Un'Goro Crater

The Un'Goro Crater (occasionally spelled as Un'goro Crater and pronounced uhn-GOH-roh) means "God Lands" in the Qiraji language. It lies at the central part of Southern Kalimdor, between Tanaris, Silithus and Uldum. Although the area is almost completely isolated from the rest of the world and sandwiched between three deserts, the crater is filled with exotic plant life and even more exotic creatures. Ranging from peaceful earth elementals to raging devilsaurs, the locals are not to be trifled with.

Players will want to farm Ravasaur Hatchling and do dailies for Whistle of the Venomhide Ravasaur in this zone. In addition, circling the border of Un'goro is an excellent way to farm Thorium Ore.

The Un'Goro Madness event happens here.

Ancient history
When the Titans shaped Azeroth, Freya designed Un'Goro Crater to be an area for experimentation along with Sholazar Basin and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. All three locations were places where the power of the Well of Eternity had coalesced. The Wild Gods emerged from these cradles of life. According to Nablya you might call Un'Goro Crater the Titans' petri dish. This coincides with theories of Un'Goro being the home of the Titans when they inhabited Kalimdor.

From the Shaper's Terrace Freya performed tests and experiments, though ever since she left, Nablya has taken her place to observe and watch over Un'Goro. Normally the titanic watchers do not interfere with the matters of Azeroth, but here in Un'Goro, they are free to take a more direct approach. As Un'Goro is the experimental ground of the Titans, it is their right to do so. Many of the creatures in the crater existed long before the titans arrived, but some did not. Nevertheless, they observe them all, without prejudice. Like Sholazar Basin, Un'Goro is unusual ecologically and geographically, it contains crystal pylons, and has remnants of guardian constructs that protect the land.

Some of the ancient dinosaurs of Un'Goro were nearly 300 feet long.

Recent history
During the War of the Shifting Sands the night elven army was pushed back through Un'Goro Crater, to the borders of the Tanaris desert. Something in Un'Goro prevented the Qiraji from being able to take the land.

World of Warcraft


An expedition troupe led by Williden and Hol'anyee Marshal set foot into the crater. However their endeavor was not fully prepared for everything, having underestimated the savagery of Un'Goro, and ended sooner than they wished. They sought higher ground from the savage beasts of the crater once their base camps were overrun, making their escape at Marshal's Refuge.

Elementals invaded the area only to be fought by the adventurers of the Alliance and the Horde.

During the Ahn'Qiraj War, the area was invaded by the armies of C'Thun.

At some point, the tauren Kova Broadhorn and her gnome companion Miles Corebender came here to find the orc Dhambeela

Wrath of the Lich King
The Shaper's Terrace was discovered while war ravaged Northrend.

Cataclysm


When the Cataclysm struck Azeroth, it disrupted the cloaking mechanism that kept a similar building as the Shaper's Terrace hidden.

The titans did not foresee the scenario that a member of an intelligent races discovered them there. So they required to perform some new tests. Marshal's Refuge was also attacked by Stone Guardians, forcing the troupe to flee and find another shelter with a small number of casualties. Williden Marshal and his team built a new camp for them, Marshal's Stand, which had some improvements when compared to their old refuge, indicating that they managed to adapt themselves to live at Un'Goro Crater.

The area between the Lakkari Tar Pits and the Marshlands also changed, blooming with hundreds of flowers as a result of the bloodpetals. The blooming grew to such an extent that it begun to throw off the natural balance in the area.

Legion
During the third invasion of the Burning Legion, the border between Tanaris and Un'Goro was attacked by demons but was successfully defended by Maximillian of Northshire and, surprisingly, Stone Guardians.

Getting there

 * Alliance and Horde:Un'Goro can be reached from Silithus to the west or Tanaris to the east. In the South-Western most point of Tanaris there is a path between two dark-grey stone pillars (in Thistleshrub Valley). In some places it is possible to jump into the crater in stages, avoiding death. However, those who don't want to take the chance can use the ramps leading down to the crater floor, found in southwestern Tanaris and northeastern Silithus. The flight path for the zone is south of the volcano, known as Marshal's Stand.

Geography
Un'Goro is a massive crater full of amazingly lush jungle and teeming with life. Dinosaurs roam freely here, as the land is wild and unpredictable. At the center of the crater a volcano rises, and fire elementals prowl. In addition, many strange and beautiful crystals dot the landscape, their purpose unknown to most but an object of research for some of the adventurous scientists camped in the area.

There are no instances in Un'Goro Crater, nor any battlegrounds.

Maps and subregions


Topographic map of Un'Goro Crater

Elite areas

 * Terror Run

Travel hubs

 * Flight paths
 * Marshal's Stand
 * Mossy Pile

Notable characters
At Marshal's Stand, Williden Marshal has led a team of explorers and biologists to take refuge from the crater's monstrous wildlife. Near the entrance to Tanaris, Torwa Pathfinder attempts to hunt down the elusive Lar'korwi. And at Fire Plume Ridge, poor Ringo desperately awaits the help of bold adventurers to guide him to safety from the powerful fire elementals that roam the crags, led by the terrible Blazerunner.

Quests
Quests in the crater range between level 50 and 55. Most quests in this area involve performing tasks for the scientists found at Marshal's Stand, studying the life, history, and crystals of the crater. There is also a chain in which players help to identify and deal with the silithid menace which has appeared in southern Un'Goro.

The Shaper's Terrace was added in Wrath of the Lich King. The quest chain to visit it begins with The Lifewarden's Wrath given by Avatar of Freya in Sholazar Basin.

Resources
Un'goro Crater is a region largely untouched by the advances of modern society, and as such boasts a large variety of natural minerals, plants, soil and crystals.

Miners will find both Thorium Veins and Rich Thorium Veins as well as a smattering of Mithril Deposits throughout the crater, particularly around the walls. More can be found at Fire Plume ridge, in the middle of the crater, and also in the South West part.

Herbalists will find a variety of herbs growing throughout the crater. Blindweed is commonly found near the northern tar pits. Sungrass and, more commonly, Dreamfoil are available on grassy areas. Liferoot is found by the water. Firebloom and Mountain Silversage grow on the hot rocks of Fire Plume Ridge.

For Skinners, Un'goro is the only source of Devilsaur Leather and the leatherworking patterns that use it. You will not, however, find any cloth; Un'goro is the only major zone with no humanoid mobs to fight.

Soil may be found in numerous piles around the crater. Harvesting this is possible even without a profession, and usually nets 1-4 Un'goro soil samples. This is used together with Tharlendris seeds and an Evergreen Pouch to produce Morrowgrain, used in repeatable reputation quests for Thunder Bluff/Cenarion Circle and Darnassus/Cenarion Circle, depending on your faction. It can be sold to vendors for.

Also available are the Power crystals: blue, red, green and yellow. These can be used with the power pylons in exchange for temporary buffs. These are accessed after completing a quest for J.D. Collie, a gnome located at Marshal's Stand, who gives a manual instructing which crystals are used with what pylon. They are also used in a few Arcanum quests. They cannot be sold to vendors but can be auctioned or traded.

Herbs

 * Sungrass
 * Blindweed (One of the few regions where you can gather it.)
 * Ghost Mushroom (Fungal Rock only)
 * Golden Sansam
 * Dreamfoil
 * Mountain Silversage

Leather

 * Devilsaur Leather (Skinning level 55-60 elite devilsaurs)

Ore

 * Mithril Deposit
 * Small Thorium Vein
 * Ooze Covered Thorium Vein
 * Rich Thorium Vein

Pylons and Power Crystals


In Un'Goro there are 3 Pylons: a Northern, Western, and Eastern Pylon. A southern pylon is mysteriously absent and it may be significant that there are no Silithid hives near the Un'Goro pylons except in the south. Scattered throughout Un'Goro are crystals colored either red, yellow, blue, or green. The crystals can be used on the Pylons providing you have the right combination of crystals. The pylons require all three quests given from J.D. Collie at Marshal's Stand to be complete before they will accept your crystals.

Wild creatures

 * Bloodpetals
 * Tar beasts
 * Devilsaurs
 * Diemetradons
 * Fire elementals
 * Gorillas
 * Oozes
 * Pterrordaxes
 * Raptors
 * Skyscreamers
 * Steam elementals
 * Stegodons
 * Stone golems
 * Stone golems

Achievement

 * Explore Un'Goro Crater
 * Hard Boiled
 * Un'Goro Crater Quests
 * Venomhide Ravasaur (achievement)

In Hearthstone


In the Tortollan tongue, Un'Goro is known as the "Land of the Lost and Found."

Un'Goro Crater is the setting of the fifth expansion for Hearthstone, Journey to Un'Goro. It is mainly themed around the primal elementals and savage dinosaurs that call the crater home, and showcases how the latter have evolved and adapted to the latent elemental energies of the region. The expansion also introduces a tol'vir, saurok and murloc population in Un'Goro, as well as an entirely new turtle race known as the tortollans.

Notes and trivia

 * Un'Goro Madness introduced other species living in Un'Goro Crater: brutosaurs, murlocs, saurok, and threshadons, a nod to and inspired by the Hearthstone expansion described above.
 * The name and region is most likely inspired by the in the  of northeastern Tanzania, Africa.
 * Before Cataclysm, there was a long quest series referencing Nintendo characters such as from . A humorous quest sequence was added in Cataclysm that rewarded players with Toy Windmill.
 * A very large number of NPCs and objects in Un'Goro were a direct reference to the 1970s Saturday Morning TV show (and feature film) . Examples of references include:
 * Marshal's Refuge; the last names of the main characters in Land of the Lost was Marshal.
 * Williden and Hol'anyee Marshal are clearly a reference to Will and Holly Marshall.
 * A major plot element in Land of the Lost are the pylons, devices of unknown origin which open portals through space, time and dimensions. They are powered and controlled though consoles comprised of patterns of red, green, blue, and yellow crystals.
 * The inspiration of Un'Goro and Sholazar Basin by Land of the Lost has been seemingly confirmed with the naming of the subzone: The Lost Lands in Sholazar Basin.
 * The zone appears with a lower-letter "g" in the Emerald Nightmare raid.

Speculation
Aru-Talis may be an incorrect night elven legend about Un'Goro Crater.