The story of Grizzly Hills in WotLK revolves around a sick forest: the tree Vordrassil drove the furbolgs and the bear god Ursoc mad, while the Lich King brings Arugal back to create worgen. In the middle of all this, the Alliance and the Horde fight over the Venture Company's lumber, and the troll Drakuru betrays the Drakkari Empire to the Lich King at Drak'Tharon Keep.
In 3.3.5a, it is a level 73 to 75 zone. On the fast route in the site's leveling guide, it comes after Dragonblight, between 75 and 78. The overview of the expansion is in the story of Wrath of the Lich King.
What is Grizzly Hills in WoW history?
Grizzly Hills is a forest of giant pines in southeastern Northrend. To the south is Howling Fjord. To the west, Dragonblight. To the north, Zul'Drak, the kingdom of the Drakkari trolls.
The region is the ancient home of Ursoc and Ursol, the bear brothers who became Wild Gods. Ursoc ruled these lands with his children, his son Orsonn and his daughter Kodian. That is why the zone has so many furbolgs, the bear people who worship him.
The furbolgs lived in relative peace with the Drakkari. Shortly before the war, the intruders arrived: human trappers and the goblins of the Venture Company, who cut down trees and dig up the ground.
Vordrassil: the world tree that went wrong
About 4,500 years before the Dark Portal, Archdruid Fandral Staghelm planted branches of Nordrassil in Northrend over saronite deposits. The largest tree grew in Grizzly Hills: Andrassil, the "Crown of Snow". Malfurion and the Cenarion Circle had not approved the plan.
Then violence broke out between the taunka and the forest dryads. A Cenarion expedition found out why: the roots had reached the prison of Yogg-Saron, the Old God. His corruption rose up the tree and drove the creatures around it mad.
Without the blessing of the Dragon Aspects, there was no way to save it. The druids cut it down and changed its name to Vordrassil, the "Broken Crown". Pieces of the trunk were left scattered across the zone: Vordrassil's Heart, Limb and Tears.
About the Old God, read Ulduar, the titan keepers and the secrets of Yogg-Saron. About the druids, see the Cenarion Circle.
Grizzlemaw: the corrupted furbolgs
Over time, the furbolgs took over the tree's stump and built Grizzlemaw, their capital, there, in the center of the zone.
But the roots still touched Yogg-Saron's prison. The corruption reached the furbolgs. In WotLK, Grizzlemaw is hostile and split between two warring tribes: Frostpaw and Redfang. They still try to make Vordrassil grow again from its seeds.
Why was Ursoc corrupted?
Ursoc and his twin, Ursol, received their powers from the keeper Freya. The two answered Cenarius's call in the War of the Ancients and died fighting the Burning Legion.
During the war against the Lich King, the furbolgs of Grizzlemaw resurrected Ursoc with the magic of Vordrassil. But the tree's evil came with it, and Ursoc came back corrupted.
The ancient war is in the War of the Ancients. About the animal gods, read Wild Gods and Loa.
How is Ursoc set free?
Hierophant Thayreen, at Amberpine Lodge (Alliance), and Windseer Grayhorn, at Conquest Hold (Horde), send the player to collect samples of the ooze surrounding the pieces of the tree. The trail leads to Grizzlemaw.
There, the player burns the Vordrassil sapling and gathers its seeds. Then, with the furbolg druid Tur Ragepaw, they face Ursoc in Ursoc's Den.
Ursoc falls, and the purified ashes of the sapling are spread over his body. His freed spirit warns: Yogg-Saron's influence goes beyond the roots of Vordrassil. It is a direct hook to Ulduar.
Arugal and the Wolfcult: the worgen of Northrend
Arugal was the Kirin Tor mage who brought the worgen to Azeroth and took over Shadowfang Keep. Adventurers killed him at the request of the Forsaken.
On the Lich King's orders, the San'layn princes resurrected him and sent him to Grizzly Hills. Now he is the Shade of Arugal, leader of the Wolfcult.
The cult gathers human trappers who turn into worgen at will. Arugal converted Solstice Village and then Silverbrook. Many joined out of fear of the Lich King; those who resisted were killed or cursed. The cult's base is Shadowfang Tower, on Bloodmoon Isle, on the east coast.
The origin of the curse is in The Curse of the Worgen: the Scythe of Elune, Arugal and the fall of Gilneas.
Silverbrook and Sasha
Silverbrook looks like an ordinary trappers' village. The Alliance sends Envoy Ducal to propose a pact, until it discovers the village's loyalty to the Wolfcult. The Horde is hostile from the start.
The heroine of the story is Sasha, a trapper from Silverbrook. Cultists killed her father, Mikhail, and kidnapped her sister, Anya. With the seer Ruuna the Blind, Sasha sees Arugal's resurrection. At White Pine Trading Post, she squeezes information out of the cultist Anatoly.
The ending is the group quest Hour of the Worg. The player kills the lieutenants Varlam, Selas and Goremaw on Bloodmoon Isle, and Sasha helps finish off the Shade of Arugal.
Drak'Tharon Keep and Drakuru's betrayal
In the northwest stands Drak'Tharon Keep, an ancient Drakkari outpost on the edge of Zul'Drak. It controls the passes to Zul'Drak, Dragonblight and the Icecrown glacier. In WotLK, the Scourge rules the fortress, and undead trolls come out of it to attack Zul'Drak.
Who is Drakuru?
The player meets Drakuru as a prisoner at Granite Springs. The ice troll offers a truce (quest Truce?) and, through the Vial of Visions, asks for help against the undead.
He sends you to fetch the Eye of the Prophets, the Heart of the Ancients and the Drakkari Tablets. The last step is Cleansing Drak'Tharon, inside the dungeon. At the top of the fortress, he lights the brazier.
Then the Lich King appears through a portal. He thanks Drakuru for betraying the Drakkari Empire, transforms him and orders him to "cleanse" Zul'Drak.
The bosses of Drak'Tharon Keep
- Trollgore: a dire troll.
- Novos the Summoner: the lich who leads the Scourge in the fortress.
- King Dred: a devilsaur who guards the raptor pens.
- The Prophet Tharon'ja: the ancient Drakkari prophet, now a skeletal winged serpent who turns the group into skeletons.
Tactics are in Drak'Tharon Keep: tips to avoid needless pain.
Drakil'jin Ruins: the graveyard of kings
South of Thor Modan lie the Drakil'jin Ruins. It is not a tribe: it is a graveyard of the Drakkari Empire and its ancient kings, with a crypt full of mummies. The adventurer Harrison Jones is trapped there, and you escort him out in the quest Dun-da-Dun-tah!.
Amberpine Lodge against Conquest Hold
Amberpine Lodge is the Alliance base, in the west. Alliance lumberjacks built the hall before the war, and the Valiance Expedition, under Lieutenant Dumont, took it over for military use.
Conquest Hold is the Horde fortress, with a deep arena in the middle, the Conquest Pit. The one in charge is the orc Conqueror Krenna, fierce even by Horde standards.
Her sister, Gorgonna, tries to rein in the excesses. In the quest Tactical Clemency, she orders Sasha, who was a prisoner, to be spared. Krenna finds out and challenges her sister to a duel to the death. In The Conquest Pit: Final Showdown, you help Gorgonna, who kills Krenna and takes command.
The Horde also has Camp Oneqwah, of the taunka.
The Westfall Brigade and Thor Modan
The People's Militia of Westfall became the Westfall Brigade. Captain Gryan Stoutmantle brought the troops from Sentinel Hill to fight the Scourge.
He sends the Explorers' League to dig at Thor Modan, an old city of the iron dwarves. The iron dwarves try to take it back, and the stone giant Kurun asks for help to kill Iron Thane Argrum.
Venture Bay and Blue Sky: the war for lumber
The Venture Company used Venture Bay, on the southwest coast, and the Blue Sky Logging Grounds. The Alliance and the Horde drive out the goblins and start fighting each other for both places.
It is pure world PvP. To take the Venture Bay lighthouse, stand on the ground near it with PvP turned on. Whoever controls it gets elite guards, a vendor and the extra daily Riding the Red Rocket. Dailies like Smoke 'Em Out gave Venture Coins in WotLK.
More in world PvP in Northrend.
Where to see it in WotLK
- Ursoc: the Alliance starts with The Failed World Tree; the Horde, with Vordrassil's Fall. The chain goes through Children of Ursoc (Alliance) or The Bear God's Offspring (Horde). Orsonn is at the Rage Fang Shrine (48, 58) and Kodian at the Heart's Blood Shrine (66, 62). The ending is Ursoc, the Bear God, for 3 players.
- Arugal: the Horde gets in with Attack on Silverbrook and Mikhail's Journal; the Alliance, with Descent into Darkness. It all ends in Hour of the Worg.
- Drakuru: start at Granite Springs with Truce? and finish with Cleansing Drak'Tharon, inside Drak'Tharon Keep (level 74 to 76 in 3.3.5a).
- Thor Modan: Find Kurun! and Into the Breach.
On the leveling route, Grizzly Hills comes after Dragonblight, as an alternative to Zul'Drak. See how to reach level 80 faster. The story continues in the story of Zul'Drak.
Frequently asked questions
What level is Grizzly Hills in WotLK?
In 3.3.5a, it is a level 73 to 75 zone, and Drak'Tharon Keep is 74 to 76. Only in Legion did the zone get level scaling.
Who is Ursoc in Grizzly Hills?
One of the Wild Gods, an Ancient in the shape of a bear. He died in the War of the Ancients and was resurrected by the furbolgs of Grizzlemaw. He came back corrupted, and the player has to defeat him to cleanse his spirit.
Does Arugal come back in WotLK?
Yes. The San'layn resurrect him on the Lich King's orders. As the Shade of Arugal, he leads the Wolfcult and dies at Shadowfang Tower, in the quest Hour of the Worg.
Is Drakuru an ally or an enemy?
An enemy in disguise. In Cleansing Drak'Tharon, he reveals that he serves the Lich King.
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