IWorld of Warcraft has a persistent identity problem. What was once one of the biggest games in the world is now approaching its 20th anniversary, and with each passing year, developer Blizzard has the unenviable challenge of trying to prove that WoW still has a place in today’s gaming world.
This partly explains the many times Blizzard has tried to reinvent WoW. Six years after its initial release, the developer attempted a radical revamp of the game’s world in 2010’s Cataclysm expansion, which saw an ancient dragon ravage and reshape the realm of Azeroth (an experience you can relive through the recently relaunched Cataclysm Classic). Since then, Blizzard has experimented with numerous gimmicks to try to keep WoW fresh, including a now-much-maligned mechanic that forced players to increase their power level over two years, only to lose that power at the end of each expansion cycle.
These gimmicks, combined with an antiquated approach to gameplay updates that made players feel unloved and taken for granted, led to an air of unrest among WoW fans. Two years ago, the Dragonflight expansion seemed like a hit-or-miss affair. But what could have been WoW’s swansong turned out to be a much-needed breath of fresh air. Dragonflight stripped away the chaff and boiled WoW’s gameplay down to something that felt tight, reminiscent of glory days gone by. After all the gimmicky experiments, it was as if Blizzard had decided on the most radical of game design approaches: make a better game.
I admit I had my doubts about whether this latest expansion, The War Within, could keep up the momentum. Plunging into the dark, dank depths in search of adventure, treasure, and intrigue is one of fantasy’s most persistent clichés, and rightly so. But after taking to the skies in Dragonflight, “WoW… but underground!” felt like something of a thematic nosedive.
But The War Within does a great job of telling us because We’re exploring the deepest reaches of the Earth. While WoW’s scripting quality has historically not been its strong suit, here a stellar voice cast and surprisingly engaging in-game cinematics tell a more compelling story than ever before. The expansion also benefits from a charismatic villain who, while still cliché, is a refreshing contrast to the burly, baritone villains WoW has tended to default to.
But while a compelling story is important, MMORPGs live or die by how they feel to play, day in and day out. So far, this is where The War Within shines. Over the past two years, Blizzard has been steadily experimenting with a variety of new features that make players’ lives easier. These include much-needed improvements to WoW’s archaic menus and on-screen information, the ability to run around with AI companions when you’re learning a new dungeon, and the new “Warbands” feature that lets you progress toward every goal in the game on any of your characters, without having to mindlessly rehash hours of gameplay every time you want to try out being a druid instead of a rogue. All of this is seamlessly integrated into the leveling experience, and the result is the most satisfying start to a WoW expansion I’ve ever experienced.
Wacky new “hero talents” shake up WoW’s complex talent trees by adding a bit of extra flair and class whimsy. For example, my dueling giantsword-wielding Fury Warrior could become a lightning-powered stomping machine under the Mountain Lords hero tree. But sadly, there’s a lot of inconsistency in these choices, meaning you’re often forced to choose what hits the hardest in combat, rather than the exciting, flashy alternative. The choice can end up being one of intense joy or intense frustration, depending on how well your specific class, spec, and hero tree are performing. I ended up regrettably relegating my Mountain Lords Warrior to the far less exciting but higher-damage assassin tree.
The War Within also introduces “Delves,” shorter dungeons scattered across the landscape that can be tackled solo or in groups of up to five players. The game has been crying out for a flexible alternative to raids, which still require you to set aside one afternoon a week with a coordinated group of between 10 and 25 players. Delves suit players who only have a spare hour here or there, but still want to feel like they’re making progress toward their character and gear goals. If Delves are properly maintained in the coming months and years, I can see myself spending a lot of time with them.
Granted, we’re just at the beginning of The War Within’s two-year lifecycle, but this is the best performance WoW has had in years. While Blizzard will surely continue to fight for Warcraft’s place in the modern gaming landscape, especially ahead of WoW’s 20th anniversary, the game feels more relevant than it has in a long time.
