First Light

After leaving Elwynn Forest at around Level 10, I took Dragast into Westfall. Right after crossing the bridge from Elwynn Forest, one of the many Easter Eggs of World of Warcraft comes into view – and on of my favorite ones:you will find a broken down horse wagon with two dead bodies around it – and a Lieutenant Horatio Laine on the crime scene. Being also a fan of CSI Miami, this is a nice reference, down to the red hair of the NPC.

Westfall is one of the areas that has severely changed with the Cataclysm add-on. What used to be a desolate and deserted landscape has now become an Alliance stronghold.

The image to the left was taken the night before Cataclysm came out – you can see Sentinel Hill in the background and plenty of open space between you and the tower.

The location of the image is east of Saldean’s Farm, just about to fly over the dirt road. Compared to Elwynn Forest back then, Westfall was a lousy and lonely place.

The image to the right is taken today – the same blue skies, the same old tower on Sentinel Hill.

But all  new trees where none had been before and a huge fortified stronghold where one a lonely outpost has been.

Westfall has changed quite a bit. Also in some other areas, where screenshots from the pre-Cataclysm world are available: the following is taken before the add-on, just east of Sentinel Hill – a place called “The Dead Acre”.

Again, the change is obvious although not that dramatic than in the image before. A forgotten farmhouse with a small tower is standing on the edge of a rotten field.

Small trees are dominating the area, in the back you can see the road leading into Duskwook – including traces of the bridge. Today, the farm is still forlorn but trees have grown and also the acre has changed. Road and bridge are still around.

But there are other areas in Westfall as well – near the entrance from Elwyn Forrest, there is not only the mentioned crime scene but also a set of farms, partially inhabited: the Jansen Stead, Furlbrow’s Pumpkin Farm, The Molsen Farm and Saldean’s Farm – making a point of Westfall having been the “grain chamber” of the Eastern Kingdoms.

If you look closely at the image above, you can even see the beach entrance in the back where Gnolls and Murlocs cause havoc.

Following the path further into Westfall, you will see more farms and finally Moonbrook appearing in the distance.

While the area directly west of Sentinel Hill has never been that much of an attraction and a questing area, Moonbrook is.

Especially, since it hosts the entrance to one of the low-level dungeons new characters usually start out with: the Death Mines.

Moonbrook itself is a forgotten town at the edge of the Dagger Hills, which in the pre-Cataclysm world was inhabited by bandits and has now been re-captured and serves as new home for former Stormwind Citizens.

Finally, the last place to mention is probably the Westfall Lighthouse situated at the coast just beyond Moonbrook.

The area today is clear of any thieves and other criminals – Westfall has really been re-taken in the Cataclysm world and maybe a future add-on will expand the area even more (not that I will see it then…)

Westfall’s western coast marks the beginning of The Great Sea – it is also a deserted and dangerous coast with plenty of Gnoll Camps around – and many ships have found their final resting place here.

Unfortunately, the coast is not rich on fish – so when Dragast used to pick up fishing skills, there was no reason to return to Westfall – in all honesty: once I was done with the zone, Dragast never really returned here except for the occasional dungeon raid.

So this is it, this is Westfall. If you trust Blizzard’s leveling guide, it is good for characters on level 10 to 15 – beyond that, you will have to move on to Redridge Mountains for the next few levels.

Every human World of Warcraft character starts out in Elwynn Forest – more precisely in the Northshire Vale.

Northshire is situated in a peaceful area of Elwynn Forest, at least for most of its existence. Surrounded by steep mountains on three sides and a double wall with heavy gates guarding the southern entrance to the vale, it is easily defended and makes a good starting ground for a new character (possibly with an inexperienced player) to survive the first fights, gather some experience and maybe even some copper coins to start out into the big world.

When I first left Northshire Vale, I remember looking with awe at the world that unfolded before me – I was wondering just how big it might be and I have to admit: I had no clue how big it really was, even back then when there had only been two continents (that was before the Lich King Expansion pack).

The design of Elwynn Forest is following the human expectation of a “peaceful and idyllic forest” with small settlements spread out and almost familiar enemies – wolves, spiders, bears and the occasional Kobold.

Goldshire itself is a small settlement of a few houses spread out on the western shores of Crystal Lake.

The young character can find the initial trainers here, a tavern to rest and plenty of quests to solve which will in return provide for experience, equipment and money. Dragast has been spending quite a few hours here as well as in the quest areas to the south of Goldshire, first of which usually is Fargodeep Mine.

The mine is operated by Kobolds and the little guys can be really nasty at time, especially if you are a cloth-armored person like Dragast (and you did not have the advantage of having it all made ‘easy’ for new players then).

However, Dragast has mastered the mine quite a few times by now and Kobolds are of no horror anymore. Yet, it is a nice memory to think back to the days that the mine indeed has been a challenge.

A bit to the east of the mine, the Maclure Vinyards are located – another area for side-quests which merely will have you run around between the Vinyards, the Mine and Stonefield Farm west of the Mine.

The quests are merely around family things, a forbidden love between the two families and some list jewelery. Keeps you busy for some time, keeps you in a friendly environment and allows you to gather more XP (experience), equipment and money.

Both farms are held in a very simple layout, situated around a field and build from two or three small houses around it.

The field at Stonefield Farm is rules by a large female boar, Princess, which is one of the targets in the quest chain to overcome.

Today, a no-brainer – way back when it was a challenge, especially in cloth armor. But having had a challenge has been way better than stupidly killing though the landscape to quickly raise in the ranks.

Once the southern area has been cleared of quests, Dragast has been turing north, first to Crystal Lake and the Murlocs and then further east to the Eastvale Logging Camp.

Eastvale is a lone outpost in the far east of Elwynn Forrest, on the border to the Redridge Mountain area.

Eastvale hold some more quests and higher level opponents, especially wolves and bears but also some Murlocs – all level 8 to 10 or so.

Even today you can see new players trying to solve the logging quests, fighting the Murlocs and avoiding the wolves. When you are a grown-up character, take a moment to stop and help them.

There are a couple more areas in Elwynn Forest that I used to explore and enjoyed them – there is the Brackwell Pumpkin Patch – a farm taken over by bandits and also the target area of some quests.

There is the riverside stretch with a good amount of Copper Veins and Flowers if your character is into mining or alchemy.

There is Mirror Lake with its Bandits but also a truly beautifully and idyllic landscape – an area that holds no quests but yet has been nice to explore anyway.

Above Mirror Lake – and unreachable in the old days! – is Thunder Falls – an area today used for the daily fishing quests in Stormwind.

Finally, there is Westbrook Garrison, guarding the western areas of Elwynn Forest and the borders to the Westfall region.

Finally, the last outpost before leaving Elwynn Forest – or the first if you enter it from the west – is the bridge guarding the entrance to Westfall.

Playing Elwynn Forest is mostly fun – it is a good starting point for human characters and – I have to admit – one of the nicest areas in the whole of WoW that I have come across. Maybe only because it was the first area I explored with Dragast… from here on, it is off to Westfall to further grow and gain experience.