Before we begin..
This guide was written to help new and experienced players alike find the fastest possible way through one of the largest zones in World of Warcraft, the Barrens. The guide was designed with Orcs, Trolls and Taurens in mind, but if you are undead and feel the need to quest in the Barrens, knock yourself out. )
It is intended that you start this guide at level 12, although you can start a little earlier or a little later if you wish. In my opinion the quickest way to 12 is usually to follow the natural quest line until level 8, then start grinding. Dustwind Harpies in Durotar are good, or if you’re Tauren, Windfury Harpies in Mulgore. It’s also a good idea to take up a gathering skill early on. Trolls and Orcs should take advantage of the mountains of Copper in Durotar and become Miners, and Taurens should use their racial advantage and become Herbalists. Anything you get, cart into the auction house. And remember, trade skills can be deserted at any time. If you really really want to be an enchanter, go ahead, but the extra money from a gathering skill at low level is too valuable to pass up, in my opinion.
Now, you may notice a striking resemblence between the guide I have written and the guides Jame has written for leveling Alliance characters from 30-60. That is no coincidence. Jame’s guides are very good indeed, so it makes good sense to stick to a formula that works.
Before you start, I recommend you stop by the auction house and pick up four 10 slot bags, or if you can, 12 slot bags. The barrens is a huge place, and we’ll be making some long-ish runs. If you took my advice and did some Harpy grinding, you should have some Linen Cloth to auction off, which will go a long way towards your bags, and if you took s’more advice of mine and became a miner or a herbalist, you should be able to pay for 10 slot bags fairly easily. This will make life a lot easier for you later on.
Addons
Okay, so you don’t -need- any addons to get levels. But some of them can help the process, just a little. Here’s a short list of the ones I recommend using.
PerHour
A lovely little mod that sits on your screen and counts how much experience and money you are turning each hour. It has a pause button for when you’re doing other things and don’t want it to track, and a reset button. It also saves it’s data between sessions, so you can log out, log back in, and it’ll still remember everything. This mod hasn’t been updated in over a year, but it still works. Why? Because of it’s simple, no frills coding. This addon will never stop working.
(This addon is no longer needed if you make use of Blizzards “loot all” option by pressing shift while looting your mob)Telo’s Quickloot
This mod is so widely used, and so taken for granted for so many people, it really should have been emulated in the Blizzard UI. All it does is moves the loot window to right underneath your cursor, making it easier to loot items. Genius.
MozzFullWorldMap
Name says it all. This addon can show you a full map of an area. Even places you haven’t visited. Knowing where you’re going is half the trouble with any journey in warcraft, this ought to help you out.
MapCoords
The simplest of all the addons to offer coordinates to your map. This will help you locate things around World of Warcraft. It is by no means essential, but a small addon, so why not?
Part 1 To The Crossroads
If you are Tauren..
Taurens, you will most likely be starting in Bloodhoof Village, or at least have a good idea of how to get there. 😉 Starting at Bloodhoof, head east until you hit the border between Mulgore and The Barrens. The southern barrens has mobs of a much higher level than you are right now, so stick to the roads as you head east towards Camp Taurajo. (Follow the blue dots on the map above.) Once you get there, talk to the Wind Rider Master to get the Flight path, then pick up [10] The Barrens Oases and [12] Journey to the Crossroads from Kirge Sternhorn. Once that’s done, hit the road north out of Taurajo. This is a long-ish run, but completely necessary. When you arrive at the crossroads, talk to Thork to finish your quest. Once that’s done, talk to Jahan Hawkwing to get [10] A bundle of hides. This quest involves flying to Thunder Bluff, dropping the hides off and riding back. You can handle this yourself. Complete the entire quest chain, and when you’re back at the Crossroads, start on Part 2.
If you are a Troll or an Orc..
I shall assume you are starting in Razor Hill. At the western gates of Razor Hill, you’ll find Takrin Pathseeker. Talk to him and pick up [12] Conscript of the Horde, then head west, following the road, until you meet a bridge. Cross the bridge, find the guard tower nearby, and talk to Kargal Battlescar. Get the follow up, [12] Crossroads Conscript. Your next order of business is to get to the Crossroads. Follow the road west until you meet a junction, then turn south. The crossroads is a short walk ahead of you. (Follow the red dots on the map above.) When you arrive, pick up [10] Meats to Orgrimmar from Zargh. This is a short quest to get you used to flying between Wind Riders. I won’t talk you through this quest, as it’s simple enough to do. Complete the entire quest chain, then move on to Part 2.
If you are Undead..
GO HOME! ..seriously though, as undead you will be starting in Brill. Hop on a Zeppelin, which will fly you to Orgrimmar. (If you end up in Stranglethorn, you hopped the wrong Zeppelin. =p) From Orgrimmar, run south down the road to Razor Hill, then turn west and head straight for the Barrens. Don’t worry about [12] Conscript of the Horde, undead players won’t be able to pick this up. Just follow the red dots on the map, and get to the crossroads. You will also be unable to do the Wind Rider quests for the crossroads, which will leave you with a slight experience deficit compared to the other races, so be prepared to plug some holes with some grinding later in this guide.
Now, even with all that running around, you should now be about a third of the way through level 12. And we didn’t even kill anything yet! )
Part 2 From Plainstriders to Kolkar
Before you start, set your hearthstone to The Crossroads.
The first thing we’ll do is gather all the quests available at the crossroads. These should be..
- [11] Wharfmaster Dizzywig
- [12] Disrupt the Attacks
- [12] Plainstrider Menace
- [13] Raptor Thieves
- [13] The Forgotten Pools
- [14] Supplies for The Crossroads
- [15] Fungal Spores
Got them all? Good! Now from now on, and this is important, kill every raptor you see until you have completed [13] Raptor Thieves. Do not go looking for them, but if you pass one, kill it. If you are on the quest, any Raptor in the barrens will drop a Raptor Head for you, so you’ll only need to kill 12 of them. We are in no rush with this quest, but we do want it out of the way, because eventually, we’ll need the followup.
Now, let us begin. Head east out of the crossroads and kill any Plainstriders you see. They should be right outside the town. Start moving south, and walk clockwise around The Crossroads, killing Plainstriders and Raptors as you go. Once you have completed [12] Plainstrider Menace, get back into town, talk to Sergena Darkthorn and get the followup, [13] The Zhevra.
1. Next, we’re going to head West to a little bunker, which can be found at 45,28 for anyone that uses coordinates. If you don’t read the addons section at the begining of the guide, or just use the map above. On your way there, kill any Zhevras and Raptors that you pass, but don’t worry too much about them at this point. Once at the bunker, you will find Regthar Deathgate, who will offer you two quests. [14] Centaur Bracers and [16] Kolkar Leaders. Take them both.
2. Start running north, continueing to kill Zhevras and Raptors. You should see a few Centaur camps up ahead. Keep away from the tents, and run north into the trees, picking off the Centaurs you see one by one. Keep an eye open for big blue mushrooms! They are Fungal Spores and are needed for a quest you’re on. They are most common around the lake there. Grab four of them to complete [15] Fungal Spores.
Once you’ve collected all your spores, get back into the lake, and look for a crack in the floor with some bubbles flowing out of it. Swim over the bubbles to complete [13] The Forgotten Pools.
3. Now, the tricky part. Start moving west towards 43,24, killing Centaurs as you go, being careful to fight them one on one. When you get there, you will see a small gazeebo-like building up on a hill. Just outside that building will be Barak Kodobane, with one patroller nearby. CAREFULLY pull the patroller, and kill him one on one. Take a quick look around for any patrols, then Kill Barak Kodobane. He is Level 16, which will make this a difficult fight, but definately a possible one. He uses a bow to attack you from range, and runs away at low health. Don’t worry if you die, just go back and try again. Once he is dead, start grinding on Centaur around the Forgotten Pools until you ding level 13. Make sure you loot the Centaur Bracers that they drop for [14] Centaur Bracers. Do not worry if you don’t get all 15. There’ll be plenty of opportunity to get them later. 😉
If you can’t kill Barak Kodobane..
If you try really hard to kill Barak, but still die, don’t worry! Just grind on the Centaur in the area until you ding level 13, then try again. One level can make a huge difference!
4. Once you level, head south to the bunker and turn in [16] Kolkar Leaders, then get the followup, [18] Verog the Dervish. While you’re there, kill off any more Zhevra you need for [13] The Zhevra.
5. Now start heading back to The Crossroads. When you get there, turn in the following quests..
- [13] The Zhevra
- [13] The Forgotten Pools
- [15] Fungal Spores
And get the followups..
- [15] Prowlers of the Barrens
- [18] The Stagnant Oasis
DO NOT get [15] Apothecary Zamah yet. It is a timed quest, and we’re not ready to do it just yet.
Done? Good job. You should now be about 1/3rd through level 13. Sell your grey items, restock any food or water that you need, grab a cup of coffee, and get ready for Part 3!
Part 3 Razormanes, Prowlers, and Pirates
1. Head north out of The Crossroads. On your right, you should find a small camp of Razormane Quillboars. Kill these until you have completed [12] Disrupt The Attacks. If you run out of quillboar, head further east to the side of the mountain. There should be plenty there for you to kill.
2. Once you’re done with Razormanes, head north until you hit the road, then walk East. Stay on the road until you see a Guard Tower, right before you hit the river. (Trolls and Orcs will remember this tower from [12] Crossroads Conscript.) From there, start heading south. There are a few raptors in this area, try to kill them all as you move south, until you complete [13] Raptor Thieves. (If you’ve been killing raptors as you see them, you should only be 4 or 5 heads away from being done.) Follow the road all the way south, until you reach Ratchet.
3. While we’re here, we’re going to scoop up some quests and take the Ratchet flightpath. As you approach the town from the north, you’ll see a green hut on your right. Inside, you will find Gazlowe who will give you [14] Southsea Freebooters. Leave the hut, walk south some, and find Sputtervalve who will give you [14] Samophlange. Next, you’ll find a wanted poster on the wall of the Bank. Get [16] WANTED Baron Longshore from it. While you’re here, pop out onto the pier and talk to Wharfmaster Dizzywig. Complete [11] Wharfmaster Dizzywig, and pick up [18] Miner’s Fortune. One more quest to pick up.. as you head south out of Ratchet, stop at Captain Thalo’thas Brightsun and get [20] The Guns of Northwatch.
4. All done? Lovely. Now head south along the coast until you find the pirates. Kill these until you have completed [14] Southsea Freebooters. If you find Baron Longshore, please don’t try to kill him just yet. We’ll be coming back this way soon enough anyway, and he is very difficult to kill at the moment. We can put him off until we’re a little more prepared. 😉
5. When the pirates are all dead, head back to Gazlowe, turn in, and get the follow up, [14] The Missing Shipment. This is a short quest which will take you down to Wharfmaster Dizzywig by the water in Ratchet, then back up to Gazlowe. Then, Gazlowe will give you another followup, [16] Stolen Booty.
6. Head west out of Ratchet. As you leave the town, you will see a cliff to the north. Walk around that cliff and towards 60,35 (or the big number 6 on the map above.) This place should be full of Savanah Prowlers. Search in the long grass. Kill them until you’ve completed [15] Prowlers of the Barrens.
7. When that’s done, head back to The Crossroads, turn in your quests, restock food and water, sell greys, and repair. Congrats on level 14!
Get the following quests
- [15] The Disruption Ends
- [16] Echeyakee
- [18] Stolen Silver
To Thunder Bluff!
Before you do anything else, look for Mankrik in The Crossroads. He’s near the gate to the South. Since you turned 14, he now has two quests for you, [20] Consumed by Hatred and [20] Lost in Battle. Take them both. Now, remember that quest we DIDN’T get from Apothecary Helbrim? We’re about to get it. Talk to him (He’s in The Crossroads, near the Wind Rider Master) and get [15] Apothecary Zamah. For anyone who isn’t Tauren, this quest is a waste of time experience wise, but we’re going to do it anyway. Why? One reason. Flight paths. In this run, non-taurens will pick up flight paths for Camp Taurajo and Thunder Bluff, both very important places.
If you are Tauren..
Remember the long run you had to do just to get to The Crossroads? Well, it’s about to pay off! Fly straight to Thunder Bluff and turn in [15] Apothecary Zamah. Zamah is found in the Pools of Vision, which is beneath Thunder Bluff’s Spirit Rise. While you’re there, pick up [18D] Serpentbloom. When you are done with him, find a trainer, pick up your level 14 spells, put any green items you collected on the auction house, repair, sell greys, or do anything else you need to in Thunder Bluff.
When you’re all done, fly to Camp Taurajo. From there, head north to 49,50 and search the two tauren buildings you find for a corpse. “Talk” to it to complete [20] Lost in Battle, then hearthstone back to The Crossroads, and turn your quest in at Mankrik to the south side of the town.
If you are NOT Tauren..
This will be a long run, and will lower your exp rate a lot. But it’s more than worth it for the flight paths, which you’ll have to pick up eventually anyway.
Follow the road south towards Camp Taurajo. Note that Mankrik’s Wife is on your route. Pop off the road, and talk to her. She can be found at 49,50, near a few small tauren buildings. When you’ve talked to her, head south a little more to Camp Taurajo and pick up the flight path. Then follow the road West and into Mulgore. Continue along the road until you reach Bloodhoof Village, and follow the road north. Eventually, it will lead you to Thunder Bluff.
When you get there, head to the Pools of Vision, underneath Spirit Rise. Turn in [15] Apothecary Zamah, and get the quest [18D] Serpentbloom from him. Now, go learn your level 14 spells (rogues and warlocks will have to fly to Orgrimmar), visit auction house, and take care of any other business you have in town. When you’re done, fly back to The Crossroads.
While you are at The Crossroads, turn in your “Lost in Battle” quest at Mankrik.
Part 4 Samophlange, Echeyakee, and other unpronouncables.
This will be our longest run yet. Ready?
1. The Samophlange. Head north to 52,12, where you will find a small Goblin hut, and a big piece of machinery. Inside the machinery is a Control Console. You’ll have to kill a few Venture Co. Peons to get at it. Fight your way into it, and interract with it. Get the followup.
Once that’s done, you’ll have to run a circle around the machinery, turning valves off. There are three in all, one at the left side, one at the right side, and one at the back. Clear off the area and use the valves. Some Peons spawn when you turn a valve, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. When you’ve turned all the valves, go back to the control console. Get the followup.
2. Now you’re being asked to retrieve a Console Key from Tinkerer Sniggles, who can be found inside the hut, at 53,11. He is level 16, and can easily be fought one on one. Loot him, then head back to the Control Console.
3. Clear off the mobs around the console again, interract with it, complete the quest. At this point, you can throw away the Control Console Operating Manual in your inventory. It does nothing but waste space.
4. Echeyakee. A fancy name for an easy mob. Move south towards 55,16. You’ll find some tall grass, a few Savanah Prowlers, and some Kodo Bones sticking out from the ground. Kill off a few Prowlers, as many as it takes to get a nice clear area to fight Echeyakee. When you feel safe, search your inventory for your Horn of Echeyakee and blow it. The moment you do, Echeyakee will spawn, and more often than not, attack you immediately. Fight him off, and loot his hide.
5. Still moving south, head towards where we killed the Razormanes earlier. Head further East to around 58,24 and look for Razormane Geomancers and Razormane Defenders. Start killing these, and start moving south a little. There is a large camp at 58,26, filled mostly with Razormane Mystics, which you do not need. Inside the camp though, you’ll find Kreenig Snarlsnout. Kill him, and once he’s dead, start searching the camps where you found him. Look for a stack of orange boxes. These are Crossroads Supply Crates, and are needed for [14] Supplies for the Crossroads. Grab a box, and head south again, towards Ratchet.
6. Once you get to Ratchet, turn in [16] Samophlange at Sputtervalve and get the followup, [14] Wenikee Boltbucket. Also turn in [16] Echeyakee and to get the followup [17] The Angry Scytheclaws. Continue south towards the Pirates.
7. Fight your way past the pirates, and make your way towards 62,49. USE THE PICTURE BELOW. There are two boxes for you to find here, and are fairly difficult to find. One is in a pirate camp, fairly close to the water. The other is in the west, fairly close to the mountains. Find them both. Once you have them, search for Baron Longshore, who you’ll find in one of the nearby pirate camps. Kill him, and head back to Ratchet.
8. In Ratchet, head back to Gazlowe and turn in [16] WANTED Baron Longshore and [16] Stolen Booty. Also get [18] Raptor Horns from Mebok Mizzyrix, who is right next to the bank. If you aren’t Level 15 now, you should be really, really close.
9. Now head southwest towards the Stagnant Oasis, which you’ll find at 55,42, killing Kolkar as you go. When you get to the water, start looking for another Bubbly Fissure. Beware the turtles, they’re aggressive. Swim in and use the fissure to complete [16] The Stagnant Oasis.
10. Time for another tough fight. Head west to 53,41. Look for another centaur gazeebo-like building, up on a hill. We are looking for Verog the Dervish, but he won’t be here yet. Here is what you’re going to do..
Near the gazeebo, you will find a couple of tents, and a few kolkar. Kill them all. Eventually, after much killing, one of the Centaur will say “I am slain! Summon Verog!” When you see this shout, head back to the gazeebo. Verog should be standing there. Kill him and loot his head. This might be a tricky fight, so try to have a health potion standing by.
11. At this point we’re going to do a little grinding. Why? Well, we’re now standing in one of the best grinding spots for our level you’ll find. Kolkar Bloodchargers don’t hit very hard at all, and have around 250-280 health. They go down -very- fast, and are relatively easy to find. They also drop Centaur Bracers, which we need for a quest. They also drop Linen Cloth at a decent rate, which we can sell at auction. There are more Bloodchargers at the east side of the oasis, so let’s concentrate on that area. Also worth noting, if you run our of convenient Centaurs to kill, don’t be afraid to go into the lake and kill a few Oasis Snapjaws.
Grind here until you are level 16. For me, this was around 80 kills, but it may differ depending on how many Peons, Prowlers and Pirates and Turtles you had to kill to get to your previous objectives.
12. Now head west, past the crossroads, to Regthar Deathgate’s Bunker. Turn in [14] Centaur Bracers and [18] Verog the Dervish, and get the followup, [16] Hezrul Bloodmark. Then head back to the Crossroads.
13. At The Crossroads and turn in [16] The Stagnant Oasis, [14] Supplies for the Crossroads and [15] The Disruption Ends, get the follow up [16]Altered Beings. Repair, restock, and fly to Thunder Bluff if you’re tauren, or Ogrimmar if you’re not. Auction off your greens, retrain in spells, and take care of any other business, and fly to Camp Taurajo.
NOTE Remember at the start of the guide, i recommended that you should have 10 slot bags? Well, since then we’ve had a chance to get some gold together from grey sales to vendors and cloth/greens selling at auction. Bag space is important. As expensive as it may seem, it’ll earn you money in the long run. So while you’re in town, get a few bags. The bigger the better; you might regret buying smaller bags, but you sure as hell won’t regret buying large ones later on in the game.
Part 5 From Raptors to Hezrul
We will begin the next part from Camp Taurajo, so fly there now and set your hearthstone to the inn there. Let me say that one more time so no one has an excuse.. SET YOUR HEARTHSTONE TO CAMP TAURAJO. Done? Good!
1. Using the map above, head towards the Raptor Grounds. Be careful not to run through the Bristleback Quillboar camps, they’re more trouble than they’re worth right now. When you get to the Raptor Grounds, start killing. They tend to stand in pairs, but it’s easy enough to kill them off one by one. Right at the back of the Raptor Grounds, a group of 3 raptors guard the Stolen Silver, at the southeastern most camp. One of these can be pulled solo. The other two you’ll have to fight together, unless you’re able to polymorph or hibernate one. Kill them both and loot the silver.
Stay at the Raptor Grounds, killing any loose raptors you find until you have 5 Intact Raptor Horns for [18] Raptor Horns and at least 3 Sunscale Feathers for [17] The Angry Scytheclaws. When you have the silver, the horns, and the feathers all collected, move on.
2. Move north to 52,46. you will find more raptors here, guarding some nests. Every single one of these raptors can be pulled one at a time, if you’re careful. Clear the area, then drop one Sunscale Feather on each of the three nests.
3. Head to mark number 3 on the map above, the Lushwater Oasis. Fight your way to the water, then begin killing Oasis Snapjaws, and loot 8 of their shells for [16] Altered Beings.
4. Here is another one of those difficult fights. We’re going to take on Hezrul Bloodmark. Hezrul patrols around Lushwater Oasis and is level 19. But he isn’t alone. He walks with two guards, who are anywhere between levels 13 and 16. You can’t just run in blind and expect to win this fight, so here’s the tactic i used.
First of all.. FIND HIM! He patrols Clockwise around the Oasis, and spawns right outside the Wailing Caverns. Once you’ve located him, take a look at his guards, and decide which of the two guards is the WEAKEST. If you are able, polymorph, sap, root, or use any other crowd control you have on Hezrul himself. Kill the weakest guard first, then run away. Eventually, they’ll stop chasing you, and go back to where you first fought them. Drink, eat, get your strength back. Then, use any crowd control effects you have on Hezrul again and kill the second guard. Then escape again. This should leave Hezrul all alone. Get your strength back, and attack him directly. A little patience makes this a simple enough fight, but if you have any potions, be prepared to use them. good luck!
5. Run a little further north to Regthar’s Bunker and complete [19] Hezrul Bloodmark. Do not take the followup. The next quest in this chain is a script that involves killing wave after wave of 15-16 Centaurs, followed by a level 20 elite Centaur, while still dealing with more waves of the 15-16 ones. It shouldn’t be attempted alone until much later on.
6. Run all the way east to Ratchet. Finish up [18] Raptor Horns, and take the followup, [18D] Smart Drinks. You will also find a Wailing Caverns quest in Ratchet worth picking up, [18D] Trouble at the Docks from Crane Operator Bigglefuzz who you’ll find near the water.
7. Now return to the Crossroads and turn in [16] Altered Beings. This quest has two followups. One of them leads to the Sepulcher in Silverpine Forest, which is a timewaste for us. The other, [16D] Hamuul Runetotem, is worth getting. Also, turn in [17] The Angry Scytheclaws (get the follow up), and [18] Stolen Silver. This should make you Ding level 17. While you’re here, be sure to get [19] Report to Kadrak.
Before we go any further, I want you to check your Quest log and make sure you are on all of these quests. If you are not, something has gone wrong somewhere (If you didn’t get to turn in .
The Barrens
- [14] Wenikee Boltbucket
- [18] Jorn Skyseer
- [18] Miner’s Fortune
- [19] Report to Kadrak
- [20] Consumed by Hatred
- [20] Deepmoss Spider Eggs
- [20] The Guns of Northwatch
Wailing Caverns
- [16D] Hamuul Runetotem
- [18D] Serpentbloom
- [18D] Smart Drinks
- [18D] Trouble at the Docks
Part 6 Walkabouts
This is a guide to The Barrens, so the next part might shock you. Y’see.. we aren’t staying in The Barrens for this run. We are going walkabouts. Note that if you are on a PvP or PvPRP server, you will be Flagged for bits of this run. Hold your nerve and you should do fine. After part 5, you should be standing in the middle of The Crossroads. Let us begin.
1. Start walking north, following the road, until you reach the Mor’shan Rampart. Pretty much as soon as you hit this area, you will see Wenikee Boltbucket on your right, standing at 50,11 or so. Talk to her to complete [14] Wenikee Boltbucket, and get the followup.
2. Now, we’re going east again, towards 57,9, staying close to the mountain, until you find Sludge Fen. To the north side of this area is a Goblin Shredder with a quest for you. Talk to it, and get [18] Ignition!. This quest involves killing Supervisor Lugwizzle, who you’ll find at the top of the large tower slightly to the south, in the middle of the water. Start climbing the tower, killing as you go. Also, stop to loot any Tool Buckets you see. Those contain Nugget Slugs, which you need for a quest. Kill Lugwizzle, jump off the tower (aiming for the water, of course) and get back to the shredder.
3. The guy in the shredder will now offer [18] The Escape. This is a really easy escort mission. Accept it. When we first start, the shredder will run around at random for a little while, until the goblin learns to control it. While he’s doing this, start making long pulls and killing the Drudgers and Mercenaries to the west of you. When he works out the controls, he’ll start walking West. Continue to make long pulls. It will take him a second or two to notice when you’re fighting things, but stay close to him and he WILL notice eventually. Try not to let things run away. After a short while, the shredder will turn north up a ramp, and stop. When this happens, two Venture Co. mobs will spawn and attack you. It should be an easy fight. Once they’re dead, the mission will end. Now, patrol the area looting any more Nugget Slugs you need until you have completed [15] Nugget Slugs.
If you DO NOT have the Orgrimmar Flight Path..
Taurens, it is time for you to visit the Horde’s capital if you haven’t already. (If you already have, skip this part) Trolls and Orcs should already have this flight path, so skip ahead. Undead, if you didn’t pick it up yet, now is the best time.
Walk East, and don’t stop walking until you reach a river. When you hit the river, turn North towards 64,3 on the Barrens map. Here you will find a bridge, and over the bridge, you will find the little known and hugely under used Orgrimmar West Gate. Ask a guard where the Wind Rider Master is, then go find him. He is at the top of the Skytower in the Valley of Strength. When you’re done, leave Orgrimmar via the West gate again, and head back to Sludge Fen. Then, continue the guide.
4. Head back to Wenikee Boltbucket and complete [15] Nugget Slugs. Take the followup. Now run north, to the very top of the Mor’shan Rampart, and find Kadrak. He should be in the 1st floor of a guard tower, 48,5 for those who use coordinates. Turn in [19] Report to Kadrak and get the followup, [19] The Warsong Reports.
5. We are now going to do [19] The Warsong Reports. This quest is a waste of time exp wise, but earns us flight paths in Ashenvale, and is therefore worth it.
NOTE Click the image above to see a larger map.
Follow the road north until you reach Ashenvale. Take a look at the map above. Our first stop will be on the middle floor of a guard tower, just outside Splintertree Post. Follow the purple dots to get there.Open your stack of warsong reports, and give one of them to the guard with a Blue question mark over her head. Remember to give her only one, or you won’t have enough to go around. Then head into Splintertree Post and Get the Flight path. When you’re done there, follow the Blue dots to the second guard. This guard patrols the road outside Satyrnaar, and unfortunately is frequently ganked by Alliance members on most servers. (Although she is civilian, she is the same level as most people in this part of Ashenvale, and therefore doesn’t give a DK). Give her a report, then turn back and head west. Get back to the junction, and follow the yellow dots all the way west to Zoram’gar Outpost, being very careful to avoid Astranaar, the major Alliance settlement in this zone. When you get there, hand out the last report, get the flight path, and fly to The Crossroads.
6. Take care of any business you might have in The Crossroads, repairs, restocking, selling grey items etc. Then leave the town through the West gate, and follow the road until you come to the border with Stonetalon Mountains. We’re going to do a few quests here. Right on the border, you’ll see a few Horde NPC’s right next to the road. Stop and pick up [18] Avenge My Village.
7. A tiny bit northwest, at about 81,88 you will find Camp Aparaje, a deserted Tauren village with a few camps of Grimtotem Ruffians and Grimtotem Mercenaries. These are both very, very easy for you to kill right now. So go ahead and kill until you have completed [18] Avenge My Village. Once they’re all dead, head back to the NPC’s at the border.
8. Find Makaba Flathoof at the border and turn in [18] Avenge My Village. Get the followup, [18] Kill Grundig Darkcloud.
9. Follow the road west until 70,87, then turn northeast and follow the road into the grimtotem settlement, killing as you go. At 73,86 you’ll find a tent. Standing at the entrance to this tent is, amazingly enough, Grundig Darkcloud. Kill him. Before you leave, kill 6 Grimtotem Brutes to complete the quest, then walk into the tent where you found Grundig. Inside you will find Kaya Flathoof. Get yourself ready, then talk to her, and take her quest, [18] Protect Kaya. This is an escort mission. She will walk West out of the grimtotem settlement, then start following the road Southast. Nothing should challenge you for this one. When she gets to the middle of Camp Aparaje, you will be ambushed by 3 grimtotems at once. Be ready to pull aggro off Kaya as soon as this happens, as she dies very quickly. Kill them, and the mission ends.
10. Head back to the border, and turn in [18] Kill Grundig Darkcloud and [18] Protect Kaya. Get the followup [18] Kaya’s Alive, and then hit the road northwest again.
11. At 71,95, you’ll find a Darkspear Troll settlement called Malaka’Jin. There you’ll find Xen’zilla, who’ll offer the quest [19] Blood Feeders. Take it, then get back on the road northwest.
12. We are now going to do the two Spider quests you have at the moment. Keep following the road ’til about 57,76, then go into Sishir Canyon, on your left. Here you’ll find all the spiders you could ever want. You will also see Deepmoss Eggs, which you can loot for your quest [20] Deepmoss Spider Eggs. These contain either 2 or 3 eggs in my experience, so you don’t need as many as you think. 😉 Be aware though that looting them causes some Deepmoss Hatchlings to spawn, so make sure the area is clear and that you’re ready for a fight. Gather all the eggs you need and kill the spiders you need for [19] Blood Feeders. Avoid the elite in the area, we’ll get her later.
13. At this point, you should be Level 18, or close to it. If you are not, grind on the spiders until you ding.When you do, leave Sishir Canyon and head north. At around 52,60 you’ll see a road heading west. Follow it, and it’ll lead you to Sunrock Retreat, the horde settlement in Stonetalon Mountains. Get the flight path which should be to the north side of the lake there. Complete the quest [18] Kaya’s Alive at Tammra Windfield, who should be near the biggest tent in Sunrock.
14. Walk back south to Malaka’Jin and complete [19] Blood Feeders. Then hearthstone to Camp Taurajo.
Part 7 Boulder Lode Mine
A nice short part now. You should now be standing in Camp Taurajo. But this isn’t where we want to be, so fly to Thunder Bluff and head for Elder Rise. When you get there, complete [16D] Hamuul Runetotem, then complete the followup [16D] Nara Wildmane, which will earn you the quest [22D] Leaders of the Fang, which is the main Wailing Caverns quest.
1. Now that you’re done here, head to the Wind Rider Master and Fly to Ogrimmar. When you get there, sell, repair, restock, visit the auction house, Train in your level 18 spells and take care of anything else you need to. When you’re done, head to the Valley of Honor and look for Rilli Greasygob (wonderful name, huh?). Talk to him, and get the quest [19] Samophlange Manual. When you’re done there, head out of Orgrimmar West Gate, which you’ll find at around 16,62 on the Ogrimmar map.
2. Very close by, at around 61,4 you should find Boulder Lode Mine. Fight your way into the mine, and be VERY careful. This area is full of 17-18 mobs that run away at low health and are packed incredibly tightly. Also, because the area is so small inside the cave, respawn can and will bite you. At the back of the cave, you’ll find Boss Copperplug. Use the map below to help you find him. Kill him, and loot the Samophlange Manual Cover from him. Now fight your way out of the mine. You don’t want to be in there for any longer than you absolutely have to be. Once you are outside, keep killing the Venture Co. mobs in the area until you have 5 Samophlange Manual Pages and one Cats eye Emerald for [18] Miner’s Fortune. First time i did this, I got my emerald from the first mob i killed. Second time, i fought my way in to copperplug, back out, and still had to grind for 5 minutes or so to get the drop. Pure luck.
3. When you’re all done, go west back to Mor’shan Rampart and turn in [19] The Warsong Reports. When that’s done, pat yourself on the back and stone to Camp Taurajo. (If your Hearthstone isn’t done cooling yet, run up to Splintertree Post and fly to Taurajo.) When you get to Taurajo, complete [19] Jorn Skyseer. Then get [19] Ishamuhale from Jorn Skyseer and [21] Tribes at War from Mangletooth, who you’ll find inside a cage, near the wind rider master. Once that’s done, move onto part 8.
Part 8 Bristlebacks, Northwatch, Ishumahale and Thunder Lizards
1. This is a nice big run, one of my favourites. Right now we have a lot of quests for Bristleback Quillboar, which are found to the north of Taurajo. That’s where we’re going now. Head to the first camp, which you’ll find at 45,53. Kill any Water Seekers you see, try to get at least six, but if you don’t, don’t worry. We can come back later, once they’ve spawned. Make sure you loot any Bristleback Quilboar Tusks and Blood Shards. The tusks are for [20] Consumed by Hatred, and the shards we will need later.
2. Keep moving north to 43,51. You will find another camp, this time populated by Thornweavers, and a few others that we don’t need. Kill as many as you can find, but don’t worry if you don’t get all 12. We will return here soon.
3. Further north again, this time to the Geomancer camp at 42,48. Start killing. These things hit hard, so expect a lot of downtime between kills. Kill as many as you can find, then head back down to the Thornweaver camp. Keep moving between these two camps until you have killed 12 Bristleback Thornweavers and 12 Bristleback Geomancers.
4. Go back to the Water Seeker camp. Take care of any more Water Seekers or Tusks you need, and continue to kill until you have at least 11 Blood Shards. When that’s done, head back to Taurajo.
5. Back in town, turn in [21] Tribes at War at Mangletooth. He will then give you [21] Blood Shards of Agamaggan Take it, and turn it in. If you managed to find Lakota’mani earlier, go talk to Jorn Skyseer and finish the quest [22] Lakota’mani. Sell greys, repair, restock. When that’s done, go back to Mangletooth and take the quest [??] Spirit of the Wind. That will give you a nifty little speed buff, which will help us get to the next part that little bit quicker!
6. Run north along the road, and then turn east towards Northwatch Hold. Stay on the road for as long as you can. Be careful to avoid the Bristlebacks on your way, the Thornweavers will root you, making it impossible to run from them. The speed buff you have should chop a bit of time off that journey, and should wear off just as you arrive. How convenient!
7. Follow the path from the entrance, up to the top of the hill, then turn right and approach the West tower. If you get lost, use the map. Clear off any mobs around the tower. Inside this tower, you will find 3 mobs, one of which is a cloth-wearing healer. This is a tricky fight, but by no means impossible. If you have to, use the same tactic we used for Hezrul Bloodmark. (Kill one and escape, eat, drink, then kill another and escape.) Once all 3 of them are dead, climb the tower. At the top you will find Canoneer Smythe, and one guard. Take care of them both.
8. Now head to the East tower, using the map shown above. Same routine as before, three guards on the ground level. Take them down, climb the tower, use any tactics you have and bring down Canoneer Wheesan, and leave the tower. At this point, it’s a good idea to grind off 10 Theramore Medals if you don’t have them already. They drop from any mob inside Northwatch.
9. Head back down the hill, clear off the mobs around the keep, then prepare yourself again. There are 4 mobs in this room, but they will pull 2 at a time. Range the healer then run around a corner so she’s out of your line of sight, and she’ll come running round to get you. Once her and the marine are dead, kill the two marines guarding the Blood Elf. Do not take his quest yet. Once they’re dead, fight your way to the top of the tower, moving slowly and carefully, and keeping your eyes open. At the top of the tower, you will find around 4 regular mobs, and Captain Fairmount. The regular mobs should pull one at a time, so clear the area off until Fairmount is alone. Then simply kill her. Once she is dead, Climb back down the tower and talk to Gilthares Firebough, the blood elf, and get his quest, [22] Free From the Hold.
10. Escort Gilthares. Try to stay about 10 feet in front of him, and pull things towards you. He has a terrible habbit of running headlong into clusters of mobs and pulling more than you need to fight. He is also very fragile, so don’t let him tank things for too long if you can help it. He will walk down the hill, to the main gates of Northwatch, then rest for a short while before heading north through the pirate camps. These are all much lower level than you now. The words “Turkey Shoot” and “Cakewalk” spring to mind. Escort him all the way to ratchet.
11. Welcome to Ratchet! There’s quite a lot of things we have to do here, mostly quest turn-ins! Get to work turning in these quests..
- [18] The Escape
- [18] Miner’s Fortune
- [20] Deepmoss Spider Eggs
- [20] The Guns of Northwatch
- [22] Free From the Hold
If you have any more business to take care of in ratchet, do it now.
12. Lucky for us, there’s a quest we need to do that’s very nearby. What a coincidence! [19] Ishamuhale is very close to us. Head north to the dead tree at 59,30. On your way, Kill the first Zhevra you see. It should drop a lovely, fresh caracas. Tasty. When you get to the tree, Right-Click the Caracas in your inventory. This should summon Ishamuhale. Kill it.
13. Almost done! Head back to The Crossroads and turn in [20] Consumed by Hatred, and deal with any other business you have.
14. Once that’s done, fly to Camp Taurajo and turn in [19] Ishamuhale. Get the followup, [18] Enraged Thunder Lizards.
15. Head north to 46,50 and look for Lakota’mani. This is a named Thunder Lizard. He has a long-ish patrol route and a less than ideal respawn time, so you might not find him. If you do find him, kill him, and loot his hoof. This hoof starts a quest, [22] Lakota’mani, which is worth 1,300 exp. After you have killed him, or while you are looking for him, kill the Thunderheads in the area and loot their blood. Once you have 3 Thunder Lizard Bloods, head back to Camp Taurajo. (Don’t worry if you don’t find Lakota’mani, he isn’t essential, and the 1.3k exp isn’t really worth camping the area for.)
16. Back in Taurajo, turn in [18] Enraged Thunder Lizards. Don’t bother with the followup. Once that’s done, fly to Orgrimmar, head back to Rilli Greasygob and give the Samophlange manual to him.
Congratulations!
You should now be Level 20! This guide stops here, but there’s plenty more work to do for your character. My suggestion for you now is to try out the Wailing Caverns. This is, in my opinion, the first worthwhile instance for the Horde. There are some lovely drops for all classes in there, and you have done all the preparation already. Check out Jame’s Wailing Caverns Guide before you head inside, and don’t forget to get the quests from the Druids inside the “eye” above the entrance.
Also, Jame is working on a Guide for the horde, taking you from 20 right through to 60, which I will link from here as soon as it is published. There are also plenty more Barrens quests for you to do! We didn’t touch the last of Jorn Skyseer’s chain, or the Silithid, or the Dwarves in the south. We barely touched Ashenvale and Stonetalon, so there’s lots of work to do there. And if you’re willing to travel, Undead lands have a whole ton of quests we didn’t even think about in this guide.
Please, don’t forget to leave some replies to this post letting me know how you did, any problems you hit, areas you found difficult, or if you need more information in some areas. I will be watching these, and will try to reply quickly. Have fun, happy hunting!
After more than 10 years I amAfter more than 10 years I am still using this guide. There are some mistakes in it, but I still appreciate it very much. I remember when I was around 13-14 when I first started playing this game and followed the guide, and now at the age of 24 still following the very same guide.