10 things to look forward to in WoD

by Hotstreak - 10 years ago     show comments

With the imminent release of patch 6.0.2 and the launch of Warlords of Draenor just over a month away, it feels like a good time to go over the most exciting features that the fifth expansion pack will have to offer. Even though there are no new playable races, classes, or completely original new city hubs, WoD still has a lot to offer. So lets get started!

10. The Stat Squish

Now this may not seem like a big deal to some but it is definitely a much needed change. The numbers for stats were just getting way too big and was actually having a negative impact on the game. So the WoW Team decided to squish the numbers of pretty much everything ranging from itemization, damage, monster HP..etc. The stat squish was originally intended to be done for the release of Mists of Pandaria, but Blizzard decided to put it on hold for WoD. You can go here if you would like to know more about the stat squish.

9. The Toy Box

This is a great new UI specifically for toys like the happy fun rock and the puntable marmot. This feature is awesome since it free’s up bag and bank space by storing all of your toys inside of it. It’s also very easy to use, you just open it up like your spellbook and choose which toy you want to activate.

8. The Heirloom Tab

Much like the Toy Box, this tab will be a new UI specifically for heirloom storage. Instead of having to mail heirlooms to your alts, you will be able to open up a tab that has all of your unlocked heirlooms. This will also work for alts on different servers. Even though this feature has been put on hold until post release, it is still a huge Quality of Life change to look forward to.

7. Ability Pruning

This is one of my favorite mechanical changes to the game. Blizzard has gone through each class and reduced the amount of skills that you will need on your action bars. The skills they targeted are mostly ones that they felt weren’t too integral for most rotations and could be merged with other skills. Which ties into how some of your skills get upgraded to have some have some of the effects of those removed skills as you go from level 90-100 in Draenor. We can all agree that there were just too many buttons to be pressing right?

6. Garrisons

Garrisons are a very cool new feature and are even mostly responsible for the length of WoD’s development process. This feature is Blizzard’s answer to the lack of player housing as you will be able to customize your own personal fortress on Draenor. With Garrisons, you will be able to recruit numerous NPCs to your Garrison and send them on special follower missions which reward gold, new followers, and even items of all qualities. Each building has unique art assets, buffs, and rewards.

For example, if you build a Dwarven Bunker (Alliance) or a War Mill (Horde) you gain the ability to unlock special transmog gear for all armor types including Stormwind Guard and Orgrimmar Grunt armor. Garrisons also give you unique abilities to be used in each zone. You can also have a Garrison Outpost in each zone outside of Frostfire Ridge and Shadowmoon Valley that will let you choose between two buildings each with their own unique benefits and abilities.

5. Draenor

You guys are in for a real treat when it comes to Draenor. The brand new continent being added with WoD is one of the most beautiful and savage places the game will have to offer. Each zone is so unique with amazing art and music. You will have a great time running through Draenor and experiencing how massive it feels.

From what I’ve played, Draenor is my second favorite continent behind Northrend. Also, there are no freaking Mantids on this continent or anything like the Dread Wastes.

4. The Art

I really cannot say enough about what the Art Team has done with Warlords of Draenor. The art of Draenor is some of the best that Blizzard have ever done for WoW. Each zone is so diverse, unique, and beautiful in their own way. From the harsh snowy lands of Frostfire Ridge to the dense jungles and prehistoric feel of Gorgrond, you will never feel like you’re questing through the same zone.

We may have not gotten Karabor and Bladespire Fortress as city hubs, but damn did the Art Team nail everything else. There is also so much detail being put into the Garrison buildings a long with many other things. You will be amazed when traveling through Draenor and you will often find yourself taking lots of screenshots. They really did a fantastic job, give that art team a raise!

3. Dungeons

The dungeons in WoD are truly awesome and some of the most fun dungeons that I have done in WoW. The WoW Team did an amazing job with the eight new dungeons as they all feel truly unique while each dungeon looks and feels like a completely different experience. The art for each dungeon is amazing, the bosses are fun with unique mechanics, and they are just a joy to do.

Blizzard has also done a good job at tuning the difficulties for each new dungeon. Veteran players will cruise through normal mode but, the mechanics to most of the bosses require you to pay attention so it will be very possible to really screw up on normal. The heroic versions are tuned to be somewhere in between Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm difficulty but shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for dungeon finder groups. All in all the difficulty tuning feels just right and is much better than MoP dungeon tuning.

My two favorites so far are Bloodmaul Slag Mines and Grimrail Depot. Bloodmaul Slag Mines is a perfect introduction to the feel and theme of the expansion and really brings back that classic Warcraft feel that we all know and love. Grimrail Depot adds a new twist by taking place on a moving train that’s passing through Gorgrond at a high speed.

2. New Character Models

This may be one of the most community requested features besides player housing in the past few years of WoW. Get hyped because it’s finally happened, Blizzard has gone through each of the original playable races and updated all of their models to be in line with the fidelity and quality of the Pandaren. All of the models look fantastic and once again show off what a great job the Art Team has done with WoD. Every model is done for the most part, except for the Blood Elves which are going to get updated post release because Blizzard really just didn’t have the time to get them in for launch.

1. The Questing Experience

Here’s my number one feature for WoD. This was an easy pick because the questing experience through each zone is just so damn good. This is literally the best questing experience you will have in all of WoW. Each zone has chapters that you complete by doing chapter quests that are all unique to the zones story and when you’re done with the chapter in each zone, there is a finale quest that concludes the zones story arch complete with a cool in game cinematic.

Each zone also has tons of side quests for you to do and a new type of side quest call Bonus Objectives. Bonus Objectives are completely optional and are spread throughout each zone, they can be found by simply looking at your map and are very similar to some of the random objectives that you would find on the Timeless Isle. All of these things combine for the most fluid and coherent questing experience in WoW to date. The leveling pace is near perfect as well and leveling through Draenor has not felt like a chore unlike some of the other zones.

Also, Blizzard has for the most part done away with Daily Quests and have gone for more of a Timeless Isle route to the Draenor experience. Which makes a lot of people happy because who wants a repeat of MoP and the complete over use of dailies? Not me or anyone else for that matter.

That’s it! I hope you’re as excited about these things as I am. The wait is almost over and before you know it you will be slaughtering the Iron Horde and the Burning Legion. So what do you think about the list? What would your top 10 list be? Are you excited about these features? Let us know in the comments below!