This is my takeaway as a Night Elf main (Warrior, DK, DH) from vanilla till now.
Overall I enjoyed it very much! if I had to grade it from 1-10 I’d give it an 8, which I will discuss.
Stormwind intro: Lots of things going on here. I especially liked how Genn reaffirms his commitment to the Night Elves here. I can’t remember the exact line but it was something like “…If I didn’t give the order Mia would charge off without me.” This is a nice throwback to Elegy, where Genn remarks that Sylvanas underestimates the living and their commitment. I think Anduin initially refusing to send support was more a plot device on the part of the writing to create narrative tension, so that when Tyrande leaves anyways it reinforces the point of vengeance driving her.
Darkshore: Shandris finally getting her own unique VO was great. It was also interesting to see the choice of NPC’s on the beach where you first search for Tyrande. The orcs dead along the beach are all named “Massacred Grunt” which I think was a deliberate decision to get the player to see that this is a darker side of Tyrande that we’ve never seen before. Even more so than her WC3 persona.
However here is the first of 2 things I have to dock from the scenario. It’s clear how Tyrande becomes the night warrior, but what about all the other night elves? (including the player character, if they so choose) What is the process for other night elves becoming night warriors?
And like others, the turning of Sira and Delaryn left me scratching my head. Again not that it was done in the first place, but the manner in which it was executed.
For example anyone reading Elegy could see right off the bat that Delaryn was coming back. However, her whole rejection of Elune and not going peacefully at the time of her death is never conveyed in-game. The vast majority of players literally go from:
-
Terrified NPC dying on the beach in Sylvanas: Warbringer
-
Corpse on the beach in empty Darkshore zone
-
Switching sides and working for Horde
Which is difficult to process even if it were explained fully, and would still probably be upsetting. Though if the whole point of raising them as Forsaken is to elicit that reaction in the player base then I guess it succeeded, lol
So overall, docked 2 points for not really being clear on the whole non-Tyrande night warrior transformation and the Sira/Delaryn thing.
Warfront
I figure I’d throw in my 2c on the actual Warfront itself. In a few when it flips and Horde goes into the assault phase it’ll be awesome to hear feedback from the other side as well!
Overall, the Darkshore Warfront has a narrative weight that Arathi just doesn’t have. Whether it’s from ties to War of Thorns, the pre-patch Darkshore 8.0 update, and the scenario it just feels way more meaningful. It’s really cool to see basically every important Night Elf from expansions past all in one zone fighting; Thisalee Crow, Jarod Shadowsong, Mordent Evenshade, Cordressa Briarbow, etc.
Intro: Taking the beach felt like cues from Saving Private Ryan =D TBH, Arathi feels like you’re jumping in as latecomers to a battle already in progress. Darkshore feels like you’re the ones initiating the action.
Running into battle alongside an Ancient of War and a Tree of Life is also awesome and something I think everyone who has rolled a NE has always wanted to do. As others have pointed out as well Maiev Shadowsong is also awesome here. She just sounds the part of a CO
Music: 10/10. I feel the composers really nailed this one. Anyone who’s leveled a Night Elf toon can instantly recognize the musical cues taken from the starting zones; Shadowglen, Dolanaar, etc. This nostalgia hook is then driven home in a big way, weaved into much more militaristic and serious tones signifying the heightened tension and war-torn state of Azeroth. Soaring vocals then weaved into big drum cues a la Nightsong make for a perfect soundtrack.
Gameplay: Functionally identical to Arathi. The mine placement is a little more awkward though; once you secure the mine it feels like you have to run further to get back to the action at either Gloomtide Strand/Forlorn Crossing/or Cinderfall. I also feel starved for Iron most of the time. Most of the time my cache is overflowing with wood and I’m left scrounging for Iron and hunting Goblin shredders.