Nostalgia can be a very potent sensation, and one that many developers like to capitalise on. Like any long-lived MMO, World of Warcraft utilises an expansion as a breath of fresh air, offering a comforting mix of old and new. And it’s this power of nostalgia that fuels much of the fun in WoW's fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor. While its additions don't reinvent the loot-chasing wheel that we are all addicted to, a blend of old experiences and new adventures is enough to get any player - both old or new - hooked all over again, and I’m testament to that.

I will admit that much of this expansion does feel like something I’ve already done before, be it in WoW or another MMO, but I feel like the key here is that Blizzard is striving to do it better. Take Draenor itself, the setting of your journey from level 90 to 100. Through a series of plot twists and turns that are best not thought about for too long (time travel hurts the head), the Alliance and Horde have wound up in an alternate universe on the other side of the iconic Dark Portal. Instead of stumbling into the shattered continent of Outland, you're suddenly a part of the orcs' rewritten history in the realm of Draenor. It's a convoluted plot device with an interesting purpose: it puts you in places you feel like you've been to before, even though they're barely recognisable.



Of course, any form of nostalgic feeling will always depend on your past experiences with WoW and its now 10 year life span. For those unfamiliar of the past history Draenor is a call back to the Burning Crusade expansion of 2007, though altered thanks to a headache inducing timeline swap that will make Back to the Future seem like child’s play. Not only are the lands of Outlands now changed back to their former times, but various key characters also see a resurgence before their time of the Burning Legion. Beyond the standard quest structure, optional objectives and rare mobs with guaranteed loot drops pepper the landscape, encouraging you to explore well beyond the beaten path, a change much needed from its past.

For those who didn't experience Outland back in the day - or decide to skip it entirely using the complimentary instant-level-90 character boost included with WoD - the environments are no less varied or attractively colourful. But there's a certain magic to revisiting an alternate version of those places you explored years ago, noticing all these subtle and extravagant changes to a new but old timeline. And over the course of five expansions, Blizzard has absolutely mastered its phasing technology, creating quest chains that make you the hero at the centre of your own story (which just so happens to include random players cavorting around the backdrop). The plot progression within zones has actual payoff in the form of awesome cutscenes, and lore hounds will love the nods to characters from Warcraft's history as far back as the original RTS.

Nostalgia once again plays a factor in recapturing the feeling of the game’s first expansion with some smart design tweaks, including a game-wide itemisation squish on stats, damage and health values. In reducing these numbers across the board from big and ludicrous to small and comprehensible, WoD has done away with the stat escalation of the past. Another clever move is the reduction of ability count across all classes, making your options clearer without fundamentally changing your playstyle. It's a move that feels less like an insult to your intelligence and/or competency, and more like a much-needed refocusing that cuts away at useless skills cluttering your rotation.



Character models have also been refreshed in this expansion (Blood Elves pending), bringing a breath of fresh air to a game now reaching its 10th year. Your characters probably won't look exactly as you remember them, but their new faces and animations are undeniably better once you've adjusted. It's also mind-bogglingly easy to group up with friends, now that you can join parties across all servers.

And party up you will, because WoD's dungeon designs are excellent. With the tweaks to class abilities, your role in group content is much more engaging this time around, whatever your role. Healers in particular have to be smarter about the timings of their spell-casting, while tanks and damage-dealers need to be much more aware of crucial boss mechanics instead of mindlessly spamming their attacks. Yes, the end-game still boils down to repeatedly running the same instances ad nauseum in anticipation of more content, but what MMO doesn’t these days? With a high-quality dungeon design you won’t feel as burnt out by what the end-game offers.

Headlining the expansion is of course Garrisons, Blizzard’s personal take on player-constructed homes seen throughout the genre. Rather than giving players mundane houses on dinky plots of land, WoD puts you in charge of a Garrison, your very own fortress which you build from the ground up to your preferred specifications. By constructing barracks, stables, forges, and much more on a pre-set grid, you'll gain access to crafting resources and unique bonuses. And while you quest through Draenor, customizable outposts filled with loyal grunts give you a real sense of presence and lasting impact in the world. In saying that though, I couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that while I have this mighty stronghold the general purpose of it was to act like a hangout area and complete the various micromanagement needs.



And this is where I have a problem with Garrisons. Yes, I feel compelled to log back into WoW each day, but only because of this pre-constructed task that begs for my attention in assigning followers to quests or crafting plots. This feeling is one I would get from a well-crafted mobile game: the compulsive desire to efficiently chain together a series of activities that are inherently uninteresting. On the outside this monstrosity looks like something I should feel needs protecting and management, but on the inside it is just a glorified, spike-covered candy dispenser that churns out randomised rewards for clicking a button.

Followers, the various NPCs that you can use in your Garrison to either complete quests or assign to crafting tables for bonuses, also feel lacklustre. In theory, it should be this incredible group of personal heroes helping you progress your Draenor storyline, but in reality it is far from that. The problem is that your Followers - and the missions you send them on - suffer from a serious lack of personality.

The thing is, Blizzard have the minutiae details in place: distinct traits for each Follower, their own level progression, and a large pool of possible missions to choose from, each with their own little backstory. Despite all those little nuggets of information, Followers end up feeling like interchangeable minions with no real personal gain. Garrison missions suffer from repetition and you’ll soon view Followers as nothing more than a checklist that needs to be handled every time you log in. A select few Followers can be recruited as tag-alongs, but they're more akin to text-spouting assistants (which grows old rather quickly) than, say, the charismatic companions of Star Wars: The Old Republic, all of whom felt like they had very personal motivations and concerns that demanded your attention. WoD's Followers just kind of…exist.



In saying all this, Warlords of Draenor as a whole is definitely Blizzard’s best WoW expansion to date. Having come back from a variety of MMO’s including WildStar and The Elder Scrolls Online, I was worried that there would be this dated feeling hovering over my head. Quite the opposite in fact, and after playing Warlords of Draenor I’ve found that WoW is still the number one MMO to play thanks to Blizzard’s strategy of refining itself and adding polish over and over again until old flaws feel like ancient history. Though I won’t ever forget those incredible vanilla days, but that’s for another story.

Warlords of Draenor will remind you just why World of Warcraft is still on top after 10 years of service, even with its architectural problems that the Garrison feature holds. And for many players, simply getting back in touch with that nostalgic sense will be more than enough.