Thirty-Eighth

Ok, so yesterday kade47 asked about what there was to do after hitting 70 in WoW, so I thought I'd try to shed a little light on the subject as I see it.

First off, there is no way that you'll hit 70 in WoW and have completed all the quests available to you from the various NPCs in the game, so there will definitely be somewhere else for you to go (possibly several somewheres) and find things to kill, entities to save and money to be made.
Have a look here at the map of Outland. You'll start off in Hellfire Peninsula somewhere between the levels of 58 and 60. It's a hellish place, a red rock and dust-filled desert, shattered and torn apart. You'll stay there until around level 63, maybe 64. With both Tornik and Verbatim, I spent the time to complete every quest that I could before I left, and I think Tornik was level 64 when I left, Verbatim was level 63, but I'd taken him to Hellfire at level 59 as opposed to 60 with Tornik.

After Hellfire Peninsula, you've got two choices as to where you go next; Zangarmarsh or Terokkar Forest. Level-wise, there really isn't much difference between them. Zangarmarsh is, unsurprisingly a large marshland covered in giant mushrooms instead of trees, it's weirdly coloured in blues, oranges and yellows, and feels a little trippy. The Naga have a base called Coilfang Reservoir there, which holds four instances, one of which is a level 70-only instance (the Steamvault I mentioned yesterday), and another is a full blown 25-man Raid. Terrokar is divided up into two areas; the Northern area is pretty much a regular forest, populated by the usual flora and fauna, while the Southern part is a wasteland called the Bone Wastes, at the centre of which are the ruins of a city called Auchindoun, which was destroyed in a magical explosion, ravaging the countryside. Auchindoun holds four instances, although one is a level 70 instance. A lot of players will swing down to Terrokar Forest for a bit, just to visit the Neutral city of Shattrath, where you can grab a portal back to any of the capital cities in Azeroth (the original WoW world) before making a decision as to which are to tackle first. Either of these zones should last you until level 66/67.

The next zone, level-wise, is Nagrand, the ancestral home of the Orcs, whom you can find there in their original brown-skinned form. It's a lush, green area ringed with hills and mountains which hold copious amounts of elementals being farmed on a daily basis by gold farmers. If you spend some time there, you can earn enough reputation with the remaining 'true' Orcs, the Mag'Har, and buy yourself a Talbuk epic mount, which I did with Tornik. You'll find a lot of players spend a good deal of time here, simply because of the amount of elementals here - they drop 'Motes', a variety of which are required for almost every high-end recipe in the game. You'll probably be there until 68, maybe 69. Verbatim was there until he was level 69, and Tornik was only about halfway to level 68 when he left. There's no instance in Nagrand, because of a town called Halaa, which is an outdoor PvP objective.

From Nagrand, you've got three choices really, depending on your level. You've got Blades Edge Mountains, which are roughly level 67-69. I've only just got there with Tornik, having skipped it completely with Verbatim. Unsurprisingly, it's a mountainous region full of cliffs, valleys and caves. As far as I can tell, it's pretty much a solo area, with the only big group area being a 25-man Raid instance. I get the feeling that most people skip this one, having levelled up enough from the other areas to be able to jump right into one of the final two areas, Netherstorm and Shadowmoon Valley.

Both areas are really the same level, 69-70. Bad-guy wise, you'll find both areas feature much the same content, lots of Demons and lots of evil Blood Elves. Netherstorm holds Tempest Keep and its satellites, which I spoke about yesterday. It's also home to a neutral faction called the Consortium, which is made up of creatures called Ethereals, they're a group of shady merchants and dodgy dealers. Having a flying mount here is very helpful, not only because you need it to access any parts of Tempest Keep, but because the entire area is comprised of 'islands' floating in the void. There are bridges between them, but it's still a damn sight easier to just fly everywhere.
Speaking of flying mounts, Shadowmoon Valley is the place to go to pick one up, from either the Horde or Alliance outpost there, depending on your character. The only instance in Shadowmoon is the Black Temple, it's not available yet, but it will be in the next week or two when the new content patch is released. The Black Temple is the ultimate end-game instance at the moment, and it's where you'll take on Illidan, the current big-bad in the game. As with all things in life, his history is a little chequered, and the argument can be made that he's not really evil, but that might be stretching it a little. Regardless, the Black Temple is the ultimate goal of every serious raiding guild at the moment. That goal might be farther off for some than others, but it's there, trust me.

My point with this guided tour is that, there will always be something there for you to do. I've not spoken about PvP content, because I don't PvP at all, and the only time I have was in the weeks before the expansion came out. Whether you want to run around, taking your time, completing quests, levelling up your chosen profession, grinding materials to sell on the Auction House, or work on gaining reputation with the various aligned and non-aligned factions in the game, I can guarantee you that you will not be bored. If you've came this far in WoW, then you'll be happier than a pig in poo-poo.