The zones inWorld of Warcrafthave changed numerous times over the game’s seventeen years of existence, and no zones have changed as much as Orgrimmar and Stormwind.World of Warcraft’scapital cities are about to be changedyet again, though, despite all the additions and alterations they have endured since 2004, some of their secrets remain – as do the means of reaching them.
With therelease ofCataclysm,World of Warcrafthad redesigned the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor zones entirely, building them from the ground up to support the introduction of flying mounts to the old continents outside Outland and Northrend. During this set of changes, the famous WKM room in Orgrimmar was built.
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While some methods of obtaining access to this secret area have been patched out since then, a user in theWorld of Warcraftcommunity on Reddit named Avoumen discovered that players could glitch the camera into the room through the use of a protodrake mount. By flying against the side of one of the pillars in Orgrimmar – with the exact coordinates being 57.49 and 44.66 – the camera could be rotated in a way to reveal what lies within: a simple altar with a single candle lit below a frame bearing the label “WKM.”
Players have long wondered about the origin and reason for the room’s existence, and the initial hypothesis was that the altar represented a memorial built for Michael Koiter, a deceased Blizzard employee. The actual truth isn’t too far off: Chad Max, the 3D artist working on Orgrimmar’s redesign, built the secret room as an homage to his father – William Kenneth Max. Chad Max left the company after theWarlords of Draenorexpansion, but his hidden shrine remains in the game world.
Obtaining access to the WKM room is still possible, as one of the methods that haven’t been patched out by the developers relies on players glitching into a rock edge hanging over the side next to the training dummies. By sitting under the rock, logging back in, and summoning their largest mount,World of Warcraftplayers can force the game to pop them through to the other side. Going on a flying mount will then let the players fly up into the center of the pillar where the room itself is located.
The camera glitch is possible as a result of the unique way protodrake mounts have their camera set up. With the introduction ofdragon riding inDragonflight, however, one has to wonder what the long-term future of regular mounts will be inWorld of Warcraft.
World of Warcraftis available now on PC.
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