However, that is not for right now, now is time for the first first impression review. What are my thoughts on the expansion after a week of playtime? Find out after the jump.
As I said before, there's a lot I can say about the expansion, and a lot I can't say, just because I haven't played all of it yet. Most of this review is going to be objective, and it's not meant to be a comprehensive review, rather, my take on what I've experienced. As I always say, Your Mileage May Vary. But anyway, here are the things I've noted. (Final note, I have only played Alliance at this point)
They really get you ramped up quickly. I got on my main (my pally) first, and dove into the dark portal. Something they make apparent quickly is that they are taking advantage of both cinematic cut-scenes, and "in game cut-scenes", which look cinematic, but are actually in game. I feel like this is a wonderful way to tell the story, very similar to the way it was done in Lich King. But regardless, you go straight into Draenor and a raging battle. The developers strike a nice balance of creating chaos and storytelling. Sure, there's a massive battle with all of the enemies and battle going on, but they still manage to slow down and tell you who everyone is, which is nice for those not familiar with Warcraft lore. The first zone is very hectic, and allows the gamer to understand what exactly is going on, and who the big players are going to be on each side, and the questing is really varied (more on that in a sec). It's a really great way to throw the gamer right into the story, with several moments of you going 'oh snap, that was cool'.
The boosted character system works out really well. As I may have mentioned, I was planning on boosting a level 60 mage I had sitting around to 90, and leveling her up as my second character. Since I was given one for free, I chose to do her, as most of the other toons were already 90. It was really interesting. All of my gear had been replaced and was in my mailbox. My gear was pretty upgraded, but I only had 3 abilities. I was a tad confused, but I ventured in and started questing. I figured out that none of the intro quests were very combat intensive, and this was so people who had boosted could figure out what they were doing. It was an ingenious system, as they awarded me combat spells based on my progression through the intro sequence. Slowly, bit by bit I got my spells, and a sense of 'Oh, this is how you play frost mage' came over me as I learned combos an survival tactics. The way they ease you into playing your class at such a high level is brilliant, and I'm tempted to boost another character now to try it out again (but its $60, gasp)
The Garrison is awesome. After the intro, you get shipped off to where you build your garrison. I haven't quite maxed out my garrison as I feel like the Resource income is a tad too slow in the beginning, but maybe it's so that I don't run out of things to do with it to quickly. That being said, it's wonderful in every sense. You can get herbs and ore without having to be a profession expert (although it still helps a little if you are), and the bonuses from each of the buildings are so unique and good, that there's not really a clear winner. There was a lot of discussion in guild chat about "what buildings should I put in my garrison?" and most of the time it was met with "Just don't put this or this in, and you should be fine." It really came down to personal preference, which was really neat to see. I also love the Follower and Mission interface. Being able to have followers and build an army of your own is awesome, and the fact that a lot of the people you can recruit are people that you've been questing with throughout the expansions brings a lot of stuff back home, and really helps the gamer feel with the characters. Right now I feel like the difficulty of the missions are ramping up much quicker than my followers are. I'll have to see if that stays an issue, or if it was just me leveling too quickly.
The areas in Nagrand are beautiful and varied. At some point, I'll have to make a mini-post with some screenshots of the landscape, because there are some pretty scenery. All of the areas have their own distinct feel, all the factions have their own feel, so it doesn't feel like Cookie Cutter Group A, who wants you to do X,Y,Z. You actually hang out with people for multiple quest chains, and then sometimes they'll go back to your garrison as a reminder of the journey you went on. It is a joy. It makes me happy they took out flight in Draenor. For those not in the know, Blizzard, who has allowed flying since the second expansion, took it out of Draenor 'for the time being', and honestly, I really enjoy not being able to fly. I enjoy having to ride to the places I want to go on foot. There are so many treasures hidden around Draenor, and the only reason I spent so much time getting to max level is that I spent half of the time exploring looking for Exotic monsters to kill, or rare treasures positioned in a way that I would have to balance a tightrope or climb a mountain. I can see how the slow travel may be a hindrance down the road, but flying made the world really small, and allowing flying really made the world big. The only problem with a big world is that Nagrand feels way too big. I love Nagrand, as I'm sure everyone else does. It's a giant plains area with tons of wildlife flocking around (think a massive Savannah, but this time they added a ton of cliffs and gorges and stuff, and while it does look awesome, and makes the environment amazing, navigating it can be troublesome as the multiple levels are not properly noted on the map leaving to a lot of 'where is this guy again'.
Dungeons are nice. They are very elaborate, with some nice cut-scenes in them. There's a ton of details put into the background of the dungeons. You can look around and enjoy the scene. I haven't gotten to fully enjoy the dungeons yet, as there are only 4 that are available before level 100, and if you were geared in heroic or mythic gear, there's no reason to go into the dungeons, as the gear is laughable until you get to Skyreach, and then the gear takes a nice improvement spike. I haven't tried heroics, but I'm hoping to get my hands on them this week, and then I'll have more to say there.
Haven't gotten into Player vs Player either. My one foray into Ashran was the Horde slaughtering people were supposed to give me quests. I was trying to finish my quest for Apexis crystals, and then I got frustrated and gave up. In defense, I probably shouldn't have tried to do anything productive in the PvP are during peak gaming hours (when everybody is playing). I did see that they randomly give you pieces of loot if you do well. Again, haven't gotten to see it in action, may be a neat way of getting started in PvP.
Pet battle Tamers are hard. I've only done three, but they'll certainly test your resolve. They're not a cake walk like they were in Pandaria (minus the spirits/tourney). Also, haven't unlocked the menagerie yet, and still haven't decided what pets I'm going to keep in there (Only the cutest ones! Yes, I'll have pictures)
There's only a few things that I don't like right now. As mentioned above, Nagrand feels convoluted, and I don't like the lack of resources for my garrison, but I also don't like the feeling of rep grinds, and I'm not finding efficient ways to get reputation for these factions. I've never been a hater of rep grinds (see Insane in the Membrane), and I am behind in my Netflix queue, so maybe it isn't all bad.
So, that's the feelings I have about Draenor right now. My next 'review' will focus more on dungeons and raiding aka the endgame of World of Warcraft. The leveling process was one of the best and most varied experiences I've had in the 6 years playing, but can it carry into the raiding experience, and will the garrison become tedious, or does it have potential to become a true place to do everything? We'll have to see.
And since I can't leave yall without some music, here's a new one by Michael Woods called Brain Went Ping. It's out now, and I recommend you buy it if you love this kind of stuff.
Have a great Tuesday,
-David
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