Durotar

Durotar is the red, rocky orc homeland on the east coast of Kalimdor and the starting zone for orc and troll characters, covering levels 1 to 10. Thrall named it after his father, Durotan, when he led the orcs across the sea after the Third War. The Horde capital, Orgrimmar, sits in the cliffs at its northern end.

Geography

Durotar is a long strip of hard red earth between the Southfury River in the west and the sea in the east. It is hot and dry, with scrub, cactus and the odd twisted tree. Scorpids, boars, raptors and lizards roam the open ground, and the coast is dotted with crawler and makrura beaches.

From south to north, the main places are:

• Valley of Trials, a sheltered canyon in the south where orcs and trolls begin. The Den, the orc trainers' building, stands at its center, and the Burning Blade Coven cave sits in the valley's north wall.
• Sen'jin Village, a Darkspear troll village on the southeast coast, named for Vol'jin's father Sen'jin. The Echo Isles lie offshore.
• Razor Hill, the main orc town in the middle of the zone, with an inn, a flight path and a watchtower.
• Tiragarde Keep, a stone fort on the coast east of Razor Hill, held by the remnants of the Kul Tiran fleet.
• Thunder Ridge, Drygulch Ravine and Skull Rock, the rugged northern country around Orgrimmar.
• Kolkar Crag on the western edge, a centaur camp, and the bridge over the Southfury River to The Barrens.

History

When Thrall freed the orcs from the internment camps of Lordaeron, he took them west to Kalimdor at the urging of the prophet who turned out to be Medivh. After the Third War ended with the defeat of Archimonde, the orcs settled this barren land and built Orgrimmar.

Peace with the humans of Theramore did not last long. Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, Jaina Proudmoore's father, sailed from Kul Tiras to attack the orcs, and was killed when the Horde stormed Theramore. His surviving soldiers still hold Tiragarde Keep, and the wreckage of his fleet lies off the coast. The quest Vanquish the Betrayers sends players against them.

The Darkspear trolls who came with Thrall first settled the Echo Isles, but the witch doctor Zalazane used dark magic to enslave many of them. Vol'jin led the free trolls to the mainland and founded Sen'jin Village.

A demon-worshipping orc cult, the Burning Blade, hides in caves across Durotar. Its agents reach as high as Orgrimmar itself.

Quests and notable NPCs

Durotar has about 45 quests in our database, from level 1 to 14. A new orc or troll arrives in the Valley of Trials, where Kaltunk gives the very first quest, Your Place In The World, sending you to Gornek at the Den.

Valley of Trials (levels 1-5)

• Cutting Teeth and Sting of the Scorpid for Gornek: boars and scorpid tails.
• Lazy Peons: Foreman Thazz'ril hands you a blackjack to wake up lazy peons dozing under the trees, one of the best-remembered starting quests in the game.
• Vile Familiars and Burning Blade Medallion for Zureetha Fargaze: clear the Burning Blade Coven and bring back the [Burning Blade Medallion].
• Sarkoth: kill the scorpid Sarkoth.
• Report to Sen'jin Village: the send-off to Master Gadrin in Sen'jin Village.

Sen'jin Village and the Echo Isles (levels 5-10)

Master Gadrin sends players to the Echo Isles in Minshina's Skull and then Zalazane, where you fight hexed and voodoo trolls and bring back [Zalazane's Head]. Master Vornal in the village asks for crawler mucus and makrura eyes in A Solvent Spirit. Vol'jin himself stands in Orgrimmar, not here.

Razor Hill (levels 6-12)

• Gar'Thok, the commander, hands out Vanquish the Betrayers, Encroachment against the Razormane quilboar, and From The Wreckage...., salvaging gnomish tools from the wrecked fleet.
• Looting Lieutenant Benedict can drop [Admiral Proudmoore's Orders], which starts The Admiral's Orders.
• Orgnil Soulscar sends you into Thunder Ridge after the goblin warlock Fizzle Darkstorm in Dark Storms, which leads on to Margoz and the Skull Rock cultists.
• Furl Scornbrow in the watchtower wants canvas scraps for Carry Your Weight.
• Misha Tor'kren, at a farm northwest of town, asks after her missing son in Lost But Not Forgotten.

Northern Durotar (levels 9-14)

Rhinag, poisoned by a venomtail scorpid, needs you to run to Kor'ghan in Orgrimmar for an antidote in Need for a Cure and Finding the Antidote. Rezlak, one of Gazlowe's goblins, has lost his supply sacks to the harpies of the dry gulches in Winds in the Desert. The Burning Blade chain eventually leads west to Ak'Zeloth in the Barrens and to the demonic altar on Dreadmist Peak in The Demon Seed.

Around level 10, Conscript of the Horde sends players over the river to Kargal Battlescar and on to the Crossroads, and the Barrens becomes the next stop.

Dungeons

Ragefire Chasm (Ragefire Chasm) is reached through the Cleft of Shadow inside Orgrimmar. It is the lowest-level Horde dungeon, aimed at roughly levels 13 to 18, and is home to Burning Blade cultists and troggs.

Getting there

• On foot: Durotar connects to the Barrens by the bridge across the Southfury River in the west, and to Azshara by a road that runs north past Orgrimmar.
• By zeppelin: a goblin zeppelin tower just outside Orgrimmar's gates, where Frezza and Snurk Bucksquick are the zeppelin masters, links Durotar with Tirisfal Glades near Undercity and with Grom'gol Base in Stranglethorn Vale.
• By wind rider: Razor Hill and Orgrimmar both have flight paths.

Later history

In Cataclysm (2010), the coast of Durotar was reshaped, Razor Hill was rebuilt, and the Echo Isles became the new troll starting area after Vol'jin retook them from Zalazane.

Sources

• Durotar, Warcraft Wiki
• Valley of Trials, Warcraft Wiki
• Tiragarde Keep, Warcraft Wiki