Being on an all new main character and with it being my first Horde, I wanted to be sure I tried a few new things in-game that I’d been wanting and meaning to do but have still never done. One of the things that has long been on my to do list has been to go and visit the “secret” hidden village of the Shatterspear trolls. Many of you wrote to me after my Easter Egg article to share your exploration stories, and many of you wanted to hear more about Shatterspear Village. No time like the present to indulge in a little adventurous vacation, I always say!

Shatterspear Village is tucked away in a seemingly unreachable valley nestled between Moonglade and Darkshore. Also commonly know as the “dancing troll village” by other explorers, it is usually only seen by the masses when they are in flight traveling between zones. Very few take the time (or have the patience) to survive and successfully reach the secluded village, but those that do are rewarded by the rare and tranquil experience of being somewhere in Azeroth that not everyone else has ever been to or seen up close and in person. If Azeroth had a day spa, it would be located in Shatterspear Village. It’s quiet and the air is clean and fresh, and the quaint little troll huts are surrounded by high mountains with a beautiful waterfall that flows down from the highest peaks to the village’s own private lake. Take the day and swim or fish, relax by the lake, or go and cut loose and dance the night away with the members of the carefree Shatterspear tribe… who dance to the rhythmic beat of three nearby troll drummers. Hanging out with the Shatterspear trolls is a truly unique and refreshing experience. And the fishing’s good, too.

So what is the story behind these reclusive jungle trolls? Well, I spent the afternoon with them, speaking in Common tongue with the tribe members to hear their story. The Shatterspear tribe originally settled in Stranglethorn Vale with other troll tribes that seceded from the Gurubashi Empire. Trolls will be trolls, and there was a constant power struggle over the ownership and expansion of claimed land between the various territorial and bloodthirsty tribes in the jungle. Wishing for peace instead, the small tribe of the Shatterspear sought out a less hostile environment in which to live and carry out their daily activities. They found the perfect location here in northeastern Darkshore, on the opposite continent from their warring brethren. Within the protection of their seemingly self-sufficient mountain home cut off from the outside world, the Shatterspear trolls enjoy dancing to pass the time instead of bloodshed. Because so few know where the Shatterspear have relocated to and due to how dangerous of an endeavor it is to attempt to reach the valley they call home, the Shatterspear trolls live in serene peace. Even their leadership seems serene: from my observations, there appear to be four members of the tribe that are in some kind of leadership role, however, all four work together to run and maintain the village and it isn’t clear who the one main leader is, if there is just one. After speaking with the tribe and not getting much of a definition of “leader” (they all seem very relaxed and worry-free when it comes to the hierarchy of leadership), I can only speculate that Krah’ranik is the tribe leader with Jory Zaga and Voriya as his higher council members or partners in command. This makes some sense as traditionally, troll tribes are lead by their high priest or hunter, and with the exception of Jory, who looks to be the tribe’s high priestess, the others in command don hunting gear. Una Ji’ro also appears to have some kind of power in their laid back system, but what her role is for sure is unknown; vague at best is that she may be an apprentice hunter to Krah’ranik and Voriya from what I could tell. It is truly remarkable to see such a positive balance of leadership that works, though.

The role of religion is also uncertain, though the Shatterspear do hold three large tablets sacred in a small cave high above their festivities within the village. The setup of the cave and its sacred tablets within gave me the impression of something of a higher power that the Shatterspear worship and believe in, or is perhaps a “constitution” of sorts that the village’s foundation is built upon. Whatever the tablets say, it is clear that the Shatterspear look to them and that the tablets’ contents hold at least part of the key to the tribe’s peacefulness. Remind me to bring someone who can translate Zandali next time, ok?

My next question as I wandered about town was what kinds of things do the Shatterspear eat? Fish. LOTS of fish. The Shatterspear troll diet is composed mostly of fish, but let me tell you… they know more ways to cook Longjaw Mud Snapper and Brilliant Smallfish than anyone else I’ve ever met on Azeroth or in Outland… and it’s delicious! Darkshore Grouper kebabs are my new favourite exotic delicacy! Fish makes sense, though: there’s little else able to be cultivated from their sheltered land and very little to no trade or travels outside of the village due to the harsh environment. Not only are the surrounding mountains difficult and sometimes deadly to scale, but the valley that Shatterspear Village is concealed in is surrounded by night elf establishments. It’s a good thing their valley is fairly well hidden from prying night elf eyes and difficult to get to, amirite? And while lots of jungle trolls are cannibalistic in nature, and even though there’s not a wide variety of food to be found within the village other than fish, surprisingly the Shatterspear are not cannibals. Instead they seem content with finding new and diverse ways to cook their catch of the day. I spent some time fishing on the lake, lazily lounging in one of their fishing boats, and hope to try and recreate some of the magnificent dishes I encountered while within the Shatterspear’s hospitality.

And what good would a vacation experience be without plenty of pictures and video to record the events that took place? I took my camcorder along to film all of the fun I experienced while I was there and went through several rolls of film, all for your enjoyment. My photos are located in my gallery under World of Warcraft-> Shatterspear Village, and my video footage of my vacation in the village is located here. And what kind of easter egg article would this be if I didn’t share the route I took in order to reach the village? Like in my previous easter egg article, I want to help you explore these places, too. I originally visited the Shatterspear at level 55 with a normal mount and took my initial video then. Two days later I went back to visit again and film the footage of how I got there, but by then I was a level 60 with an epic mount. Note that it can be done with either mount type, but it was insanely easier with an epic ground mount. Watch my film for how to get to Shatterspear along with the accompanying notes below. I hope you find it useful! The notes below go with the video and give some specifics on being successful and things you’ll need to prepare for your trip. Between my videos and photos there should be enough media to satisfy even the most curious of adventurers who may or may not check out Shatterspear Village for themselves. But maybe you’ll be inspired to go on a Shatterspear adventure of your own now that you have all of the right tools!

Things to Pack for your Shatterspear Village Trip
1. You will need a mount. A normal mount will do, but an epic mount is best. It took a couple tries to get it right on my normal mount the first time I went, mostly because I didn’t have enough power behind my jumps to always be successful in clearing the few holes in the terrain that required me to hearth out if I got caught in them. There are two major holes along the way that I will point out to be on the lookout for. This is where the epic mount is super handy; I had no problems clearing those pitfalls with lots of extra breathing room with my epic. Something to keep in mind.
2. You must have some way to cushion your fall. This can come in the form of Slow Fall if you’re a Mage or Levitate as a Priest, for example. You can also use Noggenfogger Elixir or a Parachute Cloak, or anything along those lines that will allow you to float down a huge mountain and not die upon impact.
3. You need to be able to safely travel to the Furbolg tunnel between Felwood and Winterspring. You’ll want to be on the Winterspring side of the tunnel, as that’s where you begin your journey.
4. Pajamas, plenty of party outfits, some marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars, a fishing pole, and a pillow. Or not. Though a fishing pole is a great idea; I’ve found this to be my favourite quiet place to level fishing since it doesn’t matter where you fish in order to level. (More on this in my Fishing article.)

The basic idea of how you get to Shatterspear in plain words to accompany the video is to go to the Winterspring side of the Furbolg tunnel between Felwood and Winterspring. When you’re facing the bear head mouth of the tunnel, look to your right and you’ll see a slope that goes up and around behind the tunnel. I point this out in the video. You’ll go up the slope and behind the mouth of the tunnel, and then follow the mountain range until you get to the point where you’re ready to jump down to the village below. This is where the wording gets tricky and why a video is necessary, because there’s no way to really explain in words which peaks to scale and where to jump. Along the way to the edge of the mountain range you’ll want to watch for the two major holes in the terrain that I point out in the video so you don’t get stuck and have to hearth out. Once you get to the edge, you’ll use whatever method you packed in order to safely jump down into the village …and voila!

Good luck and happy exploring!

Quick Reference Links
Video of How to Get to Shatterspear Village HERE.
Video of My Vacation in Shatterspear Village HERE.
Photos of My Vacation in Shatterspear Village HERE under World of Warcraft-> Shatterspear Village.

Articles may not be republished elsewhere in whole or in part without permission. Feel free to link directly to this post. ©2005-2008 by Lesley Karpiuk (Toque of pinktoque.com)

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 6:05 pm and is filed under articles, world of warcraft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.