Features / The Wilderness
The Wilderness
Protected, Contested and Wilderness zones; free-for-all PvP that drops part of your bags; rare mobs with bonus loot.
The world is split into three kinds of territory. Your zone text tells you which one you are in, coloured green, yellow or red, and a warning comes up when you cross into the Wilderness.
Protected
The home zones of both factions. Nobody can attack another player here.
Contested
Open PvP. Inns are safe. Dying here costs nothing extra.
Wilderness
Anyone can attack anyone but their own guild, inns too. Dying drops part of what you carry.
Every zone by territory
Protected 166
Aerie Peak, Aeris Landing, Agmar's Hammer, Allerian Stronghold, Altar of Sha'tar, Amber Ledge, Amberpine Lodge, Apothecary Camp, Area 52, Argent Tournament Grounds, Argent Vanguard, Astranaar, Azuremyst Isle, Blackwind Landing, Bloodmyst Isle, Bloodvenom Post , Booty Bay, Bor'gorok Outpost, Bouldercrag's Refuge, Brackenwall Village, Brunnhildar Village, Caer Darrow, Camp Mojache, Camp Oneqwah, Camp Tunka'lo, Camp Winterhoof, Cenarion Hold, Cenarion Refuge, Chillwind Camp, Conquest Hold, Cosmowrench, Crusaders' Pinnacle, Dalaran, Darkshire, Darkshore, Darnassus, Deeprun Tram, Dragonmaw Base Camp, Dubra'Jin, Dun Morogh, Dun Niffelem, Durotar, Ebon Watch, Elwynn Forest, Emerald Sanctuary, Evergrove, Everlook, Eversong Woods, Expedition Point, Explorers' League Outpost, Falcon Watch, Feathermoon Stronghold, Fizzcrank Airstrip, Flame Crest, Forest Song, Fort Wildervar, Freewind Post, Frosthold, GM Island, Gadgetzan, Garadar, Ghost Walker Post, Ghostlands, Go'Shek Farm, Grom'arsh Crash-Site, Grom'gol Base Camp, Hall of Legends, Hammerfall, Honor Hold, Ironforge, K3, Kamagua, Kargath, Lakeshire, Light's Breach, Light's Hope Chapel, Loch Modan, Malaka'jin, Marshal's Refuge, Menethil Harbor, Mightstone Quarry, Mirage Raceway, Moa'ki Harbor, Mok'Nathal Village, Moonglade, Morgan's Vigil, Mudsprocket, Mulgore, Nesingwary Base Camp, Nesingwary Safari, Nesingwary's Expedition, Nethergarde Keep, New Agamand, Nijel's Point, Nozzlerust Post, Ogri'la, Orebor Harborage, Orgrimmar, Plaguelands: The Scarlet Enclave, Ratchet, Reaver's Fall, Rebel Camp, Refuge Pointe, Refugee Caravan, Revantusk Village, Sanctum of the Stars, Sha'tari Base Camp, Shadowmoon Village, Shadowprey Village, Shattered Sun Staging Area, Shattrath City, Silvermoon City, Silverpine Forest, Silverwind Refuge, Silverwing Grove, Southshore, Spinebreaker Post, Splintertree Post, Sporeggar, Stars' Rest, Stonard, Stonebreaker Hold, Stormwind City, Sun Rock Retreat, Swamprat Post, Sylvanaar, Talrendis Point, Tarren Mill, Taunka'le Village, Telaar, Teldrassil, Telredor, Temple of Telhamat, The Argent Stand, The Argent Vanguard, The Barrens, The Exodar, The Shadow Vault, The Stormspire, Theramore Isle, Thorium Point, Thrallmar, Thunder Bluff, Thunderlord Stronghold, Tirisfal Glades, Toshley's Station, Town Square, Transitus Shield, Tuluman's Landing, Undercity, Valgarde, Valiance Keep, Vengeance Landing, Venomspite, Warsong Hold, Westfall, Westfall Brigade Encampment, Westguard Keep, Wildhammer Stronghold, Winterfin Retreat, Wintergarde Keep, Wyrmrest Temple, Yojamba Isle, Zabra'jin, Zim'Torga, Zoram'gar Outpost
Contested 79
Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Ashenvale, Auchindoun, Azjol-Nerub, Azshara, Badlands, Battle Ring, Blackrock Mountain, Blackrock Mountain, Blade's Edge Mountains, Blasted Lands, Borean Tundra, Caverns of Time, City, Crystalsong Forest, Deadwind Pass, Desolace, Dragonblight, Dun Algaz, Duskwood, Dustwallow Marsh, Felwood, Feralas, Force Interior, Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, Gillijim's Isle, Grizzly Hills, Gurubashi Arena, Hellfire Peninsula, Hillsbrad Foothills, Howling Fjord, Hrothgar's Landing, Hyjal, Icecrown, Island of Doctor Lapidis, Isle of Quel'Danas, Kul Tiras, Lordamere Lake, Nagrand, Netherstorm, Nine, Onyxia's Lair, Quel'thalas, Redridge Mountains, Searing Gorge, Shadowmoon Valley, Sholazar Basin, Silithus, Southfury River, Stonetalon Mountains, Stranglethorn Vale, Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, Terokkar Forest, Thandol Span, The Bone Wastes, The Forbidding Sea, The Frozen Sea, The Great Sea, The Great Sea, The Hinterlands, The North Sea, The North Sea, The North Sea, The Storm Peaks, The Veiled Sea, The Veiled Sea, Thoradin's Wall, Thousand Needles, Twisting Nether, Un'Goro Crater, Vordrassil's Tears, Western Plaguelands, Wetlands, Wintergrasp, Winterspring, Zangarmarsh, Zul'Drak
Wilderness 4
Burning Steppes, Darkwhisper Gorge, Eastern Plaguelands, Frostwhisper Gorge
Areas without a row of their own count as Contested.
Dying in the Wilderness
- From level 20, any death (to a player, a creature, a fall) leaves a chest by your body.
- It holds 6 to 8 items or whole stacks from your backpack and bags, and 2 random pieces of what you wear, soulbound gear included. Shirt and tabard never drop.
- The whole realm hears about it: "Xecc was slain by Zed, and dropped [Helm] & [Boots]." The announcement names the worn pieces that dropped, and any epic or legendary item out of your bags.
- From your bags only what is worth taking: materials, equipment, consumables, recipes, gems, empty bags, store items. Grey vendor trash, quest items, keys and your hearthstone stay with you.
- Going in naked does not help: in the Wilderness every empty equipment slot slows you by 5% (Underdressed), and a grey or white piece counts as empty: wear green or better. Shirt and tabard do not count, nor does the off hand while you hold a two-handed weapon.
- Anyone can open it. It stays 15 minutes, and what nobody took is gone.
Gold for kills
- A player kill in the Wilderness pays 10 plus 5 per level of the victim, and 25% of that in Contested zones.
- Each kill without dying adds 10% to the next, up to 10 kills. Ending someone's streak pays a bounty.
- Killing the same person, or anyone on their account, again within 15 minutes pays nothing, and no more than 200 an hour can be earned.
- Creatures in the Wilderness drop 50% more gold.
Rare creatures and bonus loot
Every rare and rare elite in the open world drops 2 dungeon-quality blue items on top of its own loot, with a 8% chance of an epic, all within 4 levels of the creature. The bonus comes once every 30 minutes per spawn point. Rares are tougher for it: three times their usual health, rare elites twice.
Any creature in the Wilderness can drop a dungeon blue (0.1%) or epic (0.05%), 3 times as often from elites. In these zones the pool is the loot of the end-game dungeons, whatever the creature's level:
| Blasted Lands | Sunken Temple, Blackrock Spire, Blackrock Depths, Scholomance, Stratholme, Dire Maul, Molten Core |
| Burning Steppes | Sunken Temple, Blackrock Spire, Blackrock Depths, Scholomance, Stratholme, Dire Maul, Molten Core |
| Eastern Plaguelands | Sunken Temple, Blackrock Spire, Blackrock Depths, Scholomance, Stratholme, Dire Maul, Molten Core |
| Frostwhisper Gorge | Sunken Temple, Blackrock Spire, Blackrock Depths, Scholomance, Stratholme, Dire Maul, Molten Core |
| Darkwhisper Gorge | Sunken Temple, Blackrock Spire, Blackrock Depths, Scholomance, Stratholme, Dire Maul, Molten Core |
| Darkwhisper Bridge (Winterspring) | Sunken Temple, Blackrock Spire, Blackrock Depths, Scholomance, Stratholme, Dire Maul, Molten Core |
Raid loot in the pool: Molten Core.
Read from the live server. Numbers on this page change when the realm's settings or data do.