Though the zones are new, how I explore them hasn't changed. Alliance players will embark on a long quest to reunite Jaina with her estranged mother and the conclusion is surprisingly poignant. Both sides have great characters, but I love the story of Jaina Proudmoore, who returns to center stage as a strong but emotionally wounded person haunted by her past decisions. In the absence of an immediate world-ending threat, Battle for Azeroth compensates by putting the internal struggles of its non-player heroes in the spotlight. World of Warcraft's strength has always been in building fantastical landscapes like Kul Tiras and Zandalar, but the characters that populate these worlds are just as well realized. Nazmir is dark and sinister and I can't get enough of it.

In particular, I love the swamps of Nazmir in Zandalar, where there's no shortage of haunting vistas like the corpse of a massive tortoise being gruesomely hollowed out by blood trolls or a terrifyingly large blood red moon that hangs just above a creepy temple for the dead. Though the zones are so different, each is wonderful in its own way. It's a lush jungle full of towering spirit dinosaurs, golden aztec cities, and swamp-dwelling blood trolls trying to free their blood god from an ancient underground prison. To the north, though, is Stormsong Valley, the verdant breadbasket of Kul Tiras where Cthulhu-esque sea priests practice their ancient rites in the shadow of a giant kraken carved out of a mountain face.īy contrast, the Horde leveling continent of Zanadalar couldn't be more different in aesthetics. Drustvar, to the west, is a mountain range surrounded by spooky forests where villages are slowly succumbing to the nefarious magics of a witch coven.

The bleak tundras of Tiragarde Sound house the capital city of Boralus, torn by political infighting. This maritime island is cut up into three zones that all feel like organic extensions of each other while still being individually identifiable and memorable. Tiragarde Sound at sundown is a sight to behold.

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