World of Warcraft Legion

After an unprecedented decade-plus run of unbelievable subscription numbers, World of Warcraft has seen some dramatic drops in its player base in recent months. Blizzard no doubt hopes to plug that leak with the announcement of Legion, the sixth full-scale expansion, and the initial reveal provides ample reason to get excited.

For many players, the most compelling addition is the new class. The demon hunter’s return as a playable class is a thrill for both Horde and Alliance players, with a look modeled after Illidan’s blindfolded incarnation from Warcraft III. The storyline for these new characters focuses on a group of elite demon hunters sent to confront the Burning Legion over a decade ago, but they are now being reawakened to battle the resurgent threat. The opportunity to wield one of those two-bladed warglaives is a potent incentive to check out the class for longtime Warcraft enthusiasts. In addition to high mobility, the demon hunter class also has the ability to morph into other forms.

The looming threat of this expansion is the other exciting story component; after confronting the mystical land of Pandaria and the bizarre alternate-history vibe of Draenor, Legion takes us back to a confrontation against the demonic forces of the Burning Legion — as close to a fundamental Big Bad as this fictional universe has.

To stand a chance against this menace, the expansion introduces class-specific customizable Artifact weapons, allowing you to hold on to powerful weapons and continue to develop them over time via ability trees that offer increased spell and ability options. Making changes to your weapon also affects its appearance. Even transforming feral druids can get in on the action, with artifacts that change how they look when in alternate shapes.

In addition to an expected batch of new dungeons and raids, Legion also introduces a new continent called the Broken Isles, a place that was once the beating heart of the Night Elf civilization. Players can look forward to a new honor system, as well as class-specific Order Halls, from which you can send out NPCs to tackle missions. Players also get to advance up to level 110. New and old players alike can boost one character up to level 100 immediately, and dive into the action with friends.

As a lapsed World of Warcraft player, I can attest that Blizzard has chosen several features for Legion that already have me itching to dive back in. However, I’m withholding judgment until we’re closer to launch. Loyal players had a long wait between Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor. If the wait is anywhere as long for Legion’s final release, I worry that the enthusiasm from this admittedly thrilling reveal might fade. With an announced beta for “later this year,” I’m hoping my concerns are unwarranted.

As the sixth expansion, World of Warcraft Legion is in my opinion one of the best expansions this game has ever had. I still feel that it has the best opening of any warcraft expansion and even now it gives me goosebumps thinking about it. I have been on a bit of an old wow kick lately and I thought that it would be fun to look back a few years and see if this still holds up and I can tell you right now that it does!

Turn Off The Demon Tap

The story in World of Warcraft Legion is one of the best aspects of it. We have had big threats in Warcraft before, but none felt as real as this one did at the time. Demons are flooding into the land and major heroes are being killed. The lands all decide to unite and try to fight back this demon horde. It is awesome stuff and there are more than a few twists and turns to shock you along the way.

A More Cinematic Adventure

One of the things that I feel Blizzard absolutely nailed with World of Warcraft Legion is the presentation. To start with the draw distance in this game really is great and the Broken isles have never looked so large. The cut scenes are fantastic and this is what moves the story along as you try to get to the new level cap of 110. It keeps the story focused and does not make the player read paragraph after paragraph of text!

Behold The Artifacts!

One of the big new gameplay features in World of Warcraft Legion is the artifact weapons which are powerful and unique to each class and there are 36 of them. These are fun to use and give you special abilities as you would expect, but they also serve as a real focus of progression as the deeper you get into the game, the more special you realize that they are. I will admit that at first it can feel a bit gimmicky and there could perhaps be a little more variety in the way some of the look, but this was a huge addition to the game and one of the main gameplay features of the expansion.

Demon Hunters Join The Fight!

The new class added in World of Warcraft Legion is the Demon Hunters and these are awesome. Being able to transform into a demon, using a powerful eyebeam and just the whole style of them is awesome. I know that the core gameplay may seem very similar, but I love how this expansion has a more driven emphasis on exploration and trying to find stuff as well as it does just fighting and taking on the same quests over and over again. I like to dabble with classes in World of Warcraft as I can get bored easily, but that was not the case here with the new Demon Hunters class!

Pros:

• I loved the story that this expansion told
• I felt that there was far more cinematic flair with the cutscenes and music
• Exploration is fun and addictive, you really want to explore every nook and cranny
• The new Demon Hunters class and artifact weapons are great!

Cons:

• While it looks good, the engine was starting to show its age a bit here
• Some of the side quests feel rather strange in their tone