Zones
Burning Woods
The blackened central Kunark forest, dragon-burned and Iksar-patrolled, sitting between the Dreadlands and the Frontier Mountains as the long-haul connector for the western half of the continent.
- Frontier Mountains
- Dreadlands
- Skyfire Mountains
- Karnor's Castle
Burning Woods is a wide central Kunark outdoor zone — once forest, now a scorched plain of blackened trees and ash giants under a sky owned by dragons. The fires were lit by Severilous in lore and never quite went out, leaving an open landscape that's both easy to navigate and hard to hide in. The zone is the western connector for mid-Kunark, threading Frontier Mountains, Dreadlands, and the southern push toward Skyfire Mountains. Iksar patrols and ash giants split the level band between mid-forties group content and high-forties named camps. Faction work here is one of the standard prerequisites for Veeshan's Peak access, which keeps the zone busy long after most players outlevel the camp loot.
Content
- Ash giants — heavy hitters in the mid-forties, named on long timers in the giant fort.
- Iksar patrols — roaming squads from the Cabilis war effort, mid-forties to low fifties.
- Drolvargs — wolf-folk camps along the Dreadlands border, group-friendly pulls.
- Sarnak war parties — pushed in from the east on the Karnor's approach.
- Dragon flybys — the Severilous patrol and other wyrms cross the open ground on long timers.
- Fire beetles and signature trash — outdoor fillers between the named camps.
- Faction quest spawns — the standing required for Ring of Veeshan and the Iksar campaign threads.
Why bother
Burning Woods is a faction zone first and a loot zone second. The standing pushed by killing ash giants and drolvargs feeds the Ring of Veeshan questline and the broader Kunark dragon access path, so groups farming here are usually flagging for Veeshan's Peak rather than chasing the immediate drops. The named ash giants do drop usable mid-game gear, but the era-correct upside is the gating work the kills unlock downstream.
On The Last Camp, where any race can play any class, the western Kunark approach changes shape. A Wood Elf Shadow Knight or a Halfling Necromancer can bind in Firiona Vie and run the same Burning Woods grind a Cabilis-side character does, since the faction work is geographic rather than racial. The dragon flyby pattern is a real risk for any group caught in the open; an unlucky Severilous landing can end a session.
Using it well
Bind in Firiona Vie or stick close to a zone line. The fires keep sight lines wide open, which means a careless pull can chain three camps deep. Run the giant fort at full group with a real puller; the ash giants link, the drolvargs respond to nearby noise, and the dragon timer is not optional content.
Faction work pays better in long sessions than short ones. The Ring of Veeshan ladder needs sustained kills, not single-camp bursts, so plan for the zone as a multi-night project rather than a stopover. Travel between Karnor's Castle and the Frontier Mountains side is faster through Burning Woods than around it, but the openness cuts both ways — patrols see the group at the same distance the group sees them.