Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne - Expansion Orc Chapter One: To Tame a Land
By Daniel D'Agostino, 2011-03-12
Introduction
The introduction to this campaign introduces the beastmaster Rexxar and his pet bear Misha. Rexxar, who is cynical about the other races and believes that "only beasts are above deceit", rushes in aid of an Orc warrior named Mogrin who is under attack by quillboar. Mogrin is fatally wounded before the quillboar flee, so Rexxar offers to complete his mission on behalf - that of delivering a report to Warchief Thrall in the city of Ogrimmar.
Ogrimmar
The first thing to do is get to Ogrimmar. On the way is the first of many Resurrection stones, which are used to resurrect your heroes when they die, as well as basic creeps (monsters) including razormane and quillboar. Gauntlets of Ogre Strength +3 are available as a reward in the area before Ogrimmar.
Reaching Ogrimmar, the guards will let you through. Rexxar delivers the report to Thrall, who in turn offers the hospitality of the city. Rexxar accepts, but only on condition that he earns his keep - so here you get three quests to complete. You have to talk to each of Gazlowe, Drek'Thar and Nazgrel and solve their respective problems. Thrall gives you the assistance of a second hero, Shadow Hunter Rokhan.
In the western part of the Orc city is another Resurrection stone. In the central area is Rexxar's Stash, a small storage space that persists between scenarios, just like in Diablo 2. In the southeast, northeast and northwest you will find Gazlowe, Nazgrel and Drek'Thar respectively. Talk to each of them to learn what they need. Basically, they are putting you up against kobolds, harpies and thunder lizards respectively.
Out and About
Before getting on with the main quests, go north and northeast and meet Chen Stormstout. He will send you to fetch additional items, and will join you once you complete his additional quest. He is useful for his abilities as well as for additional storage capacity, and you should recruit him as early as possible so that experience-wise he is in line with your other two heroes.
From Chen, move west. You will encounter various monsters including murloc, kobolds, wildkin and spider crabs depending on the area you are in. In the murloc area to the far northwest, retrieve the Thunderbloom Bulb for Chen.
Head south around the rocky wall until you reach the entrance to Thunder Ridge. You will realise you are approaching because the area is filled with lightning lizards and similar creatures. Enter Thunder Ridge and locate the six pieces of Shimmerweed, killing any thunder lizards that cross your path. Go back to Ogrimmar and talk to Drek'Thar, who will give you five Enchanted Vials (regeneration potions) as a reward.
Go a short way east of Ogrimmar and enter the mines. Meet up with the goblin sappers and pick up the rusty mining pick. Your task here is to blow up each of the three support columns using the sappers. Due to their explosive nature, it is a good idea to first clear the area and then call in the sappers. Otherwise don't worry about wasting them, as they are periodically replaced. In this area you get Claws of Attack +3 apart from the rusty mining pick.
Leave the tunnels and make your way northeast, through the quillboar and razormane area, to the place indicated by Chen where you can buy the Thunderwater. Buy it for 1000 gold. You may explore the southeast area while you're here. You cannot take the zeppelin to the Echo Isles yet, though.
Just west of the shop you will find an Orc shaman (Morg Wolfsong), who wants you to retrieve a sacred artifact from the warlocks nearby. Go just northeast, kill them all, and take the relic back to Morg. Morg does, and you get to keep the Sacred Relic. You also get a Tome of Intelligence, 50 gold coins, a potion of mana, and the unique Shaman Claws.
Taking the road west of the shaman, head due north. Go through the harpies and to the bronze drakes. Kill the bronze dragon (Level 10) for a Tome of Knowledge (Strength, Agility and Intelligence +1) and a Sobi Mask (+50% mana regeneration rate).
Go west past Chen and make your way north then east to reach the area directly north of the bronze dragon where the Thunder Phoenices are. You will have to cut through murlocs, kobolds and wildkin on the way. There are crates hidden in the north part of the path that contain a Circlet of Nobility (+2 to Strength, Agility and Intelligence).
Go back to Chen Stormstout, now that you have all the ingredients he wants, and he will join you. He is a few levels behind your other heroes, but is a powerful warrior and his inventory space is also useful. He is a Pandaren Brewmaster. The Pandaren were originally introduced as an April Fool's joke, but actually made it into the The Frozen Throne.
The last remaining quest from Ogrimmar is to deal with the harpies. Find the entrance to their area, directly east of the north part of Ogrimmar. Optionally, on the west side of their area is a tome of intelligence +2 guarded by harpies.
Kill the harpies you encounter, and destroy their nests - there is a Tome of Experience, some gold coins, and a rune of mana hidden among the nests. Get to Bloodfeather and slaughter her, then return to Ogrimmar.
Talk to Gazlowe. He gives you an Arcane Scroll and Runed Gauntlets for clearing the kobold tunnels. Talk to Nazgrel, who allows you to choose an item from the armoury as a reward for killing Bloodfeather. You can choose between Firehand Gauntlets (armour +5, attack rate +20%), Arcanite Shield (ranged attacks -70%, armour +5) or Bladebane Armor (nearby units +1 defense (Devotion Aura), armour +7).
Finally, talk to Thrall to complete the main quest. Your next main quest is to go to the watch post to the northeast and meet Gar'thok, Nazgrel's lieutenant, to investigate the human presence nearby.
Scouting for Humans
Go northeast to the Orcish outpust and talk to Gar'thok. He tells you to go to the Observatory to get a better view of what's going on. However he warns you about the Quillboars that live in the Beast Den, which is the tunnel that leads to the observatory. He gives you the optional quest of cleaning the place out, apart from just going through to reach the observatory. Go east and enter the Beast Den.
Go around and kill everything. Don't forget to destroy their homes as there are some good things hidden there. In this area you get a Ring of Protection +2, two potions of healing, and one of mana, gold coins, a scroll of mana, runes of healing, greater healing, mana and shielding, claws of attack +6, and a ring of regeneration. Once you kill the first Quillboar Chieftain, use the Rune of Rebirth that appears to bring him back to life as one of your mercenaries. Cleaning out the place gives you a bonus hero point for each hero. When you are finished, leave the Beast Den via the exit to the east.
Just outside the exit to the Beast Den is the observatory. An army is seen to have landed at the shore to the north. Go west back to Gar'thok, then make your way back to Ogrimmar and talk to Thrall. Thrall sends you back to the watch post, and Nazgrel accompanies you.
Reaching the watch post, you find it in flames. Thrall authorised the use of force if the humans proved hostile, and seeing what happened at the watch post, Nazgrel suggests retaliation. Head north across the bridge - to the southeast is a band of sasquatches, and you get a Belt of Giant Strength +6 for killing them. Go northwest. Rexxar notes an anchor emblem on the shields of fallen human warriors, and then a band of humans attack. Clear the area and you get the Shield of Honor as a reward. Then return to Thrall.
Thrall suggests you reach Drek'Thar at Thunder Ridge before commending you on your action against the humans. Rokhan points out that the sea presence of the humans could endanger his tribe on the Echo Isles, so Thrall asks you to reach these Isles via zeppelin. Before going to the Echo Isles, let's join Drek'Thar in Thunder Ridge.
Return To Thunder Ridge
Once you reach Thunder Ridge, you find Drek'Thar waiting for you. He tells you of the unusual aggressivity and exodus of thunder lizards from the valley. He joins you to investigate the ridge, and also suggests collecting their eggs.
To the northeast, you find that the humans have been cutting down the trees. Although Rexxar would like to destroy their lumber mill, Drek'Thar suggests that it is better to kill the thunder lizards than risk open war with the human race. Kill them all (reward: Thunderlizard Diamond) and take their eggs (reward: Drek'Thar's spellbook). Return to Thrall to complete the "Thunder Lizards" optional quest, but you don't get any other rewards.
The Echo Isles
Go east from Ogrimmar until you reach the sea. There, take the zeppelin to the Echo Isles.
After having landed, you need to meet up with Vol'jin, the leader of the Darkspear Tribe. The area is full of spider crabs and Mur'gul. Killing the Mur'gul Tyrant (Level 9) north of the landing area gives you the Scepter of the Sea. Northeast of the landing area is an area with revenants and skeletal orcs. Kill the Deathlord (Level 10) to get the Crown of the Deathlord.
Cross the revenants' area into the jungle. To the southwest is an area belonging to a Stormreaver Warlock (Level 9). By killing them you get a Tome of Experience and a Mantle of Intelligence +3. In the southeastern part of the jungle are a few hydras. The Ancient Hydra (Level 10) leaves Runed Bracers when killed. Finally, make your way to the Darkspear village to the north.
Vol'jin agrees to evacuate his tribe to the mainland, but first you need to destroy the human battleships that are raiding his coastal villages. For this purpose he gives you a party of Troll Batriders, and transforms your heroes into wyvern-like flying creatures.
Fly north and destroy the enemy ships. Any lost batriders are replaced automatically. Return to Vol'jin, who sends you to light five signal braziers to signal the evacuation. You are taken to a new area.
At the foot of the Resurrection Stone at the beginning is the Ancestral Staff, that allows you to summon two Troll Berserkers. You are given two free berserkers, and access to the Voodoo Lounge where you may buy exotic items. Sea Giants guard the first of the braziers, so kill them and light it up.
You get a Belt of Giant Strength +6 for killing the Sea Giants in the northwest corner. Make your way east through Dragon Turtles and more Sea Giants and light up the remaining pyres. At the second pyre, a Rune of Rebirth will give you a Sea Giant Hunter. More berserkers join you on the way, and you now have a small army. The Sea King (Level 11) in the northeast drops the Killmaim (damage +20, life stealing) when killed. Also don't miss the three tomes around his throne.
Once you have lit the last of the five pyres, make your way back to the zeppelin and go back to Thrall.
A Diplomatic Encounter
Thrall tells you that the humans have sent an emissary to meet him at Razor Hill. Rexxar asks to go instead of Thrall. Make your way to Razor Hill, which is towards the southeast. As Rexxar suspected, you are ambushed.
After you kill everyone, return to Thrall. He wants you to deliver a letter to Jaina on Theramore Isle, with the help of the Darkspear Tribe.
Thus ends Act One. Proceed to Act Two.