Special Cataclysm preview! - Nefaru

Now that I drew your attention in with the title, this entry features a worgen. Which is almost a Cataclysm preview, right?

...right?

Today's rare is Nefaru.



The Beast, His territory and appearance

Nefaru is one of a few worgen rare mobs in classic WoW. He is found in the haunted and accursed region of Duskwood in the Eastern Kingdoms.



Now, there's a slight secret to finding Nefaru. One of his spawn points is a very well-known area, namely the mine of Roland's Doom, straight south of Darkshire. This mine is the center of a few alliance quests, and there's quite often players passing through here. As a result, finding Nefaru can be hard.

However, Nefaru has a second spawn point which not many people visit.

Just west of Roland's Doom lies the Rotting Orchard. This once-beautiful plantation is now decayed and horrifying just like most things in Duskwood. By heading up the hills in the southern part of the orchard, you can find a small trail that leads up to a small worgen camp, with a small cave behind it. Nefaru can spawn here, inside the cave. And this was where I found him, after searching Roland's Doom fruitlessly for many days.



The Beast, His powers and possessions

If it's not entirely clear from the pictures, Nefaru is a pure white color. Most the Duskwood worgen are dirty grey or black, so he stands out quite nicely. He naturally has the classic worgen model, not the Northrend-enhanced one or the future Cataclysm one (though maybe he will receieve a new one if he survives to Cataclysm?). I actually like this worgen model quite a bit, finding it well-rendered and with nice animations.



If drawn into combat, Nefaru has one somewhat dangerous trick to employ against his enemies. He has an area of effect fear-causing howl, which may cause you to scatter and pull more worgen into the fight, which may make it hazardous if you are too low level. When beaten, Nefaru can yield not just one but two unique items: A decent shield and a quite pretty robe called "Beastwalker Robe". Both are bind on equip, and can thus be traded around. The robe especially is very nice for those of a roleplaying bent.



The Beast, his origins and motivations

While I will not spoiler the questline concerning the Duskwood worgen (as it is a quite interesting one to play through, especially with the added emphasis on worgen in Cataclysm), they were brought into Azeroth by the power of the now-lost Scythe of Elune. Now, how exactly the curse of the worgen infects mortals has not yet been clearly described, but some worgen seem to be humans (and possibly other races) cursed to become werewolf-like beings, and others seem to always be wolf-men.



I speculate that Nefaru may be a former inhabitant of one of the communities in the region, cursed by the worgen curse and transformed into a slavering beast. His odd coloration may indicate that he's in a position of leadership among the other beasts, and the finely-crafted robe and buckler in his possession may show that he was once a wealthy man.

Likely he has now lost all traces of humanity, and exists only as a savage, bloodthirsty packleader for the worgen.

Cataclysm will reveal more about the origin and workings of the worgen, and maybe it will also shed some light on these wretched beings.

Until next time, carry a silver weapon.

~Dragonshade