For me I think it’s MoP. Primarily because it had a lot of standout characters with some pretty nuanced writing that was surprising to see in WoW. For starters, you had the conflict between the Alliance and Horde of course, but both sides faults were highlighted. It wasn’t just this “Horde evil!” thing, and overall, I felt it was pretty balanced.
Although Garrosh was pretty heavy handed in his aggression, you had Vol’jin that was on the side also trying to uphold the Horde’s values. Meanwhile you had Jaina who was also upping her aggression, whereas Anduin was there to try to remind the Alliance what they stand for. You had Wrathion playing this middle ground, playing both sides in a way where at the time, you just had no idea what he’d do and it left you guessing each patch.
The villains were pretty awesome. Although Lei-Shen was pretty one dimensional, his setup and aesthetic / zone was really well done. For an expansion original one patch character, like Denathrius, he was great. Then you had of course Garrosh, who was phenomenal when you consider his roots. We saw him go from this frightened orc ashamed of his past, to this radicalized Warchief plagued by paranoia, fear, and ultimately pride in what his legacy would stand for. All and all, looking back, I feel MoP got a lot of flack for the pandas, but had some great themes and mature writing.
WotLK. Excellent villain, excellent build up, excellent execution. We as the players literally died when we fought Arthas. I want that to happen again. Yes. That’s right. I want to die again.
I’m gonna go with MoP. Especially for the side stories that shed light on the Shado Pan and the Mantid/Klaxxi.
Plus the underlying bit of a culture built up from the rubble of another, of your own initial culture destroyed beyond all else and being built on in spite of the actions of your oppressors.
Wrath has my vote too, everything about it was perfect, and dont remember any dungeons lately leading to a raid soo PERFECT like the wrath dungeons leading to ICC
I thought MoP was a meme expansion when it was announced but they went HARD with the story telling, and Lorewalker Cho is such a great character. Throne of Thunder anyone?
I don’t read quests, yet MOP was the only expansion where I felt like I really knew the plot and how everything connected. Also almost every spec felt fun to play.
While most expansions have decent side stories, MoP felt like it was very fleshed out with enough history to feel like a real place but also mystery that expands horizons. And for the most part did “War sucks, stop doing war” better than BFA.
WoW would be in a better place narratively if they faction war ended with MoP. It was the perfect time to do it. BFA was such a lame retread and “This time we’re different”, will never top:
Taran Zhu: “ENOUGH! There will be no more bloodshed today. I see now why your Alliance and your Horde cannot stop fighting. Every reprisal is itself an act of aggression, and every act of aggression triggers immediate reprisal.”
Jaina: “They undermined every attempt at peace!”
Lor’themar: “I must protect my sovereign people.”
Taran Zhu: “SILENCE! YOU must break the cycle. It ends TODAY. Here. When you, Regent Lord, and you Lady Proudmoore, turn from one another. And walk. Away.”
This while he was bleeding out from a grievous wound. MoP is the ultimate litmus test for people who are actually invested in this game’s storytelling, or are surface level.
Despite the fortune cookie discount philosophy and the botched Horde V Alliance plot, definitely MoP, I FELT like I was exploring Pandaria and the story was mostly okay with a hiccup or two, unlike modern writing and the WotLK and Cata stuff which felt too Scooby Doo-ish on everything, but especially the “I’LL GET YOU NEXT TIME GAAADGET!” tendencies of the bosses.
The Sha were just unexplained enough to really feel ominous, technically they never really reveal in-universe that they’re the remnants of an Old god, so for all anyone knows, they’re kinda just emotion feeding spirit things.
Sneaking up behind you with a giant scythe “Kyrian are observing some federal holiday, I’ll be your ferryman to the afterlife today…”
I’ve played WoW since day 1 of vanilla, with intermittent breaks every now and then. The longest break I ever took was from a month into Cataclysm, all the way through until midway through the last patch of MoP, so I missed both of those expansions (just spent all my time on the Timeless Isle until WoD came out).
But when MoP remix came out (before everything got overpowered at max level) I used the opportunity to play through the whole expansion at a casual pace, reading and doing all the quests and side quests. I definitely feel like MoP did an amazing job of setting up the threats in a breadcrumbs sort of way, with the introductions of the Mogu, the Zandalari, the Sha, etc all having satisfying buildup and backstory. Factor in the constant faction war and there was an awful lot going on. Most expansions are just like, “here’s the new bad guy, go fight him.”
That’s a difficult one, but I’d have to agree with you with MOP. It’s on a whole other level. Legion, BFA, WOD’s first portion, WOTLK, TBC, they were great, but MOP was a different monster story wise. You go in expecting some adventure of course, but you’re given this horde/alliance plot then old got entry which is good, unlike BFA.
It was far more intricate, and I loved it! Still wish they’d bring back the cape questline for those (like myself) who didn’t have the chance to catch it. Don’t even give the capes, I just want that story!
The difference is, Argus ‘insta death mechanic’ is a true instant death if he triggers it. Arthas’ one was just a large amount of damage, so it is affected by the damage taken reduction from legacy mode. Which ruins the vibe of the scene now.
MoP felt extremely well developed. It’s one of the last times the game felt like a real world to me. Legion was the next time that was for me. WoD in between was okay, but the story felt rushed and fell off fast after the questing/leveling content.
BfA is where the game started to feel less organic to me and more like a theme park ride. Shadowlands surprisingly for the hate it gets had decent depth and well thought out sub-cultures.
Dragonflight was extremely surface level. The stories had their moments here and there, but nothing truly stuck with me. I’m unfortunately feeling the same way right now about The War Within, but I’m hoping that will change before it’s over.
Classic, TBC, and Wrath go without saying that they’re some of the best world building and sporadic storytelling in the game. Those are kind of in their own league.
Mists of Pandaria, Wrath of the Lich King, and Legion. Not really in any order, but those are the expansions I was most invested in, story wise or adventure/exploration wise.