With the newest World of Warcraft
expansion, Warlords of Draenor, announced at BlizzCon 2013, we found
out that we would be going back to Outland. Sort of. Draenor is the
Outlands of the past, before the Burning Legion came along and things
kind of went to hell. Hard to imagine right? Apparently, Blizzard
thought so too, so they gave us our first glimpse of Draenor at
BlizzCon 2013.

Draenor

As mentioned above Draenor is Outlands,
but in the past. This world is still whole and functional, nothing
like the mess we see in Outlands today. Draenor is the homeland of
the Orcs and the heart of the old Draenei civilization. Draenor is a
beautiful land, but brutal and full of nasty giants and ferocious
ogres.

Draenor will host a total of seven
zones (at least to start). Take a look at the map of Draenor below:

alt="Draenor Map" />

Even though Draenor is a far cry from
Outlands, the continent still has the same feel. That is to say, even
though Outlands was pretty wrecked, when Blizzard put it back
together they tried to use the same puzzle pieces. See it for
yourself:

alt="Draenor and Outland" />

Draenor – Zones

Draenor is comprised of seven
individual zones that all have their own distinct individual feel.
According to the BlizzCon panel, each zone in Draenor will give you
something to remember it by. After seeing them for ourselves, we
fully agree.

Shadowmoon Valley

The Shadowmoon Valley of the past is
nothing like the hellish landscape we know now. The sky is not green
and no infernals rain down upon you. In fact this place is simply
magnificent. Eternally shrouded in moonlight, Shadowmoon Valley
houses Karabor, or as you may know it, the Black Temple. Except
Illidan has not taken up residence here yet, instead Karabor is a
Draenei holy temple and the major city hub for the Alliance in this
world. Also residing here are the shamanistic Shadowmoon clan. This
orc clan is lead by the nefarious Ner'zhul, who will one day become
the very first Lich King.

alt="Old Shadowmoon Valley" />

Nagrand

We didn't get to see Nagrand at the
panel, but we were told that this zone is the least changed. That
means that the Nagrand you know in Outland will pretty much look like
the one you see in Draenor. The only major change mentioned is that
the floating landmasses are gone. Nagrand is the home of the Warsong
Clan. As you may know, this clan is lead by Grommash Hellscream,
Garrosh's father. At the very least we can say that there is sure to
be some crazy family dynamics going on here.

Gorgrond

Gorgrond is located in northern Draenor
and is close to where the Blade's Edge Mountains are in modern
Outland. Filled with giant steam vents, Gorgrond appears to be mostly
desert. The major Orc clan in Gorfrond is the Blackrock clan, lead by
Blackhand. Blacksmiths at heart, this clan creates all the nasty
killing machines for the Iron Horde and are currently trying to
harness the power of the natural steam vents for likely nefarious
purposes.

alt="Gorgrond" />

Spires of Arak

Another zone that we didn't get a peak
at in the panel and probably one of the least talked about zones.
However, we do know that the Spires of Arak are the home territory of
the Arakkoa. Except these bird men are not cursed by evil yet, so we
are not sure what we should expect from these intelligent bird-men.
Also residing here is the Shattered Hand clan. Lead by the infamous
Kargath Bladefist, the mark of this clan is to cut off one hand and
replace it with a weapon or a tool. A nasty bunch indeed.

Talador

Talador stands in what will eventually
become Terrokar Forest. Here players will find the home and heart of
the Draenei civilization. The best part, this civilization is at it's
height, therefore we will get a chance to see Draenei history,
architecture, and much more as we never have before. Shattrath is of
course still around, but it is much larger and sitting on the edge of
a sea, which will eventually become part of Zangarmarsh. A teaming
Draenei port city, Shattrath is nothing like the ruins we know now.

Also found here is Auchindoun. While
still a dungeon in Warlords of Draenor, Auchindoun is not a cursed
place. Instead, it is a Draenei holy temple that all Draenei hope to
go to when they die.

alt="Taldor" />

Tanaan Peninsula

Tanaan Peninsula is the zone that will
eventually evolve into the zone of Hellfire Peninsula that we see in
Outlands today. While we didn't get to see this zone, we were told a
bit about it and things here are very different in the past. Instead
of a barren landscape, Tanaan is a lush, monstrous jungle. Residing
here are the Bleeding Hallow Clan lead by none other than Kilrogg
Deadeye.

Frostfire Ridge

The final zone that we were provided
with information about at the BlizzCon panel was Frostfire Ridge.
Frostfire Ridge hosts the Ogre empire, which was once the leading
empire on Draenor, but is now on the decline. Also found here are the
Frostwolf Clan, lead by Durotan (Thrall's father), who are at war
with the Thunderlord Clan who are planning to join up with the Iron
Horde.

This zone was the first zone in the expansion
created and was originally a purple desert. After many
people commenting on the purple “snow” and questions about why
the Frostwolf Clan would live in a desert, Frostfire Ridge became
snow-covered wastes with towering active volcanoes. This zone will
play a major part of the Horde experience on Draenor as they will
liberate the Bladespire Citadel, an Ogre stronghold, and use it as
their major city hub.

alt="Frostfire Ridge" />

That wraps up what we know about the
Draenor and it's zones for now. Remember nothing is set in stone and
any of this information may change as time goes on. Which of these
zones is your favorite? How do you feel about Draenor being the next
destination in World of Warcraft? Share your thoughts with us in the
comments section below!