I began enjoying World of Warcraft throughout Mists of Pandaria, lured in by the luxurious emerald forests of this long-lost world, enthralled by a narrative that had its hooks in me by means of to the finish. I keep in mind hovering throughout the aqua skies of the Jade Forest, surprised by the great thing about the attractive Serpent’s Coronary heart statue sitting proper at its coronary heart – and audibly sobbing when it was destroyed just a few quests later. This was World of Warcraft, the MMORPG all of my pals had informed me about, and it was wonderful.
Quick-forward to 2020. After an prolonged hiatus away from WoW, I jumped again into the woeful world of Shadowlands, impressed by that epic cinematic the place my longtime favourite character Sylvanas Windrunner shatters the Helm of Domination. I used to be past excited, desirous to discover the macabre afterlives that Blizzard promised. I made a brand new character and dove headlong into the fray – a complete new World of Warcraft was on the market, prepared for me to discover.
Besides, it appeared the very same because it did again in 2012. How, I requested myself, is that potential? Having meandered over to the attractive Ultimate Fantasy 14 universe throughout Shadowbringers, I do know that MMOs can look gorgeous, so why does the alleged better of the style appear like this? Following Dragonflight’s launch, I stay equally as unimpressed with WoW – it’s the identical factor over, and over, and over once more. Actually? We simply want World of Warcraft 2.
And that grew to become very obvious to me throughout my FF14 adventures. It’s no secret that Sq. Enix has created its personal distinctive graphical model, outlined by glitter, magic, and majesty. I used to be blown away after I first entered Ul’dah, scampering by means of the streets like a misplaced little one to the attractive piano of ‘Sultana Dreaming.’ It’s an expertise I’ll always remember, and the extra I dive again into FF14, the extra surprised I’m.
Set aside by only a yr, there’s no comparability between Shadowlands and Endwalker. WoW, sadly, is the ugly duckling subsequent to a stunning, snow-white swan. Whereas I assumed Shadowlands’ Ardenweald was attractive and Revendreth introduced the right gothic paradise, FF14’s Previous Sharlayan merely took my breath away, as did the colourful, sky-top dream world of Radz-At-Han. Graphically, WoW’s simply inferior: your characters appear like pixelated blobs subsequent to FF14’s gorgeous bunny women and cat boys – all the things simply feels so outdated.
Nevertheless it’s not simply the visuals that really feel like an undesirable blast from the previous. WoW’s gameplay is now equally stale. With each growth, we see the identical grind on repeat with little else to have fun. Positive, Dragonriding was cool in Dragonflight, however doesn’t Guild Wars 2, one other of my childhood MMOs, have already got that?
In comparison with FF14, the place the story and dungeons can really feel considerably overshadowed by aspect actions like vogue competitions, FC home events, and basic chaotic enjoyable, WoW doesn’t really feel prefer it has a lot substance aside from enjoying the story, finishing a dungeon or raid, then going by means of those self same motions once more.
Participant housing is one thing WoW gamers have been requesting for a while, and I actually suppose it will change the sport completely. FF14 champions neighborhood spirit, and whilst you can create Guilds in WoW, there’s no set place to name residence. WoW feels soulless in the intervening time, and has finished for a while – you go online, you grind with pals, you sign off. There’s nothing that retains me tied to Azeroth. In truth, the gameplay – and its overly complicated, grindy programs – is so punishing that it’s pushing me away.
And a brand new WoW growth received’t deliver me again. In the mean time, there’s no innovation. The sport’s overarching narrative feels prefer it’s at a crossroads post-Shadowlands, and gameplay nonetheless feels outdated and clunky. Now could be the right time for Blizzard to go ‘okay, let’s revamp this sequence,’ as a substitute of pushing out yet one more growth that may delight for just a few hours and doubtless trigger disappointment for a lot of extra. Ultimate Fantasy 14 is doing it with Dawntrail – come on, WoW, do the identical.
WoW holds its place in my coronary heart as one of the vital inspiring multiplayer video games I performed as a child, however gaming has advanced since then and WoW has remained largely stagnant. The place as soon as the Jade Forest felt like a dream, it feels outdated now, a relic of a bygone period. Please, Blizzard, WoW is an outdated favourite, however I don’t need it to look and play like one thing from my childhood.
It’s time for a courageous new Azeroth, one thing that places the ‘wow’ again into WoW. Think about the spectacular, moon-bathed vistas of Ardenweald recreated with trendy requirements. Think about seeing the Sylvanas Windrunner in-game as they seem within the trailers, or the Alexstrasza whose scales shimmer within the daylight that bathes the Dragon Isles. Think about WoW if it appeared like FF14 – that’s all the things I want and extra.
Like I mentioned, we’re at a crossroads – Sylvanas Windrunner is gone, we’re again in Azeroth, and the Alliance and Horde have lastly scratched out the battlelines in favor of peaceable cooperation. In my view, WoW 2 wants to separate them down the center once more and produce a bit of extra ‘struggle’ (and likewise Valeera Sanguinar – no matter occurred to her?) to Warcraft. Now could be the time, now could be the hour – however will we see it occur? I’m not holding out hope.