I’ve never really managed to get into World of Warcraft. Over the years there have been several MMOs that I’ve gotten into, albeit usually only for a brief period of time, but despite trying once or twice to get into World of Warcraft I’ve just never managed it.
Part of it is that until fairly recently, I just wasn’t a very big PC gamer, and World of Warcraft has famously stuck to that platform despite Microsoft recently acquiring Activision Blizzard. The other part of it is that World of Warcraft is a VERY PC-focused MMORPG. It’s classic in the sense that it feels like you’re playing a game that was designed when it was released, and that has barely been changed since then. But with a new expansion on the horizon, can the game get me hooked, finally?
This is the tenth expansion for the popular MMO and promises to start a brand-new trilogy within the world of Azeroth. The problem I’ve always had with these types of games is that there’s a HUGE expectation on the player when going into a later expansion. You have to know exactly what you’re getting into, because if you don’t then you’ll be completely lost.
However, with the new expansion and the start of a new trilogy, that expectation feels less. Players don’t need to know deep lore from the series as a whole; they don’t need to understand complex details from the world that may or may not come up; they can jump in. And if you are a player that’s been with this game since 2004, when it was first released, then you’ll still be rewarded with small references.
In an interview with IGN, game director Ion Hazzikostas discussed what to expect from the expansion and how it’s approaching the world differently than before.
“There are a lot of variables there. We are trying to, and really a huge focus of ours, and hopefully this shows, is delivering more than ever for our community, and ensuring that there aren’t lulls or gaps in content, there’s always stuff to do in WoW. And we want to strike a balance between that, and also moving our story forward at a reasonable pace so that you’re not just getting bored waiting to see what happens next,” he said.
“When you join War Within, yes, it’s the first chapter of this big epic Worldsoul Saga, but it’s also an awesome WoW expansion in its own right that needs to feel like a self-contained satisfying expansion with a beginning, middle, and an end,” he finished.
The fact that the team is seemingly committed to making sure that you’re playing World of Warcraft daily, is something that is a huge drawing and sticking point of most MMORPGs. Suppose developers want to keep their audiences engaged, and the player counts reasonably. In that case, it follows that they need content that interests them, which is something else that I’ve found to be lacking at past points.
It’s pretty difficult to get into a quest line or a storyline if that storyline has already been going for years without you knowing about it (it’s a similar problem I have with Destiny 2, but that game exacerbates the point by shelving already-existing content which also happens to be story-critical, making it even harder to follow), but with the team looking to mitigate that issue, it’s never been easier for somebody like me to jump in and try it out.
Combine all the new stuff in this expansion with the fact that the last expansion, Dragonflight (which launched in 2022), added the ability to raise and customize your very own dragon, then use that dragon to ride around the world to complete various quests and tasks, and you’ve got something that I’m very interested in at least trying. I mean, what type of a gamer would I be if I wasn’t at the very least willing to try a game where I can have a Dragon baby? That possibility is 60% of the reason I play Dungeons & Dragons, and I’m damn sure not turning down the chance to do it in a video game with actual visuals.
So, with The War Within launching at the tail-end of the month, is everything that they’ve promised enough to get me to give the game another shot now that I’m a PC gamer? It’s a big ask, especially with a game as big and a world as deep as World of Warcraft's, but I think it’s finally time for me to take another step into Azeroth years after taking my first stride.
