summon and then defeat Terokk himself. However, there aren't many players working on this content these days, so you shouldn't have to contend with Terokk's spirit suddenly showing up. The arakkoa on the island rarely patrol into the summoning circle, so you shouldn't have to worry about hostile mobs.
Located at coordinates 65,78 in Terokkar Forest, this location is only accessible by flying mount. You'll want to watch it while you're flying in -- there are plenty of giant kairi birds flying around, and they will aggro on flying players.
This is where it all began -- the site upon which Gul'dan sealed the fate of the orcs and cut off all ties to the elements of the world. The Altar of Damnation rests at the base of the Hand of Gul'dan, the massive volcano smack in the center of Shadowmoon Valley. It was at this location that Gul'dan severed the connection between orc and elemental; it was at this location that he caused the very world to rip apart. The Hand of Gul'dan is a direct result of this dark ritual, and players who venture to this location can still see the spirit of Gul'dan as well as the ghosts of orcs from days past, damned to eternally lament their downfall.
That said, short of the Dark Portal itself, this location is one of the biggest sources of raw power in Outland, and it's ripe for your villain's taking. Forget Terokk -- here is where your villain could potentially harness the spirit and power of Gul'dan himself. This is a quest location, but as with other Outland locations, you will rarely find players questing in this area. There are two quest NPCs located just outside the Altar itself, but they don't travel inside -- and hey, while you're there, if you want to pick up the starting quest and check out the story for yourself, it's one hell of a quest line, one of the best ones from The Burning Crusade.
Located at coordinates 42,45 in Shadowmoon Valley, this location is accessible by land or air; simply head west from Terokkar Forest to find it. You can't miss it -- it's at the base of the giant volcano that dominates the zone. The area is surrounded by various hostile mobs, but they will ignore higher-level players. If it's power your villain is after, there is likely more latent power in this location than his evil little heart ever dreamed of possessing, making it an ideal location for villainous misdeeds.
There are plenty more altars scattered here and there around Outland; these are simply five that are readily available for roleplayer use. Outland may be breaktakingly beautiful, but its past is one filled with strife, terror, betrayal and destruction -- and a lot of locations reflect that. For a roleplaying villain, Outland is ripe with opportunity and perfect for those intent on preying on the remnants of the shattered world and leeching away that which was left behind years ago, in dark ages past.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
StabinOfTB Jan 21st 2012 2:07PM
I think that the area in Hellfire, north central... with the swamps and the goo. THere is that circle with pillars and the large demon corpse. That would be a terrific spot too. Frankly, much of outland is creepy with great spots for such role playing. Even Nagrand, with its beauty, is creepy when you open up the ghosts wandering the zone.
Imnick Jan 21st 2012 2:28PM
While the pools of aggonar have a nice atmosphere, they're a bit choked with mobs for easy access
AltairDusk Jan 21st 2012 2:25PM
The area shown at the end was actually accessible on live servers in vanilla. If you were a mage you could enter deadmines then turn around and blink through the portal without zoning out.
On the instance sever the tunnel would simply come out in the side of a cliff. After a long fall into water and some swimming there was a flat white plane that seemed to go on forever. A long enough ride in the right direction and you would arrive in the spot shown with the floating rocks and trees.
It wasn't very big but it was very cool to see at the time. I'm not sure if any other classes were able to get there. I always called it my secret mage hideout.
AltairDusk Jan 21st 2012 2:30PM
Just to clarify now that I'm rereading what I wrote. I'm talking about the area at the end of the video, not the end of the article.
Andrew Jan 21st 2012 2:46PM
It was actually still accessible to all classes in Wrath, and may still be there (I haven't tried recently). The trick was to hop onto the pipe directly across from the instance portal, run into the smallest corner of the wall on there you could, then use a potion of giant growth while jumping, which would displace you through the wall. Then you had to slow fall or use some ability to slow your descent, mount up and run-leap forward to get enough forward momentum to hit the water instead of falling to your death in nothingness.
icepyro Jan 21st 2012 3:31PM
Speaking of how few players are in the area outside of rp purposes, I would just like to say that as a Wrath baby, I've never done any quests that involved any of these locations. I've only seen them working on my exploration and even then didn't really look. "Oh, finally found that one spot missing from the achieve. Cool, time to fly on."
Micah Jan 21st 2012 3:35PM
I personally find the orphanage in the mountains between Nagrand and Zangarmarsh to be far creepier and way more sinister than all those others. It's the subtlety of the creepyness - the weird eyed children, the doghouse with no dog (but a pile of "mystery meat" inside the doghouse), the baby sitting inside the house that may or may not be the soulless spawn of Sargeras. It's the whole package.
Drakkenfyre Jan 22nd 2012 11:44AM
The reason it looks like Outland is because it WAS supposed to be Outland.
When the game was in development, Outland was supposed to be included. It's actually on an island out in the middle of the ocean, separated by a ton of water and blank land to appear to be a separate world.
It was decided to expand on it, and make it it's own expansion, so development on it in vanilla was dropped.
lukenio Jan 22nd 2012 2:15PM
Indeed. Hellfire Peninsula was supposed to be an endgame, level 58-60 zone in classic WoW that continued the steps of Warcraft 3 (Kael'thas, Illidan and Vashj invading it). To reach it, you most likely had to walk through the Dark Portal.
It's a very cool zone and had a very similar skybox to the current one in Hellfire (except it was of less quality than now -it was a crimson skyline with a red sun and above it a green, misty line that went across the skyline; you can see this in WoW Model Viewer), and it wasn't floating in the nether, it had water! Like the old Draenor before it got shattered.
In fact, the Pools of Aggonar that you can see in the video originated in this old Outland, and then took it for the new Hellfire in the Burning Crusade. Sadly, since it was in the middle of development, you can't see any Hellfire Citadel or anything; it's just bland red terrain where it's stupposed to be.
The zone resembled the Warcraft 3 Hellfire Peninsula much more than now, it was more red with crimson fog in the sky, less dark, the floating rocks actually had the same models used in Warcraft 3. The draenic huts you see, for example, in Nagrand or Zangarmarsh, were used here too. There were a few doodads like black rocks with red stripes going upward that thrust up from the ground that can be seen in concept art for Hellfire.
The blade throwers for orcs and the huge tanks with tires and cannons for humans were there too since the beginning! These models, therefore, date from 2002-2003, and were reused when they decided to scrap this old Hellfire for bigger plans -The Burning Crusade!-
In short, it resembled the Warcraft 3 outland a lot more than now. And there were no signs of Illidan or Kael in there, it was all the Alliance Expedition remains (what would now be Honor Hold) and an orcish outpost that, in my opinion, looked more demonic than the Thrallmar of today.
Glyphstone Jan 23rd 2012 9:45AM
Since it didn't make the list (though the Altar did), Shadowmoon Valley also has that group of Arakkoa spirits in the south summoning the baby Old God or whatever it is. That'd make a good backdrop for evil plotting too, if you don't mind a bit of ghostbusting every now and then.