World of Warcraft Beta Journal #9
Dialogue, 2004-05-06

The quests you receive in Durotar are a good cross section of the life of an orc. Loyalty to tribe and culture are very important. Finding the remains of a young boy, clearing out vicious monsters from the surrounding area, and supporting the needs of the tribe through gathering materials are all examples of the quest types available in Durotar. Aside from the quests for the Orcish peoples, the village of Troll tribesmen in the far southern part of the map also have quests to give. These quests tie you into the connections between the trolls and the orcs and give you a slice of what they deal with. Some of the best quests in Durotar are given out by trolls. My personal favorites have you traveling off the coast to a series of southerly islands, the Echo Isles. There you confront a wild troll witch doctor and his magicked servants. A very satisfying orcish quest has you taking on some of the remnants of Admiral Proudmoore's fleet. In storming the small keep near the orcish lands you defeat a military officer and his entourage. In killing the officer I found a key, which when taken to a small room near the top of the keep yielded a military briefing. The briefing leads you to a conversation with one of the Warchief Thrall's advisors, and some excellent quests.

Thrall and his advisors lie within the Valley of Wisdom, one of the distinct areas that makes up the city of Orgrimaar. Many of the other cities within the World of Warcraft seem in one degree or another to be planned. Orgrimaar is obviously where it is because of the way that nature has carved this part of Durotar. A series of large canyons are carved right into red stone. Inside of each canyon is an area specifically devoted to a particular group or function. The first canyon you are likely to see upon entering Orgrimaar is a vast area dominated by a high tower. There, the goblin zeppelin pilots allow transportation across the ocean to Tirisfal Glades. The tower is also a location where the Wyvverns roost, allowing trasport on the continent. The Valley of Honor holds the warriors and hunters of the Orcish brood, sheltering the greatest generals the greenskins have, as well as some of their finest metalsmiths. A subterranean glade shelters the rogues and warlocks from the sun above and allows the most nefarious of the orcish clans to conduct their business in secret. Just inside the northmost gate of Orgrimaar is an alcove in the canyons, dominated by a small lake and the reed-thatched huts of the trolls. Finally, the Valley of Honor is home to the shaman of the orcish clans, as well as the great hall that Warchief Thrall calls his home.

Speaking of Shaman, a brief word on the Horde-only spellcasting class. I haven't had as much time with my Shammy as I would have liked, but what I've seen of the class has been very encouraging. They hold an interesting balance between the direct damage aspect of the mage and the healing abilities of the cleric. They have a good mix of offensive and defensive spells, and on top of that are allowed to wear leather armor (like their shapeshifting druid brethren). The thrust of Shaman magic is elemental based, rather than nature based. Unlike mages, however, which only have crude control over the elemental forces, Shamans have access to all four elements. Each element is exemplified for the shaman by totems. Totems are small objects that can be summoned by the Shaman for a specific purpose. The first totem you gain access to is the Earth totem, which offers healing and protective magics. The four different totems provide several different effects depending on the purpose of the summoning. Each totem is obtained through a quest, giving a immersive aspect to your character's progression down the Shamanic path. The Shaman is an interesting class, much more appropriate for the spellcasting tank than the priest. I look forward to exploring it further as the Beta moves forward.

A few brief updates for you on changes to the game:

• The level cap has been raised from 35 to 39. They're holding below 40 because some details about Mounts and Plate Armor are still being finalized.
• The Barrens was recently voted the least interesting zone in the game, and is getting a substantial workover in the coming few weeks.
• The map/fog system (in place in the starting zones) is going to be expanded to every zone with heavily detailed maps...by the end of the Beta.
• The rest system is going to undergo some changes, allowing players to log out with rest benefits from almost anywhere as well as providing a greater benefit to players at higher level.
• According to Blizz, it's highly likely a PvP server will be going up sometime within the next few months.