Tarren Mill-Southshore conflict

The Tarren Mill-Southshore conflict was a long-standing grudge war between the Horde and the Alliance in Hillsbrad Foothills. It is unique in that, while legendary by player standards, the two towns had minimal interaction with each other outside of mutual Halloween shenanigans. It was the source of server-wide battles, and heroes of the Horde and the Alliance would often throw themselves into the fray on behalf of their faction and town. It was also one of the most common causes of server crashes.

The conflict was perhaps one of the most notable examples of world pvp, and was the primary honor income for many players prior to the addition of battlegrounds.

Background
Prior to the introduction of battlegrounds, players were forced to be creative in how to gain honor points via player versus player combat. Raid groups assaulting either Tarren Mill or Southshore were thus commonplace, and this long-standing conflict would become perhaps the most trademark reference to world pvp. The heroes of the noble Alliance and the mighty Horde would find no peace in the fields of Hillsbrad, as the conflict would often envelope the entire zone in a brutal war.

Aside from the hostile takeover of either Tarren Mill or Southshore, the war would be fought from the shadows - rogues and druids often sneaking into the towns and taking out unsuspecting victims via their assassination abilities from the relative safety of stealth. With high player traffic at almost all times, the hills of Hillsbrad were a dangerous place to be at best, and a suicidal one at worst.

World of Warcraft


The battles raged on for a long while; heroes of both factions earning fame, honor and fear among the ranks of their enemy. Ultimately, with Patch 1.5.0, two battlegrounds were added - Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley. This did not put an end to the Tarren Mill-Southshore conflict, however, and the fighting would also be taken to the Frostwolf and Stormpike base camps in the region. Though the war had been regulated to a less efficient method of grinding honor points than playing the battlegrounds, the battle between Hillsbrad's players raged on.

Burning Crusade
With the coming of The Burning Crusade expansion, specifically, the world of Outland to explore, the fierce battles in Hillsbrad began to calm. Though still not a particularly advisable place to idle from your keyboard for too long within, at the very least, the conflict was a shadow of its former self. Rarely now would the mountains of player skeletons be seen piling around Tarren Mill and Southshore. Flying mounts for easy travel around Outland, and an extra battleground further contributed to the decline of the Hillsbrad war.

Wrath of the Lich King
Like the previous expansion, Wrath of the Lich King introduced another new continent to explore - Northrend. The addition of heirlooms for quick leveling began to ensure that many players would not be forced to spend too long toiling in Hillsbrad's fields, and the once-bloody setting of Hillsbrad continued to quiet down.

Cataclysm
After years of battle, ranging from player-guerilla warfare, to all-out raids, to simply individual murders, the Tarren Mill-Southshore conflict finally reached its conclusion. The Forsaken, extending their grasp over the land they claim as theirs, would see Southsore drenched in blight and rendered annihilated - for all intents and purposes, inhabitable for a long while to come. With that, the legendary battles in Hillsbrad came to a complete end.

Several of Southshore's inhabitants were able to flee, including its leader Magistrate Henry Maleb, though many were killed. All that remains of Southshore is a blighted wreck; Helcular himself standing victorious near its ruins.

Tarren Mill itself has been fortified, and the presence of the powerful High Warlord Cromush serves as a deterrent for the hit-and-run killings once witnessed in the region.

Legacy
With that, the Tarren Mill-Southshore conflict has become a part of Warcraft history. As Kingslayer Orkus fondly recalls, the wars and conflicts of Hillsbrad were 'glory days' that came and passed all too quickly.

Similar conflicts were witnessed in areas such as Ashenvale, the Barrens, and later the Isle of Quel'Danas, though generally not of the scale nostalgic vanilla Warcraft players associate with the battles of Hillsbrad.