The Black Morass
Before the Blasted Lands were blasted, they were the Black Morass, a swamp much like the Swamp of Sorrows. The map of that swamp, with the Dark Portal at its heart, was in the World of Warcraft files from launch in November 2004, waiting for the Caverns of Time to open.
A swamp in the files
Dataminers found the Black Morass long before anyone could visit it. It turned out to be the Blasted Lands crater as it looked in the past, with a portal labelled in the animation files as the Dark Portal. Players argued about whether it would lead to Outland or to Draenor before it was shattered; it was clear that it would be one of the Caverns of Time's historic moments.
Opening of the Dark Portal
The Burning Crusade made it a five-player dungeon, also known as Opening of the Dark Portal. Players travel back to the moment Medivh opened the Dark Portal for the orcs and defend him against the Infinite Dragonflight, who want to change history by stopping him. Afterwards the swamp withers into the Blasted Lands that players know.
Black Morass dungeon guide for WoW Classic TBC · Scottejaye
From the archive
The Black Morass is another Caverns of Time instance whose data has been in the game since launch in November 2004. Here players will help Medivh open the Dark Portal, the event that later poisons the surrounding land and turns it into the Blasted Lands.
Noggaholic
Mira Duskwood is the pen name of the Lost WOW editorial team. Mira writes the secret walkthroughs and the history of the lost areas, and keeps them up to date when a patch changes something.
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