Zone by zone changes: Tirisfal Glades

As promised, I will do zone by zone coverage of the changes that Cataclysm will bring to Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Strting with the Eastern Kingdoms and the Tirisfal Glades

Why here first? Because Undeads rule ofc!

Anyway, back to buisiness...

Old Map (as it is currently in WotLK)

And the new one as it is currently in the Beta

The overall enviromnent, textures and layout have gone unchanged from the Vanilla version, however, there are some significant changes to the zone. For example, several major areas have had a complete remodel, there are more trees (For you to fly into constantly >< ), the questing route has been altered slightly to make it easier to find things and complete. Both Scarlet Monastery and the ruins of Lorderon have been opened up and made flying mount friendly (The Scarlet Monastery instances, however are completely unchanged with the exception of a few new quest givers inside and some updated NPC models)

First of all, the ruins of Lorderon. There doesn't appear to be any NPCs or any real reason to be in there other than to explore. There's lots of little stairwells and nooks and crannies to get into, but other than that, it's purely cosmetic and the graphics are as outdated as the Undercity itself. There is, however, some strange Apothecary/plague machines in there similar to those found in the Horde bases of Howling Fjord and Dragonblight. I have no idea if they're just cosmetic or are due to serve some kind of purpose, for now they're just sitting there looking new and shiny

The Forsaken starting zone, Deathknell, goes unchanged with only a few cosmetic tweaks. There are lots more trees in the area (and in the whole zone) which makes it feel less empty

Once you're done there and head over to the fork in the road, there used to be a random quest giver who asks you to go to the farm down the road and take some pumpkins. But now, players are greeted with this:

The pumpkin farm has also been tweaked a little bit, but remains pretty much the same. There is an extra wall put in behind it where the Scarlet Crusade people are (who are still there)

Now, Brill is one of the most dramatically changed areas in this zone. It's been completely revamped, remodelled, re textured and all I can say is...It looks goooooood. It's taken on the same design style of the buildings in New Agamand and other similar Forsaken areas in Northrend. Seriously, great job on that one Blizzard, it's just a shame you didn't update Undercity slightly :(

They've also applied this style to the Zeppelin towers and given them a major upgrade too. The Zeppelins themselves however, appear to be unchanged

The Field where the Gnolls and 'Maggot Eye' have been noticeably altered. Maggot Eye himself is still in his outdated hut, but the fields it overlooks have been changed. Other quest areas, like the Agamand Mills, Venomweb Vale and the Balnir Farmstead are completely unchanged

The water effects, as is the case with everywhere else, has been updated, also with some added mist effect in some areas.

And finally, the second biggest change to the zone...The Bulwark! It too has taken on the same graphical style as Brill and the Zeppelin towers, It's been fortified and strengthened. There's some decent vendors there now, and Some other bits and pieces


So there you have it fellow Warcrafters, This is the Tirisfal Glades, hope you like the changes.

Until next time,

-Fox