Swamp of Sorrows

The Swamp of Sorrows is a dark, misty marshland in the southeastern Eastern Kingdoms, for characters of roughly levels 35 to 45. It holds the Horde town of Stonard, the camps of the maddened Lost Ones, and the sunken temple of the Atal'ai trolls, where Hakkar the Soulflayer's followers once tried to summon their god. Alliance players have no town here in Classic, so the swamp is a Horde stronghold deep in Alliance country.

Geography

The swamp lies east of Deadwind Pass and north of the Blasted Lands, with a ring of mountains to the north and the sea to the east. Willows, vines and pools cover most of the zone.

• Stonard, in the southwest, is a walled orc town with an inn, trainers and a flight point. It is the only real settlement.
• Misty Valley, in the far west, is the road in from Deadwind Pass.
• The Harborage, in the northwest, is a small village of draenei refugees who kept their minds.
• Fallow Sanctuary, in the north, is the main village of the Lost Ones, draenei who were twisted by their exile and went mad.
• The Pool of Tears, in the east, holds the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, sunk beneath the water.
• Itharius's Cave, in the south, is the home of a green dragon who watches the temple.
• Misty Reed Strand and Sorrowmurk line the eastern coast, overrun by murlocs.
• Stagalbog is a bog in the southeast full of crocolisks and oozes.

History

The Swamp of Sorrows and the Blasted Lands were once one marsh called the Black Morass. When the Dark Portal opened, the orcish Horde poured out of it into this region at the start of the First War.

When the portal was destroyed after the Second War, the explosion tore the land apart. The southern half dried into the Blasted Lands, and a group of draenei from Draenor were left stranded on Azeroth. Most of them went mad and became the Lost Ones of Fallow Sanctuary. A few, at the Harborage, still keep their old faith and fight their maddened kin.

Long before that, the Atal'ai troll priests built a temple here to worship Hakkar. The dragon aspect Ysera sank it beneath the swamp to stop them, and her green dragons still guard the site.

Quests and notable NPCs

Most quests come from Stonard. A few, such as the Harborage and Galen quests, are open to anyone who reaches them.

From Stonard:

• Fel'zerul sends players to the Pool of Tears after Atal'ai artifacts in Pool of Tears, which leads to The Atal'ai Exile and the start of the Horde's work on the Sunken Temple.
• Katar wants the murlocs on the coast thinned in Threat From the Sea and its follow-ups.
• Tok'Kar needs crocolisk meat for the outpost in Lack of Surplus.
• Neeka Bloodscar sends players across the Eastern Kingdoms to Neeka Bloodscar in Kargath in the Badlands.

Around the swamp:

• Galen Goodward, a treasure hunter trapped in the swamp, asks for an escort in Galen's Escape. His strongbox, in his camp north of Stonard, holds the reward.
• Watcher Biggs, the lone survivor of an Alliance caravan bound for Nethergarde, asks for help in The Lost Caravan and Encroaching Wildlife.
• Magtoor at the Harborage wants the draenethyst crystals stolen by the Lost Ones (Draenethyst Crystals) and the cudgel of the brute Noboru the Cudgel (Noboru the Cudgel).

At level cap. Itharius is the green dragon who ends The Essence of Eranikus, a Sunken Temple chain about the fallen dragon Eranikus. The Fallen Hero of the Horde sends players to recover lost orders from a murloc chieftain in The Swamp Talker, part of a longer story that continues in the Blasted Lands.

Dungeons

Sunken Temple (the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, The Temple of Atal'Hakkar) is a dungeon for roughly levels 50 to 60. Its entrance is at the bottom of the Pool of Tears, reached by swimming down to the half-flooded ruins. Inside, the Atal'ai priests and their leader Jammal'an the Prophet guard the way to the Shade of Eranikus, the dragon whose corrupted spirit haunts the temple. A ritual inside the temple can also summon the Avatar of Hakkar.

Getting there

Most Horde players take the zeppelin to Grom'gol in Stranglethorn Vale, run north to Duskwood, and follow the road east through Deadwind Pass. Once they reach Stonard they can fly in from then on. Alliance players come the same way from Darkshire in Duskwood, or walk north from Nethergarde Keep in the Blasted Lands. There is no Alliance flight point in the swamp in Classic.

Sources

• Swamp of Sorrows, Warcraft Wiki
• Temple of Atal'Hakkar, Warcraft Wiki
• Quest data from WoWDB (patch 1.12)