by David Piner on Oct 24, 2006
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Hellfire Peninsula
The Hellfire Peninsula is one of the better known locations from the World of Warcraft (WoW) lore. The majority of the Warcraft II Outland campaigns were held within the Hellfire Peninsula. There is good reason to as it is the location of the Dark Portal. The Dark Portal connects Outland with Azeroth.
The Dark Portal
"The Dark Portal awaits you in The Burning Crusade!"
As your journey to level seventy begins you will undoubtedly find yourself facing the Dark Portal. It’s the only way, currently, to travel from Azeroth to Outland (although there are portals leading back to Azeroth within Shattrath city and Mage’s gain the ability to teleport to Shattrath and of course Warlock’s can summon you) and is the location of the Burning Legion’s new invasion force heading for Azeroth.
This massive structure is located directly south of Nethergarde Keep. Nethergarde Keep is the last remaining public structure that is owned by Dalaran and oversees the Dark Portal. Nethergarde plays a key role in Outland as a majority of the Alliance soldiers belong to Nethergarde’s defenses.
Outside of the structure you will find both the Alliance and the Horde fortifying their position incase the defenses on the other side of the portal fail. The various NPCs here will lead you to inside the massive structure and into the new zone of Outland.
This is where I would like to pause and mention that this very act is extremely epic. It is the central point where the entire atmosphere of Outland begins to form. I found it immensely difficult to describe entering the Dark Portal in words. So, instead, I offer upon you a visual walkthrough of it. It can’t replace actually going through the Dark Portal yourself, but it emulates it as much as possible:
"Man heroes of the Alliance can be found in Outland!"
You see the desperation in both the tone of the quests and the visual appearance. NPCs are moving around frantically and you observe the troops beginning to find cover and prepare for an attack. As you approach the Dark Portal you will find yourself staring into space not knowing all what to expect when you arrive on the other side. You take the plunge into the portal and you begin to get anxious. The loading screen comes up and slowly takes its time as you wait and wait wanting to see it for yourself. Then it arrives.
It arrives with you standing infront of a massive Pit Lord commanding a massive amount of the Burning Legion’s real troops as they march against the full fledge army of both the Alliance and the Horde. You see all combinations of races and classes, Blood Elves and Humans, Paladins and Mages, all of them running to the front line at the base of the steps to give their all to stop the invasion. You then look up and see the amazing sky flowing with nether energy. You look back down again and you see the Burning Legion is quickly approaching.
"This is located close to the Dark Portal. Whatever it is, I don't know, but trust me in that it doesn't like you. "
That’s pretty much how you will feel when you enter the Dark Portal. It’s that amazing. Seriously, it’s a past the point of being epic. Maybe I’m just extremely nerdy, but there is just something about this massive battle and all of the excitement leading up to it that makes you feel good and happy inside. Especially when the Pit Lord quickly busts through the defenses and you see the fully decked out heroes of the Alliance and Horde working together to make quick work of him.
From here you have one of two options. You can wait until the siege breaks and take the road to your faction’s outpost or you can do a quick quest and catch a flight to the new outpost. The second option is obviously best since I rarely found a break in the siege of the Dark Portal and the road is extremely dangerous. Level seventy enemies wander the road and they can pretty much two hit any level sixty.
Once you leave the Dark Portal you will find yourself at one of the keeps/outposts of your Faction. That is where even more excitement begins.
Thrallmar/Honor Hold
"As you can see, Honor Hold doesn't hold much."
Both the Horde and Alliance hold massive outposts within the Hellfire Peninsula. They aren’t really outposts, but more of giant structures that are both ruined and on fire. Yeah, you can guess it; things aren’t going to good for either Honor Hold or Thrallmar. That just adds to the wonderful atmosphere that Outland slowly builds up. This is a war and the good guys aren’t doing so swell. Did I mention that this is a war? In Honor Hold there are soldiers lined against walls receiving orders from none other then Danath Trollbane thought to be dead in the Alliance Expedition into the Dark Portal (Warcraft II). Within the wooden walls of Thrallmar you will find Grunts lined up in formation ready to march out and face the enemy. Both factions have mounted patrols that attack any enemy to their faction (including players).
Atmosphere isn’t the only thing offered. New profession trainers are available in these outposts to increase all of your primary/secondary professions (First Aid/Cooking/Fishing is elsewhere). They will be able to raise your skill level to 375 and teach you some of the exclusive recipes to create some of the awesome near craftable gear/potions/enchants.
Not only that, but they play host to a ton of quests that involve both your standard fare of questing but also quests related to the Hellfire Citadel. The five man instances will be one of your primary sources of XP and new loot (that I dare say is absolutely amazing). So be sure to pick up all the quests you can with your newfound quest log (that can hold 25 quests).
"Here you will find one of the greatest Heroes of the Alliance working giving orders to his troops "
It’s not until you leave town and examine the landscape that you will get your first real eyeful of Outland. Let me tell you, Blizzard did things right. You’ll notice how the land is slanted in strange ways and fire geysers are located seemingly everywhere. The ruined landscape is truly amazing and is everything you could ever hope for.
Sure the shininess will wear off and it will eventually seem like another ho-hum zone, but the first impression is amazing. There is just so much to add to the detail of the zone. Skeletons from past wars lay everywhere while aggressive creatures are never out of eyesight.
Exploring Hellfire Peninsula
Hellfire Peninsula is home to several new (and old) factions vying to march into Azeroth and say hello. You have the gold ‘ol Burning Legion who currently has the Dark Portal under siege on
the eastern side of the zone. In the middle you will find the Shattered Hand Clan happily defending the Hellfire Citadel. To the west many demons and other corrupted creatures lurk. There is a ton of variety in the enemies within Hellfire Peninsula.
"What you gotta do for a drink..."
There are also friends. You will find a crashed Zeppalin and a group of Dwarves who are tasked with slaying some wildlife (but rather be drunk) while exploring the vastness. There is also a small Cenarion Hold encampment in the western part of the zone, researching ways to cleanse the land.
The zone is massive in size, variety, and conflict. Everywhere you go there is something on fire or something evil ready to slay you. There is always something new to find out, such as enemies that burrow underground or enemies that are so large that it’s near impossible for them to catch you while mounted. Fel Reavers come to mind. One chased me for ages but I eventually outran it. Had I stood still though and allowed it to catch me, well, let’s just say the spirit effect is pretty cool.
"Your new worst enemy! Dragons move over!"
Speaking of Fel Reavers, there are a lot of things that can come out of nowhere and slay you. Burrowing enemies that travel underground can popup seemingly from nowhere and begin their attack while you are engaged in battle can cause you to flee. You could be fighting and find yourself in the roaming path of some massive creature seeking to eradicate you. You will get the sense of danger as you go out and battle which will cause you to be more alert. I was caught offguard once myself, but after that I never let it happen again.
There are also several locations that can only be reached with a flying mount. The northeastern part of the zone is locked away until you can obtain a flying mount along with certain wings of the Hellfire Citadel. You’ll have to return here eventually to complete everything this zone has to offer. That’s a refreshing idea!
Player vs. Player Combat
"Banners fly at one of the PvP objectives."
What zone isn’t complete with out some passionate player vs. player combat? Hellfire Peninsula offers plenty of PvP opportunities for both PvP and PvE servers. There are three small outposts near the Hellfire Citadel that serve as world PvP objectives. These are located right next to each other and will contain the majority of the PvP.
As for PvP servers, well you will be in for a ride. Very few locations are safe from PvP battle within any zone in Outland. There will be a high concentration of players in these zones as well, so expect the risk to be extremely high as you are out leveling up. Though, be warned that both factions have active patrols of elite soldiers. Any combat near an opposing faction’s outpost will generally result in someone being jumped by mounted guards.
Temple of Teehamat/Falcon Watch
"The Draenei sure know how to build cities."
The “new” outposts (and by “new” I mean actually really new) are awesome. They don’t use the same generic huts/brick buildings that are used in the old world. No! They use a brand new art style that reflects the owners of that particular location. You have to see it to believe it. For instance, the Temple of Teehamat (Draenei/Alliance) glows with an otherworldly blue and contains many new building types. Inside you will find corrupted Draenei rediscovering the light while other Draenei go about their day to day business in reclaiming their land.
The Blood Elf outpost of Falcon’s Watch reflects the style of the Blood Elves perfectly. A giant tower shaped in the form of a burning Falcon stands watch against the evil that has penetrated Outland. The buildings and style showcase the pride the Blood Elves take in making things look stylistic.
"The Dark Portal awaits you in The Burning Crusade!"
Both cities act as base of operations (graveyard, shops, etc.) within the leftmost side of the Peninsula. They offer a great location to do additional leveling and supplement the quests from Honor Hold/Thrallmar perfectly.
Conclusion
Overall, Hellfire Peninsula is one amazing zone. The atmosphere is near perfect, the story feels truly epic, and the excitement is exists. It may just be me being giddy over playing the Burning Crusade, but I truly think adventuring in the Hellfire Peninsula is one of the better moments of my time in World of Warcraft.
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