Blizzard chose to streamline the leveling process ofWorld of WarcraftwithShadowlands, but this new leveling experience has lost what made the game special. Instead of feeling like a world,World of Warcraftfeels more like an Island of Warcraft. New players no longer experience this large game filled with 18 years of story in the same way, but instead they spend most of their time on a couple of islands. While the amount of levels is far more inviting, it just feels like it is missing something.
Blizzard will further change the leveling experience whenDragonflightlaunches later this year, but it only feels like it is making the problem worse. New players may spend their entire time inBattle for Azerothbefore heading off toDragonflight. They will be skipping all the older expansions and even lose out on the current expansionShadowlands. This is an odd choice that only further makes the world feel small, and that needs to be changed.
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The Leveling Experience of World of Warcraft Explained
Before the release ofShadowlands, new and veteran players had the same exact leveling experience inWorld of Warcraft. They would start their journey in that race’s starting zone, and embark on a race specific intro story. These race starting zones were spread out across the game’s world, and players would spend the majority of the first couple levels there before venturing out into the larger Azeroth. Players who chose toplay as a Death Knightor a Demon Hunter would have an entirely different starting experience that started at a higher level.
By the end ofBattle for Azeroth,World of Warcrafthad 120 levels for players to get through before they could participate in the max level content. That would take a bit of time to reach, and was very daunting for newer players or those that simply wanted to play a different class. Blizzard sought to combat this withShadowlandsby significantly squishing the level count and streamlining the leveling experience. Everyone who was at 120 got reduced to 50 and the entire process of getting to the new max level was changed.
Now, new and veteran players have a very different leveling experience. After new players select their race and class, they are put onto a newtutorial island of sorts called Exile’s Reach. Instead of playing through race specific starting zones, players learn the basics of the game and their class on the same island until they hit level 10. They are then shipped off to theBattle for Azerothstory for levels 10-50, and they skip 14 years of content to play the newest parts of the game. Once they hit 50, players enterShadowlandsuntil they reach the new max level of 60.
Veteran players, on the other hand, get much more control over theirWorld of Warcraftjourney. After they select their race and class, they receive the choice of starting their journey in either the race specific starting zone or Exile’s Reach. Then, they can select the specific expansion that they want to level in to level 50 before beingshipped off toShadowlandsfor the last 10 levels. This allows players to shake up their leveling experience so that it is not the same every time, but there is something missing with this new experience.
Blizzard Needs to Revamp the Current Experience
Although the new leveling experience was a welcome change, it needs some work to really make it good. Currently, new players spend much of their time on the islands of Zandalar and Kul’Tiras. There is a huge world out there, but new players only get to really experience these two islands for the majority of their time. They also do not get to experience the story of their race, as they all start on the same island instead of their race’s specific starting zone. They spend much of their time moving around a few islands, making them missthe majority of Azeroth.
World of Warcraftis built on the concept of a large world for players to explore filled with 18 years worth of content, but new players can’t see that. 60 levels is far less daunting 120, but streamlining the leveling experience has removed a bit ofwhat madeWorld of Warcraftspecialto begin with. The game just feels smaller, but Blizzard needs to make it feel bigger.
