No Spoilers!
This is my opinion, if you like the stories in Zandalar, good for you.
As many of you probably know WoW: Battle For Azeroth launched Monday night and that familiar grind started once again. It was honestly hard to tear myself away from Monster Hunter World( a great game and good pc port) to start WoW again which is a first for me. Usually when a new expansion comes out I get caught up in the hype with everyone and can't wait to start playing. I think a combination of MMO fatigue and a general dislike of how Blizzard is handling the Horde's story are the main factors, with the lackluster features not helping much. With Mag'har Orcs and Zandalari both time-gated, and the return of the oh so fun mission table, there is just not that much to get excited about this time. Island Expeditions are just scenarios from MOP with a new coat of paint and Warfronts are just adding another thing to farm on top of the usual world quests and reputations. But I logged in anyway and began the grind from 110-120. Boy did I underestimate just how hard it would be. So after hitting level cap I decided to look back on my experience and compare it to other expansions.
The expansion began the usual way, a scenario introducing you to the new threat/goal for the first patch. Nothing special here, it's brain dead easy and the story for the Horde is boring and at the end downright laughable. I won't say what happens but Blizzard really needs to hire some new writers. Overall I would put it below the MOP and WOD openings but above the others( only because they basically just throw you in to the zones). You then arrive on Zandalar and after a brief intro pick your starting zone. The catch this time is that since the factions have separate islands Blizzard just split the expansion in half and now you only have 3 zones (two really because one is just set in the new capital city). So long story short, whichever zone you pick be prepared to spend a long time there. After playing both zones I can say it dosen't really matter which you pick because the story is equally boring and the quest density is basically the same. Another thing common to both is the incredibly high mob density. To those who don't play, imagine being told to carry a bag from one end of your yard to the other but being attacked by a murderer every time you take 3 steps. With no flying getting around is just painful. I don't know if it's bad design or intentional to make the zones seem longer but this is a big turn off. Taking the flight points in a zone make you realize just how small it really is. It might take you 30 seconds by air to get to a place it takes you 15 minutes to cut your way to on foot. Throw that in with generic recycled plots and you have a painfully long slog. I still say that WOD had the best leveling experience of any expansion and Blizzard has yet to top it in my eyes.
Surprisingly the best zone is the capital city. It contains a bunch of small self contained stories that don't drag on and vary the quest types and locations enough to stay fresh. It felt the least bad and since it was the one I went to last I ended on an ok note. Overall I have to say I am pretty disappointed with this expansion so far, I'll give an update after I've ground through a week or two of endgame content but I really don't think it's going to change anything. All I have to say is BOOOOOO, get to the Dinomancers already!
Let me know how you liked it and if any Alliance players are reading let me know if Kul Tiras is the same or better. Thanks for reading.
