Thousand Needles questing guide

This is a questing guide detailing the best method to obtain and complete quests in Thousand Needles.

For a list of all Thousand Needles quests in table format (arranged by level), see Thousand Needles quests

Note: This guide is not meant for power-leveling purposes. Rather, it is meant to show a player the most efficient way to complete all quests available for a particular zone. If you know of a better order or method to accomplish this, your input is welcome (in fact, greatly desired). For major changes, feel free to edit, but make a note in the talk page as to your reasoning.

Horde Questing Guide (LVL 25-35)
Though Alliance players can make use of the extensive questing available in the Shimmering Flats, an area in eastern Thousand Needles, there are many quests offered over the rest of the zone that are only available to Horde characters. This section of the guide targets those Horde characters, and is appropriate for levels 25-35. Alliance players should skip to the later section, the neutral questing guide, designed for the low 30s. The neutral area continues to offer quests that head out of this zone up until the mid 40s, but those quests will only briefly be covered in this guide.

Before You Leave
Before heading to Thousand Needles, it would be a good idea to pick up a few prerequisites and pull quests for a little extra XP.


 * At Sun Rock Retreat in Stonetalon Mountains, talk to Maggran Earthbinder to receive Calling in the Reserves.
 * As your probably come from the Barrens, you can pick up A New Ore Sample in Camp Taurajo which has prerequisites there.
 * On the highest rise of Thunder Bluff, talk to Zangen Stonehoof to get The Sacred Flame (quest).
 * Head to Ashenvale to Raynewood Retreat and kill dryads until you find an . Take it to the Moonwell in southern Ashenvale and fill it by right-clicking it in your inventory. It will turn into.
 * Return to Zangen Stonehoof in Thunder Bluff to get the next quest, The Sacred Flame (2). While you are there, head across the bridge to Hunter Rise and talk to Melor Stonehoof to get Steelsnap (quest).

Getting There

 * To get to Thousand Needles, start at Camp Taurajo and head south along the road. You will eventually come to an area called The Great Lift - this is the border of Thousand Needles.
 * At the top of The Great Lift, talk to Brave Moonhorn to get the quest Message to Freewind Post. Also talk to Grish Longrunner to turn in Calling in the Reserves if you have it.
 * Take the lift down to the valley floor and follow the road south. When it forks, head east (the left fork). Eventually you will come to another lift in an area called Freewind Post. Take the lift up.
 * This is the main Horde outpost in Thousand Needles. Get the flight path from the Wind Rider and talk to Cliffwatcher Longhorn to turn in Message to Freewind Post. Talk to him again to get Pacify the Centaur. There are many other NPCs with quests available, talk to them all and make sure you have the following quests:
 * Pacify the Centaur from
 * Alien Egg (quest) from
 * Grimtotem Spying from
 * A Different Approach from
 * Wind Rider (quest) from
 * Talk to Rau Cliffrunner to turn in The Sacred Flame (2) if you have it, and pick up The Sacred Flame (3).
 * Right click the wanted sign by the inn to get Wanted - Arnak Grimtotem.

Running Around
These early Thousand Needles quests are a collection of random errands that even a level 25 character can easily do.
 * First, head north from Freewind Post to the centaur area Splithoof Crag and kill the centaur you need for Pacify the Centaur.
 * If you feel up to it and you have the quest The Sacred Flame (3), you can enter Splithoof Hold and complete that quest as well, though it may be hard for a level 25/26 character. If you do not complete it now, remember to come back and complete it later.
 * Once you have killed all the centaur required, start heading east along the wall of the canyon. You will eventually come to a ramp leading up and back west. Climb up it to a cave at the top with a Tauren - this area is known as the Weathered Nook.
 * Talk to to get the quest Test of Faith (quest). Talk to him again, then when you are ported to the top of a rock, jump off the planks. You will be returned to the cave, and can turn in the quest.
 * Get Dorn's next quest, Test of Endurance, while you are here.
 * Leave the cave and continue to follow the canyon wall to the east, looking for signs of cloud serpents and a large egg for the Alien Egg (quest) quest. The egg will be out in the open, NOT in a cave. If you can't find the egg here, check south of Freewind Post.
 * Once you have the egg and have killed all the needed centaur, return to Freewind Post. Turn in the Alien Egg (quest) quest and get Serpent Wild.

Arikara Preparations
Before you move on to Darkcloud Pinnacle, you need to complete these two quests.
 * Head west down the road from Freewind Post to reach Whitereach Post. If you happen to see a Galak Messenger running by, kill him and loot the, starting Assassination Plot. You may want to complete that quest now if you are level 28 or higher, otherwise it should be saved for later.
 * On the way, kill enough earth elementals to complete A Different Approach.
 * When you arrive at Whitereach Post, turn in A Different Approach and Serpent Wild. Also pick up the following quests while you are here:
 * A Dip in the Moonwell
 * Sacred Fire
 * Hypercapacitor Gizmo (quest) (Group)
 * Head to the northeast, to the area below Darkcloud Pinnacle (just southeast of the Great Lift). Collect (the little thistle-like plants growing in and around the water) until you have 10 bushels.
 * Next you need to make a trip to Thunder Bluff. Talk to Magatha Grimtotem on Elder Rise of Thunder Bluff and turn in Sacred Fire, receiving the next quest, Arikara (quest).
 * Return to Thousand Needles - next stop, Darkcloud Pinnacle.

Darkcloud Pinnacle
For this section, it would be very useful to have a small group (no more than 2-3 would be needed). The tauren of Darkcloud Pinnacle come in groups and tend to swarm. However, it is possible to solo these quests at level 29.


 * The ramp up to Darkcloud Pinnacle can be found along the road between Freewind Post and The Great Lift, just east of where the road forks to go to Whitereach Post. Head up the ramp and across the bridges until you reach the top. When you reach the central pinnacle (there should be bridges in all four directions), head straight (east). You will find a pinnacle with a pile of wood.
 * When you are ready, use the near the wood to light a fire to summon Arikara. Defeat her and loot  from her.
 * Back at the central pinnacle, head over the south bridge. You will now be looking for little chests/boxes that hold the notes for the Grimtotem Spying quest. Two are on separate rocks which can only be reached by bridges from the main village rock. The other one is in the main village, in the biggest building.
 * Return again to the central pinnacle. This time go north. You will reach a cliff. Kill Arnak Grimtotem and his friends, then talk to Lakota Windsong to receive Free at Last (Thousand Needles). Protect her as she makes her way down off the pinnacle, but beware, groups of Grimtotem tauren will ambush you.
 * Finally, take a trip to Whitereach Post and Freewind Post to turn in the quests.

Whitereach Post

 * Head to the far western reaches of Thousand Needles. At the base of the needle closest to the night elf post Thalanaar, there is a Concealed Command Console. To reach it, you must climb up to the ledge from the east side of the needle.
 * Once you have reached the console, use the from the A Dip in the Moonwell quest. You will gain control of a robot. Have him run into the moonwell and click on the flask icon to gather the water. A vial with moonwell water will appear in your bags. You can dispel the robot like you would a buff.
 * If have to get A New Ore Sample, kill kobolds around Whitereach to obtain it and take it to Camp Taurajo when you get there next time. The ore sample also drops from the kobolds near the Shimmering Flats.
 * Return to Whitereach Post and turn in Testing the Tonic. If you haven't yet found a Galak Messenger, wait along the road to the northeast of the post until one comes along (or try finding him at Splithoof Crag, he waits there quite a long time after spawning), kill him, and loot to start Assassination Plot.
 * Turn in Assassination Plot to Kanati Greycloud and get Protect Kanati Greycloud (Note: you may want help for this quest, though it is solo-able).
 * Three centaur will attack. Kill them and keep Kanati alive to complete Protect Kanati Greycloud.

Highperch
Now it's time to visit Highperch.
 * Head south from Whitereach Post until you come to the cliffs. Search for a path leading up, marked by a totem pole. Head up the ramp.
 * Gather until you have the required 10.
 * Search for a path at the southeastern edge of Highperch. Up the path is the NPC Pao'ka Swiftmountain. Speak with him to receive Homeward Bound.
 * Escort Pao'ka safely down from Highperch, then return to Whitereach to turn in Homeward Bound.

Group Quests
The remaining quests in this part of the Needles are best done with a group. Steelsnap (quest) and Test of Endurance are both technically solo quests, but are more difficult than the norm. A group of 3-4 would be best, though 2 will probably suffice.


 * Once you have a group ready, head to the centaur camp north of Whitereach Post, the area known as Camp E'thok. Kill the centaur in the immediate area of the panther cage, then use the key to release the panther. Defeat it and loot . Return to Whitereach to complete Hypercapacitor Gizmo (quest).
 * Steelsnap and his two buddies wander around the northwest of Whitereach and can be difficult to find, particularly because they sometimes hide inside a centaur tent. When you do locate them, defeat them and loot his rib. Turn in the quest in Thunder Bluff the next time you travel there.
 * Next head southeast along the southern canyon wall until you find a path going up (not the one to Highperch, further southeast). It will lead to a cave known as the Roguefeather Den. Head to the back of the cave and right-click one of the boxes. Before 2.3, waves of harpies came, now it's only Grenka Bloodscreech - defeat and loot her to complete the quest.
 * Return to Dorn Plainstalker in the Weathered Nook to turn in Test of Endurance and receive Test of Strength.
 * Head back to the area near Whitereach Post. The object of Test of Strength, Rok'Alim the Pounder, roams the area south of the road. Locate him and defeat him (you can solo this one, but the other group members will want to complete the quest too).

Tidying Up
The final steps before moving to the Shimmering Flats include:
 * Turn in any quests you still have, including:
 * Wind Rider (quest)
 * Test of Strength (Group)
 * Testing the Tonic
 * In the Weathered Nook, Dorn will give you the quest Test of Lore, which will continue that chain and send you to several other zones. See Test of Faith quest chain for more information.

Before moving on to the Shimmering Flats, you should be around level 30.

Shimmering Flats
The Horde quests of the Shimmering Flats are best suited for level 35 players, so it is likely you will need to level a bit between the other Horde quests of Thousand Needles and these. The neutral quests available from Mirage Raceway in the Shimmering Flats could be useful for this purpose.

To obtain the Horde quests for the Shimmering Flats, players need to begin in the Crossroads.
 * Speak to Korran the troll in the Crossroads to obtain The Swarm Grows.
 * Head to Orgrimmar and speak with Belgrom Rockmaul to turn in The Swarm Grows and receive The Swarm Grows (2).
 * Just north-west of the Shimmering Flats lies the Horde outpost Ironstone Camp. Speak with Moktar Krin there to turn in The Swarm Grows (2) and receive The Swarm Grows (3).
 * Now head to the Rustmaul Dig Site in the south-western part of the Shimmering Flats. Here you will find the many types of silithid which you need to kill for the quest. In addition, a silithid will drop, which begins another quest, Parts of the Swarm.
 * Once all the needed silithid have been killed and you have collected the items needed, return to Moktar to turn in The Swarm Grows (2).
 * Head back to the Crossroads and turn in Parts of the Swarm to Korran. He will send you to Belgrom Rockmaul with Parts of the Swarm (2).
 * Finally, return to Orgrimmar and turn in Parts of the Swarm (2) to Belgrom.

Neutral Questing Guide (LVL 30-33)
The Shimmering Flats are a prime questing hub for the low 30s, and continue to offer quests that head out of this zone until the mid 40s. Both Alliance and Horde players often partake of these quests at the Mirage Raceway. As this is one of the first contested zones many players will encounter, it is a place where many new players on PvP servers test their skills.

Mirage Raceway
Upon arrival at the Mirage Raceway in the center of the Shimmering Flats of Thousand Needles, players will be confronted by a large number of available quests.
 * Gather all the quests currently available. You should have:
 * Salt Flat Venom
 * Load Lightening
 * Hardened Shells
 * Rocket Car Parts (quest)
 * A Bump in the Road
 * Circle the flats, killing creatures and collecting parts as you go. Seek out the following creatures/items:
 * 6 from scorpids, especially in the western part of the flats.
 * 10 from vultures, especially in the north-eastern part of the flats near some big bones.
 * 9 from turtles, especially in the north-eastern part of the flats near an old ship.
 * 30, found all over
 * 10 Saltstone Basilisks in the north-west quadrant, in and around Weazel's Crater.
 * 10 Saltstone Crystalhides in both the north and south, around Weazel's Crater and the Tahonda Ruins.
 * 6 Saltstone Gazers in south-eastern Shimmering Flats, around the Tahonda Ruins.
 * Return to the Mirage Raceway and turn in the quests.

Further Questing
Further questing from the Mirage Raceway sends players out of the zone. There are a few stand-alone or short-chain quests - these include: In addition, two lengthy quest chains originate at the Raceway, both of which send players all over the world on various errands. See and  for more information.
 * Hemet Nesingwary Jr. (quest) - a pull into Stranglethorn Vale
 * Encrusted Tail Fins (Group) - a group quest in Stranglethorn Vale
 * Martek the Exiled (quest) - a pull into the Badlands

Where to go from here
After this point, most zones become equally viable for both Horde and Alliance. For those wishing to stay on Kalimdor, Desolace is probably the best option, though by level 35 a few quests in Dustwallow Marsh will also be opening up. In the Eastern Kingdoms, the vast questing hub of Stranglethorn Vale is available. Other Eastern Kingdom zones for the next level range include: Alterac Mountains (note that most quests for this zone come from the Hillsbrad Foothills), Arathi Highlands, the Badlands, and the Swamp of Sorrows.