Warcraft/Setting

© Image: Blizzard Entertainment
World Map Showing Northrend, Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor

Azeroth is the fictional world that is the setting of World of Warcraft and the rest of the Warcraft series.

Eastern Kingdoms

The Eastern Kingdoms is actually made up of three continents known as Lordaeron, Khaz Modan and Azeroth (which is also the name of the planet as a whole). Most of the Eastern Kingdoms is grassland, however some parts of Lordaeron are now plaguelands and some other areas have been turned into wasteland.

• Lordaeron, found at the northern end of the Eastern Kingdoms, is the former human kingdom which has in recent years been largely taken over by the undead Scourge under the control of the Lich King. It is the location of Undercity, the capital city of the Forsaken, and also Silvermoon City, the capital city of the Blood Elves. It is also the location of Greymane City, the capital city of the Worgen. This was one of the settings of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.
• Khaz Modan is in the centre of the Eastern Kingdoms, and is the location of Ironforge, the Dwarven capital city, and Gnomeregan, the Gnomish capital. This was one of the settings of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.
• Azeroth is found at the southern end of the Eastern Kingdoms, and is the location of Stormwind, the new human capital city. This was the setting for Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.

In World of Warcraft, the Eastern Kingdoms is aimed at players between level 1 and level 60. It is not currently possible to fly in this area, even with a flying mount.

Kalimdor

Kalimdor is a much more diverse area than the Eastern Kingdoms, and has almost every type of area. Towards the north is the ice plains of Winterspring whilst towards the south are the harsh deserts of Tanaris and Silithus. Other areas include woodland, tropical jungles and rocky plains. Off the north-west coast of Kalimdor is the island of Teldrassil, which contains the Night Elf city of Darnassus. Nearby is Azuremyst Isle, the location of the Exodar after it crash landed there and now the capital city of the Draenai. In central Kalimdor can be found the Orc capital city of Orgrimmar and the Tauren capital city of Thunder Bluff.

Kalimdor is the setting for most of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. In World of Warcraft, Kalimdor is aimed at players between level 1 and level 60. It is not currently possible to fly in this area, even with a flying mount.

Outland

The realm of Outland was introduced in The Burning Crusade, and cannot be visited by those who do not have the expansion. It is not actually on the planet Azeroth. It is the remains of the planet Draenor, homeworld of the orcs, which was destroyed in the events of Warcraft II. Now it is made up of giant pieces of floating rock that float around in the Twisting Nether, which is an alternate dimension based on different laws of physics. Outland is accessed through the Dark Portal that is located in the Blasted Lands at the southern end of the Eastern Kingdoms. It is also the location of Shattrath City, which is the first zone to allow Horde and Alliance players to mix freely without risk of PvP conflict. Shattrath City was a major hub of activity when The Burning Crusades was the highest expansion, as it allows travel to each of the other major cities through use of portals. However, it is now almost deserted with the release of Wrath of the Lich King and the new city of Dalaran.

Outland was the setting for the Beyond the Dark Portal expansion pack for Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. In World of Warcraft, Outland is aimed at players between level 58 and level 70. It is not possible to enter Outland unless you are at least level 58. It is the first area of the game to allow flying mounts, which are accessible at level 60.

Northrend

The continent of Northrend was introduced in the Wrath of the Lich King, and can only be visited by those who have the expansion. It is primarily a frozen wasteland, and home of the undead Scourge. However, some of the more southern points are not entirely frozen and one area is actually a tropical jungle. Northrend is the current location of the mage city known as Dalaran, which floats above the center of the continent. This city is similar to Shattrath in that it allows Horde and Alliance players to mix freely, and has easy access to each of the major cities through the use of portals. As such, it is a major hub of activity for top level characters.

In World of Warcraft, Northrend is aimed at players between level 68 and level 80. It allows players to fly on flying mounts, but not until they have purchased 'Cold Weather Flying' which is not availiable to anyone below level 80. However, Cold Weather Flying may be purchased by a level 80 character and given to another character on the same account that is level 68 or above.

Cataclysm Changes

The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor are due to be completely revamped with the release of the upcoming expansion Cataclysm in an attempt to update the 1 to 60 levelling process. This includes the geography of some areas completely changing and the introduction of flying mounts in these areas. New areas are also being added that were previously inaccessible, including Mount Hyjal, Uldum, Gilneas, Twilight Highlands and Deathwing Scar. The Sunken City of Vashj'ir will also be added south of the Maelstrom. Most of these zones are being added for high level characters between levels 78 to 85. However, Gilneas will be the starting area for the new playable race Worgen and a new chain of islands known as the Lost Isles will be introduced in Kalimdor as the starting area for the new playable Goblins.