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.

Maraudon Instance: This place could practically be its own entry! Before Cataclysm this would make my top three in instances frequently ignored (competing with Sunken Temple and Blackrock Depths), even with the dungeon finder. In Cataclysm the level ranges have been altered down, but the difficulty of these dungeons ramps up compared to the ones found before. There are three sections to Maraudon:

1. The wicked Grotto (purple side), with Lord Vyletongue as the end boss (30-40)

2. Foulspore Cavern with (orange side) with Razorlash as the end boss (32-42)

3. Pristine Falls, with Princess Theradras as the end boss (34-44)

Each side has its own challenges, but I would take Pristine Falls any day of the week. For some reason, Foulspore Cavern just seemed to eat my group alive the two times I went there. From trash that hit like trucks, to enemies that should be kited when you only seem to have melee, to a boss that wiped our group because of summoning adds, I hate the orange side. Pristine Falls, however, has some of the most beautiful scenery in the game. Well, until you get to the Princess. As a comment on Wowhead said, why oh why could our princess not have been in another castle!?

Rare things to see: There are several rare spawns in the zone, such as Crusty the crab and the Accursed Slitherblade in the Northwestern part of the zone, the rare Hyena Giggler (easy to notice as he walks alone instead of in a group like most of the hyenas) in the Northern part of the zone, Prince Kellen around the satyrs in the Northeast, and Kaskk the Doomguard around Burning Legion convent to the south. Finally there is Hissperak, a rare basilisk that spawns to the west of the Wildlands. Unlike most rares, this one appears to be bugged to not give extra experience. Getting 200 experience is a pain, but a guaranteed green item is nice!

Beside the rare spawns there are a few interesting NPCs. In Shadowprey there is Rokaro, the Champion of the Horde. This was Rexxar's replacement from when he moved to Outlands in the Burning Crusade. Remember the days when Blizzard didn't want inconsistency in where their characters would show up? Ah, nostalgia! Other than Rokaro there really isn't anyone of note in the zone. Karnum comes out of nowhere, with no real backstory. The centaurs have fun names without much lore, such as the previously mentioned Leprechaun, Khan Leh'Prah, and Khan Shaka referring to singer Chaka Khan. The story in Maraudon is pretty worthwhile, and describes how Zaetar, son of Cenarius, fell in love with Theradras, daughter of the Stone Mother Therazane. From their union sprang the centaur; and the centaur of course come from the school of tough love and decided to show their father how much they loved him by butchering him. Theradras planted his remains in Mauradon, which caused the Pristine Falls to grow beautiful, and the rest is history! Oh, and Therazane is thrilled that you kill her daughter when you see her again in Deepholme.

Final Thoughts: I'm divided on Desolace overall. I believe it's better than it was before Cataclysm, simply because there are better rewards and a central questing hub. However the zone itself feels like a filler zone, disconnected from the larger story and incomplete in several places. While the reputation for the Maghram/Gelkis was worthless before, at least Blizzard was trying something new than what could be found in most zones. The line as it is now makes little sense — the centaurs don't work together. They killed their own father, who was the son of a demi-god — they obviously don't care what their violence brings. Shadowprey Village itself had little use for the Horde, seemingly a relic of an older time.

What would have made the zone the best, would have been an easy-to-grind reputation like Tranquillien, with the option to pick one of the three tribes. Using phasing technology, make it so one faction becomes dominant and powerful enough to throw out the Legion. Then have your faction give you a quest to assassinate the leader of the tribe, to keep them from attacking with their new-found superiority. Bam, politics and realistic reactions. For the Horde, make Shadowprey a more important part — perhaps under attack from the Maraudine or the Burning Legion. Involve it somehow! But these suggestions obviously won't be implemented, so we're left with an incomplete chapter within the much more interesting story of the Horde and Alliance.