World Of Warcraft:The Burning Crusade

The Burning Crusade is the first expansion for World of Warcraft due to be released on the 16th of January 2007 in both North America and Europe. The main features include an increase of the level cap, the introduction of the blood elves and the Draenei as playable races and the addition of the world of Outland, along with many new-zones, dungeons, items, quests, and monsters.

Click on one of pictures to see a preview of the expansion's extended talent trees for this class. You can also check out a list of new spells and abilities for each class that characters beyond level 60 will be able to learn in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

The flying mounts will include Gryphons for the Alliance, Wyverns for the Horde, and also some extremely rare neutral flying mounts. Like the regular mounts, they will come in regular and epic flavors so that once you have mastered the shattered realm of Outland, you will be able to take to the skies in style.

A total of nine brand-new dungeons to explore, most of these new dungeons will have several different wings, so you can choose your own pace – either try to do them all in one session, or take your time and explore them one by one. And if you want to step up the challenge, you can also pick two different Dungeon Difficulty Level Settings. Adventure at your own pace!

new-monsters that make up the vast and varied bestiary of the Burning Crusade, from arcane thieves to savage demigods, from nightmares of an ancient past to magnificent beasts never seen before can be discovered in Outland and the still unexplored lands of Azeroth

Jewelcrafting learn the art of creating beautiful jewelry and trinkets from metals and rare gems. By processing the raw ore mined from the various deposits and mineral veins, jewelcrafters can extract gems from the ore which they can then use for their craft.

The following items can been "purchased" from Aldor and Scryer vendors in Shattrath City, in exchange for generic equipment drops. The drop locations for some these tokens are currently unknown. Many of these items have slots for jewels.

By cutting the gems, jewelcrafters can prepare them to be used in socketed items. Gems come in many different colors and shapes. Different types of gems have different basic properties, and a gem's cut also determines the effect this gem will have.

The Draenei are refugees from the shattered world of Outland. The Burning Crusade has wreaked devestation on the world and the Draenei took to flight through the Twisting Nether in search of Azeroth, the world in which the Alliance stood up against and subdued the efforts of the orcs under the influence of the Burning Legion.

The starting area of the draenei is the mystic Azuremyst Isle, located in the Veiled Sea to the Southwest of Teldrassil. Shipwrecked, the Draenei are busy studying the region they have found themselves in and tending to the survivors of the crash. As an able-bodied survivor, you are expected to help in the relief efforts. The crash has had a devestating effect on the islands and their inhabitants. Wreckage, crystals, mutated animals are present in every direction. Your first quests involve healing survivors (using the racial ability Gift of the Naaru which is a healing spell that gains strength as you gain levels), killing giant mutated flowers and moths and gathering materials to heal survivors. All the quests are geared toward recovering from the crash.

Peninsula (58-63)            Top

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.

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.

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

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.

Terokkar Forest (62-65)             Top

West of Hellfire Peninsula lies the mushroom-filled zone of Zangarmarsh. This humid marshland contains an assortment of bugs and monsters, making it the perfect place for an aspiring adventurer.

West of Hellfire Peninsula lies the mushroom-filled zone of Zangarmarsh. This humid marshland contains an assortment of bugs and monsters, making it the perfect place for an aspiring adventurer.

Just south of Cenarion Refuge is Umbrafen Lake, the first area I explored in order to complete quests. It is chock-full of Broken and Naga, with a few eels thrown in. The eels turned out to be formidable foes, but after a little bit, I got the hang of how to beat them--let my pet take all the damage (I'm so glad I have a good tanking pet).

North of Cenarion Refuge is the driest place in the zone--the Dead Mire. This drying-up bog is a source of concern for the expedition and the people of Telredor, so quests to explore the mire (gathering samples mostly) are plentiful. Parched hydras, Bog Lords and Withered Giants circle the mire and cause never-ending amounts of frustration for the many hapless adventurers who venture to quest there.

In the center of the marsh, there are two beacons. They are conquerable and provide a nice pvp-objective for the area (for when you get tired of fulfilling the many requests from npcs in this area). The faction which controls both towers also controls the central graveyard in the zone. The alliance draenei town of Telredor (built up among the mushroom tops) and the horde troll town of Zabra'jin flank the two beacons and it is there that the flightpaths are found (at least I assume--since I play alliance--that the horde flightpath is there. Telredor has a ton of quests to keep you busy throughout the zone.

Just north of these towns (and the beacons) is the Coilfang Reservoir, also known as Serpent Lake. This is home to four (count 'em four) different instances: The Slave Pens, the Underbog, the Steamvault, and Serpentshrine Cavern. These instances are down, down at the very bottom of the lake and you must swim past many Mudfin Frenzies (level 63ish fish that like to bite you) to get to them.

The western part of the area contains the city of Sporeggar--an unfriendly city to start out with, but you can gain reputation by killing certain creatures throughout Zangarmarsh. North of Sporregar is the ogre area of Ango'rosh Grounds, because a marsh just would not be complete without a few ogres in it. South of Sporeggar is a very pretty place that contains the zone's higher level mobs, called the Spawning Glen.

This is just a brief preview of the many options available to you in Zangarmarsh. Stay tuned to our Burning Crusade coverage for even more exciting first looks!

Nagrand (64-67)            Top

In the Outlands, south of Zangarmarsh and west of the Terrokar Forest, you will find the lush prarie of Nagrand. This elemental-filled zone is brimming with adventures for those capable of butting heads against level 64-67s.

Let's take a quick tour of the places found in Nagrand, starting with the town of Telaar. Telaar is a draenei city ruled by the Kurenai faction. Be careful of killing the Boulderfist ogres in the the Burning Blade ruins; it lowers your reputation with that faction. This a good place to repair and vendor. There's even an anvil and forge for smelting and crafting uses.

Also in the southern portion of Negrand is the Oshu'gun. According to a Consortium member at Aeris Landing (a Consortium encampment in Nagrand) Oshu'gun is the largest diamond in the universe. The Consortium was going to mine the diamond, but there has been a delay in their plans. At the moment, Oshu'gun is surrounded and inhabited by demons.

Speaking of demons, there are two settlements of them on the western edge of this zone: Forge Camp Hate and Forge Camp Fear. It's obvious that they are up to no good there. The water that is flowing into these encampments is flowing out green.

Northern Nagrand plays host to a group of grouchy Warmaul ogres at the Laughing Skull ruins and the Throne of Elements. The four elemental furies live in this waterfall-edged sanctuary at the edge of Skysong Lake.

Nagrand is also temporary home to Azeroth's most ardent traveler--Hemet Nesingwary. He has set up a safari near the crash of a snake-inhabited plane.

PvP is an integral part of this area. The blufftop town of Halaa is constantly being fought over. Control of Halaa gives your faction a buff that increases damage done by 5%. There's also a quartermaster who will exchange some nice gear for tokens looted during the battle for this area.

There are four paths to leave Nagrand. Two are in the north and lead to Zangarmarsh. The Low Path in the southeast leads to Terrokar Forest and the High Path (located above Windyreed Village) leads to the Aldor Rise in Shattarath City.

Blade's Edge Mountains (65-68)            Top

Blade's Edge Mountains is a unique yet dangerous zone located in the NW corner of the Outlands. This level 65+ area is home to some of the most stunning terrain in the game.

The first glimpse of this terrain comes as you traverse either of the two caverns leading into the area from Zangarmarsh. Each of these tunnels is guided by dangerous creatures.

The tunnel leading north from Oberor Harborage is full of spiders. If you can make it past these troublesome arachnids, you will be on the road that leads straight through the Living Grove and into the alliance night elf village of Sylvanaar.

The other tunnel from Zangarmarsh ends in open jaws, as it is guarded by the Den Mother. This humongous wolf is surrounded by several of her offspring and loves to snap up unsuspecting travelers without hesitation. However, should you manage to squeeze past her, you will be on the road that leads straight to the horde settlement,Thunderlord Stronghold.

Both of these towns contain a graveyard, a flightpath, questgivers and vendors to help make your adventures easier.

The tunnel leading north from Oberor Harborage is full of spiders. If you can make it past these troublesome arachnids, you will be on the road that leads straight through the Living Grove and into the alliance night elf village of Sylvanaar.

The other tunnel from Zangarmarsh ends in open jaws, as it is guarded by the Den Mother. This humongous wolf is surrounded by several of her offspring and loves to snap up unsuspecting travelers without hesitation. However, should you manage to squeeze past her, you will be on the road that leads straight to the horde settlement,Thunderlord Stronghold.

Both of these towns contain a graveyard, a flightpath, questgivers and vendors to help make your adventures easier.

The Wyrmskull Tunnel leads to Raven's Wood, home of the Grishna, the Boulder'mok ogres and the Blackwing Coven.

Leeroy Jenkins and the Pals for Life crew would have a field day inside the Blackwing Coven. This cavern is full of level 67+ dragonkin, and (you guessed it) their eggs. Don't touch the eggs, they break!

Dragons can also be found on the opposite side of the map. IN the southeast corner of Blade's Edge, you can find the Singing Ridge. This crystal-lined ridge borders Death's Door and is full of some of the prettiest blue dragons in the game. Don't let their appearance fool you, they are deadly.

For the Alliance, the gnome settlement of Toshley's Station is available for refuge from these blue beauties. At Toshley's Station you can vendor, repair, watch flaming gnomes tinker with contraptions that do Blizzard-only-knows-what, pick up a few quests or hop a griffon elsewhere.

The horde also have a settlement, Mok'Nathal Village, located in the Vekhaar Stand just east of Scalewing Shelf.

There are two areas in the Blade's Edge Mountains that look to be only accessible by way of flying mount. These are the Vortex Pinnacle to the west and the Crystal Spine to the north. One can only imagine the dangers and adventures that these areas hold.

Once you've had your fill of Blade's Edge, the road north from Razor Ridge will lead you past a Naaru encampment and a demon-filled forge camp to an engineered bridge that will allow you to enter the swirling-violet pestilence that is the Netherstorm.