Some of the best zones in wow are smaller, flat, no-fly zones. It feels like Blizzard just keeps making bigger zones to dragonfly & making them super hill-y.
I hope they one day bring back the use of ground only mount zones that are well designed (not korthia/maw), flat, promote world pvp, and not gigantic (ie: Hillsbrad, Isle of Quel Danas, Stranglethorn, etc)
No thanks, bigger zones please.
Ohn’ahran Plains is mostly flat. Go use your ground mount there.
Zones the size of the start zones, and I mean the 1-5 areas
Literally impossible to get a mob cuz it’s so packed
I disagree with that statement, especially the “no-fly” part.
I’m trying to even think of small, flat, no-fly zones…
Why limit the terrain to such a basic bland formula?
It adds the vastness people asked for, along with verticality to add more content for flying people also asked for.
You are so right about the verticallity of zones.
I dont totally care if a zone is big or small. I just miss being able to choose which zones to level in. How come we get fewer and fewer zones every expansion?
Shadowlands and DF opened with only four zones. Thats pretty pathetic when expansions ffrom 16 years ago had twice as many zones at launch.
Because in my mind most good zones are easy to navigate.
There are a couple exceptions like high mountain. But still the annoyingness of navigating these zones is always a demerit.
Doesn’t the size of a zone, really, ultimately, not matter?
Quest givers, flight paths, mail boxes, all that junk is going to exist in the game regardless of the size of the zone they are in. There will be the same number of quests to do as well as the same general area size would exist. The only real thing that would make a difference is all those separator walls they put around zones, there would be more of them.
I’m trying to say that if they reduced the size of a football field, they would squeeze all the smaller fields into the same space the original took up. So the space would be the same, pretty much.
Hillsbrad, Isle of Quel Danas, Stranglethorn! all the zones that promoted the most world pvp without having tons of hills/mountains and the ability to fly wasn’t needed because it wasn’t that big so ground mounts didn’t feel HORRIBLE in it
Stranglethorn does not fit any of the criteria you listed.
Quel’Danas is mostly flat and fits the no-fly, but it’s not terribly small.
Hillsbrad is probably more medium sized, but isn’t a no-fly zone either.
The only zone I found annoying to navigate was Thaldrazsus.
I personally enjoy the new zone style and the vastness of them for dragonriding. It’s a good design moving forward, imo.
Hillsbrad is the most awkward zone in existence. The Isle was one tiny area packed with mobs. Stranglethorn was the worst zone, imo. And annoying to navigate.
These examples didn’t help you to convince me whatsoever.
For the many years I’ve bene on wow, I’ve explored the outer edges of these zones and there are a lot of wasted spaces. yet I don’t want to over clutter these zones either. But For once I’d like to explore one of these zones outer edges and there would be something exiting or even dangerous waiting in the back ground.
The only zone I found annoying to navigate was Thaldrazsus.
I agree that there is a lot of reason, with dragon riding, to explore vertical zone design.
But let’s look at another examples. The timeless isles compared to all the other mid-expansion catch-up zones like Tanaan jungle or Nazjitar.
Part of the reason timeless isles is the best of these types of zones they’ve ever made is that it’s so easy to navigate, it’s basically a big circle with only 2 layers. And they haven’t really been able to replicate that until Mechagon, which another hit of a zone. And much easier to navigate than it’s water-logged counterpart.
Dude, the game’s evolving. Either keep up or you’re going to be left behind.
it was a no fly. I was speaking of being introduced as no fly. Obviously now, and since cata almost all zones have become fly zones (except BE starting zones/draenei starting zones/a few others).
I despised the layout of Timeless Isle. Truly despised it. LOL
It wasn’t easy to navigate. Half the place needed a bird to carry you. The other half only had one path to get up to it, meaning of you were on the opposite end of the zone near where a rare was above you, there was no way you were getting to it. You had to first get through all of the mobs and pathless areas to get to the path that leads up the hill and get up and around all of those elite mobs, as well.
I hope not, those zones are boring af.
Ah, so you want Classic.
It wasn’t easy to navigate. Half the place needed a bird to carry you. The other half only had one path to get up to it, meaning of you were on the opposite end of the zone near where a rare was above you, there was no way you were getting to it. You had to first get through all of the mobs and pathless areas to get to the path that leads up the hill and get up and around all of those elite mobs, as well.
At least you knew how to get their at a glance. Unlike half the cave quests in high mountain.