5 years have passed since the low point of World of Warcraft. MyMMO demon Cortyn looks back at how Azeroth has changed.
World of Warcraft has now been around for over 21 years. And for at least 20 of those years, it has been claimed from all sides that World of Warcraft is “dying right now”. This has always been the case without exception.
- Even when paladins joined the Horde and shamans joined the Alliance, death was prophesied.
- The introduction of the “Dungeon Finders” was then the next blow that was supposed to kill the game.
- The setting of “Mists of Pandaria” also sparked many discussions about why WoW had to be so “cute”.
These are just a few examples where WoW was “practically dead”. Most of these accusations came from former fans who did not recognize themselves in the modern game and were unwilling to accept that there is indeed a large and often even larger target audience for the modern WoW with its changes and that they simply did not belong to it anymore.
The Low Point of World of Warcraft
However, there was one single period in which World of Warcraft was truly at death’s door. In hindsight, it is quite ironic that this was precisely the expansion that dealt thematically with the afterlife and death: Shadowlands.
It has now been almost 5 years since Shadowlands was released – and at the beginning, it looked pretty good. Shadowlands was heralded by great “Afterlife” cinematics. In the beta, the Tower of Torghast looked promising and fun. The leveling zones were creative and well-told.
But then came the brutal crash, as the endgame of Shadowlands was nothing less than hell. In some parts, even literally, as the “Maw” was developed as an area where one should feel uncomfortable and unwanted – not only narratively, but also through the gameplay there. In hindsight, a crazy concept, where one can critically ask who thought it was a good idea.
Also, the originally exciting Tower of Torghast was drastically reworked with the release. Instead of being optional, with fun in the foreground, it quickly became “Choreghast” – a weekly chore that one had to complete if one did not want to fall behind irreversibly.
It also became increasingly clear that tying character power to story and cosmetic decisions was not a good idea. A covenant granted powerful abilities in Shadowlands, but one could only belong to one covenant at a time. A change was not intended and was associated with a lot of effort. A catastrophe for those who wanted to enjoy more than one type of content. Because if a covenant provided a strong power in dungeons, it might be of no use in PvP or nearly useless in raids.
Also, the story displeased many. Characters suddenly acted incredibly stupid or old stories were devalued. Almost the entire lore of Warcraft was suddenly attributed to the brilliant plans of the Jailer. A meme that still persists today when something in the story makes little or no sense.
These problems were also garnished with extremely long wait times between the individual patches. Content updates took several months to arrive and in some cases brought not fun, but rather one of the most terrible endgame areas of all time: Korthia. An endless, soulless grind that drove even the most loyal WoW fans insane.
I could also feel this at work. My WoW articles reached fewer and fewer people, and the general interest in the game seemed to simply be declining.
No matter how you turn it: Shadowlands was the low point of World of Warcraft, although the zones, dungeons, and raids were appealing. The endgame, the theme, questionable decisions, long wait times, and incredibly unyielding developers in (much too rare) statements also triggered the thought in me at that time:
For the first time, World of Warcraft could really be dying.
The MMORPG to which I dedicated almost 15 years of my life until then was not only struggling, but felt like it was on the brink. A question arose:
End or renewal?
The Turnaround of the MMORPG Giant
Fortunately, we now know that World of Warcraft has chosen renewal. Already in the last patch of Shadowlands, which after much too long wait brought the area Zereth Mortis, one could feel the first improvements.
But the real “turnaround” only began with Dragonflight. There, the developers remembered old strengths and wanted to let go of old ballast at the same time.
But only in Dragonflight did development really pick up speed. New stories were woven while old systems were revised. The enhancement system was still in its infancy back then, but has since become an integral part of the game. Everyone can work on small, individual progress at any time – according to their own taste.
More and more content is optional, as there are many ways to reach the goal. If you want the best gear, you don’t necessarily have to visit raids. If you don’t want to do Mythic+, you don’t have to set foot in there either. Crafting creates powerful items; particularly committed solo players can also obtain good gear. And the best part: content earned once is also accessible to all other characters on the account.
We now live in a completely different World of Warcraft than we did 5 years ago. Even this small list shows how drastically Azeroth has changed:
- Each specialization now has comprehensive talent trees with numerous customization options.
- Accounts now have a warband that shares almost all progress and makes alternate characters more enjoyable to play than ever before.
- Solo players receive the same attention as group fans because, in addition to dungeons and raids, there are now depths.
- There are cross-faction guilds that are even cross-server.
- We have damn housing! Something I never thought we would actually get 5 years ago.
And yes, this renewal is not yet complete, but it is progressing rapidly. In a few weeks, “Midnight” will begin, and with it, World of Warcraft will bid farewell to the ancient tradition of interface add-ons that grant an advantage in the game. A controversial decision, but one that the developers hope to benefit from. Because it lowers the entry barrier to WoW and finally allows designers to develop boss fights that are not immediately automated by a WeakAura.
I am optimistic and excited about the future that World of Warcraft will still have. Because we already know that even after “The Last Titan”, it will not be over. New expansions are already in development. If Blizzard continues to show the community the same positive and understanding attitude as in the last years and does not slip back into “old arrogance”, we might still have the best years in World of Warcraft ahead of us.
Five years ago, I would not have believed it possible that World of Warcraft could shine again like it currently does. I hope that the path will be maintained. Because it is a game with which I would like to grow old, and that may accompany me for many decades to come. But that’s probably the case for most people, who have found a second home in Azeroth.
