WoW Insider

Yes, the tentacles actually wiggle!

Inside this home in Surwich, which is next to the blacksmith, a bed and hanging laundry are visible on one wall.

Maurice Essman seems to be lacking his hammer; but that won't stop Maurice Essman.

A wanderer, she comes into Surwich to look around.

Notice the floating barrels (undoubtedly a beta bug).

A resident of Surwich.

This foot bridge leads towards Surwich.

In the Tainted Forest, the eyes of the animals periodically spout green... fire?

Parts of the Tainted Forest are quite swampy.

There is a set of four paralyzed ents forming a sort of arch - a trellis, in a way - over a clearing.

These form a shock of color in an otherwise dark and spooky landscape.

Inside the giant tree, there is evil being done.

Below Maldraz, sections of the swampy forest are shrouded in mist.

When viewed from the redder landscapes in the Blasted Lands, the Tainted Forest takes on different hues.

The Sunveil Excursion is a Horde outpost located in the mountains overlooking the Red Reaches and the Tainted Forest.

Janella is the food and drink vendor for the Sunveil Excursion.

Trade goods vendor.

Shattershore runs along the coast in an area that, pre-Cataclysm, just appears as mountains on the map. A whole fleet of ships seems to have shipwrecked here, and the ghosts of the Gilnean settlers and sailors still wander about, trying to repair their vessels.

This male worgen has a strange cube over his head; that's what you get in a beta!

Because she is a ghost, it was difficult to photograph her features, but in this shot, you can just make them out.

When you kill the ghost of a Gilnean settler, he or she is set free, no longer doomed to wander the shore in worgen form.

This looks like the site of a ritual summoning gone terribly wrong. It can be found on the highest peak flanking the Dark Portal.

The mountain range is almost completely undeveloped. Could Blizzard have bigger and better things planned for it?

The Murlocs are being driven by the naga in long lines that stretch across the reaches in multiple directions.

At the Bloodwash Fighting Pits, the naga are forcing Rockpool murlocs to fight.

Although you can't see how densely packed the line-ups are from this distance, you can begin to get a feel for what the slave drivers are demanding.

This flat section bridges the Tainted Forest, Blasted Lands, with Stranglethorn Veil. Unfortunately, it's a no-mount zone, flying or ground. The beta seems to be littered with little areas where you can go, but which don't seem to support mounting. I don't recommend flying too high while you explore fringe spaces!

Here you can see how the differing terrains in the Tainted Forest, the Tainted Scar, and the rest of the Blasted Lands blend (or don't).

Although the map says "Tainted Scar" for the south westerly region, the majority of it is actually called the "Tainted Forest." In fact, if you look closely at the map, you'll notice that the fonts differ between the two regions. It is possible that Blizzard hasn't finished revamping the map in the new style. Beware! In the beta, at least, the unexplored-looking coast in the south west currently will not allow you to be mounted, even on a ground mount. If you go a-wanderin', do it on foot - or at least, don't fly too high!