World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenorlaunched with high expectations.

One question remainsDoes the expansion live up to that hype?

No, the launch ofWoDwas not smooth.

Blizzard suffered DDoS attacks that forced the team to throttle server population caps.

This led to queues on almost every server.

Issues like this in a game thats been around for 10 years shouldnt have happened to begin with.

The launch team should have been better prepared.

No, Blizzard, sorry.

Ask your buddy Illidan.

You were not prepared.

Many raids werent even able to attempt the first bosses of Highmaul until the following day.

The patch should have been handled better.

Blizzard could have promotedWoDfar better by spreading the love between all three expansion-prominent races.

And the music and scenery?

The quests inWarlords of Draenorarent overly mind numbing or repetitive.

They strike a nice balance of quick-to-complete with the help of bonus objectives yet unique and mostly interesting.

The scenarios are also a lot more group-friendly thanMoPs solo leveling scenario system.

The best elements of Timeless Isle are found in the leveling experience.

There are tons of rare mobs, treasures, and random events and upgrades to find throughout the world.

It doesnt get boring even after doing it twice on beta and once on live.

This is due to the fact that you might kind of pick and choose your desired pace.

It will likely return in a later patch.

Theres also something very satisfying about enjoying the sights from above.

Personally, I dont see the addition being delayed much longer after 6.02.

Garrisons are essentially a mix between a housing system, a crafting hub, and an RTS campaign.

Crafters can use it to gain a ton of extra materials and time-savers.

Explorers and PvPers can use it to gain a few open world bonuses.

Collectors and pet enthusiasts can use it to gain more goodies and hunt down a whole lot of achievements.

Garrisons have a little something for everyone.

Their only downfall is the fact that theyre not as customizable as they could be.

Will it happen one day?

I really, really want to see racial building options at the very least.

The Endgame Experience

The current endgame model inWoDalso gives players a few options for progressing their characters.

There are three endgame dungeon difficulties, and theyre nicely balanced this time around.

In all likelihood, it wont be too long before these dungeons become faceroll, but for now?

This is howMoPCMs should have been to begin with.

The current endgame dungeon system plays right to that strength.

That said, there are definitely a few holes in the endgame experience as it currently stands.

After earlyMoPs Hey, lets bash you over the head with dailies!

Too many options are always better than too few.

The reasoning for such changes is obvious.

Blizzard wanted to make gearing up simple.

But I cant help but think its too simple this way.

Its just too wide of a swing in the opposite direction.

Secondary stats on dungeon drops/crafted items/mission rewards are all random.

With dropped gear, this isnt the case.

At least with the Valor system, players had a few guaranteed pieces to work toward while running dungeons.

That brings me to the last major point I need to hit onraiding.

The mechanics and environments are interesting, and just varied enough to keep folks on their toes.

The latter fights blend together mobility, progressive, phase-based mechanics, and personal responsibility rather well.

The amount of trash found within the instance is also perfect.

All in all, Blizzard did well with Highmaul.

As a veteranWoWplayer, it brings back a lot of greatWoWfeels.

And that, frankly, is pretty damn impressive in a 10-year old game.

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Rating:

4 out of 5