Wrath of the Lich King: Borean Tundra Tour

Staff Writer Paul Sherrard gives us a tour of the zone Borean Tundra from the beta of Blizzard’s upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King including video and screenshots.

Northrend, the setting for Blizzard’s new World of Warcraft expansion “Wrath of the Lich King”, puts the massive back in massively multiplayer. In adding just one continent this time around, as opposed to the remnants of an entire planet in The Burning Crusade, you’d think that the scope of this expansion would be a little smaller.

Certainly, the focus of the expansion is tighter - the titular Lich King is present from the get-go for any new Death Knights, and makes himself known early and often for any existing level 70’s heading north. Once you arrive in Northrend, however, it’s a great big world that opens before you.

To begin your adventures, you’re given two options for starting zones - The Borean Tundra on the southeast side of the continent, or the Howling Fjord on the southwest side. This week we’ll take a look at the Borean Tundra, with a partially alliance point of view, as that’s the character I have to explore with.

To reach BT, head to Stormwind. Once there, head to the northwest part of the city for the new Stormwind Harbor, and get on the Kraken, a shiny new boat that will arrive at the northernmost pier. Personally, I love the look of the new ships that take you to Northrend - a grander look with a definite military edge.

You’ll disembark at Valiance Keep, a forward port and fortress for the Alliance. Visible in the distance will be Warsong Hold, the first stop for any Horde arriving on a Zeppelin from a new flight tower just outside Orgrimmar. These two fortresses serve as starting points for questing in the Tundra, and also as places of rest, where you’ll find profession trainers eager to sell you patterns to improve whatever trade you’re plying.

Without giving too much away, you’re immediately thrown into battle with the Scourge, those minions of Arthas who dominate the entire continent. Fighting your way through the beachhead and up onto the expansive plains of the Tundra, you’ll be presented with a few options.

To the south is Riplash Strand, where you’ll first encounter the Kolkar, a walrus-like race native to Northrend. Immediately to the north of Valiance Keep is the struggling frontier town of Farshire, besieged by the Scourge. Immediately to the west of the beach are the Bloodspore Plains, where Kobolds are presumably harvesting the bloodspores.

Heading south around the coast takes you across the Plains of Nasam and towards Echo Cove, both sites of a number of Horde quests. Heading north again, you eventually arrive at Garrosh’s Landing, a coastal town overrun by the Skadir, who seem to be a sub-set of the Vrykul, a viking-like race that you’ll come into lots of contact with.

Even further north along the west coast of the Borean Tundra, you come to Amber Ledge, the first outpost and quest hub run by the Kirin Tor, a group of mages with a deep and rich history in Azeroth.

Eventually, you’ll have a lot to do with with Kirin Tor as you make your way to Dalaran, their city in the sky. It’s immediately apparent that the Kirin Tor have dealings with the different dragon aspects, and the dragons look to be a big part of the expansion as well.

To the west of Amber Ledge, a broken bridge cuts off passage to a rocky island, surrounded by floating platforms. This island is Coldarra, and by doing enough quests, you’ll open up access to it. You’ll be able to fly on the back of a dragon from Amber Ledge to the Transitus Shield, under which agents of the Kirin Tor are performing research on the dragons found on the island.

Coldarra is its own sub-zone, with a number of quests that will lead you into The Nexus, your first accessible dungeon on this side of the continent. The creatures you encounter in Coldarra are around level 72, so you may want to finish the rest of the Borean Tundra first, before heading over.

So, to the immediate south of Amber Ledge, there are some bad guys called “Beryl”, who look to be dragonkin and mages working together. The the immediate north of Amber Ledge is a quarry being dug out by these Beryl folks, who are using enslaved Tuskarr to carry out the labor. Some quests here involve restoring the ghosts of Tuskarr elders and causing grief for the Beryl.

Continuing north, we pass Steeljaw’s Caravan, and the ghosts around it. Just north of the caravan, there’s a road heading west, which leads down to the shore and Winterfin Retreat. Here you’ll meet the cleverly disguised King Mrgl-Mrgl, and have some adventures involving Murlocs and an Orca.

Of note, your breath seems to last a lot longer under water in Wrath of the Lich King than it did before, and it seems as though the designers have paid attention to making your underwater adventures just as visually interesting as the world above.

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