Summary
World Of Warcraft: The War Withinintroduced the continent of Khaz Algar. This landmass was isolated from the main forces of Azeroth for eons, and has been left to develop its own cultures and traditions. With the arrival of the Radiant Song, however, Khaz Algar hasopened upto outsiders and is open to exploration.
Khaz Algar is a wonder to see and explore. Whether players are adventuring through its depths orsoaring in the air above, there is plenty to look at and even more to do. These are all the areas in World Of Warcraft: The War Within ranked.
4Isle Of Dorn
The Core Way To The Core Way
The Isle of Dorn is a lush start to the expansion. Located just above the rest of Khaz Algar, the Isle of Dorn is home to many of the Earthen Dwarves- stone dwarves who were created by the all-powerful Titans to serve as watchmen. However not ever Earthen agrees with mindlessly obeying the Titans, and the player winds up wandering straight into the middle of a cultural schism between the two groups. Fun!
The Isle of Dorn is filled with rich, green farmland- which is funny, considering the Earthen don’t eat food. Players can find all manners of babbling brooks and rambling fields, which gives the Isle of Dorn an almost Celtic feel. The stone structures of the Earthen fit right into the rugged and wild aesthetic of Dorn, with moss growing over stone roofs and houses cut right into the hills. The Isle of Dorn is a place where tough people survive, but like the Earthen themselves, it is also a place of great beauty.
The unity in the Isle of Dorn’s aesthetic reflects the unity the Earthen will develop over the course of the story. When players first fall (literally) into the Isle, the Earthen are divided between those who want to follow the Titans and those who want to forge their own path. You will help reunify the people of Dorn just by listening to them…and by getting them to listen to each other. The Isle of Dorn is ultimately a place defined by the Earthen and that means all Earthen. Only when they’re unified does the Isle truly come into itself. Thank goodness for random adventurers, huh?
3The Ringing Deeps
Where The Song of Machines Plays
The story of the Earthen doesn’t stop in the Isle of Dorn. As the Earthen solve one problem, another arrives in the form of the broken Coreway. Fully repairing it requires the aid of the Earthen who dwell in the Ringing Deep, the area directly below the Isle of Dorn. But getting their aid requires, of course, solving some of their problems. An adventurer’s work is never done.
The Ringing Deep is a beautiful area. It really embodies the feeling of being right underneath another civilization. There are hanging pipes and rusted pieces of machinery everywhere, and water is constantly dripping down from above. The underground areas of Khaz Algar have had very clever ceilings created to make up for the lack of a natural sky. Glowing plants hang down from the ceiling, gently pulsing in the gloom to provide natural light.
The plot of the Ringing Deep zone is also unique. Despite being composed of some of the same characters from the first zone, the zone manages to tell a new story. The Earthen in the Ringing Deep are being tormented by strange mutated dwarves known as Skardyn. You have to discover where these are coming from and wind up having to stop a dangerous demagogue who has been manipulated into almost destroying the Earthen’s life-restoring Awakening Machine. Much of this story involves helping others, including a questline involving a new look at the Kobolds. In the Ringing Deep, every person needs to lend a hand, and reminding the Earthen of this leads to a miracle for all.
2Hallowfall
Bask In Beledar’s Glow
Hallowfall is a remarkable zone for many reasons. It is objectively one of the most beautiful zones ever created for World of Warcraft, but it also contains one of the best stories in the game.
Let’s talk about design first. The main feature of Hallowfall is Beledar, the crystal at the heart of the ceiling. It is the center of the Hallowfall Arathi culture, as well as the center of the story. Beledar will occasionally turn dark, and plunge the zone into darkness. While it does do this at certain story events, Beledar is also on a very real timer that will turn dark every three hours for thirty minutes. Players can interact with the zone during both phases, and each one brings different surprises. This is one of the most innovative additions to a zone in years, and it really adds a sense of character to Hallowfall. The architecture and style of the zone is also top-notch. Players fly around from place to place on zeppelins, and can shelter in European-syle houses- all under the ground!
This zone’s story revolves around the Light, and the different relationships characters can have with it. NaturallyAnduintakes the spotlight here, as his dynamic with the Light has been the driving point of his character ever since Shadowlands. Anduin learns more about himself and the Light while in Hallowfall, and what he learns helps him cope with trauma both new and old. Anduin comes to empathize with the light and dark nature of Hallowfall, and his revelation at the end of the story is legitimately heartwarming. In Hallowfall, darkness will come. But the light will come too, as long as somebody lights a candle. Hallowfall is a place where the dark can come for those we love. But, it also teaches that the most important thing we can do for somebody else is just be there.
1Azj-Kahet
Come Into The Spider’s Parlour…
Azj-Kahet is a masterwork of a zone. It is filled with atmosphere and energy, radiating dark power in every nook and cranny, in every cave and den. Azj-Kahet is truly an area defined by its people- and the people who reside in Azj-Kahet are defined by its land.
The Nerubians have been a recurring presence in Azeroth for years, but this marks the first time players have visited their world. And the overarching theme of Azj-Kahet is that this istheirworld. For all the strangeness of the Nerubians, they are still a people who think, feel, and love. Their home is their own, and it is worth preserving. The Nerubians may be alien to the people of Azeroth, but what is chaos to the fly is normalcy to the spider. Azj-Kahet is their home, and they will fight for it just as much as a human from Stormwind would.
Azj-Kahet, like the Nerubians themselves, may look ominous. And, frankly, it is. But there is also hidden gems and kindness lurking in the dark. In Azj-Kahet, players can encounter a spymaster who helps little spiders just because she is lonely, a vizir who defected from decadence just because it was the right thing to do, and people who mourn for their dead queen just because they loved her. Azj-Kahet is the ultimate reminder not to judge a book by its cover, and it serves as one of the best zones in terms of storytelling in an atmosphere that Warcraft has ever had.
