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NeutralShadowmoon Valley
Level: 25 - 50
Battle Pet Level: 20 - 21
Shadowmoon Valley Concept Art Peter Lee 2
Capital(s) Neutral Black Temple
Races Night elfNight elfIconSmall NightElfDemonHunter MaleIconSmall NightElfDemonHunter Female Night elf
Fel orcFel orc Fel orc
NagaNaga Naga
Blood elfBlood elfIconSmall BloodElfDemonHunter MaleIconSmall BloodElfDemonHunter Female Blood elf
OrcOrc Orc
DraeneiDraenei Draenei
Broken Broken
Wildhammer dwarfWildhammer dwarf Wildhammer dwarf
DemonDemonDemonDemon Demon
IconSmall DragonNetherIconSmall DrakeNether Netherwing Dragonflight
Ruler(s) Neutral IconSmall Akama Elder Sage Akama
Former ruler(s) Neutral IconSmall Illidan Lord Illidan Stormrage
Major settlements Horde Shadowmoon Village
Alliance Wildhammer Stronghold
Neutral Legion Hold
Mob Dragonmaw Fortress
Affiliation Sha'tar, Illidari, Burning Legion, Aldor, Scryers, Sons of Lothar, Kor'kron, Alliance, Horde
Former affiliation(s) Shadowmoon clan
Location Southeastern Outland
PvP status Contested territory
Hand of Gul'dan

The Hand of Gul'dan.

Shadowmoon Valley is found in southeastern Outland, east of Terokkar Forest. It is the location of the Black Temple (where Illidan Stormrage resides), and also houses a dwarven settlement named after (and led by) Kurdran Wildhammer, as well as the prison where Illidan's former jailor, Maiev Shadowsong, is held captive. It is one of the darkest, bleakest, and most fel-affected regions in the Warcraft universe, second only to Argus. The sky is always black and ghastly yellow, lightened up by the never-ceasing rain of infernals.

History[]

Shadowmoon Valley concept

Concept art

Shadowmoon Valley was once a lush moor engulfed in eternal night and lit by Draenor's two moons. This gave the entire land a relaxing, bluish hue that was reflected by its plant life. Roughly 800 years before the First War, the orcs began to migrate out of Gorgrond. Some of them gathered in the region, naming themselves after the valley and creating the Shadowmoon clan.[1] For centuries the orcs peacefully charted the stars and practiced their shamanistic and runic magic.

Six-hundred years later, the draenei crash-landed on Draenor aboard the Genedar. During the crash the naaru K'ara was injured, which caused it to enter the Void state of the naaru lifecycle. K'ara's final act was to convince the draenei to eject it from the vessel. K'ara was ejected from the Genedar and came to be known as the Dark Star to the orcs of the valley. Because of both the Void's power to defile the dead[2] and that those few who accessed K'ara's shadowy power directly had their minds shattered,[3] the ancient chieftain of the Shadowmoon clan outlawed its powers after the discovery of the Dark Star.[2] After settling properly on Draenor, the draenei built their sacred Temple of Karabor on the coast of Shadowmoon Valley, making the region the spiritual capital of draenei society.

All this changed, of course, when the Burning Legion made contact with Gul'dan and Ner'zhul centuries later. The orcs became more aggressive, attacking innocent draenei for no apparent reason. Under demonic influence all the orc clans were united as the bloodthirsty Orcish Horde; backed by powerful Void and Fel magic, this Horde assaulted and destroyed the draenei settlements all across Draenor; Shadowmoon included. Gul'dan also used his mighty warlock magic to raise a fel-tainted volcano in the middle of the valley to sever the orcs' link to the elements. They then converged on the Temple of Karabor. To overcome its defenses, the Shadow Council performed a ritual to summon the power of the dark naaru K'ara. A great column of Void energy crashed down upon the temple, warping its architecture, causing the instant deaths of hundreds of draenei, while driving others to madness as the Void lords' whispers overcame them. When the Void energy dissipated, the Horde easily dispatched most of the stragglers and the site was renamed the Black Temple, and served as the base of the Shadow Council.

The volcano, called the Hand of Gul'dan, and the Black Temple's chain of fel rulers has transformed the lush valley into a blackened wasteland under a perpetual haze of black and green smoke and dotted with flows of green lava and green-tinted water.

Invasion of Draenor[]

WC2BnE-logo This section concerns content related to Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness or its expansion Beyond the Dark Portal.

The Alliance Expedition attacked the Valley in order to destroy the fortress of the Shadowmoon clan and its dark order of death knights.[4]

The Burning Crusade[]

Bc icon This section concerns content related to The Burning Crusade.

Once Draenor was transformed into Outland and the Legion began to see potential in these shattered remnants, Shadowmoon became perpetually bombarded by infernals summoned by the demon lords seeking to scour any remaining life from it. When Illidan defeated Magtheridon, the leader of the Legion's efforts in Outland, and returned from his failure to destroy the Frozen Throne, these demons converged on the Black Temple and began to lay siege to it on orders from Kil'jaeden who wished to see Illidan punished for his failures. Some of these demons turned on the Legion and began serving Illidan, thanks to a mysterious source of magic within the temple and Shadowmoon became the center of a demonic civil war. Ironically, the Burning Legion began making anti-demonic weaponry themselves in order to fight the Illidari.[5]

Even after Illidan's death and the return of the temple to the draenei under Akama, it seems Shadowmoon is unlikely to recover the twilit beauty it once possessed and remains one of the grimmest reminders of what the Burning Legion is capable of. However, the valley still retains some waning lunar energies from before Draenor's destruction.[6]

Geography[]

Shadowmoon Valley is a barren wasteland of rock and ash, with little vegetation. The Hand of Gul'dan volcano dominates the center, from which green lava erupts.

The Alliance and Horde each have a settlement here, as do the Aldor and Scryers.

The valley contains one raid instance (the Black Temple) and several elite areas.

Maps and subregions[]

VZ-Shadowmoon Valley

Map of Shadowmoon Valley.


Removed locations

WC2BnE-logo Warcraft II
Shadowmoon Valley Concept Art Peter Lee 1

Concept art.

Instances[]

Dungeon Name Level Range Group Size Approximate Run Time
Instance portal Black Temple 70+ 25-man Unknown
Return To The Aldor TCG

The Altar of Sha'tar in art.

Elite areas[]

Travel hubs[]

Alliance Wildhammer Stronghold
Horde Shadowmoon Village
Aldor Altar of Sha'tar
Scryers Sanctum of the Stars

Adjacent regions[]

Zone Name Faction Level Range Direction Access
Terokkar Forest AllianceHorde 62-80 West Normal

Notable characters[]

Shadowmoonvalley

Old draenei bridge

Main article: Shadowmoon Valley NPCs

Quests[]

Main article: Shadowmoon Valley quests

Resources[]

Nightmare Vine

Shadowmoon Valley is where most Nightmare Vines grow, and was previously the only place where they did.

Ruins of Baa'ri

Ruins of Baa'ri, a draenei dig site.

Herbs

Leather

Metals

Cloth

Dig sites Cataclysm

Other

Inhabitants[]

Notes and trivia[]

Shadowmoon Valley card back

A card back themed after Shadowmoon Valley in Hearthstone.

Gallery[]

Patch changes[]

  • Legion Patch 7.3.5 (2018-01-16): Level scaling implemented, previous zone level: 67 - 70.
  • Bc icon Patch 2.0.3 (2007-01-09): Added.

References[]

External links[]

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