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When first venturing into Darkshore it’s easy to assume that
the utter destruction and chaos that have been reported in this zone
were nothing more than some serious hyperbole. In fact at first glance
nothing looks amiss in Darkshore, however taking a deeper look players
will find that Darkshore has been ravaged by forces that we cannot even
begin to understand.
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Moving off the well beaten path to the Master’s Glaive
players will find that the Twilight forces here have been hard at work.
Once barely visible above ground, the Glaive is now a huge imposing
structure that is still being unearthed by Twilight Workers under the
strict supervision of Faceless Ones.
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Turning away from the impressive sight of the Master’s Glaive
players will get their first glimpse of the destruction that has come
to Darkshore. What once was a dense forested area has been literally
wiped out of existence. The water now cuts into the land more than ever
and in place of the ancient trees that once stood here a new beach like
area has been formed.
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Remtravel’s Excavation, once a booming mining
operation, is also no more. The excavation site is still visible,
however it has been filled nearly to the brim with water. The only
survivors have set up camp on the outskirts of the ruined excavation
site.
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Off the shore a strange new island, called Nazj’vel, has
arisen from the ocean complete with ancient Naga buildings and some
fearsome Naga as well.
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Moving along the newly enlarged Twilight Shore players will find more
evidence of destruction. Sea creatures washed ashore lie rotting in the
sun, and the trees that still remain have been forced into a perpetual
lean that has forced their roots from the ground. Even the Murlocs that
once made their homes here have not escaped unscathed. Broken and
battered Murloc Huts litter the ground.
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Moving back to the path and heading north players will soon get their
first encounter with the now wilder than ever Wildbend River. The first
two bridge crossings remain in tact, however a quick glance to the side
reveals that the river has grown. The river now connects with the sea
here and is engaged in a frothing fury of activity.
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Sadly enough even though the two bridge crossings are still intact
players will find navigating this portion of the zone harder than ever
before. The once tranquil river engorged with new waters has gouged out
two new branches here, cutting through the landscape and forcing
players to navigate steep mountain paths and to take a short swim to
reach the other side.
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Another unexpected development presents itself just up the road. Here,
in sharp contrast to the water soaked shoreline, the trees and the land
itself are on fire. The area has therefore been appropriately named;
The Blazing Strand. Fire elementals have risen from the earth and the
waters near here boil with the heat. Thanks to the presence of the fire
elementals and the abundance of grass and trees here the chances of the
fire spreading appear to be great.
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Walking up the Long Wash players will be
greeted with a grim sight; the
ruins of Auberdine. The city itself lies in ruins, the buildings lay
crooked and twisted, and much of the dock that once hosted travelers
of
all sorts has been utterly destroyed. The city is not empty however, as
air elementals have taken over the area with the help of their leader
Aetherion.
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Just outside of Auberdine the Auberdine Refugee Camp has sprung up to
host the few survivors that are still making their way out of the ruins
of the city.
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The Wildbend River has also run amok
here, giving birth to two new raging branches that threaten to pull the
already unstable buildings of
Auberdine
into the furious waters and also once again presents a barrier in
travel for players.
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On the other side of the waters now lies the Withering Thicket. Once a
heavily forested area like most of the zone, some of the trees have
been cleared and two Dryads now appeared here. With the Dryads
appearance the Moonstalkers in the area have become more timid and are
no longer hostile to players.
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Back at the shore along Mist’s Edge trees have been cut down
in what appears to be a logging operation and players need only go a
little further to find the culprits. Twilight forces have set up a
rather impressive camp here that extends quite far down the shore.
Teaming with necromantic powers this massing of Twilight forces can
only bring darkness to Darkshore.
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South of the new Twilight Camp players will find the ruins of
Bashal’Aran. While the remnants of buildings still remain
here, the demons are gone, replaced by banshees and other such spirits.
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Just behind Bashal’Aran new ruins called the Ruins of
Lornesta have sprung forth thanks to the rushing waters that now
dominate the area. Like many such ruins these play host to quite a few
Naga.
Following the shoreline up the zone to the mouth of what once was the
Cliff-Spring River players will find that Alliance forces have not been
completely run out of the zone. The new Night Elf settlement of
Lor’danel has sprung up here, and even though it cannot be
that old the Night Elves have outdone themselves creating
Lor’danel to mimic Auberdine. The only thing missing are the
ships pulling into port.
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Here at Lor’danel players will also find that the small
Cliff-Spring River has been consumed and is now without question an
active part of the Wildbend River.
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For those wondering if the Horde has
made an appearance in Darkshore
the answer is yes. The first glimpse of Horde forces I got was at the
Ruins of Mathystra. Once filled with Naga, these Ruins are now filled
with Shatterspear Troll laborers working hard to unearth whatever
treasures may be found here.
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Not surprisingly the Night Elves in the zone are not to happy with the
Horde presence here and have brought a small force to monitor the
situation in the ruins and the even more imposing situation at the
Tower of Althalaxx.
The tower was once home to more than a few Dark Strand Fanatics. The
Horde has taken it upon itself to lay siege to the tower. Sieges are
messy affairs and while the Dark Strand forces have been all but
obliterated here, the tower is nothing more than a smoking ruin, and
the trees around the tower have caught fire threatening the rest of the
forest. Horde catapults still stand at the ready and Forsaken Looters
scavenge the area for any useful items and of course for a free meal.
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Above the Tower and the Ruins players will discover that the landmass
has grown a considerable amount and several new areas have been
uncovered such as the Shatterspear Pass that leads into Shatterspear
Vale. Once dominated by Trolls the Alliance has raided the Pass and the
Vale, leaving many Shatterspear dead along the way. In the main village
some Shatterspear remain, however they are under constant bombardment
by Alliance gryphon riders.
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The Shatterspear Trolls will not take the destruction of their homes
lying down though, and have created the Shatterspear Warcamp at the
very top of the zone in the hopes to push the Alliance forces from the
Vale and to further their hold on this region of Darkshore.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89811">
Moving back down through the zone, past the Tower of Athalaxx where the
Cliffspring River once met the mountains at the edge of the zone,
players will finally come face to face with the source of the Wildbend
River’s fury. Here a giant waterfall rushes down to meet an
awesome whirlpool of epic proportions. All the water that runs through
the zone is at the mercy of this giant whirlpool and those curious few
that choose to take the plunge into the whirlpool will meet a very
sudden death. Due to the unending pull of this whirlpool and the
increased amount of water in the zone, the entire eastern portion of
the zone is dominated by the rushing waters.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89778">
Near the center of the zone the winds pick up and leaves swirl in the
air as lightning flashes across the sky. The cause for this disturbance
is easy to see; a massive swirling vortex now spins wildly here.
Twilight Dragons fly amid the swirling winds and at it’s
center standing firmly planted on the ground is Malfurion Stormrage
himself, seeming to be the one controlling the vortex.
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The Highborn spirits at Ameth’Aran are gone, displaced by
earth elementals. However one very angry Ancient of War named Selenn is
determined to remedy this. A pile of rubble lies at his feet and is
testament to how this Ancient plans on dealing with the elemental
invaders.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/89771">
The Grove of the Ancients has survived the destruction that has rocked
other parts of Darkshore, and in fact looks much better than it
originally did. The area teems with color and life unlike the rest of
the zone, however to save the area the ancients have paid a terrible
price. With so much energy exerted most of the ancients have entered a
slumber, leaving them vulnerable. Night Elves have come to try to wake
the ancients with the help of Alliance players and as such a new flight
path has also appeared here.
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Finally we find ourselves at Blackwood Den, which not only managed to
survive the destructive events of Cataclysm, but is apparently
thriving. No longer just a run down cave, new walls have been built and
real buildings have been erected. The Blackwoods have not escaped
without harm though, as they like much of the zone are corrupted.
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This concludes our journey through Darkshore. To share your thoughts on
the changes seen here join us on our forums and be sure to check out
Sardu’s post on Blizzard’s explanation of the
changes in Darshore
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.
