Level 22: Sunday, February 27, 2011

Down a winding mountain road (although there are alternate ways) from Loch Modan lies the Wetlands, a marshy swampland that connects the southern portion of the Eastern Kingdoms to the northern. Also, before ferries were added to Stormwind, the zone's main town, Menethil Harbor was only one of two places that offered Alliance players passage to the other continent of Kalimdor.

Named for the former king of Lordaeron (who was murdered by his own son, Arthas,) Menethil Harbor was a popular stop for Alliance players who needed to get to the other continent for some of the endgame raids that they were attending. However, Deathwing's emergence, and the destruction of the Stonewrought Dam submerged the town, although the boats still work.

There are a number of other areas to explore in the Wetlands. There are a band of marauding orcs....

Dark Iron dwarves who threaten from their stronghold in the northern part of the zone...

g-g-g-ghost pirates!

There is also a band of dwarves at an excavation site who are trapped by a herd of dinosaurs that needs rescuing.

Level 18: Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Just couldn't get on the bike.

Loch Modan is an alternative to Westfall, and is the first zone available outside of the introductory one for Dwarves. You reach it by travelling through a mountain tunnel and emerge from snowy Dun Murogh into an area that's downright tropical in comparison.

Every character's first stop in the area is Thelsamar, where the dwarf residents have dug homes beneath the earth.

There's a lot to do here. There are a number of threats to the small town, including stone troggs and a camp of ogres in the eastern part of the zone.

The Farstrider Lodge is in the southeastern corner of the area, and houses a housing party of dwarves and one night elf, who give you increasingly difficult hunting tasks to prove your worth.

The centerpiece of the zone is the Stonewrought Dam, which spans almost the entire northern border. The dam was built to contain all of the snowmelt from the mountains from cascading down into the Wetlands, located in the valley below. A series of quests involves stopping a group of evil Dark Iron dwarves from blowing the dam up.

However, like so many things in the game, the dam is no match for Deathwing when he arrives, and it is soon history.