Blasted Lands

The Blasted Lands bear that name for a reason: they were twisted by the magic that brought the Dark Portal into being, spewing the rampaging orcish Horde into Azeroth. Though the original portal was destroyed by Khadgar in the Second War, it was later rebuilt for Ner'zhul's Horde to cross.

Leading into the remains of Draenor, the shattered world of Outland, the portal was reconfigured to lead towards an alternate past incarnation of that world, thirty-five years in the past from where the Iron Horde came.

History


This foul desert was once the southern part of a dark fen of marshlands called the Black Morass; the northern part being the Swamp of Sorrows. This is the area where the orcish Horde first entered Azeroth through the Dark Portal, followed soon by their attack on the human lands to the northwest. The lands around the former Dark Portal are burnt and dead, forever warped by the powers that followed its destruction. Lightning strikes are constant, and the inhospitable land is home to groups of especially vicious and powerful creatures. A sizable remnant of the Burning Legion has taken refuge within the Tainted Scar. It is still watched over by the wizards of Dalaran within the fortress of Nethergarde, established by the Archmage Khadgar after the Second War.

World of Warcraft
As if the orcish Horde weren't enough, Dreadmaul ogres also came through the Dark Portal but unlike the orcs, they remained in the Blasted Lands. Nethergarde’s mages tell that the ogres serve Lord Kazzak. Whoever their master is, he orders them to attack the Alliance's keep on an uncomfortably regular basis.

The Burning Crusade
Prior to the start of the invasion of Outland, the Blasted Lands were the site of a battle between the Argent Dawn, the Alliance and the Horde against the demons of the Burning Legion who reopened the Dark Portal.

Wrath of the Lich King
The area was also invaded twice by the Scourge in the years leading to the war against the Lich King.

Cataclysm
During the Cataclysm, the Horde's Okril'lon forces took control over Dreadmaul Hold. In the south of the region, the Gilnean druid Marl Wormthorn tried to returned the Blasted Lands to its old splendor turning much of the Tainted Scar into the Tainted Forest, but because of the demonic powers around the area, the forest and Marl were corrupted. His followers built a small fishing village, Surwich near the edge of the forest. The blood elves of the Reliquary built a small camp not far from the Tainted Forest in search for demonic artifacts hidden in the region.

The conflict between the Alliance and Horde raged in the northern part of the region for a time, focused mainly on the Nethergarde's supply base located between Dreadmaul Hold and Nethergarde Keep. The Burning Legion forces were thrown into disarray after the defeat of Razelikh the Defiler at the hands of Loramus Thalipedes and a brave soul who accompanied him.

Warlords of Draenor
The next years have brought yet another danger towards Azeroth's very doorstep when the history itself came full circle. Kairozdormu brought Garrosh to the past in of an where the deposed Warchief instigated the transformation of the Orcish Horde into the Iron Horde. Now he's used their own to bridge the parallel Draenor with Azeroth-prime, allowing the Ironmarch vanguard force of the Iron Horde to come through the Dark Portal and occupy the land along with the vengeful Dreadmaul ogres. By bridging between the two realities, the Dark portal turned into red. The Iron horde captured Okril'lon Hold and destroyed Nethergarde Keep during the initial stages of their invasion.

Getting there

 * Walk, ride, or fly south from the Swamp of Sorrows, which is east of Deadwind Pass and Duskwood.
 * Level 90 players can teleport from their faction capitals to a phased version of the zone, which is part of the Warlords of Draenor intro experience.

Geography
This desolate and barren land has very little in the way of flora and fauna (the only exception is the Tainted Forest) barring the demons which now wander the plains. The region is particularly notable as of the Dark Portal that leads to, (formerly leading to Outland).

The wretched land hosts few inhabitants and some important small settlements such as Nethergarde Keep, Dreadmaul Hold or Surwich. Magic that leaked through the Dark Portal warped the Blasted Lands, leaving an infertile desert landscape. Hardy desert species like basilisks, scorpions and hyenas have since colonized the area. The red rocks of the region do not come by their color naturally. The original tan color was transmuted into the unearthly crimson by searing heat and chaotic energies when the Dark Portal was destroyed.

There is but one usable road in the Blasted Lands, guarded at the north by Nethergarde Keep’s grim mages. They have the unenviable task of watching the Dark Portal, guarding the rest of the continent against the demons in the south and protecting themselves from the ogre tribes that roam the desert.

The weather here is dry and hot during the day and bitterly cold at night. Mountains block any moisture that may come from the Swamp of Sorrows to the north, and the only signs of life can be found within the Tainted Forest on the southwest, but it was corrupted by demonic powers that have taken hold over the mastermind behind the revitalization of the scorched scar, the Gilnean druid Marl Wormthorn.

There are no instanced dungeons or battlegrounds in this zone.

Maps and subregions


Note: Some of the subzones in the Blasted Lands were changed during the pre-patch for Warlords of Draenor. For players wishing to see the Blasted Lands as it was after Cataclysm but before the WoD pre-patch, you can visit an NPC called Zidormi next to the road at the border between the Blasted Lands and the Swamp of Sorrows.

Flight paths from Nethergarde Keep

 * Stormwind, Elwynn Forest
 * Darkshire, Duskwood
 * Morgan's Vigil, Burning Steppes
 * Marshtide Watch, Swamp of Sorrows
 * Surwich, Blasted Lands

Flight paths from Dreadmaul Hold

 * Stonard, Swamp of Sorrows
 * Sunveil Excursion, Blasted Lands

Flight paths from Sunveil Excursion

 * Booty Bay, Cape of Stranglethorn
 * Dreadmaul Hold, Blasted Lands

Flight paths from Surwich

 * Booty Bay, Cape of Stranglethorn
 * Nethergarde Keep, Blasted Lands

Resources

 * Herbs
 * Black Lotus
 * Dreamfoil
 * Golden Sansam
 * Gromsblood (One of the few regions where you can gather it)
 * Mountain Silversage
 * Leather
 * Warbear Leather
 * Thick Leather
 * Rugged Leather
 * Ore
 * Truesilver Deposit
 * Small Thorium Vein
 * Rich Thorium Vein

Dig sites
Blasted Lands has two dig sites:
 * 1) Dreadmaul Post; contains Fossil Archaeology Fragments.
 * 2) The Red Reaches; contains Fossil Archaeology Fragments.

Wild creatures

 * Basilisks
 * Bats
 * Bears
 * Boars
 * Felboars
 * Crabs
 * Fel beast (one, Gomegaz)
 * Doomguards
 * Dreadlords
 * Eredar (one, Narixxus the Doombringer) rare
 * Felhounds
 * Felguards
 * Observer (one, Illycor)
 * Fungal giants
 * Ghosts
 * Hyenas
 * Infernals
 * Scorpid (one, Clack the Reaver) rare
 * Shivarra (one, Shahandana)
 * Bone spiders
 * Treants
 * Vultures

In Warcraft III
The barrens are littered with gold mines and heavily populated by centaurs. The tileset is called "Barrens".

In the RPG
The Blasted Lands bear that name for a reason: they were twisted by the magic that brought the Dark Portal into being, spewing the rampaging Horde into Azeroth. Now, the wretched land hosts few inhabitants and no significant settlements. There is but one usable road in the Blasted Lands, guarded at the north by the Alliance stronghold of Nethergarde Keep and its grim mages. They have the unenviable task of watching the Dark Portal, guarding the rest of the continent from the demons in the south and protecting themselves from the ogre tribes that roam the desert.

History
This foul desert was once a fen of marshlands called the Black Morass, similar to the Swamp of Sorrows. When Medivh built the Dark Portal to connect Azeroth to the orcish homeworld of Draenor, the orcs poured through and began the first of the great wars. The orcs' arcane magic was so strong it consumed the swampland and left dry red clay. When the Alliance destroyed the Dark Portal, the spread of the taint stopped, but the Blasted Lands still cannot heal themselves.

As if the Horde was not enough at that time, Dreadmaul ogres also came through the Dark Portal. Unlike the orcs, they remained in the Blasted Lands. The mages of Nethergarde believe the ogres serve the demon Lord Kazzak. Whoever their master is, he orders them to attack the Alliance's keep on an uncomfortably regular basis.

At some point the Dark Portal was rebuilt, and it yet resonates with an evil thrum. Now it connects to the remains of Draenor, the shattered world of Outland.

One day the whole of Nethergarde Keep was struck by a mysterious illness, and the Dreadmaul ogres took the opportunity to attack. With sickness inside and a siege outside, the mages and warriors send messengers to retrieve anyone capable of wielding a sword or healing sickness.

Geography
Magic that leaked through the Dark Portal warped the Blasted Lands, leaving an infertile desert landscape. This region does not welcome life of any form. The weather here is dry and hot during the day and bitterly cold at night. Mountains block any moisture that may come from the Swamp of Sorrows to the north, and no rivers grace this land. The eastern coast will occasionally get storms from the sea, but these downpours come so quickly the water merely runs off the packed earth and back into the sea.

The Blasted Lands have the Alliance powers guarding the north, the demon infestation in the south, and ogre tribes in the middle.

Notes and trivia

 * During the Iron Horde invasion, places like Altar of Storms, The Tainted Scar, The Tainted Forest, Surwich, and Sunveil Excursion were completely empty. It is most likely developers' oversight or perhaps done on purpose, because the entire zone is phased, and none of the quests take place in these regions.
 * Level 90+ players can talk to Zidormi in order to switch between the normal and phased version of the zone.
 * Those with the Burning Crusade and at least level 57 are able to use the now reopened Dark Portal to reach Hellfire Peninsula in Outland, although it is recommended to wait until level 58 as quests are very limited at 57. The Dark Portal, like Shattrath City, is a sanctuary and therefore combat there is prohibited, even between PvP flagged players.
 * The occasional lightning that strikes the ground near the Dark Portal cannot hurt you in any way.
 * There are no mailboxes for Horde players in this zone, while the Alliance has two.
 * Interestingly, the Warcraft: Orcs & Humans manual originally implied that the Dark Portal was making the land more sick and swamp-like instead of making it burnt and dead.
 * The Blasted Lands were inspired from, Ontario, a mining town whose soil was made nickel-rich by a meteor strike long ago, notably its desolate surroundings and its blackened rocks that had been discolored by acid rain.