So far we’ve brought you the latest on the Death Knight and a look at one of the starting zones in the new continent of Northrend, Howling Fjord. Now that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is finally in beta, we’ve been able to sit down for an extended period of time with the new content and have plenty to report back on. So far we’ve spent most of our time in the Borean Tundra--the second starting zone, which has plenty of quests to get experienced players going from the current Burning Crusade character-level limit of 70 to the second expansion’s level limit of 80. First off, a caveat. Because this is a beta, many things are subject to change. Oh, and another caveat: We were playing as the Horde this time around. The next preview will be from the Alliance point of view, but this look at Wrath of the Lich King comes through the eyes of a troll.

The back of a dragon is generally the best place to be.

Getting to Northrend is a simple affair for Horde citizens: Jump on a zeppelin from the new landing tower near the gates of the orc capital Orgrimmar, and you will soon find yourself gliding peacefully into the very heart of Warsong Hold, the Horde’s foothold in the Borean Tundra. If you opt to get a zeppelin from the new tower by Undercity, you will find yourself in the Howling Fjord, which we saw at BlizzCon last year during our first proper look at this expansion.

The first thing to note about the Borean Tundra is how large it feels, especially considering that no one--not even those people who have shelled out several thousand gold to max out their riding skill at level 70--will be able to fly around Northrend as they arrive. The intemperate weather requires specialist training, apparently, and this will not be available to those fresh off the proverbial boat. The zone contains six flight paths and more than that number of distinct areas and factions seemingly fighting for control. The central Horde fort, Warsong Hold, is under siege by the spiderlike creatures of the Scourge, which are running rampant through the surrounding quarry, while the coast is shrouded in dense fog and sees battles between the walrus-esque Tuskarr race and mysterious raiders from the mist.

To the far west the Blue Dragonflight hold an island called Coldarra, under the watchful eyes of both red dragons and the mages of Dalaran and Kirin Tor. North of the Red Dragonflight’s base of operations you have another quest hub in the form of a smaller Horde village, itself under attack by a number of restless spirits angry at the passage of a caravan over an ancient burial ground. To the west of them is a ruined temple that overlooks a Murloc encampment, now ruled by a well-meaning druid in a Murloc suit originally there to do some anthropological research. Among the ice floes off the coast near these friendly Murlocs are a number of more hostile ones, not to mention an orca or two out to make your life that little bit more confusing.

Several of the expansion’s environments offer subzero temperatures...and new dangers.

Moving across you have a crashed Scourge ziggurat in the far north, spewing out undead to make war on the Mechagnomes and their mechanical defenses who occupy a good chunk of the region’s hot springs. The Nerubians--those spiderlike Scourge creatures--hold a good chunk of the springs too, sandwiched between the Mechagnomes, a number of elementals born from the steam itself, the Horde village, and an Alliance airstrip. On the eastern coast there is a wrecked Tuskarr village--complete with the misty raiders from earlier--as well as, in the far northeast, an ancient temple city that has been overrun by the Scourge.