The Broken Shore falls short of expectations. Our author Cortyn finds it one of the most boring zones in WoW.
Actually, I should have put this topic in a Whine Wednesday, but that’s still too far away for me, and it burns too much under my nails for me to wait a week. To be clear: I don’t like the Broken Shore.
The appearance of the Broken Shore is dreadful. Everything looks identical. Barren stones with destroyed Legion buildings and alternating green fire or purple shadow magics seeping from the ground into the world (or vice versa). I constantly have to look at the map to check where I actually want to go. The area has no truly distinctive points – aside from the Tomb of Sargeras. There’s no “creepy swamp zone” like in Tanaan or the misty cave with the elementals like on the Timeless Isle.
Yes, an area tainted by the Legion should be dead, inhospitable, and not exactly inviting. But the Broken Shore overdoes it. The colors are dull, everything seems identical, and there’s hardly anything to discover. Unless, of course, everything is so well hidden that I’ve simply overlooked it.
Hardly anything to discover on the Broken Shore
Another point of criticism is that the Broken Shore does not reward exploration. There are no hidden, rare enemies waiting at the end of a secret passage. There are also hardly any treasures – aside from the mini-chests – with cool toys that I will remember for a long time.
“Aha!” effects like in the jungle of Tanaan or the Timeless Isle are hardly present here – actually not at all. I believe my biggest discovery was that an ogre disguises itself as a turtle in a puddle, wanting to transform the priestesses of the Night Elves into a moonwell.
Currently, the Broken Shore is for me a large, monotonous “Grind Nether Shards!” area where I don’t want to stay because it makes you feel uncomfortable as a player. I’m nearly having flashbacks to Shadowmoon Valley from “The Burning Crusade” – only that one at least had many interesting quests.
Rather mediocre compared to other “patch zones”
In direct comparison to other “zone patches” from Burning Crusade (Quel’danas) to Pandaria (Timeless Isle, Isle of Thunder) and Warlords of Draenor (Tanaan), the shore looks old. There’s hardly anything to do. Some elite mob spawns every 15-20 minutes, carrying 30 more shards. Yes, wow. I’d rather farm Paragon rewards in Suramar.
It’s of course possible that the shore will change in the coming weeks, as the camp of the Legion judges is further expanded. Or I’ve simply been blind and have overlooked all the hidden details so far. But I’m rather skeptical about that.
What do you think of the Broken Shore so far? Is it exactly your thing or rather disappointing so far?
Patch 7.2 has more than just the Broken Shore. What else awaits you, we reveal here.
