Hillsbrad, Desolace, Arathi & Shimmering Flats

Started at level 30
Finished at level 33

A lot of Horde comment on the lack of choices when you hit level 30, and if you have played Alliance before, you will surely notice the difference. Still, no matter which side you play, Stranglethorn Vale seems to be a sess pool for the unwanted kindergarten crowd, and I personally like to avoid it for as long as possible.

Unfortunately though, the other zones seem to offer little in the way of low level 30 quests, instead having more a mid 30's variety. If you're happy to jump around though, you can make good use of multiple zones. To start with I finished off some Taren Mill quests before making my way to Desolace and then onto Arathi Highlands. Finishing up in Shimmering Flats.

[26] Battle of Hillsbrad
Objectives : Kill Blacksmith Verringtan and 4 Hillsbrad Apprentice Blacksmiths as well as collect a shipment of iron
Rewards : XP!

For this one, you want the first building on the left as you enter Hillsbrad Fields from the main path. Blacksmith Verringtan can be found either inside, or just outside the right wall. The shipment of ore can be found inside. By now the quest had just gone green, but easily done.

[26] Battle of Hillsbrad
Objectives : Kill Mayor Burnside and 5 Hillsbrad Councilmen. Destroy the Hillsbrad Proclamation. Steal the Hillsbrad Town Registry.
Rewards : XP!

This particular step can be extremely difficult when solo so I do suggest a group. This stage involves going into the main hall, the area surrounded by the fence. Fighting in isn't too difficult, but they seem to have an extremely fast respawn time and once inside you are taking on anywhere between four to six mobs at once. I was fortunate in that people were already clearing in there so I picked off the mobs I needed. The Registry and Proclamation are up near the podium, right click to destroy.

[28] Battle of Hillsbrad
Objectives : Kill Foreman Bonds and 10 Hillsbrad Miners
Rewards : XP!

This stage takes place inside Azurelode Mine and can't be done quite easily solo. When you approach the mine you should notice there are two entrances, you want the lowest one. If you take the lowest entrance, you will enter and follow it around to the right, then straight away you should see an area off to the left. That is where you will find Bonds. This saves you having to go through the entire mine, which can be difficult solo.

[28] Elixir of Agony
Objectives : Gather 6 Mudsnout Blossoms
Rewards : Potions and XP!

The Mudsnout Blossoms can be found at Nethander Stead near Dunhold Keep. You are looking for very large mushrooms that you really can't miss...

After completing those quests I decided to head to The Undercity to hand in the Mudsnout Composite. I chose not to do any further stages of the Battle of Hillsbrad quests as it can get quite tricky solo.


Wanting to postpone Stranglethorn Vale for as long as possible, I decided to head to Desolace. If you take a flight to Stonetalon, you can take the short cut through the mountains and The Charred Vale to Desolace, and from there follow the path. My first stop was at Scrabblescrews Camp, located not far from The Kodo Graveyard.

[34] Kodo Roundup
Objectives : Tame five Kodo's
Rewards : +8 Intellect, +5 Spirit, +3 Stamina Cloth Boots or Mail Shoulders and XP!

A simple quest, you will find Kodo's at the Kodo Graveyard and wandering around. You can only tame one Kodo at a time, so the hardest part about this quest is all the running.

Not far from Scrabblescrews Camp you will find Ghost Walker Post, one of our Horde outposts. Here I picked up some quests before running around to Shadowprey Village to get my flight path. It's up to you if you want to do this now or later as the quests there are a little too high just now.

The first two quests I did were at the top end of Desolace and you can either run back up, or you can hearth and get back to Stonetalon, again taking the short cut, it will lead you right to where you want to go; Thunder Axe Fortress.

[33] The Burning Spirits
Objectives : Gather 15 Infused Burning Gems
Rewards : XP!

The orcs here are around level 30 to 32 so easy enough to kill, and you will find the item that gives you the Infused Burning Gems in your backpacks, looks like a white shard. You right click this when the mobs are about to die, much like when you drain soul (the effect even looks the same) and you should gather them easily. Collect 15 and move on.

While you are there though, keep your eyes out for a Flayed Demon Skin that might drop, it begins a quest for you to hand in at Ghost Walker Post.

[33] Befouled by Satyr
Objectives : Kill 7 Hatefury Rogues, 7 Felsworn, 7 Betrayers, and 7 Hellcallers
Rewards : XP!

Cutting east from Thunder Axe Fortress I made my way to Sargeron to kill some Satyr. Although slightly higher than the Orcs, I had no trouble taking these down, although the Rogue's did take the longest to find.

Once I was done, I headed back to Ghost Walker Post to hand in.

[33] The Corrupter
Objectives : Collect a Shadowstalker Scalp
Rewards : XP!

I decided to do the next step before heading out, so ran back up to Sargeron. The Scalps only drop off the Hatefury Shadowstalker's and I got mine on the fifth kill.

[33] Gelkis Alliance
Objectives : Gain a Friendly reputation with the Gelkis
Rewards : XP!

On my way back from Sargeron, I stopped past the Magram Village to raise my faction. The mobs are around level 32 to 34, however not that hard. Keep your eyes open for a Magram Pack Runner as he comes with friends and can be quite difficult if not prepared. This is also probably the first time I pulled out Drain Mana as it will make a huge difference with the healers.

After I got to friendly, I handed in the Corrupter and then made my way to Uthek the Wise to hand in the Gelkis Alliance, you will find him not far from Shadowprey Village.


With the starting few of Desolace out the way, I head to greener pastures; Arathi Highlands. Make your way to Hammerfall to collect some quests.

[32] Call to Arms
Objectives : Slay 10 Witherbark Axe Throwers, 10 Headhunters and 8 Witch Doctors
Rewards : XP!

[34] Raising Spirits
Objectives : Collect 10 Highland Raptor Eyes
Rewards : XP!

Heading out from Hammerfall, I made my way south killing any Raptors I passed for their eyes. You will find the Whitherbark Trolls at Witherbark Village, it's at the very south east part of your map, and I had no trouble killing all the mobs required, sticking mostly to laps around the lake for safety.

Once I had done those I made my way west for:

[33] Foul Magics
Objectives : Collect 10 Bloodstone Amulets
Rewards : XP!

The Amulets drop off the Syndicate mobs at Northfold Manor. They can drop 10 in a row, or take you three hours, just depends on your luck. Again I stuck to doing laps around the outside, sound up to hear the stealthers. Once I was done there, I headed back to Hammerfall for hand ins.


As the Arathi quests jumped up a few level's after handing in, and since I was so close anyway, I decided to knock off the last of the Taren Mill quests I had.

[32] Stone Tokens
Objectives : Collect 10 Worn Stone Tokens
Rewards : XP!

[34] Prison Break In
Objectives : Find the traitors and recover their artifacts
Rewards : XP!

Dermot drops the Wedge, Alina drops the Shard, Ricter for the Marble and Kegan Darkmar for the Oval. I found the first three in the main fenced in building you see when coming up to Lordamere Internment Camp. Kegan was at the top of the Inn style building just to the right of the main area.

Theurgists will summon Old Spirits to attack you, however they poof after a couple of seconds and when the Theurgist dies, so no real need to try to kill them. The Shield Guards will sometimes put an aura around themselves which causes damage on every attack, so watch your pet's health. DoT's still seem to tick and wands are fine, appears to be melee attacks only.

All of the mobs dropped the Worn Stone Tokens.

[34] Infiltration
Objectives : Retrieve information about Gol'dir's whereabouts
Rewards : XP!

For this quest, you actually need to locate the Syndicate Missive which drops off of the Syndicate's not far from Taren Mill. If you head out of TM and turn right as if you are heading to Alterac, you can see a spot that leads up to where the camp is marked. I was lucky enough to have it drop on the first kill.