Azeroth

This article is about Azeroth, the planet. For the titan worldsoul slumbering at the core of the world, see Azeroth (titan). For other uses, see Azeroth (disambiguation).

Azeroth
Azeroth in the Shadows of Argus cinematic.
Type	World
Capital(s)	Various
Races	Various
Ruler(s)	Alliance Horde Aspects Keepers Wild Gods
Former ruler(s)	Old Gods † Lich King † Elemental Lords
Location	Great Dark Beyond
Status	Active

“This is Azeroth. A dangerous, beautiful, magical, and inspiring world. A world filled with discovery, innovation, and wonder. A world worth fighting for. A world worth protecting.”

— Ultimate Visual Guide, pg. 11

Azeroth (/ˈæz.əˌɹɒθ/ AZ-ə-roth) is the name of the world in which the majority of the Warcraft series is set. At its core dwells a slumbering worldsoul, the nascent spirit of a titan. Floating within the infinite reaches of the Great Dark Beyond, Azeroth once fell to the corruption of the Old Gods and their Black Empire, until the Pantheon of Order defeated them and began the Ordering of the planet. It has since been populated by a multitude of different races and creatures, some native to the planet, others from different worlds; all carving out territories for themselves. However, Azeroth also became the target of enemies from beyond, including the chaotic armies of the Burning Legion and the voracious forces of the Void. Those responsible for the world's safety are not a united group; Azeroth's history is filled with wars and conflicts, and in modern times, the Alliance and the Horde are the major political factions of the mortal races. Each represents the unification of various racial, cultural, and philosophical civilizations. Despite their incessant conflicts and bloodshed, both factions treasured Azeroth, believing it should be cared for and protected, and in times of grave danger, they are willing to work together in the face of a common foe.

Although unnamed and numerous, it is thanks to the brave adventurers that Azeroth, and the universe itself, have been saved on numerous occasions. There are also many organizations dedicated to the protection of the world, which maintain an independent position during global conflicts, such as the Cenarion Circle, Earthen Ring, Kirin Tor, Argent Crusade, and Kingdom of dragons among many others.

Geography

View of Azeroth from Argus.

The world of Azeroth is comprised of four major continents, with a number of islands scattered about them. The Great Sea is located between the four landmasses, and at the center of it is the Maelstrom — a massive, chaotic whirlpool and all that remains of the ancient Well of Eternity. To the east lies the Eastern Kingdoms, which is made up of three major regions. Azeroth to the south, Khaz Modan in the middle, and Lordaeron to the north, these last two separated by a channel and connected by the dwarven bridge of Thandol Span. To the west, across the ocean, is Kalimdor, which is also divided into three regions. North of the sea lies the frozen continent of Northrend, and to the south the newly discovered landmass of Pandaria, which had been isolated and shrouded by dense mists during the last 10,000 years. The islands of Zandalar, Kul Tiras, the Broken Isles, as well as the Dragon Isles and Khaz Algar, have been of major importance in recent events.

Before the War of the Ancients, all these continents and islands were one single landmass known as ancient Kalimdor, the name which would live on in the modern western continent. At the end of the war, with the implosion of the Well causing the Great Sundering, the landmass shattered into four continents while the sunken land in between became the Great Sea. The Forbidding Sea is the expanse of water to the east of the Eastern Kingdoms, and the Veiled Sea sits west of Kalimdor. South of Pandaria lies the South Seas.

Highmountain on the Broken Isles and Mount Neverest in Kun-Lai Summit are two of the tallest mountains on the planet.

Characteristics

The White Lady and Blue Child moons.

The planet has one sun and two moons, the White Lady and the Blue Child, which come into perfect alignment, approximately, once every four hundred and thirty years in an event called the Embrace.

All life on Azeroth depends on time to flow ever forward. Without the surety that the sun will rise and set each day, the seasons would not pass, the cycle of life would become meaningless, and all living creatures would eventually die from being unable to sustain themselves. It is the most sacred mission of the bronze dragonflight to keep that from happening. According to Soridormi, since there are trillions of trillions of trillions of timeways, all existing in parallel to the main timeline, the bronze dragons cannot maintain all these alternate realities. Instead, they keep Azeroth's timeway tidy and unbent, and the best they can do is straighten the timeways when they coil too closely into the main timeline.

The Azerothian elementals are extremely violent and chaotic, because as the worldsoul developed, it consumed much of the Spirit energy of the planet, which nourishes the elements.

The ley lines are channels of immense power that course through the planet, like blood vessels, but here carrying arcane magic. Within Azeroth, they are intersected by a series of "anchors" to form a complex arrangement in which the whole planet is draped, with all lines leading to a location under Karazhan. When Malygos temporarily diverted the leylines to the Nexus, the world's crust splintered, and the resulting unstable rifts tore the very fabric of the magical dimension of the Twisting Nether.

The Veil is a plane acting as the border between the Shadowlands and the Great Dark Beyond. On Azeroth and countless worlds, it can be seen as a shadowy version of the physical plane, where souls of the departed linger until they are gathered by a kyrian to be brought to the realm of Death. Icecrown Citadel serves as an anchor to the Shadowlands, while the Day of the Dead is when the realm of death draws closer to Azeroth.

The Emerald Dream represents how Azeroth would have been if intelligent beings had not altered its surface, or what the world might some day be again. It has multiple layers, described by Cenarius as different testing versions of Azeroth, which were all created because the titans invested a great deal of work in perfecting their design, and so, the finished design of the planet was the product of many previous flawed or unfinished models.

The Tomb of Sargeras on the Broken Isles is the place where the veil between Azeroth and the Twisting Nether, the astral plane between worlds, is the weakest.

History

Main article: Timeline

Ordering of Azeroth

Azeroth dominated by the Black Empire.

Once upon a time... as the Pantheon of Order traveled the cosmos, ordering worlds and searching for additional titans, a miraculous new world, which would later become known as Azeroth, was taking form in a distant corner of the Great Dark Beyond. Forged by primordial infernos, the world hosted a nascent titan who stirred to life within its core. As this worldsoul developed, she drew in and consumed much of the fifth element, Spirit, causing Azeroth's native elementals to grow increasingly erratic and chaotic. The four Elemental Lords — the ruthlessly cunning Al'Akir the Windlord, the brutish Ragnaros the Firelord, the protective Therazane the Stonemother, and the wise Neptulon the Tidehunter — reveled in strife, constantly clashing with each other and keeping the world in constant flux during the elemental wars. One day, however, the Old Gods arrived, plummeting down from the Great Dark and embedding themselves in the world's surface. With the aid of their servants, the aqir and the n'raqi, the eldritch horrors established the Black Empire, and though the Elemental Lords attempted to extinguish what they saw as a threat to their dominion, the elementals were eventually enslaved.

When the titan Aggramar discovered the world of Azeroth, the Pantheon of Order decided to save its worldsoul from the Black Empire. Unable to act without damaging both, the titan Khaz'goroth shaped mighty titan-forged servants of stone and metal to meet the n'raqi and aqiri forces. The destruction of the Old God Y'Shaarj, who was pulled from the surface of the planet by Aman'Thul, caused the nascent titan to bleed out. Her bleeding would be halted with magical wards by the Keepers, with the immense tumultuous lake of arcane energies left behind becoming known as the Well of Eternity.

Ancient Kalimdor after the ordering of Azeroth.

During the Ordering of Azeroth, as the Keepers began to reshape the world, the titan-forged played different roles in ordering and protecting Azeroth. The earthen specialized in crafting mountains and carving out the deep places of the world, the stone-skinned mogu digged out the myriad rivers and waterways of Azeroth, while the stone and sea giants shaped the environment, lifting towering mountain ranges and dredging out the fathomless seas. In time, all of them stabilized Azeroth's main landmass, and as twilight fell on the world they had shaped, they named the primary continent Kalimdor.

According to one ancient myth, Azeroth's first World Tree was Elun'Ahir, planted by Eonar in order to spread Life's influence. Like the later World Trees, Elun'Ahir originated from a branch of the Mother Tree G'Hanir, gifted to Eonar by the goddess Elune. Elun'Ahir was short-lived, as Aman'Thul tore it from the earth shortly after its planting. However, if the tale is to be believed, its roots still endure in an unknown location under the protection of mysterious guardians.

Among the Keepers, Freya created the Emerald Dream to serve as the underlying blueprint for the planet; some believe that she wove the Emerald Dream into being from nothing, others claim that this strange place had always existed in some form, a dream born from Azeroth's slumbering worldsoul, which Freya tapped into and molded what would become known as the Dream as a way to commune with the nascent titan. Within the Dream, she planted G'Hanir, the Mother Tree, a single massive tree set atop a high peak, which served as a source of healing and balance that extended beyond the Dream and into the physical world, acting as a guide for Azeroth's natural life. Freya then wandered the world, searching for areas where the Well of Eternity's energies had coalesced. These regions created optimal conditions for the development of new flora and fauna. She molded life of astounding diversity, seeding it around the world. The sites where Freya had done her work were located at the polar extremes of the world. They included regions that would later become known as Un'Goro Crater, Sholazar Basin, and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.

A small number of exceptional, wild animals emerged from her enclaves and grew far beyond expectations, showing remarkable power. They became known as the Wild Gods. Seeing them as her children, Freya linked them to the Emerald Dream and wandered primordial Kalimdor with them at her side. The area they spent the most time at was Mount Hyjal, her most cherished grove.

More than twenty thousand years ago, Keeper Tyr and five powerful and intelligent proto-dragons defeated the massive, corrupted, bloodthirsty proto-dragon known as Galakrond. The Keepers eventually empowered them as defenders of Azeroth, since they proved they were able to stand for the planet. Each of the titans blessed the proto-dragons with a portion of their vast power, channeled through the keepers, uplifting them into the Dragon Aspects along with their dragonflights. Among them, Aman'Thul the Highfather charged Nozdormu with guarding over time itself and police the ever-spinning pathways of fate and destiny. Eonar the Life-Binder blessed both Alexstrasza and her younger sister, Ysera, so they would safeguard all living creatures and watch over the growing wilds of the world, respectively. Norgannon the Dreamweaver made Malygos the guardian of magic and hidden arcanum. Finally, Khaz'goroth the Shaper gave Neltharion dominion over the earth and the deep places of the world.

The Great Sundering

Main article: War of the Ancients

Azeroth after the Great Sundering.

Ten thousand years ago, the reckless use of the Well of Eternity's magic by the Highborne caused ripples into the Twisting Nether, which attracted the attention of the Burning Legion. The fallen titan promised to grant Queen Azshara unfathomable power, thereby allowing them to remake Kalimdor into a paradise, but only if they were summoned on the planet. Enthralled by Sargeras's might, the Highborne agreed to open a great, swirling portal within the depths of the Well of Eternity, and soon, waves of demonic forces began to fight the Azerothians in the War of the Ancients.

The Kaldorei Resistance eventually discovered that the well of power had become a colossal portal gateway for Sargeras himself to enter Azeroth, and that victory could only be achieved by destroying it. With the Dragon Soul in their possession, Malfurion Stormrage drew on the potent energies of the artifact and interrupted the ritual, destroying the gate and hurling Sargeras and most demons back into the Twisting Nether. The mortal forces had won, but they had no time to savor victory as the world itself was coming apart beneath their feet. En masse, they scrambled to put distance between themselves and Zin-Azshari. When the apocalyptic earthquakes finally ceased, the survivors saw that their world had been torn asunder, with nearly eighty percent of the old continent's landmass under the seas.

Due to the Great Sundering, much of the Dragon Isles' magic was drained away, forcing the dragonflights to leave their homeland in the care of their servants left behind. Dragon Queen Alexstrasza also tasked the watchers to use the Beacon of Tyrhold to hide the isles away from the world, until a time came when elemental energy resurfaced and they could return to reestablish their kingdom.

Wishing to save his people, Emperor Shaohao conquered his own vices by burying the six prime sha of doubt, despair, violence, anger, hatred, and fear within the land of Pandaria. With the help of the August Celestials, he became one with the continent, isolating it from the rest of the world to make the pandaren safe.

The Age of Chaos

The orcs invading Azeroth through the Dark Portal.

After their defeat, Sargeras became obsessed with seizing Azeroth at any cost, and soon plotted the Burning Legion's second invasion. Wishing for the Azerothians to be broken before his forces arrived, Sargeras focused his attention on the planet itself and sought out a powerful individual there, someone who would serve as a vessel to begin the next invasion: the Guardian of Tirisfal Medivh.

The Age of Chaos started when the possessed Medivh and the warlock Gul'dan opened the Dark Portal. Through it came the Orcish Horde, orcs from Draenor filled with the demonic blood of Mannoroth, who lusted for war and would destroy anything that prevented them from reaching their goal; to conquer Azeroth. After the First War concluded in 5 ADP, ending with the destruction of Stormwind, the Second War folled and opposed the Orcish Horde to the Alliance of Lordaeron. Following the Destruction of the Dark Portal in 6 ADP, and the victory of the Azerothians over the invaders, the mage Khadgar discovered that a lingering dimensional rift still existed between Azeroth and Draenor.

According to Garona Halforcen, some orcs went mad at the first sight of the hostile, alien world of Azeroth, and many joined the Burning Blade clan that day.

The Third War in 20 ADP opposed the mortal forces against the demonic armies. The Legion's goal was the consumption of the World Tree Nordrassil and to seize the Well of Eternity to form a powerful gateway for their dark master. The conflict ended with the defeat of Archimonde in the Battle of Mount Hyjal. In the aftermath, the redeemed spirit of Medivh quietly observed the victory celebrations from afar, satisfied that Azeroth had been saved from destruction. He was confident that the victory achieved—and the cooperation of the various mortal races—proved the world needed no more Guardians; Azeroth's people were now capable of defending themselves.

The New Age

Algalon the Observer monitoring Azeroth in Ulduar.

By the Year 25 ADP, the Old Gods spread their influence to cause chaos across Azeroth, but all across the world, adventurers rose up to face these threats.

In 26 ADP, the Legion forces led respectively by Lord Kazzak on Azeroth, and Highlord Kruul on Outland, performed a large-scale ritual to reopen the Dark Portal. Their success paved the way for the beginning of the invasion of Outland. During the Battle for Quel'Danas, the heroes of Azeroth defeated the traitorous Prince Kael'thas who revelled in Azeroth's coming destruction at the hands of Kil'jaeden. If he had succeeded, the darkness of the Legion would have spread quickly to all corners of Azeroth, extinguishing everything in its path. Within the Sunwell Plateau, the mortal champions were eventually able to successfully banish Kil'jaeden back through the portal and into the Twisting Nether; thus shutting close the Legion's gateway into Azeroth.

When Malygos recovered his sanity in 27 ADP, he discovered that, during his absence, magic had greatly increased in proficiency and was now running amok. He subsequently placed the blame squarely on the various mortal races that had since arisen on the world during his ten thousand years of seclusion. Using the Arcanomicon, the map of all of Azeroth's ley lines, he diverted their energies to the island of Coldarra in the Borean Tundra, channeling them through the floating rings of the Nexus to be blasted into the Twisting Nether. What the Aspect of magic didn't was that Azeroth held a worldsoul, a dormant titan, and that his campaign had upset the equilibrium of the world, sparking natural disasters from Northrend to the southern tips of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Unless something was done, these disasters would spiral out of control and cause irreparable harm to Azeroth's worldsoul. After Malygos was killed in the Nexus War, the Kirin Tor spent years reversing the damage done to Azeroth's ley lines, eventually restoring them to their former power.

After adventurers killed Prime Designate Loken, his death triggered the Algalon Failsafe. Once they defeated Yogg-Saron in Ulduar, the Observer arrived at the Celestial Planetarium to evaluate the presence of systemic corruption on Azeroth and survey all the damage that had occurred on the planet since the Pantheon's departure. Through this analysis, Algalon concluded that since Old God corruption had spread across the world, including strongholds like Ulduar, the only recourse was to activate the Forge of Origination and re-originate the planet. After Algalon was defeated, the constellar was moved by the mortals' resolve and re-examined his view on the "flawed" mortals, deciding that he could no longer trust his own calculations and that the mortals had earned the right to fight Azeroth's corruption themselves. He rearranged the reply code to Alpha—meaning the planet would be spared—and gave it to Brann Bronzebeard and the adventurers. They eventually brought it to Dalaran, where the Kirin Tor transmitted it into the sky from the Eventide, saving the planet from being re-originated.

Algalon himself disappeared but did not go far, instead spending the following years watching over Azeroth from a distance. With his outlook on life and the titans' plans called into question, he monitored the activities of the world's mortal races in the hopes of understanding what makes Azeroth so different from other planets he's observed. From within Ulduar, he studied the seemingly endless cycle of hatred between the Alliance and the Horde as well mortal individuals' ever-varied search for purpose and happiness, while concluding that more observation was necessary in order to determine whether or how they were unique in the cosmos.

During the War Against the Nightmare, the Emerald Nightmare was almost able to take hold of both the Emerald Dream and Azeroth, with a strange mist spreading through the lands. People could not wake up and were lost in nightmares, without any way to let them out. All hope was lost, until Xavius the Nightmare Lord was defeated by Malfurion Stormrage with the help of the Dreamform army.

Deathwing unleashing destruction on Azeroth after bursting forth from the Elemental Plane.

Meanwhile, Deathwing was recovering by absorbing the power of Deepholm; however, it destabilized the realm and threw the elementals into turmoil. Their pain and confusion spread to the surface of Azeroth, where the oceans churned in anger. Freak storms howled down from the mountains and blanketed normally temperate regions in ice. The earth heaved and groaned, triggering earthquakes across the world. These natural disasters did not stop; in fact, they grew ever more frequent and severe to the point that travel became perilous, and many merchant vessels were lost at sea.

In Year 28 ADP, at N'Zoth's word, Deathwing gathered his rage and unleashed it, breaking down the boundaries between the Elemental Plane of earth and the physical world. His return ignited a chain reaction of natural disasters across the globe, which collectively became known as the Cataclysm, with casualties numbering in the thousands. The Black Aspect then began to invade the various regions of Azeroth, raining fire upon the earth, and killing any who were unfortunate enough to find themselves in his path. In Uldum, the adventurers prevented Al'Akir and his air elementals to find the Forge of Origination, which they would have used to release incredible energies to purge the flora and fauna of the world. In Deepholm, the heroes helped the Earthen Ring to repair the damage caused to the World Pillar by Deathwing's emergence; if they had failed, the Elemental plane would have collapsed into Azeroth.

Before they could destroy Deathwing, the Dragon Aspects first sought to heal the broken world and gathered at Mount Hyjal to perform a ritual on Nordrassil. By infusing it with their power, they hoped to restore the World Tree to its former glory, hastening Azeroth's recovery. In order to prevent the Hour of Twilight, an ancient prophecy foretelling that the Old Gods would escape their ancient prisons and end all life on Azeroth, the Aspects sacrificed their powers, ensuring that the Demon Soul annihilated their corrupted brother. Azeroth was spared, but the Cataclysm had reshaped the world and claimed countless lives. While the Aspects would remain active in the affairs of the world, they could no longer serve as Azeroth's protectors, leading Dragon Queen Alexstrasza to pass that sacred duty on to new defenders, ushering the Age of Mortals.

The Age of Mortals

Sargeras impaling the planet with his sword.

In Year 30 ADP, the Iron Horde used the Vision of Time to activate the Dark Portal, successfully creating a connection between alternate Draenor and Azeroth. At the order of Garrosh Hellscream, the Ironmarch emerged into Blasted Lands and began their invasion of the planet, until they were repelled by the forces of the Alliance and Horde. At an unknown point after the war in Draenor, the connection between the alternate Draenor and Azeroth closed.

After Archimonde's defeat, alternate Gul'dan was sent to Azeroth to open the way for the Burning Legion. Guided by the voice of Kil'jaeden, the orc warlock found his way on the Broken Isles, where he broke the magical seals locking the Felstorm's power beneath the Tomb of Sargeras, opening the way for the third invasion of the Burning Legion in 32 ADP. Following the disastrous Battle for Broken Shore, the demons launched their Legion Invasions across the planet, which were eventually repelled by the mortal forces. During the Argus Campaign, as the heroes fought their way across Antorus, Azeroth could be seen being more and more covered in a fiery storm, which turned out to be the Dark Titan Sargeras, seeking to claim his prize.

Although Azeroth ultimately survived the Burning Crusade, the Dark Titan's last desperate action, before being imprisoned within the Seat of the Pantheon, was to impale his sword into Azeroth, precisely Silithus, which became the Wound in the World. Cracks began occurring all across the planet's surface, hemorrhaging its 'life-blood,' which split to the surface as a blue-gold substance. In Year 33 ADP, as the Alliance and the Horde fought in the Fourth War, Magni Bronzebeard gave an adventurer the Heart of Azeroth, a relic consuming Azerite to heal the planet itself.

Since the end of the Argus Campaign, the Vindicaar serves as the headquarters of the Army of the Light, and is currently orbiting around Azeroth. After Eitrigg and the Horde Speaker helped the Mag'har orcs escape from the Lightbound in alternate Draenor, the Mag'har Clans decided to make Azeroth their new home, however, some botani and saberon were caught in the teleportation spell and escaped in the wilds of Kalimdor.

Motivated by his hatred for all organic life, King Mechagon intended to forcibly "cure" the Curse of Flesh and mechanize all life on Azeroth, however, he was stopped by the heroes before he could use his Mechoriginator device. In a future alternate timeline, King Mechagon won and activated the Mechoriginator, but it did not work the way he planned. It instead ignited a global firestorm and killed everyone across the world without mechanical augmentations.

During the Black Empire Campaign in 34 ADP, N'Zoth began to tear down the veil separating Ny'alotha from the physical world, in order to merge the two realities into one, thereby trying to transform Azeroth into the Black Empire, which would have erased all that previously was. After the God of the Deep was destroyed, Magni Bronzebeard declared that Azeroth was made free of the grasp of the Old Gods. For the first time in millennia, Azeroth was more at peace than perhaps she had ever been before.

In Year 35 ADP, after Sylvanas Windrunner defeated the Lich King Bolvar Fordragon at the Frozen Throne, she used the Zovaal's granted powers to tear the Helm of Domination. The resulting explosion could be felt on the other side of Azeroth, so powerful it shattered the border between life and death, creating an ominous rift in the skies above Icecrown Citadel. Without its jailor, the Scourge ran rampant across the world, leading to the events of the war against the Jailer. From the Heart of Eternity, Zovaal activated the Forge of Souls beneath Icecrown Citadel to draw the life force of Azeroth into the Sepulcher of the First Ones, so that it could unmake all of existence. After the Jailer was defeated, Azeroth's life force was restored while the rifted sky over Icecrown closed once and for all. Despite the conflict, the reality of Death is still an uncertainty to most citizens of Azeroth, as they didn't come to the Shadowlands, and not everyone came back from the realm of the dead.

In Year 40 ADP, the primal elements resurged on the Dragon Isles as the worldsoul awakened, causing new life to arise. When the Primal Incarnate Fyrakk invaded the Emerald Dream, his objective was to imbue the nascent World Tree Amirdrassil with "the living flame", spreading it across all of Azeroth and remaking the world in eternal fire. Immediately after the Blazing was defeated, Azeroth herself blessed the Dragon Aspects and restored their ancestral powers. After the blooming of Amirdrassil, people across the world began to experience the Radiant Song, a phenomenon manifesting through visions sent by Azeroth as a warning and a cry for help.

The Worldsoul Saga

The Void covets the Worldsoul of Azeroth.

Since the Year 42 ADP, Xal'atath has set her armies in motion, seeking to claim the Worldsoul of Azeroth for herself. The ethereal Locus-Walker compared the visions similar to the ones his people had experienced before K'aresh was destroyed by the void lord Dimensius, and he feared that Xal'atath planned to bring about the same fate for Azeroth. During the war on K'aresh, a temporary truce was established with the Harbinger of the Void, as the return of Dimensius the All-Devouring was a threat to her, but also for Azeroth, which would be the next target of the void lord.

After she empowered the Dark Heart, Xal'atath began the invasion of the Isle of Quel'Danas with the Devouring Host, intent on claiming the Sunwell and plunging the world into darkness and fear.

Inhabitants

All native life on Azeroth can trace its roots back to one of four ancient sources: the wild elementals, the seeping void of the Old Gods, the titan Eonar and the Emerald Dream, or the titan constructs who suffered the curse of flesh.

Native

• Wild God heritage

  • Children of Cenarius
    • Centaur
    • Forest nymph
    • Frost nymph
      •  Crystal dryad
  • Jalgar
    • Furbolg
      • Primalist furbolg
  • Harpy
  •  Magnataur
  •  Quilboar
    • Quilboar brute
  •  Worgen

  Dragonkin

  • Proto-dragon
    • Dragon
      • Dragonspawn
      • Drakonid
      • Dragonman
      • Drakeadon
  • Cloud serpent
  • Dracthyr
  • Slitherdrake
  • Tarasek
  • Velocidrake
  • Wylderdrake

  Goblin and pygmies

  •  Goblin
    •  Gilgoblin
    • Hobgoblin
  • Pygmies

• Trolls and elves

  •  Zandalari troll
    •  Blood troll
    •  Dire troll
    •  Forest troll
    •  Ice troll
    •  Jungle troll
      •  Sand troll
    •  Dark troll
      •  Night elf
        •  Haranir
        •  Satyr
          •  Crystal satyr
        • Naga
        •  Nightborne
          • Fal'dorei
          • Felborne
          • Nightfallen
            • Withered
        •  High elf /  Blood elf
          •  Felblood elf
          •  San'layn
          •  Void elf
          •  Wretched
          •  Arathi

• Titan origin

  •  Iron vrykul
    •  Vrykul /  Frost vrykul
      • Valarjar /  Kvaldir
      • Drust
      •  Human
        •  Forsaken
        • K'thir
        • Witch
  •  Earthen
    • Frostborn
    •  Dwarf
      •  Dark Iron dwarf
        • Skardyn
  •  Iron dwarf
  • Stone trogg
    •  Trogg
      •  Grummle
      •  Kobold
        •  Snobold
  •  Mechagnome
    •  Gnome
      •  Mechagon mechagnome
      •  Leper gnome
  •  Tol'vir
  •  Mogu
  • Refti
  • Giants
    •  Fire giant
    •  Frost giant
    •  Iron giant
    •  Sea giant
    •  Stone giant
      •  Colossus
      • Djaradin
      •  Ice giant
      •  Mountain giant
    •  Storm giant

• Other

  • Drogbar
  •  Elemental
  • Ettin
  • Faerie dragon
  • Fungarian
  •  Gnoll
  •  Gorloc
    •  Murloc
      • Deep sea murloc
      •  Jinyu
        • Ankoan
          • Kobyss
      • Murhulk
  • Grell
  •  Haranir
  •  Hozen
    • Winged hozen
  •  Makrura
  • Niffen
  •  Pandaren
  • Ranishu
  •  Saurok
  •  Sethrak
  • Siren
  •  Tortollan
  • Tuskarr
  • Undead
  •  Virmen
  •  Vulpera
  •  Wendigo/Yeti
  •  Wildkin
  •  Wolvar
  •  Yaungol
    •  Taunka
    •  Tauren
      •  Highmountain tauren

Outsiders

• From the Void

  •  Old god
    • Aqir
      •  Qiraji
      •  Nerubian
        • Ascended
        • Hulk
        • Skitterling
        • Skyrazor
      •  Mantid
    • Merciless one
    • N'raqi
      • C'Thrax
      • K'thir

• From Draenor

  •  Arakkoa
  • Botani
  • Fungal giant
  • Goren
  • Saberon
  •  Gronn / Gronnling
    • Ogron
      •  Ogre lord
        •  Ogre /  Ogre mage
          •  Orc
            • Dire orc

• Other

  •  Draenei
    •  Broken
      •  Lost one
    •  Lightforged draenei
  •  Ethereal
  •  Demon

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

The term Azeroth is a human word and is derived from the term used for the ancient primitive-humans that lived on the world pre-sundering, the Azotha.

It is said that when the Arathi brought the scattered human tribes together as the empire of Arathor, they named the land as a whole in homage to their ancient ancestors: Azeroth. It is unclear whether they named the world or named the continent.

Notes and trivia

Azeroth easter egg as seen from the Black Temple in Outland.

• There exist several alternate versions of Azeroth, including Azmerloth, Azmourne, A.Z.E.R.O.T.H., Azewrath, Azq'roth, Warlands, and Ulderoth.
• World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 mentions that Ancient Kalimdor before the Great Sundering was the largest continent on the planet, meaning that more continents than Kalimdor existed at the time. However, World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3 described the night elven empire as being on Azeroth's "single landmass". The History of Warcraft book  [The Old Gods and the Ordering of Azeroth] originally stated that the titans shaped Azeroth's landmasses to combine them into the single continent of Kalimdor during their ordering of the planet.
• Azeroth can be seen from the Black Temple in Outland. How that is possible is unknown, as Azeroth can not be seen from anywhere else in Outland and that it is not possible to see Outland from Azeroth.
• Several things can be found in Azeroth's orbit, such as the Vindicaar, Orbital Support Shredders prepared for call-down by ground units, a gnomish  [Orbital Targeting Device], and Ulduar's orbital defense system.
• Daglop the imp is of the opinion that the only thing that makes Azeroth worth visiting is its delicious olives.
• When asked about a hypothetical destruction of Azeroth, Ion Hazzikostas stated that it would be hard to imagine a "WoW 2.0" not set in Azeroth, as this would destroy the core of Warcraft. However, major changes might still occur to the world, as with Silithus.
• Azeroth has undergone many changes throughout the Warcraft games' development in regard to what landmasses it holds, how they are shaped, where exactly they are located, and how the world itself as a whole is depicted. While the original RTS games featured several maps, it was not until the initial release of World of Warcraft that Azeroth was depicted as a planet by globes that could occasionally be found when venturing in the world. This cosmological appearance of Azeroth is also subject to variation, as it has been gradually changed and elaborated as the story expands. For example, many globes show the world with only a few islands dotting the seas of Azeroth, while in-lore there are many more, though this can lore-wise be explained by the globes' makers having limited knowledge. In some models, the western edge of Kalimdor looks to be near enough to the eastern edge of the Eastern Kingdoms to suggest that there is not enough room for a big landmass in between them, which contradicts the view of Azeroth from Argus. The globe of pre-Cataclysm Azeroth in the Halls of Lightning also seems to show Azeroth with northern and southern polar ice caps, while Chronicle makes no mention of them and they do not appear on any other map. See the Gallery below for pictures.

Inspirations

• According to the book Stay Awhile and Listen: How Two Blizzards Unleashed Diablo and Forged a Video-Game Empire, the name "Azeroth" was inspired by the 1979 novel Fires of Azeroth by author C.J. Cherryh.
  • Further inspirations could have come from the planet of Azarath of the DC Universe, a world which was also coveted by a demon lord, and/or Azathoth from the Cthulhu Mythos, an Outer God and plane that imagines reality.

Gallery

In-game maps

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  Patch 0.5.3 alpha
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  Patch 0.5.5 alpha
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  Classic intro cinematic
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  Patch 0.11 beta
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  Classic release
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  Patch 2.0.3
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  Patch 2.4.0
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  Wrath of the Lich King alpha
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  Patch 3.0.2
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  Cataclysm beta
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  Patch 4.0.3a
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  Patch 5.0.4
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  Patch 5.2.0
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  Patch 5.4.0
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  Patch 7.0.3
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  Battle for Azeroth alpha
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  Patch 8.0.1
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  Patch 10.0.0
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  Patch 10.2.5
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  Patch 11.0.2
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  Patch 12.0.1
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  On the Cosmic map in patch 2.0.3
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  On the Cosmic map in patch 6.0.2
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  On the Cosmic map in patch 9.0.1
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  On the background of the Argus map in patch 7.3.0

In-game depictions

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  Map seen on a ceiling at the Hall of Explorers in Ironforge.
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  Map of Azeroth near a teleporter in Booty Bay, near the Salty Sailor Tavern.
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  Azeroth map in the Hall of Legends in Orgrimmar.
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  Globes depicting Azeroth.
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  Simple globe.
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  Kalimdor on a projected globe in the Halls of Lightning.
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  The Eastern Kingdoms on a projected globe in the Halls of Lightning.
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  The Maelstrom on a projected globe in Halls of Lightning.
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  Azeroth's southern polar ice cap on a projected globe in the Halls of Lightning.
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  Azeroth's front and backside as seen in Halls of Lightning.
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  Texture of the projected globe
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  Azeroth globe.
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  The vision of Azeroth in the Hall of Communion in Sholazar Basin.
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  A map of ancient Kalimdor as seen in Black Rook Hold.
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  Azeroth can be seen in the Fel Hammer.
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  The Wounded World in the Chamber of Heart in the alpha and early beta of Battle for Azeroth.
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  Azeroth's backside as seen in the quest A Legendary Engagement.
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  The planet behind Wrathion, the Black Emperor.

Chronicle

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  Kalimdor during the reign of the Black Empire.
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  Kalimdor after the aqir-troll war.
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  Kalimdor at the height of the night elven empire.
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  Azeroth after the Great Sundering.
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  The lands of Azeroth before the Third War.
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  Azeroth at the time of Ahn'Qiraj's reopening.
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  Azeroth after the Cataclysm.

Other

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  Azeroth in Magni: The Speaker.
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  Early concept map.
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  Early concept map as seen in the World of Warcraft Diary.
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  Early concept map as seen in the World of Warcraft Diary.
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  Very early concept map as seen in the World of Warcraft "Behind the Scenes" DVD.
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  Concept from 2001.
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  Original map plan for World of Warcraft from 2001 shown at BlizzCon 2007.
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  Pre-release map from the official World of Warcraft website.
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  World of Warcraft World Map poster.
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  Azeroth from the WoW logo in the 2004 "Sneak Peak" video.
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  Azeroth from the WoW logo in the 2017 "Classic Announcement" video.
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  In The Comic Volume 2.
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  Azeroth art by Dan Wallace.
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  Azeroth transition era of the continents, unused art by Joseph Lacroix.

Warcraft III

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  In the Warcraft III alpha.
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  In the Warcraft III manual.
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  Warcraft III prologue chapters 3, 4 and 5.
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  Loading screen in the Warcraft III: Reforged beta.
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  Warcraft III: Reforged default loading screen.

RPG

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  Warcraft RPG map
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  Lands of Conflict Explorer's Guild classroom map.
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  World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game used the then-current WoW map.
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  Lands of Mystery depicted the South Seas region of Azeroth.

Fan art

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  Fan-made composite map by Subthermal (patch 9.0.1).
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  Azeroth in WowCraft, by Carbot Animations.
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  Regional maps and inaccessible areas composite map before Cataclysm.
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  Map of Azeroth prior to Cataclysm.
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  Fan-made composite map from existing source maps before WotLK.
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  Fan-made map by WarlockSoL
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