What do you think the best and the worst starting zone is? And… go!
By starting zone…you mean 1-5? or 1-20? Like say Northshire abby to westfall?
If so, I would say That Night Elves have both the best and worst zone.
And Undead have the worst zone imo
I like to start in winterspring, very hardcore.
I meant actual starting zone but go with whatever you want. It’s the internet, there are no rules.
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The starter zone where I am is worse and the ones where I am not is best.
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Best human, forsaken, Taurean, night Elf.
Worst orc, troll, gnome.
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You are truly a king among Timbermaw.
As far as entertainment:
Best: Durotar
Worst: Dwarf/Gnome one, dunno what it is called.
As far as launch:
Best: Mulgore/None really for Alliance, they will all be bad.
Worst: Durotar/Elwynn Forest
Horde - Mulgore
Alliance - Shadowglen
maximum comfy on both of those zones
Mulgore is good because it’s very flat and open.
Best: Tirisfal Glades, Dun Morogh
Worst: Teldrassil, Durotar, Mulgore
Meh - Neither Good Nor Bad: Elwynn Forest
For the Alliance Teldrassil seems like a great zone for easy and quick leveling, but the atmosphere was never my favorite. Both Elwynn and Dun Morogh are fantastic, Elwynn feels safe while Dun Morogh feels more wild and remote and to that end I think I prefer Dun Morogh.
Never seriously played Horde but I always had a soft spot for Mulgore, that zone is so beautiful. There should be an entire continent styled after it.
For Alliance I think Elwynn is probably the best. As long as you delay heading east until most west quests are done, it’s pretty smooth (people have a bad tendency to run to Eastvale at level 6 or so, which is a terrible mistake. The wolves and murlocs will massacre you. Wait until at a bare minimum 7 but really 8 is best).
Teldrassil isn’t bad per se but the way it’s arranged is kinda awkward. All the roots and leaves and stuff are a bit of a blur visually too – it’s harder to pick stuff out at a distance.
Dun Morough, as much as I love my dwarves and gnomes, probably has the most disjointed flow out of all the zones and a few too many caves.
Hordeside, Mulgore comes out on top for me very easily. Tirisfal is cool in its own way but I’m not always in a mood to enjoy it. Durotar is the most boring of the bunch… I don’t have that drive to hit 10 before logging off when leveling there.
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Best- deathknell
Worst- trolls got trolled
Worst: Durotar, Tirisfal Glade, Mulgore
Best: Teldrasil, Elwyn, Coldridge Valley
Until blood elves entered the world, Horde pretty much sucked. All the Alliance zones were excellent, and all provided decent leveling, stories, and atmosphere.
I think all the starting areas proper were a little too simple, generally consisting of roving mobs of just one or two types, in hard-to-believe numbers, but I guess they wanted to make sure new players had something to kill do. Each of them opened up nicely into the wider 1–10 zone, though.
Coldridge Valley, Dun Morogh (Dwarf & Gnome): This is where I started my first character (Gnome Warlock), and I still remember the sense of wonder as I explored the snowy valleys, full of troggs, yetis, Frostmane trolls, and dangerous beasts. Coldridge Valley itself is an okay starting area, but Dun Morogh expanded upon that so beautifully, Ironforge was imposing and awesome, and the progression into Loch Modan only enchanted me the more. I could go on about Loch Modan, but I won’t. My favorite by far of all the starting areas.
Northshire Abbey, Elwynn Forest (Human): You couldn’t turn around outside of Northshire Abbey without seeing a Defias bandit of some sort trying lamely to stealth in broad daylight. Oh and there were wolves too, I think. Head out of there and you’ve got the classic fairy-tale forest, with Princess, Hogger, struggling farms, kobolds and spiders in the mines, and more. It was sweet and charming and recalled WoW antecedent games brilliantly. Stormwind was also a fun medieval town, a bit of a maze to navigate but the more charming for it. Heading over to Westfall was a bit of a letdown, with all the crops dying and things generally looking very dreary.
Shadowglen, Teldrassil (Night Elf): Of the Alliance starting areas, the Night Elves’ felt the most alien, sometimes in fascinating ways, sometimes in off-putting ways. All the giant roots everywhere made navigation difficult at times, but there were definitely some interesting areas within this starting zone. The tunnels full of dreaming druids were very cool. Darnassus was the least interesting of the Alliance capitals—the least interesting of any capital, actually. And then you find out your starting zone is far away from anything else, really, and you go to Darkshore, and it felt like you had to run the entire length for each quest. Bottom of the three alliance starts for me.
Sen’Jin village, Durotar (Troll): I loved the troll village, the little islands, the raptors and the voodoo, mon! Definitely a colorful start for a Horde character. You went immediately from here into Durotar; see below.
Valley of Trials, Durotar (Orc): Orcs started near the trolls, but unlike with Dwarves & Gnomes, got their own starting area. Like Durotar in general, it’s a dry, rocky zone with very little plant life. Some of the caves were cool to explore, but by and large I felt put off by the harsh start. Still, it’s quite fitting to much of Orc culture. Orgrimmar showed you Orcs could build more than small collections of huts, and had an impressive, not-too-confusing layout. Then, once you go to the Barrens, things bust wide open with a huge zone containing a variety of terrain, many types of creatures wandering around, and of course Barrens chat. I first saw the Barrens with my Gnome Warlock when my succubus quest took me over there, and I literally wandered around for hours just looking at stuff. The Barrens definitely matches Loch Modan for atmosphere, variety, and fun.
Red Cloud Mesa, Mulgore (Orc): That said, Red Cloud Mesa & Mulgore were my favorite Horde start. Of the four Horde races, the Tauren were the undisputed good guys; they had never been corrupted by the demons, turned undead by the Lich King, and by this point in history most trolls had very much been up to no good for the world at large. Thunder Bluff was so great, with its high-up mesas, elevators, and bridges. The zone was beautiful, the Tauren culture, while a pastiche of various Native American practices, familiar enough I could relate to it (unlike the other Horde races), and then you got to go to the Barrens after. Win-win!
Deathknell, Tirisfal Glades (Forsaken): The ruined wreck of a village devastated by the Scourge, Deathknell definitely showed you the aftermath of the Third War right away. I honestly don’t remember much about Tirisfal Glades, as I only played 1 or 2 Forsaken alts, but I didn’t particularly enjoy the gloomy, dismal, fatalistic mood that prevailed. I’m sure others did. I thought the Undercity was a little too cutesy-goth in design. Silverpine Forest was much more interesting, and more of what I had hoped Duskwood might be (I thought Duskwood was pretty thin and dull, but that’s digressing!). Shadowfang Keep was one of my favorite early dungeons, though. But in the end, Tirisfal was my least favorite of the Horde starting areas.
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Forests are good, and Night Elves can level to like 30 without ever leaving the trees. So best starting zone is Teldrassil.