I haven’t played since Legion but I miss you lot, and I’d like to return to the wo-WOAH. Why am I getting a pop-up for a similar topic?!
I clearly have a lot to catch up on, and would appreciate any advice! Have there been any big server events/lore-type-things I should know about once I dip my toes back into RP?
Any general game changes and tips in relation to them (or even to forum changes) would be super appreciated as well.
Thanks!!!
Hey yo, I was just mining my own bizness but I’m already diggin’ this thread!
NUGGETS
KOPPER!! I missed you!
Same, I’m still around but I’m often alted-out on Kloggnozzle (warlock), Nutzenvultz (shaman), or Gastley (mage).
Oh hey, Shay! Really long time no see! 
There were some great server campaigns – year of the scourge and associated stuff seemed quite compelling and I believe may be ongoing?
The new expac is super fun, it may be the best one yet – at least so far! Talent trees coming back have been great, a paradigm shift for the design of the game that seems genuine… I am hopeful.
Welcome back!!
SHAY!! It’s been ages, welcome back!
The previously mentioned Year of the Scourge is probably the biggest one I’m aware of. Otherwise the main thing to be aware of is the Alliance RP hub is now Duskwood because a ghost started haunting the place and we all wanted to be his friend.
Shaysinn! How are you?
I think WrA continues to pretty much not have server lore, but several community campaigns did happen during Shadowlands, including The Year of the Scourge as Sef mentioned, its sequel Year 36, and Ascension: The Dreaming Spider. The Helping Hands campaign is ongoing now, I think, but I’m not sure if there’s a current master thread for it.
I can’t remember when the Elixir of Tongues was implemented. If it was during your hiatus, this is an in-game potion that allows you to understand /say messages spoken in the opposite faction’s main language (Common or Orcish). You’ll want both Elixirs of Tongues and the CrossRP addon (which now pairs with the Elixir and enables cross-faction /emotes and TRP profiles as well) for cross-faction RP. You can buy the elixirs from a vendor in the Legion Dalaran Underbelly; they’re usually also available on the AH.
Lastly, for getting back into the swing of things, I highly recommend joining the Wyrmrest Community Project if you haven’t done so already. They have a calendar full of Alliance, neutral, and Horde events taking place on WrA, as well as channels for finding guilds and walk-up RP, workshopping characters, and more. The Helping Hands campaign events have been on the calendar there.
Welcome back!
Elixir of tongues I believe was implemented late Legion, early BFA.
but also - minecraft villager hrrm.
Welcome back! Glad to see you’re still around!
So, not knowing how much you’re aware of… I can’t speak much to server stuff since I’ve only just dipped back in myself, but as far as game stuff goes?
—Skill trees are back. Most people seem to agree that it’s kind of a mixed bag. Not awful, but some are much better than others. If nothing else, you can do a pretty good job of trimming down some abilities that you never feel like using and focus on passive enhancements.
—Professions also got a huge revamp, but I’m of a much more cynical mind on that. The Dragonflight professions are just incomprehensible to me so far, where you have skill trees for each one, including gathering professions, and it’s all dumped into your lap without much guidance on what the goal is, or what the limitations might be. The vague implication is that you are expected to specialize hard into something narrow, but I’ve just settled on dumping a bunch of raw herbs onto the Auction House, because you can make like 20,000 gold right now from a lazy afternoon of world quests and picking up any nodes along the way.
—Dracthyr are cool, if tragically underdeveloped so far. Dragonriding is also a ton of fun once you’ve unlocked most of the skill tree, and after collecting all of the glyphs for that once, your alts can just max out their skill tree as soon as they step off the boat.
—Broadly speaking, this expansion is a breath of fresh air. Lower stakes and more of an adventurous spirit. Other than the main dragons, you mostly spend your time interacting with new characters instead of the same faction leaders we’ve been stuck with for like three expansions straight now.
Hi! Great summary! Just to note, there is a master thread for Helping Hands too!
Also, @Shaysinn, welcome back to WrA! There’s a lot of great things going on, so you’re sure to have a ball!
Thank you! I’ve bookmarked it now. I did a search, but for some reason, that one didn’t come up.
The title has “New Paths” rather than “Helping Hands”, since that’s the name of our 2nd campaign! I’ll go put “Helping Hands” in the actual title lol Good to know!
Thanks for all the info guys! So happy to see all your familiar faces still here. 
Now that’s a throwback!
Sorry, but you missed the two best expansions. BfA was great, but SL was even better. And everyone agrees with me on this.
I miss Pandaland 
Is it weird that my hearth when I quit playing was still set to my farm lol?
Welcome back Shay.
Just a heads up, if you see someone with a bright blue circle on the ground around them, run away.
We got a rehash of the ZG plague going on, Draconic Herpes or something similar.
Doesn’t affect the NPCs but it is highly infectious to PCs.
We love you Shay!!!