Durotar is the starting zone for Orc and Troll characters in World of Warcraft. The arid region lies in northern Kalimdor and surrounds the Horde capital of Orgrimmar.
Orcs begin near the Valley of Trials, where new characters learn basic combat, accept their first quests, and confront threats to the Durotar settlement. Troll characters traditionally begin on the nearby Echo Isles, but their early questing quickly connects them with Durotar and the wider Horde storyline. This shared starting region reflects the close political and military relationship between the two peoples.
Durotar is named after Durotan, the respected chieftain of the Frostwolf clan and the father of Thrall. Its landscape is marked by red earth, rocky coastlines, thorny vegetation, harpies, centaurs, and hostile quillboar. The zone also contains the small settlement of Sen’jin Village, named after the former troll leader and Vol’jin’s father.
Common mix-ups involve other racial starting zones. Tauren begin in Mulgore, Night Elves in Teldrassil, and Humans in Elwynn Forest. Those areas belong to different playable races and factions.