World of Warcraft - Hands on with the Alliance Side of Battle for Azeroth - MMORPG.com

SBFord · November 2017

World of Warcraft - Hands on with the Alliance Side of Battle for Azeroth - MMORPG.com

The next expansion for World of Warcraft is Battle for Azeroth that finally takes the dormant cold war between the two factions to the next level. We were able to get our hands on two of the new zones coming with the game’s 7th expansion. There’s a metric ton of new content coming with BfA, but sadly most of that new stuff has to wait for the beta. Read on for our impressions of Fallhaven and the town possessed by a Witch in Kul’Tiras.

Read the full story here

montie75 · November 2017

Are dungeons going to be forced on players who don't necessarily like grouping with players to do them again like they were in Legion?

cesmode8 · November 2017

Im going to be a bit negative here.

They are reaching, and they have been for a few expansions. Each expansion introduces a few new systems, ideas, and ways of playing. After two years, when the next expansion comes out, those systems are largely trashed in favor of new ones. If you think about it, the core game has not changed much. So when a new expansion is announced, and they announce all of these new ways of playing, I am less and less excited because I know its only temporary.

Same goes for battle for azeroth. With the little information we have it seems flat, uninspired, and knowing that most, if not all, of these new fun things to do will be gone in ~2 years after the expansion launches...eh. And we've kind of been here before.

And it seems they are going in cycles now. Horde vs Alliance > All vs Orc/Rogue horde baddy > All vs Legion. Now we are back to...you guessed it, Horde vs Alliance. The expansion after this one will be All vs Orc or Troll or something. And then onto Legion again.

I'll admit, I played Legion a lot longer than I thought, and its the first expansion since Cata that I've played for longer than 2 months. I did think Legion was pretty good, considering all of its flaws. But since Cata, what as really changed? Ok, leveling has changed greatly. Mythics/Mythic+ is now a vital piece for gearing up and getting BiS. But what else has stayed in the game since MoP and beyond? Farms? Scenarios? Garrisons? Class halls? Artifact weapon? Just a few examples of huge selling points from expansion to expansion that didnt stay in the game beyond its expansion. So, youre stuck with the same boring game with a temporary sugar rush. The game isn't evolving. Battle of Azeroth, I feel, won't be any different. No money from me this time around.

jgDuffay · November 2017

whoot, are you going to be a bit negative here ? .. that's original xD

Xingbairong · November 2017

Thank fuck artifact weapons are gone. That and the random RNG really ruined Legion for a lot of people myself included, not to mention that I missed that feeling when you get a weapon upgrade... it was the best. Weapon and trinkets upgrade

<br /> Really wondering how the PvP(talking about RBG/Arena) will be. Hopefully with the stat squish they will be able to re-adjust a lot of stuff cause PvP has never been worst in my opinion.
I really hope that Blizzard hasn't been idle and they surprise us with early(dreaming I know) Q2 release, but honestly I'll be happy with late Q2 release as well, though chances are it's going to be like the previous release early Q3.

Xydrassial · November 2017

Feel abit bad for the WoW dev team, they've got one group saying that vanilla was perfect and changing the game makes it worse and another camp saying that it doesn't change enough and that's whats killing it.

Righteous_Rock · November 2017

cesmode8 said:

Im going to be a bit negative here.

They are reaching, and they have been for a few expansions. Each expansion introduces a few new systems, ideas, and ways of playing. After two years, when the next expansion comes out, those systems are largely trashed in favor of new ones. If you think about it, the core game has not changed much. So when a new expansion is announced, and they announce all of these new ways of playing, I am less and less excited because I know its only temporary.

Same goes for battle for azeroth. With the little information we have it seems flat, uninspired, and knowing that most, if not all, of these new fun things to do will be gone in ~2 years after the expansion launches...eh. And we've kind of been here before.

And it seems they are going in cycles now. Horde vs Alliance > All vs Orc/Rogue horde baddy > All vs Legion. Now we are back to...you guessed it, Horde vs Alliance. The expansion after this one will be All vs Orc or Troll or something. And then onto Legion again.

I'll admit, I played Legion a lot longer than I thought, and its the first expansion since Cata that I've played for longer than 2 months. I did think Legion was pretty good, considering all of its flaws. But since Cata, what as really changed? Ok, leveling has changed greatly. Mythics/Mythic+ is now a vital piece for gearing up and getting BiS. But what else has stayed in the game since MoP and beyond? Farms? Scenarios? Garrisons? Class halls? Artifact weapon? Just a few examples of huge selling points from expansion to expansion that didnt stay in the game beyond its expansion. So, youre stuck with the same boring game with a temporary sugar rush. The game isn't evolving. Battle of Azeroth, I feel, won't be any different. No money from me this time around.

I used to think that way too, but we are getting new content and changing systems like they do is a way to keep an old game feeling fresh, yes it’s temporary, but what in life is permanent? I used to fight change so much but I’ve changed my perspective, I’m more of a go with the flow type of person now and that’s helped me in real life as well. Instead of sulking about change, I just dig in and do the best I’ve got to work with. I’ve found it rewarding to be successful in spite of the change. I challenge you to change your perspective and embrace the change as a new challenge you get to take on as you explore The Battle For Azeroth.

Octagon7711 · November 2017

Xydrassial said:

Feel abit bad for the WoW dev team, they've got one group saying that vanilla was perfect and changing the game makes it worse and another camp saying that it doesn't change enough and that's whats killing it.

And yet a large amount of people still stay and sub.

boris20 · November 2017

I do not play WoW, it is simply not my cup of tea.

But I simply do not get some of you, who complain about only getting 2 months or so of play time out of an expansion. IMO that is a pretty good amount of time for the low cost of an expansion plus sub. The way is see it, if i get 60 hours of game time out of a 60$ game, ill gladly spend 1$ an hour for entertainment, and be pleased with my purchase. Wow is a great time sink for some people, and the amount of play time you get for the small cost ratio of money paid vs time spent is a good deal. Quit bitching.

winghaven1 · November 2017

cesmode8 said:

Im going to be a bit negative here.

They are reaching, and they have been for a few expansions. Each expansion introduces a few new systems, ideas, and ways of playing. After two years, when the next expansion comes out, those systems are largely trashed in favor of new ones. If you think about it, the core game has not changed much. So when a new expansion is announced, and they announce all of these new ways of playing, I am less and less excited because I know its only temporary.

Same goes for battle for azeroth. With the little information we have it seems flat, uninspired, and knowing that most, if not all, of these new fun things to do will be gone in ~2 years after the expansion launches...eh. And we've kind of been here before.

And it seems they are going in cycles now. Horde vs Alliance > All vs Orc/Rogue horde baddy > All vs Legion. Now we are back to...you guessed it, Horde vs Alliance. The expansion after this one will be All vs Orc or Troll or something. And then onto Legion again.

I'll admit, I played Legion a lot longer than I thought, and its the first expansion since Cata that I've played for longer than 2 months. I did think Legion was pretty good, considering all of its flaws. But since Cata, what as really changed? Ok, leveling has changed greatly. Mythics/Mythic+ is now a vital piece for gearing up and getting BiS. But what else has stayed in the game since MoP and beyond? Farms? Scenarios? Garrisons? Class halls? Artifact weapon? Just a few examples of huge selling points from expansion to expansion that didnt stay in the game beyond its expansion. So, youre stuck with the same boring game with a temporary sugar rush. The game isn't evolving. Battle of Azeroth, I feel, won't be any different. No money from me this time around.

I'm a bit annoyed reading this but your opinion is your opinion but allow me to try and convince you otherwise. This is World of Warcraft, at its roots, what does the name tell you? What sort of theme and story can you believe it is about at first glance at just the title. War, right? Yes, war. I am going to expect you didn't play warcraft 3 or earlier than that because you seem distraught at the idea of a faction war.

Yet, you say it is the same correct? You seem to say that a lot and it bothers you that the game is still the game it told you it was when you purchased it originally. A MMORPG and a themepark MMO at that. It isn't the experience you expected and it never will be considering what you are asking the game changes.

I suggest you read on themepark mmorpgs and what that means. Essentially, if you knew, it should not be a surprise at all that every expansion is a new cycle. It is meant to be as a new start again and a new progression entirely. The problem or the issue you have is that the game isn't for you and that's fine. There are games that give you permanent progression like Albion Online, Runescape, e.t.c to name a few. However, you'll find these games aren't necessarily booming with population because it lacks renewal and the progression WoW offers each expansion.

Another thing that annoys me is how much you hate WoW storyline. What do you expect it to do, exactly? It cannot go from one villain to another like the Legion to some other world-ending scenario they have to overcome to save everyone from imminent doom. That's poor design. It has to add some build-up and while this Battle for Azeroth starts off as this big war where Teldrassil is burned to the ground and the Alliance retaliates by attacking/retaking Lordaeron (Undercity) there is always some underlying theme we are not seeing. People are speculating that with the confirmed addition of Queen Azhara that the Old Gods are likely to intervene or somehow be hinted at during this Expansion and act as the followup.

Ultimately, I feel you are the one reaching with speculations that while maybe you feel personally just don't hold any ground and largely are based on what you prefer instead of what the game is meant to offer to stay true to the franchise, world, community and the integrity of World of Warcraft.

TL;DR I think you blame Blizzard (WoW) for your own choice in a MMORPG which it simply hasn't offered ever and for it to make a dramatic change in both game design and functionality & mechanics, it demands a whole new game entirely with different engine to even begin to accommodate your wishes.

TheDarkrayne · November 2017

cesmode8 said:

Im going to be a bit negative here.

They are reaching, and they have been for a few expansions. Each expansion introduces a few new systems, ideas, and ways of playing. After two years, when the next expansion comes out, those systems are largely trashed in favor of new ones. If you think about it, the core game has not changed much. So when a new expansion is announced, and they announce all of these new ways of playing, I am less and less excited because I know its only temporary.

Same goes for battle for azeroth. With the little information we have it seems flat, uninspired, and knowing that most, if not all, of these new fun things to do will be gone in ~2 years after the expansion launches...eh. And we've kind of been here before.

And it seems they are going in cycles now. Horde vs Alliance > All vs Orc/Rogue horde baddy > All vs Legion. Now we are back to...you guessed it, Horde vs Alliance. The expansion after this one will be All vs Orc or Troll or something. And then onto Legion again.

I'll admit, I played Legion a lot longer than I thought, and its the first expansion since Cata that I've played for longer than 2 months. I did think Legion was pretty good, considering all of its flaws. But since Cata, what as really changed? Ok, leveling has changed greatly. Mythics/Mythic+ is now a vital piece for gearing up and getting BiS. But what else has stayed in the game since MoP and beyond? Farms? Scenarios? Garrisons? Class halls? Artifact weapon? Just a few examples of huge selling points from expansion to expansion that didnt stay in the game beyond its expansion. So, youre stuck with the same boring game with a temporary sugar rush. The game isn't evolving. Battle of Azeroth, I feel, won't be any different. No money from me this time around.

They've mentioned a lot that this new expansion is going to implement scaling a lot more in an attempt to make past expansions relevant again... so.. you might be completely wrong with your first point.

ohioastro · November 2017

I really like that the game isn't completely cumulative. Having systems that you use for one expansion makes it mechanically possible to jump back into the game without having to run through every single intermediate step. In fact, I really wish that more MMOs did this - I'd be more interesting in spending time in more of them if I didn't have to grind through hundreds of hours of obsolete (and empty) things to reach the place where most of the players are.

Evardune · November 2017

montie75 said:

Are dungeons going to be forced on players who don't necessarily like grouping with players to do them again like they were in Legion?

Dont like grouping? Dont play mmos.

BillMurphy · November 2017

montie75 said:

Are dungeons going to be forced on players who don't necessarily like grouping with players to do them again like they were in Legion?

Were they forced? I don't think so. The story should/will all be solo-able.

Kootur · November 2017

This expansion seems pretty underwhelming.

Cryolitycal · November 2017

So far I don't see anything to bring me back. Left mid-Legion after leading a pretty top Mythic guild for 10 years+. The game simply doesn't resemble what we all fell in love with in Vanilla and BC, and dragged with in Wrath. There's simply nothing left in it, they ate all villains, killed all that was interesting and kept us engaged, like facing Ragnaros or Nefarian or Magtheridon or Illidan or Kil'jaden - their original forms - not Legion crap. Finally reaching them was an epic experience, it felt amazing and unique. Now every idiot can reach same bosses in LFR, even get same drops as a real raider. What's left? A mount? Achievement? A few ilvls?
No thank you. In Vanilla after we got realm first we got a full PARTY made for our guild in Orgrimar - by unknown players, celebrating the guild who got first kills. It felt out efforts were appreciated and recognized.
There's simply no point playing now as a competitive minded individual. RNG legendaries was the last drop.
Months passes since me first unsubbing in 10 years, and I don't feel like ever returning. Not one inch of regret.

Kootur · November 2017

Robokapp said:

Kootur said:

This expansion seems pretty underwhelming.

i've been reading this for 10 years.

Well in most expansion there is that one thing that really pops out. This one doesn't have that.

Raquis · November 2017

WOW is good but i am not addicted to the game so the subscription makes it not worth it for me.

daltanious · November 2017

Evardune said:

montie75 said:

Are dungeons going to be forced on players who don't necessarily like grouping with players to do them again like they were in Legion?

Dont like grouping? Dont play mmos.

I love games to be soloable, so I can play at any time, returning at job at evening when is hard to find help. Hated that most in original release. For group play you have 5man, raids, ....nobody expect them to be solo. Btw, mmo just mean massive multiplayer online. A lot of players at same time in game. Doing whatever they want. Now I have more time as once and I enjoy in full FF14, doing a lot of group content. I do not see any problem game being soloable to experience main chain quests. For the rest there are dungeons. All happy. Including companies getting more money from subs or otherwise.

daltanious · November 2017

Raquis said:

WOW is good but i am not addicted to the game so the subscription makes it not worth it for me.

Have nothing to do with addiction. I always pay sub even when happy with free version if games does not subs. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. Everyone works for money, if they get enough money, we will get new great expansions. Otherwise not. If I do not like game I will never play, being free have zero weight for me. If I like it is correct thing to do to support.

KalebGrayson · November 2017

Righteous_Rock said:

cesmode8 said:

Im going to be a bit negative here.

They are reaching, and they have been for a few expansions. Each expansion introduces a few new systems, ideas, and ways of playing. After two years, when the next expansion comes out, those systems are largely trashed in favor of new ones. If you think about it, the core game has not changed much. So when a new expansion is announced, and they announce all of these new ways of playing, I am less and less excited because I know its only temporary.

Same goes for battle for azeroth. With the little information we have it seems flat, uninspired, and knowing that most, if not all, of these new fun things to do will be gone in ~2 years after the expansion launches...eh. And we've kind of been here before.

And it seems they are going in cycles now. Horde vs Alliance > All vs Orc/Rogue horde baddy > All vs Legion. Now we are back to...you guessed it, Horde vs Alliance. The expansion after this one will be All vs Orc or Troll or something. And then onto Legion again.

I'll admit, I played Legion a lot longer than I thought, and its the first expansion since Cata that I've played for longer than 2 months. I did think Legion was pretty good, considering all of its flaws. But since Cata, what as really changed? Ok, leveling has changed greatly. Mythics/Mythic+ is now a vital piece for gearing up and getting BiS. But what else has stayed in the game since MoP and beyond? Farms? Scenarios? Garrisons? Class halls? Artifact weapon? Just a few examples of huge selling points from expansion to expansion that didnt stay in the game beyond its expansion. So, youre stuck with the same boring game with a temporary sugar rush. The game isn't evolving. Battle of Azeroth, I feel, won't be any different. No money from me this time around.

I used to think that way too, but we are getting new content and changing systems like they do is a way to keep an old game feeling fresh, yes it’s temporary, but what in life is permanent? I used to fight change so much but I’ve changed my perspective, I’m more of a go with the flow type of person now and that’s helped me in real life as well. Instead of sulking about change, I just dig in and do the best I’ve got to work with. I’ve found it rewarding to be successful in spite of the change. I challenge you to change your perspective and embrace the change as a new challenge you get to take on as you explore The Battle For Azeroth.

THIS! So much this! Stop railing against something we can't change. I turned 41 on Saturday and I too have changed my perspective. I'm not going to be "Get off my gaming lawn" guy anymore. I've tried other games out there and nothing else stacks up to WoW (my opinion). Am I in love with the idea of going from LEGION SAVE THE UNIVERSE down to faction bickering again? Hell no. But it's their game (Blizzard) and they will do what they want with it. Just enjoy the ride.

jgDuffay · November 2017

I actually find the wow dev team a bit courageous, they continue to add different things into the game and poor Ian has to say how good it is even tho it was shit (Legiondarys), and they remove it the next expansion.
they had me hyped for Legion and they sorta got me hyped for this one too, I'm really glad they are doing something with the artifact & legendary system. looking forward to see more content and info about this exp.

and if it's shit .. i will still sub and play classic !

Dreycraft · November 2017

BillMurphy said:

montie75 said:

Are dungeons going to be forced on players who don't necessarily like grouping with players to do them again like they were in Legion?

Were they forced? I don't think so. The story should/will all be solo-able.

Are you serious Bill?? In Legion you could only aquire a single pillar of creation without running a dungeon. You could not complete the questing story without being forced into a dungeon, something I'm STILL angry about. And I don't want to hear anyone say, "Well don't play mmos." That's complete BS, mmorpgs are about playing how you want, and it has never stopped me from completing expansion stories before the fact that I don't like running dungeons with a bunch of mouthy @$$holes. I think the expansion looks cool, but I swear to god I'm giving WoW one last chance. If running dungeons to complete the story is forced again and the new allied races are as hard to unlock as artifact appearances, I'm done FOREVER.

Octagon7711 · November 2017

"For the Alliance!!!"
KEEP CALM CRUSH THE HORDE FOR THE ALLIANCE Poster SDFSDF Keep Calm-o-Matic

Wraithone · November 2017

Some of what I've seen so far looks promising. Others, well lets hope they get it right. Especially the new PvP system... If there is ANY loop hole, no matter how obscure, well as they say "Goons gotta Goon..."

I've been playing since late beta. I've played each expansion, and enjoyed some more than others. Panda Land was one of my least favorites. Wrath on the other hand, was one of my favorites.

Through it all, Blizzard itself (no matter what other games came out) was and remains, the only real threat to WoW. Lets see how BFA plays out.

calibek · November 2017

KalebGrayson said:

Righteous_Rock said:

cesmode8 said:

Im going to be a bit negative here.

They are reaching, and they have been for a few expansions. Each expansion introduces a few new systems, ideas, and ways of playing. After two years, when the next expansion comes out, those systems are largely trashed in favor of new ones. If you think about it, the core game has not changed much. So when a new expansion is announced, and they announce all of these new ways of playing, I am less and less excited because I know its only temporary.

Same goes for battle for azeroth. With the little information we have it seems flat, uninspired, and knowing that most, if not all, of these new fun things to do will be gone in ~2 years after the expansion launches...eh. And we've kind of been here before.

And it seems they are going in cycles now. Horde vs Alliance > All vs Orc/Rogue horde baddy > All vs Legion. Now we are back to...you guessed it, Horde vs Alliance. The expansion after this one will be All vs Orc or Troll or something. And then onto Legion again.

I'll admit, I played Legion a lot longer than I thought, and its the first expansion since Cata that I've played for longer than 2 months. I did think Legion was pretty good, considering all of its flaws. But since Cata, what as really changed? Ok, leveling has changed greatly. Mythics/Mythic+ is now a vital piece for gearing up and getting BiS. But what else has stayed in the game since MoP and beyond? Farms? Scenarios? Garrisons? Class halls? Artifact weapon? Just a few examples of huge selling points from expansion to expansion that didnt stay in the game beyond its expansion. So, youre stuck with the same boring game with a temporary sugar rush. The game isn't evolving. Battle of Azeroth, I feel, won't be any different. No money from me this time around.

I used to think that way too, but we are getting new content and changing systems like they do is a way to keep an old game feeling fresh, yes it’s temporary, but what in life is permanent? I used to fight change so much but I’ve changed my perspective, I’m more of a go with the flow type of person now and that’s helped me in real life as well. Instead of sulking about change, I just dig in and do the best I’ve got to work with. I’ve found it rewarding to be successful in spite of the change. I challenge you to change your perspective and embrace the change as a new challenge you get to take on as you explore The Battle For Azeroth.

THIS! So much this! Stop railing against something we can't change. I turned 41 on Saturday and I too have changed my perspective. I'm not going to be "Get off my gaming lawn" guy anymore. I've tried other games out there and nothing else stacks up to WoW (my opinion). Am I in love with the idea of going from LEGION SAVE THE UNIVERSE down to faction bickering again? Hell no. But it's their game (Blizzard) and they will do what they want with it. Just enjoy the ride.

Exactly. I am 34 and I have come to the conclusion that resisting change is futile. Everything changes, you can try to resist it but you will fail. I also find it odd that we as a species exist the way we do through change and we resist it as much as we do.

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"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

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World of Warcraft - Hands on with the Alliance Side of Battle for Azeroth - MMORPG.com

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Comments

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey