Maybe I am biased because that was the first time I actually got to play an expansion from launch, and they zones are exactly my vibe… but in terms of telling an engaging, cohesive and appropriate power level story it was peak.
I’ve been replaying the BFA zone story (starting zones), and I’ve just been reminded of how GOOD the story was. I mean yeah whatever they were doing with Sylvanas was wack, and god I remember being sick of Nathanos, but the actual leveling zones. Learning about the loa in Zandalar, while raising dinos and exploring troll lore. The aesthetics of Nazmir felt SO right for Warcraft. I know people hate on Vul’Dun because “furries” and “deserts are empty” but honestly the Vulpera was a good addition in that zone as well as the Sethrak.
Same for the Alliance zones, dealing with the Drust, witches and how the corruption physically twisted them into these crooked crones. A new pirate area to connect with Booty Bay, and of course the amazing Tidesages in Stormsong. An island and ship people worshipping the ocean checks out, and then some falling to the corruption of N’zoth makes sense. And they kept it an appropriate power level.
Sure afterwards it all fell apart, but as a model for what I want starting zones to feel like BFA is peak.
Blizzard strength has always been wordbuilding. They were able to expand on two races that already existed with only hints of cultural differencies from the rest. So with BFA, they have been able to really focus on both. Having only three areas for the two helped them to avoid those stories lasting too long too. So yeah, BFA zones were very solid.
…I’m still angry at Rezan getting nuked in a stupid way at the start of a dungeon, that being said.
When you start to pick a part various story and quest choices in BFA issues for sure starts to pop-up, Rezan, Brennadam, some of the Uldir stuff, but it’s kind amazing that despite that they still managed to deliver a solid vibe and zone story. When I then look at Shadowlands I get so confused on what happened
I kinda disagree with Shadowlands, or rather I think it succeeded on a technical level, but since the entire shadowlands lore felt so made up and disconnected from Azeroth it failed to have a lasting impact and make me care about committing to the story.
I would say War Within and Dragonflight lies somewhat in the middle here, with their biggest flaw being not continuing the zone stories after you level through them. If we instead got a chance to connect the Maruuks with mainland Azeroth centaurs somehow, or the Tuskarr with their Northrend cousins, or the spidies with the rest of the world. The expansions, zones and patches are individual islands (literally and figuratively) that serve no purpose beyond the expansion.
I do agree with the shadowlands take, lorewise they felt disconnected yes, but otherwise how example revendreth and ardenweald felt like wow to me still.
But in a case of dragonflight and war within i havent got the same mood from any of the zones anymore
Also about the BFA id say horde zones were really bad other than the city itself and surrounding areas to it, The alliance zones in that expansion were great
Hard disagree that the Horde zones were bad I love them so much. Tonally they fit in with WoW very well, they build on old established lore to root the history of the places etc.
I can concede that Ardenweald and Revendreth feel like WoW to a point, Ardenweald certainly align itself well as a more foreign mix of Nelf zones and druidic vibes, and Revendreth pulling on belf and human vibes. But they still feel so distant and foreign to me since they’re not rooted in Azeroth.
The quest lines with the zandalari and rokhan were great, loved the zandalari zones, the blood trolls and ofc beautiful dazar’alor. I also loved Saurfang and Zekhan, and ofc Queen Talanji. With the amani playing a role in midnight this would be the time to bring thr zandalari and talanji back: talanji is thalyssra’s friend, she has a bunch of zandalari paladins under her command and she rules over a bunch of amani trolls in dazar’alor. She would be perfect to mediate between blood elves and amani. But yeah, except for butchering Sylvanas’s character beginning with wasting teldrassil by setting it on fire and murdering all those civilians for the lolz to the point saurfang of all people gets flashbacks from it, and the alliance walking up to the gates of orgrimmar yet again and anduin getting a spotlight at saurfang’s funeral, that was a great expansion for the horde. Ressources like azerite are a great casus belli, and it would have been reason enough to go to war over it without the contrieved jailer-garbage. Sylvanas trying to get those ressources so the horde can defend itself and not become easy pickings for the alliance now that the legion is defeated and the urgency to lay old grudges aside has passed would have been absolutely enough of a motivation on the horde-warchief’s side, and the alliance fearing that sylvanas tries to gather azerite to attack the alliance later as well as remembering garrosh’s reign would have been enough reason for the alliance to become aggressive. If they had just held themselves back a little instead of making sylvanas into an absolute caricature and the horde into the villain yet again, bfa could have been one of the best expansions.