As part of an ongoing series, Staff Writer Paul "LockeColeMA" Cleveland is going zone by zone in World of Warcraft, discussing the changes since Cataclysm, quest rewards, locations of interest and more.

Before the Cataclysm hit World of Warcraft, I never set foot in Silverpine Forest except to run to Shadowfang Keep. I'll admit it: I never played a Forsaken. I found the undead storyline to be distasteful and often downright evil, and I couldn't separate myself enough to actually enjoy leveling up an undead (nor looking like something the cat literally dragged in). But I'm really glad I gave them a chance now, because the new story rocks.  

Zone Review: Historically the zone has been Alliance territory, sitting between Lordaeron's Capital City to the north, Dalaran to the east and Gilneas to the south. With the undead plague and the third war, the Alliance presence dropped considerably, as Gilneas retreated behind the Greymane Wall, Lordaeron fell to undeath and the majority of Dalaran retreated behind a giant dome to repair. By the time Forsaken players entered the zone in WoW, only the human settlements of Ambermill and Pyrewood Village remained. Archmage Arugal took control of Shadowfang Keep and spread the curse of the worgen over the humans in Pyrewood, creating a town neutral to Alliance during the day but full of mindless worgen at night. And that's how the zone stayed until Sylvanas decided to flex her newest recruits risen by the Val'Kyr after the Cataclysm.

Horde players begin with the war effort in the northern part of the zone, and move south; first emptying Fenris Isle of the human and worgen survivors from Hillsbrad, then destroying once and for all the Dalaran survivors hidden within Ambermill and, finally, entering Gilneas itself in an attempt to seize control of the region. Politics and passions run high in the zone, as the Warchief and Banshee Queen exchange pointed barbs, Sylvanas recounts her past and her vision of the Forsaken's future and some former enemies become treacherous undead servants of the Horde. Silverpine has much to offer a low level Horde player with a hunger for lore.

Quests to see: Too many to mention, really. Like many of the revamped zones in Cataclysm, the zone unlocks more quests as available ones are completed. While this means zones run smoothly and naturally group quest areas, it also means I never found myself with more than a couple of quests at a time and had no reason to explore. Unlike Darkshore last time, the completion of quests also heavily changes the zone. Sometimes it just means Sylvanas will show up in a new place; but at other times, entire Horde outposts will appear or disappear. Hint: the Horde invasion of Gilneas does not go swimmingly!

When it comes to big names, Sylvanas and her val'kyr are present almost every step of the way. High Warlord Cromush, who plays an important role in the Hillsbrad quest lines, appears and follows the Banshee Queen at Garrosh Hellscream's orders. Deathstalker Commander Belmont makes his appearance and later becomes a quest-giver in Shadowfang Keep. Darius Crowley makes a reappearance from the Worgen starting area quests, as does Vincent Godfrey, who is raised as an undead every bit as traitorous as when he was a human. Godfrey replaces Archmage Arugal as the final boss in Shadowfang Keep.

Unlike Darkshore, Silverpine has only a single blue reward quest. The very end of the zone's quest line terminates in Cities in Dust, which awards mail bracers, a leather belt or cloth boots of superior quality. The only other notable rewards are found in the quest On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which gives a choice of rings; and through the level 20 quests for Paladins and Priests that take them into Shadowfang for their superior weapons.

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