The Loneliest Isles in Classic WoW

[@MrToadful]

I think the area having been a connection between Redridge and the Swamp could be right. The quest in Redridge to kill Murlocs gives a potential hint of this. When you hand in the quest, the NPC says 'It's strange seeing them so far from the sea. I wonder if they're here because they're running from something...' It could make sense for them to have fled from the Swamp inland to Redridge to flee the dark things going on at the Sunken Temple.

[@Jediwarlock]

Love that detail! :D

[@tonylalicata9765]

I’m convinced that even 20 years later, wow players still haven’t found every secret spot the devs originally made.

[@HLl564]

Why not?

[@Sirheck2010]

30 years my dude

[@björkmou5e]

Hate to be the ackshually guy, but you’re right. I forget the date of the actual post but maybe a year or two ago blizz dev in a community post did confirmed there is a small handle full of secret “things” still undiscovered to date in game, and I think they said one or two of them are vanilla aged.

[@LiamLefort]

20... ​@@Sirheck2010 30 years of Warcraft, 20 Years of World of Warcraft, 2004 was the release date

[@CallMeMimi27]

@@Sirheck2010 wow was from 2004 you eejit

[@jeroenvagenende6712]

If you remember, in Cataclysm, There was a road added from The Burning Steppes. It goes along the eastern side of the Redridge mountain range all the way to one of the 2 new Alliance towns called Bogpaddle which is located literally at the north part of the beach. Knowing that confirms even more that the area was supposed to have a purpose but they might've changed it with Cata

[@allinvanguard]

That road is also one of those areas which seemingly no one even knows exists. Would make for a great video as well

[@ordelian7795]

​@@allinvanguard Cataclysm at launch had it so that just dungeon spam with the effortless LFG tool added in Wrath made it so you didn't need to even quest. Random Dungeons extra EXP reward was absolutely bonkers at that point in time. Added to it with the removed requirement to travel to dungeons meant no one bothered to do quests unless they really wanted to know the story. Even then the zones gave so much EXP you might end up out levelling them if you did even a few dungeons while questing.

[@Jediwarlock]

Ooh yeah! What a weird little road that snakes through there... could totally fit with the theory! :)

[@daisyvision]

The way you describe that you love this area but don't understand why is how I feel all throughout my two favorite zones: Azshara and Desolace. Everyone I know hated them, but there was just this underlying sense of mystery or the unknown that I always found intriguing. The fact that they were unfinished, underutilized, or abandoned made them feel more "real" or atmospheric.

[@DonnellGreen]

I kept telling people this about Desolace, It is my favorite zone in classic, eerie,mysterious it captures the true soul of an adventure into the unknown.

[@dwalin619]

The old Desolace is one of my favorite zones. It´s not really pretty and the quests are mediocore, but the atmosphere, the instance, the kodo graveyard and the demons are so cool. I killed so much centaurs there to level up and just stood a the coast to fish. I was excited for the cataclysm version, but the zone just did not feel right after the revamp. Well, atleast it was no thousand needles desaster.

[@Wayclarke]

To this day, for some reason, when I think of my old WoW experience a few moments always stick with me, and two of the strongest ones are in Swamp of Sorrows, and Desolace.

[@Xfacta12482]

That's also how I feel when I am in the Shimmering Flats. Its just so odd & eerie for some reason.

[@Jediwarlock]

Great points! Those two zones are beautiful in their loneliness. :)

[@peterspencer6442]

Places like this made the world seem huge when I was first exploring Azeroth years ago

[@Jediwarlock]

Definitely! :)

[@moosegoose3159]

I have a similar appreciation for a random island off the coast of Stranglethorn. If you have ever done the swim route from Booty Bay to Westfall (looking at you low level Horde players looking to do Deadmines) there is a random island, not even on the map, that marks a sort of half way point on your swimming journey. Its almost as if the devs accidently made this one spot an island because its textures are that of the sea floor. Its always fascinated as to why the island is there and why even in retail non classic wow, its still there.

[@mast3734]

Ive always thought Westfall's costal weirdness was because it was one of, if not the first, zone Blizz designed for the game. It likely went through countless redesigns and reworks as they figured out scale and playability. Given that it was already on the coast, it would have made sense for them to just raise and sink land along the shoreline as the map changed.

[@General12th]

@@mast3734 Very first zone, I think! Even before Elwynn Forest. There are pictures of it from 2002 (back when players could equip four rings and four trinkets).

[@Jediwarlock]

I love that area too! Westfall's coast is full of anomalies :)

[@mcsmash4905]

4:24 croissant

[@mattieonutube273]

More like shiet

[@Jediwarlock]

YES!

[@SeriousZerious]

Swamp of Sorrows is one of my favourite zones purely because of the atmosphere. Really feels like the edge of civilization for horde players.

[@Jediwarlock]

So true! The explorer teams setting out into the marsh, not knowing what lies in wait... excellent environment! :D

[@selwrynn6702]

Just last week I was watching a video about STV & it had a guy walking under a waterfall I''d never noticed so I went and found that area, it's the waterfall just north of the Naga area for the Akris Reed bundles & holy water for that trinket if you're Alliance. There is no real path up to it but its a fascinating little spot where you can walk under the waterfall or sit and watch the ocean from a little viewing area, there are also a couple rocks jutting out that could be used as diving boards, its quite beautiful.

[@voljinslayer]

could you give the video please?

[@dylanramsey5817]

@@voljinslayer My first thought is Lurker's Stranglethorn zone retrospective: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHWan2Z_aLSnsM0

[@masonjones8527]

I found that area too a while ago. It's a nice little spot

[@Jediwarlock]

Ah yeah, the STV waterfall! Such a cool little spot :)

[@CadaverJunky8]

Love stuff like this. My favorite thing to do in WoW is just wander around the maps and discover places I've never seen before.

[@Jediwarlock]

Agreed :)

[@torsteinlb]

So happy to see your channel doing well dude. Well deserved 👌

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks so much! :)

[@PeteDimitrov]

One of my most memorable recollection from playing WoW inside The Swamp of Sorrows specifically, is spending a few weeks of in-between-queue time inside the Swamp, grinding for Disgusting Oozeling. I got it at the end but tbh, I can't even remember what made me want it in the first place so much, haha. Great video btw!

[@Jediwarlock]

Haha, what a great story!

[@rogerwilco2]

I played a druid in classic WoW before the Burning Crusade. I swam all around the map looking for things to do under water.

[@Jediwarlock]

There's a lot of fun things to discover! :D

[@Poopdahoop]

It's this stuff that makes this channel such an amazing gem on this site. Please never stop making videos!

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you so much! I hope to continue the channel for a long long time! :D

[@BavarianHobbit]

I think Swamp of Sorrows was supposed to be much larger aswell, after all the region used to be called Black Morass which was a massive swampland. Sure, some of it turned to the blasted Zone but the Swamp of Sorrows itself is a pretty small zone for its level range imo.

[@Jediwarlock]

It's true!!

[@conerpu]

It was larger as you said, but with the dark portal events, the first wars between the horde of draenor and the alliance most of the zone got devastated ( the actual blasted lands if im not wrong) they explain it on chronicles

[@BavarianHobbit]

@@conerpu No worries, I mentioned the blased lands in my comments. I know WoW lore pretty well.

[@WillowbearMindfulness]

I went fishing here quite often. Because no one bothers you.

[@Jediwarlock]

It is indeed lonely! :D

[@Utilitymonk]

At 2:46 this is the case with Exile's Reach. It only shows the main part of the island but Blizzard did not add the coastline that is on the other side of the mountains, which adds mystery to the exploration as well. Great video as always Jedi!

[@Jediwarlock]

Love that detail... thank you Mr. Exile's Reach! ;) Thanks for tuning in!

[@yeast7485]

I personally love the vibe of the zone, especially the coastline with the little campfire surrounded by a few non-hostile crabs, near the very same isles on this video. Although few in numbers, I always do every quest in this zone while leveling. Theres just something about it. Same with Silverpine, Duskwood, Menethil Harbor. very vibeful

[@Jediwarlock]

Very Vibeful is a great way to put it... I agree with you on that... it's in the game, so you might as well take things slow and check everything out at least once! :D

[@sindri.]

I think about this kind of stuff ALL the time. There's something really neat and also haunting about finding these remote places in classic WoW. I try to imagine how many players over the last two decades found the same little things I did. Whether they wondered about the same environmental storytelling or got the same cozy vibes from a specific cluster of trees or tiny pond. Makes me think of the old Goldshire children legend that were so creepy and started internet rumors. No one really wonders about that kind of stuff anymore but I do. I'm just so nostalgic for the old days of WoW.

[@Jediwarlock]

Old days of WoW is what my channel is all about! :D

[@ASIRA89]

There is a part in Tirisfal that I found while questing through the zone for the x time, that i had never known was there. I think it was behind that pumpkin field where you have to collect or smash 10? pumpkins. Behind that field is a tower with scarlet soldiers. But what I didnt know is that behind that tower, on the shore some way down, there is another group of murlocs. They are so far away from the other murloc areas that it suprised me. I don't think anyone would ever go there while questing.

[@kevinb6021]

They actually made that area have a miniboss in SOD for a rune.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yeah!! I love that little area... what a weird little extension of the coast there!

[@Ryan-tc2el]

There's an obscure 20 quest long chain that takes you from Swamp of Sorrows to the Blasted Lands to Azshara and back. Some orc ghost gives it. Three underdeveloped zones. Never finished it, but apparently it ends in an elite quest atop a normally innacessible mountain in Blasted Lands.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes! The Felbane questline... one of the best! :D

[@Digital-Scriptorium]

Great stuff as always! I'm always learning more and I was in one of the early betas!

[@Jediwarlock]

Glad to have you with us! :)

[@miskee11]

I know every inch of vanilla Azeroth, and one cool connection between Swamp of Sorrows and Redridge Mountains still exists today. You can just walk up the mountains by those swamp monsters in the Swamp of Sorrows and drop down into Redridge Mountains with 0 walljumps required. I doubt it's planned or anything, but it's cool you can just walk up there if you know the way. If you go looking for it, prepare for some fall damage though..

[@Jediwarlock]

YES! I actually did the route in both directions just a few days ago. :)

[@nakenmil]

I like to imagine that those rocky isles are a haven for nesting seabirds.

[@Jediwarlock]

Definitely! :D Extrapolating details from the environment is such a neat part of WoW. :)

[@texjlh]

Great video, I loved exploring in Vanilla. I still remember the elite Red dragons that were way up the coast in Northern darkshore past the nagas. My friends and I only went there once in early 2005 because we were Horde on an outnumbered pvp server. After a patch, they were gone.

[@Jediwarlock]

Interesting! I never got to see those :D

[@sirflimflam]

Loved finding this video. Brought me all the way to 2004-early 2005 mentally. I was a big map explorer when Wow launched. I was a mage so it let me get to areas they didn't want you to go. I was more interested in exploring the map than pretty much anything else. I remember spending a lot of time over here trying to figure out why the region looked like it did and I came to a similar conclusion -- there was definitely more planned there that was perhaps hastily removed/smoothed over.

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you for sharing! :D

[@Bruce372]

New Jediwarlock video? Time to make a coffee and get cozy.

[@Jediwarlock]

Yay! :D

[@Wayclarke]

Where else can I can my niche content dose about empty places without stuff. I'm so glad JW just does what he feels like, it makes it nice to just be along for the ride.

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks so much for tuning in! :D

[@Owl_Knight98]

I remember hiking in the mountains of Winterspring for the first time. It`s just nostalgic for me

[@Jediwarlock]

Ah, another great zone! :D

[@Senio6667]

They did add a road from the top of swamp to burning stepps i think in cata

[@Jediwarlock]

They did!! I had forgotten that detail :)

[@SriOrshu]

Wow bro, haha i was literally exploring that entire coast and the north mountains somewhere last week, and sat on those islands for a bit. Made a campfire somewhere and smoked up. Had been there as well a year ago, few years ago and many years ago. After sitting in that northeast corner a while, i explored the north mountains and some secret trails from the swamp to redridge. I'm sure you'll be able to find them out if you observe well : ) It's funny that i found and crossed the secret trail after chilling in that northeast corner of the swamp and then i ended up going down to that pool in east redridge where the river ends that you showed. And i think you are 100% right about your theory.

[@Jediwarlock]

Great details, thank you for watching! Yes, crossing from Redridge to the Swamp is very intriguing and fun to do!

[@Dronesh_Tythun]

I been playing turtle wow lately waiting for a fresh era server and its really cool how they follow the lore very closely to add new zones.

[@Jediwarlock]

That's awesome! :D

[@valecrassus7835]

I did a lot of exploring in vanilla, got to some interesting places by accident. I remember thinking that the area east of Redridge Mountains would be the site of the new city they were saying would be implemented once Burning Crusade released. I had actually heard that it would---counterintuitively, maybe---be in Eastern Kingdoms. At that point, Blood Elves were known to be the new Horde race but the Alliance race was still unknown (and heavily rumored to be Pandaren) and it was also known the Blood Elf starting area would be somewhere at the northern end of the continent (at the time, people thought it would effectively be north of the Eastern and Western Plaguelands with a boat or blimp to Undercity. What they ended up doing was kind of silly, imo, but whatever). Kalimdor was seen as excessively remote for a starting area, so folks figured it would be in one of the inaccessible areas of the vanilla Eastern Kingdoms map. It made sense, a starting area that emptied into Redridge, just like Elwynn. It was also being said by the devs that the new town would become the new Ironforge where everyone would congregate. So much so it needed two banks and two auction houses, among other things. ...yeah, that ended up being not the case. We ended up with a second Darnassus, only even more remote.

[@Jediwarlock]

Those are some great details! Thank you for sharing :)

[@aidanc9396]

In SoD, they did get a little something. One of the Islands has a pair of the agent NPCs that say something then teleport out.

[@Jediwarlock]

Oh cool!! I did not know that. :)

[@Shadamehr100]

Back in the game after a 10 year break, its my favourite part of an MMO, exploration !

[@Jediwarlock]

Welcome back! Classic or Modern? :D

[@marksheridan4421]

Don't forget the level 35ish fishing quest, and the need to get Nat Pagle a Misty Reed Mahi Mahi.

[@Jediwarlock]

Ah, very nice! :)

[@HadoukenHero]

I always used to imagine who has died here or what were they doing at the time. A death heat map would be amazing through out Azeroth.

[@Jediwarlock]

Indeed! I think there are AddOns that track a bit of that, but in the next Hardcore servers they should include that in game or something. :)

[@mcfarvo]

Exploration hits diff in vanilla WoW

[@Jediwarlock]

100%!

[@holymnky]

I always enjoy questing on that beach/coast. Just something zen about it for me

[@Jediwarlock]

Very zen!

[@Ryder385]

Wow that's so cool! I've never been there in all my time on Azeroth, I gotta check it out

[@Jediwarlock]

It's a neat little spot for sure! :D

[@Ren3gaid]

I really wish there would be a book, podcast or something where at least one dev gives answer to all those mysteries :/ That would be so damn nice

[@Jediwarlock]

That would be amazing haha... The WoW Diary by John Staats answers (not all, but) some of the little environmental details and things... but I need More Answers! XD

[@Eyevou]

i adore the geography of classic these small outings are great

[@Jediwarlock]

I'm glad you enjoyed this one! :D

[@diegoaespitia]

i love questing on the beach of Swamp of Sorrows. that place is barren except Sunken Temple

[@Jediwarlock]

Very true! :)

[@sejoonce]

Great video!

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you! :)

[@mahtan2685]

Your way of analysing small geographic details of Azeroth is such a boon for humanity 😘

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

[@inPHluxx]

I am fully convinced the Elixir of Pain quest in Hillsbrad Foothills is a reference to the 1996 album The Eyes of Stanley Pain by Download. To complete the quest you feed the Elixir of pain to Stanley and he is a Skinny Puppy after all. I'm wondering how the members of Skinny Puppy would feel if this is true. For me it's an ethical dilemma reminding the player they are dropped in to this world...of Warcraft not knowing what side they truly on or if the fight is even worth fighting. The Seeping Corruption quest is another example of this.

[@Jediwarlock]

Ooh, very interesting!! I love those details :D

[@jjaaamm]

Since deciding to remake the Vanilla WoW map as a Minecraft map I've become MORE obsessed with ideas like this, regions of the map that were once intended to be bigger and more expansive, or connect in different ways such as this but were scrapped likely due to a promised release date. For example Elwynn Forest and it's northern segment. As behind Stormwind lies a large unused area leading up to the mountains of Dun Morogh. I have an image of an expanded Elwynn that places Stormwind further north, with a valley heading north-east and reaching all of the way up against those mountains. Any more areas like this that you come across I would love to see!

[@Jediwarlock]

Sounds like a fun project! :D

[@jjaaamm]

@@Jediwarlock Yeah I might finish it in a few decades :'-) - I have come to learn just how uneven and bumpy the world is

[@ValensBellator]

Back in vanilla I spent an enormous chunk of my time trying to reach pointless places. One of my favorite things about MMOs!

[@Jediwarlock]

Same here! :D

[@heathmcrigsby]

Swamp of Sorrows would be a good kick off point if we ever go east of Eastern Kingdoms.

[@Jediwarlock]

100% true! :D

[@HolyArapaima]

good video, I really would love to see the early layouts of pre-alpha wow I feel like there is a chance these were probably here all the way back then to a extent just looking at their jagged shape, who knows!

[@Jediwarlock]

Yeah! :D

[@Silly_Illidan]

Wow whoever designed the swamps really knew their geography and topology....marshes are essentially beaches that reach further inland.... During low tides these areas could very well be normal landmasses but once the ocean level rises, they became semi swallowed by sea water and turn into icky marshes. The coast of the swamp of sorrows being visible just under the water shows land that is the first to be submerged during a high tide

[@Jediwarlock]

Love those details! I think I may have pointed that out in my WoW Rocks episode on the Swamp of Sorrows. :)

[@KelvinSuddith]

Things like these are why we need a true Classic+. There’s so much that they could develop here. Even expanded troll empires or old god ruins, if you go off the tower in Redridge housing ley lines

[@IggyF]

Try the Turtle WoW, not promoting just as an enthusiast I am positively surprised of their additions to the lore with small quest hub places all around Classic WoW (that place in Tirisfal glades to the west is now open, also the Gilneas is open and unique from retail. Going further to making addition to old dungeons, making new ones (Tower of Karazhan), adding items, quests, balancing the talents and adding, rearranging the talent trees. Tauren plainsrunning and many more..

[@Jediwarlock]

Love all those points! :)

[@BenjaminCronce]

This mentality is great for the game called life. Learn to enjoy the unimportant things. Not everything needs to be a goal.

[@Jediwarlock]

That's great... very true! :D

[@syproful]

It’s quite easy to explain. The world builders went first. Then the quest guys just never populated it. There was little connection between the world builders and the quest guys. So in essence the world got shaped by another entity. This creates this feeling in this game of exploration. In quite a few other games the game gets shaped in favor for other departments. That ends up very artificial feeling.

[@Jediwarlock]

That's a good point!

[@cajintexas7751]

I've gone fishing on those isles before, but I don't remember why.

[@Jediwarlock]

I think there was maybe one fishing quest to do there... but it's mostly just lonely :)

[@General12th]

Hi Jedi! How streamlined is "too streamlined" when it comes to quest hubs? I love the quest design of TBC, and if it was combined with the occasional far-flung quest objective from classic design, I think that would have made the original game even better.

[@Jediwarlock]

It's a hard detail to get just right... I like your thoughts on it! I think a mix of nearby objectives and some far-flung destinations are what make it feel organic and not too segmented. :)

[@Hightower2804TP]

Blizzard; adds some boring ass hills of no significance into the water Classic Andy; It’s a place shrouded in mystery and we might never understand its true purpose.

[@Jediwarlock]

Intrigue and mystery, mystery and intrigue. - Asmongold

[@voljinslayer]

love these vids. and in some way, what you said about these isles and classic wow is what your videos are also about. These contain the magic from the old days. I played wow being basically a kid in 2005 and what makes me having goose bumps up to this day is not some cool pvp battles - it's the simple things. like sitting in senjin with view to the ocean. like walking the barrens by night. hearing the OST. it's so simple yet so pure. I love this game and not for the sake of gaming. these videos describe best what it is about. thanks mate.

[@BegToDiffer99]

Totally agree. Well said.

[@Jediwarlock]

Love your thoughts... I'm glad you like my videos! Old WoW and the Classic solo experience are what I really try to capture with my adventures. :)

[@Quick-Silver206]

God I love Classic WoW.

[@Jediwarlock]

:D

[@voljinslayer]

also, an update on SOD would be nice. not playing it, but very interested in what it is becoming.

[@Jediwarlock]

You should check out the Blizzard Direct livestream from earlier today... there was a whole SoD section that went over what is happening and what is coming up! :D

[@voljinslayer]

@@Jediwarlock I did. But Im more interested in how you feel about SOD in the latest stage tbh. kara and monestary coming sounds nice though

[@tdegraaf1990]

Ooooooooeeeeh, another video!!!

[@Jediwarlock]

:D

[@Ivanus59]

Ahh yes, I remember fishing there hoping that maaayyyyybe there is some secret to be discovered, but naturally there was nothing. :P

[@Jediwarlock]

It always helps to check... just in case! ;)

[@tkong6465]

I’ve gone here … my Orc hunter wandered the wilds here to hunt murlocs it’s actually not as desolate as you might think a lot of mages farm here

[@Jediwarlock]

Interesting! :D

[@Nickster292]

Loved it.

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks! :)

[@veng3r663]

TurtleWoW has quests over & around those very same isles...

[@Siganaga]

10/10 would 10 again

[@Jediwarlock]

10!

[@Garouwerks]

Love it.

[@Jediwarlock]

Thanks! :)

[@Garouwerks]

@@Jediwarlock Welcome

[@Dannnneh]

Is it that unthinkable for it to be just scenery?

[@Jediwarlock]

Nah, it probably is XD

[@6enduro331]

of course

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes!

[@Dakota_B_]

I really like your voice.

[@Jediwarlock]

Thank you!

[@tadeasprikryl2407]

WOW NEED NEW GRAPHIC AND OLD ZONE IDEAS !

[@Jediwarlock]

Yes! :D

[@AllThingsNerdChannel]

Jedi Friday! :)

[@Jediwarlock]

You know it! :D Thanks for tuning in!

[@Puppeteye01]

By the Gods, this man needs to be employed just to divulge WoW Lore for 100k a year

[@Jediwarlock]

I mean hey, I wouldn't complain! XD

[@firstnamelastname31415]

1st minute gang let's goooooooooo

[@Jediwarlock]

Nice!! :)

[@BG51]

May the farts be with you.

[@Jediwarlock]

And you as well!

[@IgorEngelen1974]

it's a nice gloomy place.

[@Jediwarlock]

It's true!

[@kingtudd]

Go play Turtle WoW.

[@Jediwarlock]

I should check that out!