Around Azeroth: A bit of paradise

by Elizabeth Wachowski Oct 3rd 2008 at 10:00AM

Palm trees? Waterfalls? Rainbows? This is so not what I wanted on my trip to Northrend! What am I going to do here? I packed nothing but anoraks and long johns. Am I supposed to go swimming in my furry underwear? Ooh, my travel agent is so going to get it when I get back to Darnassus. (Thanks to beta tester Xeo for this neat picture of the River's Heart area of Sholazar Basin.)

This image came to us straight from the Wrath of the Lich King beta -- and we'd love to have your beta screenshots, too! If you have anything our readers might like, beta or not, sharing it is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We strongly prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. No more battleground scoreboards, please.

Gallery: Around Azeroth

Tags: around azeroth, around-azeroth, AroundAzeroth, gallery, screenshot, screenshots, world-of-warcraft, wow

Filed under: Screenshots, Around Azeroth, Galleries

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Gnomerci Oct 3rd 2008 10:13AM

In b4 people whining about the geographical impossibility of this zone even though it's been explained 9000+ times.

Clasifyd Oct 3rd 2008 10:17AM

Looks gorgeous to me. The rainbow is a very nice touch.

Which zone is this, again? I'll probably frequent it just as much as I did Nagrand for the shear beauty of it.

Clasifyd Oct 3rd 2008 10:22AM

Whoops, guess I should read the article better.

Dotixi Oct 3rd 2008 10:35AM

Is this the only Rainbow in Azeroth? I cannot recall any others.

Anyone know?

Camaris Oct 3rd 2008 10:42AM

It's the only one. A new Northrend thing, like the aurora-like lights.

It's pretty cool that this new continent is firmly on Azeroth, with easy connections to all the old world. I see a big role for Stormwind coming up. It has an auction house, class trainers, and a direct boat to the Borean Tundra.

Keyra Oct 3rd 2008 11:03AM

I thought I had seen one once before in northern Darkshore by one of the small islands, so I swam over to it...turned out to be just weird coloration on the texture combined with the lighting.

Nick S Oct 3rd 2008 10:43AM

I have that *exact* same screenshot in my screenshots folder, but I definitely did not send this in.

Freaky! But logical, I guess, because when you see that spot for the first time... well, who wouldn't want a picture?

Lab Monkey Oct 3rd 2008 11:20AM

Nice shot from my guildie Xeo.

/salute

Rihlsul Oct 3rd 2008 11:35AM

You know you need more caffeine when you look at this article and think "It's AROUND AZEROTH, why are you showing Northrend?".

/facepalm

hylian_loach Oct 4th 2008 12:14AM

So true!

For a while, I was thinking... "Hey! The title should be Around NORTHREND!"

But after 30 seconds, I realized my mistake and punched myself for being stupid.

Evi Oct 3rd 2008 11:40AM

I flew over this area of the basin the other day. So gorgeous! I see myself spending a lot of time in this zone, with the rainbows and waterfalls and lush greenery.

Blizzard has done such a great job with the artwork in WotLK. I can't quite put my finger on how, but everything just seems shiny and better and so much nicer.

Alchemistmerlin Oct 3rd 2008 11:43AM

Wow that's really impressive.

lolwut Oct 3rd 2008 11:59AM

I'm so excited, it will be like playing Farcry all over again!

Jellodyne Oct 3rd 2008 12:30PM

It is our opinion that the graphic elements that characterize the Warcraft universe are not fully present in this sequel, Warcreft universe is made of:

- Gothic and obscure scenarios, cryptic, dark and shadowy dungeons

- Graphically realistic world with realistic, dirty and muddy textures

- Realistic armory and weaponry without over-sized and exaggerated proportions like big shoulder guards

- A macabre, dark and realistic art style

- Light radius, as all of you can remember, Warcraft dungeons were characterized by the combination of a light radius system with shadows, everything that resides outside of the character vision sight is shadowed.

Naw, just goofing on the Diablo III Anti Rainbow Coalition

shinken Oct 3rd 2008 12:47PM

If you follow that rainbow it leads to diablo 3 :)

Socordia Oct 3rd 2008 1:46PM

Thanks for posting spoilers on the frontpage of WoWInsider AGAIN!

This site becomes more and more obnoxious.

Keyra Oct 3rd 2008 1:56PM

And so do you.

Xino Oct 3rd 2008 2:02PM

A rainbow and palm trees are spoilers?

Socordia Oct 4th 2008 4:38AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoiler_(Media)
"A spoiler is a summary or description of a narrative (or part of a narrative) that relates plot elements not revealed early in the narrative itself."

Any screenshot, particularly those from unexpected landmarks, is a spoiler of the WotLk's content (the "narrative" being the exploration of Northrend, which is a big part of the extension's content).