Wowpedia

We have moved to Warcraft Wiki. Click here for information and the new URL.

READ MORE

Wowpedia
Register
Advertisement
NeutralSouthern Barrens
Level: 10-30
Battle Pet Level: 9 - 10
Southern Barrens Cataclysm
The Battlescar
Races TaurenTauren Tauren
QuilboarQuilboar Quilboar
DwarfDwarf Dwarf
OrcOrc Orc
HumanHuman Human
Night elfNight elf Night elf
Jungle trollJungle troll Jungle troll
GoblinGoblin Goblin
ForsakenForsaken Forsaken
Ruler(s) Horde IconSmall Orc Male Warlord Crawgol
Alliance Unknown
Former ruler(s) Horde IconSmall Orc Male Karga Rageroar
Horde IconSmall Orc Male Warlord Bloodhilt †
Alliance IconSmall Dwarf Male General Twinbraid †
Major settlements Neutral Razorfen Kraul
Horde Desolation Hold
Alliance Northwatch Hold
Alliance Fort Triumph †
Minor settlements Alliance Bael Modan
Alliance Honor's Stand
Alliance Forward Command †
Horde Hunter's Hill
Horde Vendetta Point
Horde Camp Una'fe
Affiliation Horde, Northwatch Expeditionary Unit, Alliance
Location Southern Central Kalimdor
PvP status Contested territory

The Southern Barrens is the southern half of what was once the Barrens. Before being divided it extended into Northern Barrens without break; the two areas are now separated by the Great Divide. This region is not only one of the hardest hit by the Cataclysm, but also one of the biggest war zones in the escalating conflict between the Alliance and Horde. In the wake of the Cataclysm, the Alliance has been aggressively expanding into the heart of the continent from the east coast.

History[]

Main article: Barrens#History

Cataclysm[]

Cataclysm This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

During the Cataclysm, Deathwing tore through the Barrens, carving a steep, magma-filled gorge across its center, from Stonetalon Mountains to the Merchant Coast. The areas north and south of the divide became near inaccessible to each other. Following this, what was once the Barrens became more commonly referred to as Northern Barrens and Southern Barrens. Much of Southern Barrens was also affected by ground ruptures.

Southern Barrens immediately became an area of devastation. Horde settlements such as Camp Taurajo were destroyed, the tauren of Thunder Bluff building the Great Gate to protect Mulgore from hostile outsiders. To the south, the quilboar continued to menace other races and spread their territory. To the north, a druid's experiment gone-wrong resulted in the Overgrowth, where even the plants are murderous. Horde and Alliance each built up new outposts for the purpose of war, centering on the Battlescar, which sits in the middle of a narrow pass, a natural bottleneck. The Alliance plans to blast its way through in order to maintain an overland link between Theramore and Northwatch Hold, not to mention a route into the Stonetalon Mountains, where the Alliance can lend aid to its allies. The Horde intends to seal off this pass, isolating Theramore.

Tides of War[]

WoW-novel-logo-16x62 This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

As part of Warchief Hellscream's plan to destroy Theramore attention is first turned to the Alliance presence outside of Dustwallow Marsh. As such Hellscream ordered for the destruction of Northwatch Hold, who had received word of the joint Tauren-Troll attack coming there way from a scout. At the same time Admiral Aubrey also received word of blood elf, Forsaken, and goblin ships coming from the sea, and quickly realized that the orcs would be coming from the North. Despite the Admiral's best attempts Northwatch Hold was ultimately razed to the ground, though a few of the Alliance forces present were able to escape and regroup at Theramore under Admiral Aubrey.[1]

After waiting for several Hellscream ordered for the army to move to continue its mission. However while en route the forces of Fort Triumph, launched an attack that they hoped would cripple the Horde army advancing towards Theramore. Instead, Fort Triumph itself fell, with its own siege weapons being added to the Horde war machine.[2] With both Northwatch Hold and Fort Triumph destroyed, the Horde's control of the region was uncontested, until the Alliance launched a counter-attack that regained control of Northwatch.

Battle for Azeroth and aftermath[]

Battle for Azeroth This section concerns content related to Battle for Azeroth.

During the Fourth War, the Southern Barrens saw conflict between the forces of the Alliance and Horde. All major faction settlements came under attack, including the rebuilt Northwatch Hold and Bael Modan.

WoW-novel-logo-16x62 This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

After the war, Zekhan and Rexxar stopped by the area and reported that the Great Gate still stands and protects tauren tribes from quilboar moving into Mulgore and the Alliance's many needling strikes.[3] The Overgrowth is often visited by wandering adventurers, and Honor's Stand, being resupplied, remains in Alliance hands. Although it is quiet since the armistice, surviving Horde soldiers previously serving at the outpost are hoping to reclaim it.[4]

Getting there[]

A pit of lava known as the Great Divide has split the Barrens in two and separates this zone from the Northern Barrens. It cannot be crossed directly without a flying mount. However, there is an area on the border between the Northern Barrens and Stonetalon Mountains that splits off and leads here. This is the normal method of getting here since the questing experience has been designed to segue from Stonetalon to the Southern Barrens. Low-level Horde players can also reach the Southern Barrens through the Great Gate at the Mulgore border but should be advised that this zone is a much higher level. Alliance players can run through Dustwallow Marsh (a series of bridges have been constructed and lead here directly from Theramore) or head down the coast from Ratchet to Northwatch Hold.

Geography[]

The Southern Barrens is the southern half of what used to be the Barrens. It is bordered on the south by Thousand Needles, west by Mulgore, east by Dustwallow Marsh, and north by the Great Divide, a steep, magma-filled canyon.

The landscape here is predominately plains, the exception being the unnaturally thick jungle of the Overgrowth in the northern part of the region. Mountains to the east and west create a natural bottleneck in the middle of the region. In the southern half, a break in the eastern mountains leads to the marshes of Dustwallow. The quilboar have completely claimed the southern end, expanding their thorny settlements past the narrow canyon leading to Thousand Needles.

Maps and subregions[]

VZ-Southern Barrens

Map of the Southern Barrens.


Undisplayed locations

Removed locations

Travel hubs[]

Alliance Fort Triumph
Alliance Northwatch Hold
Horde Desolation Hold
Horde Hunter's Hill

Regions adjacent to Southern Barrens[]

Zone Name Faction Level Range Direction Access subzone Access method
Mulgore Horde 1 - 20 West Great Gate By foot or by Horde flightpath
Northern Barrens Horde 10 - 60 North Great Divide By foot or by Horde flightpath
Stonetalon Mountains Neutral 25 - 60 Northwest Stonetalon Pass By foot or flight path
Dustwallow Marsh Neutral 35 - 60 East N/A By foot or by Alliance flight path
Thousand Needles Neutral 40 - 60 South N/A By foot or by Horde flight path

Notable characters[]

Main article: Southern Barrens NPCs

Perhaps the most notable character in the history of the Barrens, Mankrik, can be found here exacting revenge on the quilboars for killing his wife. Other well known faces include the druid Naralex, who has recently awakened from his slumber in the Wailing Caverns. Of the recent arrivals, one of the more famous (or infamous) is the human General Hawthorne, known to the Horde as the 'Butcher of Taurajo'.

Quests[]

Main article: Southern Barrens storyline

Resources[]

Wild creatures[]

Shattering of the Southern Barrens[]

Tharken Bloodspike's letter

I was in the Southern Barrens when the world broke.

Azeroth wrenched. Jagged maws of stone and dirt opened all around me. I turned in horror to see that my elder brother, Kor'ak, was falling into one of the gaping fissures. With all my might I struggled to pull him free, but in that moment, when he needed me most... I failed him. The screaming rift snapped shut, rending Kor'ak flesh and bone with a sickening ease. Terrified, I fled to the Great Lift, only to watch as the sea raged through the red canyons of Thousand Needles, consuming all in its path. I then went north until I came upon a fiery chasm that sliced the Barrens in two as if some monstrous demon had cleaved Azeroth's belly with his tainted axe. Despite the chaos, I could not shake Kor'ak's death from my mind...A brother...friend...proud orcish warrior...crushed like an insect under the foot of a traveler.

Many suns have passed since that day, but I fear that the whole of Kalimdor, and even the distant Eastern Kingdoms, will never be the same again. More and more I hear tales of how these lands have suffered from the upheaval's wrath: fire spewing from the heart of Ashenvale, flooding in the formerly parched lands of Tanaris and Durotar, and coastal settlements in Darkshore and the Wetlands claimed by hungry seas. Azeroth is changing, but I must endure to see that Kor'ak received an honorable burial. If it takes a lifetime to find my brother's broken body entombed beneath the scarred earth...then so be it.

-Tharken Bloodspike of the Crossroads.[5]

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Patch changes[]

References[]

External links[]

Southern Barrens Warfront
Advertisement