The Warriors Den - made of iron

                                               

Wrath of the Lich King

 

from : Games for windows Magazine, WOWWIKI

 

Zones

 

As of today, Northrend is divided into 10 zones ( boundaries and levels may change).

Unlike Outland, no Dark portal will open to port you to Northrend. Players leve; 68 and above can just take a boat and sail north to the new land.

You will enter through howling Fjord in the eastern bay or Borean tundra on the western point and then fight your way in.

- Howling Fjord : level 68 - 72

- Borean Tundra : level 68 - 72

- The dragonflight : level 71 - 75

- Zul'Drak : level  73 - 76

- Grizzly Hills : level 74 - 76

- Azjol-Nerub : level 74 - 78

- Sholazar Baslin : level 75 - 78

- The Storm Peaks ; level 77 - 80

- Icecrown Glacier : level 77 - 80

- Lake Wintergrasp : Outdoor PVP

 

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Western zone

 

Borean Tundra

This zone is filled with snow from seashore to its most inland borders. The Naga devised a scheme to to melt all of the snow and ice into water, so half of the zone is iced over, while the other half consists of semicircular pools of melt water.

The main inhabitants are a race of walrus-like people called the Tuskarr-a nomadic, tribal folk whose homes and structures, which often resembles fish or whales, to giant tusk-like sliders so they can move their villages wherever nd whenever they need to. This zone will also host a giant horde citadel, and the largest in Northrend, which has no name yet. It will also host the most magical spot in all of Azeroth : The Nexus.

                                        The coast of Borean Tundra

Western Instance : The Nexus

This is a winged instance that will contain a beginner dungeon wing and a higher-end dungeon wing, and a raid wing. The Nexus is an instance hub that is the ancient home of the Blue dragonflight, keepers of the world's magic.

According to Blizzard's vice-president of creative development Chris Metzen " After all these years Malygos (long-slumbering leader of the blue dragonflight) sees magic out of control across the globe; so Malygos and his followers will declaire war on magic - if you practice magic you've gotta go." 

 

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Eastern Zone

 

Howling Fjord

 

If you don't want to see snow the moment you set foot on Nerthrend, you might want to set sail to Valgarde, ons of the starting points in Howling Bjord.

here norse themes dominate: Metal-wrought structures shaped liked Vikings warships looking over the newly built Alliance settlements ( expect to see new building models for old standbys like inns), and a 15 foot tall protodragon riding barbarians called the Vrykul.

The Vrykul are only recently starting to appear to the other races of the continent, although they are one of its oldest inhabitants. Says metzen : " they are ill-tempered to the extreme, no one knows what to make of these guys but they're megapower."

With WotLK, Blizzard plans on incorporating more of what they call "micros" - dungeon-like underground areas that aren't instanced but play like a traditional dungeon crawl. one such micro is Gjalerbron, in which you find Brykul working side-by-side with Liches- meaning the Vrykul will not easily be swayed to your side. 

                                                    Howling Fjord dock

 

Eastern instance : Utgrade

It is the equivalent of the Nexus and it is owned an operated by the Vrykul. It serves as a hub for Howling Fjord instance dungeons and raids.

The first dungeon, the 3 - boss Utgrade Keep, is comparable to Ramparts in both look and length.

In WotLK, Blizzard will continue its tradition in adding memorable moments in instances; one such moment is in Utgrade keep. There is a giant flame-spweing skull forge, step in the flame and you will die, kill the Vrykul workers operating the bellows and the flames die down, allowing you and your party to pass. There maybe a "gauntlet run" also just like the one in Shattered Halls.

While the Crykul-allied Lich King hordes don't play a big part in UK trash pull, they are apparent in boss fights : one boss is a Lich, another is Vrykul who summons scourge slaves to do his dirty work.

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Outdoor PVP

 

Lake Wintergrasp :

This is a completely optional zone and the first ever outdoor PVP zone. It is the center of Alliance-VS-Horde combat in the middle of the continent. It is a noninstanced battleground with siege weapons and destructible buildings.

Apparently, Blizzard is building different siege weapons for different races ( Meat wagons, Steam tanks, ......) which are supposed to have different game mechanics. these weapons are not intended to move at a high speed so you cant not use them in place of a mount.

Completing a certain objective will have a far reaching world effect, for example, capture a specific point and your faction will receive a long-lasting buff that provides a worthwhile benefit ( like Auchindoun's spirit tower).