Azshara,
once a foreboding land of wildness, Naga, and other such
nasties has been literally transformed thanks to the events of
Cataclysm. The Goblin race (at least a portion of them) have joined the
Horde, however the new Warcheif Garrosh is less than thrilled with the
addition of any members that are not Orcs. Because of
Thrall’s influence Garrosh is forced to accept the Goblins
however he does so on his terms, by forcing them to do hard labor and
all but exiling them to Azshara.
The Goblins being the industrious race that they are, have made the
best of things. Instead of letting the wilderness defeat them, they
have instead started forging the landscape into a Goblin’s
paradise. Along with the physical changes to the zone came a change to
the level the zone is appropriate for. Instead of a zone designed for
players 45-50 the zone now welcomes players of levels 15-20.
The Bay of Storms is a perfect example of this, where a large island
has risen from the water here due to the changing sea levels
in Cataclysm. The Goblins have made the best of this by
erecting a full- fledged port named Bligewater Harbor, not only to
defend against any attacks from the sea, but also to better allow them
to launch an attack on the Naga that stubbornly remain on The Shattered
Strand. Places like Scalebeard’s Cave and Hetaera’s
Clutch and most other small islands in the Bay are underwater. A flight
path has also been added here.
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The Shattered Strand, as mentioned above, is under seige. Once firmly
under the control of the Naga, Goblin led forces have the beach under
constant fire. The Naga are not making it easy though, as they have
erected their own defenses along the beach.
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While the Naga still stand firm on the beach point it’s clear
from the scene inside the Ruins of Eldarath that things are perhaps
more dire than the Naga would like to admit. Naga numbers here have
greatly fallen and in a last ditch effort, the Naga have enslaved
giants to fend off the invading Goblins.
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On the outskirts of the Ruins it becomes obvious as to why no Naga
reinforcements have come. Here the Goblins have laid huge mine fields
preventing passage to all unless they want to meet a rather unfortunate
end. The Naga have found a solution to this problem however, and have
decided to use their unwilling giant companions to clear out the mine
fields.
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Moving out of the Ruins players will be greeted by a rather unusual
sight. The Goblins have changed Azshara’s landscape just a
tad, as such players leaving the Ruins of Eldarath instead of being
faced with large numbers of trees, more Naga, and deserted buildings
will instead find the landscape has been leveled and cleared out.
However, this is not the unusual sight that I spoke of. Players will
find that a mountain of sorts has sprung out of the landscape. Be this
mountain Goblin made or an effect of Cataclysm no one can say, however
the Goblins have made the best of it and thrown in their usual touch
for extravagance by erected a Goblin like version of Mount Rushmore for
all the world to see.
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Here players will also get their first glimpse of the new Goblin
roadway that has been installed in Azshara. This roadway runs all
across the zone making various stops along the way to aid those players
lacking in the mount department. Be warned though, as this is a Goblin
invention, sometimes things don’t always go as planned.
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At the top of the newly erected Mountain players will find the new home
of Prince Gallywix, one of the main players in the new Goblin
storyline. Gallywix has certainly done well for himself as his new home
includes a swimming pool, posh Goblin mansion, golf course, and enough
rocket racers to suit any Goblin’s fancy. The name of the
place even screams luxury being called; Gallwix Pleasure Palace.
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Despite the Goblins’ presence and the appearance of the new
mountain Valormok, the Horde base in the zone, has somehow survived
although it appears it has been pushed back more towards the border of
Ashenvale and the river between the two zones. The small base has
expanded a tiny bit, and several new NPCs now make it their home. The
Goblins have obviously had a hand in here though, as a large cart of
explosives sits dangerously close to the fire. Honestly how they
haven’t managed to blow the place up yet it beyond me.
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To the west of Valormok battles between Orc and Night Elves have sprung
up all over the landscape. Thanks to the movement of Valormok it now
sits dangerously close to the Night Elf base of Talrendis Point and as
such it seems the Night Elves and Orcs have decided to run each other
off the land..
To accommodate the need of the Night Elves Talrendis Point has grown,
new buildings have sprung up, and Night Elf war machines stand at the
ready.
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To the south of Talrendis Point use to be Shadowsong Shrine. Once
filled with ghosts and deserted buildings the only thing left of this
place is the name. The Night Elves have cleared the area and a new
Night Elf tower has been erected and seige engines now dot the tops of
the hills.
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East of this place the landscape has also been changed and the
mountainous region called the Forlorn Ridge has been dismantled. Here
the Goblins have opened a huge strip mine named Mountainfoot Strip Mine
probably after the majestic mountains that once stood here.
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Not everyone is happy about the new strip mine marring the land. Night
Elf forces have infiltrated and all but taken over the mines putting
work at a standstill.
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Adding to the destruction of the Forlorn Ridge and all that once stood
there, a new entrance into the zone directly from Orgrimmar has been
opened, most likely to speed the progress of the Goblins out of the
city. Garrosh, of course, wouldn’t want them to remain in his
proud city any longer than necessary.
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Lake Mennar, once filled with blue dragon kin has been cleared out like
most other areas in the zone. The dragon kin are gone as well as many
of the ruins in the areas surrounding the lake. The lake itself has
grown larger, and a large building now protrudes from the very center
of the lake. Ghosts mobs also roam the edge of the lake.
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Once uninhabited by anything beside wildlife, the southern most
outcropping of Azshara has taken on some new life. Here the Secret Lab
can be found looking like something right out of a Frankenstein movie.
Not all is well here though, as it appears something has went
drastically wrong and several of the test subjects have escaped,
setting fire to the machinery and the Goblin scientists alike.
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West of the secret lab the end of the Goblin roadway can be found. Here
a small Goblin encampment has been set up complete with it’s
own flight master. Yay for more than one flight path in Azshara!
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Moving on from the Southern Rocketway Terminus players will find that
much of the low lying areas at the end of this outcropping are now
underwater. However, a small portion remains and here the Naga have
flocked, setting up defenses preparing to stand against the Goblins
that will surely come. The leader of the Naga in this area, Lady
Vesthra, can be found deep in the encampment in the center of
Ravencrest Monument
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Heading back and above Gillywix pleasure palace to the northern
outcropping of Azshara players will find many changes here as well. The
Furbolgs of the area have expanded their numbers and their small
settlement into a place now called Blackmaw Hold. Perhaps the Furbolgs
are also worried about the advancement of the Goblins?
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Timbermaw Hold is no more, and the gated area that Timbermaw warriors
once guarded has been transformed into a fierce looking bear cave by
the Blackmaw tribe.
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The deep gorge that marks the land near here is now filled with various
fossils and artifacts that have been dislodged in the Cataclysm. Night
Elf biologists can be found all over the area studying the new
findings.
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Just outside the gorge at the Timbermaw settlement of Ursolan, players
will find that the Blackmaw have taken over here as well. The
settlement itself looks the same, with just a few thrown together
tents, only Blackmaw furbolgs now make their homes here instead of
Timbermaw.
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The Thalassian Base Camp, once filled with Blood Elves, is now the
Darnassian Base Camp and as such has been taken over by Night Elves.
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The Legash Encampement remains and looks much like it did pre-Cataclysm.
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Moving on players will find here much like the southern outcropping
that much of the landscape has been covered by water, leaving much less
land mass in this area.
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At the very tip of this outcropping, the northern end of the Rocketway
can be found as well as another flight path.
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To the north of the Rocketway, however, a grim sight meets the eyes.
Here the landscape has been burned beyond recognition. Bones of huge
dragons as well as smaller creatures litter the ground and live red
dragons circle in the air. Mean looking Drakonid walk the area now
known as Sable Ridge. Did an epic battle between dragons cause the
destruction here?
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This brings us to the end of our zone preview, we hope you have enjoyed
this sneak peak of Azshara and are excited for the changes that will be
found here in Cataclysm. Join us on our forums to share your thoughts!
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.
