I have no idea what I am doing in WoW Shadowlands, but it is great

About a week ago, Shadowlands, the latest expansion of World of Warcraft, was released. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch really jumped into Retail WoW for the first time and made some interesting experiences while leveling.

Due to Corona and accumulated leisure time, I had a long weekend and took the opportunity to thoroughly explore Retail WoW. Even though I am a huge MMORPG fan, my WoW history is limited:

• At the release, I was only 12 years old, and the subscription fees were out of the question for my parents. Instead, I fell in love with Guild Wars 1 and later many other MMORPGs, including AION, Black Desert, and Guild Wars 2, where I have over 7,500 hours of gameplay.
• I only played WoW for a few weeks during the release of Cataclysm as part of a Let’s Play. But we grinded with XP boosts, dungeons, and professionals who supported us.
• At the beginning of 2020, during the first Corona restrictions, I tried WoW Classic and rediscovered my old love for MMORPGs. But with level 60, it was over – I simply didn’t have enough time for raids.

With Shadowlands, I wanted to finally give Retail a chance. Especially with the level adjustments, I thought now might be the perfect time to start.

However, leveling went extremely chaotically for me. I haven’t been so confused and at the same time so excited by an MMORPG as I am now with World of Warcraft. But let’s take it one step at a time.

Jaina distracts me from Arthas and something with Vashj’ir

How does leveling work in Shadowlands? Anyone starting with Shadowlands now must first visit the Isle of Exile. There you will learn the game mechanics.

However, I decided against it and started normally in the starting area of the dwarves as a fresh level 1 hunter – since I had previously played WoW, I could choose here. Until level 10, I followed the first quests as expected, then I was sent to Stormwind, where I was supposed to talk to Chromie.

Chromie allows me to choose an expansion that I want to level in from then on. Theoretically, I could also have stayed in the old areas and gained experience there. But as an old WC3 fan, I was drawn to Northrend and Arthas, the Lich King. However, in Stormwind, everything was once again chaotic.

What happened? On the way to Chromie, I accidentally passed by the Castle of Stormwind. Suddenly, Jaina Proudmoore spoke to me. In a cool video sequence, she talked about Kul Tiras and that she absolutely needed to travel there.

This sounded exciting, so I ran to the harbor of Stormwind instead of to Chromie. Upon arriving at the harbor, I spoke with an NPC who urgently wanted to give me a quest. Upon accepting the quest, I was immediately teleported to Vashj’ir, the underwater zone from Cataclysm.

After 3 quests, it became too boring for me, so I pulled the Hearthstone and ran from Dun Morogh back to Stormwind. This time, I caught the right ship and headed to Kul Tiras.

Kul Tiras and the missing background story

What happened in Kul Tiras? In the completely new zone of Kul Tiras, I had no idea what was going on. Jaina apparently betrayed her homeland and was now locked away. Just like me, whatever I had to do with this betrayal.

As confused as I was by the story, I had so much fun in Kul Tiras.

• The story was beautifully told.
• Leveling was extremely fast for my Classic-burdened soul.
• I particularly liked the “chapter system”. I always knew where I was in the story, where it was going, and experienced one adventure after another.

However, I seem to have missed some quests, because contrary to expectations, I was still not level 50 after Kul Tiras.

So I set out again towards Northrend.

I turn wrong again!

Accidentally into the war instead of Northrend: This time I turned wrong again – this time in Kul Tiras – and ended up for a short time in the war campaign of Battle for Azeroth somewhere in an attack on the Zandalari.

During this, I got a companion – although I have no idea what this companion can do. Apparently, there are missions, but I should get on a ship for that. However, no one tells me where this ship is. At least the ship on which I received the companion was not the right one. Sooner or later, I will surely ask Dr. Google!

After a short interlude, I left the war and traveled to Stormwind to finally set off for Northrend – only about 12 hours of gameplay had passed since my initial decision!

In the icy north, I was surprised to find the chapter system again. With it, I smoothly and relaxedly played through the Borean Tundra – until level 49.

Finally in Shadowlands: At level 49, I was called back to Stormwind and it was time to head towards Shadowlands. Only a short sequence with Bolvar Fordragon introduced me to the story of Shadowlands. But I really didn’t understand it.

I’m currently still on my way in Shadowlands, my hunter is level 54. But even now I’m eager to experience how the story continues. At least I am following the lore of Shadowlands myself from the beginning this time.

Fun despite complete confusion

Although I am fully confused by the many travels and gaps in the story, I had a great time with Retail WoW over the weekend. It’s always exciting to discover a “new” MMORPG, and whatever you may say about WoW, it is truly a beautiful, well-voiced, and well-made game.

In fact, it is the lore that has kept me engaged:

• I wanted to know what happens to Jaina after she was captured.
• I absolutely wanted to see the Lich King.
• I wanted to be among the first to experience the story of a new expansion.

I am aware that I am quite late in all of this and I have to take some of the confusion upon myself. But anyone starting with Shadowlands like me now, and possibly having even less prior knowledge about the lore than I do, could be overwhelmed by all the possibilities.

My tip is actually to play through an expansion from start to finish and not to get distracted constantly. It would be wise to go through the Classic zones, Burning Crusade, or Wrath of the Lich King. From Mists of Pandaria – at least I feel – the story increasingly builds on previous events that are hard to understand without prior knowledge.

However, if anyone really wants to level quickly, they should play Warlords of Draenor. There, modern quests, tons of XP for “talk quests”, and treasures that give XP when looted await.

If anyone wants to read through the entire lore of World of Warcraft, here is a detailed summary by Cortyn:

The story of World of Warcraft to date – the entire lore summarized