The thing with MMO games is that it would be best to review them every few months. These types of titles can change drastically over the course of their lifetime, both for good and for bad. Just think of the latest addition to the World of Warcraft. Warlords of Draenor received a very high score from us, but in retrospect we can say that it was one of the weakest additions to WoW. It caused a lot of people to leave the game and today it's considered by fans to be a very weak expansion.
Whether the same will be said about Legion we'll probably find out somewhere in 2017, but right now it looks like Blizzard has created one of the best expansions in World of Warcraft history.
Doomhammer, Ashbringer and other toys
The new expansion is a story-driven sequel to Warlords of Draenor, where we witnessed the events that sparked the largest Burning Legion invasion in Azeroth's history. The threat is so great that our character is given legendary weapons from the Warcraft universe, and our hero becomes the leader of his class or associated faction (for example, as a Shaman you take over the role of Thrall as the leader of The Earthen Ringu). The add-on itself starts with a high C and literally the first thing you'll do is get your artifact - a powerful weapon unique to each of the three specializations within a given character class.
At our disposal was given equipment well known to Warcraft fans. Enhacement Shamans use, for example, the hammer of Doomhammer, Retribution Paladins can wield the Ashbringer, and Marksman Hunters use the legendary bow of Thas'Dorah. Artifacts, however, are not just a skin on the weapon, but an expanded element of gameplay and an integral part of our character's development. Each of the artifacts has its own tree of passive skills that increase the combat potential of our hero and an active skill specific to a particular specialization. For example, Beast Master Hunters receive a second active pet!
Each artifact can be developed in a specific way
Developing an artifact is the key to increasing the strength of your hero, but there comes a point when, without any warning, this process slows down significantly. If you misallocate points, you can wake up with your hand in the night, because yes, the artifact can be reset, but the cost of this action at a certain point simply becomes uneconomical and will cost you a lot of lost time. I must admit that this is a bit strange approach, because it completely does not fit with the free allocation of talents to our character. Before you start developing an artifact, I would recommend reading a tutorial, which will tell you how to properly allocate points in it.
Fortunately, this is actually the only major complaint I can make about the artifacts. Everything else is a well-executed idea that adds even more depth to the game and makes each class and its specialties even more unique. We also enjoy such additions as the ability to change the appearance of our artifact, which for example affects the appearance of the druid in his animal form. Or how about a weapon that whispers to us? These are the kind of details that make you feel even more connected to your class and are a great complement to the extremely successful artifact concept.
Garrison 2.0
The powerful items aren't the only new feature of this expansion, which is probably the best in WoW history. Another cool new feature is the so-called Class Halls, which are locations unique to each class that serve as a base from which to fight the Burning Legion. Each class has its own unique location and so the Shamans find themselves in the headquarters of The Earthen Ringu located right next to the Maelstrom, while the Hunters get a hunting lodge located high in the mountains.
One look at the interior and you know you're in the Hunter's headquarters
Class Halls are also the starting point for a campaign unique to each class, in which you gain allies to fight the Burning Legion and manage the organisation you lead right at the beginning of the expansion. Integral part of this process are missions, on which we send heroes gradually joining our character. Each of the heroes has different abilities that counteract the threats lurking in the course of the mission, and they can last from a few hours to several dozen hours. Their successful completion brings various rewards (gold, new quests or special items increasing the power of our artifact), missions also advance the class campaign of our hero.
When it comes to recruited allies, I must admit that Blizzard has implemented this gameplay element very well. Our allies can not only be sent on missions, some of them can also be used as helpers in battle. In this way, we gain access to additional abilities or even to a permanent travel companion. For example, playing Hunter we can travel the world in the company of Rexxar himself, or what about Hemet Nesingwary, who from time to time appears at our side offering help in battle.
Our helpers also gain experience, you can also equip them with various helpful items
Class Halls can also be upgraded with various bonuses, helpful for example in performing missions or useful for faster development of our artifact. In general, the idea of class halls is an evolution of Garrisons from Warlords of Draenor. They were scaled down a bit, added some more character and it turned out to be a very cool novelty which is certainly one of the biggest advantages of this expansion.
We chase the bunny...
Both artifacts and class headquarters are an integral part of leveling up to the new 110 experience level, and in the process you'll quickly see new things. For example, for the first time in WoW's history, Blizzard has implemented level scaling. This means that it's only up to us in what order we progress through the four new zones designed to take us to the maximum level. You probably think that four zones are not enough, but in practice we have to visit all of them anyway, so you certainly won't complain about the lack of quests.
Leveling up is also a lot of fun and I don't remember when I've ever had so much fun leveling up in a MMO game. While playing with this expansion, I also had the impression that Blizzard had a lot of fun designing its subsequent elements. The concentration of nicely designed quests and various flavors characteristic of the Blizzard team is simply amazing. I'll long remember the quest with the moonkins, during which I communicated with them using gestures, or the quest in which I helped an elf addicted to mana.
Leveling is a lot of fun, also because each zone has a clearly marked and efficiently led main plot, which is useful for example when we level another alta. In addition, we often have a clearly marked side plot, so that we go through different zones in an organic and efficient way.
