Farahlon (alternate universe)



Farahlon (or Plains of Farahlon) is an island located in the northeast of alternate Draenor, on the Barrier Sea. In the main timeline, this was the area that was transformed into the Netherstorm in Outland. A Garrison mission involves sending followers in order to find Farahlon and understand where Netherstorm came from. The champions sailed northeast and returned with a Mysterious Shining Lockbox containing Archmage Vargoth's Spare Staff.

It was initially planned to be added as a zone in Warlords of Draenor but was ultimately scrapped.

Development


Farahlon was initially announced as a zone in the Warlords of Draenor expansion and appeared in the first maps revealed at BlizzCon 2013. The initial plan was to add the island in a later patch, similarly to the implementation of the Isle of Thunder, Isle of Giants, and the Timeless Isle during Mists of Pandaria. Farahlon was later removed from the world map of the Public Test Realms.

During a Q&A session at BlizzCon 2014, Ian Bates asked about Farahlon and whether or not players would venture there. Then-Lead Game Designer Ion Hazzikostas explained that originally, Farahlon was meant to be used as a separate area for boosted players to start in, distinct from Tanaan Jungle, but as Tanaan became more and more fleshed out during development, the developers felt that Tanaan truly represented what the Iron Horde was going to be about, with everyone jumping in together alongside heroes of Azeroth such as Khadgar and Thrall. Everything was thus rolled into Tanaan Jungle, leaving Farahlon a bit up in the air.

During the PTR for patch 6.2.0, Khadgar offered a legendary quest by the name To Farahlon!, which required players to complete the "Finding Farahlon" Naval Mission and retrieve a Pearl of Farahlon. The quest described the island as filled with beautiful fields and forests dotted with natural crystalline formations and roiling magical pools that made it the magical nexus of Draenor, but that it was nearly impossible to reach due to the frequent and unpredictable magical storms in the surrounding seas. However, the quest and accompanying mission did not make it to the live version of patch 6.2.

In July of 2014, Cory Stockton finally stated in an interview that Farahlon would not make an appearance in Warlords of Draenor as Blizzard felt that it didn't fit the storyline of the expansion. Stockton stated that they may return to it in the future, using the example of Tol Barad, which was initially planned to appear in Wrath of the Lich King but didn't make it into the game until Cataclysm.

Before they were replaced by the infested, the scrapped plant creatures known as fara were planned to be native to Farahlon.

Notes and trivia

 * Scythetooth Raptors can be found in both versions of Farahlon.
 * Farahlon can be seen on numerous Draenor maps in Garrisons Shipyards, but is usually covered by doodads such as hats, compasses, and so on. It can also be seen on a strategic map at Skysea Ridge.
 * During the PTR, Farahlon was spelled Faralohn, probably mistakenly.
 * In Heroes of the Storm, Yrel references Farahlon being cut in one of her poke quotes: "Have you ever been to Farahlon? It's so beautiful! I pity anyone who has never been able to travel there. What a cruel fate it would be to hear about its wonders without ever having a chance to see it with your own eyes! Oh well, anyway, I will send you a S.E.L.F.I.E. next time I'm there."