Battle for Azeroth was released in Germany on the night of August 13 to 14 at 12:00 AM for PC, at the same time worldwide. The first 8 hours of gameplay have been a lot of fun – despite the onset of fatigue.
With Battle for Azeroth, the seventh expansion of the MMORPG evergreen World of Warcraft has been released. We have played it and are giving you an initial impression of the new gameplay, new content, and the story.
Battle for Azeroth Play Test
For the first impression of Battle for Azeroth, I played my Alliance rogue and checked out the area of Drustvar. In just under 8 hours, I completed the entire area and reached approximately level 115 – at a normal pace.
Due to the short time, which certainly does not do justice to the addon, we want to emphasize again that this is just a first impression! More extensive tests are not yet possible at this time, and most of the content is set to level 120.
The Good Sides: Amazing Story with Great Potential
The story of Battle for Azeroth is one of the main reasons for me to celebrate this addon at the moment. The conflict between Horde and Alliance is brought to the forefront of an entire expansion for the first time since WoW – something that was overshadowed by the Sha in MoP.
Blizzard’s preparation has polarized many players and has clearly separated the Horde and Alliance factions again. Both factions have their heroes that fans can and want to support – and even within the factions, there are distinct camps (Jaina vs. Anduin, Sylvanas vs. Saurfang).
Voiced Cutscenes That Give You Goosebumps: The quest line for BfA begins by helping Magni heal Azeroth. As a reward, I get the “Heart of Azeroth,” the new artifact and centerpiece of the armor. Afterwards, it’s off to Stormwind to plan the journey to Kul Tiras.
The subsequent journey to Kul Tiras featured some cutscenes that gave me goosebumps:
- Jaina’s flashback: On the way to Kul Tiras, Jaina reflects on her childhood and father, haunted by the spirits of her past.
- Family feud in Kul Tiras: Upon arrival in Kul Tiras, Jaina speaks with her mother, Katherine Proudmoore. However, the conversation does not end well for her.
The entire setup around Jaina and her return to Kul Tiras promises an exciting story. The tensions between her, the Kul Tirans, and her mother form the basis for top-notch drama.
Exciting Story of the World: Upon arriving in Kul Tiras, I am faced with the first difficulties – I won’t spoil what exactly happens here. However, I am not greeted very kindly. The story narrated to me about the capital Boralus makes the city feel alive.
The story of Drustvar, my first area, is so exciting that I wanted to complete it immediately. Drustvar tells a unique tale of wendigo and witches. Villages are cursed, people enchanted and sacrificed, the entire area is bewitched.
If the other areas turn out the same way, BfA might have the best-told zones so far.
Interesting Level Phase: Although leveling in every addon tends to be a tedious task, I am genuinely enjoying it again in Battle for Azeroth. This is mainly due to the War Mode.
With War Mode activated, there is access to more talents that also work in open PvE – and on war loot, which is dropped by airships. The roar of the engines makes me excitedly look around every time to see if I can snatch a crate.
The Bad Sides: The Grind Begins Early
The omission of some features, which I will discuss later, has cost me some adjustments. However, the worst impression has been left by the feeling that I am supposed to start the “endgame grind” already at level 110.
The Heavy Heart of Azeroth: I already have to pump the new artifact necklace with artifact power starting from level 110. This was also the case with the artifact weapons in Legion, but it stands out more now due to the bland aftertaste of the grind at the end of Legion.
Even on my way through Drustvar, I collect every crate to level up the Heart as quickly as possible. I don’t find this particularly enjoyable – it always reminds me that I will probably spend a lot of time at level 120. This isn’t important to all players, but it sits uncomfortably in my mind.
Looting is Exhausting: Another point concerns the loot. There are quite a few green and blue items that clog up my inventory. Not a problem in other addons, just sell it or send it to the enchanter – you usually don’t need it otherwise.
However, in BfA, the junk-o-matic ensures that I collect everything and frequently fly back to the capital to scrap everything. This isn’t strictly necessary, but the chance of the rare expulsum makes me do it repeatedly. Annoying.
First Impression: Good with Room for Improvement
Overall, I am already enjoying Battle for Azeroth more than Legion at release. While being confronted with the endgame grind early on is unpleasant – but grinding is part of MMORPGs. However, being reminded of it so early is not pleasant.
The story makes up for this again. I am really hoping that the narrative will develop even better on both the Alliance and Horde sides. There is a lot of potential for really good twists and tension!
Read on the next page for our comparison between Legion and BfA so far.
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