We have played World of Warcraft: Legion a lot and are giving an initial rating. Find out in our review what we think of the latest WoW expansion.
The long wait is over
Fans have had to hunger for new content for far too long, as the drought of “Warlords of Draenor” hit World of Warcraft and its player base hard. Finally, “Legion” has been released and players are flocking to the new areas to level up artifact weapons, experience the new stories, and then farm the best possible gear. Cortyn dove into battle during the beta and now checked in turbo mode in the live version whether everything still fits. It’s time for a review!
However, a small spoiler warning from the house demon: I’ve included some cinematics from the game areas in the test. These cinematics contain fundamental spoilers to the story. Just don’t start the videos if you’d prefer to be surprised by the story. Otherwise, the test is free of spoilers.
New Quest Areas – The Dilemma of Choice
With a total of five new zones, one of which is reserved for the maximum level of 110, Legion seems a bit lacking in fresh areas. However, the diversity comes from the fact that we can switch between all areas at any time. All enemies scale with our level, so every zone remains challenging. This system is particularly beneficial for friends who can dedicate varying amounts of time to the game. I initially quested with a friend in Azsuna until level 102, and after he went to bed, I simply moved on to Stormheim and Val’sharah until I reached level 106. After that, we could continue playing together in Azsuna despite the level difference.
There is little to criticize about the areas themselves. Although WoW has shown its age (as it has for almost a decade), the developers are extracting everything possible from the graphics.
However, there is a small downside: The quest areas are (at least seemingly) relatively short. However, there is no shortage of meaningful side quests, so you are almost always on the trail of an exciting story. Short, snappy, and never boring.
Artifact Weapons – Motivating Goal with Cool Effects
The centerpiece of character progression in Legion takes place in the form of the artifact weapon. Each specialization gets its own, introduced through a cool questline. However, obtaining the weapon does not mean it’s complete. Through artifact power, the weapon is continually upgraded, gaining new passive and active talents that strengthen us in battle. You can find a list of all artifact weapons with their effects in this article.
The necessary artifact power is obtained through quests, rare enemies, and treasures hidden throughout the game world. Even at maximum level, fully upgrading the weapon will take several weeks (if not months), so it will take a while before players are “completely” satisfied with the weapons.
In addition to the “legendary” appearance of the weapon, it also comes with other effects. For example, Felo’melorn, the weapon of fire mages, causes enemies to occasionally turn to ash upon death. As a shadow priest, Xal’atath continually speaks to me, whispering mysterious things while enemies are occasionally “devoured” by the weapon and torn from the dimensional plane amidst cries of agony. This is incredibly cool and conveys a sense of “power” – and a bit of “danger” as well, but who would distrust Xal’atath?
Class Quests and Order Halls
In the Order Halls, the gathering point for our class, all players (that is, all priests in the priest hall) come together. Here, the artifact weapon is upgraded, various upgrades for the hall are chosen, and recruits are sent on missions – comparable to the garrison in WoD, but significantly less focused on it.
One of the best features is the reintroduction of class quests. Each class has its own campaign in which they have to deal with their problems in the fight against the Legion. This questline begins early (around level 102) and continues until the maximum level. Small “fragments” of it can also be found in the game world, where we are occasionally addressed individually about our character. A fire mage beside me was mentioned several times for wearing the Blade of Felo’melorn from Kael’thas Sunstrider. This occurs not only in hidden dialogue options, but NPCs start talking when you come close. Sometimes this is even rewarded with artifact power.
Meanwhile, as a priestess with my dark blade Xal’atath, I always seemed to miss out. No one appreciates my weapon of the Old Gods! But my blade speaks to me. Ha!
Dungeons – Interesting, but too easy on “normal”
For nearly all areas, it is necessary to visit a dungeon at the end to complete the area. Consequently, I took a look at the dungeons to complete the story. These are consistently designed and have just the right length, mostly with 4-5 bosses. The boss fights themselves were somewhat underwhelming on normal difficulty because they were too easy.
While all enemies have cool abilities with impressive visual effects – it seems to disturb my healer little whether I go out of the fire or comfortably lie in the acid bath. Here, I can only hope that the heroic and mythic dungeons provide more challenge, but for that, I still need a few teammates at maximum level.
Level 110 already after 16 hours? No content!?
Under a small news article, there were many comments stating that WoW: Legion has nothing to offer because the “content” runs out after just 16 hours. I should note that I:
1.) Have already played the beta and knew all the quests
2.) Did not re-read all the quests
I simply did not take the time to explore the game world thoroughly again, as I have already done that in advance.
Furthermore, it should be noted: Legion is not over at 110. Only then does the last area Suramar open up, which will consume countless more hours and soon after world quests will become accessible. Those who equate “content” solely with “leveling time” will not have long-term fun with the new game world. But there is more, so much more to discover. By the time I have explored all the treasures, rare spawns, pet battles, world quests, events, profession quests, class campaigns, and who knows what else, a lot more time will surely pass.
By the way, did I mention Suramar already?
What was not tested
There are still some points on which I cannot make large statements. The PvP system has been revamped with honor talents and a balancing of character values, but currently, there are still many players missing at level 110 to really engage in PvP (and honestly: I still have so much other stuff to do in WoW). Raids could not be tested yet, as they will only be unlocked in the coming weeks when players can gather their first equipment.
Conclusion
WoW is back with a bang. The game runs smoothly, the quest areas are fun, the artifact weapon is motivating, and the stories are captivating. The start is – as often – promising and boredom is not in sight. The expansion is worth it for all who can agree with the points mentioned. However, those who only like one type of content (“I just want mythic dungeons with exactly 5 bosses and 52 trash packs!”) might soon regret the purchase.
One thing, however, will not change with Legion: Half the people will continue to claim that WoW is dead, while the other half will celebrate the expansion as the best thing that could happen to the game. And I strongly lean towards the second group, as I feel thoroughly entertained.
