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Azeroth can be a dangerous place, full of monsters and warring clans and races. But it can also be a land of great wonders and undiscovered treasures just waiting to be claimed by adventurers brave, smart, and patient enough to uncover them. Or, then again, you could just read these tips and skip all of that work.


Easter Eggs
TREKKIE REFERENCE: In Booty Bay, just outside the inn, you’ll encounter Chief Engineer Scooty manning a teleportation device. If you have a quest that takes you through the device, you’ll find a character named Sprok and his away team.

MATRIX REFERENCE: On your way to the Ironforge Auction House, ask one of the guards the location of the alchemy trainer. One of his answers will be, “why, oh why didn’t I take the blue potion?”

FIGHT CLUB: Further into the Undercity, in the War Quarter, there’s an honest to God Fight Club where you’ll find two NPC fighters named Edward and Tyler.

GHOSTBUSTERS REFERENCE: Another movie reference can be found in the Mage Quarters of Stormwind. There, you’ll find three mages-in-training talking shop. Hang around long enough and one of them will say “wouldn’t that be bad, like crossing the streams bad?”

STAR WARS: The Shimmering Flats. Peek around a bit and you’ll find a goblin race team with a very familiar looking vehicle—Blizzard’s version of Sebulba’s podracer from Episode I. Do a little more exploring and you’ll also find a wrecked podracer which smacked into a canyon walls.

CONAN: In the Badlands around the middle of the map is a semi-hidden crypt. Enter the crypt and you’ll see a decomposed guy sitting on a throne with a sword to his side. It’s a scene from the first Conan movie.

BRUCE CAMPBELL TRIBUTE: In Dun Mo-rogh, just south of Kharanos, there’s a small camp where a group of dwarves are taking target practice. Hang around long enough and you’ll hear one of the dwarves scream out: “This is my boomstick!”

BOOK REFRERENCES: In the upper levels of Booty Bay, there’s a clothing shop named “A Tailor to Cities,” an homage to Charles Dicken’s A Tales of Two Cities. And in the Undead capital, the Undercity, you’ll find Algernon at the alchemy trainer’s holding a flower. This is a nod to Daniel Keyes’ novel Flowers for Algernon.

MEMORIAL: Blizzard designers also left a tribute to fallen comrade. In the Barrens, atop a hill just southwest of Crossroads sits a small shrine. Here, you’ll find a memorial dedicated to an Orc with the initials “M-K.” In the real world, M K was Michel Koiter, a Blizzard illustrator who passed away during production of World of Warcraft.

To reach the memorial, follow a ridge to the southeast and half-way up the hill you’ll find the base of a mound. Go up the short trail to reach the shrine. As a little bonus, if you visit the memorial in spirit form you’ll find a spirit healer named Koiter.

GAME REFERENCES: While fighting your way through the Deadmines to get VanCleef’s head you’ll encounter a Goblin Shredder. Take it down and look at the dashboard and you’ll see a familiar face: Kerrigan, The Zerg Queen from Starcraft: Brood War. She appears to be the ruler of the goblins as well. Other goblin shredders can be found in Strangle-thorn Vale and Gadget-zan.

In northern Un’goro Crater, there’s a place we’ve started calling “Camp Nintendo.” Two residents of the camp are the feuding brothers, Larion and Muigi. If those names sound a bit familiar, they should, they’re anagrams of Mario and Luigi; and the battling brothers are even decked out in red and green overalls.

Deep in the Uldaman instance, you’ll find a friendly refuge manned by three dwarves: Baelog, Olaf and Erik “The Swift.” Dedicated gamers should recognize these dudes from The Lost Vikings—the first game Blizzard created for the Super Nintendo back in ‘92.


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