Eversong: The main story felt like it jumped around a lot for Eversong. First the Lightbloom, then to the Twilight’s Blade and then the Amani. I get that Eversong is kind of the central connecting factor but it felt like the quests should have been a bit longer for each section. Especially with the criticism that by the time the campaign is finished it feels like more than usual amount of side quests is needed.
I enjoyed the side quests a lot. My easy favorites is the Murder Row storyline of the Illidari getting involved in stopping the fel smuggling business is a new story angle I don’t think many people expected but feels natural. The other favorite is the one involving Magister Dawnblaze and I hope we see more of her in the future.
Visually the Eversong and Silvermoon revamp feels extremely well done and makes me optimistic for the Northrend revamp next expansion.
Zul’Aman: I liked the entirety of the Zul’aman story and it felt cohesive. Helping unite the Amani tribes and the loa was done well. Seeing how massive Zul’aman is and all the tribes and stories going on it is a wonder that it was only a single raid. I’m glad that it feels like it is finally getting its potential realized now.
Of all the side quests the one involving the Loa of Children surprisingly hit the hardest with how it ended. Zul’jan is also an interesting character with his different opinions on the loa and I’m sure we’re all curious to see what lies across the strait later on.
Arator’s Journey: I like the concept of following a character and learning more about them and how they develop but I’m not sure if I liked this particular execution. Arator in general feels very naive and in some parts seems like he is a new paladin fresh off the block when he’s at least in his 30s. It feels like it would have been more apt to have a different character like one of Vereesa’s children play that type of role of learning.
I did like that Arator does reforge the shield since it is symbolic and Turaylon was the one to receive the Libram of Protection at the founding of the Silver Hand. I am not a fan of this odd change of Turaylon’s character that he was wrathful during the end of the second war when in the novels he was calm and decisively defeated Orgrim and told him he’d face justice in Lordaeron. I am not a fan of changing existing characterization. I feel that instead of that there is a period of 1,000 years of Turaylon fighting in the Twisting Nether, well over 10x the normal human lifespan, would be a good place to explain why he could become wrathful after fighting demons for so long.
Harandar: The main story of Harandar feels good. It does feel a bit weird and a bit disconnected from the rest of the expansion it is. But still the concept of the world tree roots across Azeroth converging here and this sort of missing link between trolls and elves fits well and they feel culturally rich.
I wish there was more night elf specific dialogue with NPCs in certain spots. Particularly regarding the Rootwarden of Teldrassil considering how much that has affected the night elves. That said, the side quest involving Hagar is my favorite one in the zone and gives a lot more context of what the Haranir do for the roots.
Voidstorm: The main story felt well done and Decimus feels like a new fan favorite. I like that it is obviously not a reliable ally but I still hope we don’t kill him later. Maybe just severely injure at most. Either way I’d love to see more of him.
The side quests in this zone were also good. I liked the story with Riftblade Astre and reconciling with grief. The follow-up mail and showing more of the interactions between the blood elves and void elves was nice.
My personal favorite side quest chain is the Nethersent. For an expansion of Light and Void I expected the Draenei to have a bigger role. I am glad to learn there is another planet inhabited by the draenei and I hope to visit one day! The way these draenei differ culturally due to their circumstances was showed well. That they have friendly demons on their planet is an interesting premise that I hope it is followed up. The lack of demons willing to work with mortals is something I think is not explored enough when it was first shown with Sal’salabim in Shattrath (or in general all the demons who defected the legion to join the Illidari).
Hopes: So far I am pleased with the launch of Midnight questing and hope the quality continues. I think the quality of side-quests improved in The War Within and Midnight feels like it continues that.
There are other characters that I hope are explored. Vereesa and her sons aren’t around at all. Maybe that will be later in the campaign in coming weeks, but just from the initial launch experience it is odd not to see her since she was part of the pre-expansion quest chain.
I also think we should get more optional quests exploring the story of the delve companion. I’d love to learn more about Valeera’s past. Did she grow up in Murder Row? What led her to become a rogue? The Saltheril’s Soiree factions including Murder Row could be interesting line to follow where they could finally be recognized. With how Liadrin leads the blood knights, Halduron the Farstriders, and Rommath the magisters what if Valeera was the representative of the downtrodden in Murder Row?