Here’s the second half of the WotLK information post I did for my guild.

Dalaran

Dalaran is the capital city in Northrend. Like Shattrath City it is open to both the Alliance and the Horde. There are separate Alliance and Horde sections of the city, entering the wrong one will teleport you out. These sections contain separate inns and portals to every major city of that faction and Shattrath City.

Dalaran is fairly inaccessible to most players when they first arrive in Northrend. Mages, at level 71, receive a quest that allows them to learn how to teleport themselves to Dalaran. Everyone else receives a quest at level 74 which teleports you to Dalaran and attune yourself for future returns, as well as to learn the city’s flight point. Mages cannot open portals for other players until they are also level 74. A mage portal or a warlock summon can bring a character of any level into the city. In addition to the low level restrictions flying mounts do not work in Dalaran. If you fly in you will receive a warning to land. If you do not you will be forcibly dismounted and will parachute in. Flying mounts may only be used at the flight point area or the sewer tunnel that exits the city.

Like Shattrath City there are only some services usually found in a capital city in Dalaran. There are banks, professional trainers, and many new shops. There are class trainers for mages (it is a mage city after all). However there are no class trainers for non-mages and no auction house. For those services you’ll need to return to the capital cities of Azeroth.

Wintergrasp

Wintergrasp is the new PvP zone. It is only accessible by flying mount (level 77-80) and you will flag PvP and be removed from your flying mount when you enter. The zone is an assault game, where one faction holds the keep and the other faction tries to take it over. Honor kills lead to ranks which leads to the ability to make vehicles, ranging from ground siege to aircraft. There are daily quests for honor points which can be done both during the assault and during the break time between assaults. Buffs are given to the faction with fewer players and other provisions are given to help balance, however since the zone is just for the realm and not the battle group (like battlegrounds) any faction unbalance on the realm will likely be reflected in Wintergrasp.

Factions

Explorers’ League – Alliance Vanguard
The Frostborn – Alliance Vanguard
The Silver Covenant – Alliance Vanguard
Valiance Expedition – Alliance Vanguard

The Hand of Vengeance – Horde Expedition
The Taunka – Horde Expedition
Warsong Offensive – Horde Expedition

Frenzyheart Tribe
The Oracles

Argent Crusade
Kirin Tor
Knights of the Ebon Blade
The Kalu’ak
The Sons of Hodir
The Wyrmrest Accord

Faction in WotLK is gained through quests and instances. There are no grinds or collections. For the major Alliance and Horde factions you can earn Revered from questing alone. In level 80 instances you can gain whatever faction you want. Once friendly with a group you can wear their tabard. Wear their tabard in a level 80 instance you’ll gain reputation with them alone. It doesn’t matter what instance you run, so long as it is a level 80 instance.

There is a one or the other faction choice you have to make in the upper 70s, however it is designed so you can easily switch between the two factions. The Frenzyheart Tribeand the Oracles are at odds with each other in Sholazar Basin. You’ll do a quest chain that sets you with the Frenzyhearts first, then moves you to the Oracles. When done you can access a daily quest which allows you to swap factions, then you can gain faction with one or the other through daily quests. The gear is dependent on current faction, but the recipes and pets are not.

Professions

Grand Masters are the next level of professional trainers. They are found in the starting zones and Dalaran. They are only found in Northrend. They have recipes starting around 350 skill. This allows skill ups without having to use Outland end game recipes and you’re better off in terms of cost just using the new recipes. First Aid, for example, you’ll find Heavy Netherweave Bandages give no skill up at 375. Instead you’ll learnt he new Frostweave Bandage and start getting those drops immediately.

Every profession has some BoP bonus item, but most of the items are geared toward BoE. Weapons especially will now be all BoE with blacksmiths getting the ability to add gem slots to their gear as their profession bonus. The gathering professions are also gaining bonuses. Miners gain a permanent stamina buff, skinners a permanent crit buff, and herbalists a self heal.

Blizzard has said professions are not quite complete at this stage and they plan to add new recipes through the upcoming content patches.

Mounts

All grounds mounts work in Northrend as normal. Flying mounts do not work initially. At level 77 you can train Cold Weather Flying with a trainer next to the Dalaran flight master. Training costs 1,000 gold (Kirin Tor faction discounts the price). Once trained you can then use all of your former flying mounts in Northrend with the exception of Dalaran and Wintergrasp.

Tips

Level 70 daily quests will grant XP but reduced gold in WotLK. Doing old dailies to level up isn’t efficient, but if you have all the dailies from one or two major areas done before hand then you can get a nice XP boost before Northrend. Just don’t make yourself run all over the world turning them in. New daily quests will be available as early as the start zones in Northrend.

If you killed Illidan keep your [Blessed Medallion of Karabor] on you. Free hearth to Outland with a 15 minute cooldown, a good way to quickly get back to a class trainer or AH and still have your hearthstone available to get you back to Northrend quickly.

Take at least 600 gold with you to Northrend. Professional training is going to run you 35 gold per profession, 50 gold for First Aid. If you are 375 skill recipes are going to run you around 100 gold per profession (only 8 gold for First Aid). Add in cost to respec if you haven’t yet and gold for initial repairs and vendor needs. After that questing will more than give you enough gold for cost of leveling and your next big expenditure won’t be until level 77 with Cold Weather Flying. There are several new gold sinks available in Wrath but 1,600 gold is what you need to function and 1,000 of that can honestly be made through questing if you save up.

Disenchant unless greens, don’t vendor them. You’ll want the enchanting mats for yourself later, and if not they will sell for more than the green will. However, before you bombard an enchanter with crates of greens to disenchant check with them first.

Tanks and healers can run sub-level 80 instances while in a DPS spec and wearing leveling gear. Proper gear and specs certainly help, but they are balanced with leveling specs and gear in mind. Threat is much easier to generate now and spell power affects healing as much as spell damage.

[Riding Crop] stops working once you hit level 71, vendor it.

Sharpening stones and oils will not work on any level 80 weapon. They are being discontinued from the game. Use up what you have while leveling.

I posted this information to my guild’s forum originally to help alleviate some of the many questions we all see being asked in the early days of WotLK. With many death knights now approaching or in Northrend I figured this information will come in handy here as well.

Official WotLK FAQ

Interactive Map of Northrend

Starting Zones: Borean Tundra vs Howling Fjord (Alliance Bias)

There are details between the two that may make you want one over the other, but if you are coming in with raid epics on then from a progression stand point it doesn’t matter which you choose first. There is transportation between the two zones provided and choosing one does not lock you out of the other at all. You can do both, do one then come back later and do the other, or do one and save the other for your next alt. Both start towns have profession trainers, faction gains are the same, and the quest rewards are very similar. The stories they tell are different, as is their geography. In both you will come face to face with the Lich King and be lead on to the Dragonblight when ready.

Borean Tundra

Borean Tundra is accessible by boat from Stormwind City or zeppelin from Orgimmar. It is inhabited by the Tuskarr, D.E.H.T.A., Drakkari trolls, Blue Dragonflight, and the Scourge.

The largest zone in Northrend it is mostly flat and allows more roaming around. Valiance Keep (Alliance base) is up and running and quite active, with quest givers and their targets merely yards away from where you get off the boat. This is a good zone to hit first if you aren’t coming in with raid epics and it is where I recommend death knights start in Northrend specifically for the gear upgrades available (you can literally have a weapon upgrade within 10 minutes of arriving).

The quests mostly go over the variety of conflicts found in Northrend. You are introduced to the war between Dalaran and the Blue Dragonflight, help a death knight against the Scourge, and learn about the possible origins of the gnomes.

The zone’s instance is The Nexus. You’ll need to complete a quest chain in a secondary quest hub to get there, then complete a longer quest chain to gain quests for the instances.

BigRedKitty’s Top Ten Reasons for Starting Out in Borean Tundra (Alliance-biased)

10. Baby Rhino! He?s right there, waiting for you. You want a Rhino, this is where you?ve got to go.

9. Flat landscape means you can run in any direction and find stuff to do. You?re not channeled or funneled in a specific direction, so you can do what you want and not feel like you?re skipping stuff.

8. Stupid humans and their farms. ?The tunnel is cursed!? Yeah, the tunnel is always cursed, isn?t it. Lots of quick quests just outside the Alliance keep.

7. Speaking of the Alliance keep, it?s pretty sweet. It?s big, there?s upstairs and downstairs, it?s basically a mini Stormwind.

6. The existence of the Gnome airstrip means plenty of Horde trying to wipe that place out. It?s not an official world PvP event, but the Destruction of the Airport will be high on every hordie?s list of fun things to do. While we were there, the place was under attack almost constantly.

5. Speaking of the Horde, they get a massive, just huge town. It dominates the landscape, looking down on the Alliance keep.

4. The ?There?s broken pieces of stuff out there, go pick it up!? quests. Aren?t those always a blast with 20,000 people all trying to pick up the same gear and piece of wood?

3. Murlocs. Say no more.

2. Mammoths! Not the mounts, but roving herds of mammoths are a skinner?s dream come true.

1. Those animal-loving druids accomplish the exact opposite of what their charter says. You?ll want to slaughter the mammoths just to p!ss these guys off.

Howling Fjord

Howling Fjord is accessible by boat from Menethil Harbor or zepplin from Undercity. It is inhabited by Vrykul, Drakkari trolls, nerbuians, murlocs, and Iron Dwaves.

Howling Fjord’s landscapes vary from dark forests to open plains to cliff walls. The Alliance town of Valgarde was the only establishment of its kind in Northrend until recently. Now the Forsaken also have a town and Valgarde is under siege by the Vrykul. The place is partial chaos and as soon as you step off the boat you are fending off invaders. The zone itself funnels you from quest hub to quest hub. There is less a sandbox feel and more of following the path.

Quests deal mostly with the Vrykul, but you’ll also see some early signs of the Forsaken’s new plague and you’ll even fight pirates and join up with ghost pirates! Dwarf origins are delved into a bit. If you recall the original trailer for WotLK it was shot entirely in Howling Fjord.

The zone’s instance is Utgarde Keep. The instance is just past the Alliance town and quests for it are available with a minimal of questing.

BigRedKitty’s Top Ten Reasons for Starting Out in Howling Fjord (Alliance-biased)

10. The longest d@mn boatride ever.

9. A to B to C progression. If you like a bit of order to your questing, this is your starting area. Follow the roads, everything is clearly marked, it?s obvious when you?re going in the wrong direction, or headed somewhere you shouldn?t be.

8. The buring boat. That?s a ?Welcome to Northrend? sign from the locals.

7. The Alliance starting town is basically a disaster in-progress. If you like chaos, start here.

6. The first instance is right, frickin? there. No flying, no searching, no uppity talking dragons, just walk up and do it.

5. Dwarf explorers. The carpet. The costume. Best Alliance quest line in Northrend. You?ll love it.

4. Horde starting area is like the landing on Normandy. Get on the beach and kill everything!

3. Frickin? vertical as all get-out. Mountains and cliffs and huge trees! And the Trams and elevators rock.

2. Blue Chimaeras. You don?t have to hunt for Nuramoc anymore if you love this pet but hate them in green.

1. The elite orca and the penguins. That?d be a great band-name, too.

That’s about half the post (yes I encourage work productivity losses of entire hours in my guild). I’ll get the other half up tomorrow.