A continent (or landmass) is the largest geographical subdivision of a planet, and are are normally broken down into regions. The word also refers to game regions where the events of an expansion take place.
Azeroth's geography[]
The earliest information about landmasses in Azeroth is brief. A huge war between the titan-forged and the Old Gods occurred on the main landmass, followed by a great ordering of the planet.[1]
At the time of the War of the Ancients, 10,000 years ago, Azeroth had one singular continent called Kalimdor. The Great Sundering broke apart this landmass into various continents and islands. Currently, the ancient landmass known as Kalimdor would be called a supercontinent since all the land of the planet was once a part of it.
The number of continents has grown and shrunk as time has gone by. This is due to the discovery of new lands, the importance of those lands, and maybe politics. Currently on Azeroth, there are four continents: the Eastern Kingdoms (formed of three subcontinents) in the east, Kalimdor (formed of three subcontinents) in the west, Northrend in the north, and Pandaria in the south. These continents are bordered by the Great Sea, which occupies all the water expanse between them, and some other seas.
Azeroth's continents[]
Before the Great Sundering Azeroth had ancient Kalimdor as a single landmass.
Concepted during development[]
The Undermine was already in the early World of Warcraft Betas, not as a city on an island, but instead as a continent southeast of Kalimdor (where Pandaria is located now). The concept has been re-imagined into a city on the isle of Kezan.
A very early map has a southern landmass named Ulduar (a name later used for a location in Northrend).
Outland / Draenor's continents[]
Outland does not have continents in the traditional sense, since it is itself a single continent—all that remains of the planet Draenor. Draenor seemingly had at least two continents before it was shattered, as the in-game map for its alternate version includes the main continent and an unlabeled landmass to the southwest.
Areas labeled as "in-game continents"[]
The word "continent" is also used to refer to the in-game regions where the events of an expansion take place. For example, while the Broken Isles is labeled as an in-game continent, lore-wise it is just a big chain of islands.
On Azeroth[]
- Broken Isles[2]
- Dragon Isles[3]
- Eastern Kingdoms
- Kalimdor
- Kul Tiras[4]
- The Maelstrom
- Northrend
- Pandaria
- Zandalar[4]
Outside Azeroth[]
In the RPG[]
The continents were changed by the war between the Titans and the Old Gods, which "ripped Azeroth into new shapes". The Elemental Plane has one continent: Deephome.[5]
Notes and trivia[]
- Lordaeron could be considered a sole continent since it is separated by a channel from the landmass that composes Khaz Modan and Azeroth, which in itself, these last two would make up another bigger continent.
- Three of Azeroth's landmasses were magically hidden from outsiders with Pandaria and Dragon Isles hidden after the Great Sundering and Kalimdor hidden after the exile of the high elves.
- Nazjatar was called as an in-game continent by Jeremy Feasel at BlizzCon 2018 World of Warcraft: What's Next panel.
- Kul Tiras[6] and Zandalar[7] have been called subcontinents. As well as Quel'Thalas which is part of Lordaeron. Teldrassil has been described as an island, a mid-sized island, an island continent, or a giant tree.
Speculation[]
This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.
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The Emerald Dream and Azeroth "are quasi-duplicates of each other", but since the dream was created before the Great Sundering, it still has the same land as ancient Kalimdor.
References[]
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1
- ^ World of Warcraft: Legion – Feature Overview
- ^ World of Warcraft Expansion Reveal
- ^ a b World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Features Overview
- ^ World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, pg. 22
- ^ Battle for Azeroth: Tiragarde Sound Visitor’s Guide
- ^ Battle for Azeroth Preview: Zuldazar Visitor’s Guide
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