Burning Steppes

The Burning Steppes are a scorched land of ash, lava and black rock south of Blackrock Mountain, for characters of roughly levels 50 to 58. The Blackrock Clan of orcs and the black dragonflight rule here, and the zone is the southern doorway to the great dungeon complex inside the mountain, from Blackrock Depths to Blackwing Lair. Many level 60 players passed through it every week on their way to raid.

Geography

The steppes stretch east from the foot of Blackrock Mountain to the mountains above the Redridge valley. Lava flows, ash fields and burned ruins cover most of the zone, under a sky that glows red.

• Blackrock Mountain, in the far west, is the huge volcano at the zone's edge. Its southern entrance is reached by a path from the steppes.
• Blackrock Stronghold, at the foot of the mountain, is the orcs' main fortress on the surface.
• Flame Crest is a small Horde camp with a flight point and the Kargath Expeditionary Force.
• Morgan's Vigil, in the far east, is an Alliance camp with a flight point, near the pass down to Redridge.
• The Ruins of Thaurissan, in the center, are the remains of an old Dark Iron city.
• Dreadmaul Rock is held by the Firegut ogres.
• The Altar of Storms and the Pillar of Ash are ruins held by Blackrock orcs.
• Draco'dar and Terror Wing Path are home to black dragonkin.

History

The Burning Steppes were once green foothills, part of the same range as the Redridge Mountains. Centuries before the First War, during the War of the Three Hammers, the Dark Iron Dwarves' sorcerer-thane Thaurissan tried to summon a powerful being to help win the war. He called up Ragnaros, the Firelord, whose arrival set the land on fire and raised Blackrock Mountain as a volcano. The region has burned ever since.

During the Second War, the Horde under Orgrim Doomhammer used Blackrock Spire as a base. In Classic, the Blackrock orcs have returned, serving the black dragon Nefarian from the upper spire, while the Dark Iron dwarves serve Ragnaros deep below.

Quests and notable NPCs

The steppes' quests are split between the two faction camps, with a few neutral quest givers. Many tie into the dungeons inside Blackrock Mountain.

Morgan's Vigil (Alliance):

• Helendis Riverhorn gives Dragonkin Menace, a fight against the black dragonkin. Its follow-up, The True Masters, is the first step of the long Alliance chain that leads through Magistrate Solomon in Lakeshire, Highlord Bolvar in Stormwind, and Marshal Maxwell, to the rescue of Marshal Windsor from Blackrock Depths and the unmasking of Onyxia in Stormwind.
• Oralius, who calls himself the only sane man in camp, runs a campaign against the Firegut ogres (Extinguish the Firegut, Gor'tesh the Brute Lord, Ogre Head On A Stick = Party) and asks for 50 Blackrock Medallions in FIFTY! YEP!.

Flame Crest (Horde):

• Shadowmage Vivian Lagrave and Hierophant Theodora Mulvadania of the Kargath Expeditionary Force give many Blackrock Depths quests, plus The Rise of the Machines, which sends players after the zone's rock elementals and golems.
• Tinkee Steamboil, a goblin, gives Broodling Essence, a dragon-whelp chain that leads to Winterspring and the Eastern Plaguelands. The chain is open to both factions.

Elsewhere:

• Maxwort Uberglint wants the Tablet of the Seven copied from the Ruins of Thaurissan.
• Cyrus Therepentous, an agent of the black dragonflight, ends a chain that began in the Searing Gorge.
• Horde players hunt the ogre leader Krom'Grul at Dreadmaul Rock for Kargath.

Dungeons and raids

Blackrock Mountain sits on the border with the Searing Gorge and holds five instances:

Players reach the mountain's interior from either zone. A long chain in Blackrock Spire leads to the attunement for Blackwing Lair, and the Dark Iron dwarves' halls lead down to Ragnaros in the Molten Core.

Getting there

Alliance players fly to Morgan's Vigil, or walk south from Lakeshire through the mountains above Redridge. Horde players fly to Flame Crest, or travel from Kargath in the Badlands through the Searing Gorge and Blackrock Mountain. Once they have both flight points, most players simply fly in.

Sources

• Burning Steppes, Warcraft Wiki
• Blackrock Mountain, Warcraft Wiki
• War of the Three Hammers, Warcraft Wiki
• Quest data from WoWDB (patch 1.12)