A complete guide on traveling to Outland in retail and classic World of Warcraft
Burning Crusade added the new world of Outland. To get there, you will need to pass through the Dark Portal. But where is the Dark Portal located? How do you get to Outland if you are a retail player instead? I want to answer these questions in detail and provide some videos to help you, but to start out, I want to give you a quick overview.
You can get to Outland by using the Shattrath portal in Stormwind’s mage tower or the Orgrimmar portal room in retail. You can also talk to the mage near the portal [H] or at the tower entrance [A] to get to Hellfire Peninsula. In Classic, you need to use the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands instead.
That is just the short answer; I will walk you through how to find the portals in the rest of the article. I have even provided a couple of quick YouTube clips to show you how to find them if you are struggling.
If you are a Classic player, you should also check out my guide on how to get to Northrend in WoW Classic when you are done with this article as well.
Where is the Dark Portal in WoW?
Classic
The Dark Portal is in the southeast corner of the Blasted Lands at 58.7, 59.2 in Wrath of the Lich King Classic. Your character must be level 58 to cross through the Dark Portal. Don’t travel all the way to the Blasted Lands just to be kicked out of the portal!
Retail
In retail (Dragonflight), The Dark Portal is located in the center of the Blasted Lands in Eastern Kingdoms at coordinates 55.02, 53.96. If you talk to the NPC at the north entrance of the Blasted Lands, you can go back in time to see the Dark Portal before the invasion in Warlords of Draenor.
How to get to Outland from Stormwind
Now that you know where the Dark Portal is, let’s talk about how Alliance players can get there from Stormwind.
Classic
If you are playing Alliance, you can get to the Dark Portal by taking the flight path from Stormwind to Nethergarde Keep. From there, it is a short run south to the Dark Portal. If you don’t have the flight path, you have to go through the Swamp of Sorrows and into the Blasted Lands.
Retail
You can get to Outland in retail by taking the Shattrath portal in the mage quarter tower. Here are the quick steps to find the portal:
- Enter the Mage Quarter tower
- Make your way to the top of the spiral stairs
- Head right and take the 2nd portal on the right.
As an alternative, you can talk to the Honor Hold Mage standing at the entrance to the tower. Upon interacting with them, they will give you the option to travel to Hellfire Peninsula in Outland.
Here is a 50-second video clip showing you where the mage and the portal are located:
If you prefer to get there by passing through the Dark Portal, you can take the flight path from Stormwind to Nethergarde Keep or fly yourself to the Blasted Lands. Once there, you can talk to the NPC stationed at the northern entrance of the Blasted Lands to turn back time to the Burning Crusade era.
If you don’t do this, the Dark Portal you see is the one from the Warlords of Draenor expansion. Without getting into the lore, the Dark Portal was opened in the Burning Crusade and again in Warlords of Draenor. This is why you have to talk to the NPC to see the Burning Crusade version.
How to get to Outland from Orgrimmar
If you are playing Horde, you will want to travel to Outland through Orgrimmar.
Classic
The nearest flight path to the Dark Portal for Horde is Stonard in the Swamp of Sorrows. To get there, you will need to travel to Eastern Kingdoms by zeppelin from Durotar or by mage portal. There is a zeppelin tower directly outside the gates of Orgrimmar and to the east, which will take you to Stranglethorn Vale.
You could also take the goblin ship from Ratchet (in the Barrens) to Stranglethorn Vale.
Once you reach Eastern Kingdoms, you will need to find your way to the Blasted Lands, which are at the south-easternmost tip of the continent.
Retail
As a Horde player, the fastest way to reach Outland is by taking a portal from the Pathfinder’s Den. This portal room can be found at the southern entrance to Orgrimmar. Here are the quick steps to find the Shattrath portal:
- Head to the Orgrimmar Portal Room visible on your world map
- Make your way down the stairs and turn left at the 2 guardian mages
- Continue down the stairs to the lower portal room
- You will see several portals. Shattrath is the first on the left
If you want to travel straight to Hellfire Peninsula instead, you can talk to the Thrallmar Mage standing next to the portal. He will give you an option to report to the Dark Portal instead of going to Shattrath.
Here is a quick video showing you how to find the portal and mage:
As a side note, taking this option will teleport you to the Outland side of the Dark Portal, not the Blasted Lands. Additionally, the Dark Portal won’t take you to Blasted Lands if you try passing through it.
Where is the portal to the Blasted Lands?
Blizzard removed the portal to the Blasted Lands during the Battle for Azeroth expansion and replaced it with a portal to Shattrath City. To reach the Blasted Lands, you will have to travel by flightpath or fly yourself.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are passing through the Dark Portal for the first time or looking to revisit experiences in Outland, you can easily get there.
Traveling to Outland is quick in retail thanks to portals and teleports in Stormwind and Orgrimmar.
In Wrath of the Lich King Classic, you will have to make the run to the Dark Portal at least once and then set your hearthstone to somewhere in Outland (preferably Shattrath for easy portals back to Azeroth).
Thanks for reading!
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