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This article is about the pre-Cataclysm zone, "The Barrens". For lore and history, see Barrens. For the post-Cataclysm zones, see Northern Barrens and Southern Barrens.
NeutralThe Barrens
Level: 7 - 30
Battle Pet Level: 3 - 4; 9 - 10
The Barrens1
Races OrcOrc Orc
TaurenTauren Tauren
GoblinGoblin Goblin
QuilboarQuilboar Quilboar
CentaurCentaur Centaur
Jungle trollJungle troll Jungle troll
DwarfDwarf Dwarf
HumanHuman Human
Night elfNight elf Night elf
ForsakenForsaken Forsaken
Harpy Harpy
MurlocMurloc Murloc
Ruler(s) Horde IconSmall Orc Male Thork
Horde IconSmall Tauren Male Jorn Skyseer
Alliance IconSmall Human Female Captain Fairmount
Neutral IconSmall Gazlowe Gazlowe
Major settlements Horde The Crossroads
Alliance Northwatch Hold
Alliance Bael Modan
Neutral Ratchet
Mob Razorfen Kraul
Mob Razorfen Downs
Minor settlements Horde Camp Taurajo
Horde Mor'shan Rampart
Horde Honor's Stand
Affiliation Horde, Alliance, Steamwheedle Cartel
Location Eastern Kalimdor
PvP status Contested territory

The Barrens is a large zone in central Kalimdor controlled mostly by the Horde. It is a massive savanna, with a few oases in the north-central region around the Crossroads. Before the upheaval, several large kaldorei cities stood here. Now, those brave few willing to scrape out a life on the arid plains inevitably run afoul of centaur warbands or quilboar raiding parties. Despite its often uninviting terrain and hostile inhabitants, the Barrens receive a good deal of interest from Alliance and Horde alike, as well as races native to Kalimdor. Trade routes crisscross the landscape leading to and from more inviting regions, and the most notable route is the Gold Road that runs north-to-south through the Barrens and beyond. Rumours suggest that precious minerals and treasure-filled ruins await those with the courage to investigate.

History[]

Main article: Barrens#History

Getting there[]

Far Watch Post

Far Watch Post

HordeHorde
From Mulgore, follow the main road east out of the zone, then continue though Camp Taurajo (there is a Wind Rider Master in Camp Taurajo) and turn north through the Gold Road to get to the Crossroads. Get the flight path there too. You can also take the zeppelin to Orgrimmar from Spirit Rise in Thunder Bluff. It passes through the Barrens, and you can jump off (and survive!) while over Taurajo or the Crossroads.
If you are an orc or troll, go to Razor Hill (The small orc town south of Orgrimmar in Durotar) and go through the road west, then continue south through the Gold Road.
If you are a Forsaken or blood elf, take the goblin zeppelin to Orgrimmar, the Zeppelin Tower is just north of the Undercity, then go down to Razor Hill and use the same route as orcs and trolls.
AllianceAlliance
Catch a boat to Ratchet from Booty Bay. Once there, get the flight path.
You can also take the boat to Theramore from Menethil Harbor and then run through Dustwallow Marsh into the Barrens. You will need to then run north and east to reach Ratchet.
An alternative method is to travel to Darkshore, then to Ashenvale. Walk all the way to the Mor'Shan Rampart without getting close to the guards. To the east there is a small entrance, free of Horde guards, that Alliance can go through.

Geography[]

The Barrens are a temperate and warm land.[1] It has hot rugged hills, plains (grassland), some rocky desert and rugged mountains.[2]

The Barrens are huge, one of the largest zones in the game. The land is mostly flat, with a few hills scattered throughout. The climate is harsh and hot, but survivable due to several lush oasis. With a stretch of coastline to the east, mountains to the northwest, plains to the west, forest to the north, marsh to the southeast, and the desert conditions to the south and northeast, the Barrens is surrounded by extremely varied landscapes.

The Barrens contain three instanced dungeons, the Wailing Caverns, Razorfen Kraul, and Razorfen Downs. The Horde entrance to Warsong Gulch is located to the north. There are two Horde aligned travel hubs in this zone: the Crossroads and Camp Taurajo, in addition to the flight path and boat in Ratchet available to both factions. There are no raid dungeons in the Barrens.

Maps and subregions[]

VZ-Barrens-old2

Map of the Barrens in patch 1.5.0.


Undisplayed locations
Mor'shan Rampart

The Mor'shan Rampart.

Dungeons[]

Dungeon Name Level Range Group Size Approximate Run Time
Instance portal Wailing Caverns 15-23 5-man 1-3 Hours
Instance portal Razorfen Kraul 24-33 5-man 1-3 Hours
Instance portal Razorfen Downs 34-41 5-man 2-4 Hours

Battlegrounds[]

Travel hubs[]

Crossroads

The Crossroads

Barrens at Day

The Barrens at Day

Barrens at Night

The Barrens at Night

The Crossroads is likely the biggest travel hub for Horde characters, with a total of 13 flight paths. Camp Taurajo, a secondary hub in the southern Barrens, is very useful for travel from one end of the zone to the other. Ratchet has both a Horde and Alliance flight master, and a boat which sails to Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale.

HordeFlight paths from the Crossroads
HordeFlight paths from Camp Taurajo
NeutralFlight paths and boats from Ratchet
Ratchet

Ratchet

Adjacent regions[]

Zone Name Faction Level Range Direction Access
Durotar Horde 1-12 Northeast By foot across the river or by flightpath from Crossroads to Orgrimmar
Mulgore Horde 1-12 West By foot or flightpath from Crossroads or Camp Taurajo to Thunder Bluff
Stonetalon Mountains HordeAlliance 15-27 Northwest By foot or flightpath from Crossroads to Sun Rock Retreat
Ashenvale HordeAlliance 18-30 North By foot or flightpath from Crossroads to Splintertree Post or Zoram'gar Outpost
Thousand Needles HordeAlliance 25-35 South By elevator or flightpath from Crossroads or Camp Taurajo to Freewind Post
Stranglethorn Vale HordeAlliance 32-45 East across the sea By boat from Ratchet to Booty Bay
Dustwallow Marsh HordeAlliance 35-45 Southeast By foot or flightpath from Crossroads or Ratchet to Brackenwall Village

Notable characters[]

Kolkar Barrens

The Kolkar centaur in the Barrens.

Main article: Barrens NPCs

The Barrens are home to several characters of note. At the Crossroads, Sergra Darkthorn sends promising young adventurers to prove their worth to the Horde by hunting local wild creatures. She is assisted in her efforts by Jorn Skyseer in Camp Taurajo, who also refers them to continue their quests in Thunder Bluff. And at his fortified camp west of the Crossroads, the beleaguered Regthar Deathgate fights a one-man battle to keep the savage centaur from breaking through the Horde defenses. The Barrens is also home to Mankrik who gives out the ever so infamous quest to find his wife.

Quests[]

Main article: The Barrens quests
See also: The Barrens questing guide

Being such a huge zone, the Barrens has a wealth of quests for Horde characters between levels 10 and 20. Of particular note are the hunting quests given by Sergra Darkthorn at the Crossroads, which lead to similar quests in other zones. Many quests in the Barrens deal with fighting back the centaur and the quilboars. In addition, the Venture Company has taken a foothold in the northern Barrens and several quests involve investigating and causing trouble for them.

Resources[]

BaelModan

Bael Modan

Wild creatures[]

Raptor Grounds

Raptor Grounds

Notes and trivia[]

  • The Barrens is one of the largest zones in World of Warcraft, and running from Mor'shan Rampart near Ashenvale to the Great Lift near Thousand Needles can be daunting even for players with mounts.
  • Currently, the Barrens has the widest level range of any single zone, spanning 15 levels.
  • The Barrens is infamous as a very busy secondary zone shared by tauren, orcs and trolls. Undead players also often come here between levels 10 to 25. With three instances and multiple travel hubs, it is a busy "in-between" area traversed by higher-level characters as well. This is a major contributing factor to the high volume of the chat in this region. The chat in the region has had the infamous tag of Barrens Chat due to its sometimes frequent trend of players going completely off-topic in discussions and delving into silliness, which annoys some players while amusing others. This, however, has quelled in recent time due to new zones being introduced and the desire to move such chat into more accessible channels, such as the Trade chat which is shared amongst all faction capital cities.
  • There is a band of mounted Alliance Outrunners to the south near Camp Taurajo. There is a level 24 human mage and three level 25 night elves. In addition to attacking Horde players on sight, they drop a scroll that starts the Horde quest The Runed Scroll.
  • The Crossroads is also a popular destination for Alliance raids as it is a good meeting point to raid Orgrimmar.
  • Although said to be home to Black dragonkin NO dragons appear in this zone in-game.

Avoiding the Barrens[]

Horde players can completely bypass the Barrens if they wish by questing in Ghostlands, Silverpine Forest, and the Hillsbrad Foothills.

There are a number of reasons that a player might choose to do so:

  • To avoid the overpopulation and competition from other players.
  • It seems to be generally quicker to level, partially due to the decreased distance between key areas.
  • Quests are much easier.
  • For players generally focused on solo play rather than grouping up.
  • Completing quests to get items with Tranquillien Reputation and quest rewards.

Gallery[]

Patch changes[]

  • Cataclysm Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Split into Northern Barrens and Southern Barrens.
  • WoW Icon update Patch 1.6.0 (2005-07-12): The Barrens should now feel more alive, with many guards and other NPCs added to provide more immersion.
  • WoW Icon update Patch 1.2.0 (2004-12-18): Kodos in the Barrens will no longer stomp incessantly while in combat.
  • Test-inline Patch 0.10 (2004-09-18): More rework done on the quests to make the area more player-friendly and to elaborate on the story behind the area.
  • Test-inline Patch 0.9 (2004-08-17): More quests improved and added.

References[]

External links[]

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