Wetlands

The Wetlands are a rainy marsh in the north of Khaz Modan, between Loch Modan and the Arathi Highlands. The zone covers levels 20 to 30 and holds Menethil Harbor, the Alliance port that links the Eastern Kingdoms to Kalimdor by sea. Its eastern mountains hide Grim Batol, the fortress where the Dragonmaw orcs once held the red dragonflight captive.

Geography

Most of the Wetlands is low, wet ground: bogs, reed beds, slow rivers and coastline, with grey rain and fog. Mountains close it in on the east and south.

• Menethil Harbor, on Baradin Bay in the west, is a fortified human port with a keep, the Deepwater Tavern and docks. Ships sail to Auberdine in Darkshore and to Theramore in Dustwallow Marsh.
• Dun Algaz, in the south, is the mountain pass to Loch Modan. Dragonmaw orcs ambush travelers on its road.
• Whelgar's Excavation Site, in the center, is an Explorers' League dig overrun by raptors.
• Dun Modr, in the north, is a dwarven town taken by the Dark Iron Dwarves.
• The Thandol Span, north of Dun Modr, is a great dwarven bridge to the Arathi Highlands. The Dark Irons have damaged it.
• Grim Batol, in the far east behind the Dragonmaw Gates, is closed to players. The Dragonmaw clan holds the land in front of it, including the Angerfang Encampment.
• Saltspray Glen, Sundown Marsh and Bluegill Marsh along the coasts are home to murlocs and Mosshide gnolls.

History

During the Second War, the Dragonmaw clan of the Horde captured Alexstrasza, queen of the red dragonflight, and held her in Grim Batol. Her young were forced to serve as the Horde's war mounts. She was freed years later, after the Horde's defeat, but a remnant of the Dragonmaw stayed in the Wetlands and still holds the approach to the fortress.

Menethil Harbor was built by the human kingdom of Lordaeron and named for its royal family. With Lordaeron fallen to The Scourge, the port is kept by Stormwind and Ironforge forces and serves as the Alliance's main gate to Kalimdor.

Quests and notable NPCs

The Wetlands have around 40 quests in our database. Nearly all are Alliance, though Horde players pass through on the way to the Arathi Highlands and Hillsbrad.

• Arrival. Mountaineer Kadrell in Thelsamar sends players north with Report to Mountaineer Rockgar, and The Algaz Gauntlet has them fight through Dragonmaw scouts in Dun Algaz to reach Menethil.
• Menethil Harbor. Karl Boran wants murlocs cleared and their leader Gobbler killed in Claws from the Deep. Sida lost her bag to an ooze at Ironbeard's Tomb (Digging Through the Ooze).
• The cursed ship. First Mate Fitzsimmons in the tavern tells of a lost fleet. The Third Fleet leads to The Cursed Crew and Lifting the Curse, where players board a haunted wreck and face its cursed captain, Captain Halyndor.
• The excavation. Prospector Whelgar wants the tablet fragments in Uncovering the Past, and Ormer Ironbraid takes revenge on the raptors in Ormer's Revenge.
• The Greenwarden. Rethiel the Greenwarden, at his camp in the marshes, asks players to drive back the gnolls in Tramping Paws and to clean up the marsh in Blisters on The Land.
• The Dragonmaw. At the Menethil keep, Captain Stoutfist leads the fight against the orcs. War Banners and Nek'rosh's Gambit wear down their camps, and Defeat Nek'rosh ends with the death of Chieftain Nek'rosh.
• Dun Modr. Longbraid the Grim waits outside the town and sends players after a Dark Iron leader in A Grim Task. Motley Garmason asks for a full assault in The Dark Iron War, and The Thandol Span chain explores the damaged bridge before sending players on to Refuge Pointe with Plea To The Alliance.

Dungeons

The Wetlands have no dungeon. Grim Batol is visible but closed. The zone serves as a road to other places, and many players spend only a few levels here before taking the boat to Kalimdor or crossing the Thandol Span.

Getting there

From Loch Modan, take the tunnel at Algaz Station and follow the road through Dun Algaz. From Kalimdor, take the boat from Auberdine or Theramore to Menethil Harbor. From the north, cross the Thandol Span from the Arathi Highlands. Menethil Harbor has an Alliance gryphon master. Horde players have no flight point in the zone.

Later history

In the Cataclysm expansion (2010), the shattering of the world flooded parts of Menethil Harbor, and Grim Batol opened as a dungeon.

Sources

• Wetlands, Warcraft Wiki
• Grim Batol, Warcraft Wiki
• Menethil Harbor, Warcraft Wiki