Western Plaguelands

Western Plaguelands
Level Scalable 35-60
Type	Province
Capital	Andorhal (30,120)
Population	39,380
Races	Scourge (29,000)  Human (8,400)  Draenei (50)  Orc (25)  Night elf(30)  Forsaken (1,000)  Troll  Gnoll  Cultist (875)  Worgen  Tauren
Government	Dictatorship
Rulers	Araj the Summoner/Tirion Fordring
Major settlements	Hearthglen (8,240), Caer Darrow (875), Andorhal (30,120)
Minor settlements	Chillwind Camp (60), Menders' Stead (40), Taelan's Tower
Language	Common/Orcish
Resource	Felstone Field (35) Dalson's Farm (25) Gahrron's Withering (45) The Writhing Haunt (15) Northridge Lumber Camp (25)
Affiliation	Scourge/Argent Crusade/Stormwind/Exodar/Night elf
Location	Northern Lordaeron

The Western Plaguelands are located in northern Lordaeron, wedged between Tirisfal Glades to the west, the Eastern Plaguelands to the east, and the Alterac Mountains to the south. It is filled with a smoky gray mist and the creatures here are blighted and sick, angrily attacking anyone who wanders too close with surprising ferocity. The land is also home to countless undead who infest the ruins of Andorhal, the four cauldron fields, and Sorrow Hill. The Scarlet Crusade has a significant holding in and around Hearthglen to the north, and the Alliance has settled in the small Chillwind Camp to the south.

Like their eastern counterparts, the Western Plaguelands were once fertile and beautiful but are now gray, blighted and noxious. Undead wander the land and haunt the abandoned towns and farmsteads. The largest Scourge city here is Andorhal, beneath which is an underground complex housing the undead’s School of Necromancy. The Scarlet Crusade strikes against the Scourge from Hearthglen. The only place of any sanity in the Western Plaguelands is Uther's Tomb, a consecrated monument to the fallen hero Uther Lightbringer.

History

Ruins of Andorhal

The area now called the Western Plaguelands was a beautiful forested farmland to the east of the Capital City of Lordaeron. It was the lush eastern belt of the Tirisfal Glades stretching from Lordaeron in the west to the Darrowmere Forest to the east. The town of Hearthglen was the seat of the regional administration, while the town of Andorhal was the center of grain distribution in the Kingdom of Lordaeron's northern provinces.

Knowing that the quickest way to spread the Plague of Undeath would be via the grain exported from Andorhal, the necromancer Kel'Thuzad and his Cult of the Damned infected the grain with the Plague, and set up four massive plague cauldrons in the fields of the area's four largest farmsteads. As Lordaeron collapsed, the farmlands and the forests began to die. The trees in the Plaguelands pulsate with tumor-like growths, and the needles of the pines are a sickly brown. With the Kingdom collapsed, the Scarlet Crusade attempted to salvage what little of their lands remained, taking possession of Mardenholde Keep in Hearthglen as a regional headquarters. The Argent Dawn also has a presence here, including setting up a camp near the overcrowded cemetery at Sorrow Hill for the Alliance, aiding the Forsaken in reinforcing their bulwark on the eastern border of Tirisfal, and sending soldiers of the Horde into battle against the Scourge.

Despite being where the Plague took hold in Lordaeron, the Western Plaguelands are in surprisingly better condition (though still quite dead) than the Eastern Plaguelands. It is clear that the land is trying to resist the Plague with what little it has left.

Getting there

There are several ways to get there on foot (or mounted):

• From Tirisfal Glades: Follow the main road east of the Undercity, passing through the Bulwark. Alliance players beware: Though there are Argent Dawn NPCs there, the Bulwark is a Horde encampment. Stay on the main road, do not pass into any of the camps.
• From the Hinterlands: Between Aerie Peak and the Quel'Danil Lodge is a narrow pass known as the Plaguemist Ravine. It runs through the mountains and comes out along Darrowmere Lake, not far from the gates of Caer Darrow. Horde players beware: Aerie Peak is an Alliance town, and the high elves of the Quel'Danil Lodge are hostile to Horde players (though if you are high enough level to enter the plaguelands, these elves should not pose much of a threat).
• From the Alterac Mountains: The main road leading north from the Hillsbrad Foothills (west of Tarren Mill) splits once inside Alterac; one road leading west to the Ruins of Alterac, the other east to Strahnbrad. Take the east road through Strahnbrad (beware the Syndicate rogues and Boulderfist ogres that wander near there), and follow it as it curves north, through Chillwind Point. Follow it north until you enter the Western Plaguelands. Horde players beware: Though there are Argent Dawn NPCs there, Chillwind Camp (located almost on the border between WPL and Alterac) is an Alliance encampment. It is advised to remain on the far right side of the road (the camp is on the left), to avoid aggroing any Alliance-flagged NPCs.
• An alternate path through the Alterac Mountains is to follow the river north from Hillsbrad Fields to Chillwind Point, than go north to the road leading to Chillwind Camp, or follow the river all the way to Darrowmere Lake in the south part of the zone.

Geography

The Western Plaguelands contain the instanced dungeon Scholomance and the micro dungeon Hearthglen. There are no other dungeons or battlegrounds in this area.

Maps and subregions

Western Plaguelands Map

In-game
Warcraft RPG
Cinderhome
Novels
Hearthglen Woods
Warcraft III
Hearthglen Hills  · Vandermar Village

Uther's Tomb

• Topographic map of The Western Plaguelands

Dungeons

Dungeon Name	Level Range	Group Size	Approximate Run Time
Scholomance	56-61	5-man	Unknown

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.

Western Plaguelands in Cataclysm

In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the Western Plaguelands are free of the Lich King's influence, and the plague that taints it is mostly cleansed at last. It might even be renamed to a more appropriate name. The town of Hearthglen and its fortress of Mardenholde Keep have been retaken by Tirion Fordring and the Argent Crusade.

The level range was 50-60 .

Areas affected:

• The Bulwark – redesigned with Forsaken architecture
• Chillwind Camp – the building here is now repaired
• Crypt – devoid of any mobs
• Dalson's Tears – renamed Dalson's Farm; regrown and tended by the Cenarion Circle; the nearby neutral hub is known as The Mender's Stead, and it appears there will also be a neutral flight path
• Felstone Field – Rebuilt
• Northridge Lumber Camp – now controlled by the Argent Crusade; quest hub
• Ruins of Andorhal – retaken by the Alliance in the SW – the buildings at this entrance are rebuilt; taken by the Horde in the NE and redesigned with Forsaken architecture; during the Battle for Andorhal the Forsaken successfully claim Andorhal as their own.
• Sorrow Hill – retaken and rebuilt, filled with Withdrawn Spirits
• Uther's Tomb – beautiful lush pathway leading to the tomb lined with hedges
• The Weeping Cave – just south of the cave is a new area called Malicia's Outpost, which is filled with caged animals and mobs that appear to be loyal to the Twilight Cult; the cave itself is now filled with many Unholy Corpuscles, ooze-like mobs
• The Writhing Haunt – empty and largely regrown
• Other – many of the areas once owned by the Scarlet Crusade around Hearthglen are infested with Redpine Gnolls; there appears to be no Scarlet Crusade presence any longer within the zone; the Western Plaguelands are largely lush now, with the few undead areas left those of Gahrron's Withering, the Weeping Cave, and the Ruins of Andorhal; new sound files have been included for the zone
• New Hunter Pets – Bullmastiff (appears to be Horde-only)

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

This section concerns content exclusive to Mists of Pandaria.

Level range is now 35-40.

Flight Master Locations

Hearthglen

Menders' Stead

Andorhal

Chillwind Camp

Andorhal

Adjacent regions

Zone Name	Faction	Level Range	Direction	Access	Access
Eastern Plaguelands		40-45	East	By foot east; from Chillwind Camp or Menders' Stead to Thondroril River; also from Chillwind Camp to Light's Hope Chapel; also from Hearthglen to Plaguewood Tower	By foot east; from Hearthglen to Plaguewood Tower; also from Menders' Stead to Thondroril River
Hillsbrad Foothills		20-25	South	By foot, following the river running south from Darrowmere Lake	By foot, following the river running south from Darrowmere Lake
Hinterlands		30-35	Southeast	By foot through Plaguemist Ravine; from Andorhal or Chillwind Camp to Aerie Peak	By foot through Plaguemist Ravine; from Andorhal to Hiri'watha Research Station
Tirisfal Glades		1-10	West	By foot west	By foot west; from Andorhal to Bulwark

Notable characters

Caer Darrow

Main article: Western Plaguelands NPCs

The Western Plaguelands are home to several characters of note. At Chillwind Camp, Commander Ashlam Valorfist seeks aid in the battle against the Scourge. At Caer Darrow, Eva Sarkhoff attempts to rid the Scholomance of its most powerful evils. At Andorhal, the bronze dragon Chronormu sends bold adventurers into the ruins in search of temporal anomalies.

Quests

Main article: Western Plaguelands quests

Resources

Mardenholde Keep

• Herbs
  • Arthas' Tears (One of the few regions where you can gather it)
  • Sungrass
  • Dreamfoil
  • Mountain Silversage
  • Plaguebloom (One of the few regions where you can gather it)
  • Fadeleaf
• Leather
  • Warbear Leather (Skinning level 50-55 bears)
• Ore
  • Silver Vein
  • Iron Deposit
  • Gold Vein
  • Mithril Deposit
  • Truesilver Deposit
  • Small Thorium Vein
  • Rich Thorium Vein

Wild Creatures

Gahrron's Withering

• Abominations
• Bears
• Bog Beasts
• Carrion Birds
• Ghosts
• Ghouls
• Hyenas
• Liches
• Oozes
• Shades
• Skeletons
• Spiders
• Wolves
• Wraiths
• Zombies

Notes

See also: Welcome Bear

• Western Plaguelands often sees the inadvertent death of curious new players who venture too far east from Tirisfal Glades and get killed by one of the high-level beasts near the zone border.

Media

Videos

Western Plaguelands HD - World of Warcraft Cataclysm

Cataclysm Western Plaguelands

Patch changes

• Patch 1.6.0 (12-Jul-2005): A neutral graveyard has been added on the island of Caer Darrow in Western Plaguelands. It will serve characters who die on Caer Darrow and in Scholomance.
  

External links

• Wowhead
• Thottbot
• WoWDB