So I’m a very story-driven person. I kind of want to Chromie Time a previous expansion I have never played on an alt for fun. Which one has a really good story? I asked friends around and they said that MoP and Legion has some of the best storytelling in the game. I’ve never played Classic, but does vanilla-Wrath have some cool cinematic cutscenes too?
I’m partial to Wrath of the Lich King, myself. But if your focus is on cinematic cutscenes, there are probably more of them in later expansions.
Avoid BfA, SL and WoD at any cost
Sorry OP, what Ethriel meant was TBC, Cata, and WoD. They get easily confused.
I like MoP for no other reason than I adored the exploration of Pandaria. Zandalar/Kul Tiras alone make BfA a big draw for me when leveling as well. I love a good travelogue-style adventure.
10 Likes
The first in game leveling cinematic was in WotLK (at the end of Dragonblight). But they really didn’t catch on until WoD. WoD actually has the most leveling cinematics of any expansion.
And as far as the more story driven ones, I don’t think you can go wrong with MoP, WoD, or Legion. Idk if this would be an issue for you, but BC and WotLK leveling zones deal with 2 or 3 different storylines each depending on which zones you go to, and the zones don’t always transition well with each other. That said, the stories are still good.
2 Likes
You can’t do SL chromie time anyway. So you automatically avoid it.
As for WoD though, it generally has the fasted leveling of all the chrome times in regards to pure outdoor content. Even though the xp’s from bonus objectives and treasures got a slight nerf. And other than Gorgrond (who’s story got cut during development and what we have is pathetic in comparison imo), the storyline of WoD’s zones are probably one of the strongest WoW has ever seen.
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BFA zones have pretty good story. Just ignore the war campaign.
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You can level in BfA without doing the war campaign at all now so personally I recommend that one because it’s the best part of the entire expansion and the meta-achieve for Pride of Kul Tiras and Zandaladar Forever is a great journey.
WoD has a bad rep but the levelling story was actually pretty fun and it’s very quick XP, you get some weaker points in Talador and Gorgrond but overall it’s enjoyable and is very, very quick for levelling.
Cata is so vast in terms of the zones that you can’t really compare it to the others, you’ll be going zone by zone as opposed to completing every one. I would recommend Vash’jir, Cape of Stranglethorn, Duskwood (for Alliance), Silverpine (for Horde), Southern Barrens, Stonetalon, and Blasted Lands.
MoP is just flat out the same degree of quality throughout, you can’t really go wrong there. It lacks all the same bells and whistles that WoD onward had but it’s quite well done with many memorable characters.
Legion is alright but the strongest parts of it weren’t the levelling zones but rather the Suramar arc, so you’d level out before you got to that I figure.
Wrath is the pinnacle of the old, pre-Cata style of writing that in my opinion was largely superior, at least for worldbuilding and coherence. Consistent quality throughout, much like MoP, and a nice grounded xpac with a gothic middle fantasy vibe.
Aaand TBC, again using the old style of writing. Honestly for story it’s again kind of a mix, with some cool aspects to it, and overall the quality is consistent, but it doesn’t have as much coherence as Wrath. Hellfire, Nagrand, and Blade’s Edge Mountains all have some excellent quests, and Zangarmarsh is very atmospheric and alien. Netherstorm and Terrokar I’m not quite as fond of, but they also have some interesting stories to explore.
Really, there are things to enjoy in every expansion, story wise it’s honestly a rare thing to have the levelling content not have decent stories, so it comes down to your preference.
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I’m surprised your friends left out Wrath. Have you or your friends played that one yet?
My pick would probably be MoP. Though WoD and BFA actually have very good fun leveling experiences, you just have to ignore the wretched overall expansion story that surrounds them.
3 Likes
A lot of the systems and metaplot issues that make people hate certain expansions don’t tend to figure that prominently in the actual leveling content. WoD, Legion, and BfA all had a great leveling experience, and WoD is when that progression became way more cinematic (cutscenes and all that).
I don’t recall Cataclysm being that fun. WotLK was good, but not very cinematic. MoP strayed into goofy territory a lot more than I’d have liked. I’d probably recommend Legion > WoD > BfA as is.
MoP is good for the Pandaria content.
The WoD opening zones (Frostfire and Shadowmoon) are really good, but the story collapses once you go beyond them.
Legion is consistently decent but nothing special.
BfA has the best levelling content in the game imo, but the war campaign is pointless meandering Horde-side and only average Alliance-side.
TBC and WOTLK are incredibly bare-bones but probably more meaningful if you want to see the stories of WC3 come to a conclusion.
Cataclysm is straight garbage.
You only really see that in Valley of the Four Winds. But that is the heart and soul of the Pandaren so it makes sense. Some zones do have goofy moments but that is too ease off the tension. For example those amber brewmasters in Dread Wastes. Need to have a bit of comedy in a place that is dying rapidly because of the Sha of Fear.
It is only really Gorgrond that falls apart but that was because the zone was the most affected by the “orc fatigue” excuse. I mean you can take one path and never encounter the main antagonist of the zone until the end and he acts like you stone his Artifact that he never came for. My only problem is spires of Arak is with what we do with Terrokk’s power. We attack a randomly placed Kargath instead of assaulting Skyreach. Could have it where we almost kill Viryx only for Rukhmar to appear and stop us. At least this way the Sun Goddess herself does something.
2 Likes
TBC WoD wotlk maybe idk. I just pick the ones where i need to get appearances from.
Warlords of Draenor would be my top pick, but if you haven’t experienced The Burning Crusade or Wrath of the Lich King then those would be next. Pandaria is ok, but really you have to be able to enjoy the setting. Legion would be more acceptable if they fixed the Legendary Weapon progression, as many of the stories are decent, and the setting is good.
So quick list: WoD, TBC/Wrath, Legion, maybe MoP, and then BfA.
This list is partially influenced by my BfA fatigue. Save Cata for a content drought after you played through other expansions.