Battle for Azeroth is, first and foremost, more World of Warcraft

The one released in 2016 legion enlargement enriched World of Warcraft with bold new features that changed the game in exciting ways. So far this does the Battle for Azeroth extension not.

legion brought us game-changing level scaling and artifact weapons, and expanded on cool ideas like random treasure discoveries and companion missions similar to its predecessor Warlords of Draenor had been introduced. The demon-haunted Broken Isles presented players with new landscapes to traverse and explore, beautiful lands battered by the glowing green taint of Hell.

Battle for Azeroth, the new expansion, is largely set on two previously inaccessible island continents and is much more “realistic”. The hilly landscape, the islands on whose coasts numerous shipwrecks can be found, the rural villages – with a few praiseworthy exceptions, they are just more of what we have already seen many times.

Pretty but ordinary.

That’s not to say this expansion isn’t pretty. It just can’t keep up with the extraordinary sights offered by its immediate predecessor.

And also the artifact system from Battle for Azeroth is just a pale imitation of the artifact weapons used legion pleased. Instead of collecting and upgrading powerful instruments of destruction, players will now periodically receive pieces of armor (head, shoulder, and breastplate) that have something of their own skill tree. By collecting a resource called Azerite, one can level up the Heart of Azeroth Artifact, allowing one to choose special abilities and traits for one’s magic armor.

I improve my robe.

Having previously completed a dynamic quest to acquire an ancient weapon, being handed super-strong armor pieces is disappointing. I enjoy the extra strength, but it would be nice if it had to be earned in a more interesting way.

But hey, I’ve only been playing for a little over a week. Its a lot to do. My Sorceress (Warlock) has only reached level 116, which means there are four levels left to reach the current cap. I’ve only unlocked two of the three war story zones, so there’s still more to do there too. I still have several dozen quests in my diary and with every step I take in Kul Tiras there are more.

To the islands!

I just unlocked Island Expeditions, special missions that shock players to uncharted islands in search of more valuable Azerite. And damn, I haven’t played a single dungeon yet. What kind of sorceress am I?

I enjoy the content of Battle for Azeroth. I like the many quests, even if they can become unbearable over time. I love exploring the new environments and finding cute new places to screenshot and possibly die in. It would just be nice if the expansion did more to advance the game. Time will tell if that changes as I work my way up to the level cap.