I think we need to return to the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor

Community General Discussion
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I think that next expansion, we need to stop discovering or rediscovering new continents or new worlds/realities, instead we need the expansion to take place back home in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.

That said, I think the old world zones could use an update, however NOT LIKE CATACLYSM. No zone altering updates (i.e. Thousand Needles), rather just add a new settlement or two, update existing outposts and such with new textures, new 3D models or whatever, so that way they still work and wonā€™t alter any of the pre-existing quests, etc, but more importaintly, zones needs to be brought up to date with current lore rather than stuck in the past or cataclysm. So things needs to be updated so it feels and looks fresh and can work with whatever the new story is but while retaining enough to not mess with any preexisting quests and story for new players leveling up through these zones.

Also there are a few portions of land around both kalimdor and eastern kingdoms that are unused or that you arenā€™t able to visit without any sort of exploiting (i.e. the patch of land above stratholme left of the ghostlands, or the land below AQ40, etc). so maybe some of these areas could be turned into a new zone or two. or simply unused areas can be revamped such as Gilneas can be turned into a proper alliance player hub, and maybe the Horde can claim the ruins of Darnassus (new Forsaken home) if the Night Elves choose to leave that area in favor of resettling to Gilneas with the Worgen.

Also by us returning back to the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor can help to make the world feel more alive and active, because youā€™ll have low levels questing through these old zones alongside high/max level players doing the new contentā€¦ Also by getting us back out to these older zones, will motivate some people to run older content.

This imo was one of the few positives about Cataclysm, While the zone revamp was dumb, it did get us out visiting older zones and as a result, one thing I fondly remember about Cata is that it got me farming and running old content, simply for the reason: ā€œIā€™m already thereā€ or ā€œitā€™s nearbyā€, so for example when I was done with whatever quests or whatever in Twilight Highlands, I use to like stopping by the Wetlands nextdoor and try to farm up a Crimson Whelpling, or when I was over in Thousand Needles, iā€™d go run Onyxiaā€™s Layer and Wailing Caverns and other various old dungeons in the zones nearby, etcā€¦

Compare that to the more recent expansions that put us on whole new worlds and continentsā€¦ i canā€™t be bothered to run older content because it takes way too long to travel to them (especially since the removal of portals) so itā€™s just too much of an inconvenience to be bothered with itā€¦ Plus with the playerbase scattered all over, it makes the world seem unpopulated and dead, especially if youā€™re a new player, plus thereā€™s less of that of being in awe of seeing a max level player running around in world doing their thing as you quest, and looking forward until you too can be as powerful as them.

What do you think? Do you think us returning back to the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor would be good? Essentially Cataclysm minus the zone terrain altering?

P.S. Stormwind and Orgrimmar can use an updateā€¦ always jarring to see all the high definition textures and assets in the new expansions, but then you need to travel to Stormwind or Orgimmar for something and everything looks like crap, blurry, or ugly in comparisonā€¦

31 Likes
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Iā€™d like a proper warcraft feeling expansion, bfa was in a direction but not there. I feel like they can introduce the ā€˜dragon islesā€™ and do things to let us learn more of azeroth, get clues on the impending void war or other cosmos war. Update the zones, Iā€™d love to see an updated stormwind.

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Unfortunately, weā€™ve already seen their ideas of redecorating, in Darnassus and Undercity. Iā€™ve seen enough cities updated that way, thanks.

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ā€¦but half of the zones would have major changes.

Darkshore and Ashenvale would be mostly destroyed due to the War of the THorns, with the Night Elves rebuilding after winning them back.

Uldum would be decimated after Nā€™zoth.

Alliance won Arathi back, and the Horde were removed from Undercity, so the Horde presence in EK is pretty much nonexistent except for Silvermoon.

Thereā€™d be no way to do this without fully revamping most of the zones.

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Itā€™d be nice to see the classic zones more updated like Arathi and Darkshore, but I think there has to be new zones. Thereā€™s nothing really to look forward to with just the old ones. No new places to explore or for the story to branch out to unseen and mysterious things. Even Cata still brought five new zones with it.

But the EK and Kalimdor are both fully mapped out. Weā€™ve seen it all, we know it all. So a revamp without a new land is very on the uninspiring side as the sole center of an expansion. :upside_down_face:

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Iā€™m not super in favor of another massive overhaul, we ending up with a lot of different layers in those zones as it is.

Rather us go to basically a mysterious jungle planet, stranded on the world, where the story basically boils down to us discovering the mysterious of the planet, and itā€™s wildlife, none of this massive universal crap.

Discovering why the planet is so hostile and evolved with its creatures, working your way into the caves to find out, each new hollow beneath the earth is a new patch cycle, eventually leading to the core, where we discover itā€™s simply an abandoned planet that evolved wildly and uncontrollably after Eonar left, and we just fight our way to the machine to turn off hyper evolution, disabling planet quarantine, unlocking the gateway home.

Thatā€™s it, no massive universal threat, no massive conflict, just us discovering a the secrets of a planet to find our way home, and maybe do a little good for the wildlife there.

Thatā€™s it

Ps: Cata zones were baller btw, you can lick your nostalgia goggles all you want, but many of the cata revamps are superior to the original zone in almost every way. Except you thousand needles, what they did to you was a sin.

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Iā€™m still open to the idea, itā€™s always weird when someone pops into the game, sees BFA with updated graphics then go to stormwind or orgrimmar and see that graphic side of the game.

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mechanic wise, that would also alienate horde players

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I like the idea, but that NPC that lets you change timelines in those multi-timeline zones would have like 3+ options.

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I think Azeroth needs fixing from the Shattering where places like the barrens was split in 2. Its been far too long and even we healed Azeroth with our necks in BFA it should of at least healed what Deathwing did.

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if you consider destroying as redecorating :stuck_out_tongue:

actually with these cities removed, it can pave the way for new cities to take their placeā€¦ i.e. Gilneas can become a proper Alliance hub, home to the Worgen and new home for the Night Elf refuges (in a reverse kind gesture since the Night Elves took in Gilnean refuges). and the Horde can maybe claim the ruins of Theramore or if the Night Elves leave Northern Kalimdor in settling of Gilneas, the Forsaken can claim the spooky burnt dead tree to fit their undead asthetics.

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No, I would rather have more better designed zones.

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imo older zones are better designed than current, they also flow nicer into eachother, unlike current past expansions where thereā€™s an abrupt change in terrain/scenery when you cross the zone line.

Then again, iā€™m talking through the eyes of an Alliance player where every alliance zone is a lush paradise unlike the hordeā€™s barren and dead wastelands.
Maybe the horde can plant a tree or two in their barren wastelands

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That would not be a bad idea. They would have to phase it for those leveling and those doing the new content but they already do that with UC and Teldressil .

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They would have to entirely revamp zones. Have you even traveled through previous expansions? The art is extremely amateur compared to recent expansions.

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True some of the maze like layouts of some of the newer zones is bad, but I donā€™t want to reuse old content I have done and farmed in the past.

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And to note, we have never discovered a new continent.

We knew Outland, Northrend, Pandaria, Broken Isles, Kul Tiras, and Zandalar were there. They just werenā€™t accessible.

The only time we discovered something actually new was the alternate timeline Draenor. And even then, it was technically just Outland of the past.

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yep, updating the visuals would be cool, just meant not change things like cata did with whole zone layout changes (i.e. thousand needles being underwater)

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I would love for EK and Kal to be brought up to current graphics quality. I honestly would like to see an entire revamp. The Cata revamp is now older than the content was before the revamp.

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i always find myself flying through feralas when iā€™m in between BGā€™s or something, or the hinterlands instead of doing circles around oribos. i was hoping theyā€™d even update zones like Ashenvale, because the ground is just so outdated (itā€™s like barely 3D in many spots where thereā€™s no grass).

One can hope :no_mouth:

2 Likes