Shared Topic: Home Sweet Hearthstone

When Elk was a young Orc, a hearthstone was this cool thing. Fighting his way, deep into a damp, dark tunnel, grab the final quest item, and then hearth to safety. As he leveled, this safe spot changed throughout, always to the safety and comfort of a Inn. This was continued all the way until Elk learned to fly.

Orgrim Doomhammer

Flying meant that Elk was no longer tied to a specific location. He didn't need to hearth home, he could fly back home or to at least to a local taxi stand. This meant the hearthstone could now be homed on a more permanent residence; one that included useful vendors, trainers and possibly portals. Shatrath was an excellent choice for quite sometime.When the scourge brought the plague, Elk moved to Dalaran (eventually).

Despite all Elk's travels, none of these has ever felt quite like Home. Sure he could get around both Shat and Dalaran, but they never met all those needs, requirements. As Elk's burgeoning raw gem empire was taking off, he was required to make frequent visits to a larger Horde city. When that happened, that closest portal, the hometown of Thrall, city named after Orgrim Doomhammer, always came first.

Orgrimmar is a Orc's first love. This flat, slightly spreadout city is welcoming to all who enter. Upon entrance to the grand city, you are immediately presented with the trophy head of our most recent monster kill (sometimes two). The bank, AH, Inn and even a few repair stops are all within arms reach. The taxi stand is easily accessible, plus 4 zeppelin stands right outside town. Overall, everything is accessible, easy to find and nothing will kill you.

All the other Horde cities pale in comparison. Elk continuously needs directions from a guard to find someone or something. Undercity is a maze of tunnels and levels. Thunderbluff is more of the same, just add precarious bridges (Yes, I've fallen off a bridge more than once). Silvermoon is a twist of strip malls without continuous space. These last two cities don't even have zeppelins (well Thunder Bluff does, but only to Orgrimmar), so you need to travel to Org or UC to hitch a ride to Northrend.

When Cataclysm strikes, Elk knows where he's going to be. His hearthstone will be changing to Orgrimmar, his one true home. If the beta change holds, those handy portals in Dalaran and Shattrath will be shut down, forcing all to travel through the areas using more conventional means (i.e. zep, taxi and mount). Why not home your hearth where everything is happening?