Southern Barrens

Template:Cataclysm

Southern Barrens
Level: 30 - 35
The Battlescar
Population	Unknown
Races	Dwarf  Goblin  Human  Night elf  Orc  Quilboar  Tauren
Government	None
Major settlements	Desolation Hold Fort Triumph Northwatch Hold
Location	Central Kalimdor

Southern Barrens is a generic term for all the lands on the southern part of the Great Divide. This region is not only one of the most hardest hit by the Cataclysm, but also is one of the biggest war zones in the escalating conflict between the Alliance and Horde. In the wake of the Cataclysm, the Alliance has been aggressively expanding into the heart of the continent from the east coast.

Geography defines the conflict here. The Battlescar sits in the middle of a narrow pass, a natural bottleneck. The Alliance needs to blast its way through here in order to maintain an overland link between Theramore and Northwatch Hold, not to mention a route into the Stonetalon Mountains, where the Alliance can lend aid to its allies. If the Horde can seal off this pass, then Theramore will essentially be isolated. The conflict comes to a head in the Battlescar... and the future of Kalimdor may hinge on the outcome.

History

Main article: Barrens

Getting there

A pit of lava known as the Great Divide has split the Barrens in two and separates this zone from the Northern Barrens. It cannot be crossed directly without a flying mount. However, there is an area on the border between the Northern Barrens and Stonetalon Mountains that splits off and leads here. This is the normal method of getting here since the questing experience has been designed to segue from Stonetalon to the Southern Barrens. Low level Horde players can also reach the Southern Barrens through the Great Gate at the Mulgore border, but should be advised that this zone is a much higher level. Alliance players can run through Dustwallow Marsh (a series of bridges have been constructed and lead here directly from Theramore) or head down the coast from Ratchet to Northwatch Hold.

Geography

The landscape here is predominately barren, an exception being the Overgrowth situated in the northern part of the region, near the Great Divide and is separated from the Northern Barrens by a huge river of lava.

Maps and subregions

Southern Barrens Map

Travel hubs

Fort Triumph

Northwatch Hold

Desolation Hold

Hunter's Hill

Regions adjacent to Southern Barrens

Zone Name	Faction	Level Range	Direction	Access subzone	Access method
Mulgore		1-12	West	Great Gate	By foot or by flightpath
Northern Barrens		10-20	North	Great Divide	By foot or by flightpath
Stonetalon Mountains		25-30	Northwest	N/A	By foot or flight path
Dustwallow Marsh		35-40	East	N/A	By foot or by flight path
Thousand Needles		40-45	South	N/A	By foot or by flight path

Notable characters

Perhaps the most notable character in the history of the Barrens, Mankrik, can be found here exacting revenge on the quillboars for killing his wife. Other well known faces include the druid Naralex, who has recently awakened from his slumber in the Wailing Caverns. Of the recent arrivals, one of the more famous (or infamous) is the human General Hawthorne, known to Horde players as the 'Butcher of Taurajo'.

Quests

Main article: Southern Barrens storyline

Resources

• Herbalism
  • [Briarthorn]
  • [Liferoot]
  • [Kingsblood]
  • [Mageroyal]
  • [Khadgar's Whisker]

• Mining
  • [Gold Vein]
  • [Iron Deposit]
  • [Silver Vein]

Changes

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Areas affected:

• Bael Modan – slightly expanded with new stonework; tiny Horde camp set just to the north called Spearhead
• Bael Modan Excavation Site – now attacked by Horde raiders, though Bael Modan itself is not
• Blackthorn Ridge – the northern corner now has a Goblin-run mine
• Camp Taurajo – burned down by Alliance forces and is now being looted; the nearby road to Mulgore is now blocked by a Tauren-erected gate, The Great Gate
• Field of Giants – west side taken by the Horde who have erected Desolation Hold and are constantly fighting with the Alliance; east side taken by the Alliance, called Fort Triumph; both have flight paths and serve as quest hubs
• Fields of Blood – the Quilboar have more defenses in some areas, but have lost an encampment to the Horde, now called Vendetta Point near Camp Taurajo
• The Great Lift – the road running north of here almost all the way to Blackthorn Ridge has been overrun with giant brambles; the Lift itself appears to be destroyed; just outside the brambles is Mankrik, elite now and fighting the Quilboar; further north is a small, neutral quest hub called Firestone Point, run by the Earthen Ring
• Honor's Stand – the Alliance have taken this pass into Stonetalon Mountains and are erected a gate of their own while fighting off the Horde; full-fledged Alliance camp here with flight master; the Horde have a camp of their own just south of here in the hills called Hunter's Hill, with a flight path and 'The High Road' to enter Stonetalon Mountains
• The Overgrowth – the lands south of the Lushwater Oasis have become overgrown and lush; there is a new Horde camp on the NE side, Camp Una'fe, that houses some of the Camp Taurajo refugees; further to the east is another encampment where Naralex awaits with quests; further east and on the edge of the Overgrowth is a small Alliance camp, Teegan's Expedition
• Northwatch Hold – Controlled by the Alliance and is now a quest hub with flight master; a road leads from the back side down to the shores shared with Dustwallow Marsh where a dock sits – the boat seems to come from the Eastern Kingdoms (according to the NPC); The Hold is under constant attack by the Horde, who have a small camp just to the north in the hills and ships in the water; due west of here and near the main road is an Alliance encampment, Forward Command

Eye witness account of the Shattering of the Southern Barrens

Tharkan Bloodspike's letter

I was in the Southern Barrens when the world broke.

Azeroth wrenched. Jagged maws of stone and dirt opened all around me. I turned in horror to see that my elder brother, Kor'ak, was falling into one of the gaping fissures. With all my might I struggled to pull him free, but in that moment, when he needed me most... I failed him. The screaming rift snapped shut, rending Kor'ak flesh and bone with a sickening ease. Terrified, I fled to the Great Lift, only to watch as the sea raged through the red canyons of Thousand Needles, consuming all in its path. I then went north until I came upon a fiery chasm that sliced the Barrens in two as if some monstrous demon had cleaved Azeroth's belly with his tainted axe. Despite the chaos, I could not shake Kor'ak's death from my mind...A brother...friend...proud orcish warrior...crushed like an insect under the foot of a traveler.

Many suns have passed since that day, but I fear that the whole of Kalimdor, and even the distant Eastern Kingdoms, will never be the same again. More and more I hear tales of how these lands have suffered from the upheaval's wrath: fire spewing from the heart of Ashenvale, flooding in the formerly parched lands of Tanaris and Durotar, and coastal settlements in Darkshore and the Wetlands claimed by hungry seas. Azeroth is changing, but I must endure to see that Kor'ak received an honorable burial. If it takes a lifetime to find my brother's broken body entombed beneath the scarred earth...then to be it.

-Tharken Bloodspike of the Crossroads

Gallery

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  The southern end of Southern Barrens

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  Frazzlecraz Motherlode