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Things I wish would return to World of Warcraft

Matthew Rossi
Updated ·5 min read
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It's inevitable that as the game progresses, some elements are lost. Story elements work to a conclusion, gameplay elements are left by the wayside. The game changes. We can't and shouldn't constantly strive for the game to return to yesterday, but there are some elements of the past that deserve re-examination and perhaps a return to the game. Especially if they can be returned without disrupting what we already have.

So to prove that even I have a nostalgia core here is my contribution to the discussion, a list of things I would like to see make some form of return to World of Warcraft.



Dungeon complexes

One of the things we didn't get a lot of with Mists of Pandaria was the dungeon complex, a place like Blackrock Mountain, Auchindoun, Stratholme, Utgarde Keep/Pinnacle or the Caverns of Time with multiple dungeons in a singular location, sometimes even containing raids as well. We saw one get a revamp, but that actually reduced the dungeons it offered with Scarlet Monastery going from four wings down to two wings.

As much as I liked Mists in terms of the dungeons it offers, I miss going someplace and knowing it's got so much to explore that it takes multiple crawls through to see it all. UBRS/LBRS were examples of a kind of content we've almost completely lost from the game - a big, sprawling, 5 man that could scale up to 10 players, had two separate end bosses that could both be cleared (if you were willing to devote the time to it) and which had the scale and scope of a full raid. While I accept that it's extremely unlikely we'll ever get another Blackrock Spire, that doesn't mean we can't get winged dungeon complexes again - something like the final three dungeons of Icecrown Citadel, going from the Forge of Souls through the Pit of Saron to enter the Halls of Reflection would work very well in the future. We could have gotten something like that with either the mantid or the mogu, in fact, we even still could. Perhaps even an underground dungeon complex where we fight saurok slavers in three wings, against three lizard kings?

I hear those guys can do anything.

The big dungeon complex gives a feeling of scale and scope that I think can contribute greatly to World of Warcraft and I'd like to see it return.

40-man content

Hear me out - I'm aware of the difficulties in balancing for 10 and 25 man raids. I'm not saying 40 man should be particularly supported. But we've already seen that it can be tolerated with the world bosses like Galleon and Sha of Anger, which can be attempted with as many people as you can fit into a raid. That's 40 people.

The 40 man raid size would give absolutely no advantages - no increase in loot frequency, not even more loot dropping. You'd scale up the health and damage to compensate for the extra 15 people, and call it a day. It would not be balanced for, it would just be there if people wanted to use it. And I'm not crazy - I doubt many would. 40 man raiding is an artifact of the past, but that's exactly why I think the option should be preserved. I admit this is purely nostalgia, and more, I wouldn't support 40 man coming back as the dominant form of raiding - those days are dead and let them be dead. But I'd like it to be optional. Just for giggles, I'd love to see 40 people attack the Lich King, or Deathwing.

On the other hand, a toggle for 40 man LFR might actually address some problems with queue times, depending on how many tanks and healers you needed for it. If you keep the tanking and healing numbers fairly low so that 40 man LFR could absorb an extra 10 or so DPS, it might actually speed up queues. Then again, maybe not.

The Caverns of Time

I mentioned this under the dungeon complex portion of the post, but I'm bringing it up again because, in the wake of the defeat of Deathwing and the loss of the Aspects, the Caverns of Time has the potential to be the most fun place in all of Warcraft. We're talking about a series of magical caves that allows time travel, and there's so much of Warcraft we don't get to see by virtue of it having already happened. The First, Second and Third War, ancient events like the coming of the Titans and the war with the Old Gods, the founding of Pandaria, the Troll/Aqir Wars, you can literally do anything with the Caverns of Time.

Imagine the potential of your character just casually mentioning to Lorewalker Cho that you know of a place that allows you to visit the past. That you've visited the Well of Eternity just before it blew up, even. That's how you could easily pull the CoT into a Pandaria-centric story, because immediately the Lorewalkers are going to want to send someone to that place, and how better to then have them (and you) head back to help the Last Emperor of Pandaria, Shaohao, battle the Sha and save Pandaria. We could even see the origin of the Mists themselves. And that's just one use.

I love the Caverns of Time and I really hope they haven't been lost to us.

Well, that's it from me for now. There are other things I'd like to see return, like Vanessa VanCleef (I didn't say the Defias, I just said Vanessa), Quel'Serrar (I still have my old Quel, earned from a Dire Maul book a friend gave me) and C'thun (which I will explain in a KYL post one of these days) but I think I listed enough for now. I leave the subject in your hands now. What do you want to see come back?

Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.