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Revision as of 16:11, 27 September 2010

Zul'Aman
ZA
Zul'Aman loading screen
Zul'Aman loading graphic
Location Southeastern Ghostlands
Population 20,000
Capital The Shrine of Ula-Tek (7,000)
Government Theocracy
Affiliation Independent
Race(s)

Forest trollForest troll Forest troll (18,000)
High elfHigh elf High elf (1,000)

ScourgeScourgeScourgeScourge Scourge (1,000)
End boss Zul'jin
Instance info
Type Raid
Advised level 70+
Player limit 10
Key None
Lockout timer 3 days[1]
Zul'Aman bosses

Zul'Aman bosses

Zul'Aman[77, 64]VZ-GhostlandsBlip is a 10-man raid dungeon located in the Ghostlands. Although it requires no attunement and is intended to be more accessible to players on tight schedules, it was designed to be more difficult than Karazhan and with better loot.[2] In fact, the first bosses in ZA require Kara-level gear, while the later bosses need significantly better - even Tier 5 equipped groups don't consider this a walkthrough. Since the instance contains only six bosses, it indeed requires less time than a Karazhan full clear.

The instance involves players fighting four avatars of the forest troll "gods": the bear, eagle, lynx and finally dragonhawk. These gods have been channeled into the bodies of four troll warriors. After defeating the four gods, players face off against the witch doctor that called on the gods, and finally against Zul'jin himself. The final troll boss will not only be a powerful foe; he's also able to draw upon the ghostly spirits of each of the four liberated animal gods and change his own shape to access their powers.

The instance has multiple quest givers outside the entrance for events that occur inside, including time-sensitive missions (e.g. rescues) that offer differing rewards based on how quickly the task is accomplished.[3]

Though the Ghostlands region is technically a Horde territory (blood elf, to be more specific), the area around Zul'Aman is considered contested.

Summary

Zul'Aman Open

The gates of Zul'Aman

Notes:

  • There is a repair NPC out front of the instance near the flight path, as well as one guarded by the trash in front of Mob Halazzi, a friendly troll called Neutral Zungam who is part of a quest chain that starts outside the instance.
  • Hatchet Hills flight path marks the first flight path connection between 'classic' Warcraft and Burning Crusade zones. It is also the first flight path to have a loading screen as it leads through the portal between Eastern Plaguelands and the Ghostlands.

History

Zulaman-1-

Zul'Aman map from WC3, east of Quel'Thalas.

QuelthalasDetail

Map of Quel'Thalas showing Zul'Aman as a large zone

Once, forest trolls controlled a vast swath of Lordaeron. Their empire was called Zul'Aman, and the area currently known as Zul'Aman was their power center. Their dominion stretched across the continent, and they threatened the nascent human nations and the fledgling kingdom of Quel'Thalas with extinction. The high elves granted their arcance knowledge to the humans of Lordaeron in exchange for helpi in defeating the Amani trolls. The allied forces crushed the empire, driving them to near extinction. Now, the tiny area in northeastern Lordaeron is all that remains of the the Amani tribe's dominion.

In the years after their defeat, the trolls largely gave up their imperialist mindset, though they protect their small territory zealously. They have never forgiven the humans or the elves for their near-genocide. Warbands patrol the forest, slaying all living (and undead) creatures that are not trolls or natural forest beasts. They worship ancient deities, though whether these deities are the mythic old gods or some strange creation of their voodoo witch doctors is unknown.

Any trolls encountered try to kill on sight. Explorers need to be careful, but are not totally without allies in Zul'Aman. Several bands of high elves, survivors from Quel'Thalas, fled south and now wander throughout the forest. Those who stay one step ahead of the trolls survive; those who do not will learn first-hand what the cannibalistic trolls do with their victims. Scourge patrols, hunting the elven refugees, also stalk through the land.Template:Cite

The forest troll kingdom of Zul'Aman is a dark, primal woodland. The trolls' voodoo energies permeate the climate and ancient, stepped ziggurats rise above the canopy. Warlord Jin'zakk is rumoured to be the commander of the Amani, and his witch doctors and shamans provide magic support.Template:Cite In addition, Warlod Zul'Jin rules as chief of the trolls.

People and culture

Amani'shi Guardian

An Amani troll

Zul'AmanLOC

Zul'aman from Lands of Conflict.

Forest trolls are vile creatures. They practice evil voodoo magic and worship primal beings they call the Forest Gods. Violent cannibals, forest trolls eat their own kind as well as their enemies with equal zest. Forest trolls joined forces with the Horde in the Second War, as the orcs promised them vengeance against Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas, but the trolls' savagery was too much even for the orcs.Template:Cite The brutal Amani tribe now sides with no one; their hatred knows no limits. Revenge and blood are their only goals.

Witch doctors control Zul'Aman, with shamans and warchiefs in lesser leadership positions. The exception to this tradition is Warlord Jin'zakk, whom few have ever seen. The voodoo witch doctors wield arcane magic, while shamans provide naturalistic support. Forest troll society revolves around hunting, spear fishing, shamanism and voodoo. They make their capital at the Shrine of Ula-Tek, a massive ziggurat they hold sacred. Forest troll society is patriarchal, though cunning and aggressive females occasionally hold important positions. Forest trolls are primitive, possessing few metalsmithing skills and no knowledge of steam technology. They are masters with thrown weapons, be they axes or spears.

With both Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas fallen, the forest trolls see a chance to regain their old empire. They push the borders of their realm ever outward. Warbands strike south, north and west, seeking to reclaim more of their land. The trolls are myriad — almost 20,000 total, and most of them skilled hunters. They have been fighting for centuries and are competent tacticians. Alone, Zul'Aman has little chance against the Scourge. However, if approached in the right manner (by a tauren or goblin, perhaps?) and promised their empire, they may be willing to join an alliance.

Like all trolls, Zul'Aman's forest trolls are lean, strong and tough. They possess long ears and noses and jutting canines. Their faces are hard and feral. Forest troll hide ranges from dark brown to light green. Many forest trolls wear primitive jewelry, often wood or bone, on their clothing, strung around their necks or thrust through their noses and earlobes. The males often maintain tall, dyed mohawks. Some paint themselves in tattoos. Forest trolls are organized into tribes, with names such as Blackleaf and Treeblight, and members of the same tribe are relatively loyal to each other.

Several quel'dorei bands still wander loose in Zul'Aman. The high elves, scattered and lost as they are in Zul'Aman, still have some importance to the Scourge. The Scourge is lead by Necromancer Ru'sad. The elves know forests better than the Scourge, and the ghouls and zombies make a fearsome amount of noise trudging through the overgrowth alerting the elves. The gargoyles are somewhat more helpful; they fly through the clearings and dense tangles of the jungle scouts for Scourge patrols in the jungle and their leaders in Stratholme. They allowed the scourge to discover one refugee group and kill them as they slept.

The Scourge are confident that it is only a matter of time before they finally destroy the elves. They intend to prevent them from joining with their allies in Hillsbrad or Khaz Modan, or rally together. They intended to stop them from reviving the Sunwell.Template:Cite

Geography

Zul'aman

Lore map of Zul'Aman

Zul'Aman is a temperate forestland of towering trees, dark shadows and ancient ruins and ziggurats. These ruins and odd, stepped pyramids remain from the days of Zul'Aman's empire, but they could be much older. They may be Titan or Old God remnants. Elevation rises toward the north, and a hilly region dominates the Quel'Thalas border. The mighty Greenrush River begins in Zul'Aman's Lake Abassi and exits the region in the southwest.

Primitive forest troll settlements are scattered throughout the zone. Weathered ruins hide among the trees, covered with vines and the dust of ages. Trolls guard treasure and captives, and ancient ruins of indeterminate origins dominate forest clearings. Bands of high elf refugees avoid destruction at troll and undead hands.Template:Cite

Map

Za-map

Map of Zul'Aman

Sub-regions

Greenrush River · Lake Abassi · Maisara Hills · The Shrine of Ula-tek

Walkthrough

Timed Event

See Zul'Aman timed event
The first four bosses in the zone each have a hostage NPC. Upon entering the instance, a timer starts. When it runs out, all remaining hostages are killed. When a hostage is rescued before the timer runs out, it opens a chest with extra loot, and adds some bonus time on the timer. The feeling is quite similar to the infamous 45-minute Stratholme runs (N [60D] Dead Man's Plea) in original WoW. Since the first four bosses can be attempted in any order, there's some leeway for raids to choose a matching boss depending on competence and group make up.

ZulAmanConcept

Concept art of Zul'Aman

Nalorakk

Nalorakk, the Bear Lord is the easiest fight in Zul'Aman. He's a fierce creature the size of a Zul'Gurub berserker with the head of a bear. The encounter is still pretty complex: As the raid makes its way up to the boss's platform, Nalorakk sends waves of trash mobs to attack the party, the last of which consists of trolls mounted on bears accompanied by two trolls. You cannot initiate combat with Nalorakk until these last four trash mobs are dead. During the fight, Narolakk alternates between his troll form and a bear form.

Akil'zon

The eagle-headed Akil'zon in the north-western corner is the second-easiest boss and most raids attempt him next after killing Nalorakk. This boss sends waves of non-elite eagles against the raid as they engage elite trolls on the way up and fend off elite trolls from the flank (Akil'zon gauntlet). The boss fight requires some attention and skillful maneuvering by the entire raid, but after some learning is rather easy to master.

Jan'alai

Next up: Jan'alai, the Dragonhawk hybrid. The path to him is rather uneventful (when compared to the first two bosses), still packs of fierce trolls and patrols calling for reinforcements offer some challenge. The boss fight itself has an interesting twist. On two pillars, two lairs of dragonhawk eggs are located. If the eggs are smashed, adds spawn from them. During the fight, the boss periodically summons hatchers to smash the eggs. Although it's tempting to kill the hatchers as soon as they spawn, it's better not to do so and let them crush some eggs, because when the boss' health reaches 35%, he spawns all remaining eggs. Besides this, the boss regularly throws a lot of bombs, which the raid has to learn to avoid.

Halazzi

The last of the animal bosses,Halazzi the Lynx Lord, is a very hard-hitting melee/shaman based boss. There's not a lot of fancy tactics, it's mostly a gear check for the tank and healers. With Kara/Gruul gear alone, this fight is very difficult, and at least some SSC/TK/ZA gear is recommended.

Hex Lord Malacrass

After the four animal bosses are all defeated, the way to the inner sanctum opens up, leading to Hex Lord Malacrass and the big man himself. Malacrass earned his lofty title by weaving the dark magic that enslaved the animal gods, but alas, his in-game representation is as inert as the lynx and eagle lords'. The trash mob groups leading to him require some skill to master, and the boss himself needs very good interrupts. Besides dealing large amounts of AoE damage to the entire raid, he frequently casts heals which must be interrupted by all means.

Zul'jin

The end boss of the instance is Zul'jin. The fight consists of five phases, while the boss shifts through all of the animal aspects encountered before. Each of the phases requires a different tactic, a key to success is survival — all raid members must learn what to do in each phase. To bring him down is the crowning achievement in any Zul'Aman run, the instance is clear!

Dungeon Denizens

Trash mobs

Quests

The Zul'Aman quest chain starts in Lower City in Shattrath, but can also be started near the instance entrance (missing out on 75sthough).

Loot

See Zul'Aman loot.

Video

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Zul'Aman official trailer

Gallery

Patches and hotfixes

Bc icon Patch 2.3.0 (2007-11-13): Added

External links

References