Durotar

For the zone before the Shattering, see Durotar (Original).

Durotar
Level 1-10
Bladefist Bay
Races	Orc  Troll  Tauren  Goblin  Human  Quilboar  Centaur  Harpy  Naga
Government	Tribal chiefdom
Rulers	Warchief Garrosh Hellscream Chieftain Vol'jin
Major settlements	Razor Hill Echo Isles Sen'jin Village
Minor settlements	Tiragarde Keep The Den
Affiliation	Horde
Location	East of the Northern Barrens, Kalimdor[58, 50]

Durotar^{[58, 50]}

, the land named after Thrall's father, Durotan, lies on the eastern coast of Kalimdor. It borders the Northern Barrens to the west and the coastal lands of Azshara to the north. The land of Durotar is rocky, and the soil is cracked and red, not unlike the orcs' Draenorian homeland. The land has many crags and canyons, where dangerous creatures take residence. It is a harsh land to survive in; it is very dry and hot, and the vegetation is sparse. The orcs, however, see a harsh beauty in the land. Durotar is a proving ground for young orcs, who are sent to the Valley of Trials to complete several rites of passage before they are considered fit for the challenges that lie ahead. Durotar is the new homeland of the orcs and the site of the orcs' principal city of Orgrimmar. Since the orcs founded Orgrimmar, Durotar has become something of a haven for all of the Horde races, especially the Darkspear Trolls, who are mainly settled on the Echo Isles.

With the advent of the Cataclysm, Durotar changed greatly. Under Horde leader Garrosh Hellscream's orders, Ogrimmar and the surrounding area of Durotar has been reinforced into a vision of military might. Flooding caused by the Shattering caused much of western Durotar to be overrun by the Southfury River. Agitated earth and water elementals clash west of the gates of Orgrimmar.

History

This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft RPG and is considered non-canon.

For many years, Durotar was home to the quilboar. Then Thrall, Warchief of the orcs, brought his race to Kalimdor in search of a new homeland. The quilboar were tenacious but ultimately no match for the unified might of the orc clans. The bristled "boar men" were driven back in a series of decisive orc victories along the northern canyons and ultimately pushed to the most remote regions of Durotar and even into the Barrens. The orcs claim the coastal realm as their own, but the quilboar vow to reclaim it someday. The realm of Durotar - named by Warchief Thrall in honor of his father, Durotan - occupies the east coast of Kalimdor, just across the river from the Barrens. The goblin port of Ratchet stands to the south, with the ruined shores of Azshara some distance to the north. The region is warm and rocky, but not as arid as the rest of the Barrens. A fair amount of vegetation grows thanks to the warm easterly winds blowing in from over the ocean, but truly fertile soil is rare, making farmland precious. Sagebrush on the plains and thin pine forests at higher elevations combine with rugged hills and canyons to break up the landscape. Orcs are by far the major inhabitants of Durotar.

Quilboar cluster in the canyons along the northwestern borders and encroach from the Barrens to the west. Centaur warbands make the occasional foray, and furbolgs and undead have been seen in more than one instance. Herd animals such as deer and goats roam the land, preyed upon by wolves and coyotes.

A number of Horde settlements have been established throughout the region, but much of the land has yet to be tamed. The cities and towns scattered along the frontier are heavily fortified against attacks from quilboar raiders, centaur warbands, rogue furbolgs, and even sudden appearances by undead and the occasional demon. Caravans are common targets, creating a strong market for caravan guards.

The few large cities are distant from one another, with a variety of smaller encampments and villages scattered in between. Given that Durotar is the orcs' new homeland, Horde races and independents are welcome throughout the region. Alliance races risk their lives when they venture into Durotar.

Razor Hill

The orcs and the Darkspear trolls led by Warchief Thrall landed here after their exodus from the Eastern Kingdoms. They proceeded to explore the area, helping the tauren drive out the cruel centaurs who were harassing Cairne and his people.

After the war against the Burning Legion, Durotar was founded as a nation and the new orcish homeland by Thrall. The young warchief named the land after his father, Durotan. Upon this land, he laid the ground for the orcs' new capital city Orgrimmar, named for the previous warchief and hero of the Horde, Orgrim Doomhammer.

The capital, Orgrimmar, is host to 14,000 inhabitants. In all, Durotar has a population of 21,000, the majority of which is of orcish blood. 65% of those living here are orcs, 20% are trolls, 15% are tauren, 8% Forsaken, and the smallest, humans, at 2% of the population. It is ruled as a tribal chiefdom by Warchief Thrall. Major settlements include Orgrimmar, Razor Hill, and Sen'jin Village, with respective populations of 14,000, 3,000, and 2,000. Spoken here are the languages of Orcish, Common, Low Common, Taurahe, and Zandali, otherwise known as Troll.

People and culture

Durotar by day.

This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft RPG and is considered non-canon.

From the journal of Brann Bronzebeard:

Durotar is the most populated of all Horde-controlled regions, as well as their cultural center. Here, young orcs, tauren, and trolls study shamanism and hunting. There is a strong sense of unity here, although a number of Horde members are disturbed by the growing presence of the Forsaken in their lands. I expected this central point for the Horde to also be a major battlefield, and that I would be attacked on sight — I couldn't have been more wrong. Most of the people here are trying to live normal lives, focusing on agriculture and spiritual pursuits. That doesn’t mean their guards didn’t try to rough me up, but after I put the first couple of them on the floor, the rest were smart enough to realize they would be dead if I wanted them to be. After that, most of the people left me alone — a few were even willing to talk to me. I suspect some of them had never seen a dwarf before.

Beyond the Horde, harpies, centaur and quilboar are prevalent in specific regions of Durotar, attacking caravans and neighboring villages. These prove to be some of the first challenges for young warriors before they move on to bigger battles; these creatures are hardly organized enough to pose a major threat.

Geography

The area is dry, baked red by the sun and littered with cacti and watering holes. The landmass itself is a long expanse separated from mainland Kalimdor by the Southfury River. To the south and east of Durotar is the Great Sea. The center of its eastern coast is littered with sunken ships and considered to be a prime scavenging spot. Near the south eastern tip is Sen'jin Village, a Darkspear Troll village. Off the southern coast are the Echo Isles, the main settlement of the Darkspear Trolls. The wildlife of the land includes boars, scorpids, raptors, crocolisks, thunder lizards, and makrura.

There are no dungeons, raid dungeons, micro dungeons, or battlegrounds in Durotar. However, Ragefire Chasm, a dungeon for levels 15 - 21, can be found in the Horde capital city, Orgrimmar, which is located at the north side of this zone.

Maps and subregions

Map of Durotar

• Topographic map of pre-Shattering Durotar

Travel hubs

Durotar from Warcraft III.

The Horde capital city, Orgrimmar, is located in this zone, and is a major travel hub for Horde characters. In addition, the Zeppelin towers inside Orgrimmar can carry players to the Eastern Kingdoms, to either Undercity or Grom'Gol Base Camp and also the continent of Northrend, to Warsong Hold.

Flight paths from Orgrimmar

• Razor Hill, Durotar
• Thunder Bluff, Mulgore
• Crossroads, Northern Barrens
• Nozzlepot's Outpost, Northern Barrens
• Ratchet, Northern Barrens
• Southern Rocketway Terminus, Azshara
• Bilgewater Harbor, Azshara
• Valormok, Azshara
• Mor'shan Rampart, Ashenvale
• Splintertree Post, Ashenvale
• Brackenwall Village, Dustwallow Marsh
• Gadgetzan, Tanaris
• Everlook, Winterspring
• Gates of Sothann, Mount Hyjal

Flight paths from Razor Hill

• Orgrimmar, Durotar
• Sen'jin Village, Durotar

Flight paths from Sen'jin Village

• Razor Hill, Durotar

Adjacent regions

Zone Name	Faction	Level Range	Direction	Access
Thunder Bluff		N/A	Southwest	By zeppelin from Orgrimmar to Spirit Rise. Flightpath from Orgrimmar.
Tirisfal Glades		1-12	Northeast across the Great Sea	By zeppelin from Orgrimmar to a tower outside the Undercity.
Northern Barrens		10-20	West	By foot across the Southfury River. Flightpaths from Orgrimmar. Also possible to swim from Darkspear Strand to Ratchet.
Azshara		10-20	North	By foot through northern exit of Orgrimmar. Flightpaths from Orgrimmar.
Ashenvale		20-25	Northwest	Swim north along the Southfury River and head west. Flightpaths from Orgrimmar.
Stranglethorn Jungle		25-30	Southeast across the Great Sea	By zeppelin from Orgrimmar to Grom'gol Base Camp, Northern Stranglethorn.
Northrend, Borean Tundra		68-72	Northeast across the Great Sea	By zeppelin from Orgrimmar to Warsong Hold, Borean Tundra.

Notable characters

Main article: Durotar NPCs

Durotar is home to several orcs and trolls of status. Vol'jin, chieftan of the Darkspear Trolls, dwells in Darkspear Hold on the Echo Isles, off the east coast. In nearby Sen'jin Village, Master Gadrin battles Alliance efforts to gain a foothold in Durotar. From Grommash Hold in Orgrimmar, Warchief Garrosh Hellscream leads the Horde.

Quests

Echo Isles.

Main article: Durotar storyline

Durotar is the starting zone for trolls and orcs. Orcs start in the Valley of Trials, while the trolls start on the Echo Isles. The quest range here is levels 1 - 10. Quests in Durotar include a rescue of denizens lost during the Shattering, battles against the human soldiers of Tiragarde Keep, helping to 'tune up' gladiators, and a cautionary tale from a Far Seer.

Resources

• Cloth
  •  [Linen Cloth]
• Herbalism
  •  [Peacebloom]
  •  [Silverleaf]
  •  [Earthroot]
• Leather
  •  [Ruined Leather Scraps]
  •  [Light Leather]
• Mining
  •  [Copper Ore]

Wild creatures

Edge of the Southfury Watershed

• Boars
• Centaurs
• Crabs
• Crocolisks
• Dire wolves
• Grells
• Harpies
• Hydra
• Makruras
• Quilboars
• Raptors
• Sasquatch
• Scorpids
• Sea turtles
• Sharks
• Spider crabs
• Thunder Lizards

Warcraft III

This section concerns content exclusive to Warcraft III.

Alongside most of the sentient races occupying Durotar in World of Warcraft, Durotar was also home to:

• Bronze dragons
•  Kobolds
•  Murlocs
•  Satyr (In a small coven deep within the Beast Den)
•  Sea giants (Only on the Echo Isles)
•  Undead (Only on the Echo Isles. Notably, a Deathlord of Lordaeron)
•  Wildkin

Gallery

• 

  Alliance ships off the southern coast of Durotar

Patch changes

• Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Zone completely renovated for Cataclysm.
  
• Patch 1.7.0 (2005-09-22): Entering the zeppelin tower at Durotar no longer incorrectly flags you as being in the Valley of Strength.
  
• Patch 1.6.0 (2005-07-12):
  • Durotar has been converted over to the new graveyard system. The system will place your character's spirit at the closest allowed graveyard in the zone.
  • A Horde-only graveyard has been added in the northern section of Durotar, just to the south of Orgrimmar. In addition to serving northern Durotar, Horde characters dying in Orgrimmar, The Hall of Legends and Ragefire Chasm will use this new graveyard. Alliance characters dying in Durotar will continue to only use the Razor Hill graveyard.
    

External links

• Wowhead