World of Warcraft: The War Within

With the latest expansion to the legendary MMORPG, now's the best time to finally set foot on Azeroth. World of Warcraft: The War Within continues to prove how such a long-running game can still have some tricks under its sleeves, and will also compel you to sink even more hours down Blizzard's rabbit hole if you're a returning player.

The War Within offers new content for both new and returning players. It's nothing short of impressive to see a game last as long as World of Warcraft has. Though some might say the market has moved away from MMORPGs, WoW still proves there's a niche for players who enjoy the adventures that only World of Warcraft can deliver.

As a relatively new player – I only started playing the game during the Shadowlands expansion – I was intrigued to see what The War Within has to offer. Despite my limited knowledge of the game's lore and how it has evolved over the decades, I still found myself falling in love with WoW all over again after playing The War Within.

Going Deeper

This time, The War Within takes players to the depths of Khaz Algar. The underground world is surprisingly diverse, offering breathtaking vistas, and ferocious monsters who will not hesitate to take your last breath away.

The new area includes four new "zones" for players to explore. You'll find the Isle of Dorn, the Ringing Deeps (a personal favorite,) Hallowfall, and Azj-Kahet. As you might expect, each area has unique NPCs and quests to discover. And trust me, you'll need the extra XP for this one.

As is tradition, the expansion also ups the level cap. Now, players can go up to level 80. The change might sound relatively insignificant for most RPGs like The Elder Scrolls Online but in WoW, a higher level gives you some much-needed liberty to customize your character to your tastes. Or to fill in whatever role your party needs, if we're being honest.

Delve into the Adventure

New to this expansion are the so-called Delves. These scalable worlds allow up to 5 players to join in a "closed" environment that's perfect for leveling up. In a game like WoW, having a safe leveling-up section can be a godsend. The War Within shows it respects its players' time by coming up with this almost roguelite experience that also doubles as a great place for you and your party to unwind after tackling some of the game's toughest quests.

Delves pair up nicely with the revamped Warbands system. This feature now allows the player to advance multiple characters at once, with a feature that gives experience in an account-wide manner, similar to Fortnite's "Account Level" feature – only this one actually does something for progression.

Azeroth Revisited

Every few years, Blizzard finds a way to make the world of Azeroth more enticing for players. With The War Within, they finally struck the right balance between QoL changes, and an epic, engaging narrative.

I know that not everyone involved with WoW follows the lore and backstory of Azeroth as closely as Blizzard would hope. I certainly don't. Still, the self-contained story of The War Within is outstanding, featuring a storyline that really makes you believe World of Warcraft might finally be reaching its end. Spoiler alert: it isn't – and I can't wait to play the next expansion!

Pros

• Khaz Algar is an amazing new region
• Lots of new quests, gear, and locations to discover
• The storyline feels properly epic, with characters you can grow attached to

Cons

• Might not win over new WoW fans
• The new content might prove overwhelming for new players
• WoW's visuals are really starting to show their age now