With a name like “Desolace,” I wouldn't expect much from a zone. It basically conjures up the image of a dead area with nothing much of note. And before Cataclysm, that described the zone to a T. A barren wasteland thanks to the Burning Legion's invasion, Desolace had only a few points of interest and a color palette that ranged from “gray” to “more gray.” The quests were spread-out, but I always hit it on my way up because, with a few good circuits, the zone offered fast leveling without the ganking that Strangelthorn Vale involved. The Cataclysm has changed the zone much for the better, offering a central quest hub and a wonderful infusion of the color green.

In my last article I had my newbie hunter explore Silverpine Forest. The storyline was dark and full of lore, but completely new to me; I had never previously gone through Silverpine so, of course, everything was new and interesting! However, Hillsbrad I've done. I took my Blood Elf through Tarren Mill years ago, and had hit the zone around level 30 on every Alliance character I had leveled since the Burning Crusade (thanks to Jame's Guide suggesting it). Cataclysm brought big changes to the zone, and I was excited to explore them all.

Before the Cataclysm hit World of Warcraft, I never set foot in Silverpine Forest except to run to Shadowfang Keep. I'll admit it: I never played a Forsaken. I found the undead storyline to be distasteful and often downright evil, and I couldn't separate myself enough to actually enjoy leveling up an undead (nor looking like something the cat literally dragged in). But I'm really glad I gave them a chance now, because the new story rocks.  

Once upon a time, back around the release of the Burning Crusade, a poster named Azuarc started a series of topics called “Zone of the Week" in our World of Warcraft general forum. These topics were open-ended opportunities for forum members to discuss what they did or did not like with certain zones. Azuarc focused mostly on the zones released with the first expansion, but we live in a different age now.

The Cataclysm introduced not only new level 80+ and racial zones, but changed the zones WoW players have known like the back of their hands for years. In an effort to reintroduce these zones to our members, and perhaps point out some things you might have missed, I'm reviving the Zone of the Week in the form of an ongoing series of editorials. So, sit back and enjoy the first installment, with the newest changes to Darkshore.