- Author: Luxrah
- Date: March 29, 2023
- Updated: August 5, 2024
- Expansion: World of Warcraft
Just about any Wrath of the Lich King content you want to do will require heading to Northrend first. Getting to the northern-most continent of Azeroth is mostly a matter of taking the right boat, zeppelin or portal, but you may also want to start the questline before you do. We’ll start this guide with the introductory quests. If you just want to get to Northrend to do other things, you can skip to the last section, “Portals and Transports to Northrend.”
Starting the Wrath of the Lich King Story
The first step in getting to Northrend is to start the Wrath of the Lich King storyline. If you haven’t reached level 50 on any character yet, you may need to complete the Dragonflight introduction before these options become available. We have a separate guide for that here. Once you have completed the introduction, you should be able to start the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Your character must be at least level 10 to start these quests.
This introductory quest chain will take you through a quest or two in your capital city before sending you off to the continent.
You have three options to start the Wrath of the Lich King introductory quests:
Option 1: Chromie Time
Find Chromie near the Stormwind Embassy. Speak with her to select a timeline. Select “Fall of the Lich King” to start the quest Wrath of the Lich King: To Northrend! You must be below level 60 to access Chromie Time.
This quest will direct you to the boat to Borean Tundra at the Stormwind docks. Once you arrive at Valiance Keep, you can pick up any quests in the area to proceed.
Option 2: Hero’s Call Board
Head to the Hero’s Call Board in the center of the Trade District in Stormwind. Clicking on the board, you may see an option for “Borean Tundra” or “Howling Fjord.” If you don’t see these options, you can select other options until one of them appears, and then abandon the others.
Selecting “Borean Tundra” will give you the quest Hero’s Call: Borean Tundra!, which will direct you to the boat to Borean Tundra at the Stormwind docks. Selecting “Howling Fjord” will give you the quest Hero’s Call: Howling Fjord!, which will send you to Menethil Harbor in Wetlands to board a boat to Howling Fjord. Borean Tundra is easier to get to from Stormwind, but both zones work as jumping off points for Northrend.
Option 3: Hop on a Boat
You can also opt to head straight to Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord and just start the quests there! There is a boat to Borean Tundra in Stormwind Harbor. The boat to Howling Fjord is a bit of a trek, at Menethil Harbor in Wetlands. If you have trouble finding either boat, there is more information in the last section of this guide, “Portals and Transports to Northrend.”
You have three options to start the Wrath of the Lich King introductory quests:
Option 1: Chromie Time
Find Chromie near the Orgrimmar Embassy. Speak with her to select a timeline. Select “Fall of the Lich King” to start the quest Wrath of the Lich King: To Northrend! You must be below level 60 to access Chromie Time.
This quest will direct you to the zeppelin to Borean Tundra in the center of Orgrimmar. Once you arrive at Valiance Keep, you can pick up any quests in the area to proceed.
Option 2: Warchief’s Command Board
Head to the Warchief’s Command Board next to Grommash Hold in Orgrimmar. Clicking on the board, you may see an option for “Borean Tundra” or “Howling Fjord.” If you don’t see these options, you can select other options until one of them appears, and then abandon the others.
Selecting “Borean Tundra” will give you the quest Warchief’s Command: Borean Tundra!, which will direct you to the zeppelin to Borean Tundra in the center of Orgrimmar. Selecting “Howling Fjord” will give you the quest Warchief’s Command: Howling Fjord!, which will send you to the zeppelin tower outside of Undercity. Borean Tundra is a little easier to get to from Orgrimmar, but both zones work as jumping off points for Northrend.
Option 3: Hop on a Zeppelin
You can also opt to head straight to Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord and just start the quests there! There is a zeppelin to Borean Tundra in the center of Orgrimmar. The portal to Howling Fjord is atop one of the zeppelin towers outside old Undercity. If you have trouble finding either zeppelin, there is more information in the last section of this guide, “Portals and Transports to Northrend.”
How to Get to Dalaran
Dalaran is the capital city of Northrend. Getting to Dalaran for the first time used to be a bit of a journey, but now you can simply hop on a flight path from your starting base in Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord. These points are connected to Dalaran by default.
You can also take a portal to Dalaran from Stormwind or Orgimmar, or ask a mage to port you to the city.
Inside Dalaran you’ll find a return portal to your capital city (Stormwind or Orgrimmar) to make getting back and forth easy.
Note that there is another version of Dalaran in the Broken Isles. Make sure you’re going to the right one. The Dalaran you want is in Crystalsong Forest in Northrend.
Portals and Transports to Northrend
There are a number of ways to get back and forth to Northrend.
Mages can create a portal for their party members with Portal: Dalaran – Northrend.
For personal use, they also have Teleport: Dalaran – Northrend.
There is a portal to Dalaran, Crystalsong Forest in the Stormwind Portal Room.
There is a portal to Dalaran, Crystalsong Forest in the Orgrimmar Portal Room.
A boat named The Kraken docks at the northernmost dock of Stormwind Harbor. It leads to Valiance Keep in Borean Tundra.
A boat named The Northspear docks at the northern dock of Menethil Harbor in the Wetlands zone. It leads to Daggercap Bay in Howling Fjord.
A zeppelin named The Mighty Wind docks at the western zeppelin tower in Orgrimmar. It leads to Warsong Hold in Borean Tundra.
There is a portal atop the western zeppelin tower outside Undercity. It leads to Vengeance Landing in Howling Fjord.
You can get to Undercity from Orgrimmar via a portal atop the eastern zeppelin tower. Depending on your current timeline, this portal will either put you in the Mage Quarter of Undercity, or just outside of the Undercity ruins.
If you’re inside Undercity, you’ll need to leave the city through the front and head straight north into Tirisfal Glades. The zeppelin tower with the portal to Howling Fjord is the one on the left.
If you’re outside the ruins, you’ll need to speak with Zidormi, who should be right next to you. She’ll allow you to change your timeline so you can access the portal. You’ll find the zeppelin towers to the northwest, in between Undercity and Brill.
Note that there is no return portal from this location.
There are four rings which can be purchased from Harold Winston, a Jewelry Vendor in Dalaran, for 8500 gold a piece. They each have an on use teleport to Dalaran on a 30 minute cooldown.
Jaina’s Locket can teleport you to Dalaran once every four hours. It is one of the additional rewards from The Lich King’s Last Stand, the final quest in the Shadowmourne questline.
The Argent Crusader’s Tabard can teleport you to the Argent Tournament Grounds in Icecrown once every 30 minutes. It can be purchased from Dame Evniki Kapsalis at the Argent Tornament Grounds for 50 Champion’s Seals.
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