Its the visuals…
Every mob looks way to similar. Oh this guy in spiky armor with the sword? Or this guy in the same spiky armor that floats. Then the entire color pallet is this brown/grey mess thats just horrifically unappealing.
Why would I want to spend time in a place thats just so… bland?
Just out of curiosity, from an artistic standpoint, how would you design a bleak place of torment and hopelessness?
I think certain areas of ICC made me feel that. So…Blue and black theme with a lot of ice? I don’t know, just wanted to chime in
Needs more fire and explosions, more blood. Definitely more fire. Maybe a few chained up blood elves /shrug
chained up humans, those i can relate
it’s a very boring zone but you know it’s warcraft hell- you’re not supposed to like it…
I wouldn’t say that I think the design is bad, it’s just not something that I enjoy. It’s kind of like Moria in LOTRO. Can’t stand that area and always run through it as quickly as I can and never look back.
I think it’s possible to design a hellish landscape and have it look cool, though. Have it be a spectacle, even if it’s inherently unwelcoming.
The Maw, as it is, doesn’t even look particularly impressive, save for the river of souls. It’s just very grey, and bland.
Just stands in stark contrast to every other zone in the Shadowlands, which despite being rather alien, manage to have a really interesting and unique aesthetic.
I Agree.
The Burning Legion is also supposed to be “Hell” on this universe, but they still are extremely colorful, and all the demons are pretty diverse in shape and size.
Maw dudes are just Maw dudes. Sometimes they float and thats it.
I think it’s the way it is because of technical limitations. Server cost or 20 year old CPUs. They can make the covenant zones look nice because the pop is dimished.
Oribos is also boring as sin and its an everybody zone.
I think it does what it’s supposed to do, it’s a hellish place, a prison… nobody wants to be there! I don’t want to be and it isn’t so bad to help the souls get out of there too. Lol
I agree. I don’t mind running (though I have the Maw mount but didn’t mind before I got it). I love killing stuff. I don’t mind most of the Eye effects (HATE the bombardments but could live with them). There’s tons of stuff to do. There’s this air of urgency that keeps you on your toes and never bored …
But it all feels BLAND.
I understand that it’s supposed to be a place of suffering and eternal torment. But it feels more like a dark underground cave with baddies in it. Dark and scary? Kind of. But a hellish landscape? Not even close.
I expected MC or Firelands on crack … and they gave me BRD.
I don’t think servers, or people’s computers have anything to do with the design of a zone looking nice. WoW manages to have some truly beautiful environments despite its age; hell, there’s even some places from Classic that still wow me.
Not to mention, the previous expansion’s main cities (love them or hate them) were beautiful. Perhaps not the most practical, especially in the case of Dazar’alor, but very nice to look at.
I don’t think having a bunch of players present means a zone needs to look horrific.
Huh… to each their own.
Honestly, I think the aesthetics are the one thing I don’t hate about the Maw. Maybe it’s that I’m a life long Diablo Fan, so I’m more inclined to be on board with it, but my problem is basically everything else with it.
They’re an inter-dimensional demonic space army. Not really representative of a supernatural Hell, limbo, or purgatory.
Personally I think Maw zone does a good job of representing what it is supposed to be. I can agree the mobs could be a bit more diverse though.
Maybe there doesn’t need to be a zone dedicated to the idea of torment and hopelessness? In a game we pay for?
I mean, we’re already steered into running mythics (torment) and relying on the great vault (hopelessness). Isn’t that enough?
Do you know what I like about the maw? Upgrading conduits. 
I would have designed it around Dante’s 9 circles of hell. I would have had a gluttonous section, a lusty section, a violence section etc. The 9th, most inner circle, the worst of the worst, would be filled with phone scammers.