Hello and welcome back to Raresbane’s Hardcore Journey, the only World of Warcraft classic blog with its eyes on every rare spawn the game has to offer. Today we are Hunting the legendary Polar Bear Bjarn! This majestic beast is a beautiful addition to any hunters stable Not only do they rip and tear and maul! They hug and friend and love. ❤

Bjarn spawns as a level 12 bear east of Kharanos in the Tundrid Hills, a frigid white woodland. Snow drifts and the trees obscure mobs and create the perfect environment for Dun Morogh’s natural predators to thrive. The area is teeming with wildlife. Just north of the Tundrid Hills are the peaceful residents of Amberstill Ranch. Further west are threats to Dun Morogh we won’t be worrying about; more Trogg trouble at the Gol’Bolar Quarry. 

We left Kharanos that morning with a few goals in mind. First and foremost was locating Bjarn and completing the hunt. Beside Bjarn there were a few quests left to complete in Eastern Dun Morogh. We began by traveling the roads east out of Kharanos, detouring into the mountain road winding North, and introducing ourselves to Rudra Ambesrstill. 

The Ambesrstill’s raise and sell Mountain Rams that the dwarven population and any Exalted outsiders use as transportation across Azeroth. It’s a tough job and a necessary one at that! I am honored-bound by my oath, A Defender of Anvilmar,  to offer my services and hunt down the beast Vagash that terrorizes their home.

Vagash is a level 11 Elite Wendigo that has taken residence in a filthy cave nestled into the crags above Amberstill Ranch. Elite monsters are different from regular mobs and rare spawns. They are bigger and stronger and typically require some extra players to take down. Luckily for us we are already level 16 and dwarf them in strength! 

I returned to Rudra and informed her that Vagash was no more, presenting its vicious claws as proof. She begged me to take any ram as payment but I could not in good conscience take the companion as payment, there were other mountaineers and Ironforge militia needed the majestic beats much more than I did. 

With Vagash slain and the northern roads once again safe I set out to South Gate Outpost. South Gate is the furthest eastern settlement in Dun Morogh and safeguards the passage into Loch Modan (A potential new hunting ground once we complete our current objective). Here the brave mountaineers keep the passes clear of encroaching wildlife. Something must be embolden them because after speaking with the men posted here I was startled to discover guards had gone missing recently.

They seemed out of their depths, more accustomed to fighting off and defending against beasts than tracking and hunting them. I offered to look into the matter. Goobie and I suited up and set off to investigate the last known location of the missing guards. I activated my Track Beasts ability and scanned the perimeter but all I could pick up on were neutral boars trudging through the snow for buried acorns to snack on.

It became clear that we were dealing with a much more clever beast than I first anticipated. With some effort we found a lair, hidden between rocks and snowdrifts, obscured by forest cover,  in an unpatrolled nook of buildings. 

We laid out some bait and waited. Patience, as I always urge you to observe, is a hunter’s greatest asset. The beast emerged and we pounced! It stood no chance against Goobies sudden Charge and my  volley of shots. We laid them low and claimed another notch on our hunting belt. Inside the beast’s lair we found the grizzly remains of the mountaineers that had gone missing. 

My blood was boiling with the thrill of a good hunt, and I knew it was time for Goobie and I to set out for Tundrid Hills. It has been a heavy dusting season and the terrain required proper snow gear. We resupplied at Kharanos, strapped on our snowshoes, and began the trek into the wilderness of Dun Morogh.

Azeroth has two main continents: Kalimdor and The Eastern Kingdoms, where we currently reside, and the histories of these places go back 10,000 years. Once upon a time Azeroth was one Pangea but then The Sundering, a cataclysmic event, reshaped the world. 

The eastern Kingdoms are divided between the Dwarves of Ironforge, The Gnomes of Gnomergan, the Humans of Stormwind, and numerous smaller factions we are sure to encounter along our journey. The world of Azeroth is vast and between these major cities and settlements are expanses of uninhabited wilderness. Tundrid Hills is one such place.

The wilderness is no place to let your guard down. Monsters spawn in high density here and roam unabated. Terrain obscures vision and creates choke points. The beasts rule here and you are their uninvited guest. In the Tundrid Hills the beasts blend into their environment and if not for the highlighted circle around their character it would be impossible to spot Bjarn (praise modern game design!). 

We stepped into the Tundrid hills and began the Hunt. Clearing out mobs one by one was quick work and we eventually maneuvered ourselves onto a mound of fresh powder. From this vantage point we had clear sites of the surrounding terrain. It was from here that we spotted the silky white outline of Bjarn stalking between pines. 

When I first encountered Bjarn in 2005 I was awestruck. I had no frame of reference for the Rare mob symbol that borders their name plate and up to that point I had never see a white bear in the game. I knew then I needed to tame the beast. I named them Yogi and the rest was history.

I wish I could access the countless screenshots I took of me and Yogi exploring Azeroth but alas those images are 20 years gone. There was one  summer vacation I spent with Yogi, playing so much WoW, that the entire left side of my body was tanned but my right side was not lmao. Seeing Bjarn again in the wilds brought back a flood of memories; I look forward to recounting these tales with you in the weeks and months to come.

But, today we are on the Hunt. Today we will not be taming Bjarn. We will let the wilds keep them and continue our adventures with Goobie.

Goobie charged in and I followed close behind with my tomahawk drawn.

“Stand down” I roared to Gobbie over the heat of battle, this is my fight, I thought to myself.

Bjarn, I owe you a debt I can never repay. Please accept this humble blog post as a testament to the 20 years of joy you have brought me. Thank you, friend. ❤

With Bjarn downed we have now completed our first zone in our journey across Azeroth and it was now time to unlock a new zone! I inputted our two options into the roulette wheel and let the RNG machine do its work, what a way to start this Journey am I right?

Thank you again for joining me in my quest to slay every rare spawn the game has to offer. I look forward to seeing you in the next post. and as always: Happy Hunting!