The changing face of Orgrimmar

The original Orgrimmar

Orgrimmar is the city that never sleeps. It’s a bustling hive of activity for the horde, and personally my favourite place to reside in. The defences are strong and the population is high. Anyone foolish enough to put this city under attack will meet his spirit healer fairly quickly. It is also the home for Warchief Garrosh Hellscream, who resides in Grommash Hold.

However Orgrimmar did not always look like this and has undergone many facelifts throughout the various expansions and patches. These are not done to make the city prettier, or easier to navigate, they are essential to follow the storyline and lore.

When World of Warcraft was first released, the residing Warchief was Thrall. He founded the city of
Orgrimmar, and named it after his friend and mentor Orgrim Doomhammer. It was built into the mountainous terrain of Durator, which gave the city natural defences natural elevations and tunnels within the city walls. The buildings had a rustic look, of wood and rough cut stone. It was divided into various sections, The Valley of Strength, The Valley of Wisdom, The Valley of Spirits, The Cleft of Shadows and The Drag. Grommash Hold was located in the Valley of Wisdom.

Original map of Orgrimmar

Although essentially an Orc Warrior city, it’s importance as a central hub for trade and commerce was attractive to other races, and soon it became a melting pot for all Horde races. The roof of the bank of Orgrimmar was the main meeting point for players to wait to group, or to just hang out. Outside the walls of Orgrimmar there was a Zeppelin tower for people to travel to the Eastern Kingdoms , and also a windrider.

Roof of bank meeting point

Original layout for The Valley of Strength

After Cataclysm

The new Orgrimmar

After Cataclysm, Thrall joins the Earthen Ring, and he is succeeded by his formerly acting Warchief,
Garrosh Hellscream. Garrosh was overlord of the Warsong offensive, and had resided in Warsong Hold in Northrend. The architecture of Northrend was influential in reshaping the new Orgrimmar. It’s walls were reinforced by blackened steel, and buildings were made bigger and more imposing. Grommash Hold was relocated to the busier Valley of Strength. The Zeppelin Towers were moved inside the city walls, as was the windrider.

Some races were given there own areas to reside in, and each area has it’s own auction house and bank. The Valley of Spirits became home to the Trolls , The Valley of Wisdom became home to the Tauren, and the recently allied Goblins have their own slum area. The Valley of Honour is a commercial area, less populated than the Valley of Strength.

A heavily defended back gate was created, which leads into Azshara.

Map of the current Orgrimmar

On a personal note, I feel that Orgrimmar is now a big war machine, and it looks like a city still under construction. I'll be curious to see it's future development.