Barrens

The Barrens is a large zone in central Kalimdor, controlled by the Horde. Before the upheaval, several large Kaldorei cities stood here. Now, those brave few willing to scrape out a life on the arid plains inevitably run afoul of centaur warbands or quilboar raiding parties. Despite its often uninviting terrain and hostile inhabitants, the Barrens receive a good deal of interest from Alliance and Horde alike, as well as races native to Kalimdor. Trade routes crisscross the landscape leading to and from more inviting regions, and the most notable route is the Gold Road that runs north-to-south through the Barrens and beyond. Rumors suggest that precious minerals and treasure-filled ruins await those with the courage to investigate.

History
The Barrens was once a thriving forest under the protection of the night elves and their kind. Several Kaldorei settlements dotted the land, and there was no ocean for miles. Then came the Burning Legion and the Great Sundering, which shook ancient Kalimdor to the bedrock. This forested landscape transformed into a scorched plain is battered now each day by the sun's rays. The Barrens is a sprawling and arid savannah that stretches between Stonetalon Mountains to the west and Durotar to the east. The grasslands and mesas of Mulgore rise to the southeast, while the wetlands of Dustwallow marsh lie to the southwest. The majority of the region consists of vast plains. Mountains to the west hold in heated air, creating the swirling winds that rage across the plains. These windstorms stir up dust devils and tear apart anything larger than the small but tenacious scrub trees. Water is more valuable than gold in the Barrens, and the locations of hidden watering holes are the residents' most closely-held secrets. Dry riverbeds and a never-ending spider web of canyons make any journey across the Barrens a dangerous and winding trek. The few brave adventurers willing to scrape out a life on the arid plains inevitably run afoul of centaur warbands or quilboar raiding parties. Despite its often uninviting terrain and hostile inhabitants, the Barrens receive a good deal of interest from Alliance and Horde alike, as well as races native to Kalimdor. Trade routes crisscross the landscape leading to and from more inviting regions, most notably the Gold Road that runs north-to-south through the Barrens and beyond, and rumors suggest that precious minerals and ruins await those with the courage to investigate.

Centaur warbands are most often seen in the Barrens’ canyons, though they roam as far as the river that forms its eastern border with Durotar. Fearlessly aggressive, the centaur are known for their savagery, especially against tauren and night elves. They are not above attacking trade caravans also, for the goods or just for the sake of violence. Travelers who survive the centaur’s battle lust are used as slave labor in the hardscrabble mines the centaur carve into the hard-baked earth. Displaced from Durotar by orcs, quilboar have built crude villages along the river that separates the orc nation from the Barrens. From there, they strike out across the river to raid settlements or deeper into the Barrens to attack caravans along the Gold Road. The caravan raids have hurt the goblin trade princes’ profits, so they have started negotiations to pay the quilboar gold and goods to protect caravans against centaur warbands. The quilboar have also erected a fortress called Razorfen Downs in the northwestern Barrens. Razorfen is a sprawling mass of giant, twisting thorns and crude mud huts. It serves as the center of quilboar society. Other dangers include harpies who watch from perches atop mesas in the northern Barrens and large beasts such as lions and thunder lizards - though these creatures tend to avoid the Gold Road. Native dangers have not stopped the Ironforge dwarves from establishing a stronghold near the titan excavation site of Bael Modan. The centaur have made forays against it, but are repelled decisively each time. Scouts claim that the centaur are amassing other tribes to launch a major attack, but the dwarves are unconcerned. Each day that passes sees Bael Modan grow stronger as the inhabitants build up its defenses.

The orcs under the new Warchief Thrall had landed on the Barrens, it saw civilization anew. The Horde built new settlements among the dry grasses and arid hills, and placed the Barrens solidly into the heart of Horde territory. The Horde has set up numerous outposts in this barren land, the largest being the Crossroads at the intersection of two major roads, and Camp Taurajo, a tauren outpost near the border to Mulgore. The Barrens are also dotted with numerous farms populated by orcs and their families, and guard towers manned by orcish and tauren guards.

Razorfen Downs lies just opposite the road, but this dungeon has been infested by agents of the Scourge, and poses great threat to anyone who is traveling to or from the Thousand Needles.

Getting There

 * Horde: From Mulgore, follow the main road east out of the zone, then continue though Camp Taurajo (there is a Wind Rider Master in Camp Taurajo) and turn north through the Gold Road to get to the Crossroads. Get the flight path there too. If you are Orc or Troll go to Razor Hill (The small orc town south of Orgrimmar in Durotar and go through the road west, then continue south through the Gold Road. If you are Undead Take the Goblin Zeppelin to Orgrimmar, the Zeppelin Tower is just north of the Undercity, then go down to Razor Hill and use the same route as orcs and trolls.
 * Alliance: Catch a boat to Ratchet from Booty Bay. Once there, get the flight path.  An alternative method is to travel to Darkshore, then to Ashenvale. Walk all the way to the Mor'Shan Rampart without getting close to the guards. To the east there is a small entrance, free of Horde guards, that Alliance can go through.

Geography
The Barrens are huge, one of the largest zones in the game. The land is mostly flat, with a few hills scattered throughout. The climate is harsh and hot, but survivable due to several lush oasis. With a stretch of coastline to the east, mountains to the northwest, plains to the west, forest to the north, marsh to the east, and the desert conditions to the south and east, the Barrens is surrounded by extremely varied landscapes.

The Barrens contain several instanced dungeons, including the Wailing Caverns, Razorfen Kraul, and Razorfen Downs. The Horde entrance to Warsong Gulch is located to the north. There are two Horde aligned travel hubs in this zone: the Crossroads and Camp Taurajo, in addition to the flight path and boat in Ratchet available to both factions. There are no raid dungeons or micro dungeons in the Barrens.

Maps and subregions



 * Topographic map of the Barrens

Battlegrounds

 * Warsong Gulch (Horde Entrance)

Travel Hubs
The Crossroads is likely the biggest travel hub for Horde characters, with a total of 13 flight paths. Camp Taurajo, a secondary hub in the southern Barrens, is very useful for travel from one end of the zone to the other. Ratchet has both a Horde and Alliance flight master, and a boat which sails to Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale.

Flight paths from the Crossroads

 * Orgrimmar
 * Thunder Bluff
 * Ratchet, The Barrens
 * Camp Taurajo, The Barrens
 * Sun Rock Retreat, Stonetalon Mountains
 * Splintertree Post, Ashenvale
 * Zoram'gar Outpost, Ashenvale
 * Freewind Post, Thousand Needles
 * Brackenwall Village, Dustwallow Marsh
 * Gadgetzan, Tanaris
 * Camp Mojache, Feralas
 * Bloodvenom Post, Felwood
 * Valormok, Azshara

Flight paths and boat from Ratchet

 * Booty Bay, Stranglethorn Vale (Boat)
 * The Crossroads, the Barrens (Flight Path)
 * Theramore, Dustwallow Marsh (Flight Path)
 * Talrendis Point, Azshara (Flight Path)

Flight paths from Camp Taurajo

 * Thunder Bluff
 * The Crossroads, the Barrens
 * Freewind Post, Thousand Needles

Notable Characters


The Barrens are home to several characters of note. At the Crossroads, Sergra Darkthorn sends promising young adventurers to prove their worth to the Horde by hunting local wild creatures. She assisted in her efforts by Jorn Skyseer in Camp Taurajo, who also refers them to continue their quests in Thunder Bluff. And at his fortified camp west of the Crossroads, the beleaguered Regthar Deathgate fights a one-man battle to keep the savage centaur from breaking through the Horde defenses.

Notable Quests
Being such a huge zone, the Barrens has a wealth of quests for Horde characters between level 10 and level 20. Of particular note are the hunting quests given by Sergra Darkthorn at the Crossroads, which lead to similar quests in other zones. Many quests in the Barrens deal with fighting back the centaur and the quilboars. In addition, the Venture Company has taken a foothold in the northern Barrens, and several quests involve investigating and causing trouble for them.

Resources

 * Cloth
 * Linen Cloth
 * Wool Cloth
 * Silk Cloth
 * Herbs
 * Peacebloom
 * Silverleaf
 * Earthroot
 * Mageroyal
 * Swiftthistle
 * Briarthorn
 * Stranglekelp
 * Bruiseweed
 * Wild Steelbloom
 * Grave Moss
 * Kingsblood
 * Leather
 * Ruined Leather Scraps
 * Light Leather
 * Medium Leather
 * Thin Kodo Leather - Skinning level 10-20 kodos
 * Deviate Scale - Skinning and looting level 15-22 beasts in and around the Wailing Caverns
 * Perfect Deviate Scale - Skinning and looting level 15-22 beasts in and around the Wailing Caverns.
 * Ore
 * Copper Vein
 * Tin Vein - Usually underwater in the Oasises.
 * Silver Vein

Wild Creatures

 * Centaurs
 * Cheetahs
 * Crocolisks
 * Frenzies
 * Giraffes
 * Goblins
 * Harpies
 * Hyenas
 * Lions
 * Kodos
 * Quilboar
 * Raptors
 * Scorpids
 * Silithid
 * Sharks
 * Tallstriders
 * Thunder Lizards
 * Turtles
 * Wind Serpents
 * Zhevras

Notes, Tips & Additional Info

 * The Barrens is decisively one of the largest zones in World of Warcraft, and running from Mor'shan Rampart near Ashenvale to the Great Lift near Thousand Needles can be daunting even for players with mounts.
 * The Barrens is home to arguably the most immature general chat channel in the game. Experiencing Barrens chat can be harmful to one's IQ. Unfortunately it has become common for the juveniles who typically inhabit the zone to actually use this bad reputation as justification for their idiotic behavior, even going so far as to actively try to change the topic from something serious to Chuck Norris Facts.
 * Since time spent in the Barrens is relatively low in the lifetime of a character, many people use the opportunity to craft their questionable humor skills. This chat is at least expected in the Barrens, and sometimes more tolerated than in other zones. It isn't uncommon for someone to state "take it to Barrens chat" on a city channel in response to such topics, which can range from Chuck Norris to Bad Cow Puns.
 * The Barrens is infamous as a very busy secondary zone shared by Tauren, Orcs and Trolls. Undead players also often come here between levels 10 to 25. With three instances and multiple travel hubs, it is a busy "in-between" area traversed by higher-level characters as well. This is a major contributing factor to the immaturity and high volume of the chat in this region.
 * Mankrik's Wife is located in one of the huts west of the bridge that divides the southern from the northern barrens. Now that you know, don't post about her on the Barrens chat. Ever. Thank you.