MeinMMO Demon Cortyn has dived into WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria. At first, there was skepticism – now there’s sheer enthusiasm.
For a few days now, WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria is live. Cynics might say that it’s just a lukewarm rehash of an old expansion, packed with additional amenities to please the turbo-addicted community.
I’ll be completely honest: I scoffed at it initially. I loved Plunderstorm. I found it exciting and new. The prospect of running through Pandaria again didn’t appeal to me at all. But I also have to admit: I was wrong.
WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria is fun and nearly endless.
I now believe that WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria is proof that Blizzard has finally found a way to make use of the immense amount of content that World of Warcraft has again sensibly.
The effort is minimal – and the reward so great that Blizzard will likely be surprised by the success.
Endless Power and Endless Fun
The “worst” part about the remix is actually the start. The experience is no different than with any other character. The first half hour feels like tedious questing without any special features. Fights take time and there’s no real momentum.
But then it gets better with every single quest. Because every quest grants a reward chest that can contain not only gear but also a permanent upgrade for the artifact cloak. New rewards keep popping up on the screen: Here’s 3 stamina, there’s 1 life steal, or 3% additional XP gain.
Within 2 evenings, I leveled my Night Elf warrior to level 65, and I will probably hit 70 today.
My warrior doesn’t fight. She explodes into enemies.
After the charge, she throws a massive shadow sphere at the enemies. Ice projectiles attract enemies within a 40-meter radius, arriving just as the sphere explodes, causing them to lose about 70% of their health. Critical hits cause me to unleash flames and deal even more damage to all nearby enemies. Once an enemy falls below 10%, my character automatically tries to “finish” them – and if they have less health than double my maximum health, they die instantly.
Oh, and every time an enemy dies, they also explode in flames and deal fire damage to enemies and heal my allies.
In other words: As soon as an opponent dies, it triggers a chain reaction of explosions. 25 enemies lie dead in front of me, and my elf is already hopping to the next group.
Rewards Without End
It’s clear that a large part of the appeal comes from the numerous rewards. Bronze rains down everywhere, which you can exchange with some merchants. You can either upgrade your gear or collect transmogs, pets, mounts, and other cosmetic rewards.
I haven’t calculated how much bronze I need for everything – but the number will probably reach close to a million.
But it motivates me. There’s so much choice, so much interesting stuff, and everything is optional. If I’m not interested in the fourth color of a leather set, then I simply won’t buy it.
Those who want can focus only on the big “hits” like mounts or toys.
Everything feels quite casual and the grind is definitely satisfying. Every few hours I can treat myself and benefit from it for the rest of my WoW playtime.
How Long Will the Fun Last?
The question now is: Will it get boring soon? Will it stop being fun at some point? Because as absolutely overpowered as you are, the challenge naturally diminishes a bit.
You feel a bit like a cheater, and the appeal could be lost. Because if all enemies drop dead just by looking at them, it’s nice at first, but eventually a bit monotonous. Or?
Yes and no.
Because the remix characters live in their own cosmos and can’t access the current Dragonflight content until the end of the event, Blizzard hasn’t put chains on the power. You can literally make your character infinitely strong. Your cloak keeps gaining strength, and everything you do contributes to this power gain.
This is power that, by the way, also transfers to other characters, as the progress of your cloak is recorded with achievements that other characters can then benefit from. After my warrior, another hero will certainly follow – and they will start with a substantial amount of additional strength (and additional XP).
I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes possible in a few weeks to complete the Pandaria raids with just a small group. Heroic dungeons are probably already “solo” achievable quite early. I’ll try that out in the coming days.
I can’t predict how long I will spend in WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria. But I intend to earn every single reward. Not because I necessarily need every one of them. But because the Pandaria remix is simply fun, and it might just be the biggest but also the most exciting grind in WoW’s history.
The Future of Old Content
I may be leaning a bit too far out of the window here, but I’m convinced that events like “WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria” could be the salvation for old content that hardly anyone would otherwise play.
Blizzard doesn’t seem to have the plan for “the entire world” of Azeroth to be relevant at max level. That would probably be quite overwhelming. But taking a single expansion and saying for 3 months: “Here, play this again and try out absolutely crazy abilities” – that’s a nearly perfect solution.
The work Blizzard has to do here is comparatively minimal. Sure, it requires variety in other events of this kind, maybe new abilities or other features.
Even if no one wants to hear this yet: In my mind’s eye, I already see a “WoW Remix: Shadowlands” in 2 or 3 years with the twist that the anima powers from Torghast can also be found and used everywhere in the open world. Or how about a “Remix: Battle for Azeroth,” where many of the Azerite powers from back then can be used simultaneously?
The possibilities are nearly endless, and Pandaria shows that the concept works.
So far, this kind of content recycling is just one thing: magnificent.
So if you’re still skeptical, just take 2 hours and check it out. You might like it more than you initially think.
