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The Eastern Plaguelands is the more-heavily devastated half of the Plaguelands, the remnants of the Kingdom of Lordaeron. They are located east of the Western Plaguelands, north of the Hinterlands, and south of the Ghostlands.
The Scourge’s rule here is supreme. Their southern capital, Stratholme, is here, under the command of the lich Kel’Thuzad. The ground is brown, ugly, and sick, the trees corrupted into giant mushrooms and the air polluted with orange mist. Undead, necromancers and Damned cultists prowl the land. The Scarlet Crusade has set up a large army, and battles fervently and vainly against the Scourge and any outsiders that come in contact with these soldiers. Amani forest trolls strike from the north, attempting to reclaim their ancestral empire.[1]
The area is roamed only by mutant creatures, the soldiers of the Scourge and members of the Scarlet Crusade, who fight a constant battle to drive the Scourge out of Stratholme from their Chapel and key base at Tyr's Hand. Only a small camp maintained by the Argent Dawn remains. Located at Light's Hope Chapel, this staging area serves as a last bastion of Light in a land blanketed in darkness.
With Patch 1.12, Eastern Plaguelands has had objective-based world PvP added. Members of the Horde and the Alliance battle in A Game of Towers for four strategic ruined outposts spread throughout the land. Controlling these towers gives area wide benefits to all members of the faction, and certain towers provide other, unique advantages.
History
Quel'Lithien Lodge
Like the Western Plaguelands, the Eastern Plaguelands were once beautiful and brimming with farms and small villages. The regional government was centered around the city of Stratholme, the largest city in Lordaeron. Also nearby were the towns of Darrowshire, Corin's Crossing, and Tyr's Hand, and to the east of Stratholme was the pass leading into the southern boundaries of Quel'Thalas. At this time, it was known as the Darrowmere Forest after the lake with the same name to the south.[citation needed]
In the opening hours of the Third War, the investigations into the origins of the Scourge led Prince Arthas and Jaina Proudmoore through the Tirisfal Glades and what is now the Western Plaguelands (more specifically, the towns of Andorhal and Hearthglen), where they confronted the necromancer Kel'Thuzad and his Cult of the Damned. Kel'Thuzad told Arthas to seek out the leader of the Scourge in Lordaeron, the Dreadlord Mal'ganis, at Stratholme. While en route via Hearthglen, Arthas and Jaina were joined by Lord Uther, master of the Silver Hand. When they arrived at Stratholme, Arthas realized that the villagers had been infected with the Plague of Undeath. When Uther refused to obey Arthas' command to purge the city, Arthas relieved Uther of command and disbanded the Silver Hand, then slaughtered the townsfolk himself. After hunting down Mal'ganis in Northrend, Arthas returned as one of the Lich King's death knights and toppled the Kingdom of Lordaeron by murdering his own father, King Terenas. After the fall of Lordaeron's capital, the plague spread throughout the northern regions of Lordaeron, turning them into the blighted lands they are today.
The resistance against the Scourge was particularly bloody at Darrowshire, where the ghoul Horgus the Ravager and the death knight Marduk Blackpool (alias Marduk the Black) led an army of Scourge against the town. Only surviving paladins under Davil Crokford and the Darrowshire militia under Captain Joseph Redpath were able to stand in their way. Though they put up a valiant fight, the defenders of Darrowshire were not enough to stave off the endless legions of Scourge. Davil managed to defeat Horgus in combat, but he succumbed to the horrific wounds the ghoul had inflicted. Captain Redpath fell to Marduk's necromancy, his soul taken from his body and corrupted into the service of the Scourge, where he proceeded to turn on his fellows and tear Darrowshire apart, killing everyone who hid in their homes.
After the fall of Lordaeron, the Scarlet Crusade attempted to retake the shattered Kingdom of Lordaeron from both the Scourge and the undead renegades known as the Forsaken. In the Eastern Plaguelands, they took control of both the town of Tyr's Hand and the western districts of Stratholme, where they battle the forces of Baron Rivendare to gain control of the destroyed city. Eventually, the master of the Scourge in Lordaeron made his return in the blighted lands. From his citadel of Naxxramas, floating over the Plaguewood near Stratholme, he prepared to continue the work he began in the name of his master, the Lich King. Recently, Naxxramas floated away from the Plaguelands and reappeared over Dragonblight in Northrend, though it was replaced by Acherus: The Ebon Hold over the far eastern portion of the zone. From there, Arthas sent his death knights to exterminate both the Scarlet Crusade and the Argent Dawn and leave his grip over the Plaguelands unchallenged. But, there is that old saying about the best-laid plans of mice and men (and Lich Kings)...
Geography
The Eastern Plaguelands contain a normal instanced dungeon (Stratholme), and formerly contained the raid dungeon Naxxramas. The micro dungeon Tyr's Hand can also be found here. Light's Hope Chapel serves as a travel hub for both the Horde and the Alliance. There are no battlegrounds in this zone, though it is a world PvP area.
Maps and subregions
Map of Eastern Plaguelands
Map plus towers
Dungeons
| Dungeon Name | Level Range | Group Size | Approximate Run Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stratholme | 55-62 | 5-man | 3-4 Hours |
| 60-70 | 40-man | Unknown (relocated to Dragonblight) |
Elite areas
Travel hubs
Light's Hope Chapel
Light's Hope Chapel is the primary travel hub to and from the Eastern Plaguelands, and connects directly to the Alliance city of Ironforge and the Horde city of Undercity.
Directly above Light's Hope Chapel is Acherus: The Ebon Hold, the main hub for player-character death knights, which provides flight paths to various destinations via Light's Hope Chapel (Light's Hope will always be the first stop, regardless of whether you're going there or not).
Flight paths from Light's Hope Chapel
- Ironforge
- Aerie Peak, The Hinterlands
- Chillwind Camp, Western Plaguelands
- Undercity
- Revantusk Village, The Hinterlands
- Tranquillien, Ghostlands (Patch 2.3)
- Hatchet Hills, Ghostlands (Patch 2.3)
- Acherus: The Ebon Hold, Eastern Plaguelands
Flight paths from Plaguewood Tower [18, 27]
- Northpass Tower, Eastern Plaguelands
- Eastwall Tower, Eastern Plaguelands
- Crown Guard Tower, Eastern Plaguelands
Note that you may only use the Plaguewood Tower Flight Path if your faction controls the tower (as it is part of the A Game of Towers World PvP event).
Plaguewood Tower's Flight Path is the only path in the game to use the spectral gryphon for all character classes (versus Death Knights use of the spectral gryphon when flying out of the Ebon Hold), and it is used regardless of Faction.
Flight paths from Thondroril River
- Light's Hope Chapel, Eastern Plaguelands
- Ironforge
- Chillwind Camp
- Aerie Peak
- The Undercity
- Revantusk Village
Regions adjacent to Eastern Plaguelands
| Zone Name | Faction | Level Range | Direction | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghostlands | 
|
10-20 | North | By foot (through  portal north of the Northpass Tower), neutral flightpath from Light's Hope Chapel to Hatchet Hills, or Horde flight path from Light's Hope Chapel to Tranquillien 
|
| Western Plaguelands | 
|
51-58 | West | By foot, or by Alliance flightpath from Light's Hope Chapel to Chillwind Point |
Wrath of the Lich King
Map of the death knight instanced starting area in the WotLK Beta.
The Eastern Plaguelands have been expanded somewhat to include a small area for death knights, including their home base of Acherus: The Ebon Hold, a massive Scourge necropolis floating above the hills behind Light's Hope Chapel. It is here that the death knight trainers, as well as their leader Highlord Darion Mograine, can be found.
Death knights start out in Scourge service in a special instanced area east of Tyr's Hand known as the Scarlet Enclave, where new death knights begin atop Acherus to receive the orders from the Lich King. As they progress in their training, death knights are tasked with laying waste to the towns of New Avalon and Havenshire, which lay below the fortress. As the players progress in their starting quests, the towns are left in ruins and the Scarlet Crusade that controls them all but destroyed. After sacking both towns, death knight players participate in a final, epic Battle for Light's Hope Chapel. After the battle is concluded, the death knight is deposited into the "main" (non-instanced) Eastern Plaguelands, where they begin their service to the faction their race belongs to. In the "main" Eastern Plaguelands, the Scarlet Lands - consisting of Tyr's Hand, New Avalon and Havenshire - are left completely in ruins, their once-green pastures devoured by the blight that permeates the rest of the region.
The ruins of the towns of New Avalon and Havenshire, collectively referred to as the Ruins of the Scarlet Enclave, are reachable from two directions. First, players may travel through Tyr's Hand, and take the final fork in the road to the north. Alternately, players may travel through Browman Mill into the Noxious Glade and follow the south wall to a cave which leads to Death's Breach, at the northern end of the Ruins.
Cataclysm
Eastern Plaguelands in Cataclysm
The Eastern Plaguelands will be retuned as a level 45-50 zone.[2] The Plague is still present in the zone, although it slowly recovers from its influence. Light's Hope Chapel has been fortified, the towers claimed by the Argent Crusade and the scars have been replaced by lakes.
Areas affected[3]:
- Acherus: The Ebon Hold – for now it appears that non-Death Knights can use their flying mounts to get here; all NPCs are friendly
- Corin's Crossing – a new tower (Heartland Tower) has been established near here; taken by the Argent Crusade; neutral flight master here; hill is covered in grass
- Crown Guard Tower - taken by the Argent Crusade; neutral flight master here; hill is covered in grass
- Eastwall Tower - taken by the Argent Crusade; neutral flight master here; hill is covered in grass
- Light's Hope Chapel – walled in and fortified with a cemetery in the back
- Northdale – now has a lake filled with Plague Monstrosities
- Northpass Tower – taken by the Argent Crusade; neutral flight master here; hill is covered in grass; at the bottom of the hill is a large pit filled with burning undead
- The Pestilent Scar – flooded to the rim, with bridges constructed to cross
- Plaguewood Tower - taken by the Argent Crusade; neutral flight master here; hill is covered in grass and tower is fortified against attack
- Thondroril River – Tirion Fordring is no longer up the river
Notable characters
- Main article: Eastern Plaguelands NPCs
The Marris Stead
The Eastern Plaguelands are home to several characters of note. At Light's Hope Chapel, Lord Maxwell Tyrosus leads the Argent Dawn in the fight against the Scourge. At the Marris Stead, Nathanos Blightcaller sends bold heroes of the Horde against the Scarlet Crusade. At his home by the Thondroril River, Tirion Fordring seeks to eradicate the dark horrors that the Plaguelands offer. And in the halls of Acherus, high above Light's Hope Chapel, Highlord Darion Mograine commands the Knights of the Ebon Blade.
Quests
- Main article: Eastern Plaguelands quests
- See also: Eastern Plaguelands questing guide
Resources
Tyr's Hand
- Herbs
[Arthas' Tears] (One of the few regions where you can gather it)
[Sungrass]- [Golden Sansam]
- [Dreamfoil]
- [Mountain Silversage]
- Plaguebloom (One of the few regions where you can gather it)
- [Black Lotus] (One of the few regions where you can gather it. Rare.)
- Ore
Wild creatures
Plaguewood
- Abominations
- Bats
- Bears
- Boars
- Crypt fiends
- Darkhounds
- Forest trolls
- Gargoyles
- Ghosts
- Ghouls
- High elves
- Maggots
- Oozes
- Skeletons
- Water elementals
- Zombies
Notes
- Near Quel'Lithien Lodge, there is a small path that leads to Quel'Thalas — more specifically, to the Ghostlands. Guarding this path is single high elf NPC by the name of Adon, a reference to the addon/expansion: The Burning Crusade. The path was previously blocked by fallen trees, some of which still can be seen to the left of the current road, which goes through a mountain pass. The pass goes through an instance portal, which blocks those without the expansion from entering the blood elves' homeland.
- The Undead Scourge have also set up a small siege camp near the gateway to Quel'Thalas. Skeletal Engineers are found around here, along with many meat wagons. Lord Solanar Bloodwrath (and previously, Lady Liadrin) sends aspiring Blood Knight Masters to destroy the meat wagons and the engineers as well.
- Upon entering the Eastern Plaguelands, all players will receive the buff [Echoes of Lordaeron], which increases damage done to Undead mobs up to 5%. (Depends on number of towers captured by players faction).
- This forest, like much of Lordaeron, lies under a light covering of pine. However, in Old Stratholme, the area around the city itself is covered in a deciduous forest reminiscent of Elwynn Forest far to the south, with not a pine to be seen. The exact reason why there is such a drastic change in vegetation has yet to be explained. It is likely that the developers just used existing models for living tress, instead of redesigning the dead trees to be alive again.
References
External links
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