Living without portal hubs

Prior to patch 4.0.3a, portals in Dalaran and Shattrath City provided access to each faction's major cities. Players with low level characters often asked a mage for a portal to Dalaran.

Once there, the player would set their character's hearthstone to an inn in Dalaran, and use the "portal hubs" to easily and quickly access the major cities in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms (also known as the old world) as well as Shattrath in Outland. This simplified travel around the world and saved time.

In patch 4.0.3a the portal hubs in Dalaran and Shattrath City were removed, which caused a considerable stir. Many players didn't know how to get around the old world without the portal hubs. Some players with lower level characters found they were "stuck" in Dalaran or Shattrath and didn't know how to get out without a portal from a mage. However portals to Orgrimmar and Stormwind City were added to Shattrath and Dalaran in patch 4.1.0.

Fortunately, many changes in compensate for the absence of the portal hubs. Once you know how to get around the world without them, you may find that you hardly miss the hubs at all.

Blizzard previously stated that there are no plans to reinstate the portals and that players should refrain from creating threads about them, however portals to Orgrimmar and Stormwind City were added to Shattrath and Dalaran in patch 4.1.0.

How travel has changed
Shorter cycle times for ships and zeppelins, as well as a large increase in the number of flight paths, have made travel over land and sea much easier and faster than before, even for low level characters.

Through the use of taxis, mass transit, and remaining portals, return to the Old World from Dalaran or Shattrath is straightforward, although this does take a little more time now that their portal hubs are gone. Ease of travel from Dalaran also depends on your level of preparation.

Travel around the Old World is also easier now. Patch 4.0.3a added many new flight paths to Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, especially in the lower level zones. Winged foot icons on the in-game world map make it easy to find the new flight paths.

Characters level 60 or above can purchase a Flight Master's License from a flight trainer in Stormwind, Orgrimmar, or Borean Tundra and fly almost anywhere in the Old World.

New portal hubs have been added to each faction's capital city. Located in Stormwind and Orgrimmar, these hubs provide rapid access to the new level 81-85 zones. You must complete quests for access to these portals, and the portals to Tol Barad require level 85.

See the Cataclysm travel guide for a detailed post-Cataclysm look at world travel, with plenty of practical and useful information and maps of all the mass transit routes now available.

Hearthstone
Once you've returned to the Old World, you will likely find it advantageous to set your hearthstone to an inn in Stormwind or Orgrimmar, or somewhere near the area in which you are questing. Taxis and mass transit provide reasonably convenient access from these cities to most parts of the Old World.

While you are questing in Northrend or Outland, you may want to keep your hearthstone set in Dalaran or Shattrath, respectively. Since there are now class and profession trainers and auction houses in both cities, you will have little need to travel back to the Old World until you are done questing in these continents. After that these cities will become largely irrelevant.

Taxi & ship or zeppelin
If you had the foresight to take a ship or zeppelin to Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord and pick up a flight path there before patch 4.0.3a hit, you're in luck. Just go to the flight master at Krasus' Landing in Dalaran and take a taxi to whichever flight path you have, and then take the ship or zeppelin to the Old World. You will end up in one of the major cities. See the guides below for what to do from there.

Violet Citadel portal to Tanaris
If you have never picked up a flight path in Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord, you can still get to the Old World without a mage portal, provided you have already picked up some key Old World flight paths!

Preparing for departure
If you are playing Horde you will have need to have already picked up the Orgrimmar flight path. If Alliance you'll need to have gotten the Ratchet and Stormwind flight paths.

If you have not picked up the necessary flight paths, you should probably either get friends or guildies to summon you to your capital city (see below), or get a mage portal from Dalaran. Otherwise you could end up in Tanaris without a flight path back to a city and be really stuck!

If you've got the necessary flight paths to get home from Tanaris, you're all set. A portal that's still in Dalaran will get you back to the Old World, and from there via taxi (and, for Alliance, a ship) you'll be in your capital city in minutes.

Note that lower level characters will need to be brave and resolute to get past some roving mobs in Tanaris. At level 40 or so and above these mobs should not be a problem.

Before you leave Dalaran, go to the flight master at Krasus' Landing and get the flight path! If you do this, you will be able take a taxi back to Dalaran later, when you are ready to start questing in Northrend.

Return to the Old World
Once you've taken the steps above you are ready to go back to the Old World. In Dalaran, go to the Violet Citadel, go up the stairs, and on the second floor turn left. Take the portal there to the Caverns of Time.

The Caverns of Time is located in Tanaris, in southern Kalimdor. There is now a flight path in Bootlegger Outpost, which is just outside of the Caverns of Time. Ride to it and take the taxi to Orgrimmar if you are Horde or Ratchet if you are Alliance. From Ratchet take the ship to Booty Bay and take the taxi to Stormwind.

If the flight path in Bootlegger Outpost is not connected to anything, you'll need to ride a short distance north to Gadgetzan, where you will be able to fly directly to Orgrimmar or Ratchet.

Summons
Next to the dungeon entrance in each faction's capitol city is a summoning stone. The dungeons are the Stockade in Stormwind for Alliance and Ragefire Chasm in Orgrimmar for Horde.

If you have two friends willing to help you, you can invite them to a group. They would then meet at the summoning stone in your capital city and summon you, which will port you to their location outside the dungeon in your capital.

Taxi & portals
All characters start with three flight paths in Hellfire Peninsula pre-learned: Shattrath, the Stair of Destiny and their faction hub, Honor Hold or Thrallmar. The Dark Portal is not level-restricted, meaning that you can fly to the Stair of Destiny and walk through the Dark Portal to end up in the Blasted Lands.

For even less hassle, instead of using the Dark Portal itself to return to the Old World, enter the small portal on your faction's side (At the Stair of Destiny, north of the Dark Portal for Horde, south for Alliance) where NPC reinforcements are coming from. There are portals here to Stormwind City and Orgrimmar.

Other
There is a portal to the Caverns of Time in Tanaris in the World's End Tavern in the Lower City. Talk to Zephyr in the tavern. Note that you must be revered with the Keepers of Time to use this portal. See the Violet Citadel portal section above for more information before you use this portal to leave Shattrath.

See also the Summons subsection above.

Getting around the Old World
See the Cataclysm travel guide for a new post- look at world travel. This new guide contains plenty of practical and useful information, with maps and tables of all the mass transit routes now available.

Shorter cycle times for ships and zeppelins, many new flight paths in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, free flight in Azeroth, and new portal hubs in the capital cities of Stormwind and Orgrimmar all help make travel around the Old World easier than before.

The Cataclysm travel guide will help you make best use of all the new and improved travel facilities.