Sholazar Basin

Sholazar Basin (pronounced SHOL-uh-zarh) is a tropical jungle basin in the midst of Northrend. It is found between Borean Tundra and Icecrown. The region's climate and safety from the Scourge is maintained by pylons, erected by the Titans. Recently, one pylon in the east has fallen and the Scourge have taken this opportunity to invade from Icecrown to the north. They are now streaming down The Avalanche.

In Sholazar Basin, players take part in a faction war between the wolvar (Frenzyheart Tribe) and the gorlocs (arctic cousins of murlocs). The various gorloc tribes have gathered together to form the group called the Oracles. Players are only able to choose one side at a time, but are allowed to easily change to whichever faction they wish to be allied with.

History
When the Titans shaped Azeroth, Freya designed Sholazar Basin to be an area for experimentation along with Un'Goro Crater 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.

Travel hubs



 * Flight paths from Nesingwary Base Camp (only available after completing quest chain that starts with Need an Engine, Take an Engine)
 * River's Heart, Sholazar Basin
 * Death's Rise, Icecrown
 * Fizzcrank Airstrip, Borean Tundra


 * Flight paths from River's Heart
 * Nesingwary Base Camp, Sholazar Basin
 * Death's Rise, Icecrown
 * Fizzcrank Airstrip, Borean Tundra
 * Bor'gorok Outpost, Borean Tundra

Notable characters
Sholazar Basin is home to several characters of note. At Frenzyheart Hill, High-Shaman Rakjak leads the Frenzyheart Tribe in the fight against local fauna and their hated enemies, the Oracles, led by High-Oracle Soo-say. The wolvar are not the only new arrivals to the basin, as Hemet Nesingwary leads his band of hunters in search of new game, targeting Broodmother Slivina as the ultimate challenge to a hunter. Artruis the Heartless leads the Scourge attack on the region, but is continually held at bay by the mysterious Avatar of Freya.

Herbalism

 * Adder's Tongue
 * Deadnettle
 * Goldclover
 * Tiger Lily

Skinning

 * Borean Leather
 * Arctic Fur

Mining

 * Rich Saronite Deposit
 * Saronite Deposit
 * Titanium Vein

Fishing

 * Barrelhead Goby
 * Nettlefish
 * Pygmy Suckerfish

Wild creatures
Many fearsome and exotic beasts dwell in the steamy jungle of Sholazar Basin. Goretalon rocs glide through the Basin and Sapphire Hive wasps buzz and go about the business of protecting their hive. The gigantic and bad-tempered shardhorn rhinos graze while hardknuckle gorillas forage nearby. Sinuous emperor cobras and massive dreadsabers stalk their prey through the undergrowth, both of which are deadly apex predators and more than a match for an unwary traveler in the Basin. Mangal crocolisks also make their home in the Basin's waters and should be treated with caution as well.

The Basin has more than a few unique beasts of such singularly impressive size, strength and or beauty as to earn them the distinction of being named. Some of these include:


 * The mighty dreadsaber Shango.
 * The black-furred lion Pitch.
 * The towering green devilsaur King Krush.
 * The poisonous emperor cobra Venomtip.
 * The incredibly elusive and beautiful mate of Harkoa herself, the spirit beast Loque'nahak.
 * The fiercely protective protodragon Broodmother Slivina.

Rare elite NPCs associated with the achievement:


 * Aotona found in Wildgrowth Mangal.
 * King Krush
 * Loque'nahak

Reputation
Sholazar Basin is the home of both the Oracles and the Frenzyheart Tribe. Both are constantly at war with eachother, and players will choose to align with one faction at a time through one of the main quest chains of the area. Players can switch their chosen faction by repeating the last quest in the starting chain and killing/saving the character of the opposite faction (A Hero's Burden). Sholazar Basin also has its own hidden reputation, which is currently unused, that will increase as faction dailies are completed, and will not decrease if a player decides to switch factions.

In the RPG


Sholazar Basin fills the northwest corner of the Borean Tundra and is difficult to believe it is part of Northrend. Like Kalimdor's Un'Goro Crater, the Sholazar Basin is an anomaly. To get there you will have to climb a nasty ridge to reach it. Once you top that ridge, however, you will be looking down into a lush tropical jungle. Hot springs dot the basin and you will have to watch out for steam vents and geysers — they will cook the flesh from your bones in an instant if you get caught in one. Thick vegetation fills the basin, and birds and small animals are everywhere. So are insects. In the past, the Dragonblight was the most fertile region in Northrend followed by Sholazar Basin. After it became a wasteland, the Basin took its place.

A high elf scholar that once visited Kaskala believed the Titans used the Sholazar Basin as a testing ground. Some of their experiments, or at least the remains of those experiments, may still exist. Thus, the basin is a potential treasure trove of knowledge and power.

Notes and trivia

 * In Lands of Mystery, this area was treated as a subzone of the Borean Tundra instead of its own zone.
 * To open up the flight path at Nesingwary Base Camp, there is a 2-part quest chain from Weslex Quickwrench that you have to complete first.
 * Given Blizzard's fondness for pop-culture references, Sholazar may be a nod to the of . Both are tropical paradises formed in arctic regions by a powerful race of creator-beings.
 * At the co-ordinates, a hatch with the numbers "5 9 16 17 24 43" can be found as a reference to the series .
 * The naming of subzone The Lost Lands may be a reference to the , which both Sholazar Basin and Un'Goro Crater seem to be based on.
 * Sholazar Basin, like Un'Goro Crater, is littered with mysterious Titanic crystals that can be activated through structures or watchers when the need arises.