While a lot of long-time World of Warcraft players will point to Wrath of the Lich King as the high point of the MMO, I’ve gradually formed the opinion that — at least for me — it wasn’t Wrath but Legion. When it first released, I had just come back to the game at the tail end of the previous expansion and was treated to a world-class release that absolutely reinvigorated the game for me.
Today I want to put on every rose-colored nostalgia goggles that I own (just two, but they’re expensive) and spend some time fondly reminiscing about World of Warcraft: Legion’s virtues.
Blizzard poured so much work into it
If there’s a central thesis to my love of this expansion, it’s that it seems to exemplify a studio that actually gave a damn about its product. I think we can all agree that Blizz has a shaky record in this regard, but when it came time for Legion, it went all-out and didn’t skimp on the extras.
That’s not something you can fake. This wasn’t some sort of last-minute project turned into the teacher with the glue still drying. From start to finish, this felt like a fully realized and fully developed expansion worthy of the name.
The commitment to class fantasy
One of the things that the studio was really big at the time was providing players with strong class fantasy. If you were, say, a Hunter or a Druid, it really wanted to make you feel that as you played. This started with a whole slew of class-specific questlines — elaborate ones, I should add — that culminated in the acquisition of an artifact weapon that could be leveled up.
Yes, this was flagrant borrowed power and would come back to bite us in the end, but at the time? It was heady and exciting, especially as some of these weapons were significant items that had long-standing roots in game lore.
Class halls were a cool idea
OK, they weren’t garrisons or — heaven forbid — proper housing, but the class order halls were still better than nothing as a place for players to visit at the beginning and end of their gaming sessions. There were some cool storylines, unlocks, and ambiance to enjoy. Plus, when you got there, you got to rub shoulders with a whole bunch of other people playing your class. That’s kind of a novelty in this game’s lifespan.
The zones had nice variety and choice
I think we kind of forgot that Legion pioneered this idea of being able to pick your zone order (after your first playthrough, of course). Not only did that help spread players out, but it gave individuals agency over their journey.
The Broken Isles were as disparate as could be, but honestly, I didn’t mind because they were all well-done. There was a nice mountain zone and a gorgeous nature realm, and the vibes from the Norse-inspired Stormheim are still with me to this day.
The return of Dalaran
Just as Legion revisited themes from the MMO’s first expansion, so did it revisit one of the fan-favorite areas of the second pack. Dalaran made a triumphant return as the core city hub, made even better with a glow-up and lots of new features.
Getting to spend two more years hobnobbing around Dalaran was a gift that I didn’t know I wanted until I got it. To this day, it remains one of the best-realized WoW cities in terms of layout and style.
The Demon Hunter hero class
It occurs to me that with everything else on this expansion’s feature list, Blizzard could’ve argued itself out of having to include another class. But it didn’t, and players rejoiced to get blindfolded Elves with warglaives zipping about everywhere. The high-level starting point ensured that these new characters wouldn’t be left behind, either.
Demon Hunters aren’t my thing at all, but it was a good inclusion especially with the themes of the Burning Legion making a return. For years, players had fanboyed over Illidan, and now they could take up his mantle and slice-and-dice their way across a field of bad guys.
World Quests
What is now a staple of any WoW expansion was once a brilliant innovation that replaced the very stale concept of daily quests. Instead, world quests came along with a changing rotation, easily identifiable rewards, and ways to channel the endgame population together on the map for some epic fights.
Several expansions later, and I still like world quests being there. They’re especially helpful when you want to max out a reputation and have exhausted other easier means of advancement.
Allied Races
If a new class was a lot on top of everything else, it was practically insane to slater on some new races as well. At the end of Legion – just ahead of Battle for Azeroth – Blizzard began experimenting with “allied races,” which were basically racial variants with some different looks and abilities.
Initially we got the Void Elf, Lightforged Draenei, Nightborne, and Highmountain Tauren with Legion. This was followed up by six (!) more allied races in Battle for Azeroth — and another to come when The War Within hits store shelves in August.
Adventures in outer space
To cap the expansion’s cycle, the studio took us to outer space and another planet entirely: Argus. We’d heard about this for some time, so it was pretty cool to get to launch ourselves across the cosmos and see the homeworld of the Eredar while we took the fight to the Burning Legion on its home turf.
I’ll always remember Argus for the incredible Uuna storyline, a somewhat secret quest chain that had us get really attached to this lil’ Draenei ghost girl and then gain her as a pet.
It was simply fun
From start to finish, the two years of Legion were among my most favorite in World of Warcraft’s entire run. It was a great time kicking around the Burning Legion, cruising around Dalaran, exploring new artifact skills (many of which were subsequently incorporated into class talent trees), beefing up on transmogs, and leveling alts.
Perfect? No. I’m sure that some are cracking their knuckles to talk about borrowed power and legendaries and whatnot in the comments. But the good of this expansion far outshadowed its flaws, and that makes it a major win in my book.
Everyone likes a good list, and we are no different! Perfect Ten takes an MMO topic and divvies it up into 10 delicious, entertaining, and often informative segments for your snacking pleasure. Got a good idea for a list? Email us at justin@massivelyop.com or eliot@massivelyop.com with the subject line “Perfect Ten.”
