In just over four weeks, World of Warcraft Classic will finally be released. Especially for newcomers without prior knowledge, it will be a unique experience, a unique journey into the past of the most popular MMO of all time. To get you in the mood, this weekend we’ll show you Thousand Needles and the Shimmering Plains in the original version before Cataclysm. Have fun!
In World of Warcraft Classic, Thousand Needles is a vast, arid canyon in southern Kalimdor that contains countless towering mesas. To the east, the canyon opens to the Shimmering Plains, a vast salt pan chosen by goblin and gnome engineers for their races. Although the area is relatively desolate, it has a rugged beauty all its own, and the sunrises that can be seen from either Freewind Post or one of the other mesas are sometimes spectacular. The Shimmering Plains with the Illusion Racetrack are also worth a visit for their surreal, lonely atmosphere.
Although Thousand Needles doesn’t offer nearly as much action as some others as a contested area on PvP servers, the lonely Darkcloud Peak is a notorious “ganking” spot for Alliance rogues because of the many Horde quests and the relative difficulty of the mobs. The Alliance also regularly attacks the Great Elevator and the Freewind Post. In addition, players who are in the Shimmering Plains near the Tanaris border should glance over their shoulder from time to time. If you’re careless, you’ll occasionally get stabbed in the back by a passing member of the opposing faction!
In the following gallery you can find pictures from 2005 and 2006 showing Thousand Needles and the Shimmering Plains before they completely disappeared in Cataclysm. Among other things, there is a prominent race starter. Have fun with it!
What is WoW Classic?
World of Warcraft Classic is a true recreation of the original WoW as you know it from 2006. All parts of the game – from combat mechanics and talent trees to character models and zones – have been recreated, contributing to the authentic experience.
Getting Started
All players with an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time on their accounts have access toWoW Classic at no additional cost.
- Open the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App and select World of Warcraft from the menu.
- Select World of Warcraft Classic from the Version menu. If you have more than one World of Warcraft account, you’ll see a second Account drop-down list. In this column, select the active account you want to play with.
- Click the Install button. The progress bar will tell you when your game is ready to play.
- Click the Play button when the installation is complete.
You will need to select the realm you want to play on from several different realm types. Make sure you choose the same realm as your friends – in World of Warcraft Classic, you can only group with characters that are on the same realm as you!
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